Blush Response – Ego Death (Digital/CD Album – Artoffact Records)

Meanwhile, American artist Joey Gonzalez has been delivering high-quality Electro for over 15 years, seamlessly blending EBM with dark and Dark-Techno elements.
At the end of 2025, he returned with “Ego Death”, surprising us with 12 brand-new tracks. What makes the album so striking is its stylistic evolution: alongside his signature analog Electro, Gonzalez incorporates Industrial guitar work. The result sounds like pure terror—an assault on the eardrums—while his vocals prove to be the perfect match for this intensity. “Ego Death” sounds raw, hard, and merciless. I remain completely captivated by the electro elements, which he consistently drives to their limits with the almost magical sounds he conjures. Especially the first part of the album sounds remarkably strong. The guitar adds a subtle NINs touch without ever actually sounding like NIN.
It remains to be seen whether Blush Response intends to break away from his previous productions altogether, but “Ego Death” certainly presents an artist eager to explore new paths. (Rating:8).
Listen to “Ego Death”:
About Blush Response
American musician Joey Gonzalez has recorded as Blush Response since the early 2010s, later relocating from New York to Berlin. His music mixes EBM, industrial, and techno, and has appeared through labels including Sonic Groove, Ant-Zen, Basic Unit Productions, and Aufnahme + Wiedergabe, alongside his own imprint Megastructure_. He released the album “Void In” in 2020 and has performed live synths for Front Line Assembly. Gonzalez set out his views on production and streaming in a 2020 Side-Line interview. “Ego Death” follows at the end of 2025 through Artoffact Records.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
