soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

Sounds And Shadows August 2023 Darkscene Singles Chart

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

Time again for the Darkscene Singles Chart. Where members of the S & S Facebook and Patreon group of DJs, Artists, Superfans, Reviewers, and Labels vote on the top songs released in August. The songs can be anything in the broad Darkscene genre. We have an amazing collection of music lovers in the group who always lift up songs that captivate the heart, and often aren’t a focus for other charts.

Steven Archer – I Am The Walrus (Beatles Cover)
The Amaranth – Thighs
Ashes Fallen – Damn Me
Bestial Mouths – Road Of A Thousand Tears
Bellhead – Valentine
cEvin Key – The House That Tried To Kill Me
Unitcode:Machine (Feat Stabbing Westward) – Cold
Brides – Chalices
Black Rose Burning – Night Terrors
Vandal Moon – Satellite

Steven Archer – I Am The Walrus – The WolfLord has returned with a new solo single cover of the Beatles. You really don’t see enough Industrialdelic Beatles tunes and this was a big hit with our listeners. Buzzing outer darkness chaos exploding with pinpricks of colored light. This was always one of the Beatles strangest offerings and Steven pushes it right off the cliff into the mouth of an exploding Katju Seabeast.

I Am The Walrus (The Beatles Cover) | Steven Archer (bandcamp.com)

2) The Amaranth – Thighs – I know what you are thinking. Ken, you won second place in your own poll. (Nudge nudge wink wink). Well perhaps this is the one arena where a new Amaranth single can compete against the heavy hitters. I refuse to think that. I love this song. It’s sleezy, I got to dust off my sexy growl. The concept of passing out after playing a show and waking up to find a perfect imprint of your makeup pallet on your partners inner thigh was one that resonated with me. I will not apologize for increasing the number of songs in the world about going down on folks. Lovely cover art by Hemlock. Expert Mastering by Pete Burns. I love Kam’s live drums mixed with their electronic beat.

Thighs | The Amaranth (bandcamp.com)

3) Ashes Fallen – Damn Me – California Goth Rockers with a slamming new single fresh off their appearance at the Murder Of Crows Fest in NYC. Loving the bouncing 80s guitar vibes mashed against The Cult style dark rock. Michelle Perry brings more confidence and gusto to every new release. Cover Art by Michelle Perry. Mastering by the legend Gordon Young. James Perry has put together an all star team and their future keeps getting brighter.

Damn Me | Ashes Fallen (bandcamp.com)

4) Bestial Mouths – Road Of A Thousand Tears – I talked about this upcoming release during the Negative Gain Records interview. How excited they were that Rhys Fulber himself had ask to be involved with the project. When I think of new bands doing something truly unique and fresh to stir an emotional experience the Sacramento, California band is at the top of my mind. Lynette Cerezo swirling chant resonates like a druid high priest lifting exaltation to the power of the dark forest. This track is one of those you can get truly lost in. The craft of the strings, the exploding percussion. I want this song as the intro to the next great warrior hymn period piece.

Road Of Thousand Tears | Bestial Mouths (bandcamp.com)

5) Bellhead – Valentine – New Video single from my favorite double bass duo from Chicago. We have an interview with them releasing soon. This track is Ivan’s voice at it’s most sensual and frightening. Karen gives a perfect Kim Deal call and answer. The piano is a gentle intimacy that highlights the edges and makes this song live rent free in my mind.

Valentine | BELLHEAD (bandcamp.com)

6) cEvin Key – House Tried To Kill Me – cEvin Key is a legend. He was in Skinny Puppy. So no wonder his new release got deserving attention on our chart. Off upcoming album Brap and Forth releasing Oct 6th the name is certainly apt. This feels like a private room electronic brap session in a trance rave. Textured organic meat walls pulsing and damp. I like that the flow isn’t something you need to follow. You sit in place and it creates a cyclone of motion around you.

House Tried to KILL ME | cEvin Key (bandcamp.com)

7) Unitcode:Machine (Chris Hall Stabbing Westward Remix) – Cold – How does one improve on one of the spiciest dance singles of the year? Add Chris Hall, it was that simple. Texas Native Eric Kristoffer on COP International continues to show a flare for 90s dancedustrial hooks while maintaining a calm reserved elegance. Like a Jedi in a lightsaber battle. The song never needs to raise it’s voice to feel powerful. Soon to be headlining the Dark City Fest in New Orleans. If you get the chance to see Eric live, you must.

