IngaHabiba and PeterGuellard are DeathByLove. Signed to label DistortionProductions, these Polish veterans of the gothic-industrial scene, released their debut single on January the 31st, called “StrongInside.” 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 TheElectricHellfireClub, 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. DeathByLove are going to make waves with the highly danceable “StrongInside,” and the added bonus is two extra remixes included.
While waiting for the release of the album, Knowing When To Bow Out Gracefully, UK industrial goth rock group Deadfilmstar dropped the single “WelcomeBack” at the end of 2024.
Slow and stalky as we go, with vocals that creak like an unoiled door to that basement you don’t want to go into…ever. The singer is sick of ‘banging on the glass‘, and then it all takes off in a symphonic merger of synths and guitars.
I keep asking myself why are they banging on glass. Is it a glass sliding door because they are a zombie? Are they tired of peeping through windows at their victims? Or are they stylishly undead but stuck in a glass coffin? I might never know, but in the meantime ‘WelcomeBack” is heavy with guitar, saturated in synths, kept in time with some excellent drumming and wrapped up in horror laden vocals, so this is Deadfilmstar.
We have been anticipating a new release from Aotearoa (New Zealand), darkwave/industrial group Robots In Love, and luckily we have not had to wait very long in the form of the single “Crush.”
Gamer one is up and the bouncing guitar riffs breathe life into “Crush” early on. You can taste the conviction in Rayner’s vocals as she builds the anticipation that peaks in the chorus. The chorus soars with unbridled emotion and charged vocals that entwine with each other, breaking free of all expectations, with Robots In Love taking you on a musical high.
“Crush” is a track of boundless optimism, where it doesn’t matter what life throws up, that hope always springs eternal and this is kind of refreshing. It is about crushing the obstacles in your path and creating new opportunities. In the 90s, ElenorRayner was a member of the industrial rock group Soulscraper, and it feels like she is revisiting this era when both Soulscraper and another Australian band, Insurge were changing the industrial scene. She is still breaking and rebuilding genres along with the other Robots In Love members Alex Burchell and Tony Lumsden. “Crush” has already become a favourite track in the live show and it is not hard to see why.
The single “Cannibal (Lost Souls),” was dropped back in October, and this dirty experimental electronic track, blended with hip hop deserves your ears. Toronto’s Wrené has joined forces with Caijo to point the bone at modern living and how it is leaving many unhinged.
Your senses are overloaded with compounded voices, buzzing electronics and rattling thuds, gathered in a twisting cacophony, which all drop away to the background in deference to Wrené. Her singing is complimented by the simplistic serpentine like music, that degrades into glitching noise, and then we hear gravelled tones of Caijo, but always is the barbaric and hungry electronics prowling.
For me, “Cannibal (The Lost Souls)” speaks of a lost generation, addicted to social media, which tells people how to look, or change their appearance in order to gain popularity, and consumerism is at an all time high, even though no average Joe can afford it all. The music is viscous and heavy, while the distortion and grittiness are almost making a parody of the sultry singing from Wrené, and Caijo is the voice of those lost souls who just can’t seem to get a break. The coarse versus velvet is utterly delicious, so devour “Cannibal(The Lost Souls)” by Wrené, featuring the rhythmic styling of Caijo.
Neo-industrial project Divine Shade is close to releasing their album Fragments Vol. 1, and from this debut, Remi Thonnerieux has dropped the latest single, “Hate and Oblivion. “
Reverberating electronics, tinged with feedback kick off with quirky interluding loops. This is leading you to the juicy chorus which is both ground out with Thonnerieux’s vocals and yet, still, the guitar and synths have a capacity to make you feel like you are soaring above everything. There is even a sneaky break where you think “Hate and Oblivion” has suddenly stopped.. but do not be fooled!
Divine Shade has toured with GaryNuman and it undeniable that his influence can be heard on “Hate andOblivion.” This track is instantly likeable and indeed familiar in a way, but that might be in part to the retro ambience. Between Thonnerieux’s vocals and the rich synths, DivineShade have absolutely served up an epic dark industrial track in “Hate and Oblivion.”
In 1979, Gary Numan released The Pleasure Principle, which was his debut solo after two albums with the Tubeway Army. “Metal” is a standout track that is favoured by Numan and has been covered many times…. even by Nine Inch Nails. Rob Hyman (drums, synths, programming, production) and Jax Allos (vocals, bass) are Chicago based [melter], and they have put out their own version of “Metal.”
PHOTO – JASON KRAYNEK
Those flourished synth lines are the staple essence of this track, and they are very much present, but I am also glad that this is not a carbon copy. Having the altered vocals of Allos brings a new element, compared with the memory of Numan’s cleaner singing style. The percussion is just so strong and perfect in propelling “Metal” along.
