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US label Re:Mission Entertainment dropped the latest album from Warm Gadget called Sorrows. Tim Vester (vocals, lyrics, samples) and Colten Williams (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, production, vocals) are the main components of this machine and they are joined by Page Hamilton (guitar), Austin Williams (bass), Davey Hemm (bass) and Dani Scythe who added additional drum programming on “Digging.”

Sit down and buckled up as they smash you with “The Masses,” which is the bouncing metal influenced first single, with its angry guitars and even angrier Vester, screaming out his disappointment with the world. “Annoyed” is yet another single and I have to say that the Nine Inch Nails game is strong for this track, and the Dread Risks‘ remix just ramps it up even further. It is contentious and instantly likeable.

Going with the single theme, “Debutante” is yet another, featuring not only the corrosive vocals of Vester, but joining him, with far more buttery tones is Page Hamilton of Helmet fame, carving up the track with his screaming hot guitar. I especially liked “Like Bats,” with its brazen chorus, tempered with the idling intermediary pieces. It kind of harks back to Stone Temple Pilots with the tone and harmonisation.

With tracks like “Annoyed,” you are dragged back to the flourishing 90s industrial rock scene that was exploding out of the North America at the time with bands such Ministry, NIN and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. Warm Gadget might be paying homage to those that influenced their sound with Sorrows, but this does not mean they are sticking to a formula, as they write music that suits their taste. So far, this has to be my favourite release of theirs to date. Music with a social conscious and it also slaps hard.

Sorrows | Warm Gadget | Re:Mission Entertainment

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Somewhere in Victoria, Canada, you can imagine there are bears and elk but if in the woods, you might be jumped by the Skull Cultist, also known as Steve Saunders, man of rocking industrial beats. His latest album is named Hardcore Rituals.

The first track, “Chwiban Marwolaeth” sets the scene of something tribal and ancient, yet with the encroaching modern music bearing down. This is the lead up for you to drop into the title track “Hardcore Ritual,” and the magical mythos of a bygone era reverberate through the vocals and electronic tones. It builds and breaks down over and again. The cyberpunk influenced “Rivethammer” pounds and loops, revelling in the violence of the hammer. It is probably me, but I keep thinking I hear ‘timber‘ being yelled over and over again.

“Mover” features the crystalline vocals of Gaby Gustafson, who is also know as Eva X along side Saunders, as the music strikes up a rapid pace, while the electronics rattle and throb to keep up. She is the angelic in comparison to his demonic, crying ‘die, die, die.’ Nicole Turner of Orthokeras is the guest vocalist on the “Floor Sadist,” and does anyone have to ask when or where we assume the position?! This track is a mixture of rhythmic noise and dark sexual overtones, which is instantly captivating and bewitching. The last track of the album, “Duskfall,” also features Turner’s vocals, which feels expansive and sounds futuristic

Hardcore Rituals has a grand total of eleven tracks and Skull Cultist keeps you guessing what style he is going to use next, though I like to think the main style is rhythmic industrial. Having the two ladies guest on tracks is a really nice additional, taking things up a notch and I have to say that I really did like “Floor Sadist.” Maybe it is that skull crushing crunchiness but it is very satisfying. In the end, there is a primordial brooding throughout, married to something that lurks within the shadows.

HARDCORE RITUALS | Skull Cultist (bandcamp.com)

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From Brooklyn, New York, the project Dilemma has released the new EP, Becoming Alive on Halloween. Producer Alex Elias is the man behind Dilemma and this EP is his darkwave/industrial ode to the gothic scene in the form of a story in four parts.

PHOTO BY SHERVIN LAINEZ

Title track, “Becoming Alive,” most certainly has a dark cabaret noir tone and possibly about vampires, whom come alive at night after the sun has gone to rest. Next is the far more industrial sounding “You Can’t Make Me (Want To Dance),” with its swirling electronics, which are obviously created to get one onto a dance floor.

The oddly named “No Comment” I feel has a very Marylin Manson vibe about it at times. Maybe this is due the vocals in the chorus, though I am rather impressed by the creepy street groove attitude. I do like the guitar in “Peripheral” as it gives this track yet another feel and one feels that Elias is channelling Sopor Aeternus’ Anna Varney at times.

Each track is a song dedicated to a sub genre of the scene…. and if you want to know then you are going to have to have a listen yourself as I think that is half the fun. Full of synths and dark pop hooks, Dilemma are showing the way to Becoming Alive.

