TEST DEPT. "Industrial Overture" 4CD Box, preorder, premiera 05|12|25

Formed in London in the early 1980s, Test Dept are regarded as one of the pioneering forces of ‘industrial music’, recognised for their groundbreaking sound and powerful performances that pushed the boundaries of music, art and protest while exploring political and social issues.

Centred around the founding duo of Paul Jamrozy and Gray Cunnington since resurfacing in the mid-2010s, the group recently signed to the Artoffact label and plan to issue a series of carefully curated box sets along with a brand new album targeted for 2026.

The first of the catalogue sets is scheduled for release on 5th December, with ‘Industrial Overture. Studio & Live Recordings 1982-1985’ consisting of 40 tracks across 4 CDs. It includes a first ever reissue of the group’s 1983 cassette-only debut album ‘Strength of Metal in Motion’, the classic ‘Ecstasy under Duress’ and ‘Atonal & Hamburg’ albums (both unavailable for over three decades), plus a disc of hitherto unreleased studio recordings that incorporate two sessions recorded for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1.

In total, 26 tracks are new to CD and digital formats, of which 12 have never been previously available at all. All contents have been compiled by Test Dept and are newly remastered by Paul Lavigne (Kontrast Mastering).

Housed in a 5-panel ecopak designed by Paul Jamrozy and Stefan Alt (Ant-Zen), the set also includes a 24 page booklet featuring a specially commissioned essay by Test Dept expert Alexei Monroe, as well as period photographs.

Tracks CD1 "STRENGTH OF METAL IN MOTION (2025 Remaster)":

01 Last Rites^  02 Shockwork/Workshock^  03 Prokofiev’s Dream^   04 Drum and Body^  05 Death Of God^  06 Dawn of Humanity^

07 Blood and Sweat (Stakhanovite)^  08 WWBC^  09 Kindergarten^  10 Interlude*  11 Disneyland^  12 Feeling It All^  13 On Pain^"

Recorded live: Tracks 1-5 - Albany Empire, Deptford 25-08-1982 / Track 6 - Arch 69, Waterloo, 14-05-83 / Tracks 7&8,12&13 -Temperance Hall, Newbury, 24-04-82 / Tracks 9&11 - Aklam Hall, Notting Hill, 23-07-82. Live sound engineer Jack Balchin

CD2 “ECSTASY UNDER DURESS (2025 Remaster)”:

01 Hunger  02 Compulsion   03 In Uniform  04  Slow Hunger  05 Spring Into Action  06  Gdansk  07 Shockwork  08 Efficiency  09 Beating Retreat

Recorded: Track 1- Britannia Row, London / Tracks 2&7 - Heaven, London, 11-12-83 / Tracks 3&5 - Retford Porterhouse, 10-12-83 / Track 4 - Hendry Wood Hall, Glasgow, 23-12-83 /

Track 6 - The Batcave, London, 01-08-82 / Tracks 8&9 - Arch 69 Waterloo, London, 14-05-83. Track 1 - Producer & engineer: Lu Edmonds. Tracks 2-9 - Live sound engineer: Jack Balchin

CD3 “JOHN PEEL SESSIONS & STUDIO RECORDINGS”:

01 Blood and Sweat*  02 Shockwork* 03 Gdansk*  04 Efficiency^  05 Shockwork*  06 State Of Affairs*  07 Hunger*  08 Operation Prayer Power*  09 Massive Kamikaze Attack*  10  Shockwork^  11 Gdansk*  12 Gdańsk Dub*

Recorded at: Tracks 1-3 - Goldsmiths College Refectory, New Cross, 18-03-1982. Producer & engineer: Jack Balchin / Track 4 -  Cold Storage Studios, Brixton, 1983 Producers: Ben Young & Test Dept, Engineer: Ben Young /

Tracks 7-9 - BBC's Maida Vale Studio 4, 15-08-83. Producer: Tony Wilson, Engineer: Martin Colley / Tracks 8+9 - unknown studio, 04-02-85. Producer & engineer: unknown /

Track 10 - Trident Studio. Produced & engineered by Flood / Tracks 11&12 -Ealing Studios, West London, 1984 for Red Herrings. Producer & engineer: unknown. Track 4 originally appeared on “Touch Meridians 1”.

Track 10 originally appeared on “Batcave: Young Limbs and Numb Hymns”

CD4 “ATONAL & HAMBURG (2025 Remaster)”:

01  The Fall From Light  02 Total State Machine  03 Shockwork  04 Gdansk  05 Kick to Kill  06 Fist  07 51st State of America  08 Corridor of Cells*

Recorded: Tracks 1-4 - Atonal Festival, Berlin Tiergarten, 17-02-1985 / Tracks 5-8 -  Hamburg Markthalle, 27-10-1985.

*Previously unreleased  ^First time on CD