From the Channel Zero camp comes the sad news that drummer Phil Baheux has passed away. Phil Baheux, founding member of the band together with vocalist Franky De Smet-Van Damme and bassist Tino De Martino, died earlier today at the age of 45. The band announced the death of Baheux on their Facebook page.

Channel Zero is a heavy metal band which formed in Brussels, Belgium and were often referred to as “the Belgian Metallica.” They achieved their breakthrough with the album “Unsafe” in 1994. The album featured guest vocals of Billie Milano of S.O.D. and Richard 23 of Front 242. Their last studio album “Black Fuel” was released in 1996. It wouldn’t be the only Front 242 link for the band. Franky De Smet-Van Damme (Channel Zero, Skitsoy) would later join Holy Gang together with Xavier Carion (Cyclone, Channel Zero, Sons of Jonathas), Richard 23 (Front 242) and Marc Du Marais of La Muerte.

Channel Zero disbanded at the height of their career in 1997, however in 2009, the band announced a series of reunion gigs starting in January 2010. A new album was in the planning together with guitarist Mikey Doling, but it’s not sure what will happen now.

In June we reported that Pride And Fall were returning with a new album after 6 years of silence. We have some more details for you today.

The 4th album from this Norwegian futurepop outfit, “Of Lust And Desire” will be out on September 2 via Dependent Records. The Stavanger based trio prepped 11 tracks for their new LP: “Sculptor of Lust and Desire”, “Hollow”, “Passionate Pain”, “Turn the Lights On”, “The Void Let Me Go First”, “The Comforter”, “The Knife”, “Reborn”, “A River Runs Through It”, “Fear Your Love” and “Epilogue”.

You can order it now on Amazon.com. The band will be playing an exclusive UK show, headlining the Friday night of Infest on August 23rd.

California based Love Spirals Downwards is not exactly active, but it didn’t prevent multi-instrumentalist Ryan Lum to announce that he remade the “Ardor” (1994) instrumental “Mirrors a Still Sky”. The track is a new re-recording that he did in the studio earlier this year.

Says Ryan: “I’ve been in the ethereal zone for so long now in our studio, I thought it’d be a fun challenge to recreate an old LSD song with a superior recording studio . It’s not an exact duplication; I’ve kept the original’s vibe and intent while bringing in just a few new elements to enhance the mood. It’s a very emotionally intense instrumental, and revisiting it brought back a rush of all the feelings I had creating the original 20 years ago. I hope this recording may bring a similar joy to the listeners as it brought to me working on this project.”

You can ‘watch’ the song below.

Iron Sky director Timo Vuorensola has starting up a crowdfunding campaign to fund the next album of his industrial band, Älymystö. The working title for the new album is “Magnum Opus” and is due to be released on vinyl, CD and as a free digital download. The campaign is up and running on IndieGoGo and the goal is to gather 5 000 € over the next month and a half.

Älymystö is Iron Sky director Timo Vuorensola on vocals and Mr. Haapanen (machines), Mr. Honkonen (theremin), Mr. Paalanen (guitar) and Mr. Eskola (bass). The band released one full-length album (Atomgrad, 2005) and several EPs.

“Magnum Opus” is set for release in 2014. Älymystö is also releasing a compilation of previously unreleased songs and remixes in August 2013, titled “Unsealed”. At the end of August the band is also going on a small tour in Finland and Latvia. For those in the Helsinki area, Älymystö is performing in Helsinki on the 24th of August at Club Infektion at the Darkside club.

Below is the video for the crowd funding campaign and below that you can listen to their first album, “Atomgrad”.

The video for Editors new single “Formaldehyde” marks the debut of film director Ben Wheatley (“Kill List”, “A Field In England”) in the music video genre.

The video was shot in Almeria, Southern Spain, to a script created and overseen by Wheatley that features his trademark blend of horror, suspense and surrealism in a homage to the great Spaghetti Westerns of the 60’s and in his words “a modern version of Jodorosky’s El Topo”.

Using the same film sets as those once occupied by Leone and Eastwood (and when Clint is mentioned we always listen a bit better), the short was a new departure that Ben thoroughly enjoyed as he explains: “Out of the blue I got asked to direct the promo for the Editors track ‘Formaldehyde’. A lot of directors come up through making pop promos: I didn’t. My route in was through advertising, internet and television. The pop promo is something I’ve always been interested in. Music plays a big part in my film work and I’ve always admired the work of Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham, David Wilson and Dougal Wilson to name but a few. I was very flattered to be asked. I’ve always grumpily maintained that promos were a young man’s /woman’s game (basically because I’d never really been considered to do one!). So thanks Editors for thinking of me.”

You can watch the video below.

This 80sObscurities was founded by DJ Rexx Arkana to showcase old, often unknown or forgotten acts and tracks from the decade when electronic music was truly the new wave. Rexx Arkana has been a club/radio DJ and promoter since the mid-80s and headlined festivals on several continents and currently holds a residency at DEFCON, NYC’s current longest-running weekly scene party. He is also the founder and lyricist of Brudershaft and one half of harsh electro act FGFC820.

Another day, another 80sObscurities feature for all of you beautiful people. Our 80s artist du jour is fabulous French band Little Nemo. Formed in 1983 by Olivier Champeau (vocals, keyboards) and Vincent Legallo (vocals, guitar) and named for the titular character in character in American cartoonist Winsor McCay’s “Little Nemo in Slumberland”, the band created music that ran the gamut from gothic ethereal to new romantic to dark wave. (Their final album, 1992’s “The World Is Flat”, was misdirected, quasi-commercial pop rock that didn’t register well with their target audience – whoever that might have been – and has been largely discredited and discounted by the band’s fan base.)

They debuted in 1986 on a split cassette with the band Rain Culture, who promptly disappeared immediately afterwards. While the production of their self-released first album “Past and Future” (also issued on cassette) left a lot to be desired, forgivably, Little Nemo’s compositions showed significant promise. In 1988, they were joined by Nicolas Dufaure on bass and after again issuing another record on their own – the “Private Life” 12” – the band signed to esteemed indie label Lively Art. It was through this association that Little Nemo achieved their most widespread success.

They, along with label mates Asylum Party and Mary Goes Round, defined what became known as the “Touching Pop” movement, a musical style categorized as much by how it made the listener feel as by any mode of composition or instrumentation. The movement was a fleeting moment in time; by the early 90s, each of those bands – and the label itself – faded into oblivion. Champeau would rechristen himself as “Doctorolive” and maintain a level of visibility within the techno and house scenes through the middle part of the last decade, but today’s track – the 1990 version of a song that first appeared on the band’s 1987 debut – shows the artist at his 80sObs apex. Bon appetit!

Out now is the new video from Needle Sharing. “Whorenado” is the second collaboration with Berlin based but Italian born video artist Vincent Lagan. The video is the start of a series of horror movie influenced clips, short movies and even a full length feature. These works will be presented under the ‘The House Of Needle’ logo.
An interesting project and visuals. You can view the video below.

Har Belex is a neofolk project formed by Manix S. (Pail) and Salva Maine (Culture Kultür). With this new project both want to ‘share and enhance their concerns and common passions’ which is the love of nature, local traditions, history, alienation of religion and modern society, etc.
Har Belex will debut with a 12″ split LP together with Fragile called “Time does not Forgive”. The LP will be released on Caustic Records.
Below you can listen to the band’s material.

