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I am going to tell you something for nothing…the new album, LOST HYMNS, from A Cloud Of Ravens, is going to blow you away. Yes, I have had the privilege of already hearing it but it isn’t going to be much longer before everyone will be able to behold it’s gothic magnificence. However, to tide you over, the lovely Beth and Matt have dropped a new single as of the 3rd of February, called “Requiem For The Sun“.

The drum machine takes hold and I will say, an uncanny likeness to the one in “Lucretia My Reflection” by The Sisters Of Mercy, so you know this is going to sound big. Unlike the forementioned song, “Requiem For The Sun” takes a more sinister turn, for what happens in the dark, when exposed to the light of day, shows an ugly truth. The low vocals are offset by the lighter keyboard, while the guitar drops in to follow the ever in motion and relentless rhythm. If you think this sounds good, wait until the vocals open right up for the intense chorus.

There is something very wonderful about A Cloud Of Ravens. Gothic rock done right might be the way to coin a phrase. Nods to the past post-punk bands before them, but they never lose sight of being their own project rather than shadowing others. The beauty is that they don’t try to sound the same twice and this is very heartening. Come and join the dirge supreme, before the “Requiem Of The Sun” turns all to ashes.

https://acloudofravens.bandcamp.com/track/requiem-for-the-sun-4

https://www.facebook.com/acloudofravens/

https://www.instagram.com/acloudofravens

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Do you do Visual Kei? I have long loved bands like X Japan, D’espairsRay and Dir En Grey for both their look and that certain key sound that Japanese Visual Kei bands have. So you might imagine my excitement and delight when I found the single “Pretend To Pray” by Psycho Sonic Boom in my in box. Psycho Sonic Boom is the brain child of Californian born Kairu, whom now resides in Japan and began this project back in 2010.

The clean vocals are entrancing from the first, full of flirtatious promises that will probably never be fulfilled, A light touch with the drums until the track hits the chorus. The guitars almost float gracefully over the top of all, ringing out to call you in like sirens to the sailors.

I truly love the attention to detail from the melodies and delicate guitar work to the video with the beautiful makeup and clothing. It is hard to tell if Visual Kei borrowed from deathrock or vice versa but they do share many similar elements and there is definitely an air of dark seduction and lingering fingers down the spine appeal. Let Psycho Sonic Boom show you how to “Pretend To Pray“.

https://xavak.bandcamp.com/music

https://vk.gy/labels/night-child-productions/

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Peter Endall is Suburban Spell and last year he dropped his second album, Split Levels. 1st of February, 2023 sees the Melbourne musician handing five, 80s inspired, synthwave tracks off the forementioned album, to five other musicians to invoke their style and magic on each.

The first of the tracks is “The Lonely Man” remixed by the goth meister himself, William Faith (Faith & The Muse, Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, The Bellwether Syndicate). Faith has added his signature guitar to the mix which gives this song a completely goth rock flavour. You aren’t wrong if you pick me for a big Faith fan and lets face it, the mix does not prove me wrong. Robots In Love is Elenor Rayner, whom has definitely made a splash with her emotional electronic mixes, has taken on the song, “Feel No More” creating an electronic piece that glitches and pops, yet having this dazzling spinning quality.

Andrew Dun remixes “Driving at Night” under the project name Ontic. The Ontic mix is trance like, smooth and silken molten dripping golden synths with electro vocals. Staying with the electronic vocalisation is the “I Take Exception” mix by Tragic Impulse, aka Paul Graham, that buzzes like the synapses of the nervous system, firing away. Fifth and last is from Valerio Rivieccio and his project Kurs, but in no way is this the least, merging his cyber industrial into “Control” creating an magnificent urgency and need that soars above the mundane world.

