Category: Review

Caustic – “FIEND I”

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There are a lot of things that make Industrial Music, Industrial Music. Intensity, absurd sounds, samples of movies everyone should stop sampling (I’m looking at you Full Metal Jacket). One of the others at the top of the list is authenticity. True industrial music is a gory high fidelity pulsing vein of truth that lays an artist bare spread eagle on a sun dial at high noon with a metal pole bursting through their chest for all to see. That is who Matt Fanale is. That is what this record is.

FIEND I | Caustic

released August 20, 2025

All songs by Caustic/Matt Fanale, except Thirsty Dog, lyrics by Nick Cave

No AI went into the making of this. Don’t be a hack.

Why do we love Madison Wisconsin Industropunk Caustic? The punk rock ethos? The intelligent political vinegar? Is it the fact that Matt loves bad ass beats as much as you do and dedicates his life and time to making sure your fuking bones quake when his bassline drops? Pick an answer. One truth remains, for 1.5 decades now Caustic has been giving you both barrels of fearless phosphorus dragon round industrial music and the Fiend dual albums leave it all on the floor.

Favorite tracks:

“I Love You Matt, but fuck off” – Pure Industrial bare boned self-flagellation. It’s mean, it’s fearless, it’s beats are thrashed within an inch of their life. I love the craft, I love the energy. This the sound a 16 year old me screamed at the moon for.

“Pushing Rope” Part of the amazing beauty of Caustic is to scream rusty nail anger while tearing yourself down a peg. It is real, it is relatable, it is staring at your own mortality how fuking dare you universe.

“I‘ll Throw A Mountain At You” – “When you’ve got nothing to lose I’ll throw a mountain at you” Unhinged aggression with glitchy beats relatable in the modern times. I love the classic growling cadence and exposed emotion.

FIEND I | Caustic

Rather you are talking Caustic, DaddyBear, or Klack, Matt Fanale is a geyser of propelled emotion and boot stomping beats. There is a Part II of Feind out and I look forward to reviewing it too. Matt is one of the real ones, Caustic is a legend.

Blood Dance – Walk the Night

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Akatoxkatl Martinez and Blood Dance from Mexico City are one of the most exciting new talents in the modern darkscene. I reviewed the single Wicked King in 2022 and was immediately struck by the craft and passion. The best goth music comes from artist with a message bubbling out of their souls. Blood Dance embodies that deeper meaning and inner fire. This record is pure death rock spread over infectious dance beats. If you are going to bring old soul death rock into the modern world, get a producer that is a legend of the sound like Franck Amendola of Corpus Delicti.

Walk the Night – Album | Blood Dance

blood-dance.com

Physical, organic, and raw this record stalks you with a hunger. It has an energy that moves you on the dance floor, but you can hear that no attention was given to making pop singles. This is the grimy filthy batcave sound that drew the weird kids out of their caves and into the underground. A devil may care attitude that roars punk anger as much as goth macabre. Akatoxkatl‘s voice is haunting, full of gothic beauty. Yet never far from a snarling menace beneath the surface.

Favorite Tracks:

Baptism – “We’re gonna rise up now and scream revenge We’re gonna come down on them like four horsemen We’re gonna rise up now and scream bloody revenge” This is an absolute slow crawl banger. There is nothing more goth than iconism. This track does the soul and pageantry but flips the script with a faith much older than Catholicism. I love than downbeat synth lines. The vocals rise and break with reckless passion.

Compromise – “I’ll bring down heaven from above And give you all those things you want Forget the pain you’ve felt for far too long.” I am a sucker for a good romantic goth song and an album of napalm bangers. Writing a genuine love song that isn’t cheesy is the hardest thing for a musician to accomplish. This one burns true with a slick backbeat and a sizzling guitar solo.

www.instagram.com/blooddanceband/

Mexico City has a rich tradition of darkscene music. One of the most passionate fan bases in the world. It’s a thing of beauty to see that tradition perfectly carried on by the next wave spiritual successor Blood Dance.

