In the late 90s, without access to the riches that the Internet later brought, I took a brief detour into goth and industrial, which was often the only heavy music that could be found in the American mainstream after grunge mostly wiped metal off the charts and the metal bands of the 80s entered a troubled middle age. The quality of the music produced in the industrial genre during that period didn't last for long, but in its heyday we got some decent songs. Black Magnet is a heir to this tradition, turning out an album with influences from some of those 90s bands, especially Ministry and NiN.

One genre the band never makes the slightest of mods to on Hallucination Scene is the mall-goth that all too many of these bands succumbed to after 2000; Trent Reznor arguably did not, but he was unceremoniously shouldered out of the way after the 90s by others who did. If not for the vocals, one would imagine he had written Anubis. There's even some of the panted vocals stuck at the bottom of the mix under their shouted counterparts, the way he did it back then. Neuroprophet is more groovy and metallic, the vocals echoing and repetitive.

The last three tracks are the most alienated and machinelike, especially Walking in the Dark, a death march measured out by a pinging tone like an electronic hammer striking an anvil. It's also one of my favorites; something about its chugging ruthlessness comes across to the listener better than the tormented sound of some of its predecessors, or perhaps it's just that industrial angst is so much harder for me to take seriously at forty than it was at seventeen, and this one has less of it.

Those who are purely metal listeners and never got into other dark or heavy genres probably won't care for Hallucination Scene. I've heard this album described as "industrial metal", but it's no Fear Factory. Those who appreciate a good industrial album will find this one to be very well made, capturing some of the magic of its mid-90s forebears.

Bandcamp: https://blckmgnt.bandcamp.com/.