Tag: Corlyx

2024 Albums that are making people Love Goth again

on By 1 Comment

There is something special happening in darkscene music. This year I have been going to shows of new goth/post punk/darkwave bands and seeing them packed with young people who are embracing this subculture. Who are finding these themes and tones to make them their own. Twin Tribes, Actors, Vision Video, Then Comes Silence, Bootblacks, Male Tears, Leathers, Urban Heat, I Ya Toyah, touring the country telling folks it is good to be strange. This is the energy that is giving me hope. I have not been at my new goth pulpit as much as I like this year. As we pass the half way point of the year I will try and share what I have been listening to so far in 2024 that gives me hope for the future.

Dead Astronauts – Ghosts – The international synthwave group comprising Jared Kyle and Slade Templeton, has resurfaced with their highly anticipated 4th studio album, “Ghosts.” I love the experience and expertise on display for the art of songcraft. Each texture and shade are masterfully chosen. Honed with precision, displayed with technique. What truly makes them top tier is the narrative order, balance, and construction of every track.

Written and produced by Dead Astronauts
Mixed and Mastered at Influx Studios
Art and Design by JthreeConcepts

Mistakes: This track is deeply relatable. It has a beautiful Construction Time Again Depeche Mode bouncing beat with earnest reflection and buttery vocal delivery. A brief shimmering single that leaves you wanting more.

The Red Dress (feat. Florence Bullock): Beautiful city street flashing streetlamps streaking by at a furious pace. Wonderful vocal accents from A New York native, residing in Los Angeles, glitbiter, aka Florence Bullock. This track hugs the curves of a twisting road with a high performance engine. Perfect song to start an adventure to.

You try
To survive
Boy you’ve got clout
You’ve got your knives out
Trying to stay alive

Ghosts | Dead Astronauts (bandcamp.com)

Urban Heat – Seven Safe Places – The Austin TX band that has become an obsession for me. There is a special feeling when a band comes to a place beloved and familiar, but took an entirely different road to arrive. A punk rock vitality with soulful smooth edges and flawless technique. This was an April release single for the upcoming August album “The Tower”. Johnathan is one of the true distinctive voices in the modern darkscene. An energy and talent that would make any band shine. Combined in this trio powerhouse Urban Heat has distinguished themselves with the other A level artists of the next wave. This single has a Peter Hook lead guitar bassline that hugs every curve. The vocals are frantic and emotive. It’s a song built to gleam in the modern landscape. Become a true believer now and see Urban Heat out on tour, I assure you, the tickets will be more expensive and harder to find the next time around. Look for an interview with the band soon on youtube 🙂

Seven Safe Places | Urban Heat (bandcamp.com)

Tears for ʇhe Dying – In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun – I first saw the amazing emotional tidal wave of Adria and Tears for The Dying at Southern Gothic in Athen’s Georgia and was enraptured by the emotional impact and reckless truth of dynamic songwriting. Deathrock is a genre that traces it’s roots back several decades, so finding visionary new ground is no easy task. With slithering sinister concepts and vocal ingenuity TFTD pays reverent homage to Christian Death and Specimen while inserting modern elements and broader concepts like “Dead Girl Dancing” a gorgeous synth laden apocalypse pop anthem that steps outside of the box. This is one of those amazing bands that every artist in the scene respects deeply even if you have never heard them. A true inner circle talent.

Favorite Track: Kaiju – Slow big and full of destruction as the name implies. I love this winding guitar and tempo shift that allows Adria’s cadence and Mick’s rolling percussion to make dynamic stories of trampling feat and terrifying beasts.

Special mention: Jolene (Dolly Parton Cover) – It takes a special performance to take one of the greatest ballads of all time and make it your own. Everyone needs to give this a spin.

In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun | Tears for ʇhe Dying (bandcamp.com)

THEN COMES SILENCE – Trickery – Recently I got the extreme privilege of opening for Swedish based band Then Comes Silence on tour with Vision Video. I had reviewed them before. This was one of those bands you truly can’t fully appreciate until you have seen them live. I have witnessed so many impressive performances in the last five years, I hope you take to heart when I say this is the tightest, most energetic band I have witnessed in recent memory.

I used to have a joke that Rush was the greatest group of compiled musicians who’s album I didn’t want to buy. Not being my style. In the modern darkscene I think Then Comes Silence is the greatest group of compiled musicians who’s album I very much want to buy. Part of the elegance of Trickery is how it doesn’t sound like they set out to make a great post punk album. The cohesion, passion, and construction present here would have fit any genre or style just as easily. It just happened to come in one of my favorite forms.

The album has a wide range of sounds, lots of thunderous rock bangers where Jonas tom punishing drum accents make TCS stand out in a field of bands leaning towards electronic drums. Slippery shadow disco club tracks like Feel The Cold create contrast and highlight Alex rich broad beam vocals. Songs like the collaboration with Dusty “Stay Strange” bring a horror punk mod feel that ride Hugo’s wall of sound guitars. Whatever the tone, it always seems to land.

