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Some things are worth staying up for which includes horror filled Midnight Feature, and by luck, the UK trio have released a new single called “Rite Here.” The spirits are going to rise with this one.

Is that a cowbell? Oh, there should definitely more cowbell in our punk rock, and so behold the bell from the beginning of this track. It rings in the sawing guitars as we go down to swamplands, infested by creatures of night as they bide time in their place of rest, because it is ‘Rite here, rite here, buried in the graveyard,’ and they await your arrival.

Midnight Feature always seem to have a lot of fun when writing and performing their tracks, possibly because they don’t take themselves too seriously whilst immersing themselves in the gothic B grade movie thrillers that ignite their imagination. It’s “Rite Here” and right now, so get on down with the ghouls of Midnight Feature. And more cowbell!!

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𝑴𝑰𝑫𝑵𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 𝑭𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑬 (@_midnightfeature) • Instagram photos and videos

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There is a finality with the release of the new single “Stars At Night” for The Funeral March of the Marionettes. This is the last music video single off their last ever album, It All Falls Apart, since frontman and original member Joe Whiteaker, succumbed to cancer.

“I wasn’t much into post-punk or goth rock before I met him, but I quickly became a fan of The Funeral March. What Joe and company were doing spoke to me in a way other genre bands didn’t. That I got to join the band and participate in creating some fantastic songs is a real gift, one I’ll always cherish.” – Darius McCaskey (The Funeral March)

Whiteaker is joined by Ria Aursjoen (Octavian Winter/AURSJOEN)on vocals for this track, her singing angelic in its mirroring . You hear the influence of the early 80s gothic guitar and it is magnificent, making your chest swell with joy for this alone. Having William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate/Faith and the Muse) on production takes the sound to another level.

The music video was created knowing Whiteaker was ill, and yet, for me, it is wonderful to have him immortalised forever with a great track like this, and anyone that had dealings with Joe will tell you that he was a truly honest and delightful human. The single is full of soul and indeed as bright as the “Stars At Night,” leading you to The Funeral of the Marionettes, and that can never fade away.

It All Falls Apart | The Funeral March of the Marionettes

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Gonzalo Schwindt, based in Germany, and Karl Morten Dahl from Norway are no strangers when it comes to working with each other musically. Schwindt is Deus Ex Lumina, releasing the new single “Facade Of The Decay,” while Antipole (Dahl), has brought to bear his wonderful guitar work.

DEUS EX LUMINA
ANTIPOLE

The echoing guitar of Dahl is a perfect intro into the track and leads us to Schwindt’s mercurial deep tones. The lyrics ‘Every silent ache I keep, Every buried memory, And I’ll pretend that I’m okay, (With) This facade of the decay‘ elude to dark secrets and great losses, and still there is a romanticism. The interplay of synths with guitar is sublime.

The music video is a wonderful addition, emphasising an austere loneliness in one’s own memories, pretending that everything is okay. “Facade Of The Decay” is definitely one of those songs that you feel never goes long enough, only to be surprised it goes for three minutes, and I can only put this down to the amount of pure enjoyment you get listening to Deus Ex Lumina and Antipole play together.

Facade Of The Decay | Deus Ex Lumina

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For some of us, we live our lives through art, seeking beauty in what others reject due to dark subject matters. Melbourne’s Velatine are still among the living, spreading their magical gothic music, though there are some that would say one foot in the grave with the latest single “Til Death We Do Art.”

The purpose filled guitar has that southern gothic twang, as if we are going to have a duel at 12 paces as the clock strikes midnight, backed by the mourning tones of the synths, and this is a song about mourning, with the first dulcet tones giving us the lyrics ‘when the funeral is over.’ A loss of an artistic twin flame and partner, with the ache of the vocals, like a knife twisting in your heart. That turn of phrase that makes up the title, ‘til death we do art‘ is equally devastating as it is a gorgeous tribute to a lost love, encapsulated in a chorus that rises like a phoenix from the ashes.

Loki Lockwood has partnered up again with singer Nocturna for this heartfelt darkwave song, with a personal origin. Lockwood recounts how a female friend in Ukraine, an artist, lost her other dark half to the unjust war raging there. How do you reconcile the loss of a lover, a muse and a best friend? “Til Death We Do Art” is about that grief but also the wealth of wonderful memories, so Velatine have created the perfect track full of sadness and gothic grace

Till Death We Do Art | Velatine

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Minnesota based Zwaremachine, are preparing to bring in the thunder with the release of their third album, however, Mach Fox and crew are teasing you with the single “Waking The Night,” that has morphed into an EP with the special guest remixers.

Hold onto your speakers. “Waking The Night” is so heavy with bass, you might just wake the dead as your speakers rumble with distortion. Fox brings his creepiest snarling whisper, stalking your slumber, so you find no rest. The mood is oppressive and cloying.

There are four remixes to mull over, as you lose yourself to the after hours. There is the grandiose StaiK SeKt version with a chorus of fallen angels, while VV303 has gone for a lower and heavier mix that could be the soundtrack to a Hellraiser movie. Planktoon with the dreamy synths and glitching 80s influenced industrial mix, or you can go with the strangely pseudo western guitar crossed with the entrancing electronics of Darker.

