Reviews:

From Zero Tolerance: (by Adam Chapman)

  This release was actually first published on very limited CDR a few years ago. Nevertheless, with its concept of religious war between the Middle East and the West, it's still a relevant recording today and an interesting listening to boot. There's really very little in terms of Eastern music influence if you would be expecting any after looking through the gorgeously compiled booklet, which presents what looks like a hybrid of medieval styles and contemporary Eastern and Western imagery. There are some Arabic musical influences in the rhythm section and some sampled melodic vocal lines, but generally it's a mix of different industrial styles. There are plenty of rhythmic drum patterns, strange noises and background ambience, and also lots of Bush voice samples taken from news reports surrounding the Twin Towers devastation. Any political messages in this CD are purely to be interpreted, as there is no text in the booklet to hint at anything, but the content of the Bush spoken passages has clearly been manipulated in a way that would trigger a smile on the face of anyone who doesn't support his administration.

From Terrorizer: (by Alex Boniwell)

  The war in Iraq has affected and infected everyday life. You can't watch the news or read a paper without some sort of propaganda being issued by either side. Clear Stream Temple have gone one step further and let that infection spread to their music. Taking propaganda and news bites from American and Arab news channels and blending them effortlessly with their own cold industrial beats and drones, in a very similar way to Boyd Rice's NON but with a profound Middle Eastern feel, they've made a very of-the-moment release that will haunt you for years to come. The speeches of President Bush have been altered, but unless you speak Arabic, you won't be able to tell if the same has been done for the Arabic samples. Is it just anti-American government or a pro Al-Qaeda statement? We may never knwo, but what is sure is that 'XVI' is a compelling and interesting listen.

From Funprox: (by HD)

  In the catalogue of the English Cold Spring label militant music plays a prominent role. This album, the debut of Clear Stream Temple is no exception. `XVI` takes us to the Arab world and contains critical messages about the Bush government and its foreign strategy.

  The music is a mixture of heavy industrial and dark ambient, classical elements, Arabic sounds and many samples. Many speech samples can be heard from the likes of Bush, mostly about terrorism, soldiers and politics. 'XV!`was created after the events of September 11th. Originally reissued as a limited cdr, this reissue on Cold Spring is time repackaged and includes extra tracks.

  The music has often a martial feel, though the tracks rather vary in tranquillity. Both the ambient-orientated pieces and the martial industrial tracks are worthwhile. As you can expect, there are quite some eastern influences, which you can't do without bringing Muslimgauze to mind. My favourite track is 'Age of Terror', with a very heavy percussive sound, or 'Djinn', where powerful metallic percussion is combined with classical sounds and of course Bush talking about terror.

  Clear Stream Temple, a project of Abby Helasdottir, has delivered an interesting album, not only for its political content, but also with good quality music. Not light to digest, but rewarding. God bless America for this inspiration.