Tag: Amaranth

Detroit Darkness

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I thought I might write a little something close to home. About the glorious music scene in my very own Michigan. I know, I said Detroit. However as anyone from the D will tell you, all white boys from the suburbs claim Detroit even if they currently live in Kalamazoo MI. While doing the podcast with SYZGYX last night I got excited talking about our local scene. Then figured why not share it with all of you 🙂 Lets start with some bands.

East Side

Josie Pace – Nightmare pop that takes top 40 sensibility wraps a rusty chain around it’s neck and chokes the shit out of it. Josie takes singer songwriter hooks then feeds them through a spicy electroclash beat. With an LA aesthetic and a motor city grit.

Schedule IV – Post Punk synth wave with giant sound and piercing powerful vocals from Steph Strange. They do a wonderful live show that is wound tight and full of soul. One of our favorite bands to play with SIV are a must see.

Vazum – Dark Retro dream rock with a flowing minimalist style. I really like their crunchy 90’s grunge style with dark edges. Large thumping drums and Zach’s slippery shifting melodies carry you on a roller coaster of driving fuzz.

Heavy Water Factory – Textural industrial old school that has been a part of the Detroit scene since I was a high school kid in black boots and a trench coat. When it comes to perfect production and beats that take over the floor Jesse McClure is one of the most respected in the business. It’s electric, it makes you dance, it’s the soundtrack of my angry youth. Just out with a new album after a long hiatus, HWF has not lost a beat.

Ritual Howls – The sinister dark rock poets have brought their European style Nick Cave shadow twang to the motor city and continue to spew forth quality content from the void.

The Ruiners – Detroit Gothabilly royalty have been a little quiet as of late. They hold a special place in my heart. I had the honor of playing with their must see stage extravaganza complete with ex Amaranth singer Nina. Her husband Rick Ruiner is Iggy Pop 1977 brought forth and made flesh. There is no party not made better by throwing Ruiners on the stereo.

Siamese – Thicccc bass lines and lovely crooning vocals are the trademark of shadowy retro rockers Siamese. They really blend the synths and rock seamlessly to create that metal gauntlet in a velvet glove.

Detroit also sports one of the United States oldest and best Goth Clubs “City Club”

https://www.facebook.com/pg/LelandCityClub/about/?ref=page_internal

Featuring Djs – Jay Itchon, Charles English, with guests like Sandra Katz, and Leo Oakley

As well as Smalls, my favorite Detroit venue for live bands. They also have a badass Industrial night on Fridays and Saturdays.

https://www.facebook.com/smallsbar/?eid=ARAUlR3Gcafk-qUXIzgdn3iotK5_tNdpe9NuJng0HVB1aUMWYzeVNzuRZ-v5fuoab96DgpJwEkr9Zbd3

Featuring : DJ Aaron Hingst, DJ Elektrosonik ,

Suburbs

Audrey Burne – Our dear friends dark fantasy rockers Audrey Burne bring that witchy energy from Bay City. Powerful vocals and intricate construction. They have a wonderful intimate live show.

Damien Done – He toured through Europe doing dark folk. Then returned back to Michigan and reinvented with incredible midnight alternative post punk with a dark humor. Deep, rich voice that just draws you in. Why have I never played with them? 🙂

Ann Arbor also has a great Monday night goth event I have tragically never made it too. I hear great things though. Djd by Jay Itchon and Leo Oakley

https://www.facebook.com/FactoryAtNecto/

West Side

My home town of Kalamazoo MI sports on of the secretly greatest goth scenes in the midwest. Smack dab between Chicago and Detroit this has been a stopover spot and music mecca for many years.

Katy Needs A Life – Synth Princess and S & S contributor these ethereal 80s prom dream waves are always a great show. It’s lovely, pure, and authentic.

Sexy Toxins – Eurotrash disco sex party duo A Toxin and B Toxin take performance art and ass slapping beats that are a guaranteed good time every time you see them. I can think of few live shows in this life I had more fun at.

Nekomata – These doom metal droning sound explosion are so fucking good they make me listen to metal. It’s beautiful sludgy filth. Have you ever had your ass kicked by sound alone, because this is how you do that. Plus Myah is in this video.

Drink Their Blood – Some like their metal with a little more speed and sizzle and Drink Their Blood are furious wizards of the keyboard. Ben Boggs is a vocal experience not to be missed. Plus Saxophone + Metal !!!

