Andy LaPlegua was one of the key characters within the scene alternative electronics, first with the Icon Of Coil project (one of the leading names of the futurepop movement) and subsequently with the creature Combichrist, or rather the definitive transformation into something more violent and muscular, what was once defined club industrial (albums like “Everybody Hates You” and “What The F**k Is Wrong With You People?” made an entire generation of people dance cybergoth).
Later, the Norwegian musician (who had already moved to Atlanta some time ago) chose to Americanize This soundcontaminating it with both metalcore and industrial metal: from being practically a leader, Andy thus found himself chasing, moving towards overly inflated sounds, at least on the other side of the ocean (with results that were not always up to par).
“The Venom In The Mouth Of God” marks a return above expectations, thanks to a more balanced approach, capable of highlighting the different souls of the project: there is no shortage of guitars, but there is also a significant load of synthetic textures halfway between techno body music and brutality agrotech. If “Odr”, “Desolation” (partly devoted to the distant past of Icon Of Coil) and “The Future Is A Memory” represent a truly encouraging hat-trick, with “Born Deströyer” LaPlegua places that bomb that has been missing for too long in his discography, alternating clean vocals to that more aggressive tone that we have often admired throughout his career.
Even the compositions more devoted to metal, such as “Rise” or the lilting “Venom”, do their dirty duty, but overall Combichrist's music has returned to work because it has chosen to balance the past with the present, recovering its melodic form and many old nuances unfortunately abandoned along the way (here there is also room for a dark parenthesis with an electro-industrial flavour, “The Way We Want To Be Seen”).
Thirteen songs are too many, yes, because with a dozen songs this “The Venom In The Mouth Of God” would certainly have worked better, but regardless of everything, we finally have the opportunity to welcome back with open arms a project that has promised so much over the years but has only half delivered. Maybe it's too late to dance again (i cybergoth in Italy they have practically become extinct), but the sensations are pleasant and full of healthy nostalgia, one more reason to get closer to a name that will now try to regain its fan base European.
07/26/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
