I love it when this scene comes together to step up for one of it’s own. Legendary Bass player for My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult/Pigface/ect Charles Levi was diagnosed with vascular dementia. He had a stroke. Has been taking expensive medications and is in the fight of his life. A ton of great artists and ParaLuna Records stepped up to release this compilation of 80’s covers to help offset the costs of his treatment. It is a heartwarming tribute to a beloved figure in our scene that proves what we are capable of during folks darkest moments. In addition to the album I have also posted Charles’s gofund me page.
I want to thank all of these talented people that stepped up for our dear friend Charles. I will go through and call out a few tracks I thought really knocked it out of the park
Apology Kink- “West End Girls” / Pet Shop Boys >> Augustus Watkins – programming/synths/vocals/mixing, Carlos Bueno – additional mixing
LeviLevi vs Bangalore ft. Betty X / Hit me with your Best Shot” / Pat Benatar >> Betty X – vox, Charles Levi – bass, Tim Pethtel – guitar, Christopher Rodriguez synths/programming
Precog- “Oh Father” / Madonna >> Gerald Josef, Jason Thomas, and Bret Pemelton
SU – “Smothered Hope” / Skinny Puppy >> Ursa Minor and Sarah Emilie
Microwaved – “So Alive” / Love & Rockets >> Gabe Wilkinson – programming, synths, vocals, mixing
Betty X- “The Chauffeur” / Duran Duran >> Betty X – vox, Nathan Kaylor – Engineer/Producer
Doors In The Labyrinth- “Dead Man’s Party” / Oingo Boingo >> Josh Loughrey
Giant Monsters on the Horizon – “It’s a Sin” / Pet Shop Boys >> Vinnie Saletto – programming, Madison Davis – programming, Cara Ristau – vox
Missing in STARS – “Hold Me Now” / Thompson Twins >> Dan Guenther
Planetdamage – “Sunglasses at Night” / Corey Hart >> Mariusz Bari
Stabbed By Prongs ft. Bow Ever Down 0fficial – “Heat of the Moment” / Asia >> Kimberly of Bow Ever Down – vox, Craig Drabik – guitars/synths,/programming
Violet Wanda – “Discipline” / King Crimson >> Tess LaCoell
Dogtablet- “Hollow Hills” / Bauhaus >> Martin King
Glitch Factor – “Strangelove” / Depeche Mode >> Justin Fisher and Vinnie Saletto
Hororhaus ft. Bow Ever Down 0fficial – “Take My Breath Away” / Berlin >> Scott Harris with Kimberly of Bow Ever Down
Renegade Sl8ve versus Giant Monsters on the Horizon – “Desperate, but not Serious” / Adam Ant >> Nick Void, Vinnie Saletto, and Madison Davis
Stoneburner – “The Crab Song” / Faith No More >> Steven Archer
Apology Kink – West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys) – Augustus Watkins the co founder of GIVE/TAKE records from Minneapolis with a glitchy synth sass take on the iconic PSB hit. I really like the sax solo synth breakdown. The vocals do a nice homage while adding a bit more whisper and smoke.
LeviLevi vs Bangalore ft. Betty X – Hit me with your Best Shot (Pat Benatar) – So here you had Charles playing bass, Betty X lashing vocals like a whip crack, Tim Pethtel on guitar, Christopher Rodriguez on synths turning the pop classic into an acid static club banger. Feels very true to the original while turning the chaos up to 11. Betty X in particular has done a great job of shouting out from the rooftops about this compilation. Love this energy.
SU – Smothered Hope (Skinny Puppy) – I hadn’t heard a ton from Ursa Minor and Sarah Emilie out of Montreal, but I adore the fact they did a Skinny Puppy cover among a lot of synthpop so far. They absolutely crushed this too. Elegant beauty with fairy fire intensity. The cadence on the vocal delivery is spot on with such lovely contrast to the original. This cover really showed me their best.
Microwaved – So Alive (Love and Rockets) – I was obsessed with this song when it was in heavy rotation on MTV. It lived in a non-stop rotation in my head. Des Moines Iowa artist Gabe Wilkinson did a wonderful flip of the script with this grungy wall of sound pushing forward across hot sand. The vocals have a cool gang style doubling punk flavor. Distinct but immediately recognizable. Gabe is well known for his collaboration and remix work, so this cover really highlights his talents.
Doors in the Labyrinth – Dead Man’s Party (Oingo Boingo) – I’ve heard a few cover songs now from Pittsburgh doom folk artist Josh Loughrey. He always finds a really fresh take and makes the song his own. This was my favorite yet. Classic Danny Elfman darksynth bop was stretched into a misty translucence like a funeral dirge which matches perfectly with the title. A completely different vibe from the original but one I will always hear in this song now.
Missing in Stars – Hold me Now (Thompson Twins) – This I fell in love with less from how different it was from the original and more how different it was from the usual vocal style of Dan Guenther. It sill holds that ethereal synth beauty but behind the smile are large sharp teeth barely holding back a menacing growl. That double bass drum breakdown is grinding with pure power. Chefs Kiss.