Actually, this EP is rather breath taking. Each track has been imbued with the talent of the mixer and taken them to a new level. These are all Endall’s songs and so that seed does not change, but definitely music has been given new wings to spread, and what glorious wings they are. A global collaboration for a brilliant EP. Get caught in the Suburban Spell and enjoy Split Levels Remixes.

https://suburbanspell.bandcamp.com/album/split-levels-remixes

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

https://thebellwethersyndicate.bandcamp.com/music

https://robotsinlove.bandcamp.com/

https://onticquity.bandcamp.com/

https://tragicimpulse.bandcamp.com/

https://swissdarknights.bandcamp.com/album/muter

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Colorado goth band, Plague Garden formed just over three years ago, with members Fernando Altonaga and Angelo Atencio, and in that time, rather impressively, have released an album a year. The latest was unleashed on Halloween of 2022, named Blue Captain on the label Bleeding Light Music.

The bass conjures thoughts of The Damned or The Cure, as the album starts off with “Tonight” and breaks into a cool barrage of post-punk jangling guitar. The vocals echoing in the beautiful shadows of nightfall with a drum machine punctuating the thick air. The serpentine winding of “Land Of The Free” is a commentary that not everyone is so free in a land where money and privilege can buy you everything. The single “Blue Captain” has the tendrils of The Cure’s Pornography curling all over it from the curt beats to the wandering guitar that graces your ears, and it almost seems you can hear the waves of all hope lost, washing up onto shore. So we descend into the depths, with tones of early 80s Sisters Of Mercy in the intro, to be “Bathed In Fire“, a holy baptism by flame. The rhythm pickups in the mood ridden “We Will Be Forgotten” with it’s fusion of gothic roc\k with electronics, which is perfect to set up the last track “Cry” in its sorrowful lament, though you cannot truly be so sad when you hear that twisting guitar.

You can’t deny hearing the musical influences for these two gentlemen but at the same time they are not trying to be those bands, rather paying homage and building their own music from what they love. Plague Garden have gone for creating beauty from simple good writing and that always gives the music more heart. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue…. this is Blue Captain.

https://plaguegarden.bandcamp.com/album/blue-captain-2

http://www.facebook.com/Plague-Garden-361762094541437/

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Enhanced humans are running awry in New Jersey, making electro-gothic music. The father/son combination of Greg Bullock (lead vocal and synthesizers) and Brydon Bullock (drums/percussion, backing vocals), respectively, are the core of Cyborg Amok and towards the end of 2022, they released the album Etiam. There is also additional musical help from Adam Vaccarelli, playing bass on all songs (except “Wicked Close“) and
Frani Lugo with guitar on “(Some) Sleep Tonight.”.

Did you know that the 1975 David Bowie single “Golden Years“, off the Station To Station album was originally written by Bowie for Elvis Presley, who turned it down and gave Bowie one of his highest charting singles in the USA? More fool him we say and the first track from Cyborg Amok is a cover of this classic, and this version is slower and a little more introspective, like an internal soliloquy. Join the shamanistic ritual for “(Some) Sleep Tonight” for those who are deprived of such things, thronged with foreboding bass and heavy guitar, while “Wicked Close” is definitely more electro/industrial flavoured with a leaning to science fiction, the synths creating a soundscape and yet there is a very funk based bass line that invades the lulls.

Chiming intonations break into guitars and a goth rock phantasm of love lost in “Black Well House (a ghost story)” with a chorus to get the chills. Now, any track with the title “Fire Dance“, instantly makes me think of Killing Joke, but this is not that song. Twinkling keyboard notes and lyrics about a rain of fire from the heavens above, creating chaos. “Toxic 1’s” has a creeping air about it with the disturbing guttural gurgling in the background in comparison to the clean vocals. The guitars with the changing drum rhythms are definitely a brilliant addition to keep you on edge. So the last track, “Iron Clad Heart” is languid and serpentine in its execution, biding its time, as you slip over the edge.

