Proud goth, ex DJ and music reviewer

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German industrial project, Neon Insect released the album New Moscow Underground in 2019, and now Nils Sinatsch is back after a hiatus with new music in the form of the single “REWIRED“. The single is a continuation of a storyline that Nils has been forming since 2018, about New York, after World War III broke out in the 90s, where Russia now rules, causing human experimentation in cybernetics and subjugation of the people. All this has been further influenced and fuelled by the war in Ukraine.

The rumbling, clattering start up of the mechanisms as it lurches forward, gathering momentum. The rhythmic pounding is the resolve to no longer live as part of a machine that takes away their humanity while the soaring synths on high are almost symbolic of righteous change.

All the while, Nils‘ vocals speak of a crumbling power and that we, in the end, have self-determination and are not programmed robots. The sign of a good track is one that seems to finish all too soon, and “REWIRED” goes for just over three minutes, but you could swear it was a lot less. Neon Insect is bringing the heavy.

REWIRED | Neon Insect (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/neoninsect?mibextid=ZbWKwL

http://www.neon-insect.de/

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You might need a bit of extra goth in your life, so why not try some tropical goth…. mmm, it is tasty and refreshing in the form of Australian band Locust Revival, and you can whet your appetite with the single “Good Grief“. Actually, they have been releasing darkwave goodness since 2015 and are particularly prolific. *hint hint*

The guitar twanging flourishes, combined with the drum machine, are the first things you hear. The lofi recording only adds to the atmosphere, and when the vocals kick in, it makes you feel like you are listening to an unreleased Joy Division track. Like a dream wafting through, leaving behind the pain of memories, loves great loss with a bass saturated background.

Glorious post-punk sounds from Brisbane. It’s wonderfully mopey, and yet, there is a certain degree of lightness in the guitar playing. A beautiful symbolic looking back at the bands from the past, and you can hear the joy Locust Revival finds in creating this dark expressive music. All we can say is “Good Grief” Danger Mouse, you need a listen.

https://locustrevivalmademesad.bandcamp.com/track/good-grief

https://www.facebook.com/locustrevival?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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Edge Of Decipher is based in Mexico with Z. H. Syle the man behind the star glazed electronic music and the latest single “Cyber Dreams, Infinity And Flux“, which will also appear on the new album Future Skies, out on the machina ad noctem label

Zead is the guest vocalist for “A Warm Dawn“. You start for a moment at the foreign phrases, but the spoken words are Thai, floating in the spaces of a dream, where the piano becomes more insistent as the track meanders. That insistence is the reminder of the music to the vocalist that they are waiting for the person who will make them whole. A promise of more.

“Cyber Dreams, Infinity And Flux” is also graced by Zead’s expressive vocals. There is a heavier industrial influence, and the electronics buzz in anticipation, curling in frenetic eddies, while the solar winds of the synths guide them along.

machina ad noctem

A longing for something more in “Your Real Name (dream version)“. The piano keys express not so much a lament but definitely an expression of desire. The final track is the “A Warm Dawn (alternate take)” where there piano and vocals vie for dominance to be heard, as it all winds down with the knowledge there is an end.

Edge Of Decipher is experimenting with music not only for pleasure but to push boundaries such as a Thai vocalist and/or imbuing his synthwave craft with emotion that you can almost feel on your skin. So bask in the “Cyber Dreams, Infinity And Flux” with Edge Of Decipher.

Cyber Dreams, Infinity and Flux | Edge of Decipher | machina ad noctem (bandcamp.com)

https://twitter.com/edgeofdecipher?t=3nUCP_CLm31VbvtdVrZGWQ&s=09

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Those two electronic guys from London and Denmark, who go under the guise of Perpacity, have released the epically named single, “Ragnarök” , as of the 3rd of March. Ian Harling and Martin Nyrup have announced that this will be the last single off the soon to be re4leased album Discordia.

Remember I said epic, as “Ragnarök” means ‘doom of the Gods‘ and is a predicted event in Norse mythology, of the destruction of worlds of men and the Gods. A mixture of future pop and something a bit darker, an echoing back to a time in history when the Gods walked the lands. Visions of the end of time that swirl in electronic motes, like flurries of snow, while the vocals dance between the icy fingers of death. The b-side is “Halls Of The Fallen” is a slower affair that speaks of the warrior’s last day before they fall in battle and then taken to Valhalla. The promise of eternal life, though they must leave all else behind, and this is reflected in the sinuous nature of the music. Building to the moment of lament and glory, and perhaps it is a Valkyrie we can hear in the march towards the appointed fate..

You might think that mixing a tale that is around a thousand years old, with electronic music, might be a bit cheesy, but this is not the case. Perpacity has pulled this off beautifully, weaving the electro with the mystical, exhibiting skill of the Sibyl that prophesised the coming of “Ragnarök“.

Ragnar̦k РSingle | Perpacity (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/perpacity?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Perpacity music

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There is exciting news on the horizon as Norway’s Antipole, aka Karl Morton Dahl and UK’s Paris Alexander have released the new single “Perceptions” which is off their new collaborative album Crystalline, slated to drop on May 12th on Young And Cold Records. It will be out on digital, CD and lovely vinyl.

The clack of the drum machine and sensual synths wake you out of your stupor, beckoning your eyes to open. The guitar rings in beautifully and heralds Alexander’s smooth vocals as the music waxes and wanes with his whispers, infectious and leaving you wanting more.