Cold (Chris Hall / Stabbing Westward Mix) | unitcode:machine (bandcamp.com)

8) Brides – Chalices – August was a big month for Sounds and Shadows writers with Hide also making the chart for this new project Brides. I absolutely adore this direction for him. It’s inspired shadowfolk with contagious darkwave edges. His voice rings like the snarling lean elder wolf mouth crusted in glimmering ice. Brilliant and haunting, I can’t wait for more.

Sounds and Shadows Interview with Hide Tepes

Chalices | BRIDES (bandcamp.com)

9) Black Rose Burning – Night Terrors – Always a fan of Brookland based Black Rose Burning. Right out the gate this new single has a guitar resonance that made me think of The Church “Reptile“. George croons and sears the back of the wall with vocal intensity. Haunting thoughts from the edge of an inky black universe.

Night Terrors | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

10) Vandal Moon – Satellite – Another California band on the chart. Vandal Moon is one of those bands I always hear people I trust raving about and haven’t spent enough time with myself. This single is purple poison dripping from a dagger. Streams of spotlight synths panning around the room. This bassline thrums while hugging the curves. Nice rising decay on the vocals ala Pretty Hate Machine. Fun and briming with science fiction heist.

Satellite (EP) | Vandal Moon (bandcamp.com)

If you have a release in September or no someone who does, make sure to add in the Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Poll. No pay to play, just the best in new dark music.

Sept Bandcamp Day is Here! What is New and Exciting in the Darkscene ?

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

I have not been doing a great job of releasing new reviews this summer. It is Bandcamp Friday so I thought I would play a bit of catchup on some of the amazing new music that has kept my Summer dark and cool. Goth/Industrial/Wave music is alive and well and as always I want to place a focus on new music that has touched my heart and inflamed my senses.

Black Rose Burning – Night Terrors – George Grant with a second new single from this hybrid genre project that continues to impress. George has a standout voice that has shown new facets of depth and clarity. The cover art and tone are a return to the science fiction passion resonant in the theme of BRB. The slow shooting star guitar rift gives shape to the frantic rhythm driving the track. I know Jason Corbett (Actors) is providing mastering for the upcoming album and I can’t wait to hear his vision of George’s story.

Night Terrors | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

Obsidian – Collection 1 – I had the pleasure of seeing the Florida Death Rock band play live in Chicago in August. A band that is crackling with positive energy and overflowing with live performance emotion. When I got back home I immediately looked up this October 2022 compilation of their career to date. I hear a lot of passion for the core of original goth. A reverence for Pornography Cure, Acid Bath Alien Sex Fiend, for that early strain of darkness blended with the spark of creation. The compilation includes 2018-2020 15 tracks and a wide swath of styles.

Missy Mortis – Vocals & Guitar
Kathy D. – Keyboards & Backup Vocals
Dent A Gon– Bass & Backup Vocals
Chuck Loose – Drums & Backup Vocal

Favorite Tracks:

A Swamp – You always need to start an album with a banger. Thunderclap bassline which really drives this song like a crashing wave. Sinful chanting vocals that come from the back of the room and pierce a veil of Barney Sumner guitar static. Draw them in before you knock them down. You can hear this was early material by the rawness of production, but the track is all hairpin turns and precision.

The Vultures Will Pick Your Bones – This is a high-speed decay. Kathy Diaz takes the vocal point like an enflamed banshee wailing a future demise. The punk rock gnashing teeth of these drums will have you flailing and processed. At the two-minute mark you hear a madman’s laugh and a blistering guitar solo that drives you into a brick wall.

Viracoacha – I love the resonant Cure guitar tone here. Missy unleashes a haunting Peter Murphy style vocal that completely channels the early goth flavor. I feel this one swelling in my chest. Punishing bass that comes from the inside out. I am memorized by how unhinged every song feels while reminded what careful attention went into each song writing decision.

This is definitely a band where the live performance tells the true tale. I got to have a quick interview at the show, but I promise you all we will have a full discussion with this up and coming talent soon.

