| REVIEWS
Brutal Resonance 
So, I've been listening to the new album a lot since the review, but seldom able to give it 100% full attention due to the presence of the kids.
I went on a morning jog today and "Blue Like Neptune" came on - a track I've never been able to focus on due to various influences.
Within 20 seconds of hearing the synth work on it, I got a shiver down my spine which hasn't happened since I heard "Sentinel" by VnV Nation (The bass on that does the same to me).
I was captivated immediately, and when the chorus kicked in, I literally ground to a halt and stood in complete amazement.
You know when sometimes you get hit by a surge of emotion?
Towards the end of the song, I had a tear in my eye, and only one song has ever done that to me, in 26 years.
So what I'm saying, is thank you. For sharing your pain, talent, and ideas. "Blue Like Neptune" is one of the most emotional, beautiful songs I've ever heard, and after listening to it twice, I feel you guys should be much, much bigger than VnV and Covenant.
THAT, right there, is why Level 2.0 is going to be in my top 5 albums of the year.
Respect.
Brutal Resonance
When you go through a bad personal patch, you either lose yourself completely, and end up turning to Drink/Drugs/Vices, or you make the best damned record of your career.
Mike Hoffman chose to do the latter. Having broken up with the love of his life, and having to watch Matt (the other member of Level 2.0) go off to Iraq, it's easy to see why he could have just given up.
Instead, he chose to follow up "Armageddon", with "Battle Sight Zero" - possibly the first album in the scene to be recorded and created while at War in Iraq.
We'll pick off where "Armageddon" left off, with "Individual" - an immediately catchy track, full of the hooks and beats that make Futurepop as relevant in 2011 as it was in 2002.
One thing I've always liked about Level 2.0 is the fact that it is very possible to make excellent Futurepop without having to fill every 30 seconds of your album with Arpeggiators. There's a more disciplined and battle-trodden strictness to the music that Mike and Matt record together - a testament to the duo's familiarity with War and Military lifestyles.
"Testament", Ironically, is the second track on here, and in the vein of earlier works, proves that you cannot corner Level 2.0 into sounding like a single genre - 'Futurepop' is the term most often banded around, but there's just as much Industrial and EBM influences here, and Mike's hardened vocals have always given cause for fans of Decoded Feedback and Imperative Reaction to flock towards Level 2.0, as much as fans of VNV Nation and Colony 5.
It's quite obvious that this album is a memoir to music - a survivors handbook to personal disturbances, and hardships - with titles such as "Victim", "The Sound of Goodbye" and "Abandon", Mike shows us that it's not unorthdox to make darker music of this calibre - whereas VNV's Ronan and Mark before us have introduced us to anthems of hope, shaping the world, and the occasional ballad, Mike and Matt have adapted their lyrics and ideas to portray a bleaker picture of the world in 2011, but like all albums should, there's always that glimmer of hope :
"We're gonna survive, We're gonna Win" is taken from the title track, and I find myself wondering if this isn't as much a tale of Matt's experiences in Iraq, as other tracks are a reconstruction of recent months in Mike's life.
The previously mentioned "Sound of Goodbye" is a slightly slower piece, and we all know that every album in the Futurepop style needs at least 2 of these - fortunately it meets the usual standards.
There's something bittersweet about living through other people's pain, and although it would be stupid, ignorant, and wrong of me to compare this album to Joy Divison's "Closer", it's the only way I can think of of measuring the inspiration behind this album.
Throughout the 13 tracks here, there's a consistency and passion that cannot be questioned, but my criticism is that the album just doesn't quite sound right. This could be a problem with my £20 speakers, but the vocals aren't amazingly clear - however, I can make out the lyrics for the most part, and they're as touching and sorrowful as they are uplifting and positive in other areas. Mind you, if you've heard Level 2.0 at all, you won't be expecting vocals like Colony 5 in the first place.
To sum up this release, I'm personally delighted that the ideas and time taken to make this have paid off.
Lyrically, we're onto something deeply soulseeking, and there will be moments here that pull at the Heartstrings of you all.
Musically, there's a darkness that re-inforces the concept, and when you're writing Synth from a base in the Middle East, you can't really put out something perky and bouncy.
Finally, this album has some excellent artwork. Congratulations, guys.
Nick Quarm
06 May 2011
Blackvector
Level 2.0 is an EBM/Industrial band formed in 2005 and based in Long Island, New York, by the two members Mike Hoffman (singer/lyrics) and Matt Clennan (synth/programming). "Armageddon" is their first album since signed to Nilaihah Records. The album holds 13 tracks and covers over 75 minutes.
The first track "Rising", starts with a very bright synthesizer before it lets the bass and beat structure in on the song, which has a very catchy and great melody. Followed is another futurepop song full of the modern electronic sounds mixed together with harmonic background landscapes of synths. The track "Vexxy" show off a different sound structure with a darker touch but the modern EBM-feeling is still there and is for sure a track that fits for the dancefloor. The darker tone continues with "Stolen Kiss", but on this the tempo is drastically dropped and what you get is a slow and beautiful song that offers a really cool melody and the voice from Mike makes the song even more emotional.