Out now is is the “Feel The Power” album by Dutch industrial hardcore/doomcore/rhythmnic noise outfit The Peoples Republic Of Europe. It’s their 10th official studio album to date and is available as a limited CDr and bandcamp download. The album will also be available through Itunes, Beatport, Juno Download, Spotify and a load of other digital retailers from the 9th of september onwards.

This new album of The Peoples Republic Of Europe focusses on what they call ‘the abuse of power of our governments’. Says the band: “There is a lot of turmoil in the world today. Mr Snowden has unveiled the massive surveillance project of the NSA. Freedoms worldwide are being diminished, like Russia with its anti LGTB laws, England with its anti-porn regulations and severe misuses of power in the USA. (…) Because in the end there is no solution for the problems we are facing today. There are too many people, and they keep on reproducing like rabbits. It is even too late for birth control. The only solution now is genocide. And the powers that be keep on talking about job recovery and the good stockmarket results. But in the backrooms they have already planned out the coming genocide. Their instruments of law and oppression are already in place.”

Now, take the statement for what it is, we preferred focusing on the music which is a nice mixture of above mentioned influences.

You can listen to the album below.

This 80sObscurities was founded by DJ Rexx Arkana to showcase old, often unknown or forgotten acts and tracks from the decade when electronic music was truly the new wave. Rexx Arkana has been a club/radio DJ and promoter since the mid-80s and headlined festivals on several continents and currently holds a residency at DEFCON, NYC’s current longest-running weekly scene party. He is also the founder and lyricist of Brudershaft and one half of harsh electro act FGFC820.

This sunny Tuesday at 80sObscurities, We’ve Got A Fuzzbox and We’re Gonna Use It. Actually, I don’t really have a fuzzbox, not in the common sense of the word and certainly not in the euphemistic one. The double-entendre worked well as a name for the Birmingham girl band of the mid-80s however, and – like Hayzi Fantaysee’s image – definitely called attention to the group. Formed in 1985, Fuzzbox (to which their name was eventually shortened officially) was an all-girl quartet consisting of vocalist Vix (aka Vickie Perks) and multi-instrumentalists Magz (Maggie Dunne), Jo Dunne (R.I.P.) and Tina O’Neill.

The group’s first single was 1986’s “XX Sex” b/w “Rules And Regulations”, which just missed the UK Top 40 and settled into the indie chart for nearly half a year. From this followed their debut album, “Bostin’ Steve Austin” (re-titled “We’ve Got A Fuzzbox and We’re Gonna Use It” by Geffen Records for its U.S. release), from which came the band’s first Top 40 hit, “Love Is The Slug.” By the time the band released their second (and last) album, 1989’s “Big Bang!”, they’d reformatted from brash, fuzzy punk to slick, danceable pop. While this caught their early supporters off guard, it did – predictably – lead to their greatest chart successes.

Today’s touted tune, “International Rescue,” might have been more glitter pop than gutter punk, but it nearly broke the band into the Top 10 (just missing at #11). Other singles from the album registered as well, with “Pink Sunshine” peaking at #14, “Self!” at #24 and “Walking On Thin Ice” at #76. The foursome split in 1990 while working on material for a new album, which was scrapped as a result. However, the band did play together again in their native Birmingham in 2008, the experience of which led to a formal reunion in 2010 (minus drummer O’Neill). A two week tour ensued, including a headlining gig at our scene’s famous Whitby Gothic Weekend. Sadly, the project disbanded again shortly thereafter and guitarist Jo Dunne passed away in October of last year.

That said, those who are interested can still get their fill of Fuzzbox, as earlier this year Cherry Red Records re-issued enhanced editions of both “Austin” and “Big Bang!”

The Synthetic Dream Foundation has released a brand new video for the track “Summoning her iron golem” off the project’s latest CD “Where drowned suns still glimmer”?. The video is an example how mechanical animation can be the perfect visual companion to hard kicking instrumental music. A project we always have liked but which shows again how good it is. Highly recommended!
You can watch the video below.

Out on August 30th is the new album “Inspiration” for Belgium’s Signal Aout 42, the project of Jacky Meurisse. “Inspiration” has 10 tracks and brings as usual a mix of old school EBM and new beat tainted elements.
Tracks:

1. Judgment Day
2. Race of the Human Race
3. S*x Gadget
4. A Kind of Joy
5. Oxygen
6. Light of Terror
7. Freundschaft
8. B.Y.R.
9. Cabaret
10. Summer 79

The mexican store/label Mecanica is launching a Tying Tiffany 10″, “One”. The 4-track 10″ can be ordered directly from the Mecanica website. The label ships worldwide. “One” released in a limited edition of 250 copies as a 10″ picture disc with a sticker.
Tracklisting:

1. One Second
2. One Girl
3. One Place
4. One End

“Heridas del Pasado” is the name of the third album of the electro Chilean band Die Braut. The album will be released by the German label Black Rain / Noitekk Records in November and will include new songs, special versions / featurings, with the participation of Chris L. from Agonoize, Fredrik Croona from Cynical Existence and Kai A. From Wynardtage among others.
The remixes for the album were executed by X Fusion, Tactical Sekt, FGFC 820, Psyborg Corp, God Module, Stahlnebel & Black Selket, among others. The band is currently checking to tour Europe in 2014.
Below is their previous album “Psychotherapy”.

It’s not the first time that we report about Egyptian electronic outfits. Earlier on we reported about the excellent Egyptian electro clash outfit Wetrobots, and now the band informs us that Wetrobots‘s Hussein Sherbini (also active within the underground electronic music collective Kairo Is Koming (KIK)) has started a new project under his own name, Hussein El Sherbini.

The EP, “Fairchile”, is Hussein’s debut EP and counts 6 tracks: “Fairchild55”, “FitySix”, “Safe”, “Fairchile”, “Liana”, “Ought”. The EP will be out on August 15. We have been able listening to the complete EP and you may expect fresh down tempo electronics with scarcely used vocal parts. The project will be touring Europe this October along with KIK members, Ahmed Ghazouli, Asem Tag, Ismail Hosny, Bosaina & Nader Ahmed.

A short video preview for the EP is available below.

Chris Corner and his IAMX bandmates have canceled all August dates. As it seems Corner has been diagnosed with chronic primary insomnia and is unable performing live. Primary insomnia is a sleep disorder not attributable to a medical, psychiatric, or environmental cause. It is described as a complaint of prolonged sleep onset latency, disturbance of sleep maintenance, or the experience of non-refreshing sleep. Earlier on band members already told that Corner had been walking around for months without having had any decent sleep.

Reza Davoudi, from Corner’s nineteen95 artist management, has also told that ‘despite the strict program and care by doctors, Chris’ condition has not improved’. Corner has flown back to the UK for extensive treatment (canceling all three remaining IAMX festival performances in August).

(By DJ Wildhoney) Industrial-Metal pioneers Ministry have released “PermaWar”, the first digital single from their upcoming (last) album “From Beer To Eternity”. The full album will be released on 6 September 2013 via 13th Planet Records/AFM-Records and will count 11 tracks.

