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You are walking down a Victorian alley at night. There is drizzling rain, a fog rolling in and an eerie feeling you are being followed. This could be the setting for a Hammer Horror movie, but how about a song from Plasmata and Ben Christo with Aly Jados, named “You Call Him The Devil“. This track originally was released on the Plasmata EP, Portraits Of Pain, under the name “Ten Bells“. The glampire behind Plasmata is Trent Jeffries, while guitarist/vocalist, Ben Christo is best known for being a member of The Sisters Of Mercy and his latest band Diamond Black, and Aly Jados is the lead singer and guitarist for her heavy rock group, Blood People.

You are greeted by the ringing guitar work of Christo, which takes on its own life, soaring and racing to meet up with vocals of Jeffries and Jados, that smoothly intertwine, each picking up the tale of the Ripper through his eyes. The guitar work is glorious and simply takes this track to another level, along with the rising chorus of vocals. The urgency is palpable, for soon we will meet our doom.

Jados was also the female vocals in the original “Ten Bells” and she nails this again with her seriously brooding singing, which is gritty and sensual, a foil for Jeffries‘ smoother killer tones. The original version definitely had a harder electronic edge and grungier guitar to it, but the new version now has this epic goth rock opus quality. Jack the Ripper is lurking in the dark and he has become the grandiose figure of death himself, enjoying the hunt before the butchery in the squalid lanes of White Chapel. “You Call Him The Devil“, the Christo version, giving you the amazing combination of Plasmata and Ben Christo, with Aly Jados, and you can’t really get much better than this.

https://plasmataband.bandcamp.com/track/you-call-him-the-devil-plasmata-and-ben-christo-with-aly-jados

https://www.facebook.com/plasmataband?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.facebook.com/BenjaminChristo?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.facebook.com/BloodPeople?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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Alexander Leonard Donat, I do believe, might be the crazed mad scientist of the German post-punk world. He always seems to have many experiments on the go and putting out a plethora of music. while he stirs the cauldron with his music label Blackjack Illuminist Records. His main music project is Vlimmer and the last album, Menschenleere, was out in November of 2022, and now he is back with the single “Platzwort” with the backing track “Out Of Sight“, and neither of these were on that album.

The translation of “Platzwort” is something like this place. The synths don’t ready you for the shifting drum rhythms that enhance the vocals, building in in waves as those same synths trickle in starlight. Donat’s vocals exude a certain longing within the musical magnificence. The b-side is actually a cover of “Out Of Sight” by the British 90s band, Spiritualized with the Donat twist of being translated into German. That isn’t the only difference. Spiritualized are well known for their love of the psychedelic guitars, while this new cover is kind of introspective and even is imbued with an electro dusty spaghetti western style, in the midday shadow of Ennio Morricone.

Vlimmer is a project that never fails to surprise and delight. Alexander has the knack of melding darkwave with that experimental edge, ever evolving his sound. It always makes me happy to hear his clean vocals as they hold a myriad of emotions. “Platzwort” is definitely not an empty place, but rather a sanctuary where you can lose yourself in the music.

https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/album/platzwort-b-w-out-of-sight

https://www.facebook.com/VlimmerMusic?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist/?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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A new year has brought us a shiny gift, in the form of the single, “Love You Like The Ocean” by the mercurial gothic trio, Ariel Maniki And The Black Halos. In further good news, there is a studio album slated for this year, so we are told by a little birdie. This track, by the band, was recorded at their home studio, in San Jose, Costa Rica, and will appear on the next album..

The synths are ephemeral and delicate as wisps of smoke, yet there is a heavy rumble below all, the bass set so low, creating almost, a pressure in your chest. The vocals are cocooned within this tumbling kaleidoscope of sounds, topped off by exquisite lyrics of a promise for unconditional adoration.

I have it on good authority that a bass VI was used, the instrument that Robert Smith, of The Cure, favoured for albums, such as Disintegration, and it is neither a bass, nor a guitar. This has imbued “Love You Like The Ocean” with that Cure like dreaminess, synths painting a vastness, a bass so low that holds the depth of that ocean… and a love of all loves.

https://arielmaniki.bandcamp.com/track/love-you-like-the-ocean

https://www.facebook.com/ArielManikiMusic?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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Oh, the children of the night, do you remember the 90s? *insert wolves howling here* It was definitely a time when the goth rock scene embraced the whole vampiric theme, and it seems that Czechs, Cathedral In Flames, also can reminisce on this time with their single and video, rather aptly titled “Not Another Vampire Song“. Auspiciously, they have John Fryer (Field of the Nephlim, Nine Inch Nails) doing the production.