Dogtablet – Hollow Hills (Bauhaus) Living Legend Martin King and the project Dogtablet with this percussion sorrow jazz cover of the Bauhaus classic rising from the boggy depths. I’m not sure who was doing the amazing banshee backup vocals but they are a perfect compliment. Martin always captures a moment.
Hororhaus ft. Bow Ever Down – Take my Breath Away (Berlin) – This lovely shadow ballad appeared on out S & S singles chart previous. Kim’s voice rings with passion and power and Scott has taken the original down temp and seasoned it with chaos and static. Great use of his growling backup vocals to sharpen the angles. A perfect addition to your next goth prom.
Stoneburner – The Crab Song (Faith No More) Leave it to Steven Archer to make things weird. Instead of covering an 80s synth song, he chose chaos prog rock band Faith No More, and then converts it into worldbeat chaos apocalypse industrial. I love it, I love everything here. From the chanting, the screaming, the glitch, and the operatic explosive anger. When Steven covers a song it becomes his own.
This entire album is a great way to find new talent you will love, as well as support Charles Levi who has been an important part of the scene and inspired so many.
This has been a tough year for a lot of people personally. A year where we lost many friends and beloved artists in this scene. Though history strife and conflict have often been the inspiration for great art. A catalyst that helps us search for truth and test boundaries. This was a year of amazing new music that touched my heart and inspired me. As always I won’t try and rate or list every record I enjoyed. I think to cover everything and try and place it in a tidy box of genre is to lose the magic I feel getting to tell you all about something new. So I will tell you all about the Albums and Eps that touched me deepest in 2023. I hope in 2024 I discover even more and make twice as many friends like you to share it with. I’m not going to write in any particular order. If a record is on this list, I hold it in high esteem.
unitcode:machine – Critical Fault – The growth and innovation Eric Kristoffer achieved with this release is staggering. Signing with COP International to release this cold icicle dagger of EDM pop hooks and pounding industrial machinery. Eric’s vocals are captivating and unexpected. Chris Hall (Stabbing Westward) did the a masterful and modern job of the mixing and you can hear both his influence as well his belief and passion for what Eric wrote. I expect by this time next year A Lot of fans of electronic music are going to be talking about unitcode:machine.
A Cloud of Ravens – -Lost Hymns– Another story about huge achievements this year are the Brooklyn based duo infusing sharp jagged punk rock with the mystery and romantism of gothic rock. Produced by Jackknife Studio’s the heavy bass and exaltation in the vocals melt together into something spiritual that burns with passion. I love that Matt’s vocals aren’t afraid to be dramatic. His delivery adds so much to the narrative. The dedication to gothic driven rock is what ties together the record. The thing that makes it stand out in 2023. My favorite track is one of the most synth heavy electronic crooners “Old Ghosts“. A top to bottom stand out that explores the vocal range sense of exploration that makes ACOR shine brightest. This record is the perfect accompaniment for almost every activity. It longs to bring you on adventures.
BELLHEAD – Good Intentions – Chicago based double bass duo Karen and Ivan are supporters of one of the largest scenes in the US. They play eclectic dark alt horror that confronts and energizes. The May release is a roller-coaster off the tracks, chaotic, dangerous, and alluring. Image rich poetry bouncing in a dialog of vocals to bouncing bass and stabbing guitars. Ivan’s voice is a whispered menace that gnaws the back of your neck while Karen’s cadence draws you forward. Favorite track: Valentine – This sad pop bopping guitar crossing something sinister and a blissful ignorance of what stalks you is an amazing sensation.
The Bellwether Syndicate – Vestige & Vigil – This record is a modern day classic. Released in 2023 to great acclaim by darkscene insiders, this is a record I think will keep gaining momentum in 2024. William, Sara, and Phil all hold impressive pedigree in this scene. Vestige & Vigil was their chance to place their stamp on the modern conversation of post punk by drawing in the collective anxiety and rage of the modern world, pressing it into a cool thrumming gem, then hurling it with a snarling curse at an unfeeling world. It takes true expertise to hone the ethos of filthy punk rock into something this smooth and concentrated. I can’t think of higher praise than saying picture “Raw Power” recorded by Martin Hannett in Manchester with 2023 gear. William just took a break from his role in March Violets to focus on The Bellwether Syndicate and touring, so please make sure to look for them coming to play near you. This will be the band everyone is talking about.
Beborn Beton – Darkness Falls Again – We waited too long for a new release from legendary German electropop from Beborn Beton. When the wait was over, dear gods was it worth it. This record is a master class on songcraft, beauty, and emotional complexity. Stefan Netschio croons away with a leather whip delivery. All eight tracks are a spinning cyberpunk ballroom to get lost in. Dancer In The Dark is an all-time own the floor banger. One of those tracks that has longevity to break through the surface of todays vast ocean of new synth music.
