by on

If not familiar with the industrial project 40 Octaves Below, then let me introduce you a resident of Vancouver, Drake Moore. The single “Splintered” came out on August 19th, with an epic four remixes by some fairly hard hitters in the scene today, before the soon to be released album, MetaVerUs.

“The song itself is a casting that calls for the guilty to come to Justice.” – Drake Moore

“Splintered” lumbers into being like a monster with frizzing electronics and Moore’s angry and distorted vocals railing against the general movement of popularising lies and untruths, seeking retribution. MATT HART is the first remixer and his version is cold cyber steel with casual disdain, while the Anthony (H) mix is pared-down, slinky and dirty sexy. The mix by Live Evil Productions is going into rhythmic noise territory, a ride that feels a little out of control and intense, leaving the last remix to Silence In The Machine which cleverly incorporates a far more synthpop edge to the track that spins and spins until you might become dizzy.

You feel the contempt in “Splintered” no matter the mix. Unbridled rage is palpable and the guest mixers have interpreted that in their own styles, which is always interesting to hear. The music video definitely conveys the horror theme to go along with the track… Halloween is just around the corner and remember that at 40 Octaves Below, no-one will hear you rumble.

Splintered (Single) | 40 Octaves Below (bandcamp.com)

40 Octaves Below (facebook.com)

by on

Viral Records have released the new Dirt Factory single, on the 10th of September, ahead of the fourth album, due on October the 1st. “Troops Of Death” is the latest offering from the Aussie duo, Michael Gillman and Daniel Allen, with a bonus four remixes from both local and international talent.

The original mix has Daniel with far less distorted vocals and he sounds fantastic as the beats fall around him, stalking you to extinction. The synths graduate in tone causing a sense of creeping doom. The NOVAKILL – Boots On The Ground remix is harsher, with Craig Saunders injecting a cleaner edge that cuts like a knife and a techno style rhythm. Rob Early of 11Grams has taken the track and turned it into a dance floor phenomena, and the synth absolutely fly around in a storm.

The beginning of the Cosmos Synthetics remix seem understated, until it goes into a glitching deconstruction, like a horror movie with no escape, with what sounds like electronic shaking breaths. Last is Roger Menso, whom is NyteShayde, with the Crazy Shady remix and this is the only track to incorporate a guitar into the mix, giving the track a more Korn/nu-metal styling, heavy and metallic.

The theme is apocalyptic, genetic engineering of soldiers, who feel nothing, stop for nothing and everything is the objective. The cyber future which makes for a pretty cool single. Michael and Daniel have created a darkly oppressive track with a catchy rhythm, to get your imagination fired up and the remixes are great additions to enjoy.

▶︎ Troops Of Death (Single) | Dirt Factory (bandcamp.com)

Dirt Factory | Facebook

HOME | Mysite (dirtfactory.wixsite.com)

Viral Records Australia | Facebook

by on

My first introduction to KMFDM was through the trail blazing album ANGST in 1993, out on the Wax Trax! label, though this pioneering techno/industrial/EBM group have been around in one form or another since 1984. They are about to drop their latest album HYENA and the 24th of August saw the release of the first single of the same name.

The guitar work, though heavy, has a certain twang to it… you can almost hear the jingle of the spurs… but those guitars purr under the vocals of Konietzko, pulsating and driving home the savagery of the world. Always the rhythm building and lulling, yet always pounding on. The female vocals are a nice finish to the tribal ending

This could be where KMFDM meets Mad Max on the plains of the Wild West (pew pew) and African animals (and that was before I saw the new logo on Bandcamp). They are riding across the badlands, in a world where there is much turmoil and danger. Now one could say that this might not be a typical KMFDM track…..but then honestly you are kidding yourselves if you think that. The big guitars are there as well as Sascha Konietzko’s rasping vocals, the electronics and that high energy dance floor rhythm. KMFDM is doing it again, but with “HYENA“.

KMFDM (bandcamp.com)

KMFDM | Facebook

by on

FabrikC is Thorsten Berger from Germany, and he has joined up with the UK’s Jay Taylor of j:dead, to create “High Time (Chinese Takeaway)“, which was released on August the 19th, on Stay Beat Productions. But hang on uno momento…… many moons ago, FrabrikC had an aggrotech track called “Chinese Food“. Coincidence? I think not, as this seems to a modernised and vocally weaponised version, hence the Chinese Takeaway byline.

