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Brisbane’s Disfigured Mistress, has been releasing industrial noise for just over a decade. The man behind the project is retiring in the public eye, though in real life a gregarious hugger, who likes a laugh. With that decade under his belt and a veritable catalogue of industrial noise tracks, it seems to the perfect time to compile some of these gems into a huge 17 track behemoth called Decade Of Destruction (2011-2022), which was unleashed on April, 14th.

Just by the list of track names, you have to realise that most of this was not written to be all happy joy. There is a lot of angst, self doubt and even loathing, that is not even thinly hidden. You can bask in the pounding “Sex And Violence” as the bass beats fracture in in ever heightened frustration or go from synth perfection into being stuck with pointed electronics in “Bleeding To Feed The Fake“.

The previous single “The Black Depths Of Hatred” is so fucking heavy, you could weight down a body with it, and it just gets better every time your hear it. Yet, it the midst of all this is the slower and ethereal, “Never Fade From Me” with acoustic guitar and ghostly accompaniment, that is like a breath inhaling and exhaling over and over until it is no more.. There is also the latest single, “Drown It all Out” that is overbearing and full of abrasive metalized distortion which fills your ears, unrelenting.

“In The Flesh Of Fallen Angels” has the glitching beats and the mind numbing harsh noise trying to crack your head open in “Black Mother Devourer Of All” are tracks I just need to mention because of their stellar execution and how magical they are.

The whirling “The Rage Within” is just epic and just made to murder a industrial/techno dancefloor as it screams in fury, lost in its own world. And it just goes on and the thing is that I am not trying to write about every track, because there are a lot here and yet as you listen, each one is so different in the use of synths, programming and even instrumentation. Occasionally you hear a distorted guitar that just adds to the amazing cacophony that assaults your ears, so brilliantly orchestrated.

Traditionally, it the Europeans that have this affinity with harsh powernoise but I am going to say that Disfigured Mistress could easily be just as good as any of those acts. He has a talent for weaving those electronic threads into powerful rhythms, that will touch your primal animal which lays at your core. So, there is no time like the present to immerse yourself in the Decade Of Destruction of Disfigured Mistress.

Decade Of Destruction (2011-2022) | Disfigured Mistress (bandcamp.com)

Disfigured Mistress | Facebook

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Brisbane’s HOSTILE ARCHITECT has dropped the EP, :​​:​​EX​​-​​LOG​​:​​: REMANUFACTURE ME, as of the 29th of April, on Brutal Resonance Records. This is a one man, dark industrial project by the not so hostile Mitch Kenny and this EP is the follow up to the album, LOWGRADELIFE.

This is something a little different for the hostile one. “REMANUFACTURE ME” is this amazing mix of industrial and darkwave, as Kenny goes from monotone vocals through to singing. The synths are just perfection as they skim and glide across this track with a fabulous pop sensibility. In “ECONOMIES OF SCALE” you can clearly hear the HOSTILE ARCHITECT tell tale touches but even this sound is expanding. The beats never let up and just has these incredible moments of amazing electronic noises that make you wonder how Mitch has wrangled them out of a machine. The first single, released before the EP is the brilliantly, energetic “POWER OVERWHELMING” and this is the GOLD MIX and it is a bloody amazing track that pumps along at hair singeing speed at times.

Oh yes, welcome to the “TERMINAL GRIND“, which is all stellar synths twittering at you with murderous intent in this instrumental piece. All hail your overlord, the HOSTILE ARCHITECT of techno delights. Maybe inspired by the Australian yearly heat we have the expansive “BLACK SUMMER” where the ‘Sky’s on fire and so am I‘. There is something scintillating and spine tingling about this track that makes the hairs on the back of your neck raise up. Those that have followed the releases will know that “HOSTILE THEME” was on the LOWLIFELIFE album and now there is the NYTESHAYDE RMX, Roger Menso being Nyteshade, who also did all wonderful mastering. This is the metal industrial version you never thought you would hear. Wow. I know this song so well and this was just mind blowing to hear it done this way.

“REMANUFACTURE ME” just blew me away, possibly my favourite number, from the beginning and there is not a mediocre track on this EP. Not one. Kenny always fills his music with movement and you can see his evolution of the character, the HOSTILE ARCHITECT, in the evolving sound. There is definitely some synthwave/darkwave creeping in and it sounds amazing. Mitch is a really creative and talented musician and it shows in how he crafts his tunes, so I am hoping more people pick up on this project and spread the word that the HOSTILE ARCHITECT is asking…….. IF THIS IS SUCH A BRAVE NEW WORLD WHY DO YOU SEEM SO SCARED?

