Tag: Cold Transmission

Cold Transmission Spotlight Volume 2

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In the past 4 years German based label Cold Transmission has been responsible for amassing and growing some of the greatest talent in the modern darkscene. Andreas and Suzy Herrmann have created a music label experience that feels like family. With a hawk’s eye for talent and a focus on growing creative expression. They have built up an amazing roster of talent around the world. Here in their second compilation to celebrate their releases you can experience some of the best and brightest for one low price. Mastered by the talented Pete Burns of Kill Shelter and featuring artwork of Yvonne Kiel this CD is a who’s who of the modern darkscene. In addition to the amazing music compiled, a portion of the proceeds is donated for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. I wish I could review every track on this stellar offering, but I will shine a light on a few highlights.

https://coldtransmissionmusic.bandcamp.com/album/spotlight-vol-2-a-cold-transmission-label-compilation

1.IAMTHESHADOW – On Winter Leaves Embrace 04:34
2.The Secret French Postcards – The Line 03:20
3.Night Nail – Co-Morbid 03:30
4.Silent Runners – My Truth 02:44
5.Cerulean Veins – Dance In The Darkness 03:56
6.Iamnoone – Together Alone* 05:25
7.Camlann – I’m Nobody 03:06
8.The Ending Nights – A Landscape To Die 03:29
9.Palais Ideal – Age of Intransigence 04:55
10.White Mansion – Cancel The Sky 04:02
11.Reconverb – Vanishing Paintings 03:18
12.The Cold Field – Burnt Hill 03:26
13.Grey Gallows – Chains* 04:39
14.MARY – Devouring Me 03:29
15.DILK – Bad Habits 04:05
16.The Gathering – Empires 03:21
17.Cruel Reflections – Heaven or Hell 03:52
18.SHANX FM – Yesterday 04:13
19.Mark E Moon – Hearts Keep Bleeding (Demo)* 04:44
20.S Y Z Y G Y X – Cold Touch 03:43
21.ULTRA SUNN – Young Foxes 03:56
22.DEAD LIGHTS – Plastic Girl 04:04
23.CIRQUE D’ESS – Hole-Frog (Radio Edit) 04:20
24.Bedless Bones – Where Is My Voice (Tamhiis Remix)** 06:23
25.A Sinister Light – Telephone 04:06
26.NOROMAKINA – Dark 03:06
27.LETTEN 94 – Empty Landscapes 05:00
28.Incirrina – Shrapnel Words 04:20
29.La Mécanique – MDMA 03:48
30.Dead Astronauts – She Haunts Me 03:43
31.Cult Of Alia – The Only Angel 04:30
32.Death Loves Veronica – Burn 04:53
33.HALLOWS – All That Is True Dies 03:59
34.Sundata – Alright 03:34
35.Ohne Nomen – Vampire* 04:20
36.New Haunts – Echo 03:57
37.Control Room – Are We All Alone 03:54
38.Carlo Onda – Fürchte Dich** 03:35

IAMTHESHADOW – On Winter Leaves Embrace – Pedro Code has a once in a lifetime voice. The Portuguese darkwave artist is the flagship of Cold Transmission. An emotive passion sailing a turbulent sea of beauty and melancholy that moves the heart of everyone who hears it.

https://iamtheshadow.bandcamp.com/track/on-winter-leaves-embrace

The Secret French Postcards – “The Line” – Swedish darkwave poetry forward band with elegance and subtitle style. I love the whispered intensity and Johnny Marr style lilting darkness on guitar.

https://thesecretfrenchpostcards.bandcamp.com/track/the-line

NIGHT NAIL – Co​-​Morbid – Our dear friends in Berlin the abstract shadow rock of Night Nail. I love the complex and unique beauty with a focus on emotional impact over hook. Dynamic and courageous changes with interesting instrumentation. Night Nail treads fresh ground like protogoths Bauhaus while creating a style solely their own.

https://music.nightnail.com/track/co-morbid

Camlann – I’m Nobody – The ridiculously talented young folk from Indonesia. How I wish that I sounded this way when I was their age. It is sleek, passionate, and overflows with a unique darkness. This band has such a bright future set out before them.

