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It is an interesting thing to watch musicians take on traits or characteristics of other acts that they admire, however not imitating but rather building on those aspects they love, growing their own sound and introducing others to what inspires them. Decommissioned Forests is very much one of these groups, bring to life an earlier era of British industrial music, whilst creating their own niche of sombre electronica. So we bailed up lead vocalist, Max Rael, to get the cold hard facts and in his genteel London way, he said, yes. Time for tea on the grass and ants in boob tubes……

Welcome Max Rael of Decommissioned Forests, to the pointy end of Onyx, where we like to use black crayons to create our own black-holes.

Thank you for having me. It’s nice to be here. I have already broken my crayon, and managed to somehow get it all over my face and clothes without trying. Good job I’m wearing black.

Can you tell us how you joined forces to become Decommissioned Forests?

Daniel (Vincent of ‘The Resonance Association’) and Howard (Gardner of ‘Non-Bio’ and ‘Pillars of Golden Misery’) were making some fine menacing instrumental music together, and then asked me if I’d like to contribute vocals to a couple of tracks on their first album, ‘Forestry’. 

I’d recently written some lyrics called ‘Three Black Holes’ to help me process something that happened to me years ago that I’d kind of buried and never really consciously thought about, and it felt important to get the words out into the universe somehow. I’ve never really done vocals in any of the other bands I’m in or have been in, so although it felt like a strange and scary request, it was also one I couldn’t resist. In addition to ‘Three Black Holes’ (which became just, ‘Black Holes’ on the album), the guys gave me two titles, ‘Asleep Under the Leaves’ and ‘Dead Air’ and I found just listening to the music they’d provided, words came easily spilling out on to the page.

We were happy with the results, got some good feedback from people and enjoyed the process, which led to me joining the band and thus we became an official threesome for this new album, ‘Industry’. I like working in a three, I like the creative energy of triangles.  

You all come from a background of experimental noise and/or post punk music. What were you looking to create with this alliance?

I’d be interested to hear Daniel and Howard’s answer to this, but for me, in History Of Guns and all the projects I’ve been involved with, I try and open myself to authentic expression in the moment and to avoid ‘lust of result’ as Crowley put it. It’s enough to set up some things, or people, and just see what happens naturally, how the energy flows and how things pull together or apart. Which is just a fancy way of saying whenever I try and plan anything it never works out how I planned, (which is the basis of the lyrics for the track, ‘A Comforting Uncertainty’). That said, I’m a firm believer that it’s often the bits that go wrong that is where the magic is. It’s also a great way for avoiding those creative poisons doubt and insecurity, as there’s no right or wrong about anything, everything is just as it is. 

From your vocals to the avant-guard tone of the music, Coil seems to big influence on the band. What does Coil mean to you and what impact have the had on your music?

I was due to see Coil for the first time at an abandoned tube station in London in November 2004, but the gig was cancelled on the day due to health and safety concerns and I was gutted. Then the day afterwards Jhonn Balance died. It was hard to process. I went a bit wrong and became semi-convinced that that Jhonn was sending some kind of astral message directly to me. Then ‘…And the Ambulance Died in His Arms’ came out and I was full-on obsessed. I bought copies and gave them to all my friends. It was an interesting split, people either absolutely hated it or absolutely loved it. Daniel was one of the people I gave it to, and fortunately he loved it and went on his own path with it, but I’d say it’s directly led us to where we are now and the music we’re creating. Howard also happens to be a massive Coil fan. Otherwise, we’re all into a wide range of very different things, but our shared love of Coil is the magnetic charge that attracts the three of us together creatively.

As Decommissioned Forests, you released your first full length album Forestry in 2019 and now in 2022, your second album, Industry Is there a link between these two albums?

They definitely feel like companion pieces. For, ‘Forestry’ there’s a sense of decay, rotting vegetation, rusting sheets of corrugating iron, overseen by an all-powerful and yet indifferent goddess. The ‘Ants’ suite on the new album can be seen as journey from that place, to where we’ve arrived on ‘Industry’, which feels more like scratchy polyester, poorly designed technology, broken society, broken relationships…

How do you go about writing music between the three of you for Industry and has covid changed how you did the writing process from 2019?

The usual process is that Daniel and Howard exchange audio files of noises and textures, which Daniel shapes into pieces and sends on to me, then I record a vocal and send it back. Daniel then puts in hundreds of hours of mixing it all into a finished thing. Sometimes I just record vocals without any music backing and send them over. Fortunately for us Covid didn’t have any impact on the process as we were already all working remotely. We had talked about getting together and jamming in the same room which obviously couldn’t happen, so that could’ve maybe taken things in a different direction.

Is it me or does there feel lika lot of pent up trauma in Industry?

Yes I think so…  I think I consciously try to avoid too much of that in the lyrics, but then I’m a trauma person and mostly write from the subconscious so it can’t help come through either overtly or covertly. A friend of mine suggested ‘traumacore’ as a genre which I quite like. It’s difficult because there’s a danger of romanticising trauma, or feeding, rather than healing wounds. I’m always on the side of trying to move towards healing, even if the final goal is impossible, though I think focused anger and rage is often more appropriate than mute acceptance and forgiveness.

Is there a particular track off the album that is a favourite or you feel epitomises what DF is all about?