Thee Elder Gods – Kalamazoo’s punk rock icons. The play loud, mean, and take no shit off anyone

Deadlight Holiday – High energy goth slush from Grand Rapids Michigan play a wonderful shoegaze darkness and have an electric stage show full of leather, sweat, and fury.

https://kidsaintnothing.bandcamp.com/releases

Kid Saint Nothing – This brilliant new release from my dear friend Reggie left me floored. It’s tender, genuine and full of pop hooks that stick in my mind. It has transported me with a scope that goes from fury to elegance. You must hear this. I can’t wait to see it played live.

Amaranth – we make bullshit goth about Ninjas, Swordfights and Lambos.

Kalamazoo also sports one of the best goth dance nights around Chaos. Anastasia and Asher (Dj Wyrmwood) have created a beautiful and inclusive environment for music and dancing to thrive. Every time I bring someone from a big city to our local goth party they are blown away wondering how is this happening in the tiny hamlet of Kalamazoo.

https://www.facebook.com/ChaosKalamazoo/

I’ll try and keep adding to this. If your city deserves a great write up to celebrate it’s music culture than hit me up and lets tell people why you are excited.

Cold Transmission Zeitgeist Vol 10

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https://coldtransmissionmusic.bandcamp.com/album/zeitgeist-vol-10

When our friends at Cold Transmission release two compilations back to back like this two things are generally true. 1) They feature a perfect blend of some of the hottest new music available from around the world. 2) They have one volume dedicated to Goth/Post Punk/Cold Wave and the other primarily electronic. This ended up right to form. It’s about 40 songs total at an unbelievably low price so I can’t touch on every single track. However I made a picture of Bloody Mary, hooked up my good speakers, and I am going to see how many I can do in one review. Buckle in and lets go for a ride.

Andy and I being adorbs 😉

Volume 10: So the genre of “Gothic Rock” is one that has been sitting on the self for a few decades without nearly enough attention for my personal taste. I feel like it is really making a huge comeback in the modern scene. Bands are really coming forth with new and exciting things from wicked goth guitar riffs and driving bass lines. I was blown away at how this compilation captured so many of these great next wave Goth Rockers from all over the world in one place. If you call yourself “Goth” and want to have your finger on the modern pulse, Zeitgeist Vol 10 is a great place to start. It puts me in mind of those old Cleopatra Records comps I fell in love with all those years ago.

Track 1: A Projection – Stockholm Sweden post punk artist off of Tapete Records. What a strong start this song is. It bounces and the snapping of those live snares gives a furious pace. This track had a lot of The Mission UK flavor and a beautiful melody. I became an instant fan. Lots of depth, lots of rawness.

Track 3: Mark E Moon – This is a previously unreleased track Delta of Venus of this Cold transmission act from the Isle of Man is a gasoline fire of dark driving poetry. I love the lyrics, the cascading synths, and Mark’s Jaz Coleman style vocals. Total Burner

Track 4: Sonsombre – Fear is a a slow driving goth rock modern classic from North Virginia revivalist Brandon Pybus. I really feel like Sonsombre are leading the charge for this next wave of goth music. Lots of Sisters of Mercy/Mission/Rosetta Stone ballad feel on those sweeping light finger drip guitars. This song makes me howl at the moon at 3am.

Sonsombre

Track 6 : October Burns Black – Cast Aside is a “Proper” Goth rock track in every old school sense. This super band made up of bits and pieces from all around are giving you the real deal right out of 1981 preserved in dark crystal and given new life in the present. A mournful emotional outburst full of texture and power.

October Burns Black

Track 7: Astari Nite – Dearly Beloved, This crooning shadowy ballad from Miami Florida’s robust goth scene. A lot of David Bowie/Roxy Music glam to this dark winding tale of loss.

Astari Nite

Track 8 : Secret French Postcards – The most recent signing for Cold Transmission from Baltimore Maryland. Make Me Bleed is a beautiful track with very dark overtones but an ethereal shoegaze backdrop. One of those tracks that hits you on different layers every time you listen.

Track 9 : Icy Men – Another amazing Cold Transmission band hailing from Keiv Ukraine. They have another just released single I need to review. I love this minimalist bleak tone of isolation and desperation. I can’t understand the lyrics but i still find myself moved by the power of the delivery. The bending low range guitars create a great movement in a place devoid of hope.

Track 13: Caidas Libras – Post punk from Costa Rica. This song Poderes Simples has an intense and driving bass groove that charges through the track like a raging bull. The vocals are very whispered and low fi. I found myself wishing to hear more of it. The music has an undeniable groove and a sinister tone.

Track 14 : Paradise Cove – Inside is another previously unreleased track on Cold Transmission. I love the distorted voice and punk rock vibe. Very Alien Sex Fiends buzzing club jam feel. Slick as an oil spill on an a frozen lake.

