Gloriously morbid and evil sounding synthpop for the modern era. A duo made out of Steve Moore (Zombi) and Daniel O’Sullivan (Sunn O))), Ulver), Miracle take my favorite things about classic John Carpenter soundtracks and the vast umbrella of 80's/90's dark ambiance and bring it all together into a manifold outing that somehow manages to disturb and move despite the familiarity most likely have of the era it draws from.

The album hits a massive peak about midway through on the medieval-sounding 'The Seventeen Nineties' where every cliche is turned on its head into something amazing that might have ruled the charts as a single on Depeche Mode's Violator LP back in 1990. There's nary a weak moment to be found though, with the militant opening cut 'The Parsifal Gate' being particularly fun and the Orbital-esque closer 'Angelix' serving as a great ambient showcase of Moore's keyboard prowess, like going from the Tower Of London to Ibiza in one fell swoop of the time machine.

There were a number of industrial-tinged albums this year that really caught me for one reason or another, but Miracle's material was especially sumptuous and highly replayable. Grab it if you haven't.