Collection 1 | Obsidian (bandcamp.com)

Red Meat – Providence – Brand new double single release from the sordid electrofilth artist Rhys Hughes of Manchester. Freshly signed to Armalyte Records and ready to drag you into an underground world of unimagined debauchery. Rhys brings an unapologetic Queer courage and political napalm to both their songs and online persona. I always like to close my eyes and conjure an image the first time I hear a track. This is a dump truck full of green ooze caterwauling down the street splashing acid on the world as it teeters through every turn. Rhys flings the venom laced vocals at high velocity on a gatling gun percussion. It jumped up the bandcamp charts in a hurry for good reason.

▶︎ Providence | RED MEAT (bandcamp.com)

Sapphira Vee – Fortune – NY shadow siren Sapphira Vee continues a steady flow of electronic cabaret on Distortion Records. This latest offering is in pre-release for Sept 8th. As always she puts a focus on collaboration and community with a bevy of top tier guest stars like Jean-Marc Lederman, Veronica Tam, Chava Sanberg, and Jim Marcus. Mixed and mastered by Jules Seifert at Epic Audio Media, London UK. My first thought from track one is how much you can hear the craft work she put into her production and songwriting. A lot of effort went into very tiny details and it shines. A shimmering jazzy vocal cadence blended with Underworld electronica. Creating a lovely space between the triphop feel of her earlier releases. Powerful use of string synths that draw a memorizing line through the phrase.

Favorite Tracks:

What It Was – Hard not to choose this opening single. Opening with those gorgeous string sounds into a sharp drum attack and very early 2000s London feel. Sapphira’s voice is a slow amber whiskey swirling in a glass. Confident and center without overpowering. An effortless ownership that eases you in.

Last (Feat Jim Marcus) – As a huge fan of Jim’s voice, hearing him take on a sensitive beauty in the reflection of someone else’s music is amazing. I feel so much trust and collaboration in this track. usually when I think of Jim’s lyrics and voice it’s all sexy bear growls and slippery club feels. This is tender, sweet, beckoning.

Fortune | Sapphira Vee (bandcamp.com)

Metamorph – Woo Woo (Feat: Adoration Destroyed) – NYC Synth Witch Margot Day is leaning into the autumn season and teaming with club thumper maestros Adoration Destroyed. Streaking through the sky on broomstick, cutting the violet fog, getting real high and getting witchy for us. The flute breakdown before two minutes if the perfect gust of breath. We all know how much I love my goth to be fun, and this is a Stevie Nicks riot.

Woo Woo | Metamorph (Margot Day) (bandcamp.com)

Slighter – This Futile Engine– What makes California electro sonic visionary Colin Cameron stand out in a crowd so much? I think it is how he approaches music. It’s never with a plan to play out live, to pack a room. His songs are moving auditory dreams made solid. This translates into his career doing soundtracks for tv/movies. The latest title “This Futile Engine” rings so apt evoking imagery of a grinding mechanized monstrosity rolling over a dying world of post capitalism too enormous to support it’s own consumption. Colin pulled out all the stops from Brutal Resonance and beyond with guest artists who he pushed out of their comfort zone in every track.

Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13 written by Colin Cameron Allrich (ASCAP)
Track 2 lyrics and vocals by Craig Joseph Huxtable (SOCAN)
Track 7 lyrics and vocals by Anastasia Poirier (BMI)
Track 9 lyrics and vocals by Yvette Winkler, recording assisted by Roland Zwaga
Track 11 lyrics and vocals by Tara Kimberly Saavedra (ASCAP)

Track 5 Vocals by Steven Seibold and Tara Saavedra

Track 9 Vocals by Yvette Winkler

Favorite Tracks:

Memory Corruptor – (Feat Steven Seibold and Tara Saavedra) – This one is broken sky slow grind with terrifying screaming vocals. Guess who is one of the greatest screamers in the game? Steven Seibold of Hate Dept. Blend this with the ethereal swamp whispers of Tara aka Morgue VVitch and you are left with a heady and unnerving brew. The production on this song really highlights the best of everyone.

Pulling Me Under – Previous winner on the S & S darkscene singles chart. This track showed a glorious new side to Craig’s voice. The music is a rumbling dance bop. Cold and captivating Craigs voice resonates with desperation seeping into cold water. Try not to move your whole body to this track.

