http://www.side-line.com/rss_reviews.xml Daily reviews on electro, gothic, industrial, synthpop, gothicmetal, noise and endzeit music en-us Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:20:01 GMT Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:20:01 GMT Side-Line info@side-line.com info@side-line.com pMachine 2.4 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.side-line.com/rss_reviews.xml Daily reviews on electro, gothic, industrial, synthpop, gothicmetal, noise and endzeit music http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45064_0_17_0_C There’re some music styles we have never refused, but simply never got that much promo stuff from. Shoegaze is one of these styles and when discovering the debut album of Ceremony I can only hope the future will bring us much more great releases in the genre. Paul Baker and John Fedowitz is an American duo who was formerly involved in Skywave. This band was a trio that should have been responsible for the resurrection of shoegaze in America. Their debut album... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45064_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:37:25 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45063_0_17_0_C Welcome to the darker side of the act suicidal romance, and when I say darker I mean dark! From the very intro one notices this is very different from it's parent project which is a good thing. Quite possibly this is where God Module should be as opposed to becoming more campy. Each track is full of excellent programming and sounds the kicks no matter the BPM are all brutal with great bass runs and synths to keep the listener going. Every track up to the remix part of the CD is filled to... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45063_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:36:58 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45061_0_17_0_C 20 years have passed since Goethes Erben launched their very first music production. It was a good-old cassette released by Danse Macabre. Back in time it was nearly impossible to imagine this band becoming one of the absolute leading formations in the so-called gothic genre! This album is also an opportunity to bring in mind that Goethes Erben was one of the pioneers of a new movement (called gothic) which found its origin in Germany. The so-called gothic style was just born and like it... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45061_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:35:27 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45062_0_17_0_C Last year we got a DVD (and CD as well) entitled “Live In Berlin” so I was a bit surprised to see Funker Vogt launching another DVD. “Live Execution ‘99” is an old VHS production originally released in 1999 on the famous Zoth Ommog label and now re-released on digital format with some bonus material. We first get the live show featuring 11 songs from the earlier years of the band. It brings us back to old, but still famous songs... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45062_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:35:26 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45060_0_17_0_C There are bands which by the simple mention of their name don’t need any further introduction! Killing Joke is definitely one of them. Belonging to the pioneers and survivors of the famous and legendary new-wave and post-punk scene the band around Jaz Coleman is this year celebrating their 30th anniversary. It seemed to have been an opportunity to bring the original line-up together, which for the upcoming full length “XIII: Feast Of Fools” will be the first... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45060_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:34:57 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45059_0_17_0_C While most of their fans are still under the influence of the recently released “Demut”-CD, Martin Schindler and Thalia are already back with a new composition. This is their 9th regular full length album and it’s for sure the most intimate and conceptual one to date. “Die Hochzeit Von Himmel Und Hölle” is based on the book "The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell" written by William Blake. Writer and painter, Blake has been a... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45059_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:34:25 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45058_0_17_0_C The German EBM act Nordarr already released a 3-track MCD (CDR) in 2008 entitled “Nordarr”. This solo project set up by André Schitteck now strikes back with a first official album. I think there’s no other label than Tremor Dessau that would fit Nordarr’s sound better. This is pure EBM without trick neither complexity. The sound goes on as a steaming locomotive. A few guest singers were invited for the ride while Pontus Stalberg... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45058_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:33:53 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45057_0_17_0_C In the famous ‘classics’-series released by Infacted it’s now time for Orange Sector. After other legendary Zoth Ommog bands like X Marks The Pedwalk and Armageddon Dildos now comes a pure EBM-formation! Orange Sector rapidly became a renowned and successful combo in the so-called old-school EBM style. With albums like “Faith” and “Flashback” they were the answer of the 90s to pioneers like DAF, Nitzer Ebb and... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45057_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:33:24 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45056_0_17_0_C Project Pitchfork was to the 90s what bands like Front 242, The Klinik and other Nitzer Ebb were to the 80s! The German band set up and leaded by Peter Spilles became one of the absolute master bands from the 90s. The band went on, but didn’t always convince me the same way. But just at the point where I thought they were at a point of no return, they released the album “Dream, Tiresias!”. Project Pitchfork there confirmed all their creativity and maturity and... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45056_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:32:57 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45055_0_17_0_C This release is quite possibly THE best release this year, dare it be said the past five years! First let's start with the package, the way this CD is packaged is quite possibly the sexiest case on the market. There is no way to get sick of any track on this release in that sense it can be equated to CC "this shit. . ." where the listener can listen to the full CD beginning to end over and over again. If anyone has heard the track "Corporate Violate" that has been... