Sept 2023 Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

This year is flying by, I can’t believe October is already here. Time once again for our singles chart to highlight some of the best songs released in September voted on by our group of Artists/DJs/Reviewers/Promotors/and Super Fans. Hearing these tracks are a great way to keep your finger on the pulse as well as raise awareness of amazing new bands in the scene that don’t always show up in other charts. If you or someone you know has a single released in Oct in the broad Darkscene genre. Join the group and add it.

  1. Matt Hart – Deep Down City
  2. Black Rose Burning – Fight
  3. Stoneburner – The Great Filter
  4. GoFight – Machine Rock
  5. The Waning Moon – Shred My Wings
  6. Curse Mackey – Dead Fingers Talk
  7. Sapphiria Vee – What It Was
  8. Night Nail – Narcoleptic Dream Catcher
  9. Choke Chain – Mortality
  10. Gazelle Twin – Black Dog
  1. MATT HARTDeep Down City – London Industrial Metal artist Matt Hart is no stranger to the top of the S & S Darkscene chart. I love how every single has a cyberpunk back story. This track would be the perfect scene builder for one of my old ShadowRun Table Top games. A new neon world buried beneath the destruction of the past. Cybernetically enhanced 6 inch platform boot stomps. Designer drugs and laser cycles hugging the corners of plastic streets. Razor production and imaginative concepts.

We reached a place so deep that,
All the light has left the darkness,
We source a new found light a
Strength to fuel our journeys process

A new world built for us,
A city designed to survive,
Honour, pride, and sacrifice,
This is the way of the Deep Down City

Main chamber to the stairwells,
Entertainment and the sleep holes,
Trains and stations, living districts,
All together survival instinct.

Deep, down below
We see the glow
our home so far down

This is the way, survive the day,
Take it from me we’ve paved our way.

DEEP DOWN CITY | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

2) Black Rose BurningFight – It’s so great to see awesome people get the recognition they have long deserved. George Grant from Brooklyn has been a fixture in this scene for decades and people are starting to come around to his top tier voice, immersive songwriting, and complex technique. A science fiction story set in this albums space age world. I love how this tale zooms in on a relationship. In this one a co-dependent one. I think it’s really relatable for most of us at some juncture in life. George’s voice is such a breath of fresh air for it’s unique flavor in a baritone post punk world. It’s funny, as I read the lyrics I built a story of an alien parasite which is both keeping a stranded spaceman alive, while slowly consuming him. A race against time for rescue.

t’s stranger still, to taste a bitter pill
And there’s no lines, it’s better to lie all of the time
Now I can’t feel you anymore

Cho:
Sometimes – we try to forget it all and never make a change
Sometimes – we’d rather believe it, and just take the blame
Sometimes – we deceive, and we lie, to ourselves
Sometimes – it’s brutally painful to let it go – I know

Verse 2
It’s your state of mind, that’s seems so unkind
Now there’s no love, just push and shove, off came the gloves
And I can’t heal you

Cho:
Sometimes – we try to forget it all and never make a change
Sometimes – we’d rather believe it, and just take the blame
Sometimes – we deceive, and we lie, to ourselves
Sometimes – it’s brutally painful to let it go – I know

Bridge:
I tried to make you happy
But the truth kept shining through
I tried to make it happen
Dead and Broken, words unspoken so where do we go to now?

Cho:
Sometimes – we try to forget it all and never make a change
Sometimes – we’d rather believe it, and just take the blame
Sometimes – we deceive, and we lie, to ourselves
Sometimes – it’s brutally painful to let it go – I know

Fight! | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

3) StoneburnerThe Great Filter – Title track from Baltimore sound sculpture and dear friend Steven Archer on COP International Records. I am adoring the emphasis on narrative focus for our top three songs this month. This album and song focused on a controversial theory by Robin Hanson. I love the slow walk 90s bass opening charged down by glitchy cyber rap. The tempo takes it’s time as layers of chaos and tension pile on to a white-hot barrel fire under a bridge.

The Great Filter | Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)

4) Go FightMachine Rock (MekaBeat) – The top of this chart has been full of dear friends and all around awesome folk. So I am excited to see Chicago Industrial Legend Jim Marcus picked near the top. This remix album which features a ton of top talent doing remixes of the June single. This one has a fun 70s shock rock inside a 3d video pinball game flavor. Gyration and hip checks encouraged for this dance floor banger. There is something special about Jim’s “Industrial” voice that takes me there every time.