It is so nice to hear these two working together again, and we have a whole album to eagerly await. There is just something sublime about not only this style of darkwave but how gorgeously Antipole and Paris Alexander have crafted “Perceptions” into a coldwave track that sucks you in until the end.

Crystalline | Antipole & Paris Alexander | Antipole (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/antipoleband?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.facebook.com/paris.alexander.5623?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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The Drood are a US based band, on the label eMERGENCY heARTS, that we are not unfamiliar with, and their single “It Must Needs Wither” has received ‘the treatment‘, also known as the remix from fellow American project Dead Voices On Air which is Mark Spybey. A founding member of Zoviet France and Download with cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy…. honestly you should look him up to see the other artists and acts he has been involved with because it is a lot..

This remix has the ambience of the 60s at Venice Beach at the time of the Mama’s And The Papa’s, with a similar vocal arrangement, though the beginning is far more an electronic and ethereal soundscape, tinged with a timeless longing, that seamlessly blends with the singing. “It Must Needs Wither” is based on Shakespeare’s “Othello“, and it is dedicated to those we lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a beautiful remix that is haunting until the last note, so check out the Dead Voices On Air remix of The Drood track “It Must Needs Wither”.

It Must Needs Wither (Dead Voices on Air Remix) | The Drood, Dead Voices On Air | eMERGENCY heARTS (bandcamp.com)

https://thedrood.com/facebook

https://thedrood.com/

https://deadvoicesonair.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/dvoaspybey?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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Here is an interesting curve ball. UK industrial musician MATT HART has released the single “TO THE CORE” in a remixed version by Daniel Graves of Aesthetic Perfection fame. The original single hails from the BELOW THE TERRA PT. 1 album, which is part of an epic opus about humans forced to flee underground by alien machine foes, intent on their demise.

Graves has a very distinctive voice and you cannot miss his dulcet industrial pop tones. You might think this is an easy breezy, pop til you drop dance number…..but you are only right to a point and have been lulled into a false sense of security, when it all drops the down for a bass beat heavy chorus. So you are on a roller-coaster between succulent sweet crooning and grating chanting as the big push goes on, to dig down to the hot core of the planet, with with a charged up dance track.

Will the humans survive the onslaught? That is for another release but I would be a fairly happy little human bean (being) hearing more collaborations between HART and Graves. The Aesthetic Perfection remix featuring Daniel Graves, has polished MATT HART’s gem, “TO THE CORE“, into a diamond.

TO THE CORE (AESTHETIC PERFECTION REMIX) | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/djmatthartuk?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.instagram.com/matthart3808/

Music | Aesthetic Perfection (bandcamp.com)

Aesthetic Perfection (aesthetic-perfection.net)

https://www.facebook.com/aestheticperfection?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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If you don’t know who VNV Nation is, then you probably have been living under a rock for many, many years. It seems an age since they last released anything new, touring at the big festivals but Metropolis Records (US) have released their first single, “Before The Rain“. It has also been announced that a new album is on the horizon, already named Electric Sun, slated for release on the 14th of April, which is good news for the faithful. What does it sound like? It sounds like VNV Nation with the ever enthusiastic Ronan Harris at the helm. So strike up the lighters……..

https://www.facebook.com/VNVNation?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Music | VNV Nation (bandcamp.com)

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Finnish goth rockers Lamori, have released the single “Dark Messiah” off the soon to be released, fourth album, Neon Blood Fire on the label Wormholedeath Records. The band has been around since 2009, with members Matias Juselius (vocals), Marcus Pellas (guitar), Mikael Westerlund (bass), Jens Wickholm (keys) and Emanuel Sanchez (drums).

The keyboards are your guide in this track, the light on the path of heavy guitar and thrashing drums. The vocals range from plaintive through to growling hellfire, as the track wends its way through the theme of holding onto hope even when darkness and death surround you, as there must be some grand scheme to it all.

This is my first time listening to Lamori and they are like an amalgamation of 69 Eyes meets Deathstars, with the vastness of Amorphis thrown in for good measure. There is a grandiose epic swell that sweeps you along, in a way those from Nordic climes can evoke so well. Lamori holds the heart of the “Dark Messiah“.

https://www.facebook.com/lamorimusic?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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The Troll Finder General aka the big TFG, is back with Phobos Reactor and their double the trouble remix called “DELIRiuMX“, where we believe the MX stands for mix and not Mexico. But speaking of Mexico, that is where No Devotion Records the label is also based. Annnd life goes full circle……

“Kangastuksia” gets the Finnish Oldschool Union RMX and true to the name, it gets the old school stompy action going with Mac Hine guiding the wubbing delights about going a bit crazy after a night on the turps and the mother of all hangovers. Then there is the decent into whirling synth induced dizziness with the second version of “Kangastuksia” from yet another TFG comrade in arms, Australia’s General Kangaroo SGS, who also moonlights under pseudonym Ant Banister.

The theory is to fix a massive hangover, is to keep drinking, which is for most of us, probably a very bad idea and for the character in this scenario, something to regret later but at least he got two big remixes for his trouble!

DELIRiuMX | PHOBOS REACTOR Feat. TFG ( TONTTU ) | No Devotion Records (bandcamp.com)


oldschoolunion.bandcamp.com

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