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What is a parable? I suppose it is a story retold in order to teach a vital lesson, and it is also the latest single from US band, A Cloud Of Ravens. “Parable” is the next single off the highly anticipated new album, Lost Hymns, which is to be released on Nexilis Records, as of the 28th of April.

Ominous, brooding and dark are definitely words that come to mind. This is the most electronic song yet by the duo, almost alive and drawing heavy breaths. The vocals guide you down like velvet and build you up for the amazing chorus that pushes you sky high.

How many times does mankind have to play out the same futile scenarios without learning from them? This is the premise behind “Parable“, which has never been so obvious in this day and age where we are meant to be civilised, yet nations still act with barbaric intent. This is A Cloud Of Ravens’s last single release and like the Oracle of Delphi, they bring a warning that no good can come from this stupidity, wrapped in a gorgeous track called “Parable“.

https://acloudofravens.bandcamp.com/track/parable-4

https://www.facebook.com/acloudofravens

https://www.instagram.com/acloudofravens

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Lunar Paths is the Trans-Atlantic goth duo of Diane Dubois and Kevin Hunter, and the 15th of March saw the release of a new single, “Silvania“. The band have said the track is based on the werewolf like creature, Loup Garou, from the Margaret Atwood novel Surfacing.

Layers of electronics waver throughout, chiming sleigh bells and drum loops, build a sensuous myriad of a swirling moon bound soundtrack, into which the vocals, sumptuously croon to you, which has a wonderous Siouxsie Sioux style. A vibrant ode the Lycan kind, with the wilderness in their blood that rages, driving them a little insane in the pale light of the Goddess Diana. A pertinent song for a band called Lunar Paths and “Silvania” might have you howling in delight.

Silvania | LUNAR PATHS | Lunar Paths (bandcamp.com)

https://www.lunarpaths.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LunarPathsMusic

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At one point or another, everyone has felt like they are invisible or unable to see their way and this is the subject of the latest Meersein single “Lost“. And who doesn’t like a bit of German darkwave synthie-pop?!

I have to say that this is some ways actually reminds me a little musically of the 80s and the likes of Howard Jones. The drum machine picks up a timely rhythm, as the synths tinkle and also create a bass undercurrent. Meersein’s vocal’s range from silk, to whispers and a rather deep sexy growl, as he tells you he is ‘lost like a ghost in a maze‘.

It is worth your while to check out this single, because a little bird revealed that the next is coming out soon, which will be Meersein and Corlyx. Something tells me that is going to be pretty amazing. “Lost” is a nice tasty treat with a video of Meersein singing in a picturesque German forest.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075535947660&mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://instagram.com/meersein_official

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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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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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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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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