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Danish musician, composer and producer, John Mirland has released in December of 2021, his newest album Compromise Is Defeat after a hiatus from his solo project of nearly four years, his last album being Mechanic from 2017. That’s not to say that Mirland has been cooling his heels the last few years, finding himself releasing with his bands Negant and Eisenwolf plus collaborating with Claus Larsen of Leæther Strip as Mirland/Larsen. If that wasn’t enough producing and mixing music for a myriad of acts but he was still writing tracks for this album between 2018 and 2021.

JOHN MIRLAND

The slow immersion of static and beats lure you in, then “Another Form” begins to speed up and enveloping you. Before you know it, the fabulous pounding techno rhythm and synths, mixed with power noise, invade your senses. So far, this is boding to be in the realms of other worldly. “Beg For It” is just mega crunchy, ear grating goodness and has a beat like a heart on adrenaline, until the angelic heavens open over a synth-scape dream. It ripples with light, while the static growls below. Electronic bees is the best way to describe the beginning of “Fuel” before the cracking beat. The sublime synths glide effortlessly across the jarring sea of sharp tempo. The wub wub is intense from the single “Defiant“, like a rubber ball bouncing incessantly in your head, compelling you to move and dance. There might be a slight reprieve before giving you a serving of techno goodness.

“Rust” is abrasive rhythmic noise that wants to take your breath away with it’s relentlessness. The oscillations push you on… towards what? The oblivion that comes with time maybe as time is forever pushing forward. With it’s raft of a-rhythmic beat signature, this is “Headless” that goes in and out of syncopation, backed up by the less crazed, “Generator“. For a more sedate paced piece, it is brooding and insidious. The electronic vocals are the heralds for an oncoming doom of ancient wrathful gods that then descends into minimal techno torment.The glass like smoothness of “So Cold” is just magic, both ephemeral and distant. The track “Torn” is a perfect example of that techno/industrial mix that I find the Europeans do well. The last track is “Wolf Among Sheep” and it is oppressive and dark as it, trance like, invades your very being.

Wonderfully mastered by Claus Larsen and released on the label, Læbel, this is really an album that should appeal to true connoisseurs of techno, power and rhythmic noise, especially those who adore Xotox. For me, you feel those rhythms deep within you, anchoring your feet to the earth but your soul wants to fly with the synth lines. It really is a remarkable talent. Those that know Mirland are already the converted,,,so get thy self some Compromise Is Defeat.

https://mirland.bandcamp.com/album/compromise-is-defeat

https://www.facebook.com/mirlandofficial/

Mirland – composer producer artist

https://laebel-music.dk/

Laebel | Facebook

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Michael Gillman (Gillie) and Daniel Allen are the brothers that make up the band Dirt Factory. Gillie is in Brisbane and Allen lives in Melbourne which means since the outbreak of the plague (covid) they have been in lockdowns for well over a year and unable to meet up or play live gigs unless doing them solo. This hasn’t slowed them down one iota because December the 3rd saw the third album released in two years, called Systems Deleted on Brisbane based label Viral Records Australia. Interestingly Dirt Factory almost exclusively use analogue equipment.

MICHAEL GILLMAN & DANIEL ALLEN – DIRT FACTORY

Oh yes from the start you can already hear how good this really is. “Delete The System” growls Allen, ‘fuck your commands‘ over rampaging rhythms that give this it’s bang. Second single, “Microscopic“, has guest, Roger Menso (ex-Dogmachine) on guitar and good grief, this is a new level Dirt Factory. It is a grimy, sexy beast of a song that takes your breathe away and gives you shivers up your spine. Allen sounds like a very angry dalek that has fully gone industrial and it sounds brilliant. Dirt Factory want to “Factory Assimilate” you and quite frankly I can think of worse things to do as the music beast down in industrial precision convincing you that you will obey. There is something symphonic and other worldly about “Hammer“. It experiments with low tones that sound like abused piano wires and high synths in direct opposition, while Allen is the bloody butcher. The original single is “Crash Landing“, because you know they are out there and they have those stellar synth lines and beats. Yes the aliens are here and you can listen to a report of an eyewitness and Allen’s inhuman screams.