Ministry’s frontman Al Jourgensen explains: “‘PermaWar’ is a mid-paced, metallic tune that combines guitars crunchier than fresh tortilla chips, raw, raging vocals, live drums, a catchy doom guitar hook and a quasi-melodic chorus with samples of President Obama talking about terrorism and nuclear weapons. That song was inspired by reading Rachael Maddow book ‘Drift’. It’s about the permanent war machine that keeps making money, the military/industrial complex that Eisenhower warned against as he departed the White House. The US government just keeps sending young kids with families out there to be bullet stoppers so we can keep selling arms and keep this perpetual war machine going. The last time we did a song that chunky and slow was when we did ‘Crumbs’ and ‘Lava’ on Filth Pig. But then I also used a bunch of catchy background vocals, which I haven’t done since Twitch.”

You can order the single right now on iTunes or listen to it below using Spotify.

Alfa Matrix has re-released the full Unter Null catalogue on the label’s Bandcamp page. Included are the 40-track counting “Moving On (Extra Bonus Tracks Version)”, “Absolution EP”, “Sacrament EP”, “The Failure Epiphany (Bonus Tracks Version)” and the project’s debut “Sick Fuck EP”.
The releases are available as immediate downloads in your choice of high-quality MP3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. Note that the price setting for these releases is lower than on any other downloadstore.

The label continues to add more releases each day now, including some that never made it on iTunes and related download stores.

Sweden’s electronic punk group Cat Rapes Dog is back with their first album since 1999. The new album, dubbed “Life Was Sweet”, is the 7th Cat Rapes Dog studio release and the first one on the Artoffact label. The release is now also available as a 35 minutes vinyl. You can order this vinyl right here.
Tracks:

1. God Hates Christians
2. Dead Coming Back
3. Through A Glass Darkly
4. Falling Apart
5. Vote!
6. River Of Pain
7. Crystal Ball
8. Head Around
9. A Thousand Years

On July 20 we reported that OMD had canceled all remaining shows from the ‘English Electric’ tour due to illness of their drummer Malcolm Holmes. In the article we also referred to the major heart attack Holmes had suffered in April 2004, wondering if something similar had happened this time. It seems we were right.

In a post on the OMD Facebook page Facebook Holmes says that his heart stopped due to a cardiac arrest at the recent OMD Toronto gig. Says Holmes: “I have finally arrived home after I collapsed and my heart stopped due to a Cardiac Arrest at the recent OMD Toronto gig. I owe my life to quick thinking members of our crew & band and the Toronto Fire Dept Paramedics who performed CRP and Defibrillation to bring me back to life.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have helped with my recovery and getting me back home safely …. Toronto Fire Dept Paramedics, Nurses & Dr’s in ICU & CCU at Toronto Eastern General Hospital, Dr Lashevsky and his team at Sunnybrook Hospital Toronto, escort Dr Mike Priestnall, Merv and all the OMD crew, the Band, Remi, Simon our tour manager and our awesome manager Mirelle Davis. Lastly … Sabine (my angel) who has held my hand constantly through the darkest of hours.”

Get well soon Malcolm.

On Saturday, the 6 band members of Daan (known for the electropop hits “The Player” and “Swedish Designer Drugs”) suddenly left the stage on the Linkerwoofer festival in Antwerp (BE) half an hour after they started playing. The reason was the rather drunk lead singer Stuyven who continuously forget the lyrics. As a statement that can count.

Stuyven, a notorious drunk, crashed his guitar just before leaving the stage. He later on explained in interviews that the band had to stop due to ‘technical’ problems. Surprisingly only Stuyven wanted to comment on the event while all the other band members decided to remain silent.

It looks more like it that Stuyven, who has a critical medical condition that doesn’t favor alcohol use, was told this way that he has to pull himself together again.

After a long time of studio silence Apoptygma Berzerk returns with new material. While Stephan Groth is working on a new album, Apoptygma Berzerk first releases a cover-version of the cult-80’s-song “Major Tom (Coming Home)”, the originally Peter Schilling penned track. The EP includes remixes from Technomancer, People Theatre, Code 64, and so on next to a brand new song, the first new one in 4 years, “Dead Air Enz”.
The single is available on two formats, CD and 12″. You can order the CD version right here and the vinyl 12″ version right here.
Note the different tracklists CD for the CD and vinyl:

CD:
1. Major Tom (Coming Home)
2. Dead Air Einz
3. Major Tom (Coming Home) People Theatre Remix
4. Major Tom (Coming Home) Technomancer feat. Angst Pop Remix
5. Major Tom (Coming Home) Alon Cohen Remix
6. Shadow (Technomancer Remix)
7. Major Tom (Code 64 Remix)

12″:
1. Major Tom (Coming Home)
2. Dead Air Einz
3. Major Tom (Coming Home) People Theatre Remix
4. Major Tom (Coming Home) Technomancer feat. Angst Pop Remix
5. Major Tom (Coming Home) Alon Cohen Remix
6. Major Tom (Code 64 Remix)
7. Major Tom (Demo Version)

(Photo by Milla Randjelovic) Out now via the Machinista soundcloud page is the track “Take Comfort In Being Sad”. You can listen to the 4:32 track below.
Machinista is a new swedish electronic-music project formed by John Lindqwister (Cat Rapes Dog, Basswood Dollies etc.) on vocal and lyrics duties and Richard Flow (Vision Talk, Haze For Sale etc.) writing the music. In the past few months we have reported on various tracks that were released.

Available now is a free download from the Cynical Existence track “My private hell”. The track is indeed for free (or pay what you want). Says Fredrik Croona: “I thought of making something that was similar to the very first song I made with Cynical Existence and also a fun tribute to the old bands like Suicide Commando and Wumpscut. As such this is not a typical “new” Cynical Existence track.”
“My private hell” is available as an immediate download from Bandcamp in your choice of high-quality MP3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

Out at the end of August is the 20-year anniversary release for Hocico, the compilation “Los Días caminando en el Fuego”. The 16-track release doesn’t feature the band’s biggest club hits but instead not finalized songs from the early days of the band. Erk and Racso finished these tracks to ready them for release. Note that there is also a new track featured on this release, namely the all new song “Thy Kingdom Come!”.

For the diehard fans, there is also a box set which comes as a black wooden box shaped like an Aztec pyramid and limited to 999 copies. It contains a deluxe 2CD-version of the album which contains a total of 29 new vintage tracks plus the new song and an exclusive third disc titled “Dias de Perros” with 10 unreleased demos from the early days and a data track containing 25 minutes of early video concert footage in iPod format. The box furthermore contains several memorabilia.

Out now is a brand new Tyske Ludder EP, “Bambule”. Next to 5 versions of the “Bambule” title track, it also includes the track “U-Boot”. Remixes were executed by Steril, Harm Joy, Implant and Feindflug. The EP comes packed in a digifile, limited to 1000 numbered copies. You can watch video trailer below.
Tracklist:

1. Bambule (Mexican Edit)
2. U-Boot (Dive into Fear Edit)
3. Bambule (EvvilKing-Mix by Steril)
4. Bambule (Harmbule-Mix by Harm Joy)
5. Bambule (Tikka Masala Remix by Implant)
6. Bambule (Feindflug Rmx)

You can order this album now from www.Amazon.com .

The Summer is not a quiet period for everyone. Out now is the debut EP from London based old school electropop act The Department (a band we have been following for a few months since we got our hands on early studio material). The “Transformed EP” holds very enjoyable electropop with ‘a penchant for the 80’s’ as the band correctly calls it. The EP is out now via iTunes. The Department itself is a project by Robin Green.
Check Bandcamp for an immediate download of the 4-track EP in your choice of high-quality MP3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
Below is the video for “Take My Hand”, directed by Luke Mescalito.

