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There is something a bit odd about the Australian gothic music scene. We have a knack for having local talent, that will go on to delight the rest of the world with their often unique sound, and yet, in their home country, are relatively unspoken about. I am talking in the league of Dead Can Dance, Subterfuge and the mighty Ikon. When lead singer, Michael Aliani, left Ikon, he went on to to found another band called Chiron, with fellow ex-Ikon member Dino Molinaro (electric bass), in Melbourne, anno domini 1997. Chiron are now a trio, joined by Ivan Bullock (electric guitar, electronics), for the latest album called A Dark Beauty.

PHOTO BY PETER CASAMENTO

The first track is the title track and title tracks are always a good indication what to expect from an album. There is a wonderful electronic heaviness between the programmed drums and synths, while the guitars are the release and permission to be above the almost ancient memories. Low whittering of the electronics, combined with the drumming and languid guitar, create a discernible eeriness in “Flesh and Blood.” The vocals echo through the chorus, and the emphasis being in the line ‘the end of twilight,’ a reference to the decay of both flesh and blood.

The single release off the album is “The Hunted,” which has the driving rhythm section that is not interested in slowing down. Aliani’s singing is punchy and breathy, like he fleeing something in the darkness, while the delicate guitar could possibly be the guiding light The final original track is “Oblivion” which guests the vocals of Yvette Winkler of Vaselyne. Do not mistake this as Chiron going out on a whisper, but rather it is definitely a post-punk, bass lead dance along the road to nigh, where the synths give the impression of infinite depth.

There are also four bonus re-mixes that includes a cinematic unreleased track called “Slipping Away – Mansfield Mourning,” that could be set on the misty Moors by Chiron. “Flesh and Blood” gets the treatment by Athens (Greece) based Paradox Obscur, Australians Imbibe, from Canberra, take on “A Dark Beauty,” and Melbourne’s SIRUS put their spin on “The Hunt.” All three of these bands are electronic based and this brings a different sound to each of the tracks.

There has been a revival in the Australian gothic scene, and it has been a joy seeing new bands bring their sound to the darkwave banquet, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that it is lovely hearing from the stalwarts. Chiron have the history behind them and brought to bear their bountiful talents, creating a rich and textured album in A Dark Beauty, where the title gives away the whole theme. Finding the light in the darkness that illuminates the exquisite symmetry of life and death, through haunting lyrics and melodies matched with the brilliant vitality of post-punk music. She is A Dark Beauty indeed…

A Dark Beauty | Chiron

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In 2024, Oslo based darkwave band, Mayflower Madame released their third album Insight. At the time, Insight consisted of nine songs, however the band had actually recorded fourteen tracks, and now in 2026, Mayflower Madame have dropped the Deluxe Edition that now includes the extra five tracks.

It includes the possibly Echo and the Bunnymen inspired “In Hindsight,” which has the prominent deep bass lines and the lighter dreamy vocals. Or you could fixate on the incredibly moody and apprehension filled “Leave Everything Behind,” however, my pick is the last track, “Afterglow.” There is something overwhelmingly open in the sentiment of a love that there is no defence against, while the music pulls you in.

If Mayflower Madame tickled your fancy with the original release, then you should seek out the extra tracks, that you can now get in vinyl!…. and if you are a new initiate, then you have nothing to lose and a lot of lovely post-punk music to gain.

Insight (Deluxe Version) | Mayflower Madame

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Mayflower Madame – Insight

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Tom Walters is an expat Brit, now residing in Australia, and under the guise of Tomo, he has released the neo-classical album In Memoriam. It is packed with eighteen instrumental tracks, primarily played on piano and guitar, in the key of finality.

“Petrichor” is the scent the dry earth gives off after rain, and it is also a gently sweet and hopeful track, with chords reaching for the light, only to fall into retrospect. Waves of sorrow are palpable in “All The Remains.” A slow procession through the twilight of memory, triggered by the delicate high key notes and a definitive low crash at the end.

There is a lightness and energy with “The Watchmen,” before we roll into the introspective “Rebirth” with its gossamer tendrils. A sense of loss in the lower tones, heightens the sorrow filled violin in “Unforgiven.” Not an accusation, but rather a heavy self inflicted pall of uncertainty and slow burn loathing.

Loss and grief are powerful emotions that most humans will encounter many times in their life. In Memoriam is a classical journey through these stages, including the acceptance of the inevitable, all told through the memories invoked by the piano, and caressed by the guitar. Darkly beautiful and thought provoking.

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Can a banjo be incorporated into a darker style music? Conceding the fact that it has been successfully used in a few horror movies, it would seem that like all things are possible. Enter the album Mountain States by New Mexico based musician Johnny Bell, an aficionado of the banjo. Bell (banjos, fiddle, shruti, cymbals) is joined by Andrew Weathers (guitars, synthesizers, cymbals) and the album out on Centripetal Force Records.

“Old Blood” has droning electronics weaving in and out of hearing, creating a disturbing bleakness in comparison to the vigour of the banjo, as if pointing to something that is at odds with the world. The tune is mesmerising at the end, as if it once held dancers to its rhythm.

