Ashes Fallen celebrate their fifth anniversary as a band with a clever sort-of reinvention of themselves in V, a trio of “what ifs”. By that, it’s meant that the band has issued this three-song EP of remixes to explore established songs with a fresh twist. The EP also shows the band’s altruistic side, as all proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.
The tracks are given a treatment which reimagines them as techno-pop jams instead of the more rock-oriented sound the band is more known for.
We Belong Nowhere (Diaspora Mix) immediately creates images of early-80s nostalgia, with its crunchy guitar riff and synth drum rhythm. Vocalist James Perry digs into the deeper end of his vocal range to give the track a moody sense of foreboding. Think of Rage In Eden-era Ultravox with a little Sisters of Mercy from the same time period thrown in and you get the idea.
Continuing on the same vibe, there’s Unrequited (Come Undone Mix). Perry explores a different vocal range from the previous track and shows his skill as a saxophonist as well. One doesn’t typically think of the sax as an instrument widely used in goth rock, but this is nothing short of a perfect fit to explore the moodier aspects of the track.
Damn Me (Ninth Circle Mix) is the heaviest track of the three, dipping into industrial territory with its layered, hard-edge drumbeat and an angry aggression to the guitar riff. Again, the sax is present, which lolls the listener in a false sense of comfort before jarring the listener with an abrupt transition which keeps the listening ear engaged. Damn Me is biting in its presentation and delightfully unpredictable in its delivery.
Ashes Fallen is James Perry, Michelle Perry, and Jason Shaw
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by James Perry Cover photo by Michelle Perry, design by James and Michelle Perry
All in all, this is quite the refresher for Ashes Fallen fans as well as a delectable taste of what could have been with the original release of these songs.
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 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.
Steven Archer – I Am The Walrus (Beatles Cover)
The Amaranth – Thighs
Ashes Fallen – Damn Me
Bestial Mouths – Road Of A Thousand Tears
Bellhead – Valentine
cEvin Key – The House That Tried To Kill Me
Unitcode:Machine (Feat Stabbing Westward) – Cold
Brides – Chalices
Black Rose Burning – Night Terrors
Vandal Moon – Satellite
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Punk Icon, Music Journalist, Scene Historian, in so many ways John Robb has made a career of lifting up great music and art in equal measure to creating it. Starting in Blackpool in 1978 The Membranes walked the razor line between introspective darkness and fiery blue-collar aggression. In 2010 he started “Louder Than War” an independent website of reviews, interviews, and live shows to shine a light on the fringes of music which might never get attention from mainstream pop coverage. This aspect was personally relevant to me, by proving one person could champion a movement to share and humanize the artist of the underground. When John released his new book “The Art Of Darkness” about the history of my chosen genre “Goth” and I had the opportunity to interview him my cold dead heart fluttered with joy. A giant who paved the way for me like few others.
Things that struck me about the first read through of this book. The historical research is first rate. How could it not be, John lived this time. Loved these bands. When I hear someone talking about something close to my heart, I need to hear that same reverence in their voice. This is the voice of a true believer. The facts aren’t enough. I need a bit of novel to set the backdrop. I was born in 1977 and never had a chance to go to the Batcave, to see Joy Division live. In this book we are taken through those damp streets, smell the clubs, see the fashion. A great history paints a picture in your mind that makes you a part of what happened years later. That was the ultimate magic of this book. Finally, my beloved goth scene always wants to put itself in a box. It’s a scene obsessed with the past, the idea that what came before will always be better than what comes after. This is a book about history, but one that flexes and expands the definition and connects those bands to the future. I’ve read several books and articles about goth history. None of them sparked something in me like this. If you are a lover of dark macabre music, this book is a must have.
This interview was my longest to date. Sometimes as an interviewer you need to navigate the flow of conversation to help the person you are interviewing tell their story. John is a lot better at this than me. So my goal was just to set him up and let him move from story to story. I am proud that although I could have listened to him discuss all the amazing things he has done and people he has known, I did get him talking about how the history of this scene impacts it’s future. The interview clocked in at 1.5 hours but in the end there was so little I wanted to cut. So we have broken it into 3 parts. I really hope you find something to learn and love from this conversation with one of the foremost experts in the modern darkscene.
In Part 1 we discuss early goth history. The role of Fashion in the early scene. Gazelle Twin. Youtube Influencers. Goth as a safe space. Bands with generational influence (Joy Division/Smiths/Bauhaus) as well as new splinter genres like WitchHaus.
In part II we discuss The Cramps. Guilty Pleasures are a farse. What does the history of goth have to teach us about the future. Suicide (The band). What drives you to support the scene. How have home studios effected the modern scene. Goth Romantism. Ashes Fallen and Vampiria
Finally in Part II (My personal favorite) we discuss Ghost Signal. She Passed Away. The Cassandra Complex and how early proto goths in England all love Hawkwind. Motorhead. The Dammed. Which of the early goth bands still touring had the most staying power. How aging is normal, even for rockstars. How Primal Scream couldn’t hang with Depeche Mode. Male Tears. Danny Elfman. We spin out to The Membranes “A Strange Perfume”
Learn about the past. This book is a great way to do it. Start a review page. Tell bands you appreciate them. Go to shows. Stand in front. Wear crushed velvet. Smoke cloves. Drink the blood of your enemies from a skull. There is no wrong way to appreciate and be moved by music. Just do it with all your heart and leave space for everyone.