Enter Camlann – review by Victoria Spungen

https://camlannmusic.bandcamp.com/track/im-nobody

The Ending Nights – A Landscape To Die – Another project of Pedro Code. This a apocalypse death disco offering to sum up the last few years. Precision , Execution, Beauty, Passion, swirling in a violet fog. A transcendent art piece to speak to turbulent times.

https://theendingnights.bandcamp.com/track/a-landscape-to-die-3

PALAIS IDEAL – Age Of Intransigence – Netherlands post prog rockers John Edwards and Richard van Kruysdijk continue to create some of the most dynamic and intelligent science fiction thought rock in the scene. This is music that displays technique and ability while challenging you to higher thought.

https://palaisideal.bandcamp.com/track/age-of-intransigence

MARY – Devouring Me – I genuinely feel this 2020 release from Toronto is one of the most underrated records in recent time. Driving and intense basslines that cast rippling waves is a crystal pool. I love the cadence and timber of the vocals. This feels like 4 clashing brilliant minds carried out by one train of thought. I really hope we get another album from Mary soon.

https://maryofficial.bandcamp.com/track/devouring-me

Mark E Moon – Hearts Keep Bleeding – From the Isle of Man this track is a demo version of the crooning old school goth style of Mark Sayle. Their album Old Blood in 2021 was a true opus for one of the strongest examples of trad goth in the modern age.

https://markemoon1.bandcamp.com/album/old-blood

DEAD LIGHTS – Plastic Girl – London based sinister synths that recently had a top single on the S & S darkscene charts. It is dance and deadly with captivating vocals that lift your feet off the ground. The type of glamourous dance floor beats that cannot be ignored.

https://deadlightsband.bandcamp.com/track/plastic-girl

Dead Astronauts – She Haunts Me – Seattle dark synth stars continue to sound years ahead of their time. 2021 album Silhouettes is a memorizing conversation of internal dialog and duet relationship that sends the listener on a journey. I highly recommend that journey.

https://deadastronauts.bandcamp.com/track/she-haunts-me

Death Loves Veronica – Burn – The Texas demon lounge smoky vocal tendrils paint sinister pictures with visceral imagery and stained glass synth walls. The German label supports many American talents and Veronica continues to grow and impress.

https://deathlovesveronica.bandcamp.com/track/burn

I could have easily talked about several more bands here I love. The point is this compilation and this label are offering a gate way into some of the best darkscene music the world has to offer. 38 tracks for 15 dollars is an absolute steal.

January 2022 Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

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The first singles chart of 2022 is complete. As always these were the singles voted on by Sounds and Shadows group of Dj’s, Reviewers, Artists, and Super fans in the encompassing Darkscene genre. This is a chart that is chosen with no pay for play by your votes on songs that moved you. This month it featured some scene giants, as well as fresh new talent. In February if you have a release to contribute place it on the chart for voting.

  1. Stabbing Westward – Ghost
  2. Vulture Culture – Toxic
  3. Long After Midnight – Painkiller (Digital Monster Remix)
  4. Bellhead – Nothing as It Seems (Stabbing Westward Remix)
  5. ESA – Laudanum Dance
  6. Cat-Hall/Dissonance – Slow Burn
  7. Death Loves Veronica – When I Was Dead Feat: Tim Skold
  8. Dogtablet – You and Me (The Burying Kind Remix)
  9. Author & Punisher – Maiden Star
  10. Morgue VVitch – In The Garden Of Monsters

Stabbing Westward – Ghost – LA Industrial Rock legends continue to fire out new music on COP International that tantalizes and sets the standard for the combination of electronic aggression and percussive guitar starburst. Chris Hall has an iconic voice that somehow gets stronger with every release. This single exploring that dissonant feeling of distant echo we are all plagued by in these times.

https://stabbingwestward.bandcamp.com/album/ghost

Vulture Culture – Toxic – Florida band I don’t know much about yet that got huge hometown support for this grinding 90’s “Broken” style single from a live recording. It’s filthy and intrigues me for their future.