This whole album is perfect to close your eyes and sink into a nightmare imagination journey.

This Futile Engine (Deluxe Edition) [LP] | Slighter | Brutal Resonance Records (bandcamp.com)

Psyclon Nine – More To Hell – Los Angeles terrordustrial band has made this EP as mean and gritty as I can handle. It’s good to know where your edge is, and this one is mine. Released on goth/industrial legendary label Metropolis in May 2023 this is a follow up to the 2022 “Less To Heaven” with some heavy hitter remixes by Skold, Suicide Commando, Pitch Black, and more. This EP is all slithering shadows, and they are all holding wicked looking knives. One of those records I don’t listen to if i am hoping for a peaceful nights sleep. Double bass drum impact, cruel glitchy guitar fuzz, and vocals that lash around like a razor sharp forked tongue. This isn’t in my standard wheelhouse, but something done well that has a time and place in my heart. Enough that I have continued to come back and find the words.

Favorite Track:

Money Sex and Death (Suicide Commando Remix) – Sure this is one of the bigger names for the remixes, but there is a reason they have that name. This is explosive like a legion of demons assaulting the gates. Stomping in the viscous sludge in platform boots.

▶︎ More To Hell | Psyclon Nine (bandcamp.com)

Stoneburner – The Great Filter – Lately I have been getting the feedback that I have a few artists that receive a constant stream of my bandwidth and I could search deeper for bands I don’t know yet. Steven Archer would surely be near the top of that list. The thing is, Steven keeps putting out incredible art, and it is always different. I’m not going to stop talking about it just because I have before. So here is a new EP on COP International with a hypothesis to question if the universe is as vast as it is, it seems mathematically likely other life exists. So why don’t we see it. Industrial music, which has always had strong ties to Science Fiction or prediction is at it’s best when not only tackling concepts like dancing, banging, and drinking. Opening with the frenzy beat Narcisus Steven does layered mesh vocals rich with a lip curl arrogance. Almost like an audiobook Steven is finding ways to tell stories by vocal inflection. Different characters in the Stoneburner world have emerged with distinct voices. Another intriguing aspect of The Great Filter is a return to complete production control in Steven’s studio. I think it creates a different energy and confidence to some of the COP releases featuring John Fryer.

Favorite Tracks:

Fair and Balanced – Punk infused political banger addressing class and corruption. This is vintage Stoneburner spitting dissent with even cadence and rhythm you feel in your bones. It’s hard not to put your hands up. Like a bouncing cyborg kangaroo charging towards you on fire.

Corvomancers – What a rich and complex tale, of carrion hybrid creatures picking the bones of a broken world. The vocal effects back off to let the clarity of the words breath. This chorus got stuck in my head. The Crow hybrid or shapeshifter has deep roots as a trickster in many mythologies. Blending that with an alternate reality or science fiction is a master stroke. I would love to see a graphic novel of this premise.

The Great Filter | Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)

July 2023 Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman) 1 Comment

Trying to hit the ground running and get the Darkscene Singles Chart out right at the beginning of the month. As always this chart started as a way to highlight the best songs released in July, chosen by our group of DJs, Artists, Bands, promotors, reviewers, and superfans. Since it is not pay to play it highlights artists who may not get recognized in other charts with prominent legacy artists. If you have a single release in August, or know someone who does, add it to the Poll in the feature section of the Facebook group or on our Patreon. Congratulations to all these artists and please share to show support for the scene.

Please Support us Here 🙂

https://www.patreon.com/SoundsandShadows

Missing In Stars – Fight
Matt Hart – Rotations
Mark E Moon – Daemons
Bestial Mouths – Slitskin
The Bleak Assembly – A Night Like This
Dread Risks – Comadose (Moann Exis RMX)
Motuvius Rex – Eleven 33
Microwaved (Feat: Eva X ) – Propaganda (Gaslight Remix by Paul Housin)
Male Tears – Sad Boy, Paint My Nails
Choke Chain – Burial

Missing In Stars – Fight – (Infacted Recordings Germany) – Milwaukee synthwave artists with this gorgeous and emotive declaration of passion and symmetry earns a much deserving spot at number one. Dan Guenther has truely outdone himself with the layered sculpture of poetry and light. The vocals are so unique and drip with honey. A truly magnificent example of songcraft that touched something deep inside me.