This is the final 2022 singles chart of the year, and it is chocked full of amazing songs. I want to take a moment to thank all of you for participating. This chart has really made a difference highlighting songs that don’t always make it on other charts. Chosen with no entry fee by our group of Dj’s, Artists, Promotors, Reviewers, and Super Fans. Every song here was released in December is the broad “Darkscene” genre from around the world. If you have a release next year, or know someone who does, join the group and share with our community.
The Bellwether Syndicate – Beacons –
GIR x TSA – Upside Down Dreamwalker Remix (The Static Architect)
Black Angel – She
The Joy Thieves – 6 to 3 – Armalyte Records
Arden and the Wolves – Pai Nosso
Komor Komando (feat. THE TRUE UNION) – One by One (Brute Opposition remix)
Unwoman – Have Yourself a Gloomy Little Christmas
Ashes Fallen – At The End of All Things
Jason Priest – My Name Is Priest – Midnight Mannequin Records
Jason Alacrity – Angels Cut –
The Bellwether Syndicate – Beacons – Chicago show stopper’s have a brilliant new single that roars like a muscle car charging down Woodward Ave. Flames spewing out the engine to chase back the darkness. William croons with an extra edge of piercing determination. The mix is clear but always feels like a toe on the line which makes it feel dangerous, on the verge of shattering the glass bubble. They just took this song on the road with Then Comes Silence from Sweeden. Of everyone I currently follow in the modern darkscene, no one has more “rockstar” energy than William with a mic in his hand. I am definitely getting an interview with them in 2023 so watch for that
God in Rehab, The Static Architect – Upside Down Dream – Nashville, Tennessee with a flame thrower industrial pop banger. Leslie Benson has a bit of southern swagger that belts through the wall of thick wall of sound guitars and sledge hammer percussion. I didn’t know a ton about this band going in, but the production is top notch and I will be checking the back catalog.
Black Angel – She – Another blistering goth rock anthem from California producer and guitar wizard Matt Vowels. This track growls like a V8 engine jutting out of a classic car with flames on the side. This bassline is always revving my foot and taking me through the turns. I am afraid to drive with this song playing for fear I will get a ticker for reckless endangerment.
The Joy Thieves – 6 to 3 – Chicago Industrial superband back with another single in the charts. This one A timely new release while the rights of women to control medical decisions about their own bodies is called into question. Joy Thieves will be donating 100% of the money raised from the sale of the ‘6 To 3’ EP, and its accompanying line of exclusive t-shirts and hoodies to the National Network of Abortion Funds. We are always quick to point out when someone falls short, so I was happy to give credit when artists stand on the right side of history.
Arden and the Wolves – Pai Nosso – I love that Arden had a prominent part on this chart. I know how much soul and devotion they put into this track. It is heartbreaking and gorgeous with her smokey delivery and this goosebump piano line. The swell of this track feels like an affirmation that keeps feeding you strength to move forward through the darkness.
KOMOR KOMMANDO – One by One (feat. THE TRUE UNION) (Brute Opposition remix) – Belgian based electronica body music with punk rock ferocity which I knew little about before hearing this single. I now know this, it slaps and spews forth at you with the chaotic fury of a demon hoard. The project is Sebastian Komor‘s solo project this track features from wicked fire whip vocals from Azul of The True Union. I look forward to learning more, so that Jean-Marc Lederman isn’t the only Belgian artist I know 🙂
Unwoman – Have Yourself a Gloomy Little Christmas – Not something I see much in the Darkscene community, Erica Mulkey from San Fransisco blended in string accompaniment to create this shadowy soulful version of the holiday classic. I need to add it to Kelly’s dark Christmas list.
Ashes Fallen – At The End Of All Things – I love to see how thirsty this group is for guitar based traditional goth. I love the crunchy blasting 90’s tone of Stabbing Westward on the sonic spray of this song. I am giving impressions on the original which was chosen by the charts, do yourself a favor and check the badass remix by G.W. Childs IV and it’s synthwave shimmer. James’s voice is dripping wet on this track. It really makes everything loom with darkness over the mix.
Jason Priest – My Name Is Priest – Minneapolis, Minnesota artist of Midnight Mannequin Records with this gorgeous synth texture and guitar ballet with a blend of Magnetic Fields indie pop and New order technique synthwave. It’s dialed in so tight and shimmers every time Jason raises, he vocal heat. I can’t get enough of the glorious craftsmanship of this song writing. Every decision made here is just what i wanted it to be.
Jason Alacrity – Angels Cut – LA band I was not really familiar with before they made the chart. I am loving this sword swinging dervish EDM club banger. The vocals have a great rough edges on oil color translucence. The whole track was always spinning like a blender and bluring the world. Definitely a band i need to get to know better.
I will continue to run this chart in 2023. I feel like it matters to give an open field to find amazing bands not making it to other charts. If you or someone you know has a release in 2023, join the Sounds and Shadows Facebook group and add it for consideration. Hopefully 2023 is another great year for music.