There is indeed a interesting dichotomy at work here. Each track seems to have it’s own blend of styles, not overwhelming but rather enough hear those influences merge with each other to create something you can attribute as Cyborg Amok with mixtures of gothic rock, synthwave, industrial and even a bit of glam. Giving a voice to these mixtures takes a bit of skill, so have a listen to Etaim,,, your inner cybernetic humanoid will thank you for it.

https://gabworxllc.bandcamp.com/album/etiam

https://www.facebook.com/cyborgamok

http://www.cyborgamok.com/

https://soundcloud.com/cyborgamok

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Always exciting to see a band releasing their debut single and hearing their style. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, is the darkwave duo Now After Nothing, with the single “Sick Fix“, out on the 27th of January. Vocalist Matt Spatial and drummer Michael Allen are Now After Nothing and they are joined by the guitar virtuoso, Mark Gemini Thwaite (MGT). Just as impressively is the having the mixing done by Carl Glanville, who has worked with U2 and Joan Jett, and the mastering by John Davis, with names like Placebo, Jesus & Mary Chain and Suede under his belt.

A deluge of guitar and bass hits your ears, both raucous and refined at the same time. It is a punk like fevour that grips and further enforced with the vocals from Spatial, MGT’s guitar work and the synths moving together in a sinuous dance, fluid and whirling in a controlled tempest, while Allen gives us the drumbeats that keep this thunderous rhythm gracing our ears.

I was at one of the lowest points of my life and without a musical outlet. I was damaged, defeated, and deflated. One day in New York City, riding through Central Park with earbuds in place, I rediscovered a band that didn’t initially resonate with me. Hearing them this time was different though – I felt the spark. That emotional connection to a newly-discovered piece of music was the proverbial kick-in-the-ass I needed to ‘crawl out of cracks below.’ When I arrived home, I dusted of my studio gear and opened up files of previously unfinished song ideas, one of which was a rather bare recording of just a single bass line. It caught my ear and by the day’s end, Sick Fix was complete from start to finish. Listening back to it, I felt alive again. I felt the same spark I had felt that day in Central Park that inspired me and reminded me I had more music inside of me. I wasn’t going to let myself wither away. Though the band name came later, Now After Nothing was really born on that day, which is why Sick Fix undoubtedly needed to be our first
single.”- Matt Spatial

So, there is great energy in this track and yes there is definitely a hat firmly tipped towards the old school post-punk such as Bauhaus, but I also hear strains of Alien Sex Fiend and Virgin Prunes in that maelstrom. Yes, originally I believed these guys were actually British going on sound alone, with their wonderful synergy and enthusiasm but don’t think you are getting some old rehash. “Sick Fix” is a wonderfully modern track and I am eager to see what Now After Nothing bring to the table next.

https://nowafternothing.bandcamp.com/track/sick-fix

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

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Around 1990/91, Gerrie Brand, started his gothic project, Life In Sodom, which was heavily influenced by the theatrical element, though this soon became a more serious musical affair, as the Florida based band picked up attention and airplay. Over the years, Brand has been the lynch pin with the group making sporadic releases. 2022 saw the line up of Brand (vocals) Danny Heinze (guitars) and Virginia Fuillerat (female vocals) release the new EP, Fate on Nutrix Records. Other artists that have contributed to the EP include Loach (synths, keyboards, programming), Mike Vullo (drums on “Room 212“), Dennis Fuller (drums on “Lie“) and Denis Everest (electric guitar on “Heaven’s Gates“), with the recording and mixing done at MBRS Studios by Loach and mastered at Fullersound Inc.

The title track, “Fate” is a retrospective way to start the EP, the argument that are we beholden to a destiny as judged by religion or do we make out own? The vocals of Brand yearn for more, more than fate and angelic Fuillerat punctuates the beautiful simplicity of the track. There is something deliciously familiar about the wonderful “Lie“. It might be that both the singing and instrumentation remind me a lot of Stan Ridgeway (ex-Wall Of Voodoo) and his ability to incorporate a slightly Western edge, so you can feel the languid desperation, where the bass takes the lead and you can wonder where were they hiding the Mariachi band? “Heaven’s Gates” is a very sombre affair with acoustic guitar and piano, whilst in the background a crying electric guitar is in full lament. Why does it cry? Because as we age we start to lose the people around us to the ultimate end.