This 80sObscurities was founded by DJ Rexx Arkana to showcase old, often unknown or forgotten acts and tracks from the decade when electronic music was truly the new wave. Rexx Arkana has been a club/radio DJ and promoter since the mid-80s and headlined festivals on several continents and currently holds a residency at DEFCON, NYC’s current longest-running weekly scene party. He is also the founder and lyricist of Brudershaft and one half of harsh electro act FGFC820.

Today’s 80sObscurities selection is another belated birthday celebration, this time for glam/goth guru Daniel Gaston Ash. If you don’t know Ash as the guitarist for goth gods Bauhaus, you’ve either been living under a rock or you aren’t much of a historian of the dark arts. Ash got his start playing in assorted cover acts in England, often with his nursery school mates-turned band mates David J and Kevin Haskins. All three musicians would eventually end up in Bauhaus, alongside singer Peter Murphy, with whom Ash had been friends as a teenager.

Not much needs to be said about the legendary group; their 1979 single “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” is goth rock canon, one of the most influential songs in the genre. So, rather than go that route, or showcase another song from Ash’s Love & Rockets project (whose “Mirror People” made an 80sObs appearance in 2011), I’ve chosen to highlight instead the short-lived Tones On Tail project with 1984’s “Christian Says.” Formed after the breakup of Bauhaus, TOT was the antithesis of their former band’s doom and gloom; psychedelic fodder and fancy that smirked more than pouted. It was a timely but temporary diversion and after the release of a handful of singles and the sole album “Pop” the group disbanded, paving the way for L&R to reunite the artists with David J.

And the rest, as they say, is history. From 1984, here’s Daniel Ash and Tones on Tail.

Dismantled’s Gary has released his long lost project DFEKTiV on Bandcamp. Says Gary: “This was done sometime around 2002 or 2003 in between my self-titled and PostNuclear and was inspired by the Skinny Puppy sideproject Download.” The material is free to anyone who purchases a merch item on the Dismantled Bandcamp page.
You can also buy the EP as a standalone one, but be ready to pay 40 US dollar for it in that case. Check some tracks below.

Artificial Sun has announced the debut album by Chamaeleon, a project from Greece. The “SicK | perVerTed” album will be released on the 5th of August. The album is called “Sick And Perverted” and composed by Alex and Azie – the founders and the only members of “Chamaeleon”. It contains 7 tracks of their own and 2 remixes executed by Headshock and Biomechanimal.

“Sick And Perverted” will be released on 500 copies and is available for pre-order on Bandcamp. The album will also be in stock at all USA and European online-stores on the release date. A digital download album will be available on Itunes, Amazon, Spotify and others.

Below is a video teaser for the album.

Out on October 14th on Mortal Records is the brand new Gary Numan album “Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)”. The album features guitarist Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails, Guns N Roses) and was produced by Ade Fenton, and will be followed by a full national headline tour in November. Although Numan released a straight-to-the-fanbase album “Dead Son Rising” in 2011, this is his first self-penned full album since “Jagged” was released in 2006.
You can already stream a brand new track, “I am dust” below. It’s an excellent one!
Gary Numan will tour the UK in November 2013. Here are the confirmed dates:

• 7th Bristol 02 Academy
• 8th Ireland Dublin Button Factory
• 11th Sheffield 02 Academy
• 12th Newcastle 02 Academy
• 13th Glasgow 02 ABC
• 14th Manchester Academy
• 15th Oxford 02 Academy
• 16th London Roundhouse
• 18th Brighton The Dome
• 19 Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall

Die Rostigen Loeffel have finally released their new album. The LP is available on Bandcamp only. You can listen to it below.
Tracks 1,3,4 and 12 of the album were co-produced by Chris Peterson and track 2 is built on beats from Maikko (Human Decay, Mindarea). The album furthermore features the rapper Kommissar (on track 4), a few ballads and some ambient interludes.

This 80sObscurities was founded by DJ Rexx Arkana to showcase old, often unknown or forgotten acts and tracks from the decade when electronic music was truly the new wave. Rexx Arkana has been a club/radio DJ and promoter since the mid-80s and headlined festivals on several continents and currently holds a residency at DEFCON, NYC’s current longest-running weekly scene party. He is also the founder and lyricist of Brudershaft and one half of harsh electro act FGFC820.

Hump day here at 80sObscurities and I’m hoping that today’s selection will crank things up and get us closer to the weekend, faster. Force Legato only ever released one song, 1989’s “System”, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t leave their mark. This 12” has the distinction of being the first record released by legendary Frankfurt DJ/producer Oliver Lieb. Not only that, but it’s also notable for the fact that Lieb’s partner in the project was none other than equally legendary German producer and Dorian Gray night club resident DJ Torsten Fenslau (R.I.P.).

“System” was an audio documentation of the shift occurring in electronic music at the turn of the decade, where the “traditional” EBM and industrial beats that had dominated dance floors were beginning to morph into new styles and sounds. New Beat was already coming to fashion and it wouldn’t be long before techno would totally take over. This track, however, has one foot firmly in both camps, which might explain why it resonated so well with so many and nearly hit the official German pop charts at the time.

Lieb would go on to achieve international acclaim for his trance projects LSG and Paragliders and today has over 250 production credits to his name. Fenslau, for his part, was even more successful in a sense. While outside of the Frankfurt scene he might not have gotten the same name recognition as Lieb, his “group” Culture Beat (really Fenslau and production partner Peter Zweier, with guest vocalists Tania Evans and Jay Supreme) topped charts around the globe with their 1993 hit “Mr. Vain.” Sadly, Fenslau would be killed in a car accident later that year, but Oliver Lieb continues to be a major presence in electronic music. The more you know… from 80sObs.

Taking place on August 10/11 is M’era Luna, one of the most important, if not the most important festival of goth, metal and industrial music. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, Germany at the Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt, a former British Army airbase. M’era Luna includes camping facilities and has two stages: a large rock festival style structure, erected for the show each year, and a former aircrafthangar. With its 20,000-25,000 regular attendants, the M’era Luna is one of the largest Gothic music festivals in Germany.

Our photoeditor, Vivi Ball will be there to report live on Facebook and cover the festival. Expect the review with photos no later than Aug 20.

The 2013 Lineup can be seen below.

Out now as a download only release via Cooking Vinyl is “Live at Bush Hall EP” by Alison Moyet. Included are 4 tracks: “When I Was Your Girl”, “Filigree”, “Nobody’s Diary” and “Don’t Go”. The set was recorded during a one-off gig at London’s Bush Hall, to premiere tracks from “The minutes”, Moyet’s excellent new album. It was (and will be) the only time Alison performed “The minutes” in its entirety, accompanied by the album’s collaborators Guy Sigsworth (producer and co-writer) and Chris Elms (engineer, programmer and guitarist).

Both Yazoo classics “Nobody’s Diary” and “Don’t Go” were re-worked by Guy Sigsworth into hard hitting electropop as you can see below. You can order the EP via iTunes, Amazon USA, Amazon UK or Amazon DE.

The EP acts as a taster for her headline tour, which runs from September 16th and throughout October bringing her allover Europe.

