Sounds And Shadows August 2023 Darkscene Singles Chart

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

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

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

Thighs | The Amaranth (bandcamp.com)

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

Damn Me | Ashes Fallen (bandcamp.com)

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

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

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

Valentine | BELLHEAD (bandcamp.com)

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

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

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

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

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

Sounds and Shadows Interview with Hide Tepes

Chalices | BRIDES (bandcamp.com)

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

Night Terrors | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

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

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

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

Stoneburner Comes Back Howling With ‘The Great Filter’ EP

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On their last tour, the tagline for the mighty Stoneburner was “industrial music like a goddamn firestorm,” and the live show lived up to that claim. The music of Steven Archer’s tribal-industrial setup Stoneburner is mechanical aggression with a sense of urgency, melodies to make one move their ass, not because they want to, but because they have to because the World Wolf itself is in pursuit. The project’s last album Apex Predator was a statement record, their first as part of a proper label, and now that statement is revisited with The Great Filter, a seven-song EP that isn’t finished kicking the listener’s teeth in, as if the listener is pre-Bloodline Roman Reigns and the music is Braun “I’M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!” Strowman…

Perhaps I got swept up in the pro wrestling analogy, but the point is, The Great Filter, named for Robin Hanson’s potential solution to the Fermi paradox regarding extraterrestrial life, is an assault on the ears in the best ways. 

“Narcissus” kicks off proceedings with a hearty bassline and Stoneburner’s signature layered vocals. It’s a powerful way to open the EP, barreling forward for a four-plus minute opening salvo that flows seamlessly into “Fair and Balanced.” Vocally, Archer is all over the place, with talk-sung, almost rapped verses before the refrain and command of “put your hands up,” almost making this song a spiritual successor to “Sellout” from the Apex Predator album. It’s an anthemic “all hands on deck,” with lyrics talking about the corrupt and warmongering nature of America, with the throughline being that it may be time to wipe the slate clean, as Archer sings in one of the earlier verses.

“Hard Crash Necropolis” feels like a love letter to Nineties electro-industrial, taking things in a dancier direction with elements of noise and a stronger sense of rhythm. Of everything in this EP, this might be the most club-friendly track, while remembering where it came from with the harsher electronic flourishes and features. Things go from dance to destruction with “Corvomancers,” a staccato-laden industrial rocker with loads of reverb and echo, making for a dreamier backdrop for the palm-muted guitars and Archer’s multiple vocal tracks to soar through. This song will definitely make my regular listening playlists before long. 

Spoken word samples and acoustic guitars set “Generation Loss” into motion, haunting and shambling like the shell of its former self the America that Archer sings about has become. Elements of doom metal help to amp up the dread in this song, and while it wouldn’t be the first song I would show someone to introduce them to Stoneburner, it is one that appeals to me as a fan of metal music and of industrial music, as well as of things that lay just left of center. The title track is an abrasive and challenging one, though it would almost certainly get a dance floor going if given the chance, at least until the final third of the nearly five-minute track, in which pianos and different noise samples dominate the conversation until the fade.

The EP goes home on a cover of Psychedelic Furs’ “The Book of Days,” and this nod to the English post-punk group is a faithful one. While the original article has a bit more muddiness and grittiness to it, the Stoneburner rendition features a bit more of a dreamlike quality, a slightly more fantastical feel despite the heavier use of guitars than in the Furs’ version. It makes sense for Archer to give this late-Eighties classic the Stoneburner treatment, and it finishes off this seven-strong sortie that is The Great Filter on a high note.

The original version of the song from Psychedelic Furs’ 1989 album of the same name, for those unfamiliar.

My first introduction to Stoneburner was the Red in Tooth and Claw EP back in 2020, and every release I’ve heard since has only gotten stronger. Steven Archer has been in the music game for decades and is showing no signs of stopping, and we should feel blessed that that is the case. I don’t normally like doing superlatives or “best of the year,” but this is an essential listen, especially for the industrial fan that likes the music to beat back occasionally.

The Great Filter is available now via COP International.