Taylor is screaming and cajoling us magnificently, sweetly singing to you before slapping you vocally around the ears. The music definitely has a far more smoother feel to it, less static filled but still rhythmically hard hitting and punchy.

This is guaranteed to fill a dance floor with happy campers of the dark kind, just as the original did. It is a really nice mix of vocals versus electronics and Berger’s ability to re-invent this track, married to Taylor’s singing talent is a winner. So if you like Chinese food, then “High Time” to get some Chinese Takeaway.

High Time (Chinese Takeaway) | FabrikC (bandcamp.com)

Music | J:dead (bandcamp.com)

FabrikC | Facebook

J:dead | Facebook

STAY BEAT Productions | Facebook

by on

The label, Brutal Resonance Records, had a bit of a coup, signing the cyber synth project, Slighter to their stable. Colin C. is Slighter and to celebrate this union, has brought forth the EP, Welcome To Riot City made up of five original tracks and five remixes.

“Welcome To Riot City” is brooding and dark from the start. The hairs rise on the back of your neck with the movement of the sleek synths, which runs into the the robotic vocalised “Breaking In“. A sleaziness invades “Comadose“, foreign and exotic, waving in and out of reality. The tension builds as there is a “Firefight On Warett Street“, where you can almost hear evasive sirens in the music, as well as the cocking of a gun. Last track before the remixes is “High Tech, High Life” with its crunchy glitching married to the soundscape building synths that are taking you on the journey.

The remixes are made up of Eva X with her intriguing wubbing and chunky power noise influenced “Welcome To Riot City“, the HOSTILE ARCHITECT brings in stellar beats and bass drops to aid you “Breaking In“, royb0t is definitely not going to let you slip into a coma with what they do with “Comadose“. Planetdamage take on “Firefight On Warett Street” and the shells are falling as we go into hyperdrive mode while Kizunaut gets all prickly and dance inferno for “High Tech, High Life“. It is a really fun EP with Slighter showing his expertise in electronic music and getting five amazing musicians to give each track a thumping good makeover. Welcome To Riot City, and come and get some!

Welcome to Riot City | Slighter | Brutal Resonance Records (bandcamp.com)

Slighter | Facebook

Music | Brutal Resonance Records (bandcamp.com)

Music | Eva X (bandcamp.com)

Music | Abelisk (bandcamp.com)

royb0t (bandcamp.com)

Planetdamage (bandcamp.com)

Music | Kizunaut (bandcamp.com)

by on

Mach FoX is the originator behind the industrial project, Zwaremachine, but currently, FoX is delving into another solo album, VideoLogico. to be released on Phage Tapes later on in 2022. In the meantime, the single “Low Tech” has been released, with three mixes, to give you a taste of what is to come.

Burbles, of what sounds like old school electronics, warbles away, like a glitching billboard in Bladerunner. At about the 2.45 mark, we get beats coming into play and there is the twang of a guitar that filters through this instrumental piece, that tops out at over 9 minutes. Long time collaborator, Planktoon mixes the first version with vocals from Maybeeh (Maybeeh & Punsch) and J-C (Vuduvox). This couldn’t be much more different from the original, far more poppy and bright, a synthetically cool dance floor track, enhanced by Maybeeh’s sighed singing and J-C’s sexy French accent.

FoX remixes the next version, the NewBarbarian mix featuring J-C and it is more true to the original, heavier and glitchy, the vocals folded and extended into echos, while the final track is an extended version with J-C, which is like a more modern version of the original which becomes a tad crunchy in texture.

I say we need more J-C vocals but then I might be a little biased. All in all, it is an interesting vision of what an instrumental can become. Hypno western redux to dance floor killer to near power noise and glitch tech. I am going to say the Planktoon mix really blew it out of the water and yet it is still the same piece of music. It is name your price on Bandcamp and this is just the beginning to the introduction to MacH FoX’s cyber spaghetti western.

LowTech SINGLE | Mach FoX (bandcamp.com)

Mach FoX | Facebook

by on

Hmmmmm…..mmmm. Capsicum Boyz. Yeah, nah, don’t ask….. or do at your own peril. Chop up some TFG (TONTTU) with Mac Hine (Oldschool Union) and you get this track called “KKÄ“. The Finnish are up to no good I tell ya, describing themselves as dodgy and shifty! Yep, may whatever gods you call upon have mercy on our souls and guts.