Tourdates:

• 16 Sep Berlin, Germany – Heimathafen Neukölln
• 17 Sep Stuttgart, Germany – Theatrehaus (am Pragsattel)
• 18 Sep Hannover, Germany – Theater am Aegi
• 21 Sep Offenbach Am Main, Germany – Capitol Offenbach
• 23 Sep Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso Grote Zaal
• 24 Sep Hamburg, Germany – Grosse Freiheit 36
• 25 Sep Cologne, Germany – Gloria Theatre
• 27 Sep Paris, France – Divan du Monde
• 30 Sep Ireland Cork Opera House
• 01 Oct Northern Ireland Belfast Waterfront Hall
• 02 Oct Ireland Dublin Olympia Theatre
• 04 Oct Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
• 05 Oct Edinburgh Usher Hall
• 06 Oct Gateshead The Sage
• 08 Oct Sheffield City Hall
• 09 Oct Rhyl Pavilion Theatre
• 10 Oct Warwick Arts Centre
• 12 Oct Northampton Derngate Theatre
• 13 Oct Ipswich Regents Theatre
• 15 Oct London Royal Festival Hall
• 16 Oct Cambridge Corn Exchange
• 17 Oct Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
• 19 Oct Bristol Colston Hall
• 20 Oct Cardiff St. David’s Hall
• 21 Oct Brighton The Dome
• 23 Oct York Barbican Theatre
• 24 Oct Salford The Lowry
• 25 Oct Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
• 27 Oct Nottingham Royal Centre
• 28 Oct Birmingham Symphony Hall
• 29 Oct Southend Cliffs Pavilion
• 31 Oct Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
• 3 April 2014 Royal Albert Hall

The Infest crew send us a message that will leave a not so good aftertaste once you will have read it. In short the chance that there will be a 2014 edition are as good as nil. The reason for this sad end of what was an excellent series of festival editions is explained in the text below by the Infest crew.

Having organized festivals in the past, we understand the position the Infest crew is in really well. It takes balls and a lot of financial luck to make things happen every time again.

“Everyone at Infest HQ is looking forward to this year’s bash even more than usual. Infest is in its 15th fantastic year and we have had a blast fulfilling its original objective, of introducing as many people as possible to as much new music as possible, from the broad church of alternative electronic music. It has never been a one dimensional musical event and we can take pride that even now it offers an amazing range of quality acts, for one of the cheapest ticket prices possible, as a truly independent event professionally run by fans, for fans of the music.

the Infest Crew”

The greek band Virgins O.R Pigeons have launched a remix contest. The band has 2 tracks up for remixing: “Bleed to lead” and “Born in sin”. The deadline for entering your remix is August 18, so there is no time to lose. Enter your e-mail below if you want to take part, you’ll get all details (remix kits, where to send the remix etc) sent to you immediately.

The 3 winners of the remix contest will be handpicked by the band and their names will be announced by end of August 2013. Winners will have their remix featured on the forthcoming Virgins O.R Pigeons album (or single) to be released this Autumn on Alfa Matrix. Winners will also each receive a free copy of the new Virgins O.R Pigeons album.

The band recently released the single “Bleed to lead” which is available on iTunes, Bandcamp, Amazon MP3 and many other download stores.

Enter the contest below!

This 80sObscurities was founded by DJ Rexx Arkana to showcase old, often unknown or forgotten acts and tracks from the decade when electronic music was truly the new wave. Rexx Arkana has been a club/radio DJ and promoter since the mid-80s and headlined festivals on several continents and currently holds a residency at DEFCON, NYC’s current longest-running weekly scene party. He is also the founder and lyricist of Brudershaft and one half of harsh electro act FGFC820.

Back to the daily grind after a whirlwind trip to the desert where we discovered such fun facts as the industrial scene is not dead, Arizonans know how to party, “concealed carry” is a subjective term, there’s no better place to do peyote than the desert and my spirit animal is a vagina. A veritable wealth of knowledge, one might say, none of which makes Monday morning any easier to tolerate with this hangover.

So, since I’ll basically be spending today operating on remote control, greasing the gears with plenty of espressos, I’ve opted for this titularly-appropriate Italo disco track from 1989 for today’s 80sObscurities showcase. Network was, in essence, musician/songwriter Wolfgang Liebert, with a little in-house production assistance at Eichstädt Studios, and additional vocal contributions from Steffi Weber.

“Remote Control” was the second of only two singles released from the project, both from the late 80s on leading electronic dance label ZYX Records. It’s more quirky goodness from the Eurodance/Italo regimes…hopefully just enough to help me through the day.

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, apocalyptic.

Content: Aderlating (which can be translated as ‘blood-letting’) is a duo hailing from The Netherlands featuring Maurice De Jong (active in multiple projects). The project has joined the wide ambient roster of Malignant Records (being signed to the subdivision Black Plagve).

“Gospel Of The Burning Idols” features 7 tracks of total despair. The apocalyptic and pure doom atmospheres created by Aderlating are quite tormenting and not without danger for all novices in dark-ambient music. Aderlating goes on where dark-ambient stops.

Not many projects are able to create such a dark and inferno-like sound. You feel like you are in the grip of an invisible, but blood-thirsty monster. This monster is symbolized by a buzzing sonic creation that will hunt for new victims for more than 40-minutes long. The first part is absolutely terrific. The oppressive atmospheres are simply amazing. Aderlating progressively leads the listener into a deadly walk throughout the most unimaginable nightmare vision ever. A few cymbal sounds announce an evil rite entitled “Dragged To The Smouldering Pits Of Infinity”. The title of the track speaks for itself and doesn’t leave any doubt about the impact of Aderlating. Next to the frightening sound, there also is a quite unique production of the vocal parts. Aderlating uses vocals as if they are truly from a ghost. The kind of whispering production sounds like dangerous incantations of malediction.

The second part of the ‘gospel’ is filled with a heavy kind of caphernäum empowering obscure tracks with the title cut as absolute apotheosis. Aderlating sometimes sounds as if possessed by the evil ghost of a magician. Crowley could be possibly lurking behind the corner. Aderlating will be your first experience in hell so you better get prepared!

Conclusion: “Gospel Of The Burning Idols” sounds like an ode to the darkness, a kind of dark-ambient doom-requiem to praise the power of horror!

Best songs: “Dragged To The Smouldering Pits Of Infinity”, “Opening Of The Tomb”.

Rate: (DP:8/9)DP.

Band: http://aderlating.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Aderlating/137622832995217

Label: www.malingnantrecords.com / www.facebook.com/malignantrecords

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, EBM.

Content: When I heard the debut album of Ayria I really didn’t suspect this Canadian project fronted by Jennifer Parkin (ex Epsilon Minus) to become one of the Alfa-Matrix flag holders. It’s not that I dislike the electro-pop carried by her sweet vocals, but it just was average like. Ayria built up a unique image and always very active on the net. Musically, the cyber-lady also evolved towards mature and accomplished productions. Parkin always takes the time to achieve a new album and this 4th opus appears 5 years after the great “Hearts For Bullets”.

We already got the opportunity to hear several snippets of the new album, but now I’ve heard the entire new work I can only say that Ayria really deserves the status of leading electro-pop formation. The new work for sure is the hardest stuff ever composed by Ayria. From the very first song on you’ll perceive pure EBM bass lines empowered by a carrying chorus. Jennifer Parkin still sings in her sweet and fragile style, but she also dares to sing a harder and enraged style on several parts.

