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Holy Toledo Batman. Pawn Pawn are a band from Ohio, birthed in 2018 and on the No Focus Records label. It is no long Halloween, but this is the title of their three track EP, released at the end of January.

The title is Halloween and you cannot have it without a bit of “Trick or Treat.” The beat is like the hurried footsteps of someone being followed by the neighbourhood friendly stalker. The vocals are slightly echoing and the lines ‘All the souls you steal will never be enough, The only thing that turns you on is unrequited love’, sung so sweetly, so you know this person is a keeper.

“I Can Only Tell You With My Eyes” could be at any disco night, hanging out, surrounded by dance music, with your obsession that you can’t pick up the nerve to tell them how you feel. It is wishing they could see those hints in your eyes. and while this plan won’t probably work, the track is still a sexy ode to the unwary.

What would you do anything to hold onto someone? “Jealousy Looks Good On Me” has mean streak with spikey guitars and even more abrasive electronics. The green eyed monster minces its way, sinuous and unable to accept rejection.

Let’s face it, it is always going to be spooky season for most of us, year round Halloween is an extension of this joyous, never ending fest, with three tracks exploring the darker side of the human condition. Let’s face it, humans are pretty much the scariest monsters on this planet. Pawn Pawn have mixed their take on obsession, jealousy and unhealthy one sided relationship, with music that is equally as dark and very enjoyable. This is Halloween.

Halloween | Pawn Pawn

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NoFocusRecords: Pawn Pawn

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Pawn Pawn (@pawnpawn.bsky.social) — Bluesky

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The Funeral March was breathed into life in 1987, also known as The Funeral March of the Marionettes, a US band heavily influenced by the early 80s post-punk scene. Original member, Joe Whiteaker, decided that the thirtieth anniversary might be time to revisit this project, and consequently added new band members Wayne Thiele (guitar) and longtime friend Darius McCaskey (bass). 2023 had the band recording the album It All Falls Apart, with musician/producer William Faith, at his 13 Studio. It wasn’t until the end of recording Whiteaker was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which took him from his wife and children, as well as his music family in 2024. A video for the title track, “It All Falls Apart” has been released just before the album drops.

JOE WHITEAKER (1968-2024)

“I’d like people to know how proud Joe was of this record. We had a great time recording what would become It All Falls Apart with William Faith in 2023, before Joe was diagnosed with cancer, and he was able to hear the final mixes before he passed away. Joe didn’t have a specific theme in mind – each song was written independently, some even several years ago – but as tracks were selected and refined, this idea of things and people breaking down and falling apart emerged.” – Darius McCaskey

The crying and echoing guitar curls your toes and it does not get much better than this. Whiteaker’s vocals are forlorn and calls out with the guitar, reaching for lost dreams and ideals, knowing everything is falling apart. His sighed ahs are the angelic acceptance.

This is a poignant tribute to a man and it fucking hits so hard. It already was a beautifully tragic song and with the passing of Whiteaker, just ramps up the overwhelming feeling of loss. It can be said that this is not like The Funeral March’s other work and you see them in a whole different light. There is a bigger point to all this that all monies raised from sales of It All Falls Apart can go towards his family. It is a good cause, and from someone who has heard the album, it is phenomenal and just highlights the dark wonder of a truly gothic heart.

It All Falls Apart | The Funeral March of the Marionettes

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Warsaw is a hotbed for darkwave music, and Grief.Christ are hitting you with their 2025 demo, called Make me wish I couldn’t beg.

They have mastered the ability to create a pall of claustrophobia in the creeping “Sinner Messiah,” that oozes the intent of a want-to-be saviour that cannot leave the entrenchment of death. An air of insanity taints “Safekeeping” with clattering electronic rhythms and fuzzed out vocals that wind over the retro science fiction sounding synths. “Child of hate” is going to grind you up and spit you out with the whirring drone, and yet it is not the fault of the child. It is a modern litany of pain and hopelessness, culminating in the ultimate end.

Blood and bone are good plant food and the track “Blue blood makes the roses grow so red” suggests that the more upper class the blood, the better the quality. A duel of female and male vocals are the present reminder of a relationship gone very wrong. Final track is “Push me back,” and it echoes the sentiment of “Blue blood makes the roses grow so red,” reiterating the ideas of blood and roses, and for me, pays homage to the Bjork single “Army of Me.” in the turbulent rhythm and humming electronics.

This is a name your price on Bandcamp and that is pretty good for a five track EP. Most tracks average out at about three minutes, with each entrenched in heavily morose imagery combined with an industrial edge. This is Grief.Christ and Make me wish i couldn’t beg (demo 2025).