The first chords jangle, causing a shiver up the spine before fingers dance across the strings, plucking furiously in “Caldera Repose.” It sounds near effortless in performance, with the banjo singing refrains inside its own tune.

At seven minutes and fifty-one seconds, “Secret Cities” is the longest track and it is a slow burn. It is the drone that holds the track together, unrelenting in the background, allowing the banjos to attack, recede or fill the spaces in between. It is not happy nor angry, but rather in the moment of breathing and knowing we are where we are meant to be,

It calls back to an era of U.S. expansion and pioneering of the wilderness. Of a life lived in a land filled with great beauty and wonders, that could just as quickly turn on you, meaning small joys like music are everything. You feel the past reaching through each track, with Bell as the conduit, adding his own lived experiences, tying the past to the modern era, living with those ghosts, but looking towards the future as well.

▶︎ Mountain States | Johnny Bell

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Some albums are capsules of the past and travels that could be the stories for many of us in our younger years. When listening to Skateboarding to Concrete Creek, an experimental instrumental album by Puncture Kit, delivers those warm feelings of childhood Summers and wonderment of the general world, as we look back. Dave Osbourne is an ex-pat Aussie now found in the United Kingdom.

The low, warm tone launches, fading in and out like memory in “Brown Shorts and Berries,” where you can almost hear the cicadas chirping in the background. The drums are wavering between rhythmic and arrhythmic, while a guitar drones, cradling those beats.

Welcome to the world of hijacked sleep in the psychedelic “3am Diary.” The male orator explains that is not your body betraying you by withholding sleep, but rather spiritual shenanigans. It is like entering the Twilight Zone as the echoing last word fades into the growing swell of guitar and the drums grow in strength, becoming a maelstrom of agrypnia causing noise and the voice continues, as if trying to hypnotise.

I am not sure what it is about the track “Concrete Creek,” but some of the drumming reminds me of sun glinting off glass and sandstone. The simplistic key notes are repeated over and over, almost childish in opposition to the far more darker undercurrent of electronics.

Here is the disclaimer…. a skateboard was murdered in the creation of this album. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to the gods of music, and let’s face it… who doesn’t like a good sacrifice?! Skateboarding To Concrete Creek is kind of a study into using drums, guitar and electronics in experimental ways, not only to extract different textures, but also using the music to paint scenes that can effect you viscerally. Puncture Kit has imbued Skateboarding To Concrete Creek with humour, warmth and possibly visions of another life lived, and that takes a lot of talent.

Skateboarding To Concrete Creek | Puncture Kit

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Skateboarding To Concrete Creek | Puncture Kit

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Many know of German based gothic rockers Aeon Sable, and original member Nino Sable, has a solo post-punk project called Melanculia. It has been eight years between albums for Melanculia, but 2026 has brought into fruition the new full length release called Post Mortem, out on noot moon records.

Full length is not a lie. Post Mortem is fourteen tracks long and goes for almost exactly one hour.  The single is the melancholic “Sunboat Ascension,” with what sounds like a Hammond organ, bringing you into intimate utterances of devotion. It is almost like this is another existence we are privy in seeing, thrown back thousands of years, when the Egyptians are at the peak of their ancient civilization. It slowly unwinds with longing, only heightened by Sable’s vocals.

The album has proclamations of desperate and deeply absolute states of love, and none is better than “The Healer.” 80s inspired synths that could be at home in a fantasy inspired movie, coupled with lyrics that speak of dancing under the midnight sun, unicorn blood and being the fire that burns for another, are enough to curl your toes with the ideal of being the focal point of adoration.

Special mention goes to the seriously heart squeezing “We Are Only Human,” a slow dance, putting the emphasis on how the race of men are frail creatures, who have not been long on this planet. The clarinet solo by Benno Schlicht, just tops off the track, causing goosebumps.

This album is awash with magical energy and it plumbs the depths of mysticism. The references to the cards of the tarot are hard to miss with titles such as “The Healer” and “The Tower,” amalgamated with tendrils of those ephemeral things in life, like relationships, the attrition that comes with time, as well as the many shades and shapes love.  The album is drenched in neo-folk, with hints in the guitars and sentiment of The Cure’s Disintegration era, and the electronic darkness of Gary Numan, all slowly stirred into melancholic and romantic dissections of life. This is the Post Mortem, looking for connection in this universe, by Melanculia.

post mortem | Melanculia

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Do you like a bit of trip hop and acid wave with you dark synth? Then Brisbane’s Mercy of Dawn might be what you have been waiting for. December was the release for ROTM 2.5: Dark Pentecost /// Lux Infernum. Trust me when I say you cannot type that fast without checking. Mercy of Dawn is also the human behind experimental noise project Disfigured Mistress. I could tell you who this is but then I would have to zodiac mind wipe you all.

The album consists of eight tracks and we are going to focus on two that have trippy visualisers. “Neon Babalon /// Lux Mendax” encapsulates trip hop, mixing it with modern pop, along with ambient industrial noise. There is a female vocalist who would not sound strange in a top 10 popular radio single, though the track itself undulates between electronic tranquillity and peeling rhythms that go in and out of syncopation.