It harkens back to a period when bands like The Awakening, Corpus Delicti, Two Witches, Faithful Dawn, Inkubus Sukkubus, and many others were regulars on compilations about the toothy blood suckers. This track takes me back to that time with its guitar lines, deep guttural vocals, and thunderous drumming. I guess this is just “Not Another Vampire Song” but rather a poke at the past, encapsulated in a great song by Cathedral In Flames. Yes, the 90s were a very silly time, and by gods, so much fun….

https://cathedralinflamesprague.bandcamp.com/track/not-another-vampire-song

https://www.facebook.com/cathedralinflames?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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I am going to tell you something for nothing…the new album, LOST HYMNS, from A Cloud Of Ravens, is going to blow you away. Yes, I have had the privilege of already hearing it but it isn’t going to be much longer before everyone will be able to behold it’s gothic magnificence. However, to tide you over, the lovely Beth and Matt have dropped a new single as of the 3rd of February, called “Requiem For The Sun“.

The drum machine takes hold and I will say, an uncanny likeness to the one in “Lucretia My Reflection” by The Sisters Of Mercy, so you know this is going to sound big. Unlike the forementioned song, “Requiem For The Sun” takes a more sinister turn, for what happens in the dark, when exposed to the light of day, shows an ugly truth. The low vocals are offset by the lighter keyboard, while the guitar drops in to follow the ever in motion and relentless rhythm. If you think this sounds good, wait until the vocals open right up for the intense chorus.

There is something very wonderful about A Cloud Of Ravens. Gothic rock done right might be the way to coin a phrase. Nods to the past post-punk bands before them, but they never lose sight of being their own project rather than shadowing others. The beauty is that they don’t try to sound the same twice and this is very heartening. Come and join the dirge supreme, before the “Requiem Of The Sun” turns all to ashes.

https://acloudofravens.bandcamp.com/track/requiem-for-the-sun-4

https://www.facebook.com/acloudofravens/

https://www.instagram.com/acloudofravens

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Always exciting to see a band releasing their debut single and hearing their style. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, is the darkwave duo Now After Nothing, with the single “Sick Fix“, out on the 27th of January. Vocalist Matt Spatial and drummer Michael Allen are Now After Nothing and they are joined by the guitar virtuoso, Mark Gemini Thwaite (MGT). Just as impressively is the having the mixing done by Carl Glanville, who has worked with U2 and Joan Jett, and the mastering by John Davis, with names like Placebo, Jesus & Mary Chain and Suede under his belt.

A deluge of guitar and bass hits your ears, both raucous and refined at the same time. It is a punk like fevour that grips and further enforced with the vocals from Spatial, MGT’s guitar work and the synths moving together in a sinuous dance, fluid and whirling in a controlled tempest, while Allen gives us the drumbeats that keep this thunderous rhythm gracing our ears.

I was at one of the lowest points of my life and without a musical outlet. I was damaged, defeated, and deflated. One day in New York City, riding through Central Park with earbuds in place, I rediscovered a band that didn’t initially resonate with me. Hearing them this time was different though – I felt the spark. That emotional connection to a newly-discovered piece of music was the proverbial kick-in-the-ass I needed to ‘crawl out of cracks below.’ When I arrived home, I dusted of my studio gear and opened up files of previously unfinished song ideas, one of which was a rather bare recording of just a single bass line. It caught my ear and by the day’s end, Sick Fix was complete from start to finish. Listening back to it, I felt alive again. I felt the same spark I had felt that day in Central Park that inspired me and reminded me I had more music inside of me. I wasn’t going to let myself wither away. Though the band name came later, Now After Nothing was really born on that day, which is why Sick Fix undoubtedly needed to be our first
single.”- Matt Spatial

So, there is great energy in this track and yes there is definitely a hat firmly tipped towards the old school post-punk such as Bauhaus, but I also hear strains of Alien Sex Fiend and Virgin Prunes in that maelstrom. Yes, originally I believed these guys were actually British going on sound alone, with their wonderful synergy and enthusiasm but don’t think you are getting some old rehash. “Sick Fix” is a wonderfully modern track and I am eager to see what Now After Nothing bring to the table next.

https://nowafternothing.bandcamp.com/track/sick-fix

https://www.facebook.com/nowafternothing/?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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“Burning Building” is the latest single from Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys, out on Unique Records / Schubert Music Europe GmbH. Kruger was born and raised in South Africa but now calls Berlin home, and the creation of the single is a very international affair with the recording done in Berlin, the mixing in Cape Town and the mastering in Brussels.

Photo by Holger Nitschke

The music very much gives you the impression of a stalking cat on the prowl, looking for a cat’s paw, a plaything, while everything around them perishes, but that isn’t their concern. The angular guitars and jaunty rhythm with super sultry vocals make for a very bad-arse track.