Tough question! At this point in an album’s lifecycle, we’ve heard it through so many times it’s impossible to have any objectivity. It’ll be interesting in a few years’ time to come back and listen again and see what stands out. The ‘Ants’ suite is pretty key…  It changes all the time, but right now, today, I’d choose ‘Triggers’, and ‘Dust, Ashes and Other Pointless Ephemera’ as my favourites.

What does DF mean for you personally?

It’s a world out of sync or out of step with reality, a parallel universe which has tendrils into this universe where most of us find ourselves day to day for most of our lives. From this position of remove the Decommissioned Forests universe is free and able to respond and reflect un-defensively on what’s happening here but through a tangential almost dream-like connection. Hopefully as we go further in, we might be able to explore that universe in its own right, rather than just using it as a place to view here from.

I would like to ask about the short film, A Comforting Uncertainty, of which the title is a 9 minute track on the album and the score to the film, you all played roles in, that was written/directed and with special effects by Howard, all based on a dream by someone called Rick Matthews. Can you tell us about this slightly dystopian film?

Howard’s an amazing director and video graphics master with a twisted creative brain who has made a lot of interesting and unsettling films over the years. We were very lucky that he already had the idea for this short film bubbling away for a couple of years and put it forward that it could go with one of the tracks on the album, so that the music is a soundtrack to the film, and the film is a music video for the track. Both Daniel and I were enthusiastic from the start, and when we saw the shooting script, even more so. I’ve had a few discussions with people recently about how the film narrative can be interpreted, and whilst I have my own theories, only Howard knows his true intentions, and I think he’d like there being different individual interpretations out there, each no less valid than his. It’s great that thanks to YouTube, anyone, anywhere can see it easily.

Will there be more films in the future?

Yes. Well, I do dearly hope so. It’s easy for me to say when I just get turn up for the fun part of shooting it and don’t have to spend hours over a hot editing suite. We’re all keen to make more, it feels an integral part of the band, so it’s a question of Howard’s capacity, and I know he’s involved in a lot of other exciting projects. Hopefully we’ll start planning the next one soon.

DF kind of reaches back into that late 70s, early 80s British industrial sound which was often political or very raw ie Clock DVA. What are the musical influences that formed your taste in music?

Again this would no doubt be very different for Howard and Daniel, and I’ve always been pretty genre-blind and get obsessed over a disparate range of individuals and bands but other than Coil, I guess the most important bands for me relevant to this project would be things like: Killing Joke, Throbbing Gristle, Depeche Mode, Peter Gabriel, CRASS, Joy Division/New Order etc. from the UK, but also Tangerine Dream and SWANS… and I guess it’s hard for me to contextualise things that formed my taste and things that I got into afterwards retrospectively because they accorded to my taste. I was 16 when Head Like a Hole by NIN came out and used to love stamping about to it at The Catacombs nightclub in Manor House in London, and that and bands like PWEI were really when I grew from my existing rock and pop foundation into a more industrial direction, which led me eventually to Coil. 

What you find yourself drawn to now?

I spent a few years sealed hermetically in my music collection and am just getting back into actively seeking out and enjoying new music. LIOC have released a series of compilations by bands that love or are influenced by Coil and (apart from the things I’ve contributed obvs!), there’s been some astonishing things on them…   Recently I’ve been exploring the ambient work of Felicia Atkinson and Grouper, oh and also the new Paul Draper solo album, ‘Cult Leader Tactics’.

If you could time travel once, anywhere, where would you go and why?

March 17th, 1942, Pomona, USA. To watch one the preview screening of Orson Welles’ ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’ before the studio destroyed it.

So what is in the future for Decommissioned Forests?

We already have various tracks lined up for potential inclusion on the next album. There’s an evolution in sound from the ambient soundscapes of ‘Industry’ as the new stuff has drum tracks and maybe an increased sense vitality and urgency. Lyrically, I’m thinking about how brains and minds work and potentially change in response to environments and stimuli.  Our big dream is to put on a live show. This presents a number of challenges, from how to recreate the sound in a live environment to the fact that I don’t live particularly near Daniel and Howard for regular rehearsals, and everyone’s busy with work, family and other creative projects, but we’re hopeful we shall find a way. We’re definite that we want to be creating unique pieces with each performance rather than just recreating tracks

Thank you for your time Max. Red pills are on the right, blue pills on the left and the white ones are a very nice mint flavour!

A big thank you to you Adele and for your (seemingly) tireless work to support the underground. We salute you!

🙂

Music | Decommissioned Forests (bandcamp.com)

Decommissioned Forests (facebook.com)

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нашим друзям (For Our Friends) based in Hamburg, Germany, have putting together compilations to raise awareness and funds for the people of Ukraine. So far three compilations have been put together by them and we would like to draw your attention to the latest which is For Our Friends Vol III, There are 42 artists in this edition who all fall under the electro/industrial theme.

Of course with 42 acts on one compilation, so I am not going to review every song but I am proud to say I know some of the people that have donated tracks. From my hometown of Brisbane, the wonderful Dirt Factory with their nihilistic cyber industrial track, “Violence” and Roger Menso’s Nyteshayde, whom I have known since I was about 19 with his slow burn, borne of war trauma number, “Whispers And Shouting“.