I would be hard pressed to choose any song on this album as a top track, Never Change was definitely one that crept up on me. Stellar underlying harmonies, a crackling backbeat that always hits on the outside of the synths. This whole record has an underlying tone of hope, rising out of the mire of tough times. This track captures that feeling the hardest for me.

Alex Svenson – vocals, bass and synthezisers
Jonas Fransson – drums
Hugo Zombie – guitars

Additional musicians:
Dusty Gannon (Vision Video)
Emma Nylén (Emmon)
Gözde Duzer (Aux Animaux)
Jörgen Wall (Whale, Thåström, among others)

This is a 10/10 album in contention for top 10 records of 2024.

Trickery | THEN COMES SILENCE (bandcamp.com)

Eva X – Fiction – July 5th single from Electronic producer Gaby (Eva X). The single includes two remixes of the previous single Dopamine Blind by Sawtooth and Enter Face. Retro 80s pop with soul on the intro, fed into the grinder of metal tooth electro rock. Gaby’s voice keeps growing in confidence and glamour with every new release. This would pop at a mainstream club or goth/Industrial night.

Fiction | Eva X (bandcamp.com)

Cemetery Sex – Leviathan – This is a young band generating an enormous amount of buzz from Washington DC. Artist that truly embrace the goth ethos of inclusion and counter culture pouring into the batcave of gothic roots. Anastasia has an undeniable presence in her words and delivery. The music is serpentine and hungry. To have young people with such an intrinsic understanding of the culture with both their music and mindset truly fills me with hope for the future. When Cemetary Sex burst onto the scene, they understood the assignment. Be ready to hear A LOT more about this band in the coming year.

Leviathan | Cemetery Sex (bandcamp.com)

PIG – Red Room – Raymond Watts has left an indelible stamp on the industrial scene for decades. One of the key reasons is his ability to find fresh untread ground with which to blend with industrial. Soul, funk, metal all are wound into spiritual inspiration to fortify the alloy of his art. Red Room took me to another place, late 70’s glam like Alice Cooper and TRex colliding pageantry, sensuality, and filthy grinding machines. A tight compact bullet that enters your brain before fragmenting into something larger and more explosive. Leaving you changed by the fragments left behind.

A rogues gallery of contributing artists, both old school and new class Alexis Mincolla (3Teeth), Chris Hall (Stabbing Westward), and the PIG Choir: Chris Connelly (Revco, Ministry etc), Emily Kavanaugh (Night Club), I Ya Toyah, Marc Heal (Cubanate) and Burton C Bell (Fear Factory), En Esch, Susannah Doyle, Anita Kyoda, Mark Alan Griffiths, Mike Watts, Jimmy Livingstone, and more!

This is an album best served live with sweat running down the walls. Catch them on tour with Curse Mackey, Unitcode:machine, Stoneburner, and more at a city near you. I’m going to both Coldwaves (Chicago) and Smalls (Detroit)

Favorite Tracks: Dirty Mercy – This opening is absolutely filthy.

Red Room | PIG (bandcamp.com)

ACTORS – Dead Inside – Vancouver based band Actors have been at the forefront of Nextwave Darkscene music since the start of the Rennaissance. This new single as a prelude to the tour of one of the top live music experiences of 2024 shows the group showing no signs of slowing down. The first time I heard it I was struck with Jason’s sultry whispering Jarvis Cocker vibes. of the cohesion and telepathy of one of the tightest acts of the modern era. The crisp brush crack drums Adam delivers use timing as art to build the tension. Shannon’s rippling cascade of dark water ripples. Kendall a forceful step on nimble feet. Every time I think, this is it, Actors have reached their peak, the journey continues up a mystical mountain.

Jason Corbett – Vocals + Guitar
Shannon Hemmett – Synth + Vocals
Kendall Wooding – Bass + Vocals
Adam Fink – Drums

Dead Inside | ACTORS (bandcamp.com)

MALE TEARS – Parad​í​sco – La Based neosynth band Male Tears has filled me with hope for the future. There is nothing more beautiful than a group of young people discovering a fresh path to classic sounds. James and company went through a major lineup transition before the release of this EP and came out the other side with a hopeful passion. Soulful new depth and determination to find the beauty in the darkest reflections of life. Fans of Petshop Boys, and Duran Duran will find an homage to bright crystal sounds on the sonic spectrum that hold the truth of dark introspection. Great guest appearance on track two by our friends Corlyx. A beautiful harmony of James mournful beauty and Caitlin’s alien ethereal whisper. As well as track 3 “Sex On Drugs” a gorgeous and heart retching single that could have been the missing track off (Actually 1987) with features Caitlin (Corlyx), Azy Bats (Obscura Undead), and Ryan King (Witchhands). This is a modern day classic that stirs my heart with that same feeling of unburdened delivery. Male Tears is something special and memorable this scene needs to embrace with both arms. They are currently on their first major tour and I encourage everyone to be a part of this revolution on the ground floor.