Becoming Alive | Dilemma

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Reza Uhdin first created gothic/industrial project Inertia, back in 1992, based in London. His new album, Estranged Icon, has been released in October on the label Distortion Productions and joining him are Andrew Lowlife (additional synths, programming), Andrew Cater (guitar), Time Stephens (guitar) and Blue Jigsaw (drums).

The opening track, “New Format” features the violin of Matt Howden of Sieben, and you know an artist is confident of their product when they kick off with a single, which bodes well for the rest of the album. It is a song that feels exotic, speaking of other worlds and foreign places, and the chorus creeps up on you, swelling and building. It also gives you the opportunity to hear Uhdin’s vocal range from near growling to melodic in the hypnotic “New Format.”

Speaking of singles, the second track, which features KMFDM and PIG’s Steve White on guitar, is the far more energetic “Scowl.” White’s guitar work buzzes, emphasizing the chorus and giving us a kick butt interlude, and there is also yet another guitarist on the single, Nick Bayford helping filling out the industrial sound. You might notice there is a soul filled female backing vocalist in the form of Alexys B, and you can appreciate her as she wails up a storm against White’s solo break..

Mika Goedrijk of This Morn’ Omina have collaborated on the track “Heartbeat,” and from this union has come a throbbing and pulsating electronic kick start, full of emotion filled singing combined with stirring synths. Both surreal and spinetingling, “Heartbeat” is a dance floor filler guaranteed to raise more than a few resting rhythms.

I have to admit that I’m always a little afraid of being disappointed with projects that have been around a while. I have no such fear here as Inertia really excels at what they do. The album is this wonderfully crafted electronic odyssey.  “Estranged Icon” drags you to the highest peaks on the glorious wings of the music and then can bring you crashing down harder than Icarus with dark imagery. Be captured by the Inertia and bow down to their “Estranged Icon.”

Estranged Icon | Inertia

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Run To Sleep is a very, very new band and their debut single is the industrial “Purity of Sin.” Based in Naarm (Melbourne), this is the project of Jarrad Robertson (guitar) and Michael Johnson (modular synth), and if the name Robertson is a bit familiar, you might remember he is also is member of the dark, gothy rock group Sea Lungs.

The guitar is the focus, however it is the electronics that paint the tone. Heavy and fuzzed out bass like intonations, often breaking down into bleating miasmas of sound, whilst the delicate guitar sinews its way across the wasteland, almost apologetic for the abrasiveness.

There is something very early Sisters of Mercy about this track and I am talking the first EPs. Though an instrumental, it struck me that it is kind of in this vein due to the stark drum machine in sync with the melodic guitar, and the big difference being the heavy concentration of synths. This might be called darkwave industrial and I have to say I am quite enjoying Run To Sleep already.

Purity Of Sin | Run To Sleep (bandcamp.com)

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Mea Fisher may no longer be a vocalist for Lords Of Acid, but she is back with her new project Me And My Nightmare, and what better way to celebrate than by dropping the single, “Devil Inside” featuring the vocals of En Esch (Slick Idiot, <PIG>, Pigface, ex-KMFDM) Just when you thought your industrial dreams were fulfilled, Danny Lohner, guitarist for Nine Inch Nails just happens to be on the track as well.

Techno inspired synths and rhythms complement the purring vocals of Fisher, when she isn’t letting that devil out in the chorus. Esch brings the demonic to Fisher’s fallen angelic, with his gravelled vocals, and Lohner’s guitar work drives home the grittiness below the sheen of the electronics.

There are also two remixes that go with the single, including one by Sebastian Komor (Icon Of Coil, Strategic Command, Zombie Girl). I can see Fisher going from strength to strength, if this is the calibre she is serving up. Have to admit I did first first think of the INXS song of the same name at first, though no fear as this is a completely different beast or should that be devil? Come join Me And My Nightmare and find the sensual “Devil Inside.”

Devil Inside (Ft. En Esch) | Me And My Nightmare (bandcamp.com)

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Me And My Nightmare | Electrifying EDM and Dirty-Pop Fusion

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Sleek Teeth are a dark electronic duo from California, and they have released their third single “Operating” on the 20th of September. As far as I can tell, the band has been around since 2023, which is when they debuted the single “Gone.”

Instantly, you hear the old school influences like Front 242 in the electronics. The vocals are smooth and seeming sweet, though we know that not everything sweet is innocent, and there is something sinister below the surface. The clatter of rhythms and chiming of computerised bells/chimes, lulls you onto the dance floor.

This is a fine example of electropop, with its roots firmly in the industrial past, and Sleek Teeth are operating in between these lines. If you enjoy “Operating” then you should check out the other singles for this relatively new project.

