Darkvolt – Spirits Of Angst And Despair (Digital/CD Album – DressCode Black)
Darkvolt is a Belgian band driven by Frederik Strobbe and joined on this second album by guitarist Martyn Hanson. The album features no fewer than 17 tracks.
“Spirits Of Angst And Despair” is a fairly varied work in which the influences shift almost from track to track. The album opens with a heavy EBM bassline that is quickly fused with an arsenal of noises. This dense layer of sounds actually forms a kind of common thread throughout the release, while the influences move between EBM, Cinematic, Experimental, and Industrial music. Add to that tracks driven by breakbeats alongside others built on slower rhythms, and the result is a rather chaotic whole in which Darkvolt searches for its identity. That may sound somewhat negative, but although the album moves in many different directions, it still contains several interesting tracks. I especially hear potential in the more EBM-oriented songs, where the addition of guitar creates something resembling an Industrial version of Nitzer Ebb.
In my opinion, Darkvolt mainly needs to refine its own sound and allow this diversity of ideas to evolve into a more cohesive whole, because the potential is certainly there. (Rating:6½).
Listen to “Violence”:
About Darkvolt
Darkvolt is a Belgian dark electro project based in Antwerp, led by Frederik Strobbe. The music mixes EBM, industrial and experimental electronics, and releases appear through DressCode Black, an Antwerp label and sub-label of Detroit-Berlin.
The debut album “Songs for Halloween” arrived in 2024 with eight tracks and guest vocalists including Marieke Lightband (Psy’Aviah), Jan Dewulf (Mildreda) and Vain Sacrosanct (CauseNation). The single “White Lie” followed in 2025 as the first preview of this second album.
Recorded with guitarist Martyn Hanson, “Spirits Of Angst And Despair” collects 17 tracks and moves between EBM, cinematic, experimental and industrial styles.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
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.
