First Aid 4 Souls – Totems In A Field Of Pain (Digital Album – Alfa Matrix)
Istvan Gazdag continues to display an inexhaustible creativity, and that creativity consistently guarantees quality. With this ‘new’ album from his main project, First Aid 4 Souls, he combines four brand-new compositions from 2026 with a selection of older material that has been reworked, remastered, or presented in alternative versions. In total, we are treated to no fewer than 25 tracks, serving both as a retrospective and as a showcase for new material.
Gazdag clearly enjoys collaboration, and for this release he has joined forces with partner in crime ‘Mortum’ from Human Vault, as well as Mpurfekt, Stahlgeist, United Gods, K.I.F.O.T.H., Tor Marrock, V.E.N., and Svoid. The resulting tracklist is highly diverse, offering a mix of the Hungarian artist’s signature sound alongside more Experimental and even Ambient tracks and versions. To me, First Aid 4 Souls remains, above all, an intelligent form of EBM that frequently evokes the Canadian school of masters such as Front Line Assembly and Skinny Puppy. The structural composition of these tracks and the richness of the sounds and effects on display are absolutely phenomenal. Once again, there are some true gems to be found—particularly among the reworked older tracks rather than the new compositions that open the album. The production is meticulous and precise, featuring driving verses and explosive choruses. There are also some unique tracks that venture into purely Experimental or even Crossover genre territory, thanks in part to the inclusion of guitar elements. A 25-track album might be considered lengthy, but Istvan Gazdag shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
This is an artist who lives and breathes music and remains a true genius within his genre. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is the album I would choose to introduce someone to his work. Nevertheless, it contains enough gems to qualify as a ‘must-have’. (Rating:8).
Listen to “Havoc feat. Worker / Stahlgeist”:
About First Aid 4 Souls
First Aid 4 Souls is a Budapest-based electronic project founded in 2007 by István Gazdag, evolving from his earlier industrial and EBM outfit Vacuum. Over time the project has worked with rotating collaborators and guest vocalists and has touched industrial, EBM, dark ambient and new wave influences.
Early releases appeared via Some Bizarre, Electro Arc and Poison Girls Records before Gazdag joined the Belgian label Alfa Matrix. Discography milestones include “Deathstep” (2011, CD) and the earlier “Beyond The Galaxy” era, later revisited as “Beyond The Galaxy / Rework” under Alfa Matrix. Later Alfa Matrix releases include I Am The Night (2022), the 70-track back-catalogue download This Present Darkness (2023) and the EPs Dancing At The Abyss and Laudator Temporis Acti (both 2023).
In December 2025 the project shifted sound with Progenitrix, a post-punk and darkwave album with a long list of female guest vocalists. Gazdag discussed that record in the March 2026 First Aid 4 Souls interview. “Totems In A Field Of Pain” was released by Alfa Matrix on 26 June 2026 as a 25-track digital album and returns the project to its electro-industrial base.
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