This is definitely a gritty version that pays homage to a great track, and takes it on a more experimental tangent. A case of sweet and industrial tang that is satisfying to hear if you know the song, and a guarantee that if you haven’t, it is going to pique your interest in following up the original and the back catalogue of [melter]. “Metal” is such a great single and [melter] have polished it up and given it teeth.
Phillip Olympia (vocals, synthesizers, drum machines) and JakeMiller (guitars, synthesizers) are VirginBirth, a band on Never Nervous Records and hailing from Kentucky. They released the single “Break Down the Air” on November 1st, which is the first single off the album Total Annihilation that is planned to drop in early 2025.
Out in the lawless cities, where society has broken down and survival post apocalypse is all consuming. This is what might happen if you had to live in a world ripped apart by nuclear war, and it is painted by the lyrics describing nuclear winter. A voice clip of a disaffected female hammers home the loss, all the while the more delicate rhythms are off-set by the heavy electronics’ droning.
Virgin Birth have said they based this track off the British movie Threads (1984) that is set in an alternative timeline where is nuclear war has ravaged the planet and the survivors scrape through in a brutal environment. Let us hope it never comes to this is the take home message, but you can still enjoy the brooding “Break Down the Air.”
November has seen the release of the split single from SchkeuditzerKreuz (Aust) and DecideToday (USA), with the vinyl on Nambour label Bad Habit Records, in the wilds of the Sunshine Coast, North of Brisbane.
“Last year, mid-winter, I did a quick tour run up to Bellingen and Lismore (NSW, Australia). The Lismore gig was something we booked in a Hall out of town and was kind of a make-up gig for one that got scuttled by the plague a couple years earlier. On the bill was Sniffer Dog and Toecutter – someone I had met in Melbourne when he played with Dark Horse, and someone I was keen to make noise with again. At that gig he said to me “you have to meet my friend Robert – your music, your attitude, your touring all match each other so well” and he gave me the contact. So, I reached out and Robert jumped straight in.” – Kieren Hills/Schkeuditzer Kreuz
Schkeuditzer Kreuz
Decide Today
The one track from d-beat, synth-crust master, Schkeuditzer Kreuz, is the cloying “Choke,” and this slower track feels like the air is being dragged out of your lungs. It lurches zombie like at times, and then becomes full of rage and destructive conviction as Hills lets us into his head and what clinical depression can be like when it isn’t a good day.
Decide Today has two tracks, with the first being “Revolutionary Reason (WorldwideIntifada),” and you can smell the sweat in the swarming mosh pit as the beats come in thick and furious. The indignation is palpable with a whole bunch of cleverly cut sound clips strung together, culminating in the powerful hushed tones that the genocide of the Palestinian people is wrong. The second track “The Shit Punx Hate” hits you full throttle, making you start, and then you are serenaded by the list of things that punks dislike such as racism, authoritarians and Nazis, while the rhythms have nail bombed into your psyche and pierced your head.
“Toecutter must have met Kieren and insisted we start talking. Our common ground in music, and the culture surrounding it, was immediately evident. Earlier this year Kieren proposed the split 7” via Bad Habit, which of course I had to say yes to such circumstances, and I mentioned also wanting to get back to Australia at some point. The next day Kieren asked if I was for real, and started planning the tour. I am incredibly thankful to my new friend, Borg at Bad Habit, and Dave (Toecutter) for getting us connected.” – Robert Inhuman/Decide Today
Baron Von Borg is the bloke that runs Bad Habit Records, who is a punk, a punk musician and a connoisseur of music from the top of his head, to the tips of his toes and someone I have a lot of time for. It isn’t surprising that he is in the middle of this whirlwind.
This is a marriage of ferocious punk attitude, punching with a fist full of electronics.
Boston based dark electro project Pneumagnosis has collaborated with Dissonance on the single “Let The Flowers Fall.” Cat Hall (Dissonance) has contributed vocals and lyrics while the music was composed by ScottTheleman (Pneumagnosis).
The electronics bleat and dance while Hall sings about finding the courage to walk away from a relationship, without trying to fix it or ponder what you did wrong. Her vocals waver and bound back in a cacophonist choir around the techno rhythms, which punctuate the wisdom of the words. This is a nice little collaborating trance inducing dance track between Dissonance and Pneumagnosis, in “Let the Flowers Fall.”
SEVERIN NI-ARB of X-MARKS THE PEDWALK has joined forces with his son LMX, and the collaboration resulting in the electronic project DUOPHONIC NOISE CONSTRUCTION. The single “Trauma,” has been released on the MESHWORK MUSIC label.
From when the rhythm kicks in, this is going to be a dancefloor killer. Looping electronics with NI-ARB’s vocals low and visceral, are at complete odds with the more dulcet tones of LMX, that create a dawning break in the overall frenetic pace.
There is something a bit old school about “Trauma” and maybe it is that connection to X-MARKS THE PEDWALK, yet the influence of LMX is felt with the more modern vocal style. It is a kin to talking about rough and smooth or steel and silk, and it works so very well together.
Onyx Music Reviews 