Swallow the pill and “Suck It Up” is a dirge ridden number and I honestly can hear far too much innuendo. “Dive” is just a superb piece with sweeping electronics that fritter out and arc around you like electrical tendrils. Soundscape mixed with such hostile vocals. Jethro Hilliard (RAZRWHIP) guests on this track providing drums and sound effects. This has to be one of my favourite tracks on the albums. But wait, they then slam us with “Digital Media” with guitar provided by another member of RAZRWHIP, Johnny Ryall, who nails the electronic fuzzy tones that help propel this forward in real rock style. The next track is all about the animated dead…spooky. “Flesh” is horror inspired zombie fare with glitching beats and vocals as they stalk you. In the “Exstream” they are observing you, surveillance of every aspect of your life and you can be brainwashed but are you too involved in the conspiracies? Final eleventh track is “Ghosts” and this just is just a great bouncing track and probably the most reminiscent of Skinny Puppy and it pumps.

I love what they have done with Allen’s vocals and Gillie is just so talented with synths. This is a monster of an album, again beautifully mastered at NyteShayde by Menso. If this doesn’t get your heart rate up then you might be dead. The really scary part is that I already know that the lads have almost finished their fourth album which is both mind blowing and disturbing all at the same time. Gillman also revealed that the next album is already darker. So before they stab their way repeatedly with rhythmic timing through your chest, do listen to “Systems Deleted” because it kicks arse.

https://dirtfactory.bandcamp.com/album/systems-deleted

Dirt Factory | Facebook

https://nyteshaydemusic.bandcamp.com/

NyteShayde | Facebook

https://viralrecordsau.bandcamp.com/

Viral Records Australia | Facebook

https://viralrecords.com.au/

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When brothers Eric and Jeremy Hanes of Spankthenun released the album Bunker Tapes Vol I, in the beginning of 2021, they found they had created enough material to record Bunker Tapes Vol II, which hit us on October, the 27th. Spankthenun have been on the scene since 2019 and yet they are already an integral part of the American and world wide industrial scene with feature artists, other bands remixing their music and a huge number of guest remixes for other acts under their belts.

ERIC HANES & JEREMY HANES – SPANKTHENUN

The lads roped in Claus Larsen of Leæther Strip fame, to guest vocal on the single “Off Beatings” which of course had to be a single. This is a slow burn of angst that Larsen pulls off so well. There is something about the beginning of “I Self Me” that invokes goosebumps, it is possibly the scintillating synths mixed with the gritty vocals. Is it just me, or does the little electronic voice sound like the robots aboard the Cylon mother ship of the original Battlestar Galactica in “The Smoking Gun”? Nefarious things are afoot. It was never you says Jeremy in his abrasive metalized observation before we are hit with the rather dance-able “Right Father“, a call to keep the bastards in power honest and accountable, because it is true that the more the wealthy will continue to reap the cash and watch the poor fade away.

“Sick Pathos” again has those brilliant beats that propel it along and lead into “Man In The Moon“, who sounds like a rather vicious fellow who spreads descent and mistrust with the music taking on the dark oppressive attitude. “Industrial Beats” definitely have industrial beats that pound on because there is a specific list of things this industrialist likes and needs. Hard to tell if this is tongue in cheek or not but make sure you get your beets (sic) as they are now stuck in my head. We all live in the broken machine,lockdown is “Lockdown” and honestly two years ago, the term lockdown was used for security facilities mostly and not civilians but now it is common vocab in this dystopian feel track.

The nonsensical “I Am The Fire” is a bit of a fun and the last track before the four guest remixes of which the first is the Mirland remix of “Off Beatings” with it’s more crunchy textures that the Europeans do so well. Nature Of Wires polishes “Right Father” and it is given a more sci fi feel while “The Smoking Gun” is given the treatment by Planet Damage and this becomes a different creature. Last of these great remixes is the Psychosomatik and they take “I Self Me” to dance floor heaven

Listening to Spankthenun really is a bit like a timewarp and landing back in the 90s when there was a turn towards a heavier, gritty tone lead by Skinny Puppy, Ministry et al. There are tell tale signs of the 80s industrial influences that graduate into the 2000s by the end of the album which was done on purpose. The remixes are the modern cream on top so to speak. Social concious mixed with great music never goes wrong and Spankthenun has both.

https://spankthenun.bandcamp.com/album/the-bunker-tapes-vol-ii

https://www.facebook.com/spankthenun/

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Zac Pliska and Emily Sturm make up the band known as VAZUM. Their music has been described as deathrock with shoegaze or deathgaze but on the latest album, there has been a paradigm shift. They released the new album titled Unrated V on October 22nd and the theme throughout seems to be the creatures and humans that inhabit the inky night and demonic spaces.