There is also Dogmachine, who I knew in the 90s, with their fantastic, angst ridden “Headwound” which was often heard at nightclubs, with Kraig Durden as the lead singer, who went onto create Replikant and his track “Anaesthetic” appears, full of wandering synths as if in an induced dream.

But there are bands from all over the world such as the German maestro of crunchy rhythmic power noise, Sebastian Sünkler’s STAHLSCHLAG, with “Shunde Null” along with another big, rhythmic noise act KiEw with “Mariupol, Ukraine“. In other words there are all sorts of goodies here. Transponder featuring Leæther Strip, Sven Phalanx with Miss Kitty and I could go on.

If this was put together as a regular compilation, it would be well worth buying, however what it stands for makes it much more valuable. Not only are you getting music you are going to enjoy and find new artists you never knew about but you are supporting a cause, helping those who, currently, are in dire straits, in the middle of a illogical and terrible war. Remember this is For Our Friends.

For Our Friends, Vol. III: Electro Edition | нашим друзям (bandcamp.com)

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In a very short amount of time, George Klontzas’ solo project, Teknovore has come a long way. George has been a part of industrial acts such as Croona, the new Neon Decay and Cynical Existence which means he has a wealth of experience behind him, not to mention a tonne of talent and an ear for the good stuff. Seeing as the new album, The Theseus Paradox was out, we spoke to George about ancient history, mythical heroes and music.

Welcome George Klontzas to the ancient darkness that is Onyx. We have the Moirai in a corner doing their thing and we can just shoot the breeze like the Oracles of Delphi.

How did you originally get into the electro scene?

In my teens I was mainly into Metal but I was also interested in electronic music to a lesser degree. Eurodance was huge at that time, and that was obviously a major influence on the Aggrotech sound. In fact one of the first albums I bought was 2 Unlimited’s No Limits. The real gateway albums for me though have to be the Mortal Kombat soundtrack which introduced me to Fear Factory, KMFDM, Juno Reactor, and the Quake soundtrack which introduced me to NIN. Of course, living on a Greek island before the advent of the Internet not much was available to me and I was just skimming the surface. It was as a student living in Edinburgh, attending Goth and Industrial club nights that I really got into the scene.

There are a lot of goth/industrial/metal acts from Greece, so what is the scene like there in Athens especially and has it changed over the years?

I’m still living on an island (Crete) literally and I suppose metaphorically too in a sense. Sometimes I feel a bit removed from the Greek scene, looking in, so I don’t really feel like an authority that can speak on it. What I can say with confidence is that we are surely blessed to have many talented and multi-faceted artist s and bands here in Greece. Just off the top of my head I need to mention Siva Six whose latest album is excellent as always. I was happy to see recently that Cygnosic are back recording new stuff. Technolorgy are releasing something in April I believe. I’ve been listening to ΦΩΝΟΠΤΙΚΟΝ a lot recently too and a young artist that I think deserves more attention is Saint – I encourage you to check out their album Erga Omnes. Again though, I feel bad because there are so many others I could and should mention and I have to give you props for reviewing and shining a spotlight on many Greek artists recently!

You have been in a few fairly big name industrial acts What prompted you to start Teknovore?

Mostly it was a desire to try my hand at various different styles that I love like Goa and Psytrance, Techno and the EBSM sound that’s emerged out of France in recent years. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to make an album when I started. I was just making all these tracks in different styles, seeing what I could do with them, what worked for me and what didn’t. After I had made the decision that I was indeed making an album I started the process of reworking the tracks so they could have some cohesion as a whole. Many of the tracks on the album are the 3rd or 4th vastly different versions of what I had originally made. Teknovore basically became about not playing it safe and in the end what I found is that the tracks that caused me the most frustration in making are my favorites on the album.

How different has it been for you doing a solo project from being in a collective?

It’s given me a lot of freedom creatively. No rules to follow or guidelines to adhere to other than those I set for myself. Especially not having a singer has allowed me to be much more creative with song structures. Many of the genres I love are instrumental and it makes a lot of sense to me to work with guest vocalists when needed, at least from an artistic point of view. However, from a commercial viewpoint, vocals and lyrics can help the music connect with an audience so bringing in someone on a more permanent basis or even doing taking on that role myself is something I may consider. I’m not leaning in the direction currently but you never know.

Let’s talk about The Theseus Paradox album. The paradox is that if you replace everything is it the same object/human when you first started. Is there a particular significance in the title for you?

I certainly saw the parallels in my own life. I went through a period of introspection a couple of years ago when I decided to leave some parts of my life behind. I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago and yet I am. Would my younger self recognize me now and vice versa? This was also reflected in how I felt about the music I was making. What expectations, if any, would there be based on what I had done in the past? How much should I hold on to and how much should I reject or replace? This whole thought process took over in the early stages of making The Theseus Paradox and became the main concept behind the album.

The album is amazing. Where did you even start in creating this debut monster?

Thank you for saying so! I guess I’ve already inadvertently answered this question. I’ll also mention that I invested in a brand new setup before getting started and much of the experimentation in the early stages came from learning the new plugins. That’s also how the cover of Dark Soho’s Save Me God was born which was on the Anachronist single with vocals by Z from Siva Six. A made a couple of covers as a training exercise when I started. There’s a cover of FLA’s Plasticity sitting on my hard drive somewhere. I focused a lot on some aspects that I felt I was weak at in the past like sound design. The right or wrong sounds will make or break a track.

