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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

www.facebook.com/MantravisionProductions

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From the gothic wildlands of San Jose, Costa Rica, Ariel Maniki And The Black Halos are back with the single “Supernova“. It has been bat stamped from the label Deepland Records, a precursor to the new album, FRACTALS, which is slated for release at the end of March, 2023.

There is a low ground swell that bursts forth, shimmying drums, cheeky synths, and the guitar chiming out before delivering you into vocal arms of Maniki. The brightness of the guitar work enhances the deep, melodic drawl of the vocals.

If you suffer from epilepsy, then you should probably steer clear of the video, but otherwise, drench yourself in the sumptious delights of both the visual and sonic. Maniki’s admiration of The Cure is easily heard, and yet there is no mimicry, just a reflection. A love so intense, it burns like a “Supernova“, eventually transforming into another celestial entity that affects everything around it. An extraordinarily beautiful post-punk track from Ariel Maniki And The Black Halos.

Supernova | Ariel Maniki and the Black Halos (bandcamp.com)

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

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Queensland band, Atticus Chimps, released their new single, “High At The Sight Of You” on February the 8th, The pop/punk/grunge duo from the Gold Coast Hinterland, are picking up air time on the alternative radio waves and also touring their high on life form of music.

A sonic hail of guitar noise hits your ears and it is a bit like a trip back to the 90s grunge era that spawned the wonderful Brisbane band Regurgitator. The cooed ooooo’s especially, that lapse into uplifting sound of the chorus’ gleeful announcement of being high at the sight of you. This song would have to go off live with the energy it brings.

Atticus Chimps have a huge verbosity about them for a two man band. For me, I really enjoyed this track with its massive sonic booming guitar and of course the thrashing drums that run this song at full throttle. The vocals are so utterly open and compliment “High At The Sight Of You“, giving you the taste of love’s first arrow in the modern era.

https://www.instagram.com/atticuschimps/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/AtticusChimps/

https://www.atticuschimps.com/

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Diane Dubois and Kevin Hunter are Lunar Paths, an experimental darkwave transatlantic project and the 10th of February, saw the release of their newest single “Yeraz“. Yeraz is the Armenian word for ‘dream’ and the track itself features the Armenian wind instrument called a duduk.

There is a mix and flow of both traditional and modern drone in the form of drums which could mimic the dhol (Armenian Drum) and modern percussion, that creates a hypnotic undertow, giving a platform to the vocals, piano snippets and the duduk. The duduk is an exotic inclusion that paints a picture of faraway places in the Middle East.

The duduk is the a star of the track, with its low and warm tones that conjure visions of ancient peoples and meandering waterways. It is mesmerising while the even lower tones beneath, take on the sound of deep prayers in a temple. The vocals snake through the ethereal dreamtime. Join the the Lunar Paths new world order with “Yeraz“.

Yeraz | Lunar Paths (bandcamp.com)

https://www.lunarpaths.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LunarPathsMusic/

https://www.instagram.com/lunar.paths/

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Californian foursome, The Writhers, are no dummies when it comes mosh pits. So the psychobilly, horror punks have written an ode to the church of the mosh pit and those that do not participate in the joyful flailing aptly called “Pit Dunce“. Now there maybe or maybe not wild accordion within, so hold onto your bobby socks, it could be a wild ride.

The soulful doo wop and harmonies take you back to 1950s America when bands such as the Del-Vikings were creating waves…. but somehow, you just know this isn’t going to last. Abandon all hope now, as we are flung into the abyss, as the band kicks in. Crashing guitar, rumbling bass, and thunderous drums are only rivalled by the enthusiastic vocals chastising the pit dunce, whom has flaunted moshing etiquette and not joined the motley dance by submitting their body to the tumultuous hordes.

This is just so much fun. The energy and passion is real, confirming the horror punk genre is very strong currently. There was a sneaky accordion in the intro…. we have been marked safe for now however. Don’t be the “Pit Dunce” and throw yourself into the fray with The Writhers.

https://thewrithers.bandcamp.com/track/pit-dunce

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

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You are walking down a Victorian alley at night. There is drizzling rain, a fog rolling in and an eerie feeling you are being followed. This could be the setting for a Hammer Horror movie, but how about a song from Plasmata and Ben Christo with Aly Jados, named “You Call Him The Devil“. This track originally was released on the Plasmata EP, Portraits Of Pain, under the name “Ten Bells“. The glampire behind Plasmata is Trent Jeffries, while guitarist/vocalist, Ben Christo is best known for being a member of The Sisters Of Mercy and his latest band Diamond Black, and Aly Jados is the lead singer and guitarist for her heavy rock group, Blood People.

You are greeted by the ringing guitar work of Christo, which takes on its own life, soaring and racing to meet up with vocals of Jeffries and Jados, that smoothly intertwine, each picking up the tale of the Ripper through his eyes. The guitar work is glorious and simply takes this track to another level, along with the rising chorus of vocals. The urgency is palpable, for soon we will meet our doom.