Walk the Night – Album | Blood Dance

The Funeral March “It All Falls Apart”

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In 2024 I lost a friend and the scene lost a passionate supporter in Joe Whiteaker. Joe Recorded “It All Falls Apart” in 2023, which would end up the final EP from The Funeral March of the Marionettes. The remaining band and William Faith worked together to release Joe’s final vision in March 2025. This record is a story, an important story, a human story. Joe always had a beautiful voice. One that dripped with soul. This was truly the culmination of his journey.

The Funeral March of the Marionettes is:
J. Whiteaker – Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Programming
D. McCaskey – Bass, Programming, Backing Vocals
W. Thiele – Guitar, Backing Vocals

Additional performances by:
Ria Aursjoen (of Octavian Winters and AURSJOEN) – Vocals on “Stars at Night” and “Save Us”
Rob Hyman (of [melter]) – Drums on “Save Us” and “It All Falls Apart”
Renard Platine – Bass VI on “Bobblehead”

Remixes by Tweaker, Bellhead, and The Joy Thieves

https://thefuneralmarch.bandcamp.com/album/it-all-falls-apart

Stars At Night : The album opens on this sinister misty streets in autumn banger. Gorgeous opening tom lead right out of the Martin Hannett playbook. I love how well the music matches the concept in the lyrics. Life is fast, brutal and full of beauty. “The stars at night are burning silver Burn bright and quickly fade away Our fates are written on flash paper Touched to the flame and burnt away”. You don’t need the context to feel the universal core of mortality.

Shadow Games : The tone and vocals speed forward for a more modern edge. A New York City early 2000s feel that lets Joe croon and resonate. The Rhythm section is more open and pastel to let the poetry breath. A haunting chorus hopeful and tragic in equal measure. “No matter which path that you take It all ends the same Fire reflects in your dark eyes A moth drawn to the flame Silently, you will make your move In this fatal game”

Bobblehead: Slowing things down for introspection. A touch of shoegaze slush and delay to the cadence. I love that understated guitar line that matches the baseline. The lyrics drip with longing and the melody is a whisper that leaves you leaning in to be a part of the secret. “How did you keep from showing? Did the awful secret break your heart? The distance kept on growing You knew that one day that you would depart”

Save Us: Comes snarling up with delayed Love and Rockets guitars and some hunger to the vocals. William Faith has his fingerprints on a lot of the tone and sound of this record, but here most of all. Obsidian axe death rock stalking towards you with purpose. The punk rock political overtones really bleed out of this track. The background wails at 2:20 gave me chills. I love different tracks for different reasons but if I had to pick a favorite gun to my head it is Save Us. “The world is on fire now As we watch it burn Dance on a funeral pyre Everyone will take their turn”

Joe was beloved by this scene and Chicago in particular. it took a lot of people and a lot of love to make this happen. I have an interview with Darius we recorded shortly after the memorial show which I will add to this review. The 4 standout remixes by Tweaker, Bellhead, and The Joy Thieves. The art by Greg Rolfes (eleven12design.com). The Mixing and Mastering by William Faith (williamfaith.studio). All came together to show the lasting legacy Joe had on all of us. If you are new to The Funeral March of the Marionettes maybe go start with “Resurgence” and work your way forward, but they really did save the best for last. This was the highest evolution and the way I always want to remember a friend and artists who shared everything in his heart.

The Squirrelly Years Revisted by Ministry

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“The Ministry album “The Squirrely Years Revisited” is called that because it compiles re-recorded versions of songs from the band’s early, synth-pop-influenced “squirrely” era in the 1980s. Al Jourgensen reportedly disliked these early works, and “The Squirrely Years Revisited” represents a revisiting and re-evaluation of that material. The title also reflects the band’s journey from their initial synth-pop sound to their later, more industrial metal sound.”

That’s how the overview reads and that pretty much nails it on the head.

