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.
MetropolisRecords dropped the single “Sharing Skin,” by NightRitualz on January 31st. Vincent Guerrero IV is Texas based NightRitualz and in March, his self titled debut album will be released. Interestingly he has coined the term ‘fuckwave‘ to describe his cauldron of mixed styles such as goth, electronic and EBM.
‘Fuck Wave’ is anything horny, erotic and sensual that just makes people feel good,” he explains. “I feel like my music puts people in that mood and allows them to just be themselves without judgement of any kind. Another reason is because, at the end of the day, ‘Fuck’ what everyone thinks. We only have one life, so spend it doing stuff you like and that makes you happy. I see it as an empowering term.‘ – Vincent Guerrero IV
A simple guitar and echoing fuzzed vocals greet you, haunting with the slow drawl, telling of a longing of the heart for another. Like a call to arms, the rhythm kicks in, speeding up the world around this track, and you can hear the delicate synths in the background twinkling. ‘Sharing skin and secrets‘ is cherishing those intimate moments whether that is sex or telling secrets they would never share with anyone else. NightRitualz understands that most people long for that attachment but also the fact that humans motivation comes from that which brings joy. I think the description fuck wave is very apt, for it is a dark and sexy serenade in the form of “Sharing Skin.”
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.
SplatterVHS is Caid, and Caid is SplatterVHS. They are the self professed cryptid of Brisbane, who revels in horror movies, special effects and creating synth based instrumental music. The end of 2024 marked the release of a new album in the form of Blue Haired Anime Girl, which rounds up a rather fruitful year from Splatter VHS.
The world is littered in fairy tales, of souls meeting and being pulled into equal orbits, or set for cataclysmic endings or expressing a love and admiration for someone who makes you feel like the weight of gravity is nothing. Single “TwinStars” burns bright with the electronics bursting forth, tying in the science fiction futurism with looping and weaving synths .
An air of dark excitement pushes through in “Return To The Maze,” and may I just add this labyrinth actually does exist in real life. A basement that is a shared space with history’s ghosts, that is shrouded in comfortable crepuscule that would pulsate with this track. There is no escape from the “Vampires Kiss” and you can revel in the quirky joy contained within ‘Synthmas Kitten“
You can hear Caid’s connection to the cinema through their creations, which is a kin to using music to evoke emotions and paint scenes, just as movies do. One could say that John Carpenter has been a huge influence both theatrically and musically, plus the tracks reflect the 80s explosion of using electronic music to express the modern horror of tales such as Friday the 13th or Halloween, and fantasy love stories like LadyHawke or Legend (1985).. It is a bit retro, a bit sci-fi, a bit jigger-poky with a pointy things, a bit modern and a whole lot of fun. Paint a picture in your head and join the creatures that inhabit Caid’s mind with SplatterVHS. You can’t always run from where you are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream yourself free.
Berlin is a hotbed of dark alternative music, especially of the electronic kind and ParadoxObscur are a pulsating beacon in the genre. ToxicRazor and KriistalAnn are the duo behind the project and what makes them a little different to other electronic groups is that they record everything in real time, so what you get is music that is experimental and has a more organic flow. The latest EP is called Attention and it is self released.
“Attention” is a slow burn of a opening track, with it’s gradual build up and it is here to indeed grab your ears. The almost samba rhythms shimmy across the gilt dancefloor, as we are serenaded by the more droned vocals of Razor interspersed by KriistalAnn’s sultry tones. The single “Slap It” is dripping in sexual tension and innuendo. There are moody vocals which are underlined by Euro techno-pop synths and beats, perfect for strutting your stuff
Cannot lie and say I know what is going on in the lyrics of “Sin Barreras” or WithoutBarriers, which are in Spanish. The first verse, that is repeated, translates into ‘We’ve been fed mocha They have replaced it with coca Society is mired in shit‘, but however you read into it, they just work. It is trance like with Kriistal Ann seducing you into her spiralling vocals. The last track is “Escape” and it is a return to that techno dance groove that rolls and bubbles, enticing the listener to lose themselves to the rhythm, which might be the escape.
If you are wondering what Paradox Obscur used in the recording process, they listed Access Virus TI Polar, Roland JD-Xi, Korg Kaossilator Pro, IK Multimedia UNO Synth and DSI Mopho. Definitely check out the video for “SlapIt,” featuring a fabulous 70s inspired disco cross dresser. The EP is also a celebration of a decade of Paradox Obscur and if you have been following their career, you will know they are not interested in doing what is popular, rather creating music that is pleasing to them and in turn given us some brilliant listening material. Attention is another artistic concept with cool synths, evocative vocals and hot rhythms and we love Paradox Obscur for it.
I have it on good authority that the folks behind LunarPaths are preparing for live shows, but in between these machinations, they have released a new single “Seen.”
Background looped guitar riffs set the stage for Dubois‘ strong vocals and lyrics. The drums by Hunter, pick their way through the layers of programming, adding to the extraordinarily full sound. The lyrics speak of seeing the young out at night and wishing they knew how wonderful they look and have the courage to be themselves.
There is drama of the noirish romanticism kind in this style of music that still harks back to the early post-punk era, especially in the delivery of the singing. It is like listening to Anne-Marie Hurst (Skeletal Family/Ghost Dance) or SiouxsieSioux, with that vibrato and it instantly makes you clamour for more. Lunar Paths is spinning and weaving beautiful darkwave creations, just like “Seen.”
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.”
David Brichard is the vocals and Frédéric Hyat the guitarist for Belgium electronic band Dresscode, who released the single “Get Rid of Fears” in October. In the video is FlorianGilot who plays live with Dresscode.
Do our fears freeze us into being unable to act or live? This is essentially what the track is about, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Those first notes strike in and as we go on, I am starting to think some of that might actually be the guitar being plucked. The singing is congenial until we hit the chorus, and then they erupt into a far more glorious and harmonious raising of the voices at end the track. “Get Rid of Fears” finishes for me far too soon as I was really getting into, and then it ended, even though it is approximately three minutes long. Ah well, I love the whole finishing with a bang, and Dresscode have made this track smooth and it subtly ends up sucking you in.
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.”
Onyx Music Reviews 