https://vultcult.bandcamp.com/

Long After Midnight – Painkiller (Digital Monster Mix) – I love seeing a band close to me in Grand Rapids Michigan crack this chart. Every single release and collaboration leaves me staggered and impressed with the range and quality of songwriting. This razor edge pop rock industrial bleeds jagged glass clarity and vocal intensity. This band has really been taking the scene by fire, and I can’t wait to hear what is next.

https://longaftermidnight.bandcamp.com/track/painkiller-digital-monster-mix

BELLHEAD – Nothing As It Seems (Stabbing Westward Remix) – Chicago based electronic demolition experts that rock two bass thunder and no apologies are remixed here by the previous mentioned Stabbing Westward. I love the machine gun cadence poetic delivery of the vocals. A unique and explosive sound between stalking and smashing.

https://bellhead.bandcamp.com/track/nothing-as-it-seems-stabbing-westward-remix

ESA (Electronic Substance Abuse) – Laudanum Dance – Jamie is a force of nature leading the charge of modern EBM. Every song burns with napalm intelligence and body blow intensity. Just when you think everything has been done before, ESA reminds you that their is new sonic ground to explore and it is filthy as it is mean.

https://esangp.bandcamp.com/album/designer-carnage

Dissonance – Slow Burn – I am in love with this team of Cat and Melodywhore. James seems to know all the best ways to unleash Cat’s boundless vocal intensity and smoky beauty. This song is a burning panther slinking up an active volcano.

https://dissonanceband.bandcamp.com/album/slowburn?fbclid=IwAR2PzSNqKsEzNyhCiEgNt2fqV3fVv0sC4QvbC1EPOq37x9ikornp1eMJ1MM

Death Loves Veronica Feat: Tim Skold – When I Was Dead – The Texas siren from Cold Transmission music has teamed with legend Tim Skold on this stutter beat stomping whisper that is haunting as it is explosive. I really love the sword slash guitar riffs which are not a standard for Veronica. It has a fresh feel on something I already love.

https://deathlovesveronica.bandcamp.com/track/when-i-was-dead-feat-tim-skold

Dogtablet – TJY4 (The Burying Kind Remix) – There is so much to love here. Legend Martin King (Test Dept) and Jared Louche (Chemlab) blending a trance driven beauty. Then remixed by Scott David and Dan Milligan of (The Burying Kind). It’s a gorgeous fantastical garden of wonder sprawling into mystery. You need this now.

https://dogtablet.bandcamp.com/track/you-me-the-burying-kind-dream-mix

Author & Punisher – Maiden Star – San Diego sky splitting sonic destroyers A & P make the chart for a second month in a row with their single Maiden Star off of “Kruller“. This song is amazing and needs to be played on the largest sound system you can gain access to post haste.

https://authorandpunisher.bandcamp.com/track/maiden-star

Morgue VVitch – Midnight Sun of Summer (Slighter remix) – Kansas dark trance producer Tara has teamed with California electro sculptor Colin of (Slighter) to create this dark crystal winding path of beauty and arm weaving dance magic.

https://morguevvitch.bandcamp.com/track/midnight-sun-of-summer-slighter-remix

February single chart starts on the 10th. What new releases are you excited for?

It’s As Cold As my Dead Goth Heart, Time for New Music

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So I have been buried in everything I have wanted to do so far this year. Between work, the amazing Oscura Festival, End of the Year top albums. I finally have a moment to stop and catch my breath. Just in time to hear Bandcamp Friday is back on for next week. So how about I review some new music which is warming my bones as the world freezes over.

binzatina – Anestesia – This first album is from 2018, but I am just finding it and it NEEDS attention. This was a recommendation of our dear friend Juls (Pilgrims of Yearning). The band hails from Chile and combines a 90’s triphop Portishead slither slide drum beat, with and smoky lounge sensual vocal performance by Lya Godoy. This sound is a warm bath in the dark surrounded by candlelight. It’s flickering pictures on the wall with a healthy dash of explosive dynamic in just the right moment to wake you from your trance. Lulling you just as quick back into dreams. Beauty, passion, depth, this is the sound of your next romantic escapade.