Catch them in Detroit 10/1/24 at Small’s in Detroit with Crune and yours truly 🙂

Paradísco | MALE TEARS (bandcamp.com)

Electronic Substance Abuse Roll Out Opulent New Record ‘Designer Carnage’

on By

Electronic Substance Abuse (ESA) are among a short list of modern industrial acts that are consistently great, particularly with their most recent releases Burial 10, Eat Their Young / The Scorn EP, and the single “I Detach” coming within the last two years. Between the concussive snares, the powerful production, and the wide range of vocals – whether they’re provided by mastermind Jamie Blacker or by guests such as Caitlin Stokes of Corlyx – ESA is a project that rarely, if ever, misses. 

It is with this sort of reputation that the project sets forth its most recent studio effort, Designer Carnage, released on Negative Gain Productions on Valentine’s Day. Using buzzwords and phrases such as “modern decadence” and “be the envy of your peers,” the marketing for this album is on-the-nose anticonsumerism done ESA style. As part of the pre-orders for the record, they offered ESANCE, a line of cosmetics and wellness products that will shock your system and lead you into the new year looking and feeling your best, price tags be damned.

ESA might best be described as “progressive industrial,” insofar as the influences and the backbone of the album may change from track to track, or even multiple times within a track. This album’s opener, “Laudanum Dance,” is a prime example of this. It starts off with a build towards an aggressive, “sweep the premises” tone. The first half of this eight-minute saga feels like a nod to The Prodigy and the grungiest of UK house, before giving way to a dizzying piano solo by Frederic Scarfone. By minute six, we get a marching, stomping beat that lets the power this opening track has carry on through the ending.

We then get a dance floor destroyer in “One Missed Call,” whose first round of vocals come from a sampled voicemail from a very disgruntled woman. On one hand, there is something to be said here about “anything you say can and will be used against you,” particularly with the lines:

“This is a message to stop you from getting far

Because no-one knows what I know and you’ll never be a star.“

It’s a damn fun track, and it’s no secret why it was one of the tracks released ahead of the full record.

Then we get to the powerful, wub-heavy “I Detach,” which we got as a single last May. The jazzy little interlude might be a bit of whiplash for those unprepared, but it does help break things up with this limb-ripper of a track. The title track comes next, and if Jamie doesn’t play “I Detach” followed by this, I don’t know what he’s doing. These two songs are the perfect one-two punch and compliment each other so well. 

“Disruption Only” stands out for a few reasons, namely the symphonic and orchestral elements. The tempo gets turned up, but the three-note melody keeps things in EBM territory, albeit with a twist. It is a simple number, but it makes seven minutes (6:49, to be exact) feel like nothing. During the next song, “Come and Find Me,” I came to realize why there were so many big band, jazz-type moments in this album. Designer Carnage has a theme of advertisement, of unabashed entrepreneurship, and back in the day, commercials, especially radio or television, were whimsical while also a bit insidious. It is in this aggressive marketing (the industrial/EBM elements), paired with the whimsy (the big band interludes) where we get the duality of advertising.

Or maybe Jamie just makes good goddamn music and I’m reading into things too much. 

“Hyena” is classic ESA, with aggressive percussive elements and an overall tone that will turn a ravegoer’s brain to mush in the most fun way possible. This is perhaps the most club-friendly song on the record next to “I Detach.” “Whom Then Shall I Fear?” features the lyrical flow of Pee Wee Pimpin, and man, does his voice do something for this track. His flow is smooth, the low voice almost chanting over the production. It’s swagger but not to the point of self-parody. It’s aggressive to the point of believability. Burial 10 had its share of industrial hip-hop moments, but Designer Carnage has a hell of one with this track.

“Vast Accept” is purely hypnotic, the kind of track to put on and lose oneself to. The staccato strings and the glimmering synths over a pounding bass make for a dream of a song. The album’s closer “Saturnalia” may divide some folks, as it leans back on Blacker’s roots in the extreme metal scene. If you like the idea of industrial black metal (and lord knows I do), you’re going to love it. The first minute plus is blast beat o’clock, while things go in a more electro direction as the track progresses, all the way to an acoustic interlude around the halfway mark. We circle back to the black metal beginnings of the track as the curtain falls on this epic, spanning closer.

Is this Jamie throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks? If so, very little is falling off.
Surround thyself in only the finest of Designer Carnage by streaming and/or purchasing the album:

Sounds and Shadows Top Industrial/EBM/EDM of 2020

Featured By 6 Comments

So many great Industrial/EDM/EBM albums this year. This is a genre that has been expanding and drawing fresh listeners all year. Again I can’t possibly include everything I loved, however these albums were the ones that fired a jolt of electricity into my spine and made my gears churn. These are all artists who had a full release in 2020.