Track 15 Scary Black – Louisville KY goth masters Scary Black bringing one of my favorites on this compilation of goodness with Starlightdancer. Those reverb dreamy guitar riffs, the sinister low register vocals, and the ringing chime bells. So old school, so fresh, I can’t get enough.

Track 17: The Gathering – Building a Bridge is the slashing builder and breaker from Vancouver also on Cold Transmission. It’s so open and harmonic, almost feels pop punk but with such perfect instrumentation and looming dark tones.

Track 20: Death Instinct – Hide is a track from Pittsburgh PA’s dark rock band Death Instinct. I love the Steven Morris drum builds. The echoing vocals with a slight lilt giving just enough glimpse of light to add some extra spice to the cold wave feel.

Track 23: Amaranth – My Turn Again is a song from Kalamazoo MI goth rockers. The singer sounds like a pretentious prick. Fuck that guy. The bass player seems hot though.

Track 25: The Bluebeard’s Castle – Another Cold Transmission band this time from France. I love this old bat cave feel yesteryear goth. Also the vocals have a touch of Jello Biafra in them which is awesome. I love the cadence and the bass underneath driving it.

I’m going to try and go back and fill in the bands I missed but this was just a marathon of reviewing. Needless to say I put in this much time because everything on this compilation is worth exploring and it takes you on a journey across the world. It makes me excited for what the goth scene is still capable of in 2019.

Hot new releases in October

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It has admittedly been tough to get behind the keyboard in October. I have had a lot of focus on my band and lots of shows I needed to see. However I wanted to take a moment to call out a few important releases this month.

First and foremost is a new single from goth legend Caroline Blind of Sunshine Blind. Sunshine Blind was so important to many of us that fell in love with goth industrial music in the 90s. It really opened my mind to how something could be both delicate and beautiful at the same time as ferocious and intense. The album, ” Liquid,” was a CD I played until the scratches looked like grooves on a record. I just had the pleasure of seeing her open for Stoneburner in Detroit, and it was like being transported back in time. This first single in far too long is a cover of my favorite Swans song, “Godamn the Sun“. It is moving in it’s nihilistic humor and gloom. I feel like this version takes everything wonderful about the original and adds a level of stark contrast from the gorgeous soul of her voice. The ringing acoustic guitar and timed delivery has an almost Leonard Cohen feel in it’s poetry. This is a must hear for lovers of dark music.

https://carolineblind.bandcamp.com/releases?fbclid=IwAR1rsGgTNAF389aEwZHX6GsxmGgHndN7w_zEe8v1iOSn3XnFWU3zxqk586c

The lovely lads from Texas Twin Tribes have done it again. Their first single from a sophomore album, Ceremony’s, shows another level in the electric progression of one of post punk musics fastest rising stars. There is a smooth synthesis to the flow and texture of these singles that is surpassing the already brilliant Shadows. Each song is a Ceremony that brings you inside it’s ritual and core. The personal connection created from these songs makes it a contender for album of the year.

Our dear friends in S Y Z Y G Y X have unleashed a Halloween single called, “Samhain”. They always have a spooky, atmospheric edge, spurned on by Luna’s truly unique vocals. For this cemetery dance jam, they turned the danger up to 11. Feast on the nightmares in sonic explosive form.

Ghost of Bela Lugosi, the man too intensely punk rock to ever hold between the lines, unleashed this searing napalm of a single. I am always surprised how much every song he releases is so different and so good. This one is an unapologetic throat punch of melodic fury. It’s hard to sit still just to write about it.

https://ghostoflugosi.bandcamp.com/album/colombian-neck-tie?fbclid=IwAR1qjVVV1w7Q3MnaUwArvsjK7Lkb5aRrwaITUVC6y5Z_YoIO9WByeAicirw

Carrion N.O released a new single, “Through the Eyes of Flys.” Another Halloween sinister noise assault in the vein of the Goblins. Full of atmospheric terror and slow building tension. I don’t want to run into this song in a dark alley.

https://officialcarrion.bandcamp.com/track/through-the-eyes-of-flies?fbclid=IwAR1586Qxl4ezaItvoa0jMgUWkWwaMD8rpeY2U9X7BpWuFOsDOCBF18zaFAY

And Screw it, a band named Amaranth I am pretty fond of, made a new single, and I think it is peachy keen 😉

https://theamaranth.bandcamp.com/track/my-turn-again?fbclid=IwAR2pJtCXNtaUCdzW5SgY3GHFRDjiTLi4qfySKvuZ5gjmRW0k7-JmrkIYZWc

