A Split-Second

A Split Second is a Belgian electronic and industrial band.
A Split Second is simply too good to be ignored, and from their conception in 1985 it didn't take the world long to acknowledge the importance of Marc ICKX's and Chrismar CHAYELL's unique musical vision.

Official website

A Split Second's first American release, the 1987 EP A Split Second, collected highlights from their early European releases, which included Ballistic Statues (which featured the tense masterpiece "Close Combat"), Smell of Buddah as well as their innovative EBM classic, "Flesh".

The second album, 1988's ...From the Inside, remains one of the underappreciated classics of late-80s industrial music. Beginning with the rock-oriented "Bend My Body Armour", the album is remarkably varied for the genre, featuring post-funk-disco ("Choke"), ballads ("The Last Wave", the title track), and muscular club tracks (the dancefloor smash "Mambo Witch"). The album is notable for its peculiarly interesting lyrics, which feature odd, vaguely morbid phrasing ("muscles contorted in atrocity posture") that give the record a depth atypical of the genre. The subsequent single, "The Colosseum Crash" b/w "Muscle Machine", highlighted the Wax Trax! phase of the band's career.

While not as consistantly striking or varied, the followup Kiss of Fury has several songs worthy of its predecessor, notably the tense, moody "Crimewave" and the single "Firewalker". For the most part, the album picks up the rock-oriented direction of "Bend My Body Armour" with tracks such as "The Parallax View" and "Cold War in the Brainbox"; they contiune largely in this direction for their '90s records, Vengance C.O.D. and Megabyte.

Flesh and Fire, from 1991, collects some top-notch remixes of A Split-Second's 80s output. The Koen Tillie remix of "Flesh" is an ace example of early-90s techno; a piano-and-strings "Concerto" version of "From the Inside", newly titled "Taken In", mines the depth and emotion of the original; a dub-ish fusion of "Close Combat" and "Muscle Machine" further demonstrates the band's creativity.

Following a series of mediocre remix CD singles, Chrismarr Chayell left the band, while Mark Ickx continued recording under the A Split-Second moniker.