“In the year 2065 war destroyed our world. In our desperation, we searched the stars for a new home. We have the most important mission: We must not fail. We are the last.”

A bleak vision, a conjuring up of eschaton – a fitting subject for the tense times we live in. The year 2018 is on-spot for a new Cubic Nomad album in the rhythmic tradition, more upfront, more daring and genre-defying than ever, a storytelling album in its classic sense, making the best use of a variety of dark techno, hardcore and experimental sounds (and yielding a good crop of dance floor fillers along the way).

It has been five years since “Forgotten Grounds”, the last hard and rhythmic Cubic Nomad album, but this facet of his productions has resurfaced via a couple of EPs in the last two years (of which the opening tracks are included here for good measure). Cubic Nomad tells the tale of a world headed for collapse: Destruction of nature, the struggle for resources, the spreading of conflicts leading to total devastation. All perfectly orchestrated with his bouncing industrial technoid style, relentlessly rhythmic and spiced up with dense atmospheres, washes of distortion and ominous spoken accounts of what is happening.

“Serum”, a collaboration with Australian label mate Hypoxic, clashes the most raw and gritty sounds with crystaline ambience, and the report of “July 21st, 2036” drips with evil acid. The schizophrenic “collaboration” with The Relic, “Imperial Walkers”, is a follow-up to the 2011 industrial hardcore classic from the debut album; and schizophrenia doesn’t end there, as with his Hidden Rooms moniker Cubic Nomad provides a moment of misleading relief. Otherwise, there is an increase of bpms, of tension, a string of bangers that narrate the events that lead up to the fatal moment of escalation. Then there’s the misfit track of the album: “The Promised Land”, featuring German producer Embrionyc and the distinct voice of Emma Susanne, an 11+ minute anthem that is bound to provide moments of bliss on the main stages. From there, possibilities seem boundless, and the melodic backbone of Cubic Nomads is displayed in all its grandeur. And there you may view it: The New Horizon!