The title “The 6th Sun /// Lux In Absentia” is an interesting juxtaposition, where the 6th sun could refer to the Aztec calendar which is about awakening, however the Latin lux means light and absentia means absence. At times, there is almost a taste of the Middle East, exotic and intangible, within the hypnotic beats and repetitive flow that drift and beguile, though there is always something unsettling beneath all of it… something off kilter that gnaws at the back of your mind.

Ambient trip hop? Industrial modern pop? Why be confined to one genre when you can indulge?! I think in the end, only Mercy Of Dawn truly knows the deeper meaning within ROTM 2.5: Dark Pentecost /// Lux Infernum, and it does have a spiritual oddness, but that might just be the thing to scratch that itch.

ROTM 2.5: Dark Pentecost /// Lux Infernum | Mercy Of Dawn

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Dave McAnally’s Sys Machine is back with his third album dropping in April, called Parts Unknown. Sys Machine has found a home with Glitch Mode Recordings, which has the extra benefit of drawing on the expertise of fellow Glitchers Sean Payne and Brad Huston for programming, mixing & production, while the artwork over the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland is by Jim Marcus.

Kimberly Kornmeier (Bow Ever Down) is the guest vocalist for two tracks, with one of them being the single “Fading.” Her voice is very recognisable and plaintive in the track, which is a slow burn with a emotional depth in the synths, reflecting back the lyrics.

The latest single “Shallow” is anything but, with a southern flavour of the lone cowboy in an electronic modern world, and there is a powerful message to be had. Do you believe what you are told to believe or do you trust your own eyes? This is a sentiment Orwell pushed and it still rings so true today.

“Doubtless” struck me, though leaning into Depeche Mode stylings, it really made me think of Project Pitchfork both vocally, rhythmically and flirting with the interludes of guitar and piano. I think this is an epic track and sublime in how it seems to make your soul want to take flight.

I know McAnally’s previous albums shed light onto how he sees things in the bigger world, but this album seems far closer to home. The inner struggle so to speak. And the music is not quite the more wham bam style, influenced by 90s industrial rock of yore, as it feels more reflective and synth based. We often fear the unknown when we are younger, and as we age some will run from it, while others will embrace it and welcome the adventure. Unknown Parts is Sys Machine’s growth into something wonderful.

Parts Unknown | .SYS Machine

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Music | Glitch Mode Recordings

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Here at Onyx, we love weird arse stuff, especially when it is really well put together, and so we present the Expedient Self and their new experimental noise album called At The MRI Scanner. Out on the attenuation circuit label in Germany, Expedient Self is based in the United Kingdom, and I bet you can’t guess what inspired this eight track journey, which is done completely on guitar.

You won’t have to remember pesky song titles, as they are neatly documented in Roman numerals, unless of course you missed that day at school and never quite got a hold of those weird Vs and I’s.

Not going to lie, it really is like being in an MRI scanner, with all those weird rhythms going off, that would actually be very enjoyable in a metronome kind of way, if you didn’t have to worry about moving. There are the intense bursts of magnetic pulses between the regular ticking. Occasionally the guitar increases in voracity, exposing you to the claustrophobic condition in the tube. Apart from the ticking, the other consistency from the beginning of each track, comes in the form of a female voice telling you to stay still for three minutes.

The whole album is a really interesting concept. For those that like experimental noise, especially noise that uses regular instruments, which then the musician wrings the most abnormal sounds, then this is most likely for you. It puts you in someone else’s shoes, or takes you back to a time and place where you were in this situation, just like Expedient Self. Is it strange that for myself it is both hypnotic and yet uncomfortable at the same time? All I can say dancing At The MRI Scanner could be a thing, however, as Self Expedient can attest, this will not be endorsed by medical staff

At The MRI Scanner | Expedient Self | attenuation circuit

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Los Angeles based Siren Section are back with a new album called Separation Team. This independent release is the first for Siren Section’s members, James Cumberland and John Dowling, in eight years, and with nineteen tracks on said album, I am thinking they have been hording music just like dragons horde gold.

The single “Flinch” is straight EBM, all electronics and a droning rhythm to dance to. The vocals are distorted and low in the mix, so the most prominent part of the track are the beats and looping synths. However, in complete opposition is the track “Solidarity,” with clean vocals and dreamy guitar, while it all sits on a drifting cloud of synths. It swells in the chorus and sonically so different to “Flinch.”

There is the trap inspired “Minotaur” that has an off kilter fair ground feel that wavers between near manic and spiritual enlightenment. It sits next to the track “Deer Hunter” that could be at home in a piano bar, for the lost and hopeless, looking for hidden truths.

Not only do you get nineteen fully formed tracks, but there is such interesting blend of styles that keeps everything fresh and interesting. Shoegaze guitars, electro-industrial/industrial rock, post-punk roots…. you get the idea. The myriad of genres pulled on does not make the tracks overly busy, as the experimentation keeps it flowing and holds your attention. Siren Section are back in action with Separation Team.

Separation Team | Siren Section

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