If you will, imagine Siouxsie’s Creatures, fused with Sonic Youth and that might give you an idea of the grandiose sound of “Burning Building“. A post-punk aesthetic, married to grungy pop and Kruger’s delightful vocals definitely make this track both sexy and fun. This is the second single to be released off the next Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys’ album, due in April and we are pretty sure that it is going to be hot.

https://lucykruger.bandcamp.com/track/burning-building

https://www.facebook.com/LucyKrugerOfficial

https://linktr.ee/lucykruger

https://www.instagram.com/lucy_kruger

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The night(mare) before Christmas, came in the form of the track, “The Snow Queen Is Coming” by New Zero God. This is the first release from the four piece post-punk band since 2019 and their lead singer, Mike Pougounas, is a stalwart in the Greek gothic/darkwave scene since the 80s.

The best description would be a sinfully sumptuous amount of jangly guitar with the vocals delightfully crystal clear. A precautionary tale to not let the Snow Queen steal you away, for otherwise, you will never see another day.

I remember Mike from the MySpace days, when we would talk of music and he sent several pictures of Athens covered in snow, which is something a lot of people don’t realise, that it actually gets that cold in Greece. The snow looks pure and beautiful, but in essence, she will slowly freeze you until your heart stops. This is the Hans Christian Andersen queen of snow, as the song says, though the title made me think of the witch queen from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. For those currently in the grip of winter, will know her icy touch but can enjoy a warm dance to this fabulous piece.

The Snow Queen Is Coming | New Zero God (bandcamp.com)

New Zero God | Facebook

HOME (newzerogod.com)

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I had heard of The Singularity, and then when the name Julian Shah-Tayler was connected to this project… I believe my brain went into a series of loops of thinking, wait, isn’t he an actor? He is, if I recall correctly. Well, if you are not familiar, British born Shah-Tayler is The Singularity, now based in the US, and his latest album, Elysium, was released on the 24th of October, recorded between the Bird of Paradigm studio and the TARDIS studio….. but is it bigger on the inside?!

Photo by John Travis

This album seems to have been about a year in the making due to the gradual release of singles, and this could be due to issues in the past two years, i.e., the plague but also from my perspective, a lot of effort and attention has gone into each track. And with fourteen tracks on offer, there is a lot to get into, so we thought we might draw your attention to some of the singles.

“Melt” is about being with the person that truly makes you weak at the knees and yet light as a feather. The general ambience reminds me a lot of Duran Duran in their period of 1993, with their self-titled album that had the amazing “Ordinary World” and “Melt” has that same flow. Chris J Olivas of Berlin fame supplies the drums.

David J. is a solo artist in his own right, but best known as a member of Bauhaus, and he also appears on the track, “The Devil Knows,” laying down the bass, in this rather funky song. The music video is also well worth checking out.

The track “Kintsugi” is breathtaking in both its conviction and sound. A whirlwind of guitar and drums, again percussion by Olivas, with Shah-Tayler singing these beautiful lyrics. For those unfamiliar with the concept of kintsugi, it is a Japanese tradition of not throwing away broken pottery, however, using gold to repair the vessel, which in turn makes it more unique and precious. A metaphor for a once broken heart.

Shah-Tayler doesn’t have to make music, as the acting gig makes far more money than being an alternative musician, but it is very evident he does it because that is where his heart is at. His passion for the avant-garde and darkwave artistry is very deeply ingrained. This then draws together the talents of David J. and Chris J Olivas, as well as MGT, Gene Micofsky, and others. Elysium is a bit synthwave, a bit post-punk, and most importantly, never boring.

https://thesingularitymusic.bandcamp.com/album/elysium

http://www.thesingularitymusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/thesingularitymusic

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Not all darkwave heroes run around, brandishing you over the head with big beats and synth confectionery. Today, we are introducing you to German solo artist Meersein and his new single “Speechless” which is an acoustic version, and third single to date from this project.

There is such an extraordinarily palpable melancholy to Meersein’s beautifully clean vocals, only supported by an acoustic guitar and piano. His singing is beseeching to one he loves, to recognise the fact that he isn’t like other people and desperately wants to talk to them but has become speechless.

“Speechless” was Meersein’s debut release, back in around June of this year, and it was a far different track in a completely electronic vein. The Germans seem to have this affinity to take a song, break it down to the bare bones, and imbue the track with an even more eloquent heart. It made me think a lot of Lord Of The Lost and the times they have done this with tracks or orchestrated them. A yearning heart from the dispossessed is “Speechless“.

Meersein (@meersein_official) • Instagram photos and videos