2006 has definitely been the year of Leæther Strip. Within the past 12 months, Claus has released 2 MCDs, a double CD full length, and now this 2 MCD set. Fetish begins with Be My Fetish, a simple, yet rugged electro track with cascading beats, scratchy synth lines, and ominous vocals. The intensity is bumped up a notch on Manic Aggression (Psychopharmocology version). Compared to Be My Fetish, the vocals on this one are edgier and rougher and the synths are harder, conjuring up some of the older Leæther Strip sound. Shouted vocals, a pounding beat, rumbling rhythms, and twisted synths all intertwine on Punktured Eyeballs, finding Claus at what is quite possibly his most angered state in about a decade. The musical aggression halts on We Will Walk With Pride (Moscow 28 May 2006 version). This is a slower, more emotional piece which focuses on the Russians non-acceptance of homosexuality and the attempt at their very first Gay Pride parade. The Kitchen Knife (Pocket Knife version) is a bouncy dance track with smooth vocals and quirky synths. Tears Run Rings, a cover of the Marc Almond classic, is exceptionally reworked by Claus. Retaining the airiness and addictive nature of the original, this version features ghostly synths, a distant beat, and a quivering rhythm. Claus also covers himself with an updated version of a Leæther Strip classic, Adrenalin Rush. While it’s not as powerful as the original, it is much cleaner sounding than its decade old counterpart. The bonus MCD features Claus’ cover of John Carpenter’s Halloween Theme, complete with a thudding beat, creepy synths, and gruff vocals. Of the three versions presented, I really didn’t find them all to be all that different. The Shape version is simply an instrumental version of the original and the Vocoded Violence version just seems to tweak the vocals a tad. The 12” Cleaver version of The Kitchen Knife is an extended version of the version found on CD 1, but remixed Razormaid style, extending the track beyond the 10 minute mark. Admittedly it has taken me a bit of time to get used to the new direction that Claus seems to be taking Leæther Strip in the past year, but after a few good listens to this MCD set, I am slowly finding myself once again settling in and really enjoying his work. With age comes maturity and the new material reflects that with a more mature sound and lyrics. written Nov '06

It's been a long time since I listened to Leaether Strip, and skimming through this disc reminded me why: the vocals. The untrained vocalist with the distortion filter applied anywhere between 20 and 100% is what ruined EBM for me. In his defense, Claus put most of the distortion behind him for this release, but if anything it just makes the vocals more difficult to stomach. The track that got me the most was Adrenaline Rush 2006. This is just painful to listen to. And did it even really need an update? As for the rest of the CD, there are some good headbangin' moments, but overall not very impressive.