Antipole & Paris Alexander – Crystalline – Antipole is a Norway based post punk band I first fell in love with in 2017 with Karl’s first release “Northern Flux“. They have collaborated with many European top darkscene talents. In my humble opinion Karl has the best guitar tone in the genre. However that is something I have come to expect from all of Karl’s albums. That is not what made this record shine so brightly. This record was a far more collaborative effort which highlighted the soul and range of Paris Alexander and Eirene. This made characters and voices of complexity to dance on the shining crystal world Karl had built. Gorgeous and impactful, below is a link to a rare interview I did with Karl about the record. This is an album that transports you.
A Covenant of Thorns – Ashes – Scott-David Allen has been making some of the best romantic goth since The Cure “Disintegration” for the last couple decades largely below the radar of the world discussion. Bringing in Gordon Young the legendary goth guitar whisperer to master and provide presence was a match made in heaven. Cascading minor tones wet with sorrow and storm cloud beauty. Some artists just know how to stab me right in the heart with emotional presence. The track “Idols” is a full on melodramatic John Hughes standing in the rain as you watch her walk away experience. Plunge headlong into the forlorn and broken beauty.
Odonis Odonis – ICON – Toronto dark spectrum artists Constantin Tzenos and Denholm Whale flipped the script again with this new EP. Bringing in a series of great contributors like Tobacco, A Place to Bury Strangers, Actors, SUUNS, and Patriarchy to turn up the heat on a sizzling 90’s alternative chaos. ICON shifts boldly between styles and texture while tying each song back to the badass black leather jacket metric. Walking around with earbuds through the world, every song makes you feel cooler. A little more invincible, a little more fearless. Brilliant Things Feat: Terror Bird was my standout track on an album full of them. Bold longing flung forward as confident vulnerability.
Black Rose Burning – Ad Astra – The September EP from NY’s George Grant. The man I refer to as the Peter Gabriel of goth. Transcendent stories in distant galaxies, a hyperdrive range and astral bardic delivery. All of these songs feel so timeless, vibrating on a frequency between the past and future. Jason Corbett did the mastering to create sleek lines for maximum warp. Folks are finally starting to take notice of George’s talent and vision. Your collection deserves “Ad Astra“
MALE TEARS – KRYPT – LA Futurewave artists that have gone through a lineup change since this album give me hope for the future. A Young vibrant addition to the scene that forged their own path. Some people dream in synth sounds, bright fractalated hyper colors. James has a soul for the dramatic and a beautiful voice to carry the message of cleverness. This record is the ideal for the 13 person rager. Lit, but exclusive.
Choke Chain – Mortality – Mark Trueman the Hardcore Industrial Punk artist from Wisconsin is one of those pure souls you love to see succeed. Taking hard industrial beats and unleashing vocal wounds with genuine intensity that never feels like a performance. Mortality is another step in the evolution in this synthesis of chaotic electronic club thunder, with piercing confrontation of depression and rage. The truest art should take us to the edge of a precipice, beholding excitement and terror. That is the place Choke Chain takes us. I think this record is something that won’t be fully appreciated until we have had a decade to reflect on it.
BRIDES – The Earth Defeats Me – I have been a major fan of Norway’s modular doom rocker Adrian Borgia for some time, through several projects. This is the record I have been waiting for. The promise of potential I have always seen brought into that perfect moment. Stirring the shadowy depths of the primordial ooze that made that first proto goth sound touch that place in the hearts of everyone on the outside of the circle. Chalices is a 10/10 eerie live in your dreams balled as familiar as it is unique. The religious dedication to modular sway pans like dark water in the underworld. Lean desperate wolf growls which have latched onto fresh meat clarity which allow the poetry to shine. For everyone waiting on the bridge between the earliest death rock and stripped down modern coldwave, it has arrived.
Ashes Fallen – Walk Through Fire – Sacramento dark rock trio Ashes Fallen had another blazing guitar forward September release from their “Chapel” recording studio. The vocal duties between Michelle and James have found a wonderful balance. The tone is a reflection of the foreboding world closing in. Sprinkled liberally with a sparkle and glam of London After Midnight. Gordan Young has yet another mastering credit on my best of list by bringing the sharpest edges to these shimmering riffs. Favorite Track: Scar , which is definitely not a single at 5:16. it is a captivating slow build emotional exposition that really highlights the range and sincerity of their collective experience. Ashes Fallen continues to be a standout example of the place where passion and execution meet in the modern era of music.
Sapphira Vee – Fortune – Sapphira from New York state is a great example of an artist I have gotten to watch the growth and development of in real time. The daring courage of her voice and the added components of her collaborators have expanded the limits or motion and image. I feel enraptured by the emergence of a woman’s experience and sensuality expressed unfiltered. This album is intimate, nuanced, unburdened by the insecurities of the past. It harkens 90’s trip hop balanced with the soul and execution of modern darkpop. Favorite Track: Those Words feat Jean Marc Lederman – The Belgian composer is well known for finding the perfect backdrop to highlight a story. The cadence that Sapphira uses in this track is the perfect exposition of her beauty and power. The music evaporates when she steps forward, and rises as she whispers a secret. I love when a story shines in a perfect moment. There is nothing more beautiful then watching an artist evolve in a heart stopping moment.