EMILY STURM & ZAC VAZUM – VAZUM

From the beginning, you can hear that his is going to be a different VAZUM album, a more industrial electro sound is creeping in and the “Jester” is a genuinely verbose and grandiose example. The nine minute epic will wind you up in it’s synth laden tentacles, enthralling you. The single “Lycanthrope” very much features Sturm’s vocals in this tale of werewolves and the animals men become. The chorus is a beautiful swirling gothic affair and speaking of gothic, vampires come hand in hand with the genre. “Vampyre” is probably a far more truthful examination of the blood suckers world, where everyone is just a food source to them. A nice heavy mood that smothers us in the dank blood-lust.

Everyone needs a woman pieced together from other’s dead flesh so they can have a “Frankenstein Gurl” though she will more than likely kill you in the end and this tune is a stonking representation with it’s scintillating synths and uncompromising rhythm. The tone turns a bit stalkerish as we join the “Vampire Killer” on his quest to remove the parasites that plaque human kind. There is great purpose to the music and Pliska cannot be swayed by Sturm’s sensual words of ownership and death. The synths waver and Latin is invoked for this is the “Wytch Lych“. The track gives the impression of impending doom if you are not found worthy of the witch’s time and it is a fabulously powerful piece.

For the rest of the album, it delves into a more instrumental and experimental vein. “Fantoms” is full of bells tolling, dark bass tone and creeping synths like something you would find in a Hammer Horror movie as Christopher Lee searches for his next victim. The far more electronic “Wytch Tech“, with Sturm’s sighed vocals could be a modern summoning ritual putting you into a techno trance. Following up is “Summon Her” where there are industrial clanks and screeching, near metallic sounds. You can imagine a thick fog where disturbing not quite human voices can be heard.

There has been folklore tied to the Gypsy people that they have unnatural powers and you will have to make up your mind as you listen to the trap like “Romany Way“. I remember a dark, British children’s television show I watched as a child, where there was an old grandfather clock that would strike thirteen at night and everything would go back to a past life. “Thirteenth Hour” reminded me of this with it’s mysterious wending synths. Your final track is “The Abyss“, a place that is unfathomable and permeates the mind with dread at what lays within, the unknown and music gives it a science fiction overdrive.

Some bands go on and they often lose what drew you to them or the quality just cannot be maintained. VAZUM just seems to be going from strength to strength. They remind me of the wonderful Faith And The Muse except they have a dark gritty core mixing industrial into their music which is making them a hybrid beast of much beauty.

https://vazum.bandcamp.com/album/unrated-v

VAZUM | Facebook

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David Lawrie is The Royal Ritual and November, 5th was the release date for the second single “Empires“, that will be on the new album, MARTYRS which is being released in the first half of 2022. Lawrie is the live guitarist with London After Midnight but also a composer/producer in his own right as well as sound engineer for television and movies, experience which he brings to his music,

DAVID LAWRIE – THE ROYAL RITUAL

There is something a little epic about the beginning, the pomp and ceremony of a bygone era. It evokes the images of India Raj and colonization in a movie. The vocals are deep and resonant enough to give you shivers up and down your spine. I am going to assume that the lyrics refer to the Victorian age of Empire, where being British came with a lot of privilege to plunder other cultures and yet there were so many rules to abide by in polite society so as not to lose face or standing. There is in the background a sad version of “Land Of Hope And Glory“, a testament to fall from grace.

There is no empire anymore, as time and world events have wiped it away and only a shadow of a ill remembered memory of something that was glorious. Or was it? Don’t speak of the poor houses, match girls and slums of merry England at the time. Lawrie is looking into the very British psyche of the stiff upper lip and he has found it lacking but more to a point, given us an almost cinematic and thought provoking track.

https://theroyalritual.bandcamp.com/album/empires

The Royal Ritual | Facebook

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Plastic Assault Network (PAN) is a new super group to hit the scene. Founded by singer/songwriter Robert Andrew Bowman (Randolph’s Grin) who has pulled talent from across three continents, including fifteen musicians into his cyberpunk collaboration. Their second single was released in November called “Wall Breaker“.

