Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The fourth album of Stupre was already released a while ago; by the end of 2021 to be exact. “Make Nazareth Great Again” is a free-interpretation of bible themes by this French project. Notice by the way a double album has been released as well featuring songs from two unreleased EP’s. Multiple guest singers contributed to the album.

Content: Stupre moves on exploring paths of Dark-Electronics. The bible themes are easily recognizable throughout the song titles, samplings and atmosphere hanging over the work. The sound reveals a haunting Electro-format featuring, hard, pumping, kicks and enraged vocals in French and English. This is the kind of music appealing for fans of Hocico and Suicide Commando. The last 3 songs are remixes by Gunmaker, Larva and Suspifun.

+ + + : I’ve been never a huge Stupre fan but this work took me by surprise. The artist isn’t reinventing Dark-Electro but clearly transformed its own sound into a mature, elaborated, and efficient production. This is powerful and haunting dancefloor stuff driven by pumping kicks and icy, elevating, leads. I like the bible sphere running through the work like a red line. It injects a particular touch to the album. There are numerous attention grabbers featured but I’ll recommend listening to “Mathieu 23.10.2” which is the absolute club-song featuring an irresistible, cold, lead. Other essential cuts are “Corinthiens 10.3.5”, “Galates 5.19” and “Galates X Mathieu 2.0”.

– – – : The remixes don’t exactly add a bonus to this cool work.

Conclusion: Stupre has accomplished a great piece of work which is an album Dark-Electro fans need in their collection.

Best songs: “Mathieu 23.10.2”, “Corinthiens 10.3.5”, “Galates 5.19”, “Galates X Mathieu 2.0”, “Psaumes 90.12.4”, “Proverbes 18.3”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/STUPREofficial

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

About Stupre

Stupre, also styled STPR, is the dark electro and EBM project of French musician Nico, based in Strasbourg. The debut album, “Priceless”, was released in 2009 on Cortex Records.

Stupre moved to Advoxya Records for “Das Ist Electro Dark” in 2013. The 2019 album “You Are Made For Me” followed on the same label, with Notreguide of the French crossover act Dolls of Pain contributing lyrics and vocals to half of the tracklist. “Make Nazareth Great Again”, a concept album built around bible themes, arrived on Advoxya Records at the end of 2021.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Noise Resistance is a Russian Electronic project which released its third full length album “Stripped” early 2022 by Advoxya Records.

Content: The album features 11 songs plus 6 bonus cuts. Noise Resistance is clearly addicted to Dark-Electronics. The songs have been built up with linear, bass lines and carrying leads. Most of the tracks are danceable although there are softer cuts featured as well. I also noticed cuts with groovy parts and one minimal-driven cut. Several instrumental songs have been featured at the bonus part.

+ + + : This album reveals well-crafted, elaborated, songs carried by great, carrying leads. It also comes through at some of the instrumental cuts like “This Side Of Me”, “Psychosys” and the hardcore driven “Attack Me”. The work is maybe missing an absolute, potential, hit song but we get a list of cool songs instead.

– – – : This band clearly has a potential but is just missing a few details in the production to speak about a major success. The softer cuts aren’t their best exposure.

Conclusion: Noise Resistance is an interesting Dark-Electro project having accomplished a cool album.

Best songs: “Aggression”, “Striptease”, “This Side Of Me”, “Psychosys”, “Attack Me”, “The Belief”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/noiseresistanceofficial

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

About Noise Resistance

Noise Resistance is a Russian dark electro, EBM and industrial act formed in Yekaterinburg in 2012 by Art B. Live performances feature Art B. on vocals and Andy on keyboards. The project started with industrial and power noise material on a self-titled debut EP before settling into a sound built on dance beats and acid synthesizers.

The first full-length album, “Slaves & Passion”, followed in 2017. Noise Resistance toured Russia extensively afterward, playing more than 20 shows and supporting European acts Larva and Cygnosic on the road. The third full-length, “Stripped”, was released on Advoxya Records in early 2022.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Advoxya Records last year signed the Peruvian project Disorder Faith. Set up in 2013 and driven by ‘Sinnis Dahmer’ Disorder Faith self-released a few productions before their official album “Fury” released early 2022.

Content: This album sounds like pure ‘hell-electro’; a tormented and powerful Dark-Electro format creating the feeling it has been composed by evil forces. The tracks are driven by a fast tempo and icy sequences. It’s a violent production with on top ultra-harsh, distorted vocals giving you the sensation of a hunted beast. The album features 9 songs plus 3 remixes by Infected Sound System, Dunkelsucht and Amduscia.

+ + + : The sound and music style bring no surprise but I’ve to admit it’s a well-crafted composition mixing power and melodic elements. I like most of the sound treatments which have something refreshing. The way the songs have been built up is really cool. The vocals -sung in Spanish and English, are extremely harsh but nicely mixed with clearer passages creating the effect of two singers.