https://binzatina.bandcamp.com/album/anestesia

Dogtablet – TJY4 – Brand new January 2022 release from Industrial scene legends Martin King (Test Dept), Roberto Soave (Associates), and Jared Louche (Chemlab). This new remix EP hits the mark just as you would expect from masters of the craft with the unbridled freedom to create expressionist sonic art. Giving over the reins of vision to great up and comers like (The Burying Kind), Sapphira Vee, and Melodywhore to expand the vision into fresh ground. Dogtablet continues to amaze me with their understanding of how to turn raw sound into transmitted human emotion.

https://dogtablet.bandcamp.com/album/tjy4

ESA (Electronic Substance Abuse) – Designer Carnage – The greatest thing to happen to modern EMB industrial does not disappoint with the latest offering. Out on 2/14/2022 but available for pre order now. This remains the hardest, meanest, smartest, body earthquake, grit your teeth, be invaded by the spirit music. Jamie continues to skate the razor edge of unnerving terror and sonic rapture. He is officially on my “I will buy every release unheard until you fuk up two in a row list”. I see absolutely no chances of that happening any time soon.

https://esangp.bandcamp.com/album/designer-carnage

Dove Tribe – Collected Prayers – I have been waiting for this project to find it’s perfect stride for so long. Norway’s Hide Tepes has captured the low-fi bat cave early Sisters of Mercy tone and seamlessly blended it with their own emotive high art abstract. When I need an artist to push my boundaries and remind me of a time when music was raw, unruly, and unpredictable. All four tracks are captivating narratives that change direction and speed like a foreboding wind. There is one that stands out to me “When The Music’s Over” a lip curled prayer in the early art house sewer of early Bauhaus and “Still” Joy Division. That haunting overlapping guitar riff, that cursed mantra to keep moving forward lest you disappear. This is one of the great visionaries of the modern scene.

https://dovetribe.bandcamp.com/album/collected-prayers

Blood Dance – Burn Slow – Second single from Mexico City SynthGoth Blood Dance. This lovely creeper with some deep goth roots. The beats were a slowly boiling put but these carefully placed guitar leads are all sizzle. This track also features backing by Bari-Bari. This track really gets me excited to keep delving into the rich Mexico City darkscene.

https://blooddance.bandcamp.com/album/burn-slow

Bradley Coomes – Communion – Louisville KY songsmith Bradley Coomes has brought together an eclectic range of vocal talent to synch with his emotive shimmering 3D sonic images. This is one of those albums that really matches it’s cover art. An impressionist feeling exchange ranging from early 2000 minimalist opium rock like Low and Mogwai. To a sunrise shadow of dreampop. The way each guest vocalist is used to perfect effect really shows the love that went into this songcraft. If I had to choose a favorite track, I was absolutely captured by “Sabrina” featuring California shadowpop crooner James Edwards of (Male Tears). Expansive beauty and symmetry while cracking with golden strands of brimming romance teetering at the brink. I also want to shout out Jennifer Wilde of (Sword Tongue) for stepping so far out of their established style on “Little Bird” to shine with sullen Haight Ashbury mystical swirls that cast a striking contrast on the rest of the journey. Memorizing and hopeful in equal measure.

https://deusmarginalia.bandcamp.com/album/communion

The Gathering – Parade – New album from Vancouver Cold Transmission band The Gathering. While the previous LP was a nostalgic homage, “Parade” leans into the resurgence of Post Punk / Darkwave building up in real time. The album was recorded by Jackknife Sound by Jason Corbett (Actors) and also has additional vocals by fellow (Actors) Shannon Hemmett on “Ocean Star“. I love the unstoppable forward momentum and crisp accented drum beats. Everything vibrates with a clarity and precision that stops me in my tracks with my mouth open appreciating the ice sculpture prism of every track. Standout track is “Building A Bridge” with it’s zig zag endless pin prick attack. The blending choir of vocals create a haunting melody that was stuck in my head for days. There is something so special when someone uses the patience to have a song concept reach it’s height of development.

https://thegatheringbc.bandcamp.com/album/parade

Récipe Morado – Re•Habilitación – I discovered this gorgeous flowing up-tempo post punk from Venezuela at the Oscura Festival. Complex high energy tendrils of complex shoegaze supported whisper punk. I love the reckless abandon of the constantly shifting music and controlled reaction of the vocals. A wonderful synthesis of modern clarity and Jesus and Mary Chain effortless abandon.

https://recipemorado.bandcamp.com/album/re-habilitaci-n

Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Chart November 2021

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This is our second S & S Darkscene chart chosen completely by the Djs, Bands, Reviewers, Artists, and Super Fans, of the international group Sounds and Shadows. This features singles from any country and any genre within the loose darkscene category (Goth/Industrial/Darkwave/Postpunk/EDM/EBM/Electronica).

