12 tracks. Running time 78:44 After a gap of four years since the fantastic Voices of the First Day the duo Gerd Wienekamp and Frank Specht -- better known as Rainbow Serpent -- returned with The 8th Nerve. It was worth the wait though. Across twelve continuous tracks, and about as much music that can be fitted onto a CD, they're on top form with their own brand of melodic sequencing long form electronic music. What marks Rainbow Serpent as different from most electronic music artists is that melody is an integral part of their sequencing passages, and the arrangements have a unique style and lushness. What is not unique is their use of found or concocted spoken word passages. Though the tracks segue to make continuous listening across the album, each one is distinct. The longest track “Mindmachine” starts off with the duo's trademark super lush chords and distinctive use of reverential amorphous chorales drifting hither and thither. It then bursts into a busy rhythmic passage featuring lots of electronics and vocoder style voiceovers. The track “Planet Audio” breaks the mould a bit. Ethereal chorales and ghostly electronic washes and whistles lead up to a rhythmic section where percussion flits across the soundscape while shimmying drum effects come and go. All manner of sounds pass by, from ripping effects to otherworldly pads, and at times a Russian voice speaks about some kind of space mission. At the heart of the duo's style appears to be the influence of 1980s Tangerine Dream. This is particularly evident on “Retropolis” where it's back to the classic Rainbow Serpent elements of uptempo percussive rhythm and sequencing shrouded in a silvery sea of pads and melodic sonic adornments. The 8th Nerve is Rainbow Serpent's most polished and cohesive album to date, and consolidates their reputation, as far as I'm concerned, as the leaders of Tangerine Dream derived sequence driven music. Not every track is great but it all fits together well, and sonically it's fantastic.