Operating | Sleek Teeth (bandcamp.com)

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From the wilds of Ōtepoti (Dunedin), in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Robots In Love have crept on us, and then slapped us with a new single “The Sequel.” Elenor Rayner (vocals, production), Alex Burchell (drums, production) and Tony Lumsden (bass) are now the core of the group, which was begun a year ago by Rayner.

You are lulled into a false sense that this is another electronics only track. That is until the guitar strikes in. Robots In Love are finely balanced between punchy vocals, soaring synths and pounding rhythms, fuelled by the metal inspired guitar work. The chorus just hits me like a nursery rhyme, with its slightly sing song rhythm. but also for mentioning people and steeples, which makes me think of Here Is The Church.

Robots In Love are evolving with every single, growing in confidence as a group and it really shows. “The Sequel” absolutely kicks arse. It is heavy and ballsy, and it kind of reminds me of the 90s when you could mosh to your favourite industrial rock bands. Rayner’s vocals run the gauntlet of sweet to full on dark and brooding rock goddess. Those chords reverberate with the energy of Pop Will Eat Itself and yet…. it is modern and speaks of this generation, the children of the digitally programmed age. Buckle up people because it is about to get intense in here with “The Sequel.”

The Sequel | Robots In Love (bandcamp.com)

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We are going to touch the dark musical mire that is the harsh, ambient electronics of German based VERFÜHRERVERGELTER, in the new EP From the Void​:​ Silicon Signals to a Dead Brain.

“Aschewüste” is the ash desert and that wasteland is present in your ears. Abrasive and sand blasted by storms, echoing with the past where something abominable happened. The looping electronics grate and gouge at your psyche. Next is the lurking “Deathpile,” which slowly consumes the will to live and the Reaper could be knocking on that door. The music vibrates and rolls with the death throes, in anticipation of a painful cellular end. Starting to to get saggy skin due to a lack of collagen? No worries for there is a “Silicium sale,” and in truth I involuntarily shivered a little as it has a sharp cruelty to the tone. Behold the unbridled electric guitar as it brings you into the “Untitled Abstract Void.” Shards of light try to penetrate but this is pure darkness that will break the mind of the strongest if you ponder it too long. A yawning abyss of terror echoing the fear endlessly. Maybe there is nothing more terrifying than the thought of never reaching a weekend, perpetual groundhog day for the whole week, over and over again. “Bonus: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday Tuesday…..” drones on without joy or meaning, only with the intense ticking letting you know that there is no rest.

What does it all mean? Hmmm, I might take a guess that this could be about a body on life support. The brain no longer present but the nerves keep trying to contact central control with no response. VERFÜHRERVERGELTER has unleashed another release of infernal doom that can drag its cold fingers and nails across your soul and make you ponder From the Void​:​ Silicon Signals to a Dead Brain.

From the Void:Silicon Signals to a Dead Brain | VERFÜHRERVERGELTER (bandcamp.com)

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Nikk Fail is an Italian retro synth project and his second EP, End Of The Line, was released in June. Consisting of six tracks, now Nikk Fail has brought some friends with him to play this time!!!

As soon as I heard the title “Bugstompers,” all I could think of was Starship Troopers, the rather questionable 90s movie about taking on alien bugs. The track itself has science fiction effects at play and seems to be promising slightly violent intent. First guest vocalist is Eleonora Ferrari on “End Of The Line,” an ominous portrayal that she is the end of everything, and will happily end everything. Ferrari goes from cooing into blood curdling gurgling squeals within a split second. The next instrumental is “Living Dead Lights,” and the music is both eerie and haunting, to the point that one could say, light as an apparition and cool as a tomb.

You cannot get many more light years away than Star Wars, so in a galaxy far, far away the synths pass and whirr as if they are lightsabers in a duel in “Anakin Rampage (The Ballad of Vader).” If you listen carefully, I am sure you can hear the Cantina band. Next guests are BelvaSXE and William Baxter featuring on the track “Troma Boy,” and here we hear a harsher side to Nikk Fail, between the growling guitar and the equally growling vocals, and all the while the electronics keep up to the wailing pace. Last track is the contemplative “Commuting Paradise,” though this song, in its own way, is sassy and has teeth, with vocals from Giulia Finazzi and guitar by Baxter again.

Already, you can see since the first EP, Nikk Fail is evolving and incorporating more into his sound. Collaborating with other musicians is a great way to extend yourself and push what you can do, and I think you can hear this on End Of The Line. Makes you wonder what is next for Fail and who he might tap into the helping him fly even higher.

End Of The Line | Nikk Fail (bandcamp.com)

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