20) Rabbit Junk – Xenospheres – Seattle based EBM/Metal dance explosion has been churning out explosive action movie soundtracks with razor sharp production. This album is swinging a sledge hammer around their heads on a leather cord. The cover of Iggy Pop’s “Kick It” with Peaches singing is worth the price of admission on it’s own.

https://rabbitjunk.com/album/xenospheres

19) eHpH – Infrared – Colorado band eHpH did this timely politically charged record that really captured the fear and division in the current climate. I think what I loved best were how wide the influences present were. Some melodic and post punk, some bright buzzing EBM. The whole record was full of intelligence and challenges the listener to face their own ideas about where the world is headed.

https://ehph.bandcamp.com/album/infrared

18) Seven Federations – Holy Orders – A wonderous sonic explosion from South Dakota. The vocals just crackle with electric ferocity from exploding transformers. Filthy basslines and wolf growl guitars. this album is the naughty demon on your shoulder whispering to you of sinful roads not taken. They might be the most underrated album on this list. People need to know about this record.

https://sevenfederations.bandcamp.com/album/holy-orders

17) Carrion – Testament Ov The Exiled – This is always such a hard review to write. Carrion is so powerful, so fresh, but just doesn’t fit into any box that makes sense within the mind. This textural terror noise has a level of intensity that demands recognition. How to quantify it I have no idea. Other than to say it is music that leaves you changed, afraid, praying for the dawn. Hide [Adrian] is creating on a level that artists and critics in the next decade may have artful words for. This whole record just leaves me moved and unsure how to describe. Best to bare witness for yourself.

PS: Carrion is already reissuing the album via Brutal Resonance Records, the `Revised Edition ` includes 5 bonus tracks!

https://brutalresonance.bandcamp.com/album/testament-ov-the-exiled-revised-edition

https://officialcarrion.bandcamp.com/album/testament-ov-the-exiled

16) Corlyx – Together Apart – World traveling EDM darkpop couple Caitlin and Brandon with their sophomore offering have captured the glory of pageantry in dark music. Caitlin has a beautiful voice that captivates and builds dreams in your mind. I love the dark LA gutter glamor this band always commands. They have added a level of clarity and refinement for this album and continue to evolve. Get in on the ground floor of these future stars.

https://corlyxngp.bandcamp.com/

15) Rottersand – How Do You Feel Today – The way this German band turns and twists on different axis within the same tracks is reality defying. The echoing chorus’s that have an intelligence and feel of Roger Waters bursting with electronic futurecore explosion. This album is a special journey with peaks and valleys that run the breadth of human experience. It is a modern album that has something for every kind of listener to enjoy.

https://rotersand.bandcamp.com/album/how-do-you-feel-today

14) Trevor Something – Deep Wave Data Dark Web Deamons – Florida dance demon Trevor Something might be the sexiest thing I heard all year. The way they capture raw, grinding, sexual energy in sonic form is something of glory. It shakes your bone marrow awake and says you are an animal that hungers for flesh. Buy this record, shake a martini, and have a private dance party with your favorite partner.

https://trevorsomething.bandcamp.com/album/deep-wave-data-dark-web-daemons

13) 11 Grams – Humancide – The super combo of Rob and Simeon put out this long awaited album of everything you ever loved about old school industrial/electronica. It always has a toe over the line while sounding so familiar. Perfect execution and narrative intensity. This record is a rocket jocks sci-fi soundtrack to explore the speed of the stars.

https://11grams.bandcamp.com/album/humanicide

12) SpankTheNun – The Bunker Tapes Volume I – Hard and metal to the floor industrial from Texas. How do you find that line between crystal clear beats and filthy growling vocals? It’s right here. We aren’t reinventing the wheel here, we are greasing the axle to make it spin harder and faster. A bunch of amazing remixes from Blue Ant, Assemblage 23 , Melodywhore, Sapphirra Vee, show the faith and influence that this band commands in the scene.

https://spankthenun.bandcamp.com/album/the-bunker-tapes-vol-i

11) Caustic – A Succession Of Repetitive Beats – Our only double album winner in this genre is Matt Fanale. The return of Caustic and their DIY punk rock mentality with witty and humorous electronic slither is a breath of fresh air in the modern genre. The song Stale Semen, Shame, and Video Games is a poignant slam of the Incel culture. Make me dance and make me think. This is what Joe Strummer trained us for.

https://caustic.bandcamp.com/album/a-succession-of-repetitive-beats

10) Sapphira Vee – The Mask – The smoky and subtitle voice of Sapphira Vee from Rochester NY has been tearing up the airwaves the last two months. A slow drink of whiskey in sonic form. It’s slow and grinding full of personal reflection and self realization. I had a small part guest vocal on this album and it’s a point of personal pride that I was involved with such a powerful release this year. I’ve bought multiple copies of this record to send to friends. This is a great example of why trip hop is the highest evolution of music.