—-

If you’re like me, you had fond memories of those days when Ministry was the catchy, synth-heavy ear worm that was always a fun four-minute ride on the radio.

Sadly, the album Twitch wasn’t on my radar for several reasons. So I was completely unprepared when MTV’s 120 Minutes debuted the then new single, Stigmata.

At first I was confused. “Did I hear the name right?” “Is this the same Ministry?” “What the hell did I just watch?!?” These, among others, were the thoughts that ran through my junior year mind. This would take some digesting.

A few short years later, I was working at my college radio station when I finally got the whole story: Jourgensen got a raw deal from his record label and made With Sympathy, an album that was well-received but if Jourgensen had his druthers, would have sounded differently.

By this point, The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up were on our shelves. This would, in my mind, forever cement their sound and lead to a decades-long love affair with aggressive guitars, pounding drums, and growled vocals.

—-

Those who are familiar with the early material (including myself) probably cannot help but compare these new versions to the originals. But, to be fair, Al Jorgensen and Co. didn’t try to reinvent the wheel on these songs. They just gave them a little extra “oomph!”. Beefed up guitars and a heavier-hitting drums reign prominently throughout the album. But the likes of the revised Work For Love or All Day maintain their danceable qualities. Jourgensen does, however, take some chances with the vocals, employing the distorted treatments that would prominent on later albums such as The Land of Rape and Honey.

All of the classics are represented on this record like Every Day Is Halloween and Revenge. Fans should have a very satisfying experience listening to these classics being given a fresh coat of paint.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-squirrely-years-revisited/1794406730

Esoterik – Archetypes EP

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For the last twelve years Allison Eckfeldt and partner Brady Bledsoe’s dark-pop-edged post-punk project, Esoterik, has been creeping into the alternative scenes. Their latest endeavor, Archetypes, unequivocally demonstrates their ability to go toe-to-toe against the best artists in the various genres they encompass. The duo’s mastery over undulating, groovy synthesizers is on full display at the very start as “Mentor” slinks in with a beat that begs to be cranked up. The sheer spunk and moxie emanating from not only the music but also from Eckfeldt’s commanding voice grabs listeners in this first track and refuses to let go. Lyrics chastise an ingrained lack of communication in modern society that resulted in a loss of teachings and skills, and pleads to the audience to reconnect with each other. 

Moving forward, “Trickery” cements the creative quality and sonic skill that went into making this EP—the track pushes more of a bubbly synthpop sound, its melodies hooking listeners with unrepentant catchiness. The sardonic-tinged vocals border on witch-like but don’t come off as cheesy, emulating the likes of Rosie Garland of The March Violets. “Ally” brings fresh depth to the record, providing layers of faded post-punk guitars from Bledsoe and a dancy retro vibe. With deep bass and crystal-clear mixing, every part of this composition comes across satisfying and evocative. But Eckfeldt’s Lady Gaga-esque range on the track steals the show again. Her voice gusts and reels, full of emotion, as she sings about severing ties with friends who grew toxic and unsupportive.

As the record wraps on “Hero,” the thematic puzzle pieces fall into place. The song tells a tale over 80’s drum fills and bombastic glam-goth guitars of a lethargic protagonist who waits to be called to action and struggles to hold onto the lessons taught on their fragile hero’s journey. The EP’s tongue-in-cheek title suddenly makes sense. A lazy hero, false allies, a failed mentoring of the willfully deceived and younger generations… It all leads back to atrophied communication. The archetypes presented in the EP show our interpersonal failings, not just the people we ought to be. This theme works perfectly with the strong EBM and gothic energy given by Esoterik. Even the fleeting weaker spots on the EP deliver gorgeous soundscapes and powerful singing.

Tracklist

  1. Mentor
  2. Trickster
  3. Shadow
  4. Ally
  5. Hero

Esoterik are set to tour Europe with Combichrist on the Still Making Monsters Tour.