NIGHT NAIL – Fates Explained – This record was a late comer releasing in November from the Berlin Germany transplants Night Nail. Finding a third home of Metropolis Records and mastered by sonic sculptor Pete Burns (KillShelter) this abstract concept darkwave has ridden the cusp of the modern scene staying under the radar of popular post punk audiences. Brandon Robert brings an expressive Mark Sandman baritone I feared we may never witness again. I know I said I wasn’t going to rank these records as they all have a distinct brilliance, but this record really hits with an intention, an impact, the transcends enjoyable club music. A complex puzzle to patiently unravel over the next decade. Favorite Track:Narcoleptic Dream Catcher – This one has a throwback Ian McCulloch beauty and depth. Valentine’s backup vocals cast the perfect backlight against the slithering groove. A forgotten hit plucked out of time.
VNV Nation – Electric Sun – Confession time, I slept on VNV Nation for WAY too long. Ronan Harris released his first full length since 2018 and it is absolutely breathtaking. The craft, the expression, the undeniable honesty of this record gets beneath your skin. I felt things, ask questions, experienced what art is meant to mean. The art of lyrics as the primary focus in modern songcraft is a sadly lost focus in 2023. This album is everything you ask from modern production while delivering Leonard Cohen level poetry. I am a convert. A believer. I will never sleep on the power and impact of VNV Nation again. Favorite Track:The Game – I have played this song 100 times and the hair on the back of my arms stand up every single time. Some songs just hit a perfect spot, in a perfect moment. They become unforgettable. This is one of those tracks.
Bedless Bones – Mire of Mercury – Another late release November 2023 from my favorite band in Estonia. Kadri Sammel has such a unique vocal cadence and energetic world beat percussion texture. A flowing aquatic fantasy of motion and prophesy. This album is shrouded in mystery. An internal exploration of body and soul.
Gazelle Twin – Black Dog – Awesome UK band I just discovered this year. Lot’s of gorgeous textured analog synths. Powerful psychedelic Grace Slick style vocals. This band immediately capture me by being creative in a way no one else was doing. A tempo and attack outside the box of what is popular in this moment. The growling industrial version of the Doors of Perception. The lyrics are delivered with poetic intensity. From the moment I heard that first single Black Dog I was hooked. Music without boundaries and rules that captures my dreams. This will always move me.
HEALTH – RAT WARS – LA band that waited until the end of the year to put out one of the most groundbreaking and emotive offerings I heard all year. I know I said I wasn’t going to rank these albums but this was an instant classic banger. It perfectly rides the pipe of beauty and destructive power. Lightning in a bottle of honey dripping warm amber vocals and sand blasting cannon guitars. “Hateful” is an inferno club banger that builds an obsidian castle in your brain and never lets go. This album came out December 2023 so I didn’t get to spend as much time with it as others on this list. That in no way diminished that the first time I heard it I was floored with just how perfectly it balanced the range of human emotion. This record will be something people talk about for years to come.
Aurelio Voltaire – The Last Halloween Party – As a comedy goth artist the niche pool of artists to look up to is not a vast pool. It is no secret that Aurelio Voltaire is a bit of a personal hero, getting to open for him in 2023 was a highlight of my musical career. Getting a chance to drive him around while listening to this record pre-release was one of those moments that reminds me why I do this. Dark music can be fun, it can be clever, it is diverse and connects with us in all aspects of the human experience. I remember him saying to me “I am a goth who plays music, not a goth musician.” It’s jazz, folk, fusion, all prancing around the fire, stories to send a chill up your spine. There is a very good reason he has continued to entrance fans around the world for decades. An understanding that exploring the darkness and gallows humor within us all is what connects all the misfit children around the world. I can’t wait to play with him again in Detroit in May.
SOPOR AETERNUS & The Ensemble Of Shadows – The Rules – German band that continues to do some of the most impactful and unique darkscene music year after year. An intelligent and abstract experience in a completely different category than the rest of the genre. A little Dead Can Dance, a pinch of The Swans, a smattering of Legendary Pink Dots, all whirling through a Nick Cave mist so theatrically their own. As a reviewer it is so difficult to try and define an experience so unique. No matter how many times I discover a new Sopor Aeternus album I am always struck by how glorious and innovative it is in a sea of ships moving closer together.
Lana Del Rabies – STREGA BEATA – The impressive 3rd record from Arizona artist Lana Del Rabies. A sinking bog ritual of strings and vibration. A longing prayer to darker forces. This is soulful pleading music felt in the bloodstream. Something old and dangerous called forth from dark woods to transform your dancefloor into a spell of summoning. Don’t enter into this album lightly. It is a summoning. It is a crack in the doorway between dreams and reality. To create something so unnerving and captivating is an act of courage. A thing of defiance. A challenge to the other side.
genCAB – Signature Flaws – Philly electronic artist David Dutton has captured an idea which seems elementary, but has continued to illude the masses. The lilting anthem driving vocals of emo, and the complex vibrating impact of electronic dance music. It’s bouncing expression you feel in your bones, while vulnerable narrative lyrics offer up something relatable and transformative. The title track Signature Flaws I takes two complex ideas and curls them into perfect synthesis. As someone who came late to the game with emo music, this record blends the best parts of the early 2000s into something fresh and progressive. An album for the future blending ideas not fully realized.