Nitzer Ebb Live at The Music Box, San Diego, California, 09/02/2023

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“Forty Bloody Years” was how it read on the ad for Nitzer Ebb’s forty-year retrospective tour. How time flies. I still remember seeing the video for Control, I’m Here for the first time on MTV’s 120 Minutes and thinking that I have seen the future. Well, the future has come and gone and here we are, four decades later.

All Photos: Patrick Dickson

The Music Box itself is a somewhat upscale venue; with two balconies overlooking the main dance floor and stage. Video monitors on each level allow for ease of viewing the onstage activity, which is helpful in a space where it’s easy to find yourself too far from the railing to see much of anything.

There were interesting goings-on all around upon entering the venue. For starters, there were the fetish-themed go-go dancers in cages right on the dance floor, as well as the BDSM cosplay performances throughout the night.

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The first musical act of the night was NYC’s Normal Bias. This duo offered a tasty buffet of catchy and danceable electronic tunes and was well-received by the crowd. And while they were a palatable opening act, my own impression from the set tells me that the best work of Normal Bias is still ahead of them.

San Diego’s own MATTE BLVCK was next, with an energetic set that was also the only performance of the night to include any non-keyboard based instruments. Members would switch off from electronics, guitar, bass and percussion throughout the set. I personally liked the slower jams that got my foot tapping and were swaying the crowd into dance mode.

Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for… Nitzer Ebb hit the ground running, opening the show with their iconic Control, I’m Here. But something was different this time. Not just because the lineup was simplified to just Bon Harris and Douglas McCarthy, as opposed to the three or four person lineup of shows past. What also made the show unique was the change of arrangement of recognizable classics. The whole performance was a power medley of remixes; an interesting way to breathe fresh life into old favorites and keep the energy level consistent throughout the show; although I felt the energy level was diminished for not having a live drummer this time around.

Douglas McCarthy stalked the stage as he belting out crowd favorites. He seemed to move gingerly about the stage as one banger after another flowed without break or interruption. Bon Harris kept the crowd fired up as he played a little bit of everything from percussion to vocals.

I moved around a few times, trying to find the best vantage point to watch the show. I eventually ended up on the second balcony. And while I still couldn’t see the stage, the video monitors were doing their job. Besides, the second balcony had its own vibe. Since hardly anyone else could see the stage either, most folks on the balcony just rolled with it and the balcony became a separate dance party of its own.

With a one-song encoré, Nitzer Ebb was done. Everyone was appropriately sweaty and danced out by this point, but the party vibe continued out to the street as folks filtered out of the venue.

It sure doesn’t feel like it’s been forty years. But Nitzer Ebb has worn it well and, in my opinion, remain one of the most relevant EBM bands on the scene and continue to lead the charge.

Negative Gain Productions: Destination NOLA 2023

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By: Vanessa Saw- Producer of Ratio Strain, Drummer for W.A.S.T.E, writer for STATIK magazine.

I was fortunate enough to be asked by Sounds and Shadows creator Ken Magerman to conduct a review of one of the most anticipated events of the summer, NGP’s Destination NOLA. Everyone I know was excited when the announcement came that NGP and the Gothic Cruise collaborated together to create the ultimate summer adventure. I have never been to a Gothic Cruise event myself and thought what better initiation than to go to NOLA in the heat and humidity of summer. I imagine the meeting for NGP and the Gothic Cruise went something like this:

“Hey, instead of being on a boat during the summer, let’s mix it up! Let’s do a land thing.”

“Sounds great! You know what place would be amazing to get a bunch of goth/industrial people who wear black to go? NOLA!” Let’s do it in August!”

“OMG! you’re a genius! I’m in!”

Thus, many including myself, bought tickets and made the trek over to NOLA with all our black clothes and stompy boots with little regard for mother nature in the name of music and fun.

NGP has been a force to be reckoned with and has been home to a variety of our favorite artists from Bestial Mouths, Josie Pace, to ESA. Celebrating 25 years is not an easy feat, especially as the scene and it’s needs change over time. Yet Micah and Roger have managed to not only create a household name in the scene but have assisted with facilitating diversity and growth. The fact that NGP was able to create a two-day festival that many attended from around the world shows the caliber of artists they support. Every artist brought their all to the stage, and you have to hand it to Atari Nite, Wire Spine, Carrellee, Total Chroma, and Heavy Halo who played night one in a venue with no AC.

