by Johnny Loftus
None of Preferential Legacy is meant for the :wumpscut: novice. In fact, none of Rudy Ratzinger's material ever has been. Whether he's pummeling the listener with Teutonic proto-techno, inducing angular dance-offs with industrialized EBM, or winding through the scary back roads of experimental electronica, Ratzinger's music has always appealed to a niche market. That said, it's :wumpscut:'s niche that will no doubt be very excited about Preferential Legacy. It's full of strong material, and will complete some back catalog gaps while waiting for the new :wumpscut: LP. The two-disc set is a hodgepodge, with the only new material arriving right away. &All Cried Out& is the first-ever :wumpscut: cover version -- in this case, a take on Alison Moyet's &All Cried Out.& Anyone familiar with the synth-heavy, 1984 original will find :wumpscut:'s to be a surprisingly faithful rendition, albeit with a mechanistic, doomsday vibe. By comparison, the second new piece, &Overkill,& is somewhat tedious, clocking in at over seven minutes. The remainder of the first disc includes a few decent remixes, including one of &Marta Arnau Marti,& an ancient Ratzinger number unearthed from an old DAT recording. Closing out the disc are eight songs from the Music for a Slaughtering Tribe LP. Disc Two features the entire vinyl LP that accompanied :wumpscut:'s Bunkertor Seven box set, as well as seven tracks of odds and ends/housecleaning. &Crang March& and &C.B.T.& are previously unreleased, while &Hang Him Higher& is an instrumental. The album ends with an extended &Dried Blood of Gomorrha& that is sure to scare away any non-believers with its churning drum loops.