Korine – Tear – Another incredible Philly band blending the most pastel beautiful aspects of Jesus and Mary Chain shoegaze, Synthwave, and 90s Britpop. The wispy sass of the vocals are a sonic cotton candy I can always get lost in. Pure dopamine poured into your ears. Korine have major star potential and are high on the list of bands I must see live in the near future.
SWANS – The Beggar – Return of New York electro doom folk and controversial songwriter Michael Gira with a record that both surprised me and lived up to high expectations. Winding freeform psychedelic murder ballads all clocking in over 6 minutes. Only one single Los Angeles City Of Death, mostly a hard diet of brown acid campfire tales of cosmic horror. A revealing soul exploration that left me inspired and frightened in equal measure. Don’t try and digest this in one go. You need to take many bites before settling in for the meal. It is a meal well worth the wait though. Staggering, brilliant, tortured.
Randolph & Mortimer – The Incomplete Truth – The Sheffield, UK artist released this bouncing electropunk symphony of gears and pistons in perpetual motion. It walks heavy with blue collar confidence through a warehouse district after dark. I think one of the hardest things to master in electronic dance music laden with samples is the exact moment to drop them for maximum impact. To not overuse so that the single spoken line sets the scenery without the need for poetic lyrics. The Incomplete Truth achieves an almost robotic precision in it’s efficiency and impact. Never a wasted line, never a bridge that wears out it’s welcome. A place for everything and everything in it’s place.
OMD – Bauhaus Staircase – Another big name legacy band with a return to form in this dystopian fantasywave. I really love how they found new ways to attack the same vamp. A whimsical dance through the streets of a crumbling society. Kleptocracy was my favorite single, the vocals had a slippery magma quality. Bright pop with a thoughtful political relevance. I don’t know if anyone had thought OMD had started to miss the beat, but they most certainly have not.
††† (Crosses) – Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. – LA band that folks are always recommending to me but I never really dug into until this year. I real David Gahan sensuality in the vocals with a more modern glitchy vibe to the darkpop sound. Lot’s of club singles to choose from, an album of dance floor bangers. The occasions when things turn up to 11 quickly against the smooth poppy hooks to smash you with morning star intensity. It’s deceptive in ways that keep you on high alert. Unexpected depth, unexpected intensity, a return to mystique I have longed for.
thePicassos – Divination Scars: among the dead in symmetry – As a big fan of the Detroit band the thing that has always impressed me most about Charles and company is the intention and thought that goes into every aspect of their performance. Such an eclectic bizarre mixture of styles from 50s doo wop to 90’s Pixies dark alt. Charles has a slippery devotion to every story he sets. Another of my favorite 2023 discoveries that the wider world needs to jump on board with.
Ritual Howls – Virtue Falters – 5th record from Detroit post rock Ritual Howls. My obsession with Yee haw goth is well documented and Virtue Falters really plays up the Johnny Cash aspect of country caught in the current of Fields of the Nephelium tragic guitars. The real power comes from how much complexity the songs have while maintaining a very straight forward groove. it’s no easy feat to capture both ideals in equal measure. It feels like one of those old school records where 3 humans locked themselves in an abandoned warehouse and got weird together for two months. Something that either leads to brilliance or madness. Never in between and Virtue Falters tapped the former.
ASSASSUN – Chronic Quicksand Depression Morning – Alexander is one of those infuriating brilliant humans who puts out such a vast amount of quality work I often wonder if he is a person or a fey. Not only is it always amazing, it is always vastly different and mind jarringly weird. I’ve never followed a stranger into an abandoned train station in Berlin in 1987 where 12 people in masks were playing abstract electronic brap music as a party performance piece. I have to imagine this would have been what it felt like and it is awesome. I think the most impressive aspect of this ambient mind goo is that it never feels pretentious. It should, but it never does.
Jean-Marc Lederman– Soul Music For Zombies – Legendary Belgian composer Jean-Marc Lederman has an uncanny ability to constantly will into being something my heart had no idea it yearned for. A dark funky industrial blender on roller skates spinning under a disco ball. Frequent contributor Emileigh Rohn does another vocal contribution which soars and cascades with waterfall beauty. Diverse as the shades of human emotion. Jean-Marc spews forth brilliant concepts that need to be shown the light. Underappreciated in our scene doesn’t tell the whole tale.
Scorpion Tea – Scorpion Tea – Finally a band that is equal measure fresh on the scene, as well as brimming with OG street cred from drummer Edley ODowd (Psychic TV). Hard mean motorcycle revving skids on the floor of a condemned church. Untamed death rock with tube amp crunch and Raw Power sensuality. I expect 2024 to be a meteoric rise for the NYC band that could find a place in three different scenes.