1.Machine Rock (MekaBeat) 04:15 video
2.Machine Rock (SØLVED) 05:22
3.Machine Rock (Bass Machine) 04:07
4.Machine Rock (Interface Release) 06:01
5.Machine Rock (SpankTheNun) 03:50
6.Machine Rock (Household Percussion) 04:22
7.Machine Rock (Derision Cult) 04:10
8.Machine Rock (Sapphira Vee) 03:59
9.Machine Rock (MelodyWhore) 04:22
10.Little Beautiful Strings 05:10buy track
11.Little Beautiful Strings (Jane Jensen) 03:16

Machine Rock (MekaBeat) | Go Fight (bandcamp.com)

5) The Waning MoonShred My Wings – A newer band comprised of two veterans Ariel Maniki (Ariel Maniki and The Black Halos) and Zac Campbell (The Kentucky Vampires). The combination explores more electronic ground for each of the goth-rock artists. You are still getting a heavy dose of classic Zach early batcave riffs. Ariel croons like a creature risen from the depths dripping with pageantry. This project really reminds you why goth was so cool in the first place. Before the word got so big you forgot what it meant.

Shred My Wings | The Waning Moon (bandcamp.com)

6) Curse MackeyDead Fingers Talk (Electric Heresy Remix by A Cloud of Ravens) – Currently out on tour Austin TX Industrowave beat poet Curse Mackey is remixed by shooting star Brooklyn post punk band A Cloud Of Ravens. The stairslide bass walk lays a thick path for Curse to fling a barrage of venom from. The idea of creeping zombified flesh swarming towards you was really taken to hear for this reimagining.

Catch Curse out on tour now 🙂

Dead Fingers Talk (Electric Heresy Remix by A Cloud of Ravens) | a cloud of ravens, curse mackey | Curse Mackey (bandcamp.com)

7) Sapphira VeeWhat it Was – This months chart is so full of amazing artists I love dearly, so it is fitting Sapphira has found her way into this list. The Rochester NY electro sorceress is swirling energies above her head and surrounded by a coven of top tier remixers on the Distortion Records release. I really love the confidence and cadence of this track. Soulful Missy Elliot energy fired over a cool spinning disc. Loving the way she has harnessed her voice and leaned into her truth.

What it Was | Sapphira Vee (bandcamp.com)

8) NIGHT NAILNarcoleptic Dream Catcher – Berlin based atmospheric obtenebrationwave band with the first single on their upcoming Metropolis release featuring everyone’s favorite euro darkscene producer Pete Burns. This opening bass riff is sleek, wet, and captivating. Brandon shows his range and dynamic with these vocals. I love the clarity of his dipping baritone that leaves the overwash reverb in the 80’s and pairs perfectly with what I assume are Valentina backup vocals. A smooth retrospective with newfound complexity.

Narcoleptic Dream Catcher | NIGHT NAIL

9) Choke ChainMortality – One of the most fiercely honest voices in modern electro-hardcore. This new single is a visceral dive into self confrontation and the horror of depression. It’s a nice build and texture on the music, but Mark’s voice cuts through everything to stand an inch from your face forcing you into his raw reality.

I can’t take it anymore

posessed by death
destroying my life
every second gets worse
it keeps getting worse

dying in your sleep
or dying in pain
most likely in pain
most likely in pain

why do I have to die?
im just trying to live

why can’t I just die?
it hurts me to live

each minute that passes
theres so many who die
and at some point that will be you
gone forever

cast into nothingness
no way to know you existed
every thought every memory
all for nothing

when will I be free?
when can I just live?

Mortality | Choke Chain (bandcamp.com)

10) Gazelle TwinBlack Dog – I knew very little about this UK band but I was instantly blown away. A quirky shadow pop with whispered menace and electronic hand drums. True abstract nightmare fuel lit by the glow of analog synths. At 2 minutes 53 seconds it explodes as the dog breaks it’s chain to charge you with frothing chaos. I genuinely regret this was the last song I listened to before bed. Pray for me.

Black Dog (Single) | Gazelle Twin (bandcamp.com)

As always, if you or someone you know is releasing a single in October in the broad darkscene genre. Feel free to post it on my Patreon or in the Facebook group. We are always looking to discover the best in new dark music.