  1. The Joy Thieves (feat. I Ya Toyah) – Money Is Not Our God (Killing Joke Cover) by Coitus Interruptus Productions – Chicago, IL
  2. daddybear (feat grabyourface) – Hypnotic – Madison WI
  3. Aesthetic Perfection (feat. Isaac Howlett) – Save Myself – Austria
  4. Stabbing Westward – I Am Nothing – Los Angeles, CA
  5. Helix – Run (Hallowed Hearts Remix) – Providence, Rhode Island
  6. S Y Z Y G Y X – Light You On Fire – Washington, DC
  7. grabyourface – Rob the Bank – France
  8. PALAIS IDEAL – The Voice Of Reason – Netherlands
  9. Sapphira Vee (Feat Cat Hall) – Breath of You – Rochester, New York
  10. ULTRA SUNN – Young Foxes – Belgium

Special Mentions:

Machines With Human Skin – Invisible – Chicago IL

Echoberyl – Mother Solitude – Paris France

MALE TEARS – Model Citizen – California

The Joy Thieves (feat. I Ya Toyah) – Money Is Not Our God (Killing Joke Cover) by Coitus Interruptus Productions – Chicago superband The Joy Thieves return to this chart with a blistering cover of the Killing Joke classic. This entire compilation is full of banger tributes to one of the great names of the scene. Ania (I Ya Toyah) unleashes a terrifying and powerful rendition full of punk rock snarl and sky splitting technicolor. Milligan puts on a loving masterclass in syncopation on drums.

https://coitusinterruptusproductions.bandcamp.com/track/the-joy-thieves-money-is-not-our-god-feat-i-ya-toyah

daddybear (feat grabyourface) – Hypnotic – Madison WI – I love this team up more every time it happens. Matt Fanale (Caustic/Klack) dropped this immediate dance floor classic with frequent contributor Marie (Grabyourface) on vocals. It’s a buzzing electronic zapper you can’t help buzz towards your destruction on. Whispy sensual, destruction core vibes. A must own banger.

https://daddybear.bandcamp.com/album/hypnotic-feat-grabyourface

Aesthetic Perfection (feat. Isaac Howlett) – Save Myself – Austria – The king of pop industrial teams up with glorious songsmith Isaac Howlett (Empathy Test) to create this perfect style blend duet. It cooks and yanks the hell out of your heart strings as two of the great voices of the modern scene push and pull a furious cyclone of exploding energy.

https://aestheticperfection.bandcamp.com/

Stabbing Westward – I Am Nothing – From COP International LA Progdustrial sensation continues to prove they are a force of challenge and artistic expression in 2021. It’s fierce guitars and laser burn vocals from Chris Hall, who remains one of the best in the business.

https://stabbingwestward.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-nothing

Helix – Run (Hallowed Hearts Remix) – The husband/wife team up of Tom Shear (Assemblage 23) & vocalist Mari Kattman are one of those things I am embarrassed I waited so long to get on board with. It is sledge hammer dance beats smashing ice castles of precision and fractal light beam beauty. Spinning motion I never want to put down.

https://helix.bandcamp.com/album/bad-dream

S Y Z Y G Y X – Light You On Fire – I have been so excited to hear where Luna and Cold Transmission Music would go next with this project. This scorching sensual growl of death disco minimalist glory. I don’t even know how to categorize it. Only that I can’t get enough eagerly await the full album release this Friday .

https://syzygy-x.bandcamp.com/album/im-mortal

grabyourface – Rob the Bank – The French Negative Gain artist makes their second appearance on the chart. This coldwave slow stomp single of revolutionary nihilism and burning intelligence is a smoldering exhibition on a post capitalism world.