Time for the November Darkscene Singles Chart. This year has been flying by and full of amazing new music. I put out this chart every month to recognize incredible bands from around the world who don’t always get seen on other charts. Every bands here is chosen by our Facebook/Patreon group of Artists/DJs/Reviewers/Promotors/and Super fans. If you have a single releasing in December or know someone who does, please add it to our poll for consideration.
I will always keep supporting new darkscene music because it is my passion. I don’t like for this to feel like a business and will offer the same content for free. However the webpage/zoom account/mixcloud ect cost money. If you like what we do and want to support us for $1 a month. This is our Patreon page and Tshirts 🙂 For those that can, we really appreciate it.
Bow Ever Down – Goodbye – The fact that the absurdly under recognized Kimberly Kornmeier took 1st place in our chart this month fills me with emotion of why I started this chart in the first place. A talented professional that has been a part of the scene since 1998 with a soulful piercing voice and an empathetic heart being chosen by this group over more recognized names. This song was a tribute to Ghost-Youth an artist taken from this world far too soon. Lovely trancey production and sorrowful delivery. It’s hard to know the story behind this song and not mist up a bit.
2) Twin Tribes – Monolith – One of the hottest acts in modern goth dropped a new video and single from an upcoming album under the radar. Of course it is an absolute banger. Luis gives that whip crack delivery and the music has a gorgeous darksynth that was giving me Ultravox vibes. Some of the dark skies of previous releases were pulled apart to reveal clean beams of light and hope to the familiar Twin Tribes sound.
3) daddybear – Antisocial – Matt Fanale and Marie (Grabyourface) are two great tastes paired perfectly I am coming to associate together. Each of these new singles feels smooth and impactful. That fresh electropunk energy of intelligent message, effortless delivery, and fervent devotion to the cause. This vibrating bass beat is eroding pores into my bones. I’m here for it.
4) Sword Tongue – To My Apparition – Awesome Cali couple duo that has a strange mixture of Projekt Records and Prog Rock added an ingredient that makes everything better. Drum Daddy Dan Milligan (The Joy Thieves). Jennifers vocals really sail over a frozen fantasy world like a shield maiden bardic warrior. This track feels expansive and full of adventure. Exciting new direction.
5) Object X – Insomnia – Super cool father/daughter duo from Reno NV. Great synthesis of dreamy trance beats and 90’s alternative. The beautiful harmonies here carry an extra layer of soul from the family connection. This song makes me want to fall backwards through the bed into space.
6) BRIDES – If Love Was A Colour – I know we have seen Adrian a lot in this poll lately, but every song just keeps getting better. More abstract and reckless, more simple and to the roots. That dichotomy living together in real time. This project is the best thing he has ever done.
7) Mari Kattman – URGOD.AI – Another smash for Boston producer and digital disco priestess Mari Kattman. This one whirls like a sonic tornado through the club. The soundtrack to flying car you into the cyberpunk dystopia.
8) The Mystic Underground – Famous Last Words (Of A Generation) – Great opening thrum from the New York band. Vladimir Valette has a beautiful voice that crackles with energy and hops on a distinctive cadence. The lyrics are poignant and powerful. Great video as well linked below.
9) Dogtablet – Summertime – The always percussionally epic industrial legend calls in friends Dirk Flanigan, Mike Reidy & Roger Ebner on this filthy slinking jazzdustrial banger. I’m stumbling home from the warehouse district at 3am past mystery moisture rising from the manholes. This song is hot and wet.
10) Tears for ʇhe Dying – We Are The Darkness – I had the absolute pleasure of seeing TFTD do this song live opening for Twin Tribes and Vision Video. Adria shines like a star on stage. One of the top Death Rock bands in the modern era and this album will be something to get excited about.
Newest album release from Berlin based darkwave band Night Nail on Metropolis Records. Night Nail has been criminally overlooked during discussions of top acts in the modern darkscene. Their sound has always trended more towards the abstract and grimier underbelly of darkwave music. They are travelers, country to country, moving between labels, lean and hungry on untamed sonic ground. This follow up to the 2020 EP March to Autumn is another chapter is another bold shift in story and complexion. Adding Pete Burn (Kill Shelter) for mixing and mastering brings a cool gun metal sheen that highlights the passion in their narrative.
Justin Deaktivere: composition, guitars, saxophone, keyboards, midi, and drum programming
Valentina Veil – additional instruments and voices
NIGHT NAIL – Fates Explained – From the title track this album has a wonderful shimmer effect from layered instruments. A hidden waterfall of slushy darkgaze guitars to peer through at the mysteries beneath. Brandon‘s rich dreamy baritone has a Mark Sandman quality that highlights the surrealism of the music. Valentina has an expanded vocal presence which is always a good thing. The range of this record is really impressive. In a time of short story singles “Fate Explained” is a complex winding novel. Track 4 Cells shifts gears into a dark glam which could have been a lost B side from “Hunky Dory“. Track 5 “Madness and Foul” features a bouncy gothjazz bassline Mick Karn would delight at. I really enjoy the way these songs demand engagement. This isn’t music to talk over in the club and not absorb. This is music shared with loved ones in a small gathering with a bottle of red. A soundtrack to a discussion that matters.