https://sapphiravee.bandcamp.com/

9) Kanga – Eternal Daughter – LA based artist wields this sonic saber like a charging cavalry officer charging by on a horse slashing on both sides. It’s that effortlessly cool beauty blended with icy dance beats. I’m not sure what category to put this in beyond excellent.

https://kanga.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-daughter

8) Grabyourface – Sea – Every once in a while some album comes along that is so fresh and honest you sit up in your chair and just feel something new. One of those artist that grabs hold of their own ribcage and rips themselves open to let you in on the guts and grime of everything inside them. This album forces you to feel things, to confront and absorb the empathetic tone within yourself.

https://grabyourfacengp.bandcamp.com/

7) Klack – Probably – The Wisconsin EDM sensation that brings together Matt Fanale (Caustic) and Eric Oehler (Null Device). I’ve watched this project grow and blossom and this album really hit the perfect stride and balance of their styles. It’s clever, it’s electric, and the single Faith In Me is a glorious jam that could have been on a Depeche Mode album in the late 80s. I love when you hear a collaboration and can hear how much the artists respect and care about each other. It can’t be faked and this album brims over with it.

https://klack.bandcamp.com/album/probably

6) The Joy Thieves – A Blue Girl – Chicago superband led by drummer extraordinaire Dan Milligan has been garnering much deserved respect in Industrial circles. The way he blends old school Industrial with organic hard rock is an energy which is contagious. The contributor list is impressive and so long I won’t add everyone but names like Chris Connelly, Jullian Beeston, and Ania Tarnoska are just a few highlights. The title track is a slamming cut for the ages. If you don’t know about the next Pigface you need to get on board this train.

https://thejoythieves.bandcamp.com/album/the-joy-thieves-a-blue-girl

5) Klute – Queer For Satan – Claus Larson of Leatherstrip unleashed this gorgeous record of furious destruction and sensual magnetism. This year must have been one of the toughest things a person can go through for him and that unbridled emotion pours forth in a firehose of pain and fear. If you love Leatherstrip (and how could you not) this album is top of the game.

https://leaetherstrip.bandcamp.com/album/queer-for-satan

4) Stoneburner – Beauty Is Terror – Steven Archer has had multiple releases this year, all great. His ability as an artist and multimedia creator really is the top of the game for DIY synthesis of audio and visual. To me this record was the highest evolution of his style thus far. It’s hard, world view, narrative, intelligent music that conjures images like you are reading a novel. The single “Are you here the way I’m here” is a steampunk electrocore time travel head flip. This album truly pushes the boundary of what is possible in thought and feeling. You need it.

https://stoneburnerofficial.bandcamp.com/album/beauty-is-terror

3) ESA: Electronic Substance Abuse – “Burial 10“ – EBM music is not my cup of tea. However, anything done at the top of the game is easy to know when you hear it. This album is hard, filthy, and so full of nuclear radiation it is impossible to not stomp your feet and dance to. The concept, power, and delivery are peerless in their execution. Add to that guest performances by Jo Hysteria, Cainlin Corlyx, and Lecture and you have one of the breakout album experiences of the year. This is one of those records I could listen to 100 times and hone in on a different detail each one.

https://esangp.bandcamp.com/album/burial-10

2) The Jean Marc Lederman Experience – Letters to Gods and Fallen Angels – For all those wondering where are the albums touching on a higher artistic ideal in the modern age. This is it. The Belgian artists who’s resume has touched some of the most prolific music to occur in the electronic era has compiled a group of guest singers both legendary and future stars and ask them to write a letter to God or a fallen angel. The responses follow the course of human mysticism and discovery. This album is a true journey of thought and expression that touches on a myriad of styles and ideas. It’s been a long time since a record made me think and feel so much. Do yourself a favor and take this adventure.

https://wool-e-discs.be/album/wed077-letters-to-gods-and-fallen-angels

  1. Pig – Pain Is God – Some people had a punk rock phase in their angry youth. I had an industrial one. A big part of that was Raymond Watts. KMFDM and <PIG> was a remind that Industrial music could mean something else. That it was a music of synthesis between electronic dance beats and any other style you could imagine. Here he is reborn the swine lord persona with a heady blend of of gospel, hard rock, and neon gutter grime. This record was the open gate between my 2020 self and my 1993 self. A DeLorean that connected me to my ego and my wisdom. A glorious return for the master of swine.
See our interview with Raymond Watts here

https://pigindustries.bandcamp.com/

I didn’t include singles in this list. However important mentions: Silverwalks, Melodywhore, and Der Prosector.

https://silverwalk.bandcamp.com/

https://melodywhore.bandcamp.com/

https://derprosector.bandcamp.com/

I’ll Give You Something To Cry About

on By

It’s been a really tough week for me. It’s been hard to find the motivation to write or do much of anything. Today was a little better. I haven’t found myself listening to less music, just finding it harder to hear the words to describe it in my mind. Today was the first time I had felt like I could talk again. So I have an enormous backlog of music to write about. Lets get some of that out now.