“Hunger” is an amazing debut, but nothing more than a teaser for the upcoming pearls like “All That Glitters”, “Plastic Makes Perfect”, “Friends And Enemies” and “Big City Lullabies”. Ayria’s receipt is quite simple: powerful EBM elements mixed with danceable beats and carrying –poppy leads. A few guitar lines have been added on top of the work, just to inject an extra boost. And as the cherry on a pie there’s the angelic, but sometimes demonic way of signing of Jennifer Parkin.

“Plastic Makes Perfect” sounds like pure Ayria, but globally speaking the sound becomes harder. That’s for sure an essential evolution Ayria needed to go through to fully compete with the harsh, male projects. Ayria is pure female electro power that sometimes sounds hard, raw and merciless. The songs were composed with knowledge with a particular care for a great global production.

The limited edition features 13 extra songs of alternative mixes and remixes by some interesting names. The “Hunger – Mix” is an amazing piece of music revealing a terrific production in the use of effects and the global programming. One of the most surprising songs is the remix of “Missed The Mark” by Psy’Aviah. This song moves on the edge of commercial, sexy pop with a Madonna flavor on top.

Another cool remix is the techno-inspired one of “Big City Lullaby” by Pax Sono. I’ll also mention the “Imperfection Mix” of the title song featuring some empowered guitar riffs. Last, but not least the opening remix of “Mix The Mark” is another attention grabber.

The limited edition is really worthy of examination and also features Rotersand among the remixers.

Conclusion: The new album of Ayria is the best work of Miss Parkin to date. There are a few ‘new’ potential hits on it while the limited edition deserves you entire attention! Ayria still has the look, but confirms a great electro-pop talent.

Best songs: “Plastic Makes Perfect”, “Friends And Enemies”, “Big City Lullabies”, “Hunger – Mix”.

Rate: (DP:8/9)DP.

Band: www.ayria.com / www.facebook.com/Ayria.Official

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

Genre/Influences: Cyber-metal-rock.

Content: Helalyn Flowers strikes back with their 3rd full length to date, which probably is their most accomplished release as well. The Italian music chameleon has always been mixed electronics and metal together, but this new opus sounds like it is exploring wider fields and new influences.

I never have linked Helalyn Flowers with pop influences, but the opening cut “Before The Sunshine” is a very successful symbiosis between metal and pop. It’s a damn furious metal-pop song led by the charismatic vocals of Noemi. Max and Noemi definitely move deeper into the realms of pop while holding on their trash-guitar side. They remind me a bit of The Birthday Massacre on “White Me In Black Me Out”. The title song is a very significant song to illustrate the duality between styles that this album is showing. This album appears to be a kind of challenge, which they have fully accomplished.

Helalyn Flowers also gets back to their heavier side on “Alkaline Twins”. The songs however taste like the fruits of passion and patience. That’s what I simply would call maturity! They simply excel in maturity on numerous other songs like “Electric Night” and the surprising PJ Harvey cover version of “Rid Of Me”. The final part of the album even explores vague elements of psychedelic finally ending in the totally surprising and future-pop driven “Lost In Translation”. The lead is especially quite catchy on this song. Does Helalyn Flowers become a new and sensational hybrid featuring elements of NIN on one side and VNV Nation on the other? Let’s say that the last song is not totally a NIN / VNV Nation hybrid, but it is definitely a great song.

The 2nd disc is the one you’ll discover when buying the limited edition of the release. “Wireless Survivors” is the title of this disc, which next to several remixes by bands like Psy’Aviah, Aesthetische, Junksista, Neikka RPM, Studio-X, Inertia and a few others still features a very cool “Club Mix” of the title song plus three other cover versions. The covers are again evoking the eclecticism and duality of the album. Just imagine a cover version of 2 Unlimited’s “No Limits” followed by The Ramones “Pet Sematary” and The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”. All the covers aren’t that efficient, but I can imagine the impact they could have when played live. Among the different remixes, I noticed excellent versions –of the title song by Psy’Aviah and Neikka RPM.

A last song I want to mention is the “Club Mix” of “Before The Sunshine”. Helalyn Flowers are literally surpassing themselves on this mix making the limited edition very interesting.

Conclusion: I never considered myself as a huge fan of Helalyn Flowers, but I reconsidered my view after the listening of this new work. They hold on to their heavy carrying guitar parts while empowering pop elements. We also can call “White Me In / Black Me Out” as pure nu-pop-metal music!

Best songs: “Before The Sunshine”, “White Me In / Black Me Out”, “Lost In Translation”, “Rid Of Me”.

Rate: (Elise Din:8)ED.

Band: www.helalynflowers.com / www.facebook.com/helalynflowers

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

Read the news on ‘The Productive Citizen’.

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient & noise.

Content: Two of the most famous and renowned artists operating in the noise- (especially for Merzbow) and dark-ambient scene have joined forces again for the 3rd and final chapter of their “Partikel”-trilogy. The 1st album was released in 2004 while “Partikel II” was released in 2007, in a way we might speak about a comeback with this new release.

“Partikel III” features 4 new tracks moving in between the edges of pure noise and dark-ambient. Some parts come close to pure soundscape dedicated to a dark theme. “Submaton Color Pt.1” is a real noticeable cut in the genre.

Behind the collaboration also hides the working process where thefirst 2 cuts were composed by Henrik Nordvargr Björkk while Masami Akita added some extra sounds and noises. Two last tracks are the contrary: composed by Merzbow and achieved by Nordvargr. The 2 last cuts written by Merzbow sound a bit more soundscape-like while Nordvargr’s work is more diversified and experimental as well.

The common point between all cuts is the oppressive dark mood hanging over the compositions. The mix between noise and dark-ambient has been totally accomplished resulting in an artistic sonic symbiosis. “Partikel III” is defying the edges of noise while pushing the border of dark-ambient to an extreme level. “Partikel III” this way moves in a kind of imaginary antechamber of progressive noise-music, which becomes quite accessible for a wider audience… although you really have to like dark-ambient and/or noise.

Conclusion: It took nearly 10 years to achieve this “Partikel”-trilogy, which ends in a pure apotheosis.

Best songs: “Submaton Color Pt.1”, “Lorentz Covariance”. Rate: (DP:8)DP.

Band: www.nordvargr.com / www.facebook.com/groups/Nordvargr / www.merzbow.net / www.facebook.com/OfficialMerzbow

Label: www.coldspring.co.uk / www.facebook.com/coldspringhq

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Content: Twenty years after their astonishing debut-CD “Faith” the German EBM duo from Hannover has unleashed their 10th studio album to date. The previously released EP “Der Maschinist” was a solid teaser to introduce this new work, but the entire album is worthy of examination.

I get the feeling that Orange Sector went back to their early years standing for solid EBM. The debut part of the album brings the retro-style of the band back alive. “Mein Kreuz” followed by the title song and “Alles Dreht Sich Im Kreis” are old-styled EBM tracks driven by a huge doses of testosterone. It’s years ago Orange Sector had that impact on me, but this clearly sounds like merciless EBM.