:​:​EX​-​LOG​:​: REMANUFACTURE ME | HOSTILE ARCHITECT | Brutal Resonance Records (bandcamp.com)

Music | Abelisk (bandcamp.com)

HOSTILE ARCHITECT | Facebook

Brutal Resonance | Facebook

NyteShayde (bandcamp.com)

NyteShayde (facebook.com)

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Coitus Interruptus Productions have put together an extraordinary compilation of Love And Rockets covers, which includes a version of “I Feel Speed” by the lovely Caroline Blind. The Work Of Sinners, The Work Of Saints, is the name of the compilation, which was released on April 29th and coincidentally, so was a music video for the track “I Feel Speed“.

True to the title, the guitar work drives this along at a great pace with a variation of tone between the electric and acoustic, that swirl in that gorgeous way that Love And Rockets penned tunes do. Blind’s vocals perfectly meld into the psychedelic joy of ultimate freedom.

Every guitar piece in that track is played by Caroline Blind (ex-Sunshine Blind) and she has done a sterling job! She also programmed the drum machine and did the recording engineering as well, plus mixing/ production and moog synths were done by Simon ‘Ding’ Archer (1919 and Red Lorry,Yellow Lorry). The video is an extension of the music and I am very impressed by her ability to ride a motorbike, which Blind very obviously loves. The compilation can be found on Bandcamp for name your price, so honestly there is nothing stopping you from checking out both this incredible cover and others by the likes of Batávia, Mark E Moon, Stoneburner and Psyche to but name a few.

Coitus Interruptus Productions (bandcamp.com)

https://www.carolineblind.com

Caroline Blind Music (facebook.com)

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Back in February, j:dead dropped the EP, Visions Of Time, on Infacted Recordings. 29th of April hails in the latest single off said EP, called, “Hold Tight” and there is a bonus in the fact that the remixes included on the download, were exclusively on the CD release. Also to accompany the single is a music video, made with Mark from Mondo Cheapo, who also was involved with the making of the video for the previous single, “I’ll Wait“.

No matter the distance or what life throws at us, believe in us and in me, that I will be there…. that is the message in “Hold Tight“. Jay Taylor in this track, proves he doesn’t just scream and growl but also has a really good singing voice in this body moving track, that also contains a lot of personal sentiment. The synths billow out in ephemeral breathes with the impassioned vocals and body rocking rhythm.

Rotersand are the first remix and of course those guys are masters of electronic dance music, so the production is awesome and they give this warmth and a certain sound that is very much their fingerprints all over this. (Much bias here as I love Rotersand). The Summertime mix by The Saint Paul, is a joyously sparkling affair with airy synths and a light touch guiding the swirling electronics. I will stay true to my previous review, which was the Station Echo remix has such a heart felt pain about it and those cool guitar vibes, that add a more earthy feel to the track.

The video is a simple affair but that kind of makes it all the more powerful. The remixes are all very different, which means there is something for everyone or everything for you (and why not as you enjoy electronic music and these guys are all good at what they do!). So treat yourself to some brilliant synths and vocals or send it to that special someone that you want to “Hold On“.

Hold tight – digital single | J:dead (bandcamp.com)

J:dead | Facebook

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We are going back in time about a year, February, 2021 when the EP, Retribution, by Fossil Fuel was released. RODNT is the man behind the mask, behind the experimental music and as of now this was his second EP.

First track off the EP, “Recoiled” feels like an ancient landscape, with rumbling tones along windswept snowy peaks. It is deep and mysterious, as if you are in budhist temples of Woah, “Retribution” is a whole different kettle of fish. Angry lyrics that strike as a snake would, accompanied by the speeding beats and bleating electronics that push this along. The track, “Drafted” is this curious forty-four second piece, that is obviously referencing the army with the ongoing marching rhythm, that simply fades away.

There is something futuristic about “Delay, Decay” with synths soaring in long stretches, while the programmed beats punctuated the dissatisfaction with those in the ‘system’. “Frantic Age” rounds off the EP, experimental in terms of the beats are going in and out of sync, while extra rhythmic sounds chime in irregularly. Rodnt’s vocals drone in a unemotional thread of consciousness.

I am trying to work out why the EP on Bandcamp is $10 US to purchase (which seems a little steep for five tracks) or you can purchase each track at $1 US. One feels there is a marketing ploy in there, somewhere but there is also a cassette available. I definitely think those that have a taste for electro, industrial experimentation will really enjoy this offering from Fossil Fuel.

Fossil Fuel | Facebook

RETRIBUTION | FOSSIL FUEL (bandcamp.com)

https://m.soundcloud.com/user-227503624

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April 1st saw the release of the single “Your Last Kiss” from VVMPYRE, which features both the vocal and lyrical talents of Boston based musician, Maverick.