The title track "Armageddon" brings you back to the more up-tempo beats and is the start of a hand full of danceable tracks and once again a very catchy melody with great lyrics. "Rivet", "False Promise" and "Surreal" is all very great tracks.
More or less every track on "Armageddon" is great and it offers future pop at its best with alot of catchy refrains and melodies together with danceable beats and hooklines impossible not to catch up on and sing along. As mentioned earlier, you get over 75 minutes of great music. I don't have the exact number of times I've listened through this album but it is by far more then I've listened to any other album before writing a review. I really love this album. ---Björn,
Blackvector.se
Reflections of Darkness
LEVEL 2.0 (pronounced: Level two-point-zero) is a band located to Long
Island. Their dance-floor aggressive style started a new innovation
of EBM music. Their latest release is mastered by Ted Phelps of IMPERATIVE
REACTION. It combines emotional melodies with powerful club beats -
a solid mix of grit, depth and hooks merged with powerful electro sounds,
which will make this album club suitable. These guys are full of energy
and ready to conquer! Their actual full-length album, 'Armageddon',
is their first release on Nilaihah Records! It is a feast for the ears
over the full length. I owned this album shortly after the release and
till today I love listening to it. I bought it without knowing what
was to except. I'm not disappointed but happy to know these artists.
For me it wasn't hard to love this album since I heard it for the first
time. What a rare pleasure. They did a great job. And I hope for a lot
of upcoming releases of this duo. As a fan of danceable electronic music
- don't miss LEVEL 2.0! There's nothing left to say. --Janine
Szakacs, Reflections of Darkness
Side-Line Magazine
Some cities can stomp and cry about being the self proclaimed Mecca
of American EBM , but hands down the crown has to go to NYC! Yet another
act comes flying out of the city that never sleeps. There are some solid
tracks within this debut release from this act as well as a lot of different
varied atmospheres. The only problem this writer finds within the tracks
is the vocals are lacking as with any acts freshman release. Some tracks
the gravely vocals flow with but others it all just doesn't jive and
detracts from the flow of the music. The entire album is solid and full
of great beats and synths to make any cyber kiddie content. Within the
atmospheres held within this release there are varied trance sounds
to straight ahead EBM blending well with each other and creating a solid
modern EBM sound . Again the only drawback from the music is the vocals
we can all hope by the next release this act finds his voice such as
his predecessors did. The music construction is great and Level 2.0
is definitely an up and coming act to keep a close eye on! (DJ23:8)--DJ
TwentyThree, Side-Line Magazine
A Different Drum
Here is a new release from Nilaihah Records featuring a band that blends industrial and trance rather effectively for a very high energy, aggressive sound.. ---Todd Durrant, A Different Drum
Chain D.L.K.
Level 2.0 are a Long Island, New York EBM/electro-industrial band consisting
of Mike Hoffman (vocals) and Matt Clennan (synth/programming). They've
been around for about five years, released a couple of full albums and
an EP, all of which I haven't heard. I would assume their latest, 'Armageddon,'
is their best since it was strong enough for Nilaihah to release. I
find myself feeling really ambivalent about this album. On the one hand,
the programming is solid, the songs are mostly pretty good and the vocals
are intelligible, which is often a rarity in this type of music. On
the other hand, there seemed to be something lacking that I couldn't
put my finger on at first but became clearer the more I listened to
'Armageddon'. To begin with, Hoffman isn't that strong of a vocalist;
for the most part, the quality of his voice just doesn't seem to measure
up to the drama and power of the material overall. There are moments,
but I'm not hearing enough of them.
The most noticeable evidence of this is on the choruses. Hoffman's snakey
voice works fine for the verses, but is not enough to push the payoff
of the choruses on a number of the songs. This is something that could
have been solved in production. Let me use another band in comparison
' Front Line Assembly. Bill Leeb has never been known as an outstanding
vocalist, yet the vocals always manage to have certain strength to them.
When it comes to the choruses of FLA's music, the vocals are like a
wall of sound; they punch through in a dramatic way that rockets the
track into the stratosphere. (And Front Line Assembly is a band where
the vocals support the programming, and not visa versa.). That is largely
production technique, multitracking, some harmonizing and effects. It
could have been done here by Level 2.0, but if it was, it wasn't enough.
The consequence of this is that on tracks with potentially strong hooks
like 'Rising,' 'Invincible,' 'Closer,' and 'Darkness' there is a lack
of presence and power that doesn't effectively sell the songs. One exception
is the title track, 'Armageddon'. The tasteful addition of vocoder helps
make this the strongest track on the album. Still, I think it could
have been more.
As for the electronic and rhythm programming, Matt Clennan provides
a solid and serviceable, although not particularly innovative skillset
for this type of music. 'Armageddon' still posseses a fair amount of
power and drama in the music as well as aggressive beats; club-potential
abounds throughout many of the tracks. One misstep though is on 'Stolen
Kiss,' a downtempo number where Hoffman is vocally emoting his heart
out and the mood is sabotaged by a 4-on-the-floor beat and rigidly programmed
hat rhythm that gives the song sound a plodding tap-dance feel. On the
plus side, dialogue samples (you know how I loathe them generally) are
mostly kept to a minimum throughout, even subdued in places.