ESA (Electronic Substance Abuse) – “Eat Their Young” If ESA’s latest album Burial 10 was a barb wire wrapped bat beating the shit out of you with electronic destruction. The new EP Eat Their Young is the same effect with a razor sharp sword. It has a purpose and intent with it’s execution. Back again is Corlyx Caitlin Stokes adding a sensuality and velvet glove to the relentless destruction. Power and Beauty in equal measure in this must have EP from London England. Also the video for the single is a masterclass in modern music/image synthesis

https://esangp.bandcamp.com/album/eat-their-young-the-scorn-ep

Corlyx – “Together Apart” – Speaking of Caitlin, her and band mate Brandon Ashley are back for a follow up to their album “In2 The Skin” 1st single is out now for a Sept 15th release. It’s another burner. Porcelain Skin brings that same darkpop flavor of broken glass candy and ghostly light. Caitlin has a beauty and truth with crawls under your skin and infects you with a cracked mirror of perception. Can’t wait to hear how the rest shakes out.

https://corlyxngp.bandcamp.com/

MelodyWhore – “This Is How We Were Taught To Pray” New single release from electronic sin wizard MelodyWhore out of Texas. This single was written as a charity donation for BLM. Jimmy called in some of the top names in the scene to contribute with remixes and vocals. The song is a powerful hymn of equality in a call to take down an unfair establishment. This one gives me chills with it’s intensity and soul shaking faith. I was lucky enough to contribute myself on the Gothic Tabernacle Choir remix. A Great cause and outpouring of talent forged together into one of the most spine tingling singles of the year.

https://melodywhore.bandcamp.com/

Carrion – “The Tempest” Swirling ash and oblivion from Norway’s Carrion. A new single of slow fuse creeping doom that shows you the horror to come and leaves you chained waiting for the inevitable destruction.

https://officialcarrion.bandcamp.com/

Hallowed Hearts “Into The Fire” I really like the way this album bends the line between goth and post punk with a slight lean towards goth. It’s emotional and flows like a rippling black ribbon. The melody lines are captivating and seamless. Some beautiful guitar rock elements with gentle curves to match the tight post punk base lines. Impressive.

https://hallowedhearts.bandcamp.com/

Stoneburner – “Dark Ambient Album” Steven Archer is always twisting the joint to find a new position. Never comfortable in one concept he is an ever moving force. This new 6 song EP steers away from the vocal driven industrial of the last few albums into texture sonic painting. Full of strong effects and video game soundtrack pastels. From one mountain many rivers may flow.

https://stoneburnerofficial.bandcamp.com/

EchoBeryl – “The Awakening Of The Mutant” From Cold Transmission this French synthtrance retro dance dream keeps the imagination flowing. The album is an homage to 50’s and 60’s sci-fi drama. It’s a modern concept through a retro lens. Set to release Aug 21st currently 2 tracks are available for pre order and both are a teleport beam to both the past and the future.

Tiny Gods Who Walk Beside Us

Featured By

These tiny beings that we let into our lives change us in ways we cannot imagine. The relationships we build are the supporting blocks of our existence. That which gives it perspective and texture. When my three year old cat Freyja was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer in her leg the full power of how much we invest in our tiny companions really struck me. My fear of a future without her and the big questions of how to proceed. What that would mean weighed heavy on my soul. Cats were once worshiped by the Egyptians and many cultures as deities. There is no other creature save humans that truly embodies the idea of pride and love. When I created the review page Sounds and Shadows I found in my love for new music the power in hearing and understanding the lives of the artists who make it and shared that with people around the world. In these dark moments with Freja’s life hanging on a knife edge these artists who I had woven a connection with reached out to me and ask “How can I help?” This was an affirmation which touched me to my core at a time I needed most to believe in the importance of those around me. From around the world they came together in collaboration and kindness to offer their time, their art, and their charity. Freyja required an amputation of her leg which was successful and I am happy to announce saved her and left her the same glorious, loving ball of warm energy as she was before, albeit on three legs. The cost of her operation was quite substantial but it was a sacrifice worth making for my tiny goddess. Buying this compilation of songs contributed by dear friends is directly funding Freja’s care and operation. Any additional funds beyond direct medical costs will be donated to a non kill shelter charity to help other animals in need. A special thank you to Pete Burns for the immense task of mastering the compilation. Cate McFarland for the wonderful cover art which I feel really captures the concept. Slade Templeton for releasing it. Collin Schipper for being my rock and helping me put it together. As well as William Zimmerman for helping me promote. To anyone who has ever written a song, recorded it, and released it, you know how much effort goes into each one. How much love I have for all the artists below is hard to put into words. I never could have imagined something so beautiful and powerful could arise from this dark event. I hope it’s power touches you and reminds you to pay a special homage to your tiny God today.