– – – : I sometimes would prefer hearting less distorted vocals as you didn’t understand any single word from some passages. I expected a bit more from the remixes and especially the one by Amduscia.

Conclusion: Disorder Faith is a nice addition to the Dark-Electro roster of Advoxya Records. “Fury” is an album to purchase.

Best songs: “Harsh Never Dies”, “A Lovely Place”, “Dystopia”, “Revolución Total”, “Juicio Final”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/DisorderFaith

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

About Disorder Faith

Disorder Faith is a dark-electro project from Lima, Peru, run by Sinnis Dahmer. Discogs lists the project as active since 2014, while the band’s own account places its start in 2013. Disorder Faith released a series of singles before signing to Advoxya Records, which issued the project’s debut full-length, “Fury”, in 2022 on CD and digital formats.

Discogs lists nine original tracks on “Fury” – “Seis Nombres”, “Juicio Final”, “Revolución Total”, “A Lovely Place”, “You Only Live Once”, “Dystopia”, “A Maimed Savior”, “Harsh Never Dies”, and “Pendulum” – plus three remixes: “Revolución Total” reworked by Infected Sound System, “A Lovely Place” reworked by Dunkelsucht, and a second “Revolución Total” remix by Amduscia. As of this writing, “Fury” is Disorder Faith’s only full-length album documented on Discogs.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: American formation 13th Angel is active since 2016 and has already self-released a few productions. They signed to Advoxya Records to unleash early 2022 their new opus “Omens”.

Content: 13th Angel is clearly dealing with Dark-Electro music which is sometimes moving on the edge of Cinematic work. The main strength is hidden in the obscure atmospheres reinforced with haunting vocals. The work also features a few ‘harder’ cuts injecting an extra boost suited for dancefloors.

+ + + : I’m not saying this band is ‘atypical’ but the Dark-Electro format sounds miles away from the music standards in Dark-Electro. The power from the production lies in the obscure, dark, atmospheres. The subtle, melodic, arrangements transform the songs into an interesting Cinematic experience. Bothe opening cuts bring this impression alive. I also have to mention the somewhat harder “My World” which remains very moody but still danceable.

– – – : I regret the album is only featuring 9 songs. I think a few cuts are lacking from a professional vocal production -and especially “Serpent” is hard to endure.

Conclusion: This is an interesting album accentuating the atmospheric side of Dark-Electronics.

Best songs: “My World”, “Obsession”, “Broken”, “Omens”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: https://artistecard.com/13thAngel#!/ /  www.facebook.com/13thAngelMusic

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

About 13th Angel

13th Angel is an American dark electro project active since 2016, built around vocalist and songwriter Jen Draven alongside Jan Ricker. The project’s debut album, “Fallen Angel”, appeared in 2016.

13th Angel self-released its early material before signing to Advoxya Records for the album “Omens”, released on Jan. 17, 2022, with mastering by Sander Kapper and drums recorded by Alejandro Acuna.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Yiannis Chatzakis who’s now also involved with PreEmptive Strike 0.1 strikes back with the second full length album of his solo-project Degenerated Sequences. The work has been released seven years after the self-titled debut album while the EP “Stranger To My Self” was released in 2019.

Content: The work has something retro-like, reminding me to 90s productions but is also a very personal interpretation of EBM and Dark-Electro. String parts and arrangements are omnipresent, injecting a wafting sensation to the production. This way the sound becomes a bit space or ambient like. The vocals are harsh but in perfect balance with the music.

+ + + : The debut album revealed a true potential while I was a bit disappointed by the EP “Stranger To My Self”. This work is an honest and personal production which reminds me a bit of Decoded Feedback. The songs are elaborated and have something dreamy. I however prefer the most danceable cuts like “City Of Decay” which is driven by an aggressive bass line and “Defective Circuit” which is an instrumental, beating cut with EBM sequences.

– – – : I’m missing vocals on “Defective Circuit” which remains however a great piece of music. This is a fully enjoyable production but it all sounds like there even is more potential in it.

Conclusion: Degenerated Sequences stands for a more space-like experience of EBM.