Fight | Missing In Stars | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

2) MATT HART – Rotations – London Fundustrial Neuromancer with a SLAMMING new single which ties borg technology to the bones of Front Line Assembly and pumps 1.21 gigawatts of juice to animate this old school concept in 2023. Music to automate your factory to.

ROTATIONS | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

3) Mark E Moon – Daemons – (Cold Transmission Music) – Our dear friends from The Isle Of Man back once again with this slinky duet with gnashing vinegar in Marks delivery smoothed over with Shelly Rourke‘s cascading light. Transe fueled Ultravox synth vibes replace the Trad goth I am accustom to. The course language and snarl replace the teeth usually found in Phil’s guitar and leave you feeling shredded by a rampaging monster. Stay on the path and beware of the moon.

Daemons | Mark E Moon (bandcamp.com)

4) Bestial Mouths – Slitskin – (Negative Gain) – This single has a real story behind it. We discussed it in our interview with Negative Gain who have their festival in New Orleans coming this month. Lynette Cerezo unmistakable vocal fury cuts through this hum and flickering machinery. Brant and Mathew have constructed a cyber city backdrop to hold the rising explosion of Lynette’s chant. Industrial legend Rhys Fulber added string arrangements, additional keyboards & programming. He was so moved by this project he went seeking them out to be involved. This single paves the way for the album out August 11th and it will be a ground shaker.

Slitskin (Single) | Bestial Mouths (bandcamp.com)

5) The Bleak Assembly – A Night Like This – A wonderful collaboration of talented artists Kimberly Kornmeier of (Bow Ever Down) and Michael Smith of Fiction8. This first single has a lovely Violator vibe with the bouncing beats and grey vocal streaks. Wonderful poetry in the lyrics. That lost romantic goth I long for. Kimberly brings a violet crystal essence to every phrase. Beauty and Bop in equal measure. Loss, regret, strength and courage. The full journey.

A Night Like This | The Bleak Assembly (bandcamp.com)

6) Dread Risks – Comadose (Moaan Exis Remix) – (Re:Mission Entertainment) – This is the second time Texas Doomdustrial act Dread Risks has met up with powerdustrial Moaan Exis to unfurl this hot wet steel wool like a tidal wave down the asphalt. Another home run for Re:Mission Entertainment who keeps taking big swings and chances on bands not everyone knows but should. A dangerous mixture that swings a chain around it’s head somewhere between futurepop and 90’s Helmet. I love it when mean sounds good.

Comadose (Moaan Exis Remix) | Dread Risks | Re:Mission Entertainment (bandcamp.com)

7) Microwaved – Propaganda (ft Eva X)(Gaslight Mix by Paul Housin) – First single from a series of remix albums from Des Moines, Iowa. This one with the electrowhip vocals of Eva X. I love the steamy rave pop build and shake. Gaby gives a timely lift to the bouncing electronic journey. This is welcome at my dance party anytime.

Propaganda (ft Eva X)(Gaslight Mix by Paul Housin) | Microwaved (bandcamp.com)

8) Motuvius Rex – Eleven 33 – (InClub Records) – I love when I find something new from this chart. Louisville Kentucky has produced some of my favorite new wave traditional goth. This band is about to be added to that list. Beautiful flickering Cure Pornography guitar lines behind a gate of dark pastels. The vocals are bizarre and captivating with psychedelic chaos and dark fold reverence. This band caught me completely by suprise but they have my attention now.

Eleven 33 | Motuvius Rex (bandcamp.com)

9) MALE TEARS – sad boy, paint my nails – So happy to hear a new track from my adopted goth little brother James Edwards. Know in equal measure for his playful sass online, and undeniable hook based synthwave in his blood. Just reading the title I knew I was in for the ride. I know most artists have access to the same plug ins and sounds, but whenever I hear a Male Tears synth intro, it always feels like they are laying into the keys of an old Korg through a Laney tube amp. James has a voice that blends genuine pain hiding behind mockery like Oscar Wilde using a rapier like tongue in a pub. I also long for a remix of this with that chorus over an explosive club hit.

sad boy, paint my nails | MALE TEARS (bandcamp.com)

10) Choke Chain – Burial – The long-awaited new release from Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mark Trueman. In form this is machine gun EDM laying suppressing fire for Mark’s raw napalm screams of anguish and intensity. This single paves the way for the upcoming album MORTALITY, out September 22. I’ve seen Choke Chain preform three times now, and it is one of those things you need to witness to fully understand.