Changing things up, we start with Fuillerat taking the lead in the emotional filled “Restless“. The guitar is the light lighting the way and then crosses the veil, as we wait for death to bring us to the end. The last track is “Room 212“. I could be wrong but I think this is a reference to a hospital room, where family congregate to sit with the dying, waiting for that last breath, and often using their own to give up prayers to whichever god they follow. Brand’s vocals are superbly warm and entrancing, enhanced by the beautiful guitar work and drums punching through.

Have you ever listened to something and then thought, how did I ever not know about this? Utterly amazing and utterly enjoyable to the last strains. This is voyeurism at its darkest, following the theme that flesh and blood decay, such is the impermanence of life. The subject matter is treated with a reverence and care, maybe in the knowledge that they also will cease on this plain of existence. If you are a record junkie, then you will be thrilled and fulfilled with the knowledge that the EP is also out on shiny vinyl….. But I digress and will simply say that if you like guitar and vocal lead darkwave then you need Life In Sodom and to check out Fate.

https://lifeinsodom.bandcamp.com/music

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

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Name your poison! For VAZUM, it is deadly “Night Shade“, which happens to be their next single as released on the spooktacular day of Friday the 13th of January, by the deathgaze duo of Zach Pliska and Emily Sturm.

The driving guitar is the trademark of VAZUM and “Night Shade” is laced with it. A warning that not all fawning friends and influencers, are actually going to be there for you when the chips are laid down. But they will lie to your face and make you adore them, which fits in perfectly with the contemptuous music. There is also a second track included that also follows the theme of untruths, called “Living Great” that has this wonderful shoegaze brilliance that never pauses.

Having two very different sounding tracks, even if they are on the short comings of humans, makes this release quite delightful bit of gothic rock to get your heart beating. VAZUM again have given us something killer in “Night Shade“, a killer of a track which is name your price on Bandcamp.

https://vazum.bandcamp.com/album/night-shade

https://www.facebook.com/VAZUMROCKS/

https://www.instagram.com/vazum_

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Miami based goths, Astari Nite, last single came out in May of 2022 and so behold there is now the new single “Bowie In Daydreams“. Inspired the legend that was David Bowie, the recent movie and his many roles that Bowie wore like a glove.

A march into the echoes of another time, guitar driven rivulets taking you into darker places. The vocals permeate the swirling music, while the heavily symbolic lyrics paint a picture, with mounting fervour.

There are references to the decadent West Berlin period, the Ziggy Stardust era and the vampiric role Bowie played in the iconic movie The Hunger. And “Bowie In Daydreams” is also a referral to the beloved track “Moonage Daydream” from The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and Astari Nite pay homage to his memory through conjuring up his spirit.

https://astarinitengp.bandcamp.com/album/bowie-in-daydreams

https://www.facebook.com/astarinitemusic

https://instagram.com/astarinite43

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The night(mare) before Christmas, came in the form of the track, “The Snow Queen Is Coming” by New Zero God. This is the first release from the four piece post-punk band since 2019 and their lead singer, Mike Pougounas, is a stalwart in the Greek gothic/darkwave scene since the 80s.

The best description would be a sinfully sumptuous amount of jangly guitar with the vocals delightfully crystal clear. A precautionary tale to not let the Snow Queen steal you away, for otherwise, you will never see another day.

I remember Mike from the MySpace days, when we would talk of music and he sent several pictures of Athens covered in snow, which is something a lot of people don’t realise, that it actually gets that cold in Greece. The snow looks pure and beautiful, but in essence, she will slowly freeze you until your heart stops. This is the Hans Christian Andersen queen of snow, as the song says, though the title made me think of the witch queen from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. For those currently in the grip of winter, will know her icy touch but can enjoy a warm dance to this fabulous piece.

The Snow Queen Is Coming | New Zero God (bandcamp.com)

New Zero God | Facebook

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