The first 7 tracks were mastered by Ted Phelps of Imperative Reaction,
and the other 5 by Nemesys Music and Jason Barbero, and it shows. Ted's
mastering generally sounds stronger. Actually, by the time I get to
the 8th track, I am already ear-weary. It just isn't compelling enough,
or as compelling as it could be.
The way I see it, 'Armageddon' is an album that is ripe for remixing.
There is lots that could be done with it ' beef up the choruses; add
more vocals; change up the beats and insert industrial loops, beatbeats,
and other interesting percussive elements; replace some of the standard
synth sounds with a more adventurous sound palette; and totally replace
that rhythm track in 'Stolen Kiss' with something more free and less
obtrusive to allow it to breathe and give it the atmosphere it really
needs to come alive. This wouldn't be a case of remixing just to streamline
the songs and make them more dance-addictive (as so often happens on
remix projects); it would be a matter of turbo-charging what is a good
album and making it a GREAT album. I believe Level 2.0 have a lot of
potential, but it is not fully realized on 'Armageddon'. ---Steve
Mecca, Chain D.L.K.
>Regen Magazine
Broken apart slightly due to a lack of lyrical/musical connectivity, Armageddon
is industrial dance music with all the earmarks for future success.
Adding to their lineup of electronic artists, Nilaihah Records has recently taken the electro/industrial band Level 2.0 under its wing. Level 2.0, the duo of singer/songwriter Mike Hoffman and programmer Matt Clennan, draw out of their New York roots with a solid take on the genre. Not breaking away from the typical club sound, the band manages to make its mark on the scene through flawless production skills and cleverly crafted songwriting.
The electronic component holds a primary position on Armageddon with vocals providing a close second-place in the development of the band's sound. Lyrically, this album is perhaps the strongest of any of their previous releases. However, there are times when conflicts arise with the electronic vigor that propels each song, sometimes almost excessively. The sensitive nature of songs such as "Stolen Kiss" or "Closer" becomes lost in a muddle of beat-infused rhythms that take away from the intensity of the lyrics. The clash between the aggressive musical component and the dark sensitivity of the words might be better played upon with a softer backbeat. Toning down this danceable pace toward something more appropriately downplayed would reflect better on such tracks, highlighting Hoffman's expressive sincerity much more adeptly. This is not to say that the pace should be brought down throughout the entire album. A great example of an upbeat number that combines the best of both artists in Level 2.0 comes through with the title track. "Armageddon" is a song that truly epitomizes what the band is striving for in the sense of creating strong, club-friendly music that delivers enough force to make you want to instantly move about. "Invincible," "Rivet," or any number of beat-infused tracks retain this same dynamic quality, one that delivers enough oomph to please any foot-stomper on the dance floor. This consciously created energy rises to the surface of Armageddon successfully mainly (but not solely) because of Clennan's seamless synth/programming skills. His ear for danceable yet slightly grittier-than-normal electronic rhythm easily rivals other well respected programming artists within the genre.
As a whole, Level 2.0 manages to forge a successful united front throughout the fast-paced points on the album both lyrically and instrumentally. They prove their strengths with solid production skills and create liveliness in the music that just won't let up. The album as a whole draws out a bit at times, but it's the pieces that make up the whole that will easily fit in any DJ's arsenal of upbeat, danceable industrial music. Straightforward, energetic music is what fuels Armageddon. For this reason, Level 2.0 should be marked down as one of the club-oriented industrial acts to watch out for in the near future.
--Stephen Lussier
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VARIOUS
Level 2.0 - Dreams of Youth:
The debut album by the rising duo from Long Island, NY LEVEL 2.0 (pronounced
level two point zero). 'Dreams of Youth' expresses a dark element with
a hard dance floor appeal, while expressing emotions and past experiences
from their youth. They are breaking boundaries by creating a new sound
for the future of EBM-INDUSTRIAL.
________________________________
VARIOUS
Level 2.0 - INTERCEPT:
The follow up album brings a more evolved direction. Even crossing genres
with special guest vocalist Sabrina Gardner in the exploding title track
"Intercept" to a much more darker club theme in [tracks such
as] "Angelfire"
& "Far Away". With additional special bonus remixes by
METROPOLIS RECORDING ARTIST " Negative Format", Infacted recording
artist "BLANK' & up and coming "Cryogen Second".
Will keep you addicted to very end with this dance floor classic.
________________________________
VARIOUS
Various Artists - Dark Future: [on Dark Past Communications label] LEVEL
2.0 opens this comp with their new track "Far Away". They
are a bit longer active in this business and this can be well recognized
through more maturity in their textures. There's experience behind their
compositions, even if the male vocals are sounding a bit too rough to
fulfill the perfect Futurepop-kind. --Review by: Marc Tater, Chain D.L.K.
back to Level 2.0 - Armageddon
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