Make me wish i couldn’t beg | Grief, Christ

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Portland based Mercury’s Antennae are back after a break with a new single,  “The Reflecting Skin,” which has been released on the Sett Records label and mixed by William Faith (Faith & the Muse/Bellwether Syndicate). Multi-instrumentalist, Erick r. Scheid of The Palace of Tears, vocalist Dru Allen and bassist Cindy Coulter, who are both from This Ascension, make up Mercury’s Antennae and an interesting tid bit you might not know is that Coulter and Faith are siblings, and Coulter was a live member of Faith & The Muse.

“This track has quite a storied history! I originally came up with the primary bass part back when I was in This Ascension with Dru in the mid 1990s! I presented it to the band, I jammed it out with our drummer Matt and Dru a number of times, but it was one of those ideas that just never took flight. It got shelved for decades, but I always felt like maybe it would find a home somewhere. Erick was very energized by the part and was like “we need to make this a song!” I didn’t have a chorus written, so we collabe’d on that, Dru added her wonderful lyrics and voice, and it all came together very nicely”. – Cindy Coulter

Allen’s voice has matured, and, to my ears become more powerful and evocative. Now that guitar, which happens to be a twelve string… it is sinuous and writhes in a glorious way, and yet it smoothly entwine with the synths, creating an echoing, dark ambience that feels timeless. This is a track that has waited until now to emerge, and maybe this was fortuitous, as it has received the sparkling Faith workover, and “The Reflecting Skin” is now a gothic gem by Mercury’s Antennae.

The Reflecting Skin (William Faith Remix) | Mercury’s Antennae

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‎Mercury’s Antennae – Apple Music

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THEODOROS is the solo project of Theodoros Dimitriou, who is also a founding member of Greek dark rock band Lefki Symphonia. With all new acts, there must be a debut single, and so we have “Every Day I Die,” which is off his first album of the same title.

The guitar is ominous from the start and Dimitriou’s vocals are laid back which feels utterly befitting, even with the rolling, danceable rhythms and occasionally wailing guitar riffs. The synths are subtle in the mix and this all highlights the dramatic lyrics and singing.

‘Every day I’m born again, Every day I die‘ and I am left wondering if this track is about when we sleep, if this is the death or if it is just fancy dark imagery. In any case, this post-punk song is easy on the ears and Dimitriou’s Greek accent adds to the mysterious allure. THEODOROS’ “Every Day I Die” will most likely lodge itself in your brain for a while and is a most worthy gothic club track.

Every Day I Die (Single) | THEODOROS

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DREAM RITUAL – Record Label and Publishing House

THEODOROS DIMITRIOU – Musician – Λευκή Συμφωνία/Lefki Symphonia

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New year and new single from the transatlantic team Lunar Paths. Diane Dubois and Kevin Hunter have dropped a technoir terror in the form of “Zero Trust Mentality.”

The clatter of looped rhythms, first started as drumming that Hunter laid down, have been fed into Dubois‘ sequencer, and it almost thunders, distorted and melding with the synths. An urgency from the electronics as they pulse frenetically, exploding around the cool vocals, that are almost spoken word, building the tension.

Apparently Meta in Facebook, at the end of last year (2024) left people wondering if they had been hacked, and honestly, in recent times, our online data has come under attack from individuals and even other countries. That is what this track is about, where we are finding new ways to protect our electronic lives. “Zero Trust Mentality” is kind of like Lunar Paths’ “Sleeper in Metropolis” and this might be an unconscious nod to Anne Clark. Not to mention the synths in the beginning have an 80s feel as it kind of reminded me of Japan’s excellent “Quiet Life.” This is Lunar Paths’ most industrial and dance floor friendly track in this era of “Zero Trust Mentality.”

Zero Trust Mentality | Lunar Paths

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Postpunk, Darkwave, Music | LUNAR PATHS

Lunar Paths (@lunarpaths.bsky.social) — Bluesky

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Summer is not ideal weather for the average gothy type, but Melbourne’s Velatine are powering on through with a new single “Granulated Sky.” I have a feeling Loki Lockwood might be part vampire, and only braves the outside when the sun has left the sky, and he is joined by the equally darkly delectable Nocturna on vocal duties.

There is a quality to Nocturna’s voice that reminds me of Johnette Napolitano, which could be the raw power, or, even more so, the raw conviction. Who is Bridget, and what has happened to her? Lockwood pulls out the slow southern gothic guitar strains, that speak of something unseen and lurking in the shadows.

The music video superimposes the dynamic duo over a snow covered forest that flips into a negative image, depending on the mood of the track. We might never know what happened to Bridget, unless Velatine decide to follow on a Hitchcockian theme, The music and especially the guitar work is immersive, and those vocals will haunt you in your sleep…. just the way we like it darlings under a “Granulated Sky.”