I only have one complaint, which feels hypocritical after praising them for not staying in one lane and exploring new sounds. I kept waiting for that distinct Justin sax solo to charge forward in a song and it never came. As someone who lives for slutty muted Saxaphone in darkscene music I hope it makes a return in the next record 😉
Interview With Night Nail :
Ken: It’s been 3 years since your last full-length release. What has been the biggest change to both your sound and inspiration?
Night Nail : Thank you, Ken, for this opportunity to talk with you! Congratulations to you and Sound and Shadows for building a successful, inclusive, supportive, darkwave community within Facebook and the blog. It is hard to be objective about the ‘changes’ we made in our process or notice the things we did differently. Having the experience of making the previous records, “March To Autumn” and “LA Demons,” definitely helped make this album. Also, being in an ‘extended’ lockdown for over 3 years due to the pandemic, due to family needs, jobs, etc, Night Nail was not able to tour, as much, as I wanted to, but, this also helped. I was envious of my friends’ bands touring after COVID lockdowns and having success with it. I know people really needed to get out to see live music, again. I was frustrated. Add a long, wet, dreary Berlin winter to that equation and there is not much else to do but record music. Also, I listened to my inner voice which said to continue to be forward-thinking and bigger picture, about it all. That voice promised me that the rewards of having a fresh, new album, singles, and music videos would far outweigh playing loads of shows, post-pandemic. That voice was largely right for us, because, in honing our skills, learning from our mistakes, and learning what we really wanted for ourselves, musically, that ‘harder’ choice, to stay home and make the music even better, paid off. We also applied for a grant with our demos and were selected by a grant called Initiative Music in Germany which funded the recording, videos, mastering, promotions, and the vinyl release. After that, we got signed to Metropolis Records.
Ken: I am an enormous fan of mixing/mastering producer Pete Burns of Kill Shelter. What was working with him like? What did he bring to the sound of this record?
Night Nail: Pete Burns is talented beyond measure. More than that, he is a person with huge integrity. He doesn’t shy away from challenging projects, like Night Nail. I admit that I initially had some pretty wild ideas about what the album should sound like and close friends who listened to the early demos of “Fates Explained,” kinda thought I had lost my mind. I think Pete Burns may have felt that, too. I don’t know. But, we had committed to the album. Pete performed his magic rituals over the production, so to speak, and employed his skills in production to make the mixes coherent and powerful. He added additional instruments when we needed them and really stepped it up; especially with bass guitar. There were a lot of gaps that needed filling. We talked a lot more about inspiration BEFORE mixing “Fates Explained” and we discovered we both had an appreciation for the rhythm section for Japan’s “Quiet Life” and the ensemble, harmony section of Echo and the Bunnymen’s “Ocean Rain.” Those two albums set the stage for the dialogue. In the end, this record came out exactly as it needed to be. For me, this is the pinnacle for Night Nail and our best work.
Ken: The title “Fates Explained” conjures a bold image. To wrap logic around portents of the future. How did this title tie together the threads of these songs?
Night Nail: I tracked most of “Fates Explained” on my MacBook at home with the help of Justin Deaktivere, Ilija Gavrilenko, Valentina Veil, and Pete Burns. Everyone pitched in. I know ‘albums’ as art pieces are relics of the past and the single-song, digital downloads are popular. For me, in refusing to give up on this concept of the ‘album’ and writing each song with loose connections to each other, I push the music closer in the direction, that I love. I can only make music that I love, at this point in my life. The title for the album is literally something that came to me in a dream. In that dream, I find a mirrored version of myself, lost in Berlin. I know that over time all mirrors break and return to sand. To prevent it, I began to sell my music as a spiritual remedy in a liquid form to treat the illnesses of the robotic-like humans. I am confronted by many versions of myself. The dream ends with me inventing a new identity and a way to finally escape the city through a specific wavelength of neutrinos generated from sunlight. When I woke up from this dream, I realized that ‘fate’ is really just me, being scared, and fatalistic, but adaptive. It was intense. All the songs on the album were tracked with this dream in mind.
Ken:Valentina has achieved great personal success with VV and the Void. What does she feel is her greatest contribution to this album? Do the two of you find ease in creating art together?
Valentina: I have always loved how Brandon’s voice and mine work together. I’d say my greatest contribution to Night Nail was on an early song called, “Never Dream”. It was also our first collaboration right at the beginning of our relationship so I find it very special both professionally and emotionally. We worked a lot together in the last few years and I am always happy when Brandon comes out of our home studio asking me to listen to a new track and add something to it. I consider it a privilege to see how every song develops and be included in the process. It’s wonderful and inspiring to have him around and to have the opportunity to contribute to Night Nail songs. The way I contribute happens in a very natural and casual way. I listen to the track and then I tell him, “I hear this synth, here, I hear this guitar on this part, there,” and then, I add whatever I feel and Brandon keeps whatever he likes. He often asks me to add some vocals but despite being a singer-songwriter myself, I much prefer contributing by playing synths, beats, or guitars as I usually hear notes that don’t necessarily need a voice but an instrument. On the latest album, I particularly loved playing guitar on “Pull Off” in the second part of the song and I also adore the backing vocals I got to add on the first single “Narcoleptic Dream Catcher.” They add a bit of soul to the song and make it even more of an ‘ear-worm’ track, I’d say. We both inspire each other a lot and yes, I think we find ease in creating art together. Whether it is a song, or a video, or a graphic project we work as a team respecting each other aesthetic view.”