Burial | Choke Chain (bandcamp.com)

June 2023 Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

It’s that time again. The Sounds and Shadows Darkscene singles chart. Where you our group of Artists, Djs, Reviewers, Promotors, Labels, and Superfans vote on your favorite song releases in the month of June. These are your votes tallied and awarded from top to bottom. This month we have some amazing bangers from an eclectic group of artists in the broad “Darkscene” genre. If you have a single releasing in July or know someone that does, make sure to add it to the poll in the Sounds and Shadows Facebook group or Patreon.

Mari Kattman – Swallow
SINE (Textbeak Remix) – Attack
The Static Architect – Bitmask
Odonis Odonis (Feat Actors) – No One Left
GoFight – Machine Rock
Girls Under Glass (Feat Mortiis) – Backdraft
The Vulgar Parts (Dread Risks Remix) – Tu As Perdut Tes Droits
A Covenant Of Thorns – Idols
Dead Lights – I Am Electric
Spank The Nun (Batavia Remix) – On The Run

Mari Kattman – Swallow – There is zero mystery how this track showed up at number 1. Total unadulterated banger. This track slithers through the electro rain forest untethered. The delivery Mari gives of sizzling beauty spewing forth a poignant political message crucial to this time. Soul and execution in equal measure. This was the number one pick by a margin, and for good reason.

Swallow | Mari Kattman (bandcamp.com)

2 SINE – Attack – Textbeak Remix – Two of my favorites here teaming up to lock down spot #2. Texas ElectroCaberet artist SINE remixed by Detroit noisepainter Textbeak. This is smokey, electro hex witch energy magic. I love the glitch and chaos blended into Rona’s haunting vocals. This is a slam dunk.

Attack – Textbeak Remix | SINE | eMERGENCY heARTS (bandcamp.com)

3 The Static Architect – Bitmask – New single from SoCal noisetronic artist Nick McLaren. I believe this is their first time on our chart. Production levels here are FIRE. It sounds very retro, very red hot machinery on fire reckless feel. Yet these synths are moving so precisely and building with a purpose. The vocals had a Downward Spiral controlled fury, I’d love to get a larger dose. Another band on the chart that really imprinted their name in my mind and said pay closer attention.

Bitmask | The Static Architect (bandcamp.com)

4 Odonis Odonis – No One Left (Ft. ACTORS) Award winning Toronto retrowave band Odonis Odonis teaming with one of my all time favs Actors is a recipe for a sweet treat. This exceeded all expectations. This band is shooting like a rocket for a reason. I am yet to find anything that Jason couldn’t touch and make better. This song was a whole other rung on the ladder. It has that life affirming energy that those truly great songs of the past had. To make your moment brighter. This isn’t one of those songs though, it is brand new. It is ours. It holds that same power.

No One Left (Ft. ACTORS) | Odonis Odonis (bandcamp.com)

5 Go Fight – Machine Rock – The man, myth, legend of Chicago Industrial Jim Marcus. Rather you are a fan of Die Warzau or the latest project GoFight Jim has a gift for blasting the hardest industrial beats with a sensual vocal line and bouncing energy that stretches the definition of Industrial music. This newest single is bursting with sexy douse the world in gasoline and let’s see what happens energy. Until I am proven wrong, my stance remains if Jim puts out a song buy it immediately sight unseen. He is yet to disappoint.

Machine Rock | Go Fight (bandcamp.com)

6 Girls Under Glass feat. Mortiis – Tainted – German Based veteran artist on COP International with a brand new release full of classic Industrial sound contrasted by rising choir vocals in rapid bark cadence from the lord of dungeon synth himself Mortiis. Powerful flow and anthem energy make for a banger collaboration from both artists.

Tainted | Girls Under Glass feat. Mortiis | Girls Under Glass (bandcamp.com)

7 The Vulgar Parts – Tu As Perdu Tes Droits (Dread Risks Remix) – So Dread Risks the remixers I know well. The Vulgar parts from Perth Australia I am just learning about. using one word to describe, frantic. Bubbling energy hot and pressurized from under the crust. Nice blend of lifting pierce vocals and sinister growl. I really like how the guitar is held back in reserve for the exact moments it will cause the most impact. You have my attention.

