Enhanced humans are running awry in New Jersey, making electro-gothic music. The father/son combination of Greg Bullock (lead vocal and synthesizers) and Brydon Bullock (drums/percussion, backing vocals), respectively, are the core of Cyborg Amok and towards the end of 2022, they released the album Etiam. There is also additional musical help from Adam Vaccarelli, playing bass on all songs (except “Wicked Close“) and
Frani Lugo with guitar on “(Some) Sleep Tonight.”.
Did you know that the 1975 David Bowie single “Golden Years“, off the Station To Station album was originally written by Bowie for Elvis Presley, who turned it down and gave Bowie one of his highest charting singles in the USA? More fool him we say and the first track from Cyborg Amok is a cover of this classic, and this version is slower and a little more introspective, like an internal soliloquy. Join the shamanistic ritual for “(Some) Sleep Tonight” for those who are deprived of such things, thronged with foreboding bass and heavy guitar, while “Wicked Close” is definitely more electro/industrial flavoured with a leaning to science fiction, the synths creating a soundscape and yet there is a very funk based bass line that invades the lulls.
Chiming intonations break into guitars and a goth rock phantasm of love lost in “Black Well House (a ghost story)” with a chorus to get the chills. Now, any track with the title “Fire Dance“, instantly makes me think of Killing Joke, but this is not that song. Twinkling keyboard notes and lyrics about a rain of fire from the heavens above, creating chaos. “Toxic 1’s” has a creeping air about it with the disturbing guttural gurgling in the background in comparison to the clean vocals. The guitars with the changing drum rhythms are definitely a brilliant addition to keep you on edge. So the last track, “Iron Clad Heart” is languid and serpentine in its execution, biding its time, as you slip over the edge.
There is indeed a interesting dichotomy at work here. Each track seems to have it’s own blend of styles, not overwhelming but rather enough hear those influences merge with each other to create something you can attribute as Cyborg Amok with mixtures of gothic rock, synthwave, industrial and even a bit of glam. Giving a voice to these mixtures takes a bit of skill, so have a listen to Etaim,,, your inner cybernetic humanoid will thank you for it.
https://gabworxllc.bandcamp.com/album/etiam
https://www.facebook.com/cyborgamok
Onyx Music Reviews 