Ken: Are you heading out on the road to support Fates Explained? Where are you looking forward to playing?
Night Nail: Yes, we planning to tour the EU, UK, and the US. The dates are being planned. I am looking forward to playing anywhere I haven’t played yet, the East Coast, in particular. We would also be willing to go to South America, Central America, Asia, Australia, and ANYWHERE where an opportunity presents itself to perform, live, and, of course, where our passports/visas are accepted.
Ken: You made a change to the legendary, darkscene, label Metropolis Records. What will that mean for the future of Night Nail?
Night Nail: I guess it depends on how this record does. I am honored to be on Metropolis Records. I had my eye on their label for many years now. They are doing a great job with promoting and releasing our music and we are even starting to get into bigger alternative music charts. “Narcoleptic Dream Catcher,” our first single, has landed on the ‘Top 5’ on the Deutsche Alternative Charts. This is a new for us. There is a sense I get from the music business nowadays that the record label will ONLY augment and support you as much as you demonstrate a willingness to work for yourself. For me, the work that befalls the artist today is massive. We wear every hat, do we not? (ie recording, mixing, producing, selling music, shipping vinyl, promoting, music video production, music video editing, acting, directing, promoting, touring, roadie, managing, etc.) It is all done with a painstaking effort, but, well worth it. We are unabashedly, willing participants in our ‘FATES
Bootblacks – Forbidden Flames – Brand new single we have all been waiting for. Well worth the wait. New lineup, new Post Apocalypse Disco sound. Panther is charging to the front of the mix with a Dave Gahan croon that I didn’t know I was missing in life until I heard it. Northern light synth pastels twined with dancing delay guitars. Holy crap this has me excited for the next record.
2) Vaselyne – Necromancer – Another trip to our charts for Amsterdam shadow rock Vaselyne. Loving this chorus vocal right out of the jump. Like Abba on a bad acid trip. You really feel the protagonist emotions of scared and horny as you back towards the corner from this stalking master of the undead. Slow, filthy, captivating. Really love the Kill Shelter remix as well.
3) MORIS BLAK – The Abstract with GenCAB – Two great tastes that taste great together. Boston Bass Wizard Moris Black pulls back the mayhem to combine electro emo songsmith David Dutton to make this absolute banger. Songs don’t need to be this catchy while making me want to break stuff. This track would make every club night better.
4) Black Angel – Killer – Matt with another flame thrower opening riff out of his headstock. I just did a full review of the album but this single is definitely the flagship. Large, leathery, audacious, a danger energy that doesn’t quit. These vocals are two people standing on the back of a moving motorcycle, balanced and fearless.
5) BRIDES – Private Apocalypse – Adrian has really found his true voice in this project. Just slipping between the cracks of The Swans and Sisters why spitting poetry in the voice of Gmork from The Neverending Story. People really need to get aware of Brides because they are bridging the gap between traditional goth and the filthy dark future.
6) grabyourface – Haine X Guillotine – Our favorite French Sadustrial Revolutionary Marie with a poignant call to arms. The opening salvo is a lovely spoken word build into a gatling gun drum machine. This makes my brain feel like it is inside Akira.
You made our lives hell. You turned every second into suffering. There is gonna be retribution some day. We will burn your palaces. We will burn your banks. You starved us so well, you have made us capable of literally eating you.
But while you’re dying in the flames of the hatred you have sowed. Never forget. You killed us before we killed you.
7) DEAD COOL – Faith or Misery – North Carolina darkSynth with a new single who’s opening volley slashes so hard it must have been done on a keytar. Johhny spits out lyrics with lip curled menace. Angela’s bass line is hot asphalt winding through the city. A banger that asks an important question.
8) The Waning Moon – Annabel – Ariel Maniki and Zac Campbell return to the chart once again. Complex as a spell weaving the mist around the battle field. A high speed ballad of fingertips and rumble. I could see this project becoming the main focus for both of them.
9) Who Saw Her Die? – Burn It All – Terrordustrial from Louisville, Kentucky, Stephen Beasey and Brian Cain served up this mechanical spider nightmare fuel. I’m glad I got to visit the broken world in this single, because I would shiver at the idea of seeing it in reality.
10) Deus Ex Lumina – We Are Dead Tonight – Berlin by way of Buenos Aires, velvet cloth unspooled and wrapped around the room in synthy seduction. I close my eyes and I am in a cathedral rave where all the statues and painting’s eyes are following me. I didn’t know much about this band before but they are a great find.