https://grabyourfacengp.bandcamp.com/

PALAIS IDEAL – The Voice Of Reason – Cold Transmission progressive post punk artists have again produced a higher concept thinking dystopian sound for the modern age. Overlapping waves of technical excellence and poetic intent. Everyone in the genre wants to make the next Star Wars while John and Richard are creating Issac Asmov.

https://palaisideal.bandcamp.com/album/negative-space

Sapphira Vee (Feat Cat Hall) – Breath of You – Distortion Records artists teams up with peer vocal power Cat Hall to belt this powerful single about the strength and perseverance of cancer survivors. The weight and emotion of this personal track is a crackling orb of enormous movement and resilience.

https://sapphiravee.bandcamp.com/

ULTRA SUNN – Young Foxes – Saucy Belgian cold wave trance from Cold Transmission. Sam Huge has a resonating voice that fills a room and stalks with intent. Pete Burns adds an elegant mastering to create cavernous echos.

https://ultrasunn.bandcamp.com/album/body-electric

Special mentions:

https://machineswithhumanskin.bandcamp.com/album/transience

https://echoberyl.bandcamp.com/album/mother-solitude-and-other-dark-tales

https://maletears.bandcamp.com/track/model-citizen-2

Glitter and Grime Make Me Shine, It’s Review Writing Time

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Another Wed in mid November and I have the Oscura Festival fast approaching. This may be my last chance until December to write some reviews of the glorious new music that is being released. As always these are darkscene bands that have caught my attention and need to be shared. If you have a release we need to hear hit us up on Sounds and Shadows.

Modal Citizan – Idolatry – The lads from Virginia beach have released a new 4 song EP. Have you ever wondered what if NIN “The Downward Spiral” and Clutch engaged in unholy union to spew forth a jagged baseball bat rolled in broken glass and started taking wild swings at an unsuspecting populous sounded like? Now you need not wonder. Horror film builds and chaotic drum beats, thunderous funk metal bass from Sean Waff, and screeching heart string vocals from Ryan Jones. I love the tight turn into electronic dance beats from their November 2020 album “Control Alter Deplete“. They really comprehend the power of dynamic contrast to tell a story. Adam Fueston unleashes slashing electro whip guitars that pick just the right moment to sear their impact. It’s mean, it’s jaded, it’s rowdy.

Favorite Track: Expanse – A true emotional firehose that encapsulates the anger and aggression while baring the quiet emotional turmoil of keyboards and poetry. Jones goes deep into character thrashing and jerking like a person processed by a demon riding a bull.

Previous interview and video Premier

https://modalcitizan.bandcamp.com/album/idolatry

Sapphira Vee – Breath of You – I always love a new single from Sapphira, I especially love it when it goes to such an important cause. Cat Hall, a cervical cancer survivor, agreed to collaborate on this single, as well as our good friend Jim Marcus of Go Fight contributing a remix, having lost his mother to cervical cancer. This single is being released in the month of October, in observance of Women’s Cancer Awareness Month. The track also has remixes from frequent contributor Melodywhore, Ratio Strain, and Federico Balducci. Sapphira shows a Cheshire cat grin to her voice. The deep buzzing pad synths move like columns of stone while the chanting words preach a resilience and vulnerability. Each version creates a vastly different tone to the core concept. Another spot on powerful offering blending dancefloor accessibility and personal trauma.

Favorite Track: Breath of You ft. Cat Hall/Dissonance – The blending of two powerful woman producers/vocalists will leave me floored every time. Add onto that the warrior princess delivery and subject matter and you have a cocktail which is smoky, burning, and filled with introspection.

https://sapphiravee.bandcamp.com/

Rohn – Lederman – Venus Chariot – My love for Belgian composer extraordinaire Jean-Marc Lederman is deeply known on this page. His previous work includes ( Fad Gadget, The The, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Weathermen) as well as some of the most thought provoking higher tier concepts in electronica music of the past 5 years. Teaming here with COP International and exceptional producer/Vocalist Emiliegh Rohn of Michigan they blend into a poetic electrified katana of grace and fury. I have spoken of this record in the Sounds and Shadows group but was shocked I had yet to write a formal review. When I hear someone of Jean-Marc’s pedigree say “This might be one of the most important albums I have ever released” it tends to make your ears perk up. This album is full of endless fusion energy both in the intricate hair splitting craft of the music, and Emileigh’s power whisper beauty. it’s the record I reach for whenever I need to force my body into action. A well of strength at your fingertips for these draining times. Greg Rolfes provides cover art to set the tone of this runaway stampede of electronic elegance.