On “Take My Pain” they even experiment with pure hardcore rhythms. The song is fast and furious, but not exactly the way we prefer to hear Orange Sector. “Der Maschinist” remains pure Orange Sector-like and still sounds great. “Tränen In Der Tiefe” is another noticeable song on which the duo also shows their great care for alluring sounds. There’s an amazing raw synth part running through this cut. “Frequenzangriff” is the last song of the ‘regular’ album and we here again get all the ingredients this album has been made of: power, fast EBM sequences, a danceable kick and commanding vocals.

The songs have been sung in English and German, which is a quite useful formula of Orange Sector. It seems that they wanted to mainly deal with their hometown Hannover, which is not that useful, but original.

After the 12 songs we also get 4 remixes, which unfortunately don’t stand for the best chapter of this CD. The remixes bring some diversity compared to the original versions, but never excel in a similar way.

Conclusion: Since the comeback of Orange Sector in 2005 this full length definitely is the best they ever made. It feels like reanimating the early years characterized by the albums “Faith” and “Flashback” but with an extra contemporary touch on top. One of the best EBM albums of the past few years!

Best songs: “Mein Kreuz”, “Vorwärts Nach Weit”, “Der Maschinist”, “Alles Dreht Sich Im Kreis”, “Frequenzangriff, “Tränen In Der Tiefe”.

Rate: (DP:8/9)DP.

Band: www.orange-sector.de / www.facebook.com/OrangeSector

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Content: If there’s one comeback numerous EBM freaks were waiting for it for sure was the return of Pouppée Fabrikk. A new album was already announced quite a long time ago now, but we had to wait months and months to get “The Dirt” appearing 14 years after their previous full length (cf. “Your Pain – Our Gain”).
The album has been announced as a return to the early years of the Swedish masters and the least I can say is that it’s absolutely true! Well it’s not that of coincidence as the songs featured on “The Dirt” were originally written between 1988 and 1990. These songs could have been released on their official album “Rage” (1990), but were released on the old & primitive 4-track demos. All the songs have been reworked and up-lifted together with a few more songs from that period. The result is absolutely astonishing and bringing us the good-old Pouppée Fabrikk that became one of the uncontestable EBM-leaders of the 90s.

The legendary band of Henrik Björkk Norvargr (vocals) and Leif Holm (music) has been re-introduced now as the leaders of the ‘EKM movement (Elektronisk Kroppsmusik)’ which means ‘physical music that makes you want to get up and move’. I think it’s quite an interesting way to leave the EBM stamp behind, but I’m afraid this kind of music will always be remembered as EBM and nothing else!

The sound formula of Pouppée Fabrikk remains quite easy, but damn efficient. Pure dry body bass lines have been put on with a straightforward rhythm. A few metallic percussions resonate now and then while the deep growling timbre of voice of H. Björkk Nordvargr sounds like a signal from the afterlife. The production is rough and brutal, like an uppercut that smacks right in your face. This is the return of good-old retro body music. This is not the Pouppée Fabrikk from their guitar-empowered period, but simply the good-old days of pure body music.

I was a bit afraid to discover the album especially realizing that it here consists of old demo-songs from more than 20 years ago! But Pouppée Fabrikk has reworked and produced the songs with all their experience. You can hear that they’ve seriously considered their work and that’s why this old-stuff still sounds so percussive! The opening song “Bring Back The Ways Of Old” (still released as an EP) clearly indicates what you might expect here: merciless EBM! “I Am” and “Death Is Natural” both are real attention grabbers featured in the beginning of the album. “Death Is Natural” is driven by classical Gregorian chants injecting some mysterious part to the song.

Pouppée Fabrikk moves on, straight ahead, reaching some climax in power on “H8 U”. The next few songs are reminding the early years and legendary albums like “Rage” and “Portent”. “The Dirt” definitely sounds in this vein leaving you with a few more surprises by songs like “Stahlwerk” and “The Promulgation”.

The extra disc on the limited edition also is a must have. Fans will be pleased by this extra disc of 16 songs ‘with music restored from old tapes from the band’s private archives. It goes from the very first song they recorded under the Pouppé Fabrikk flag to material from their extremely rare “D-D-D” cassette that got released in only 20 copies! Just imagine the kind of bonus you get here although I’ve to say that several songs got finally released on during their early years on CD as well. This also is a way to hear a few live versions. The songs and production sound quite ‘old’-like, the band deliberately wanting to hold this ‘dirty’ sound. The EBM featured on this extra disc clearly reminds me of the great 80s EBM years.

Conclusion: “The Dirt” recovers old and forgotten songs from dust leading the huge and worldwide fan basis of Pouppée Fabrikk into a state of euphoria! Get ready for a merciless EBM assault by the Swedish pioneers of the genre!

Best songs: “Bring Back The Ways Of Old”, “I Am”, “Death Is Natural”, “Stahlwerk”, “Symptom”, “H8 U”.

Rate: (Tor Cleenics: 8/9)Tor Cleenics.

Band: www.facebook.com/pages/Poupp%C3%A9e-Fabrikk/100329766260

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

Genre/Influences: Goth-metal.

Content: And here’s one more release for Samsas Traum and its legendary front man Alexander Kaschte. “Leben Bedeutet Kämpfen” is a very special album, which might be considered a kind of consecration.

First of all there’s (once more), an impressive artistic package becoming the trademark of Trisol. This DCD appears in a 7” format digipak featuring 2 discs and a cool booklet filled with information. The booklet is filled with numerous pictures, articles and an illustration of their complete discography. The only minus about the booklet is that it’s written in the German language, which is a pity for all non-German speakers. However, Samsas Traum for sure is mainly popular and successful in Germany while the band is not that renowned outside their homeland.

Each disc features 17 songs revisiting the impressive discography of Samsas Traum, which officially started in 1999 with the album “Die Liebe Gottes – Eine Märchenhafte Black Metal Operette”. Notice by the way that all the albums have been released by the Trisol group. From the very first releases on, Samsas Traum clearly deals with a mixture of gothic and metal music. The early songs sometimes were a bit hesitant revealing a band in search of its sound identity. It might explain some medieval influences on a few tracks. “Für Immer” is a great song that was originally released on the “Oh Luna Mein”-album. The song is a bit more electro-minded, but this album already features the impressive metal guitar parts, which made the band that successful. Kaschte’s timbre of voice often appears to be possessed by an evil force, but on other parts he also shows a rather theatrical way of singing (cf. “Dies Ist Kein Traum”).

The 1st disc starts to be really interesting when it gets back to songs like “Ein Foetus Wie Du – Komm Auf Mein Begräbnis, Baby!”. This track sounds a bit rock’n’roll like getting us back to 2003 and the album “Tineoidea Oder: Die Folgen Einer Nacht”. The album “A.Ura Und Das Schnecken.Haus” features the very artistic “Endstation Eden” showing a more refined taste in the global writing.

Some epic arrangements progressively join in while the songs become heavier and more powerful. There are 2 bonus songs on the 1st disc, which were originally released on bonus CDs (limited editions). “Satanas” is a pretty and powerful rock-goth song to bring the 1st disc to a good ending.

The 2nd disc starts in 2007 and the album “Heiliges Herz – Das Schwert Deiner Sonne”. Samsas Traum here deals with pure dark metallic power music. The fusion of metal and gothic music has never been so heavy and injected by pure testosterone. “Auf Den Spiralnebeln” and “Hirte Der Meere” both are alluring epic pieces, which in a way were announcing a heavier direction in the band’s history. The diabolic vocals of A. Kaschte are excelling on multiple songs, but I was especially impressed by his performance on “Heiliges Hertz”. The debut of the 2nd disc will really leave you breathless. Samsas Traum sounds merciless and finally moves until reaching a brief break on the quieter and ballad-minded “Barfuβ” taken from the album “13 Jahre Lang Dagegen – Anti Bis Zum Tod”.