You are on Infacted Recordings with j:dead and you have mixed tracks for Jay Taylor plus he appears on two of your tracks. So when did you ask Jay to do vocals?

Funnily enough the first track Jay and I worked on together, Tearing Me Apart, was originally supposed to be a track for Croona. Fredrik and I then decided to put Croona on ice so it became the J:dead vs Teknovore single you may have heard and the collaborations on my album happened as a result of that. Really I have Fredrik to thank for putting me in touch with Jay as he is a great guy and I really enjoyed working with him. Hopefully there’ll be more Teknovore x J:dead stuff happening in the future.

Jay Ruin or RNZR also does an amazing job as well as Neon Decay which is another non de plume for Fredrik Croona. How fortunate do you feel having all these amazing vocalists contribute to your album?

Very fortunate indeed. Fredrik and I have worked on various projects together over the last decade and he’s a great friend. Neon Decay is a new project we’ve been working on that’s a continuation of what we did with Croona mixed with synthwave… so nothing like the track we made together on my album!

I’ve been following Jay’s work since he was CeDigest, you know, the glory days of Noitekk! I agree he did an amazing job and he’s also just released a new RNZR single called Chaotic Erotica. Check it out, it’s gloriously filthy!

The artwork is stunning for the cover. Nikos Stavridakis is the man that created it. Are you still amazed by it?

Nikos and I go back a long way. He’s one of the first people to support me as a musician. When I started putting together The Theseus Paradox it was important to me that I work with people I can trust. When I explained the concept he loved it and was really excited to work on it and that is reflected in the end result. It’s such a powerful and striking image. Just perfect.

What gets your blood pumping now?

Other than making and listening to music, I watch A LOT of movies. Talk to me about horror movies – I can go all day! And I love re-watching my favorite movies with my daughter and introducing her to them so I can hear her comments. It’s like seeing them again with fresh eyes. That’s one of my favourite aspects of parenting – re-experiencing things through her. I’m into gaming too, though I kind of gave it up over the last year so I could focus on music. If The Theseus Paradox sells well I’ll reward myself with a PS5!

If you could be a mythical Greek Hero for a day, who would you be?

This feels like a trick question because almost all of them had tragic ends…but if it’s just for a day I suppose I’d avoid those. I won’t say Theseus as it is too obvious and I’m tempted to say Orpheus because of his legendary musical ability. I’m going to go with an out-of-the-box answer though and say Diomedes, one of the main characters in the Iliad. He is the most valiant hero of the Trojan War who while possessing great fighting ability also displays great wisdom. He fights and injures both Ares and Aphrodite in a single day yet shows humility thus avoiding committing hubris.

What is next for you and Teknovore?

I’ve just finished working on the Neon Decay album so now I can turn my focus back to Teknovore. I’ve got a few ideas about where I’m going with the next release but nothing solid yet. I’d like to get an EP and single ready to release by the end of 2022. Finally, I’ve had some initial discussions regarding some live shows. We’ll see what happens!

Thank you George for running this gauntlet…luckily no sirens were hurt in the asking of these questions!

Thank you for having me and keep up the good work! Calling back to your mention of the Oracle of Delphi earlier I’ll leave you with some Ancient Greek wisdom in the form of the three maxims inscribed outside the temple of Delphi: Know thyself; Nothing to excess; Surety brings ruin

I think there is a lesson in that for all of us……..

The Theseus Paradox | Teknovore | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

Teknovore | Facebook

Infacted Recordings | Facebook

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….And talks about the new album, bad band names, our shared love of Bobby Gillespie.. . .. . and a whole bunch of other shit with Kate and Simon from Bitumen.

Ever wanted to paint and draw? Because Bitumen do. They want to paint your world dark and draw you into an electronic, shoegaze-y industrial bliss that feels like it could become the soundtrack to the best nightmare you’ve ever had at any second. I seriously can’t get enough of this new album of theirs, their sophomore effort, Cleareye Shining, which I should mention is out now [as of the 26th November 2021] on Imprint Records, who clearly have good taste if they’re signing bands like Bitumen.

Bitumen are: Kate on vocals, Simon on bass and drum programming, Bryce on guitars and Sam on guitars and synth. They’re originally all from Hobart but one by one they made the pilgrimage to the greener pastures of Melbourne. They’re good people. I know this because I got on the phone with Kate and Simon for over an hour talking about our love of Primal Scream, The Birthday Party and so much other crap because I was drunk ….More on that later. For now you have to understand that if you like any genre on the darker or heavier or more electronic side of things you should check this out.

It’s just satisfying on so many levels…or layers. You can’t get away from the layers to these songs. The mix job is fantastic, giving room for every part to do it’s thing and blend perfectly. The album starts with their second single Paint and Draw, followed by Moving Now Now Now, which is my new favourite song right now now now. There’s 7 more songs after that one, making it 9 tracks in total on the album. There’s not a single wasted second, every track could become your favourite. The last one, Luxury Auto is another stand-out in my opinion. It starts with this minor second guitar motif that kicks in the suspense and tension, and the part relentlessly weaves in and out of the rest of the track; by the end you realise that it’s been going on the whole time and the only conclusion you can draw is that it was definitely the right thing for them to do. And as a closing track, it leaves you wanting more. Always good.