Walls are funny things. They have been built to keep people safe while keeping others out, then others have been built to hold humans in so they cannot escape. Those are the physical walls but even when they crumble the mental ones remain. “Wall Breaker” is about overcoming all barriers that cause conflict, hatred and bias. The vocals are passionate about the fear used to control the masses. This gets nice and bass heavy, with the electronics swirling and filling every space with sound, making the song come crashing down on your senses.

As you would expect from a project with several studios involved, the sound is seamless and crystal clear production. Have to say it is always satisfying hearing a real drummer smashing it in the rhythm section and this is Jörn Schwarzburger (Randolph’s Grin). Co-producer is Per-Anders Kurenbach (ex Psyche, The Eternal Afflict, Shock Therapy, Dark State, reADJUST, Nine Circles) who is well known for his mixing skills and keyboard wizardry, while on backing vocals duty as well as drums and guitar is Reyka Osburn of Death Valley High fame. So what is next for Plastic Assault Network? I guess we watch this space but it is a rather exciting prospect where they take this. Industrial music is the beating heart of resistance, speaking for those who that cannot.

https://plasticassaultnetwork.bandcamp.com/track/wall-breaker

Plastic Assault Network | Facebook

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There are some albums that come around and they make you stop in your tracks with the pure musical delight they are. Brisbane based Jerm is Stephanie Ganfield and she released her debut, self titled album on October 22nd. Jerm’s style I would describe as experimental electro-industrial with gothic overtones.

The delicate fluctuating rhythm free flows into the distortion and the gorgeously sensual vocals alight it all and this is just the beginning of the album with “White Lies“. It graduates in power and the synths sprinkle down. The single. “Make Your Mind” is a little creepy with the whispered lyrics asking you to make your mind up and yet there is this glorious chorus that sweeps you skyward. “At Night” has an odd syncopation but it works giving the song an even more languid feel, as though there is a hopelessness in the darkest hours of the night.

Her voice is mesmerizing in “Left Behind“, a single released back in 2018 under the moniker Germ, and the electronics just highlight the sweetness and purity of the singing. It is exciting to hear something that is experimental and so stimulating, which brings us to “Gem” with bursts of noise like mini fireworks erupting in the background. Slow and thought provoking with so much movement within the track. There is the brief interlude with the instrumental “Dissect” just before another single, “Brain Candy” and it is just extrodinary. Musically it is beautiful and expansive, with harsh edges, ready to hook into your skin and the concept if you take away what makes a female look feminine, still the sweetness and colour is all in the brain, that which makes you. Final track is “Beg”, that takes on a heartbeat that will, at any given moment, go into tachycardia. A beautiful way to end.

The production is great and the music has such near visible texture and a vibrancy that is breathtaking. As for Ganfield’s vocals, they are true and clear, combined with the darker lyrical content, you could be forgiven for thinking she is an angel who lost her way in this dirty world and to be fair, lucky for us. Even if you are not into industrial music, do not let this deter you from having a listen to Jerm.

https://jermnoise.bandcamp.com/releases

Jerm | Facebook

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Well let me tell a little story of a man named Jed, who lived on the Gold Coast of Queensland and proved he was not dead, who started up a solo project called Chiffon Magnifique and the post-punk was very chic. Jed A. Walters recently laid to rest his previous band, Tesla Cøils which made us a little sad, however since releasing the first single “Abomination” last month, things are looking up!

JED A. WALTERS – CHIFFON MAGNIFIQUE

I should warn you that this will be stuck in your head for a while, though your good fortune is that it’s a brilliant song. There are the bright synth lines and gorgeous jangly guitar, that lead you to Walters’ brooding vocals because baby he wants to be your abomination. He really is a master at creating wonderful catchy tunes that get under your skin.

This small taste has me desperately needing to hear more. For a one man project it is lush and Chiffon Magnifique definitely is as good as other current post-punk acts such as TRAITRS, She Past Away and Twin Tribes. We like this musical “Abomination” and now wait with baited breath for what comes next.

https://chiffonmagnifique.bandcamp.com/releases

http://chiffonmagnifique.com/

https://www.facebook.com/chiffonmagnifique/

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Hybrid Blak Records is an up and coming label run by Keith Kamholz who is Mechanical Vein and also a member of Biomechanimal. He has gathered together, from across the globe, tracks from artists in the electronic and industrial scene to create Blaktracks II, which is indeed a second compilation they have released. Blaktracks II came out on October the 29th, 2021 and the mastering was shared by Zardonic, Keith Kamholz and a few of the bands doing their own.