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45055_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:31:04 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45053_0_17_0_C Alien Skin is an Australian project that was set up by George Pappas who was previously involved in the famous Australian band Real Life. This band got international fame by the 80s hit “Send Me An Angel”. A few years ago now G. Pappas started this new project. After the debut album “Don’t Open Till Doomsday” (2008) we now get “The Unquiet Grave”. While the title and the front cover of the album are rather gothic like... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45053_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:30:22 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45054_0_17_0_C One year after their debut MCD “Lost Among The Reign” we get the official first album from Access Zero. Hailing from Phoenix (USA) this is probably the most unexpected band from the ADD roster. Devoted to synth-pop ADD signed a band that opened the boundaries of synth-pop music. The opening song “These Things They Fell Apart” is an indication for multiple influences running through this album. There’s a part of pop music that has been mixed... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45054_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:30:18 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45052_0_17_0_C Lawrence Grover set up Boc Scadet in 2002. Inspired by a wide spectrum of ambient and electronic artists from Jean-Michel Jarre to Autechre he already released several productions. “Temporary Oceans” seems to have been originally released as a cdr in 2004 and has been completely remastered. The electronic ambient music composed by these English artists reveals a very open-minded style. The songs have been meticulously elaborated featuring a wide range of sounds... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45052_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:29:55 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45051_0_17_0_C Hailing from London, get ready to enjoy Diva Suicide! The band has been clearly influenced by The Birthday Massacre, but don’t deal with the same darkness. The mix of electronics and guitar parts are quite harmonious and ending in carrying choruses. Diva Suicide has a cool melodious touch composed with great electronic sounds. The song “She Cries To Lullabies” is a heavy smasher to open. The sweet vocals of female singer XS inject a quite fragile touch to the... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45051_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:29:31 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45050_0_17_0_C 2007 saw the release of the debut-album of Boy Is Fiction. This is an Australian solo-project led by Alex Gillett. On “Broadcasts In Colour” this musician shows an interesting evolution in the exploration of ambient music. Like several other bands from Sun Sea Sky Productions this project likes to experiment with space-minded sounds and atmospheres. It comes to quite evasive and wafting parts like revealed on “Feeling Lazy”. The few vocal parts on... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45050_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:25:47 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45048_0_17_0_C Extize is a band that has clearly understood in times of crisis that you have to distinguish yourself from the rest. Composing good music is still important, but a good and provocative image brings a nice bonus to catch the attention. Even if you’ve never heard of Extize before, the front cover and title of their EP will for sure incite you to have a look and a listen. For those who are still familiar with the band “Gothic Pussy” is a song already heard on... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45048_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:24:33 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45046_0_17_0_C This album packed in a DVD-case is a split release between Hrossharsgrani and Dead Mans Hill. Hrossharsgrani is an Austrian project bringing a mixture of industrial, martial and soundtrack music. The industrial bombast opening on “Come My Phoenix” has been joined by alien-like vocals of guest singer Piette Yetayl from Dead Mans Hill. The next cut entitled “Znischy Jih” is a quite cool piece in the hymn-martial genre, but the best exponent is without... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45046_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:23:31 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45047_0_17_0_C Girls On film started as a 4-piece band from which only 2 female members remain active. I presume that the front and back cover illustrating 4 girls was taken before the changes in the line-up. Hailing from Florida this band was introduced as being one of the hottest new-wave acts out of the southeast since their inception in 2002. Quite strange I haven’t ever heard of them before, but even the most passionate journalist can’t know every single band on earth. The... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45047_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:23:03 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45044_0_17_0_C Hailing from one of the most eccentric and nightlife cities of the world comes Maleficent. I’m here referring to London! Set up by singer, ballet dancer, actress and performer Martini the band is for sure led by a kind of charismatic gothic diva! The music is composed by Dr Sickx while the lyrics are written by poet Mortimer Cain. These are the main members behind Maleficent. After a kind of intro “Depize” really explodes on the “Demize”... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45044_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:22:33 GMT http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45045_0_17_0_C Operating from Paris this new formation launches their official debut release. Quite difficult to get an idea about the band’s potential when it comes to an EP featuring one original song and 7 remixes by other bands. What I can say about the “Original”-version of “Animals” is that it sounds like a fair song reminding me of the refreshing pop touch from the late 80s. The good-old vintage electro sounds and typical drum sounds plus the... http://www.side-line.com/reviews_comments.php?id=45045_0_17_0_C Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:22:04 GMT