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One might wonder what Fundustrial is, and the only answer can be, STAHLSCHLAG! I have been rather slack covering the new releases from Sebastian Sünkler, but every time I think he’s going to take a hiatus due to work commitments…. BOOM, there is another album/EP. The man is almost as much machine as the computers and synths that he uses, with the exception that he is one of the nicest guys in the industrial scene, though he does have the Terminator haircut. I’m just saying.

So, I have compiled the three Fundustrial EPs, Alpha!, Beta! and Gamma! into a bouncy castle, filled with clowns and glow sticks to give you an idea of what you need in your life. The Alpha! EP is just full of aggrotech dance with noise and it really smokes, like with the track “This Is Fundustrial,” being the prefect example of flesh pounding rhythms to make even the most tired cybergoth, want to stomp their New Rocks. “Whatever You Say” will make your blood pressure rise as a swirling dance floor filler, or the more rhythmic noise influenced “Dance Of Doom.” Honestly, who doesn’t like a bit of doom dancing?!

The second EP, Beta! does rather seem to be where Sünkler may have contemplated he needed a break, then thought ‘nah, it is all good,’ and so we have gotten something very much more off the wall. Glitching fast paced beats follow you through the EP, poking you with the feather of no mercy, so you can be cyber romanced by “My Generation,” or enjoy the wonderment of how potatoes and tomatoes are very entertaining with a huge techno helping of “Something Different.” Kill or be killed in the style of Tron, in the track “Get Ready,” or get lost in “I Have A Dream.”

‘Fundustrial is back, it’s fast, it’s hard and will make you crack,’ proclaims the female voice, about Gamma!, in the first track, “Make you Crack,” or how about being lost in the trance inducing “Anthem,” that might have been instigated the secretive lizard people. The track “Milk” could be the first industrial track I have ever heard with mooing cows and some animated voice threatening to make you drink the creamy white stuff. How can you go wrong with a titles like “Let’s Get Goth,” or a revamping of “Popular Slut Club,” which, by the way, has has the treatment Singery[Cdio], creating a echoing mind fuck, pushing you over the edge with its wonderous layers of noise.

Are these EPs fun? Yes. Are they industrial. Absolutely. So there is no doubt in my mind that this is indeed Fundustrial at its very best. It is nice to see a kooky side to STAHLSCHLAG, and it is really interesting to see the progression of this series. Party hearty with Fundustrial and for the people with clown phobias…. sorry but you’ll get over it.

Alpha! | Fundustrial | STAHLSCHLAG (bandcamp.com)

Beta! | Fundustrial | STAHLSCHLAG (bandcamp.com)

Gamma! | Fundustrial | STAHLSCHLAG (bandcamp.com)

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Who do you believe and what can you trust? Wars popping up around the world and now the revamped hostilities in the Gaza Strip…. you have to ask, when does the killing stop? Dystopiarch is the new project for Matthew McIntosh, whom you might know from A Cloud Of Ravens, and the debut single is “Like Hell.” The proceeds of the single will be donated to civilian victims of the Middle East conflict through International Rescue Committee.

From the opening speeding rhythm, combined with the pulsating synths, are simply attention grabbing. McIntosh’s vocals are strained and at times breathy, compelling you you to listen to the lyrics, which are about modern living, where we have lost contact with the natural world, preferring so see perfection on a screen, and just let the Earth burn. A literal hell.

There is a wonderful juxtaposition between bright and dark synths, the driving rhythm that thumps along and those rather Imperative vocals, that make up “Like Hell.” The style of music invokes thoughts of cyber-industrial with post-punk leanings, due to the electronics that play against each other, creating both feelings of claustrophobia and euphoria. It is catchy, thought provoking and proceeds are for a great cause. Those alone are great reasons for people to get behind this Dystopiarch track, for life is not meant to be “Like Hell.”

Like Hell | Dystopiarch (bandcamp.com)

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Out on Infacted Recordings, is the latest single “Harbour” from J:dead, where Jay Taylor has enlisted Aesthetic Perfection and genCAB for remix duties. This is officially the last release for J:dead for the year 2023, but in 2024, we can expect the unleashing of the thematic EP ROOTS, which will contain seven original tracks, including “Harbour,” plus 8 remixes.

©Thomas Fritsche, Nightshark Photography

“Harbour” has this rolling flow whilst also laying down dance rhythms. An electronic melding of the many faces and personalities we are and show others, topped by the molten vocals of Taylor. The Aesthetic Perfection mix is filled with a bright jauntiness that the progenitor of industrial pop, Daniel Graves is famous for, while David Dutton of genCAB’s version is slower and darker, like you can feel the shadows enveloping you in a cocoon and only the vocals can drag you to the light.