Granulated Sky | Velatine

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velatine – Link in Bio & Creator Tools | Beacons

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Valentine’s Day has blasted by again for another year, and for many of us, it is a bah ergh sort of irritation. Finnish dark rock group, Lilith & The Wildflowers, released the single “Tattoo” for this auspicious / suspicious day, but this is no love song.

Distant, echoing guitar beautifully set the stage for the vocals, and her singing sounds effortless tinged in what feels like grief, and hints at just below the surface anger. The drums punctuate the seriousness and everything culminates in a chorus that easily gets under your skin.

A tattoo often acts as a memory and this track is about the recollection of a past relationship, that has left an indelible mark under the skin, that stay with us. “Tattoo” loops and graces us with a story of wanting to get rid of the pain of a previous lover, but are left marked. Lilith & The Wildflowers make a damage heart bleed in the nicest way.

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Dark alternative music doesn’t seem to have any borders as to where it originates in the world and even the language used. Good music transcends all it feels, when everything is conveyed through sheer talent. Label Musica Tenebris are based in Warsaw, and they have released the four way split album Warsaw After Midnight, that features Polish gothic/deathrock bands Marie Laveau, Natures Mortes, Eat My Teeth and Nameless Creations.

The set list is arranged in blocks for each act, and first off the benches is Natures Mortes with four tracks, “Liar’s Web” is the most recent release for this group, and indicative of their goth rocking style. You will be swept up from the beginning with the swift paced rhythm and ghoulish signature guitars, all the while being serenaded by the tortured sweet vocals that give no quarter and full of conviction.

Screaming fuzzed out guitar is utterly and instantly attention grabbing for the track “Salt In My Eyes,” by Eat My Teeth. The lead singer’s vibrato style is unforgettable, especially when he hits the high notes. as she almost seamlessly melds into the shrieking guitar. Discordant and rousing, all at the same time and a shout out to the drummer massacring the skins.

Natures Mortes (Facebook)
Eat My Teeth (photo Sophie Louise)
Nameless Creation (photo Lukasz Larakczyk)
Marie Laveau (Facebook)

I get a really interesting vibe from Nameless Creations, and their use of electronics gives the track “Pain-Powered Machine” an early 80s feel, almost Alien Sex Fiend like, and strengthened by vocals. The music is relentless, swamping your senses like a kaleidoscope with the pulsating psychedelic assault, and this is just one of three tracks.

From the crypt comes Marie Laveau with four treats, and they are going to cast a spell on you with “Are You Blind?“. These guys ooze European gothic cool and this latest single harkens back to stylings of France’s Corpus Delicti. The lead has a lovely dark quality to her voice and everything about this song is alluring from the classic goth rock guitars through to tight rhythm section.

Personally, I have always had a soft spot for sampler albums, and I have put that down to getting a taste of different styles and band, which opens up new musicians to further investigate. This is a great compilation from a scene that is obviously burgeoning with talent. Yes, I have picked one track from each band, but these are just the ones that first off caught my attention and in all honesty, the whole album is chock full of deathrock goodness. It is a delight to listen to these brilliant gothic aficionados from Poland and now, after falling deathly in love with Natures Mortes, Eat My Teeth, Nameless Creations and Marie Laveau, I want to visit Warsaw After Midnight.

Warsaw after midnight | Various artists | Musica Tenebris

Facebook – Musica Tenebris

Bruises | Natures Mortes | Bat-Cave Productions

Facebook – Natures Mortes

Music | EAT MY TEETH

Facebook – Eat My Teeth

Liar’s Web | Natures Mortes | Bat-Cave Productions

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Inga Habiba and Peter Guellard are Death By Love. Signed to label Distortion Productions, these Polish veterans of the gothic-industrial scene, released their debut single on January the 31st, called “Strong Inside.” Habiba has been involved in music since she was sixteen, with her long term project being Lorien, while Guellard has been involved with bands such as The Electric Hellfire Club, Venus In Furs, Mace, and Dichro, as well as a producer and lead in his own band Blitzkrieg.

The Middle Eastern influence is undeniable, exotic and alluring, a nod to Habiba’s ethnic roots, their tendrils wrapping themselves around the electronics. They are not a constant companion, rather gently tantalising you and more so, it is Habiba’s vocals that will hold your attention. From breathy spoken word, to brash and throaty singing, she is the focal point with synths her supporting undercurrent.

The lyrics are extremely relatable, because it is about how leaving yourself open to others can lead to trauma, yet if you close yourself away, you will possibly miss out and suffer loneliness. So, in the end, finding the strength within, often means you are growing as a human. The music traverses cultures, and delves into inner working of the human psyche, mixing trip hop with industrial, tinged with darkwave. Death By Love are going to make waves with the highly danceable “Strong Inside,” and the added bonus is two extra remixes included.

Strong Inside | Death by Love

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Facebook – Distortion Productions

Distortion Productions