"I cannot believe half of the reviews for this or for Navigator.
I have been following the bad since the beginnings and thought them to be one of the fresh new faces of the genre. A band that will represent the new generation of "industrial" after such greats as Front 242, Frontline Assembly, Ministry etc.
I think their first two albums were new and innovating. Live they bought the house down and the crowds went ballistic. But I believe the band peaked with Machine Zeit. If anything buy that album instead of the recent two.
I do not understand what others are saying when they say "great production, hasn't left my cd player yet or lots of potential dance tracks"
This and Navigator is nothing but a bunch of repititious rubbish. If this was 1996 this album would be brilliant. Same tired lyrics which some do not even make sense, same beats, drum tracks etc. And the production is horrible or should I say horrible for something to be released in 2007.
Sadly it seems this genre does not know how to get out of the cliches it has built. When bands do tend to go beyond the dark or military lyrics etc they are ridiculed as sell outs.
When Front 242 started to take on that techno sound in 98' people ridiculed them. People just want that same tired formula that made them popular. But at least they took the risk to express themselves in other ways.
I am glad I bought this cd used and am glad there are two so my girlfriend and I can use them as drink coasters as its summer and we are drinking a lot of cold water lately.
For a music that is technology based and technology ever changing I thought when I got in to this music way back when that I would never tire of it. I only imagined what it would be like in 2007. How disillusioned I was."
Niche music for Funkervogt
ebmAddikt | Portland Oregon | 06/12/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Aviator sits right cozy in FV's niche, just as Navigator and Survivor do. So much that it's really hard to tell them apart from each other. Aviator does have some dancable tracks..and then, so do the others. And to tell you the truth, if I weren't so familiar with the other albums, I would probably be very impressed with this album, for that, I'll give it a 4.
I would recommend for the band to diverisfy a bit - divert yourselves away from that cozy niche you've created for yourselves and take us offguard once again, like you did with Maschine Zeit!
"
I LOVE This Album!
Xanthos | Toronto, Canada | 10/17/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ok one thing about Funker Vogt fans that's becoming more apparent is there seems to be a growing divide of those who enjoyed their earlier work more and those who enjoy their newer post Machine Zeit work. The older albums being called more "creative" and "original" while the newer albums labeled as overly commercialized and boring by some hardcores. I do have to admit the war and battle themes are getting a little old and the lyrics aren't necessarily mind blowing... BUT...
With that said the first time I threw in this record I was in LOVE! It gets aggressive right off the bat and pulls you into its world. This album is easily one of my favorite Funker Vogt Albums following Survivor and its remix album which I felt was the best remix album to date. There are so many good songs on this album, "My Fortune" has become one of my top 3 Funker Vogt songs.
This album is incredibly catchy and songs get stuck in your head for days on end! Where the lyrics may lack depth they're still tons of fun to sing along with and the beats and various synth sounds are incredible and make you wanna get up and dance!
Contrary to what some people might say I think the production quality on this album was phenomenal, that was one of the things that jumped out at me the first time I listened to it!
Plus with a pair of high end headphones or speakers it really stands out!
Standout songs are plenty, Paralyzed, Child Soldier, City of Darkness, My Fortune, Hostile Waters, Thanatophobia, Darwin's Nightmare and Blind Rage... So that's basically the entire album, but that's why I love this album so much it has few weak spots.
The downside to the album is that there are about 3 songs that feel like filler to me, but beyond that the rest of the album is VERY SOLID. Plus I'd be surprised if they could pull off some of these songs Live. Neither reason is good enough to give this album anything less than 5 stars, its the best album I heard since the last VNV Nation album. I'm writing this review a little late considering I got this CD the week it came out, but I felt that it needed a well deserved boost!
So if you aren't a fan of the recent Funker Vogt Albums you may want to stay away, BUT if you're new to Funker Vogt or want a Fast Paced, Catchy Industrial Album look no further. Also Check Out In-Transit by Covenant, an amazing live CD, Judgement from VNV Nation, 1023 by Rotersand, Meta from Assemblage 23 (Which probably took best album of 2007) and Crossroads from Mind in a Box!
"
Aggressive yet melodic
E. Anderson | 07/22/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I am normally not a huge fan of distorted, gruff vocals in industrial music. I get pretty tired of it within a few songs. This is not the case with Funker Vogt. I actually enjoy lead singer Jens Kastel's distorted vocals coupled with the club-friendly, danceable music. AVIATOR is the band's latest effort. It is as melodic as their last studio album. The first cd consists of original tracks. My favorite songs has to be "Paralyzed", "Child Soldier", and "City of Darkness". The songs had a lot of energy, aggressive, and melodic. The only flaw with the band's sound is that the songs tends to sound alike. The second disc is a few bonus tracks as well as remixes. I didn't care much for the song "Deathmachine". I thought that was the worst Funker Vogt song I had ever heard. The remixes didn't really sound any different to me. Frankly they could have just skipped the second disc and I would have been perfectly happy with disc one. For the most part AVIATOR is a good industrial album but I think it is time for the band to up the ante and do something with their current sound which is a bit repetitious at times."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1