Sounds and Shadows | Music Reviews, Interviews, Videocast Connecting the Darkscene | Patreon

Sounds and Shadows Premier of the New Vlimmer “Höhenluft”

Vlimmer – Höhenluft by Blackjack Illuminist (soundcloud.com)

I love this extended dance vibe in contrast to the usual auditory architecture of Berlin based Vlimmer. Alexander leads a teeming electro chorus to the desolate crumbling dance floor to stomp through the apocalypse.

SoundCloud Widget

Artist: Vlimmer

From: Berlin

Song: Höhenluft

Taken from the upcoming EP, “Mehrschöpfung” (out later this year)

Music | Blackjack Illuminist Records (bandcamp.com)

“Höhenluft” is a 9-minute techno adventure that meanders through an atmospheric soundscape touching the industrial and post-punk genre. Originally recorded during the sessions for Vlimmer’s latest album, “Zerschöpfung” (released Aug 25), it now stands for its own, widening the sound of the ever-changing Vlimmer chameleon.

Absolution Fest 2023 October 5th-7th

One of the great indicators of the Goth Rennaissance we are experiencing is the rise of more and more new festivals. The amount of talent currently in the darkscene added to the return of many legacy bands have led to great value for fans. These festivals have become goth summer camps to meet up with music scene friends often only interacted with online. In the last three years one that I always here praised by bands from around the world is Absolution Fest in Tampa Bay Florida from promotor/dj Mark Paradise from Communion After Dark and co promotor Pete Olen of Endoxa Booking. I think two things have lead to Absolution Fest’s success. 1) They place a focus on fresh up and coming bands rather than only having legacy headliners. 2) Positive people above name recognition. Everyone one I know who has played this festival raves about how every band there becomes friends and lifts each other up. This attitude and positive energy bleeds over into the crowd and gives everyone the sense of connection and community the scene has longed for.

The list of bands this year is staggering. I will go through some of the highlights along with links and information. Starting with the main even page below.

Absolution Fest

Absolution Fest 2023 Tickets, Thu, Oct 5, 2023 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite

icket Packages:

$125 – 3 Day Pass + Shirt & Poster

$100 – 3 Day Pass (Early Bird Special)

$40 – Single Day Tickets

Thursday Night:

Thursday

Priest – Swedish synthwave sci-fi EDM. Performance, execution, danger, this is music to do crime to. If you say “Siri, play my hanging from a string jewel heist playlist” this is track one.

Body Machine | Priest (bandcamp.com)

Nuovo Testamento – LA thicc bass electropop making infectious dance magic.

Love Lines | NUOVO TESTAMENTO (bandcamp.com)

Kanga – Once again from the city of angels electronic glitter napalm pop Kanga is an experience not to be missed. Deeply respected in the genre this is glorious textural production you feel in your bones. New Album out October 6th.

Under Glass | KANGA (bandcamp.com)

Visceral Anatomy – The Alter ego of one of my favorite IL bands Wingtips. This incarnation of the duo place the lyric writing and singing on Hannah for a wonderfully different feel. I love the way their story is being told through a different lens.

VOL. II | VISCERAL ANATOMY (bandcamp.com)

Aeon Rings – Florida band I recently made song of the day and reminded myself I need to listen to more. Fierce EDM with Davey Partains piercing lightning quick vocals. They also have a new album out in Oct.

ENEMY | AEON RINGS (bandcamp.com)

Last Grasp – Florida goth trio I had never heard before this review. First thing that grabbed me, what an amazing jazzy walking goth bassline. When you lay the foundation this well Epiphania it is easy to build on. Matthew DeFeis provides a nice rich Eldrichesque baritone vocal to round out a lovely trad goth feel. I’ll be looking for more.

Cloves & Wine | Last Grasp (bandcamp.com)

Friday:

Light Asylum – My religious devotion to Shannon’s voice is well known on this page. If you have never seen Light Asylum live, you are yet to live your best life. Trust me.

Merch | LIGHT ASYLUM (bandcamp.com)

Night Sins – Philadelphia gangstersynth band with tortured baritone vocals and cold iron basslines. I haven’t seen them live yet, but I look forward to the opportunity.