Favorite Tracks:

All The Little Things Left For Dead Go Unsaid (a.k.a. “The River”) – The slow tempo balled rich with waterfall emotion and connecting poetry. This beautiful piano composition with tugs the heart strings. The haunting whisper of vocals that shut out the world. This song has a captivating beauty in the vein of Life On Mars.

Destruction and More – This is a faster paced defiant and layered builder. The music keeps stepping forward a heavy foot at a time through gale winds. Ending in a fist raised chant of war. A true tribute to Athena in it’s brazen energy and feminine power.

https://rohn-lederman.bandcamp.com/?fbclid=IwAR2L63E2Kk3OSqS5V8slCHssyU7pgp1EC1xXafPSpdNN0apSQajJx_y9puI

The Ending Nights – A Landscape To Die – Pre-Order available for the newest offering of Pedro Code (IAMTHESHADOW) of Portugal on Cold Transmission Music. A definingly dark apocalyptic disco drive produced and mastered by Pedro for a soul wrenching personal explosion. Jagged glass drenched in rainbow oil and water. How do you take one of the most distinctive voices in modern goth/darkwave when you find a way to make the steaming disco beats the star of the show you have really broken ground. This is a record that creates a world. Grime and desolation, the remaining survivors of a broken world follow the electric pulse of a melody from within. A perfect anthem for these fractured times.

Favorite Track: No Light – Hearing something so melodic and pure as Pedro’s voice swimming through a channel of filth and grit that is beautiful and terrifying. This macbre nightmare of insomnia and slow grinding destruction. Another layer of depth and complexity for a proven talent.

https://theendingnights.bandcamp.com/album/a-landscape-to-die

Curse Mackey – Lacerations – Brand new single and remixes from legendary Texas Industrial artist Curse Mackey (Pigface, My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult, Evil Mothers). Featuring remixes by  Twin Tribes, Steven Olaf, and Chase Dobson. I love the concept shift from gothic electro ritual on “Instant Exorcism” into nihilism Tokyo drift shadow synthwave. A effortless cool grinding prayer as the world crashes down and leaves you nothing to lose.

https://cursemackeyngp.bandcamp.com/

El Clan – Somos Nuestro Peor Miedo – New album from legendary Mexico City dark rockers El Clan. There is something distinctive and powerful with true shadow swirl ritual rock delivered in Spanish. The fluttering trill of the guitar. The heavy strikes on backbeat snares. Gustavo Perez Ramirez has such a unique and dynamic range to his vocals. Rumbling growls, silver shining melodies, and sand swirling blasts of power. El Clan continues to encapsulate a burning flavor and haunting sound that puts them on a pinnacle of Mexican darkscene .

Favorite Track: Dios Universo – The opening light touch driving guitar riff set a tone of danger and action. Gustavo growls out a opening salvo of edge and anger. Then quickly changes lanes to a sorrowful melody. It’s a perfect homage to historical hard rock feel and modern dark progressive.

Black Rose Burning – The Wheel – George Grant of New York has taken an already amazing sound to a completely different level. This new album is progressive, complex, expertly executed emotional darkscene that permeates the skin and resonates in the chest. These vocals harken to a previous time of dripping Peter Gabriel emotion that spiral in crystal facets on top of shifting translucent hooks. It ebbs and flows through a stylistic spectrum and delivers with every memorizing tale. I continue to be blown away by one of the most criminally overlooked master songsmiths of our scene. This is a record that needs mainstream attention.

Favorite Track: An Anthem For The Strange – When the title says anthem, they are not exaggerating. These drums are rolling and trance building. George’s vocals ring through with a clarity and power that convey emotion. A warm and glowing starlight that wraps all of us freaks and outliers together in a sparkling blanket of togetherness.

https://blackroseburning.bandcamp.com/album/the-wheel