The line ‘look hard and you will find me, lonely I will never be‘ doesn’t refer to multiple personalities but rather all the different facets that make us up as humans. We are not one thing such as a joker or the introvert, which would leave us as one dimensional aberrations, instead of the wondrously complicated creatures we are. As always, this is a polished track with two stunning mixes and if you want to know what you will be getting in the EP, then “Harbour” is an excellent place to start. I have already had the pleasure of hearing the original tracks and can promise that you are not going to be disappointed, yet that is for another day………..

Harbour | J:dead | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

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Music | genCAB (bandcamp.com)

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You might say Witches Falls could be one of the most coolest names a place could be called and indeed it is a real locale, situated on Tamborine Mountain, in Australia. Gold Coast based Chiffon Magnifique, brain child of Jed A Walters, have sprung forth a darkwave single, also named “Witches Falls,” with an equally creepy video set in said area.

Echoing and ringing post-punk guitar on this track is really beautiful, setting the swirling tone, that sweeps you along for the ride. Walter’s vocals, deep and longing, beseech you for understanding, for one that finds the modern world, at times, so overwhelming, they need to retreat to the calm that is the quiet arms of the natural world. The video conveys the self doubt in a mind clouded in a tormented perception that they are forever alone and unwanted. The house full of curios, changes to the city (Vinnies’ Dive Bar), before a furious night drive to the Falls, and their majestic ancient rain forest, in which the “Witches Falls” resides.

What could possibly top this great track? Maybe the knowledge that in 2024, we can expect the debut album named Anxietika, which, with all the current singles, you know is going to be punching well above its weight with all the gothic goodness Walters puts into his music. The man is seriously talented and very heavily involved in the dark alternative scene in South-East Queensland and I cannot stress enough to watch this space because Chiffon Magnifique are just starting to hit their straps, so find your way to “Witches Falls.”

Witches Falls | Chiffon Magnifique (bandcamp.com)

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It has been two years since a project called Voidant took flight, with the release of their self titled album. A deep love of music and experimentation, as well as a friendship across an ocean, brought about an electronic gem. UK based David ‘Wolfie‘ Wolfenden, guitarist of the iconic Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry and Caroline Blind, from the USA, solo artist and lead singer of Sunshine Blind, are celebrating their debut album with a remix EP, featuring other extraordinary musicians, fiddling with those delicate stems.

Kicking off with “Vortex,” this is Elenor Rayner, front woman of New Zealand’s Robots In Love, who has a knack of drawing beautiful, dark sweetness out of her remix projects and she does not fail to cause a quickening of your heart, as the barbed tendrils hook into your skin. CWHK is from Sunshine Blind, and he has taken on the ephemeral “Ghosted” with the Brave or Silent Remix, upping the tempo and adding a very exotic feel to the track. The one cover on the EP is Love’s “7 and 7 is” and has been given the treatment by Danny C from 2 Forks, a member of yet another famous US goth rock band, The Wake. The remix rocks harder than ever and yet has developed this disco/dance orientation.

I cannot think of a better bunch than the UK’s Decommissioned Forests, who have taken the shamanistic “La Loba,” into a cosmic realm, swirling and mystical, centred around Blind’s vocals. Max Rael of Decommissioned Forests and History Of Guns, has truly put the funk into “SG Truth,” and it is nearly trance inducing. The original “Phantom Ex” was a very free form piece, that Wolfie has taken, creating the Birch remix, adding more guitar and rhythm, giving the bass filled track a heavier air.

“Writing these lyrics and vocal melodies was a cathartic practice of embracing sadness and grief. It’s all in there. There was no return. It’s terminal. There are no hopeful bits, it’s all goodbye. The vocals stand on their own, and those who have remixed the songs have understood that, in perfect alignment. That’s why I called it ‘Abandon Hope’, from Dante’s Divine Comedy: “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” Give up and give in. Join with the heedless infinite.” – Caroline Blind

Abandon Hope is a wonderful way to relive some great tracks, or if you are new to the music of Voidant, then submerge your ears in the myriad of styles and talented artists which could lead you to finding even more favourites.

Abandon Hope | Voidant (bandcamp.com)

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We have been following the catastrophic tale of humans versus alien machines, unfolding in the musical exploits by MATT HART. The London based industrial musician and DJ, has released his latest single “DEEP DOWN CITY.”

Imagine living 6000 levels below the surface of the planet, a new shadowy world where humans have finally settled from the reach of the machines, trying to recreate what they had above ground. The guitar is there, building the tension, but the synths are the smooth heroes of this track, however the big surprise is the vocals. Not only do we have HART’s growls, but we get to hear the man actually sing, letting us hear his dulcet tones.

“DEEP DOWN CITY” is a something a little different from MATT HART, with its mingling of harsher industrial and retro synthwave, creating a wonderfully pulsating dynamic. The track portrays a cyberpunk styled domain where life is lived in the constant gloom, that is only broken up by the need for sleep and entertainment. One wonders what the aliens are up to on the surface and I am guessing we might find out soon.