Kicking off is MORIS BLAK x KALCYFR with “A Touch Of Malice“. I don’t expect any less from MORIS BLAK than something that will blow us away and we are not disappointed. Metal vocals over huge drum beats, massive guitar riffs and those bass drops that you feel in the pit of your stomach. “King Of Cups” is the offering from Biomechanimal and it is a short but lethal punch to the throat with their mix of perverted metal dubstep.

Sinister Souls x Mechanical Vein’s “No Light City” is a mix of hip hop and drum & bass with a healthy dose of cyber punk attitude. It reminds me just a little of “Freestyler” by Bomfunk MCs, except with teeth. Duo, SO CALLED, are DJs/producers and they are behind the glitch electronica of “Hypno“, who are trying to influence your mind through their catchy rhythms.

Don’t let the beginning of Sentinel Complex’s “Last Judgement” fool you. The sedate flow does not last and launches into an amazing, crazed Bach like musical opus but with synths. For a second bout, we hear from Mechanical Vein, this time joined by Saltee. “All Gods” has a great exuberance in tandem with the fierce and outraged lyrics. If you are looking for something immense with huge beats and a bass drops that just throw you down, then look no further than TriS and their “Warcall“.

Static Starlight’s track “Linkin Bizkits” gives us electronic screams within the depths of frizzing synths, as it pummels your senses with the dance beat. Let the insanity ensue with “KIRA“. I believe Kofin may have been inspired by the Japanese anime Akira, from the Japanese vocal clips to the emulation of the the epic soundtrack. It is definitely amazing and you can’t help but bounce around to it.

Prophectical with “Aletheia” go from breaking beats to electronically created soundscapes and there is a lot of finesse in the buildups and near classical lulls. They are coming to get you, for this is “DEHUMANIZE” by Truly Significant. You can feel them in the song stalking and the panic between the driving guitar and rhythm, only to lull you into oblivion at the end. Sadly we are at the last track, “King Of Nothing” by ER4SE. This is probably the most calm of all the tracks with it’s use of auto tuned vocals and more laid back style. After having being bombarded with all that heavy bass, ER4SE is the cool compress.

Hybrid Blak’s Blaktracks II is a very slick production with a lot of very talented popular acts and no so known but equally skilled musicians whom are on the rise. It is nice to see the industrial/electronic scene supporting each other this way. The music is red hot, cutting edge and will probably blow your mind…. in the best possible way.

HYBRID BLAK | Facebook https://hybridblak.bandcamp.com/album/hybrid-blak-blaktracks-ii

MORIS BLAK | Facebook https://morisblakngp.bandcamp.com/

KALCYFR | Facebook

Biomechanimal | Facebook https://biomechanimal.bandcamp.com/music

Sinister Souls | Facebook https://bandcamp.prspct.nl/

Mechanical Vein | Facebook https://mechanicalvein.bandcamp.com/

SO CALLED | Facebook https://socalled.bandcamp.com/releases

Sentinel Complex | Facebook https://sentinelcomplex.bandcamp.com/

Saltee | Facebook https://saltee.bandcamp.com/

TriS | Facebook https://trisedm.bandcamp.com/

Static Starlight | Facebook https://officialstaticstarlight.bandcamp.com/

Kofin | Facebook https://kofin.bandcamp.com/

Prophectical | Facebook https://prophectical.bandcamp.com/releases

Truly Significant | Facebook https://trulysigni.bandcamp.com/

ER4SE | Facebook https://oaktopus.bandcamp.com/

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Matt Hart is continuing his musical odyssey of humans being hunted down by machines with his November 15th release of the single, “To The Core“. Terra 3808 is the album that first brought you this tale, but what has happened to the humans since the alien machines took control?

MATT HART

If you lived in an apocalyptic world, I’m pretty sure you would feel the desperation and anger in this song. The humans are burrowing into the earth to escape certain death, should they remain on the surface, with the machines who are intent on cleansing the planet.

The insistent and pounding rhythm on the heels of the fleeing survivors, the harsh guitar, Hart barking and snarling to go faster and deeper, all adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere. As always this is going to sound so good on a dark dance floor. So now we are waiting to hear the album because Mart Hart does fine industrial but more importantly, we need to know how this turns out for the last traces of humanity…

https://matthart.bandcamp.com/track/to-the-core

MATT HART | Facebook