So they’ve released two singles so far, and both have accompanying videos. Out of Athens was the first to drop, even before the album came out. It’s a great first single – it captures attention by simply being a banger of a tune. The video features Kate dancing in front of a flashy-starry backdrop while Sam laughs at her and she tries to keep a straight face and not trip over the microphone cable. Although you wouldn’t know about that if I hadn’t just told you – Sam’s off-screen. Being, um, supportive I guess? But their rationale for the video concept is totally on-point “The internet likes dancing girls”, as Kate tells me. She isn’t wrong, from my observations at least.

Paint and Draw is the second single, and the better song in my opinion. The band agree with me. “Drop the better single second” Kate says. This track is more complex than Out of Athens; starting with a pulsating bass line before kicking into gear with layers of guitars that build the verses to the most perfect of zeniths before crashing back down into the suspense and tension of the choruses. The video is great too. This one features Sam in the lead role, and there’s a bit of a story going on in this one, although I forgot to ask what it was all about because I was drunk. But it starts with Sam, who is sporting a very fancy leather jacket, loitering by a Telstra Payphone until he answers a call on it, 1980’s style. He tells the caller that he’s on his way. Right now. Then he jumps in the car and there’s ghost lady when he gets to what I assume is the place where he said he was on his way to. Sam seems like a bloke who knows when he’s in over his head, and he makes a bolt for it. I would have done the same. Ghost lady was asking some pretty personal questions for a ghost I’m assuming Sam has only just met. And she has an umbrella. Although how did she have his payphone number if they were strangers? It all raises more questions than it answers, so I have to go watch it again to try and make sense of it all. *watches video again* Nope, gonna have to keep trying. Let me know if you figure it out.

In a clear example of practice making perfect, the production values have increased markedly from 2019’s Discipline Reaction when compared with the new one, Cleareye Shining. Not that Discipline Reaction isn’t worth your time – it totally is. It’s just that Cleareye Shining is a massive leap forward both int terms of production values and songwriting craft. Yes, Discipline Reaction is a pun, but it’s one that both the band and myself agree holds up even after the three years that have elapsed since it’s release.

Anyway, like I said, I caught up with Kate and Simon on the blower recently. Kate and I built a rapport over Bobby Gillespie straight away as I knew she owned a Primal Scream T-shirt with the Screamadelica album cover on it, as I saw it in the promo photos the band kindly sent me.

Johnny Ryall : Kate, I notice in your pictures you’re wearing a Screamadelica T-Shirt: that is fucking awesome..

Kate: [laughs] Yeah, I got that at um, there’s this like, I don’t know if you have it in Queensland…there’s this like, discount kind of store called [inaudible] and they have like just the most random clothes, I think that like, they’re one of those shops that buys stock from other shops that are closing down…

Johnny Ryall: Oh yep.

Kate: So like a real random mix of stuff and yeah I was in there once and they had like a rack of the…I think it was like the ’94 Screamadelica Australian Tour.

Johnny Ryall: Yep…

Kate: And I was like “This is sick, I wasn’t at the show, but I can have the T-shirt!”

Johnny Ryall: So ah, you’re a bit of a Primal Scream fan I take it?

Kate: Oh absolutely, yeah.

Johnny Ryall: Oh same! How good are they?

Kate: Oh! So good! I love Bobby Gillespie…

Johnny Ryall: Same!

Kate: I love their whole trajectory as a band…

Johnny Ryall: It’s been fascinating hasn’t it?

Kate: Mmm, yeah, because they’re [sic] like transitioned into being a more dance kind of band while still being…I don’t know, still being the guitar-y kind of rock band that they’ve always been.

…..

I could have talked about Primal Scream all day, and while we did carry on that conversation a little longer, I’ll pull myself back into line in this, the editing part of the writing phase, so that we get back to concentrating on what we were supposed to talk about.

Johnny Ryall: So what are we drinking?

Kate: I’m drinking aspirin in a big glass of water because I went out last night and I’m hungover [laughs]

Johnny Ryall: [laughs] Now you know the best thing for that is to have another drink, don’t you?

Kate: Yeah, well, yeah. I’ll get there.

Johnny Ryall: Oh well, no pressure from me. I’ve been drinking since 9am, but I’m a madman.

Kate: [laughs] Truly?

…..

Of course it’s true. Then I remembered we were doing a ‘band interview’…and thought I should talk about ‘The Band’….like as in Bitumen, the band I was interviewing two members of.

Johnny Ryall: I really love your band, I just found it randomly about a month ago; I was watching RAGE….and I was like, HOLY SHIT, THIS IS REALLY FUCKING GOOD….. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS BAND!

Kate: Oh man that’s so good. I’m glad RAGE paid off for us.

Johnny Ryall: Yeah I’ve got to ask, how did you manage to get them to play it, like is it an easy thing to do, or….?

Kate: Um, I think because we’re part of that Flash Forward program, where like the City of Melbourne gave like bands a bunch of money to make an album like, through COVID times.

Johnny Ryall: Oh really?

Kate: Yeah so we got like, like they’re pressing the album for us and they like um, yeah gave us money to make the videos and shit; it was an excellent deal for us.

Johnny Ryall: That is super cool!

Kate: Yeah! And they had like, sort of their own PR people working for all the Flash Forward bands, and I think they had a hook-up at RAGE.