DEEP DOWN CITY | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

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September was a big month for some really good electronic music and Sweden’s Hatif, most certainly delivers some quality releases, which leads us to the new single “Heredity.” Under license to the label Town & Towers Records, the duo of  Markus Majdalani and Johan Eckerström, seems to not currently have an album attached to this new track.

Photo by Daniel Kwon

The electronic clicks take up a flamenco style rhythm and Majdalani‘s singing is smooth and entrancing, then it kicks up an extra notch of cool with the harmonising. The synths move from light to dramatic keeping you on the edge of your seat, while the programming spasmodically still clicks and whirrs.

I’m going to be a bit cheeky and say Hatif could be channelling the spirit of another classic Swedish band Covenant, and that is not a bad thing with the harmonies and building electronic textures. Hatif have said their music is easy to listen to, and I have to say I completely agree with them. “Heredity” is part of the growing legacy that Hatif are putting down.

Heredity | Hatif (bandcamp.com)

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We are going back in time…well….back to the beginning of 2023, when the single “Kill Me” was released on Bandcamp, by Oklahoma artist, Saturn Dethroned. I actually know nothing about Saturn Dethroned, but I am guessing this is his debut track.

The rhythms from the beginning inform you that this is industrial, with the machine working, to be joined by a growing surge of fuzzing electronics, almost serpentine in its winding sound. “Kill Me” grows from slow simple clunks, into a instrumental track that builds like mental breakdown, throbbing and overwhelming. If experimental industrial is your thing, then you are going to get a kick out of the Saturn Dethroned track “Kill Me,” and the best thing is you can download it off Bandcamp for name your price!

Kill Me | Saturn Dethroned (bandcamp.com)

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The latest single from Robots In Love is here, with a video included, for the track “Gossip In Your Head.” Ex-pat Aussie, Elenor Raynor, who is based in Ōtepoti (Dunedin), is the driving force behind the project, and the other current members are Alex Burchell on drums, guitarist Pierre Higbee and bassist Tony Lumsden.

“This year, friends The Sound Key played me some of their music and I was particularly enthralled by a song called ‘Gossip in Your Head’, and so it was recorded in the Robots In Love studio with Pierre Higbee on guitars and Alex Burchell on drums. Alex then produced a remix which was even more atmospheric than the original recording, emphasising the haunting vocal harmonies. The depth of emotion in the remix captivated everyone who heard it, and so it became the A-side of the single release: a masterpiece of beautiful dark pop.” – Elenor Rayner

The gossamer tendrils of this song are hauntingly beautiful and are only enhanced by Rayner’s delicately phenomenal vocals. The words are weighted by melancholy, as the speaker seems to have an internal discussion, torn by the voices that feed self doubt, plucking at mental health. I love there is such a simplicity to the music that showcases the play between the vocals and guitars. Robots In Love have most definitely brought out the darkness in “Gossip In Your Head,” and it is a jewel of a track.

Gossip In Your Head | Robots In Love (bandcamp.com)

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Just when you thought you might finally be safe from space invasion and laser beam, pew pew extermination, you find more DEATHCOMET in your life, and he’s back with album DEATHCOMET 16!! Hmmmm…. the last one we reviewed was DEATHCOMET 14. Sooo, it seems we skipped an album, however, that just means more for your experimental electronic listening pleasure, from the New South Wales region of Australia.

I find my teeth are set on edge listening to the disturbing drone of “new hunt for alien life” which stops and becomes the guitar torturing oddity, “desperate attempt,” as it tumbles over itself, creating a tubular vortex of sound. A looping guitar screaming greets your ears, perpetuating an overload for the ten minute long “neptune belial,” as you wait for the subtle changes in pitch, but this does nothing to prepare you for the track “satanic dimensions,” where you are almost assuredly hearing the anguished voices from the pit itself, as the harsh noise eviscerates your senses.

“all systems go” continues from where “satanic dimensions” left off, however it has incorporated an eerie demonic electronic choir, which is driving the unholy star drive straight into the inferno that is “cosmic ball,” yet another track clocking in at over ten minutes. The psychedelic effect of “masks” really hits you after listening to such constant noise, and it feels as if the aliens really are invading your brain, which leads in nicely to the last track, “aliens calling“. Yes, finally the little grey guys are melting your brain with their sonic vocals as everything burns to the ground.

DEATHCOMET 16 is experimental noise that starts by rubbing your brain against sand paper, and then just builds into a new world order, intent on cellular annihilation, so the alien hordes don’t have to worry about cleaning up the carbon mess. Alien industrial metal in the form of DEATHCOMET is a mighty powerful thing.

DEATHCOMET 16 | DEATHCOMET (bandcamp.com)