Much love,

Ken Magerman

https://theamaranth.bandcamp.com/album/tiny-gods-who-walk-beside-us

Order Here 🙂

Also Here is the podcast Part 1 where we discuss the first 8 tracks

I wanted to do a quick breakdown of all the artists who contributed a song to save my baby. When I look at the list of the amount of talent here it is a bit staggering. We had submissions from all over the world and quite a few collaborations of people who never knew each other before this project.

  1. Lorelei Dreaming – (Edge of the World Dj Senseless mix) Chicago based dystopian electro dance. Comprised of Laura and AJ remixed by Madison WI’s Dj Senseless. This song is such a different sound for Lorelei Dreaming, it was the perfect opener with it’s emotional swell.

https://loreleidreaming.bandcamp.com/

2. Amaranth – (For Freyja) Goth/Industrial/Synth Rock from Kalamazoo MI. That’s us 🙂 I had some really deep emotions that needed uncorking with this song. Collin wrote a great song way out of our normal wheelhouse including Derick on a mandolin and Kam with some very delicate brushwork. It’s the loudest I ever screamed in anguish on a song. Hope you enjoy it.

https://theamaranth.bandcamp.com/

3. A Covenant of Thorns the lovely sweeping romantic goth synth from near Chicago. What an amazing voice with this song remixed by Chicago Rock/Industrial super group The Joy Thieves. This is my favorite ACOT song and I don’t know how I could have liked it more. Enter Dan Milligan, this remix found another level of what I already loved in beauty and clarity.

https://acot.bandcamp.com/

https://armalyte.bandcamp.com/album/the-joy-thieves-a-blue-girl

4. Corlyx – England by way of LA and Berlin glitter grunge electronic duo remixed by EDM Industrial noise mechanics Electronic Substance Abuse (ESA). This song Deform is such a wonderful combination of both styles. Caitlin’s voice is ethereal and airy, floating through the void when the creeping digital build starts burrowing into your mind.

https://corlyx.bandcamp.com/

https://esangp.bandcamp.com/

5. Antipole – Norwegian post punk revivalist of Karl Morten Dahl. Ft Paris Alexander and Eirene are experts of taking what is glorious of the past and making it rise again into the present. They are the most reviewed band in Sounds and Shadows history and true masters of the music craft. This song is such a different flavor for them and one I immediately fell in love with. That same signature Karl guitar but with this crisp sizzling dance beat. Together with Eirene’s smokey sultry voice it’s a real burner.

https://antipole.bandcamp.com/

6. Ego Likeness – Maryland dark rock industrial duo of Steven and Donna have been such an important part of this scene for decades. This Dräcos Deep remix by Sombre‘ of the song Darkness really places a cool highlight on Donna’s voice and a crisp dance beat.

https://egolikeness.bandcamp.com/

7. Machinery of Desire – Traditional goth rock of Adrian Auchrome. I trade music back and forth with Adrian often. I say as no light sentence I think this is the best song I ever heard from them. I was touched beyond belief that they shared it with me for the compilation. The vocals really cut loose and highlighted their unique and romantic darkness. Gentle crawling guitar lines of piercing intensity.

https://machineryofdesire.bandcamp.com/

8. Adoration Destroyed – The glamour gloom stars of Austin TX remixed by Philly’s Authentic Impulse. I really liked the way Erik’s voice sits on the bouncing glitchy effects and pounding drum beats. AD does such a great job on remixes themselves it was really cool to see what William was able to do with their song.

https://adorationdestroyed.bandcamp.com/

https://authenticimpulse.bandcamp.com/releases

9. Crying Vessel – Swiss dark glam star Slade Templeton gets a double credit here. Both for this amazing song remixed by Dead Agent, but also for helping me release the compilation. Ed Finkler (Dead Agent) did a sizzling breakneck dance song and let Slade’s voice ride on top like the crest of a wave. Such wonderful movement and balance. This was a beautiful team up that happened for the first time on this compilation.

https://cryingvessel.bandcamp.com/

https://deadagent.bandcamp.com/

10. I Ya Toyah – Chicago’s one woman sonic explosion Ania has been remixed here by Arcontas Blank for her single Code Blue. This sizzles with her intense soul and some intricate and beautiful synth pad work. I really love how varied and dynamic the different sounds used here are.

https://iyatoyah.bandcamp.com/

11. Twin Tribes – (Dark Crystal) The lovely princes of Texas darkwave. Twin Tribes was the first band we reviewed for Sounds and Shadows and they remain one of the bands that inspires me in the modern scene. This track is a beautiful, swirling ritual of emotion and pageant. The future is so bright for this band.

https://twintribes.bandcamp.com/

12. Radiograph – (Catnipped) This is the solo project of John Edwards Palais Ideal in the Netherlands. I love this sizzling disco prog synth with a early New Order guitar line. Palais Ideal is always finding ways to step outside the box of what post punk could be.