Jados was also the female vocals in the original “Ten Bells” and she nails this again with her seriously brooding singing, which is gritty and sensual, a foil for Jeffries‘ smoother killer tones. The original version definitely had a harder electronic edge and grungier guitar to it, but the new version now has this epic goth rock opus quality. Jack the Ripper is lurking in the dark and he has become the grandiose figure of death himself, enjoying the hunt before the butchery in the squalid lanes of White Chapel. “You Call Him The Devil“, the Christo version, giving you the amazing combination of Plasmata and Ben Christo, with Aly Jados, and you can’t really get much better than this.

https://plasmataband.bandcamp.com/track/you-call-him-the-devil-plasmata-and-ben-christo-with-aly-jados

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

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

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

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Alexander Leonard Donat, I do believe, might be the crazed mad scientist of the German post-punk world. He always seems to have many experiments on the go and putting out a plethora of music. while he stirs the cauldron with his music label Blackjack Illuminist Records. His main music project is Vlimmer and the last album, Menschenleere, was out in November of 2022, and now he is back with the single “Platzwort” with the backing track “Out Of Sight“, and neither of these were on that album.

The translation of “Platzwort” is something like this place. The synths don’t ready you for the shifting drum rhythms that enhance the vocals, building in in waves as those same synths trickle in starlight. Donat’s vocals exude a certain longing within the musical magnificence. The b-side is actually a cover of “Out Of Sight” by the British 90s band, Spiritualized with the Donat twist of being translated into German. That isn’t the only difference. Spiritualized are well known for their love of the psychedelic guitars, while this new cover is kind of introspective and even is imbued with an electro dusty spaghetti western style, in the midday shadow of Ennio Morricone.

Vlimmer is a project that never fails to surprise and delight. Alexander has the knack of melding darkwave with that experimental edge, ever evolving his sound. It always makes me happy to hear his clean vocals as they hold a myriad of emotions. “Platzwort” is definitely not an empty place, but rather a sanctuary where you can lose yourself in the music.

https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/album/platzwort-b-w-out-of-sight

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

https://www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist/?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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A new year has brought us a shiny gift, in the form of the single, “Love You Like The Ocean” by the mercurial gothic trio, Ariel Maniki And The Black Halos. In further good news, there is a studio album slated for this year, so we are told by a little birdie. This track, by the band, was recorded at their home studio, in San Jose, Costa Rica, and will appear on the next album..

The synths are ephemeral and delicate as wisps of smoke, yet there is a heavy rumble below all, the bass set so low, creating almost, a pressure in your chest. The vocals are cocooned within this tumbling kaleidoscope of sounds, topped off by exquisite lyrics of a promise for unconditional adoration.

I have it on good authority that a bass VI was used, the instrument that Robert Smith, of The Cure, favoured for albums, such as Disintegration, and it is neither a bass, nor a guitar. This has imbued “Love You Like The Ocean” with that Cure like dreaminess, synths painting a vastness, a bass so low that holds the depth of that ocean… and a love of all loves.

https://arielmaniki.bandcamp.com/track/love-you-like-the-ocean

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

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Oh, the children of the night, do you remember the 90s? *insert wolves howling here* It was definitely a time when the goth rock scene embraced the whole vampiric theme, and it seems that Czechs, Cathedral In Flames, also can reminisce on this time with their single and video, rather aptly titled “Not Another Vampire Song“. Auspiciously, they have John Fryer (Field of the Nephlim, Nine Inch Nails) doing the production.

It harkens back to a period when bands like The Awakening, Corpus Delicti, Two Witches, Faithful Dawn, Inkubus Sukkubus, and many others were regulars on compilations about the toothy blood suckers. This track takes me back to that time with its guitar lines, deep guttural vocals, and thunderous drumming. I guess this is just “Not Another Vampire Song” but rather a poke at the past, encapsulated in a great song by Cathedral In Flames. Yes, the 90s were a very silly time, and by gods, so much fun….

https://cathedralinflamesprague.bandcamp.com/track/not-another-vampire-song

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

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Ner\ogris is a new industrial band from Germany with their debut album, I Am The Shadow – I Am The Light, coming out on the 24th of February, on the Dependent Records label. The band is new, but the members, Tinoc (vocals) and Kain (keyboards, programming), are known for their previous musical acts, Amniista and Les Berrtas, respectively. More importantly is the single they have released now, called “Shadowlight“.

Photo by Oskar Moshage

The low swell of the synths is menacing, with the promise of violence, acquiescing only for the vocals, which are growled, going from warning to seductive. This is never hurried, the rhythm constant before breaking down into lulls, only to pick up again.

Definitely can hear why people are comparing this to early X-MARKS THE PEDWALK, a rawness in the electronics and vocals plus the music in general just has this epic quality to it that you need to hear, as I cannot do justice to describe it. Ner\ogris so far are hitting all the sweet spots, so check out “Shadowlight” and I would advise industrial fans to watch out for the new album.

https://nerogris.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-the-shadow-i-am-the-light-2

https://www.facebook.com/ner.ogris?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://en.dependent.de/