Band:	Jenx
Album:	Drift
Style:	Industrial metal
Release date:	February 04, 2014
A review by:	Darkside Momo

01. Inner View
02. The Flood [Dry version]
03. The Loss [Deeper version]
04. The Element
05. Chains Of Labor [Broken version]
06. Renewal

Drift is the latest release by French industrial metallers Jenx, and it is all about remixes from and inspired by their previous output, the excellent Enuma Elish (more on that one here). I'll readily admit that I was a bit nervous about these remixes. Given how good the original album is, they'd better be excellent - or at least as good -, right?

First off, it goes without saying (but might need repeating anyway) that they sound more electro - of various genres and obediences - than metal. Just like, well, about all metal remixes albums (latest cases in point: Morbid Angel's Illud Divinum Insanum remixes, and Obsidian Kingdom's Torn & Burnt).

And so, we've got six songs for about forty minutes of music, with three straight remixes and three new songs.
Let's tackle the remixes first: the worst of the bunch is easily "Chains Of Labor (Broken version)"; one of the best songs of the original work becomes totally boring and uninteresting here. Quite a few grades above, "The Flood (Dry version)" ain't bad at all. A good song to begin with, a decent remix, but nothing groundbreaking whatsoever. And then, there's this new "The Loss (Deeper Version)", which is almost dubstep-y in a good way; it loses a bit on the tribal side but gains a lot in catchiness and groove. Honestly, it's maybe better than the original!
Now, the three original ones are vastly different one from each other. "The Element", a decent but forgettable number, feels like a remix from a song of Enuma Elish sessions not kept on the original album. "Inner View", Drift opener, is really weird; it's a collage of cut and tortured parts from different songs of the original work, worked together in a totally different whole with a kind of storytelling flair. Some kind of harsh stream-of-consciousness stuff - or at least that's the way I feel it. Like it or not, it's definitely interesting. Finally, "Renewal", with its minimalistic approach, also offers something new to Jenx's sound; quite a varied track, in the vein of some Nine Inch Nails remixes and instrumental numbers.

Now that all is said, let's face it: Drift is like all remixes albums, it is both hit and miss. We can be positive that Lyynk (the mastermind behind Drift) did work hard on those just as "Inner View" shows, but next to the great stuff there's some forgettable crap. Anyway, be sure to check at least "The Loss" and "Renewal", and "Inner View" too (but that one is an acquired taste). Well, guys, now stop drifting (pun intended, mind you) and get on a new Jenx album!