Tu As Perdu Tes Droits (Dread Risks Remix) | The Vulgar Parts (bandcamp.com)

8 A Covenant of Thorns – Idols – I just did a full review of this album and didn’t even pick this as one of my stand out tracks but it’s a haunting whisper with a sizzle of Roxy Music glam. Scott-David delivers with construction time rapture and waterfall reflective beauty.

Idols | A Covenant of Thorns (bandcamp.com)

9 DEAD LIGHTS – I Am Electric – UK Glam goth band returns to our charts with this dark bouncing synth blazer. Nice rich baritone vocals offset by shimmering lip gloss harmony. Jackhammer drum concussion driving color splash keyboard waves. Wonderful music to work out or smash glass windows to.

I Am Electric | DEAD LIGHTS (bandcamp.com)

10 spankthenun – On The Run (Batavia Remix) – Texas based thunderdustrial band Spankthenun remixed by Florida electrospice couple Batavia for this Tron laser car chase with demon growls and sparkling explosions. Installment 3 of Bunker Tapes releases at the end of August and features glorious new material and remixes from top electronica artists.

The Bunker Tapes VOL III | spankthenun (bandcamp.com)

A Covenant Of Thorns “Ashes”

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

In 1992 midwest goth troubadour Scott-David Allen began a musical journey called A Covenant Of Thorns which would burn a thick black candle in homage to the early forlorn roots of gothic music. To celebrate genuine emotion and the beauty found in darkness and pain. The concept of using our darkest moments to draw strength and celebrate those closest to our hearts. A vocal talent of superb beauty with lyrics of poetic elegance. Five EPs and Four albums later Scott David has imprinted a lasting mark on the goth scene leading up to his collaboration on “Tiny Gods Who Walk Beside Us” a compilation to save my cat which introduced him to Dan Milligan (The Joy Thieves). The two would then form The Burying Kind, my favorite new Shoegaze band of the last 5 years.

The Burying Kind | The Burying Kind (bandcamp.com)

Ashes | A Covenant of Thorns (bandcamp.com)

In May 2023 we received the eagerly awaited new album “Ashes” recorded at A Handful of Nothing Studios. Mastering by living legend Gordon Young. With Artwork by Greg Rolfes. I don’t know if this is always taken as the compliment I mean it, but the first word that comes to mind when I compare this record to previous beloved work, is maturity. A wisdom and elegance of sound. A communication in a relationship rather than expressing emotions after the fact. Ashes has a depth of sound made from living in the moment, rather than reflecting on the past. Every delivered line feels sung to the listener, rather than a description of narrative events. I was one with the concept, not a voyeur.

The Synths always play a staring role in Scott-David‘s work. These have such an organic feel. I hear horns, saxophones, organs, the guitar work charges to center stage in a way I don’t always feel from ACOT. Perhaps an influence of Gord being felt. The peaks and valleys feel effortless and vast. The darkscene of 2023 often feels obligated to bury the words of songs under oceans of effects. Here every word cascades out with clarity and shows the faith Scott-David places in his own voice to carry the story.

Stand Out Tracks:

Halos : This song has the emotive sway of a wooden ship on slow stormy waters I feel present in things like New Order “Ceremony“. Try to run away, trying just to feel nothing at all. The vocals here ring with such truth. Accent guitar pin pricks and a chorus with a smooth unexpected cadence. A pleading prayer for hope in the darkest moment. Also this includes a lovely sax sound around 4 minutes that always tugs my heart strings.

Grace (Like The Back Of A Fist) : This is a undeniable BANGER of the highest accord. This one has the edge, that shadow laced maturity I was discussing. No Boyish forlorn Robert Smith here. This is R rated danger and menace on a cold empty road surrounded by monsters. Shadows parting for a force of hope more menacing than the things in the ditches.

This album is beauty, it is inspirational, it is a blood red lantern in the darkness. It’s one of the best things I have heard so far this year. Sometimes you can take the best part of tradition and forge them into something new. Something that lives in this moment while casting a light backwards. I can’t wait to hear where A Covenant Of Thorns goes next.