Maverick is going to beguile you with her vampiric touch, which may be your last. Her vocals drip promise and sexual delight to an electronic backdrop of beats and synths, with that occasional interlude of horror inspired organ/harpsichord.

VVMPYRE are threatening us soon with a good time in the form of an album. With the connections he seems to have in the industry, I can see it being a blood suckers favourite dance track.

https://vvmpyre.bandcamp.com/

Vvmpyre | Facebook

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Jamie Blacker is ESA, also known as Electronic Substance Abuse, and we are going to talk about the album, Designer Carnage that came out on February 14th of 2022, on Negative Gain Records. But I will digress with a little background information first. ESA is a UK project that was formed in 2002 after Blacker, who had been involved in the black/death metal scene, started to experiment in and became drawn to the sound of harsh, rhythmic industrial noise, which he has in all essence become a relative master of. The first album was released in 2006, Devotion, Discipline and Denial, then releasing albums very regularly ever since.

Straight off the bat, “Laudanum Dance” is like electrodes connected straight into the brain, sparking with glorious fuzz and beats. Like a fever dream, Blacker yells his discontent. Yet, hark it that a harpsichord? Classical piano which is a gorgeous oddity, played at a decent pace to be suddenly broken by the female vocal sample of Konstantina Buhalis and break beats, that descend into the stomach wrenching, bellowing tones. Those beautiful harpsichord keys again trill away, as they and the piano are played by Frederic Scarfone. Frustration and anger are swirling in the charged track “One Missed Called” which is about repression and fear stopping one from getting further in life. It is powerful with the female sample, of again, Konstantina Buhalis, screaming how much she fucking hates the person who puts her down. The rhythms circle and pounds down, enforcing the angst.

The use of noise and techno is near perfect in “I Detach“, when out of nowhere…ragtime music. Yes, weird and yes unexpected, but it works. The ticking of a clock, alien like electronic warbles, the ragtime and Blacker’s voice just culminate into this bizarre, dreamlike world of movement. The title track, “Designer Carnage” exudes electronic smut and grime. Fantastic! The music grinds while samples repeat the title. It speeds up towards the climax like there is no getting off this ride, only to drop you and drag you along again. Bara Hari is the guest vocalist for “Disruption Only” and it just pounds away. as a good, well lubricated industrial machine should. The rhythm is a drug that you can’t get enough of while in the static, you can hear angry voices. Bara Hari joins in and it becomes something otherworldly while those hammered beats carry on regardless, stuck in a groove.

“Come And Find Me” again utilises that ragtime sound throughout in a myriad of stomping beats and electronics. A hallucination induced nightmare which translates to smashing yourself on a dancefloor. Curiously addictive and no we cannot get enough as it builds apon itself in a downward spiral. Saxaphone is by Matt ‘Chops’ Thompson and female vocals by Hellsea. For the track “Hyena“, all the vocals are credited to Pee Wee Pimpin, as he goes from cajoling to viciously snarling, the synths cackling as they track you down in your last moments, but what a way to go/ “Whom Then Shall I Fear?” features Pee Wee Pimpin, as he raps which works ever so well with the heavy electronics in the background. In fact, it is almost like listening to Public Enemy’s, “Bring On The Noise” but they were all industrialised and updated. It is an amazingly strong track.

There is something wicked and it comes this way in the track, “Vast Accept“. Off kilter and deranged, on a psychopathic mission only it knows. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security as it awaits to pounce while you are off guard with those techno beats. The final track is “Saturnalia“, which is full of blast beats, raging guitar and the deep, growling Blacker vocals, that start to fritz in and out. There are also these wonderful science fiction sounding synths and classic flamenco guitar by Frederic Scarfone, that lend themselves to a western touch, while Matt ‘Chops’ Thompson gives us that sleazy saxaphone. With wailing female vocals, it all crescendos, only to die away.

I knew this new album had come out but a friend, whom is also an industrial DJ, thrust it under my nose and declared that if I was to review anything this year, it has to be this album, Designer Carnage. In all honesty, he was completely correct. If this is not in people’s top 10 industrial releases for the end of the year, then I am going have to say that your taste might be in your arse. Jamie Blacker is able to experiment with so many different styles and mould them into something cohesive, with lashings of wicked heavy rhythms, filthy grinding electronics, inject music of past eras, whilst screaming near bloody murder at you. Really can’t much better than that other than you can dance to all of it. I dare you not to find yourself bouncing to the beats. You definitely need some Designer Carnage in your life, so let ESA be your dealer.