I can feel the sweat already, literally with the sound of a frying pan on high heat. This is a song about eating stomach ripping chilies and dousing them in beer. With that in mind, the burning ring of fire, aka stingy ringy, will only encourage those hip thrusts. In a style that crosses the electronics of Front 242 with Laibach‘s pomp and vocal ferocity (though this could be due to eating far too much of the hot stuff).

Out on the PANICMACHINE label as of the 4th of August, you may verily burn your ears off to “KKÄ“, on Bandcamp for name your price. Capsicum Boyz putting the sizzling oomph back into hot dance tracks. Remember to wash your hands afterwards as no one wants a chili willie.

KKÄ | Capsicum Boyz | PANICMACHINE

TONTTU | Facebook

Oldschool Union | Facebook

Panicmachine | Facebook

by on

Kevorkian Death Cycle was a band that stormed the industrial scene in 1996 with the release of the album Collection For Injection. The music was raw, uncompromising and high with energy, perfect for dancing too. In 2022, Kevorkian Death Cycle are now on the Negative Gain label, with the core members Ryan Gribbin and Roger Jarvis joined by Rob Robinson and Sean Whitman. The group is releasing tracks from Collection For Injection, modernised, as a group of EPs and the first, Injection: 01, was released on July 15th.

The four tracks include fan favourite, “Veal” and it stonkingly good. I had forgotten how brilliant it actually is with those machine gun beats. Real body music with overwhelming heart. The fabulous “Man Made“, “Send Me The Machine” and “Spring Heel Jack” make up the rest of the quartet, really there isn’t any chaff as each track holds it’s own.

When I first heard of this, I wondered what it was going to turn out like….. you wonder if you are going to feel sad about how they have changed something close to you memories. I really should not have been concerned. These four tracks have been lovingly treated, a few rough edges smoothed off, the sound quality is much better but it is still fucking amazing, drilling into your head and splashing around in your brain with abandon. Nothing sounds like it was written in the 90s and this is just as much a testament to the band’s song writing skills as much as the mixing done by Robinson. If you are a Kevorkian fan, don’t be afraid to give this a listen because it has the ball ripping intensity and if you are new to the fold, I can’t think of a better way to immerse you into the Death Cycle. Bring on the next EP.

Injection: 01 | Kevorkian Death Cycle (bandcamp.com)

Kevorkian Death Cycle (facebook.com)

by on

In California, you might meet a “Deal3r“, in the form of the latest Male Tears single, released independently, on July 15th. Comprised of members James Edward and Frank Shark, this goth/ darkwave duo have been going from strength to strength, after being started by Edward in 2020.

Might be more than a touch Euro dance style mixed with future pop and lashings of creamy dark, sexy vocals. Instantly likeable with those club friendly rhythms and spiralling synths.

I’m sure you have probably met these creatures in your clubs and bars. They are seen as the pinnacle of perfection in the scene with all the right accoutrements and connections but it is all a facade, a lure and a means to an end. There is a huge cavernous sound to this track, almost verging on what could be taken as being live and if Male Tears sound anything like this on stage…. what a glorious thing to behold.

DEAL3R (Single) | MALE TEARS (bandcamp.com)

Male Tears | Facebook

by on

Have to say I have liked Rotersand, since I first heard them many moons ago and their remixes for other musicians are great. Now we can enjoy the German’s mixing MATT HART‘s “ABSOLUTE ZERO“, off the album, BELOW THE TERRA. PT. 1 and came out on the 26th of July.

There is a looping and sensuous flow to the beeping and bleating rhythms. It is a near sublime background which makes HART’s anguished rant standout further. The electronics mesmerize you with their epic flow and yet there is something urgently wrong amongst the dance beats.

The machines in the storyline are bringing the temperature down to “ABSOLUTE ZERO” and the electronics, which Rotersand have brought to the fore, are the intent of the aliens while HART gives the vocal resistance of the humans. The mix is so smooth and flows beautifully, a balance of crushing brutality and perfect symmetry.

ABSOLUTE ZERO (ROTERSAND CLASSIC RIDE REWORK) | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

MATT HART | Facebook

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