Johnny Ryall: Oh ok…..

Kate: Yeah, they just sent it off and..I’m really surprised it got on but….

Johnny Ryall: Well, it did.

…..

Johnny Ryall: So how did you come up with the name Bitumen? What’s that about?

Kate: Good question; I think we were like we wanted it to be one word, we wanted it to be kind of, something industrial. I think the earlier there’s a lot of things that like…like we had a gig booked, our first show coming up, and we still hadn’t decided on a name and we just kind of like got stuck on bitumen and were like oh yeah, fuck it, Bitumen, like ….

Johnny Ryall: Yeah,

Kate: We didn’t think about it too hard. I think I even like, we were practising at Simon’s house at that time, in his shed and I think he had the like the fridge magnet letters and I think I put it on the fridge one practice.

Simon: Really?

Kate: Yeah, on the side of the fridge, and like we were….I think AstroTurf was also tossed up….Thank god we didn’t go with that!

Simon: Yeah!

Johnny Ryall: Yeah, nah I think you went with the better option there.

Kate: Yeah for sure. And oh that was the other thing: We thought it would be funny that Americans say it wrong, like they say “Bit-oo-men”

Johnny Ryall: Do they really?

Kate: Yeah cause they just call it asphalt, or whatever.

Johnny Ryall: Oh yeah they say “ASS-Fault”.

Kate: Yeah, yeah, and like “Bit-oo-men.” I’ve heard like a couple of times when we’ve got played on like American radio if you listen back they’re like “the band Bitoomen” it’s just…. I don’t know. It cracks me up every time

Johnny Ryall: Fuckin’ hell, some people, you just can’t help ’em hey?

Johnny Ryall: What is everybody’s role in the band?

Kate: I don’t play anything else [aside from singing] but we sort of are very collaborative in that we, like, write the songs together…

Johnny Ryall: Yep, yep…

Kate: Simon, you do more than it says on the piece of paper [press release]

Simon: Yeah, I guess. I mean I play bass and then do a lot of the drum programming….

Johnny Ryall: Oh yeah…

Simon: But with input from everyone else as far as drum programming…. and synths as well.

Johnny Ryall: Oh yeah cause I noticed you didn’t seem to have a drummer, um and I said to myself that’s sensible because I haven’t been able to work with a drummer in years, you know, I just can’t do it. I use drum machines…

Kate: well it makes it easier to get around

Johnny Ryall: yeah well that’s it – no lugging the shit everywhere

Kate: yeah totally

Johnny Ryall: yeah drum machines are pretty light! Yeah! So who else is in the band?

Kate: We’ve got Bryce on guitar, and Sam also on guitar

…..

Then I asked them something about getting around Australia to tour, and they said this:

Simon: Brisbane have been so nice to us, I have to say.

Kate: Yeah…

Simon: I think Brisbane is our second home in a way.

Johnny Ryall: Really? So it even beats out Hobart?

Kate: Yeah…. we’ve played some really fun shows in Brisbane, I mean..yeah..

Simon: I think that people in Brisbane get what we do a bit more maybe it’s a bit of that kind of small town, Tassie thing.

Johnny Ryall: Yeah oh we are basically an overgrown country town..it’s yeah it’s who and what we are.

Simon: Yeah well we’ll be doing some good shows up in Brisbane when we get a chance to tour I think.

Johnny Ryall: Please do! I can’t wait to see yous, I’m spewing that I missed you last time but you know, I just didn’t know that you existed then..yeah, my bad I guess.

…..

Johnny Ryall: What artists made you decide that “fuck yeah, I’m gonna be a rock n’ roller?”

Kate: I guess like ..when we first started…our tastes have changed a lot in the last..however many years we’ve been a band…how many years have we been a band? Six years?

Simon: Six or something, yeah

Johnny Ryall: Since 2016 according to your bio! So yeah you’re getting up to your sixth year now.

Kate: Yeah, so when we first started we were all absolutely like….The Birthday Party..

Johnny Ryall: The Birthday Party! I fuckin’ love The Birthday Party!

Kate: Yeah yeah all that like yeah, the Melbourne goth-y, punk shit and then like that was probably Sam and Bryce and me, were very obsessed with that.

Simon was like, you were a bit different

Simon: Yeah, maybe a bit more like Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, heaps of Godflesh….

Johnny Ryall: Ah yep, all good bands!

Simon: Long time Justin Broadrick fan, so anything that Justin Broadrick does I’m very into…I think personally that I feel like I follow his trajectory and like…

Johnny Ryall: Yep –

Simon: Maybe almost in reverse in terms of like getting into dub driven techno and gabber, but [in] 2016 we were very much goths.

Anyway we talked about a whole bunch of other cool shit but that will have to come in Part II, because if I don’t at least pretend that I have a deadline on this article then Bitumen will have a new album out before I’ve even told you to go and listen to this one. Anyway it’s late and I’m drunk and tired and cranky, so don’t fuck with me. Just go onto YouTube and listen to Cleareye Shining by Bitumen. And love it as much as I do. I know you want to.