Down to Drown | Night Sins (bandcamp.com)

Panic Priest – The magnificent Chicago darkwave crooner that makes every show feel like an intimate experience. violet beam guitar rifts, clarifying synths, and Jack’s top tier vocals are guaranteed to impress.

PSYCHOGORIA | Panic Priest (bandcamp.com)

Astari Nite – Miami shadowglam band, I love how they embrace the over the top elegance of goth. Beautiful, provocative, captivating.

Bowie In Daydreams | Astari Nite (bandcamp.com)

Double Eyelid – A dear friend Ian Revell coming from Toronto. They also understand how to embrace the camp of darkness. The songs all have razor hooks and interesting stores. This is a band that NEEDS more attention.

Better Than You Were | Double Eyelid (bandcamp.com)

Black Rose Burning – One of the most underrated talents in our scene George Grant from Brookland. I’m so glad to see major festivals start to recognize their talent. They just dropped a new album “Ad Astra” Mastered by: Jason Corbett (Actors) and it is nothing short of breath taking. George is the musical genius of goth Peter Gabriel.

Ad Astra | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

Saturday

Empathy Test – The standout London band that has shot to worldwide notoriety with their dreamy emotive narrative style of songwriting. Another band I am yet to see live but that I can’t wait to. This is a band with headliner energy travelling across the ocean to delight American audiences.

Time To Be Alive | Empathy Test (bandcamp.com)

WINGTIPS – The previously mentioned Illinois band also preforming Thursday as Visceral Anatomy. Perfect dream chaos synth music that somehow gets better every time I see them live. That is really saying something as I have seen them 7 times and each one my jaw drops and the connection and power of their performance. If you have never witnessed Vincent and Hannah do yourself a favor.

Cutting Room Floor | WINGTIPS (bandcamp.com)

Sydney Valette – From Paris upbeat synthy bops, I love the rich resonant Jarvis Cocker style vocal delivery. Another band I need to learn more about

Adieu EP | Sydney Valette (bandcamp.com)

Helix – Amazing electronic team up of Tom Shear (Assemblage 23) & talented solo producer Mari Kattman. The married couple collaborate seamlessly to create steamy cascading electro art. I love the parts, I love the whole, I love getting lost in these songs.

For Bill | Helix (bandcamp.com)

BlakLight – LA darkpop darting between light and shadow. I always love the Peter Hook (Revenge) shadowsynth vibes I get from this band. I have never seen them live but I’m sure the floor will be pulsing.

Prey | BlakLight (bandcamp.com)

NITE – The amazing Mendes brothers from Texas who flutter on the wind between post punk and synth pop. Always icy razor-sharp production and gorgeous glam vocals. A band I keep hearing the growth of with every release.

Inside Of My Head | NITE | Nite (bandcamp.com)

Additional shout out to Obscura Undead our dear friends in the scene and sponsor.

Obscura Undead

Obscura Undead is a collective of goth creators passionate about new and obscure goth, darkwave, post-punk, and other dark alternative music. Evolving and changing with the chaos is life and lead by Azy Bats, Obscura Undead celebrates five years of commitment to the members and bands of our dark scene, Tampa events, and inclusive goth-erie. We are a zine, a compilation, a mixtrack, a podcast, a promoter, a DJ group, and a supporter in love and darkness of all Goth has to offer.

Sounds And Shadows August 2023 Darkscene Singles Chart

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.

  1. Steven Archer – I Am The Walrus (Beatles Cover)
  2. The Amaranth – Thighs
  3. Ashes Fallen – Damn Me
  4. Bestial Mouths – Road Of A Thousand Tears
  5. Bellhead – Valentine
  6. cEvin Key – The House That Tried To Kill Me
  7. Unitcode:Machine (Feat Stabbing Westward) – Cold
  8. Brides – Chalices
  9. Black Rose Burning – Night Terrors
  10. Vandal Moon – Satellite
  1. Steven ArcherI 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 AmaranthThighs – 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 MouthsRoad 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) BellheadValentine – 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 KeyHouse Tried To Kill MecEvin 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) BridesChalices – 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 BurningNight 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 ChurchReptile“. 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 MoonSatellite – 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 ?

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 BurningNight 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)

ObsidianCollection 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 MeatProvidence – 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 VeeFortune – 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)

MetamorphWoo 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)

SlighterThis 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 NineMore 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)

StoneburnerThe 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)