It has not been easy for Zwaremachine, with power rhythm maker Dein Offizier missing due to succumbing to cancer in 2023 (fuck cancer), which was like a gut punch. They are back with Mach Fox (vocals/synth/programming) and Dbot (bass/vocals), now joined by Paul K (guitar) and Marshal B (drums), and like the phoenix from the ashes, Zwaremachine are back and snarling. It is good to see them back, ripping up the industrial norms.

Waking The Night (SINGLE/REMIX EP) | Zwaremachine

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Without Tomorrow | StaTiK SeKt

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VV303 Ultimate Sample Pack vol 1 | Composed And Produced by VV303 | VV303

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We have been missing some from life. Oh yeah, we have been missing us some HOSTILE ARCHITECT, and Mitch Kenny, the hostile one, is back with his new industrial single “BODYMELT (NEW FLESH MIX).”

There is wonderful symmetry between the flowing electronics and clattering rhythms, as it draws you up and drops into pit of angst. The vocals are grimy, raw and calling for your demise because in the end, does society care in a world gone mad?

I was fortunate enough to hear “BODYMELT” before it was released, performed live, and I have to say it really kicked arse with the amount of passion Kenny poured into the performance. This is a cool industrial track and, honestly, HOSTILE ARCHITECT just seems to get better with each of these releases, but for now let your “BODYMELT“!

BODYMELT (NEW FLESH MIX) | HOSTILE ARCHITECT | Abelisk

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“HYPNOTIZED” is the latest single from female French darkwave project CODE 150, and they have curated a lush video, which should come with a warning for those who suffer from arachnophobia. Don’t say you were not warned, and back in 2023, I advised you to check out CODE 150, and this track, I think has reinforced that opinion.

The idea of a human/spider hybrid is a creepy concept brought to life and she is luring you in with her sexuality, before sucking out your soul, leaving you a husk. The lead’s voice is deep and power, just a demon’s should be, with a hint of the forbidden. The synths feel stressed with blooming darkness, waiting for the ultimate date, filled with terror and lust.

The video feels a little retro, like 70s Hammer Horror, and that is all sorts of brilliant. The use of singular words, matched by the ticking time bomb of the electronic rhythm is indeed mesmerising, while the music drives into the recesses of your mind, worming “HYPNOTIZED” into the subconscious. Quite brilliant! CODE 150 is often a CyberSource error, but there is no glitch in the machine here

HYPNOTIZED | CODE 150

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Sweden’s Scheitan, started off as a black metal band, back in 1996, but now in 2025, it is a far different beast. With one remaining member, Pierre Törnkvist, over the years, Scheitan’s sound has become gothic rock, and the latest single is called “Heaven Tonight,” out on the Greek label The Circle Music.

PHOTO BY DANIEL HOLMGREN

Woo, this could honestly be disco gothic rock with the energy of this track, ready to whisk you off to the dance floor. The thudding rhythms, the liquid vocals and the swirling electronics mix together. The lyrics are heavy with meaning, with the chorus either speaking of wanting something forever or a night of a perfect climax.

‘I will love to keep the fire alive
While I know that I’m just waiting to die
I will touch you in the heat of the night
Oh, it’s a firefight / I’ll be in heaven tonight‘

I really like this track and it has this odd cadence that makes me think of the 80s track “I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight” by Canadians Cutting Crew… not that is a bad thing either, as it was a track about petite le mort or the little death that is an orgasm. Scheitan are looking for the perfect gothic love with “Heaven Tonight.”

Heaven Tonight | Scheitan

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Goth Music | Scheitan | Official Website | Gothic Rock Band

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Adam Cresswell (vocals, bass), Nat Guest (drums), Martin J Langthorne (guitars) and Adrian Taylor (guitars) make up UK dark shoegaze band Cloud Studies, who came into being back in 2024. They have released their second single “Cloud Cartography,” out on Happy Robot Records.

PHOTO BY ALISON AHERN

The world just comes alive between those guitars and keyboard, full of sonic joy. Having a proper drummer creates a wonderful symmetry when it comes to shoegaze bands. The sonorous vocals are hazy and dreamlike, set on an equal level as the instruments. All the while there are tiny squeals of feedback intermittently piercing the track.

“Cloud Cartography” was written after visiting Derryveagh Mountains in Ireland, and turned into a story about two humans trying to map clouds, which is kind of a metaphor for life. No matter how hard we try, there is no confirmed map or even permanence, for just like clouds, we are in perpetual motion, blown on the whim of the wind. My favourite shoegaze band of all time is Ride and this track would easily sit in the earlier phase of Gardner and Co. Cloud Studies’ “Cloud Cartography” is sonically pleasing between the guitar feedback and jangle, with vocals taking you on a vapour trail adventure.

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Cloud Studies | Happy Robots Records

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Sweden’s Hatif are on the verge of releasing their next album, Small States, with Town And Towers Records. The electronic duo have dropped the last single for this album in March called “Direction.”

PHOTO BY DANIEL KWON

Pulsating and bouncing rhythms match perfectly the smoky synths, and that recognisable voice invites you into the hypnotic dance. The lyrics for the chorus ‘What we have to wish, what we have to do, what we have to look at when the sun sets on you,’ seem to speak of dreams and a past remembered, but also the end of those days .

I really love how Hatif always manage to mix the exotic strains of Middle Eastern music with modern electronic, that gives their tracks a really wonderful timeless feel, using invisible threads, tying us to other cultures. “Direction” is catchy while conveying a certain amount of introspection and observation, and is utter Hatif perfection.

Direction | Hatif

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