Bitumen | Facebook

Cleareye Shining | Bitumen (bandcamp.com)

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We are going to get a bit serious here. For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine was released this month by the label Component Recordings. A whopping 199 artists have donated a track each and all money raised will go to Ukrainian Red Cross and VOSTOK SOS to help the people who are suffering. I could say it was generous of the bands on this compilation but I think every single one would say they felt it was right and the decent thing to do.

I only know a few of the acts on this release but they come from around the world and all are from the electro, synth, industrial, experimental scene. It was our friend Tim Tigersblood Vester of the band Warm Gadget that brought it to our attention and I noted Decommissioned Forests. There seems to be a lot of great music and it really is not a lot to pay for 199 tracks which includes Wolfgang Flür (Kraftwerk), Steven Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire) and Jack Dangers (Beat Meat Manifesto)

Music in history has been used to create war fervor and march armies into battles but since the 1960s, especially, it has been a focal point to show injustice and discourage war mongering. Music can feed the hungry, call for justice and inspire people to embrace each other, creating common bonds. So please check out the Bandcamp page and consider buying this……. humanity starts with us.

For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine | Various Artists | Component Recordings (bandcamp.com)

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George Klontzas has been in some very significant projects but the most awe inspiring, has to be his own act, Teknovore. The Greek Klontzas has been a member of Pre-Emptive Strike 0.1, Croona and Cynical Existence, but now over the last couple of years has been focusing on his solo material and remixes under the Teknovore name. The culmination has been the release of the debut album The Theseus Paradox on Infacted Recordings thia month.

Feel that base drop in “Take Me Away” which features fellow Infacted Recordings stablemate j:dead. It is utterly delicious as a starting track with the soaring vocals and cyber injections of sound. The heavenly spiral of techno beats wends its way through “Apotheosis” delightfully heavy on the rhythm and spectacularly light on the dancing synths. With a verbal warning (maybe in Greek as it is hard to tell), “The Seal Becomes The Fate” definitely feels like impending doom with the ticking of the clock while “Vox Machina” is so intense, like being over-wound and on a ride you can’t get off. In the end you don’t want to.

“Relinquish Your Flesh” features Neon Decay, almost has tendrils of traditional Greek music in the beginning but that all dissolves with the vocals. Neon Decay gives this track a sludgy and dirty feel, dragging you under the mire. We are back to the techno maelstrom again with “Make Us Whole” which gives you these perfect keyboard refrains. There is such purpose behind this track, as if on a mission. A single released before the album, “Anachronist” featuring RNZR is, of course, amazing as it pummels your senses with its cyber-tribal style whirlpool of emotion and rhythms. The calm before the storm is the perception with “Split The Sky“. Far more slow moving though no less intense, an electronic dream.

J:dead brings on the angst to wake you, with “Every Broken Bone“. All the bass with screaming vocals, only to be smashed with a wall of synth.”Olethros” in Greek mythology is a personification of destruction that will bring on renewal. It flies on the wings of the ancestors in a modern era. A bit of drum and bass mixed with piano and electronics gives you the last track “Continuity“. Deep and dark with foreboding is an excellent way to end an album like this.

If you are unaware, the title to the album refers to the ship of the mythological hero Theseus. The Athenians cared for the ship and whenever a piece was rotting, they replaced it…until there was nothing left of the original. Therefor, is it still the same ship? For the record, Klontzas is a master at this style of music. An ability wind up the music, drop and do it all over again, creating anticipation and instant gratification when the rhythms bear you away on an inspired electronic journey. There is everything from techno to harsh EBM and the choices of guest vocalists are perfect. The old tale says beware of Greeks bearing gifts but in this case let the Teknovore in.

The Theseus Paradox | Teknovore | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

Teknovore | Facebook

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Well….apart from some stellar remixes, we haven’t heard anything new from HOSTILE ARCHITECT since the debut album and what a debut it was. After speaking to Mitch Kenny (he whom is hostile), I have been told that the new single. “POWER OVERWHELMING (ALPHA MIX)“, is heralding the soon to be launched EP. You can find the single on the Bandcamp page of Brutal Resonance as it was released on March 18th, 2022.

Yep those dance beats just get to you and the wonderful thing is that Kenny always keeps certain tones and sounds consistently in his tracks, like a fingerprint. Oh yes, the ARCHITECT is all about the destruction with the idea that destruction and eradication causes two of whatever to become one. Intense and amazing.

It is a great dance floor single and if this is any inkling of what is to come, well then, damn it the EP is going to be stonkingly good. What also is really cool about this release is that Brutal Resonance in their wisdom, give you the opportunity to purchase this single on postcard vinyl. When I was a kid, you could get magazines with a floppy freebie and this is pretty much the same idea, as it can be sent to you via the post for free rather than a tape, CD or full vinyl, which is really neat and a bit of a collectors item. Sure the quality might be a little lo-fi but that’s half the fun and you still get to download it as well.

POWER OVERWHELMING (ALPHA MIX) | HOSTILE ARCHITECT | Brutal Resonance Records (bandcamp.com)

HOSTILE ARCHITECT | Facebook

Electro Industrial Music Magazine | Brutal Resonance

Brutal Resonance | Facebook

Psyklon Industries | Facebook

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Most people have a fairly good grasp of what OMG stands for in social media, however the EP title of Fredrik Croona’s new project, Against I, it stands for Obscene Morbid Gore. Many would be familiar with the Swedish Croona’s other bands, Menschdefekt, Croona and Cynical Existence. The EP hit us on March the 11th, 2022 and it is out on Insane Records.