The power comes back and moves towards heavy guitar solos on “Das Ist Liebe”. The song “Stirb, Kindlein, Stirb” is one of the most melodic pieces on the album featuring nice female-male vocal parts. The disc ends with 3 more bonus tracks.
Ten full lengths of Samsas Traum are represented. Even the last opus “Asen’ka – Ein Märchen Für Kinder Und Solche, Die Es Werden Wollen” has been considered as well.

Conclusion: An outstanding and complete ‘best of’ bringing 34 songs of Samsas Traum back to life, but several songs already belong to the collective memory of their fans.

Best songs: “Tineoidea”, “Ein Name Im Kristall”, “Hirte Der Meere”, “Heiliges Hertz”, “Stirb, Kindlein, Stirb”.

Rate: (Elise Din:8)ED.

Band: www.samsas-traum.net / www.facebook.com/pages/Samsas-Traum/45202007749

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, EBM.

Content: After an astonishing debut album “Urwerk” (2012) Skyla Vertex seems to confirm their potential with this ‘bloody’ EP featuring 5 new songs and 5 remixes.

“Urwerk” was an explosive cocktail mixing influences from Suicide Commando to Komor Kommando while “Blut” explores different paths. I’m not say that this EP sounds completely different, but there’s a kind of move into explicit EBM fields. The new work makes me think of a hybrid between early Front Line Assembly and the German EBM à la Tyske Ludder. But Skyla Vertex hasn’t lost any element of its original impact. The songs still sound amazing.

“Blut” is made of dark-electronic components revealing impressive icy leads and the dark-EBM reminding me of Tyske Ludder. The title song has been empowered by some guitar parts, which is a real judicious element. “Begriffsgewalt” is carried by a sublime lead revealing a great melodic aspect. “Let Go” is another song to watch out for where Skyla Vertex masterly merged power and EBM.

Except the “Industrial Ballad Version” of “Sinnkrieg” (that originally appeared on their album) the other songs left are remixes from the EP. Shiv-R, Frozen Plasma, Orange Sector and Freakangel have been given this task. Most of the remixes are quite successful, but I’ve a little preference for “Begriffsgewalt” remixed by Frozen Plasma.

Conclusion: The new songs of this EP confirm the growing potential of Skyla Vertex and will only increase the high expectations about a second full length! This is for sure one of the best ‘young’ bands from the Infacted stable!

Best songs: “(Bis Auf’S) Blut”, “Begriffsgewalt”, “Let Go – Bonus”.

Rate: (DP:8/9)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/skylavertex

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Genre/Influences: Electro-ambient, IDM.

Content: André Schmechta aka Sevren Ni-Arb is a musician that entered history as the legendary and genius composer behind the EBM project X Marks The Pedwalk, but André also got involved in other projects like Scarecrow, U-Tek, Ringtailed Snorter, Hyperdex-1-Sect, Pax and A-Head. After a long hibernation, he struck back in 2010 with a new full length of X Marks The Pedwalk. Together with his label, André announced a new album of a new side project already several months ago now. A video of “Transmission 01-001-1“ hit the streets revealing a minimal kind of EBM. I was not totally convinced by the song however it was intriguing enough to make me really wondering about the debut full length “Transmissions”.

This album took me by surprise as I didn’t exactly expect a kind of danceable electro-ambient work. I guess there is no better way to define this album as ‘Transmissions is to Sevren Ni-Arb what Delerium is to Bill Leeb’! This is not exactly Delerium-like, but there for sure are common points. The 13 tracks transpose Sevren Ni-Arb into a meaningful and great evasive electronic journey. All songs –except the aforementioned “Transmission 01-001-1“ are instrumentals. Composed with amazing, deep sounding bass lines, numerous space bleeps, low-tempo rhythms and genius sound effects SN-A sounds like creating a new dimension in sound.

There for sure are some similarities with XMTP on a few tracks, but it for sure is another project inspired by a different kind of music. SN-A sometimes moves on the edge of IDM, which probably is the perfect label to summarize André’s amazing talent. He didn’t lose his genius as a music writer, which was already re-illustrated on the last XMTP-album “The Sun, The Cold And My Underwater Fear”, but this new work goes a step further. Sevren Ni-Arb explores unknown territories, which he might have considered when working on Ringtailed Snorter, but SN-A belongs to another decade and a new context. The work is refined and detailed, but sometimes a bit experimental as well. The songs are quite different from the already familiar “Transmission 01-001-1“ –which appears to be totally different in style and influences.

Conclusion: Sevren Ni-Arb pushes the boundaries of electronic music to a higher level. It all feels a bit like a challenge, but artistically the global production and eclecticism of this work are once again impressive. SN-A is touched by the hand of Apollo -who was the God of music in the Greek mythology.

Best songs: “Transmission 0-919-1 / Subliminal”, “Transmission 87U3 / Intra”, “Transmission 0-919-2 / Stimulation”, “Transmission 2102-9041-X /the Bridge”.

Rate: (DP:8/9)DP.

Band: www.x-mtp.com / www.facebook.com/xmarksthepedwalk

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Out now on iTunes is the one-track single of “Night Café”, the newest (3rd) single taken from the OMD LP “English Electric” which has been released in early April. A full-fledged single will be out on September 9th as a limited edition CD and digital download. The single will be accompanied by 4 remixes and a complete collection of the albums’ b-sides, forming a 10 track digital / physical release package.
The brand new track “Kill Me” will also included as the official B-side to “Night Café”.
Track listing for “Night Café” is as follows:

1. Night Café
   B-Sides

2. Kill Me
3. The Great White Silence
4. Time Burns
5. No Man’s Land
6. Frontline
   Remixes

7. Night Café (Vile Electrodes ‘B-Side the C-Side’ Remix)
8. Night Café (Metroland’s Nighthawks Remix)
9. Night Café (Taoyoyo Remix)
10. Night Café (Sin Cos Tan Rmx)

Available now in pre-order is an EP Jori Hulkkonen recorded together with John Foxx. “European Splendour” can be pre-ordered in two formats: CD and vinyl. Note that the CD and vinyl have totally different artwork. It will be released by Sugarcane Recordings on the 19th of August, 2013 but you can order both formats right now on Amazon USA, Amazon UK and Amazon DE.

The front cover artwork – which is as we indicated different for both formats – is by Jonathan Barnbrook and features a photograph of a new sculpture by John Foxx. Both formats include a remix of “Evangeline” by renowned film-director / artist David Lynch.

You can listen to an extended preview of “Something Is Coming Down The Avenues” and “Can’t See You Anymore” below.

The full track-listings are as follows:

CD
1. Evangeline
2. Strictly
3. Something Is Coming Down The Avenues
4. Can’t See You Anymore
5. Evangeline (David Lynch Remix)
6. Evangeline (David Lynch Instrumental)
7. Evangeline (Radio Edit)

Vinyl
1. Evangeline
2. Strictly
3. Something Is Coming Down The Avenues
4. Can’t See You Anymore
5. Evangeline (David Lynch Remix)