It would be easy to review every artist’s performance, but in thinking about the event, I kept reflecting on what events like these mean to the scene. The first thing I noticed was just how many people from all over the world were in attendance. One of my favorite aspects about these types of events is connecting with friends and fellow musicians that I get to see so rarely. While we all love the music, we appreciate the connection to others in the scene. In speaking with many of the performing artists, this was a common theme. Rob from Order of the Static Temple (who absolutely crushed it and was a highlight performance) had this to say:

“We’ve been very lucky to play at two NGP showcases, last year at SXSW in Austin TX and now in NOLA. NEW ORLEANS!! The French Quarter is another world. Walking the streets at close to midnight with literally no one around, marveling at the 1700’s architecture, gas lights and horse hitches. Two nights of amazing artists, friendship and community. We played our brand of electronic cult music alongside the best. Happy 25th anniversary to Negative Gain, and much gratitude to Micah and Roger for making this happen!”

I have to wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment as one of my favorite parts of the weekend was exploring the local culture, checking out the local goth club, and the afterhours set from Daniel Myer that made my noise loving heart so happy. Seriously, don’t ever sleep on a Daniel Myer set! Another highlight for me personally was being able to drum for Ivardensphere and share the stage with two of my favorite people in the world, Scott and Jamie. Very few people can message me the day of a performance and say “Hey, do you want to play with us?” and with no hesitation I somehow say yes to an entire set.

Night one of the festival was a good introduction to the weekend with Carrellee’s perfectly moody voice and Heavy Halo’s grungy synth sounds. The venue was more intimate, so it allowed for the artists to really interact with their audience and showcase their talent. I enjoyed the dive bar feel of the venue mixed with Total Chroma’s post punk groove and the sight of so many familiar faces. What I always fail to remember about NOLA is just how late the party goes, so several of us ended up at the Goat for their goth night. I always enjoy checking out the local scenes and seeing what the city has to bring.

Day two of the festival kicked off just as amazing as day one, albeit on slightly less sleep and probably too much of the local cuisine in my belly. As expected, every performer brought their all and the crowd was amped throughout the entire night. I had never seen several of the acts live so it was great to see them all in one place. I honestly can’t say that any one performance was better than the other as they all brought something unique to the table. The biggest highlight was Daniel Myer making everyone dance and sing, because who can say no to Daniel.

In speaking with Roger and Micah themselves, I could sense their excitement and disbelief that something they had envisioned in their heads had finally come to fruition. When I asked them what their plans were moving forward, they collectively agreed that they are beyond thankful to the community to have made it this far and that they want to continue to foster what they have built.

It was truly a pleasure to sit back and watch all the performances. Watching Total Chroma’s drummer be in the pocket like a boss, the total rockstar energy of Josie Pace, Curse Mackey who just gives his performance his absolute soul, Bestial Mouth’s moody hypnotizing vibes, ESA’s shirtless “It’s too hot for clothes”, DSTR’s heckling for us not knowing the lyrics, being able to drum with Ivardensphere, and the crowd’s unwavering energy for every performance made me thankful for our mighty community. So thanks NGP and the Gothic Cruise for making us sweat, eat amazing food, laugh with good friends, and remind us that we are a strong community built on good music and friendship.

https://negativegain.com/

https://www.facebook.com/reel/832615658417496

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

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

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

Night Terrors | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

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

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

Favorite Tracks:

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

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

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

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

Collection 1 | Obsidian (bandcamp.com)

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

▶︎ Providence | RED MEAT (bandcamp.com)

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

Favorite Tracks:

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

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

Fortune | Sapphira Vee (bandcamp.com)

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

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

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

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

Track 5 Vocals by Steven Seibold and Tara Saavedra

Track 9 Vocals by Yvette Winkler

Favorite Tracks:

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

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

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

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

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

Favorite Track:

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

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

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

Favorite Tracks:

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

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

The Great Filter | Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)