Title track straight up. “O.M.G.” As soon as you hear those harmonic synths, you know you are about to hear something big and it doesn’t disappoint. The hoarse aggro vocals with the backing speeding guitars and fuzzing tech. The anguish about a society that will watch on while others suffer, no matter how bad it gets. I always shake my head in wonder how this style of music has such harsh vocals and yet there is this wondrous techno-cyber light keyboard refrains backing up all of it. The “Other Half” is a perfect example of those keyboards while Croona screeches out the lament of the loss of humanity due to people no longer finding connection to others.

“Disgust” is a really bouncy maelstrom of discontent over overtly judgmental types. It has such good momentum, The single is “Scum” which swirls and picks up pace. Croona invites you to call him scum if you want to though I feel this is a mirror reflecting the actions of other. You know the Tecknovore remix of “Scum” is going to kick arse and it just pops! Klontzas has cut back on the guitars and just gone for full on electronic immersion. “Scum” by Death Verified is a glitch tech fest, again the guitars have been dropped in favour of synths but there is no loss of veracity.

It is very angry but that is what Croona does very well. That miasma of pained, screaming vocals, guitar distortion, those fabulous synths and techno beats that underpin it all. Most of this would easily make it onto club floors and dance mixes. But when you have the time, listen a little more closely to messages as there is something in that as well.

O.M.G | Against I | Insane Records (bandcamp.com)

Insane Records – Dark Electro Gothic Industrial Aggrotech Synthpop EBM (facebook.com)

Insane Records – Dark Independent Label – Industrial / Goth Label (insane-records.com)

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Due to lockdowns and the like over 20/21, the Berlin based band X-Vivo decided to take a few tracks from their 2017 concept album Petrichor and remix them for an EP to be fully released on the 18th of March. The added bonus was having Nico from BIINDS also helping in the remixing, bringing in yet another style.

“Aphelion” kicks off and I get a real Deathstars feel when these guys are in full flight. This mix by aleX-Vivo is verbose and yet there is something reflective with the angst. Also mixed by aleX-Vivo is the huge sounding “Hail The King“. This is definitely the track you will want to turn up. Both metallic and cold as it speeds along at full throttle, throwing you into false lulls before taking off again. The next remix is done by BIINDS is “Echo Of The Unseen” which has a far more gentle mood than the original which was tending to be more glitch tech, while this version is full of small beats and rhythms that bear it along.

“The Waves Of The Ocean Are Gone” again is a BIINDS version where the original piano has been replaced with a far more electronic accompaniment and I perceive a male voice in this version. It reminds me of early Within Temptation. “Perihelion” has been changed into two tracks, Part 1 appears to be the culmination of female vocals which extend forth, as if in a dream. Wherein Part 2 is the male vocals like distant thunder rolling across the empty hills. These were created by aleX-Vivo.

Most remix releases normally follow the course of bringing on the big beats especially when it comes to industrial bands. X-Vivo seem to be bucking that trend. The lower and slower tracks are treated with reverence and great care to hold onto the key components that give them such refined delicacy. “Hail The King” is a banger of a tune but sometimes it isn’t always about the loudest tracks but rather the whole composition.

https://x-vivo.bandcamp.com/album/petrichor-remixed

X-Vivo | Facebook

BIINDS | Facebook

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From the dark depths of merry old London town, there is a project by the name of VHS¥DEATH. What is this all about you might ask and I shall reply Natalie Wardle is VHS¥DEATH and along with Cruel Nature Records are releasing the EP, Corrupted Geisha on limited tape format as of March 11th, 2022.

So we start off with “Space Bankers See You, The End Is Near” and the title alone is intriguing enough. Hip hop beats with broken pieces of conversation, singing and maybe a little Southern soul, that is until a man is telling how things are in the real world to a sweet stream of relaxation music. “Falsehood Of Man (Dystopian Mix)” is a whirlwind of soliloquy angst and breakbeats before “666 Pounds of Zero Gravity” with its electronic vocalizations. The connections between the demonic, the angelic and creation.

The dour organ plays sickly to Wardle’s distorted utterances for “Snakes In The Grass“. Like a possession gone wrong, this is part disturbing and part cute with the drum and bass tapping along nicely, Guitar distortion and multi layering are almost to the point of overwhelming in “What Is Your Worth, Vampire?“. Underneath all is this lovely guitar jangle and vocals that eventually comes to the fore.

If you are into industrial music and you don’t know the original “Everyday Is Halloween” then you should go sit in the corner and contemplate what you are doing with your life. The Ministry track is given a synth makeover, making it even more electronic, if that is possible. Wardle definitely can sing and does a sterling job in this sensuous ode to being a weirdo in a weird world.

This is experimental industrial music and it is not going to be everyone’s taste. The best way I can describe VHS¥DEATH is chaos with a zen centre. A sponge taking in all around them and then trying to make sense of so much information in order to find balance. The fusion of hip hop, drum & bass with synths and a smattering of guitar can be challenging and yet also pleasing to the ear. Well worth the listen and maybe your curiosity to listen to the Ministry cover might pull you in.

Corrupted Geisha EP | VHS¥DEATH | Cruel Nature Records (bandcamp.com)

Cruel Nature Records | Facebook