Designer Carnage | ESA (Electronic Substance Abuse) | ESA (bandcamp.com)

ESA: Electronic Substance Abuse | Facebook

Home | ESA (bigcartel.com)

Frédéric Scarfone (bandcamp.com)

Music | BARA HARI (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/OriginalChopsSax

Pee Wee (@peeweep713) • Instagram photos and videos

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¡-PAHL-! have released their debut album, which followed three singles, The Lepzig project dropped I on March 31st, 2022, brandishing their style of grandiose, dark synth/electronic music. The trio consists of Olaf Parusel as the mastermind behind the composition of the music, while lyrical penmanship plus production was done by Leonardo von Leibnitz and lead vocals rendered by Peter Hardlab.

LEONARDO VON LEBNITZ & PETER HARLAB

The single “Abraham” is a powerful start to the album, as the horns sound and then be lured into the depths of ¡-PAHL-!, as they make comment on the religious ownership of the figure. The next track is “Big Data” which goes from dirty growls, to soaring heights of vocals and synths with an orchestral backing. Another single is “Dyo” with its overwhelming adoration in this beautifully simple song, that showcases Hardlab’s vocal talents.

“Götter Neuen Stadt” or Gods of the New City, is deep and cinematic in sound and could easily be a favourite off the album for me. There is so much going on in the background of this track, the synths that float, the electronics that are the restless flow beneath and a stringed instrument, with what sounds like metal strings. To this end, “Mankind” is the reduction of average humans to slavish beings, with no rights, the vocals describe our reliance on technology that might be responsible for some of this. Hardlab’s voice mingles with Viola Manigk’s quite delightfully. The sweet singing is undermined by a crackling voice in “Mass Instruction“, the programming of the masses to accept everything. There is the overwhelming power of an electronic choral of angels and down beats.

Slow burn “On Conspiracies” which asks how much credence there is in these things. The harpsichord is a beautiful touch, a refined touch with the unearthly voices that are not human. The single “Telos” asks what is a person’s potential. The bleak electronics speak of sorrow, while Hardlab sincerely questions what is “Telos“. “Timeless” is a great finishing track. Full of emotion and longing yet a resignation that all might be lost, so not all is timeless. The electronics are just mesmerising and fade with the words, unless we be saved……

How do I say this…..? For music created by three individuals, it has this huge atmosphere to it, a bit like a Cecil B DeMille movie. In fact, it was that style of biblical high drama movie, that this album made me think of…… kind of a modern fall from grace where only the few may be saved. Made in Germany but relevant to many, as technology and super billionaires acquire more information about us and subvert our reality, an observance of modern society. The music itself is this wonderful mixture of divine grace, smashed together with industrial dirtiness, the lyrics are a looking glass into the modern psyche and the vocals will both catch your heart and break it.

I | ¡-PAHL-! (bandcamp.com)

PAHL (facebook.com)

¡-PAHL-! – The Electronic Art & Music Project – Epic Industrial Music from Leipzig

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Independent label, Fuzz Club, announced the release, on April 19th, of the track “WitchKraft Singles” by Wet Satin. Jason Miller and Marc Melzer are the men behind the project, strangely named after a psychotropic sunscreen which was in a dream about a Philip K Dick book, and were previously in the band Lumerians, based in London.

Sort of, electronic lounge music from a bygone era yet in the future, say like the original Star Trek series but with a weirder, funkier feel. The retro synths and rhythms do a calypso snake through your brain, winding around your ears.

This is a bit of electronic fun with their style that has been dubbed Kosmische Tropicale, due to the fusion of cosmic disco, Afrofunk and a few other musical sounds. Have to say that it is fairly enjoyable to listen to and probably more so, under the stars with a drink in your hand and dreaming of another galaxy.

WitchKraft Singles | Wet Satin | Fuzz Club Records (bandcamp.com)

Fuzz Club | Facebook

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March 4th, was the release date of Naples band, Dead Rituals‘ single “Prisoners“. This post-punk/shoegaze trio consists of Andrea Caccese (vocals, drums, bass, guitars, synth), Paolo Cotrone (guitars) and Brita Penfold (vocals).

From the beginning there is something light and curiously uplifting about this track. Maybe it is the energetic beats or the flourishing guitar work or perhaps the sonorous vocals. But beneath it all is the lyrics that speak of the other, ruining a relationship, however they would do it all again as their prisoner. A happy masochist me thinks.

The guitars are wonderful and ring out, while the vocals are clear and melt with the music as it soars and dives in swirling shoegaze richness and in true punk style it only goes for just under three minutes. You can find this Dead Rituals little gem on Bandcamp, where it is name your price.

Prisoners | Dead Rituals (bandcamp.com)

Dead Rituals (facebook.com)

DEAD RITUALS