https://palaisideal.bandcamp.com/

13. Caustic – (Fuck that Fascist Beat) Silverwalks Remix – Madison WI old school Industrial/EDM brings an intense shoulder tackle political hailstorm. Remixed in a smoother synth slither dance style by Pennsylvania based Silver Walks. This track slams so hard both in your mind, and in dat ass.

https://caustic.bandcamp.com/

https://silverwalk.bandcamp.com/

14. Seven Federations – (Syzygy) – North Dakota based goth Industrial full of rolling bluesy soul and electronic glitch. I love how hard it is to classify what I am hearing. This song has a really cool sample/spoken word effect that reminds me of 90’s VAST.

https://sevenfederations.bandcamp.com/

15. Vlimmer – (Schnittstelle) – Alexander’s Berlin based ambiant darkwave project is a masterclass in structure and sound creation. The rate and quality of the music he puts out never ceases to amaze me. This song is a intense and terrifying well of emotion and abstract prism to twist the mind.

https://repartiseraren.bandcamp.com/album/angststand

16. Dogtablet – (Showtime Melodywhore Slave Remix) – The project of industrial titans Jared Louche (Chemlab) and Martin King (Test Dept) created this wondrous album based on the concept of totemism. Every track feels like a different creature embodied. This track is a sultry triphop prancing creature of grace and agility. It has a very feline quick quality.

https://dogtablet.bandcamp.com/album/feathers-skin

17. Kiss of the Whip – ( The Pain is Ours) – I have been a fan of the Baltimore based retro synth weavers on Cold Transmission for a while now. Beautiful familiar feels with modern edge and a layered beauty. This track is a roller coaster of peaks and valleys gliding though a rainbow landscape of color.

https://youtu.be/AIVl4yYcX1A

https://kissofthewhip.bandcamp.com/

18. Steven Archer – (The Showroom) – The amazing artist of (Ego Likeness and Stoneburner) appear once again showing his range in this synth prog builder. I really love how different his vocals come across in this song. Theatrical and with a Nick Cave flare. What is it he can’t do?

https://stoneburnerofficial.bandcamp.com/

19. Cliff and Ivy – (Will to the Power) – Alaska’s darkest couple have been creating batcave punk fueled witchcraft for over a decade. It is raw, fierce, and intelligent. I love the drive and bloody claws of this track. Ivy and Cliff really show the power of two people in perfect lockstep making eachothers art stronger.

https://cliffandivy.bandcamp.com/album/the-best-of-cliff-and-ivy

20. Orcus Nullify – (March of the Lost) – South Carolina’s Bruce Nullify creates a brand of unapologetic terrifying rumble of old school death rock. I love the over the top imagery and slashing guitars. I feel like this track perfectly captured that style but with a focused clarity which added extra weight and power.

https://orcusnullify.bandcamp.com/

21. Ritchual – (You Lied) – Austin TX based Ritch Napierkowski of Adoration Destroyed and Nimbus has done this synthwave solo project and it is absolutely lights out. This song could have been a missing track on Depeche Mode “Sounds of Faith and Devotion” Just a delicious dark ear candy jam.

https://ritchual.bandcamp.com/

22. Sister Sarin – (Split) – Baltimore Percussion specialist Hemlock has done this solo project where she weaves intricate texture and pulsing drum beats to create lovely isolated sonic paintings. This song has a driving dance beat and saber slash keyboard melodies to create an instrumental full of movement and dynamics.

https://www.facebook.com/SisterSarin/

23. Swansect – (Clovermouth) – Norwegian noise artists Adrian Kjosnes of Missfit Toys and writer for Sounds and Shadows unleashes this terrifying and avant garde solo project. It has this brimming intense Goblins feel of sinister noise and stealthy builds. This track is a haunting horror movie soundtrack to grab your nightmares with it’s claws and leave you screaming for more.

https://swansect.bandcamp.com/

11 Grams – (DNA) Half Washington DC half Australia the industrial electronica dance floor lords have been a part of this scene for a long time and always bring the highest level of precision and technique. This track is a slow dark builder that crackles with life and a whisper that draws you in.

https://11grams.bandcamp.com/

Sombre’ – French post punk with a very cool organic world beat feel. They always remind me a bit of the Happy Mondays. Cedric has a resonant and soothing voice and the baselines always really drive. Here he does a wonderful remix of Ego Likeness. I really love how Donna’s vocals are highlighted here.

http://www.sombre-official.com/?fbclid=IwAR1a_8Enr6qCrdl7VbWjx5hnHqKXgNJVtY7ETw5-HtOqJUa0rWtZIaafzsk

This entire compilation was mastered artfully by Pete Burns of (Kill Shelter) with cover art by Cate Mcfarland. Released by Slade Templeton.

https://killshelter.bandcamp.com/

https://youtu.be/jft0qohqBiU