Review of The Ghost of Bela Lugosi: Das Vamp

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Lable: Self Release

Members: Vin Price (The Ghost of Bela Lugosi) Songs/Instruments/Music. Various guest vocalist including: Zeke Sporn (Winter Corpse) Kevin Srednep (Psyclown), Sandra + Shawn Mortis (Alter Defection) Jak Taylor (Dream upon Tombs) , Owen Gillett (Ice Cocoon) , Ken Magerman + Collin Schipper (Amaranth 🙂

https://ghostoflugosi.bandcamp.com/album/das-vamp-album

https://www.facebook.com/ghostoflugosi/

Featuring….Me 😉

Ok our last glorious trip down the musical rabbit hole was for a band who is on the rise with critical acclaim. So I wanted to get back to a criminally under discussed band and personal friend Austrailia’s own The Ghost of Bela Lugosi. This has been a review a long time coming as I struggled with how to find the right words since I did have the honor of being a part of the project. Vin is a true tunesmith and multi instrument producer extraordinaire who much like a previous review Kill Shelter created an idea I am fast becoming enthralled with in modern music. A single songwriter combining a wide range of songs and styles with a different guest vocalist for each track to create an eclectic yet consistent album. A fan of the horror genre Vin created an homage tapestry to the campy, spooky, sexy concept of retro film monsters. It’s ambitious, it’s sinister, and has an unapologetic artistry that takes chances and hits the mark. For being such strange taboo concepts these songs are held together with such a beautifully woven pop sensibility. The drum beats are atmospheric and layered. The keyboards are nostalgic and dynamic. Each song has such a unique competition ranging from Ministry, Killing Joke, Devo, Shreikback, and of course Bauhaus. It’s a dance album with a lot of disco flavor. A sensual club dance feel. Just not that club that everyone can go to. That forbidden dangerous club you have to be in the know to find with no sign. The lyrics of these songs encapsulate these monsters. The ones from the 80s you found yourself drawn to.

Vin incorperates so many styles in this music but one aspect that bleeds through in all is that sense of punk rock defiance. Not in the actual sound but in the screw off I will never succumb to corporate mainstream feel of every track. While every song has a engaging hook they also lash out with a lo-fi aggression of piss and vinegar that most modern music lacks the courage to undertake.

Because there is so much to say about the individual tracks due to the different vocalist I am going to break protocol a bit and do extra stand out tracks. I won’t use my own because that is just weird but I will say I love the song I did with him Asphyxiation and think it is an incredible song that was way outside the wheelhouse of what I usually do. I really cut loose vocally in a way I rarely do with Amaranth. You should listen to it. In particular the video he did of Fright Night footage is outstanding. So here are some stand out tracks.

Berlin – This is the song that first introduced me to GOBL. It’s incredible. It’s a smokey room in a foreign land with these marimba like keyboard sounds that roll and remind me of The Cure. The guitar lines are very post punk and enthralling. It has themes of desire and obsession. A femme fatal song that has incredible pop hook and seductive whispers. It features his own voice and words which I think gives this song a particular genuine feel. I could listen a million times and still come back to this song.

Vampires of Hollywood – A sinister 80s synth build up draws you into this song. It’s lurking on the endge of your imagination. Sandra + Sean Mortis have a seductive spoken word vocal style with a creppy resonating reverb. Reminds me a bit of Tina from Switchblade Symphony. It doesn’t attack, it lures you into a dark place where you are her captive.

Videodrone – Holy creep dance burner. Owen Gillett has such a vast range and poetic style on this song. Again it is subtle and gentle like a beautiful ballad with David Gahan sex drip and Tones On Tail synth swells. The lyrics are so dangerous and forbidden. When he opens up in his high octave reaches it swells with emotions. “Like Ribbons sliced by razors, blowing in the wind” The bassline here walks a tightrope edge and gives this song motion.

Stockholm Syndrome – What an intricate club jam. The vocals have a terrifying otherworldly monster effect but delivered with a smooth crooning beauty. It’s one of those tracks that attacks you at multiple angles and never lets you get comfortable. I love this feeling and effect. It’s unnerving and unquieting.

Die With Your Eyes Open – Such a great concept for a track. The opening guitar riff is a classic. It’s a post punk throw back to old Killing Joke or Daniel Ash. The vocals are a little background but delivered with a reserved passion that fits the style.

Overall this album is such an unapologetic artistic expression. It’s full of danger and forbidden desires. It is one of the albums I love to play for people and say why do more people not know about this? Maybe it is to risque, too dangerous to make it’s way to the standard charts. I think that is part of it’s strength and I don’t think it is something Vin could change if he wanted to. Step outside the cycle of everything you are hearing and give this album a real try. You won’t be sorry. I’m proud to be a part of this record.