Best songs: “City Of Decay”, “Defective Circuit”, “Divine Redemption”, “Time”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/degeneratedsequences

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063931008152

About Degenerated Sequences

Degenerated Sequences is the solo project of Yiannis “Dseq” Chatzakis, based in Sitia, Greece, who is also a keyboardist for PreEmptive Strike 0.1. He released the self-titled Degenerated Sequences debut album, followed by the EP “Stranger To My Self” in 2019, and “Schism” as his second full length album, released on Advoxya Records.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Stahlgeist is a Hungarian duo driven by Istvan Gazdag (First Aid 4 Souls) and Tamás Bank (Worker/Munkás). They deal with a sophisticated EBM format which will for sure appeal for lovers of early Frontline Assembly. The debut album “Escape Reality” originally self-released in 2019 got an official release in 2020 on Advoxya Records and has been now re-released by Alfa-Matrix and retitled to “Altered Reality”. Great bass lines and icy sequences resulted in danceable songs. This interview is an opportunity to know a bit more about this great formation.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Who’s hiding behind Stahlgeist and how did the project saw the daylight? Was there something like a plan and/or an idea about influences, sound and approach?

Stahlgeist: Stahlgeist is Istvan Gazdag (from First Aid 4 Souls) and Tamás Bank (from Worker/Munkás). It’s just a dream of two EBM fanatics. We don’t have a plan in general, we just want to play EBM.

Q: What’s your way and procedure of working together? What’s the input of both members and did you’ve to make many compromises in the writing & production of the album?

Stahlgeist: Istvan writes the songs and sends them to me and I write the lyrics and send it back, then we meet and discuss if one of us like to change something and then we record the lyrics and Istvan masters them together.

Q: You first self-released the album “Escape Reality” which was next re-released by Advoxya Records and finally reworked and retitled to “Altered Reality”. Tell us a bit more about the progression from “Escape Reality” towards “Altered Reality”? What did you try to improve and/or change?

Stahlgeist: On the one hand, we wanted to change it because of the change of label, so that Alfa-Matrix could reach a wider audience, and on the other hand, Istvan has learned and improved a lot in his mastering skills since the recording of “Escape Reality” and it would have been a shame to miss that opportunity to make the songs better.

Q: What is the album all about and what did you try to express by the lyrical themes?

Stahlgeist: The album is about the present around us and a possible future. The reality we would escape from presents a picture of a gloomier future. Our everyday life and our expected future leaves us despondent and pained. Just as the genre was born out of a sense of hopelessness and oppression, we are now confronted with the same feelings in our daily lives.

Q: The production sounds like good-old EBM but accomplished with a true sophisticated song writing. Tell us a bit more about the sound concept and production? And how did this album took shape?

Stahlgeist: We really like old-school EBM, and Istvan involved with his Dark-Electro music project First Aid 4 Souls wanted more EBM, stronger, stompier music and I wanted to go along this journey with him.

Q: Tell us a bit more about both ‘bonus’ songs featured at “Altered Reality”? Do you’ve already new songs and ideas in mind for the further evolution of Stahlgeist?

Stahlgeist: The two new songs from our upcoming new album have been added to surprise our fans with a little gift. The musical basis is complete and the lyrics are done; now comes the singing phase. I can promise you that the tempo will not slow down and the lyrics will not become any gentler.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After having released two successful albums on Advoxya Records, Miseria Ultima got an upgrade and signed to Alfa Matrix. The Finnish duo driven by Aleksi Martikainen (vocals) and Kimmo Huhtala (music) first released the EP “Witch Heart Apparition” and now strikes back with songs inspired by mortality, tragic death and how to face these facts.

Content: Miseria Ultima moves on mixing Dark-Electronics and EBM. The dark sphere is carried by melodic choruses and danceable kicks with harsh vocals on top. I also notice a more minimal but danceable cut. This album is now and then reminding me of Centhron.

+ + + : Miseria Ultima don’t reinvent anything but are quite efficient in writing alluring songs. The tracklist gets more interesting during the second part of the work featuring outstanding cuts like “The Underground Cult Of Decadence”, “The Aurora Eyes” and a great bonus cut “Of Whip And Vanquishment”.“The Aurora Eyes” especially stands out a bit from the rest of the tracklist; this is an intelligent, minimal-driven, song with a subtle, cold, melody line. This band definitely deserves to get a wider recognition which they might obtain by being signed to Alfa Matrix.

– – – : Quite surprisingly the previously released EP title song “Witch Heart Apparition” didn’t really catch my attention. The production of the vocals remains pretty similar the entire album long and is maybe an aspect to reconsider on further works.

Conclusion: Miseria Ultima confirms their strong potential revealed at previous works and will be a true revelation for Dark-Electro heads.

Best songs: “The Underground Cult Of Decadence”, “The Aurora Eyes”, “Of Whip And Vanquishment”, “The Arrow Dream”, “Stillborn Promethean”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.miseriaultima.com / www.facebook.com/miseriaultima

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘In Colors Of Void’.

About Miseria Ultima

Miseria Ultima is a Finnish dark electro duo formed by Aleksi Martikainen (vocals) and Kimmo Huhtala (music). The pair released two albums via Advoxya Records before signing to Alfa Matrix, where they issued the EP “Witch Heart Apparition” ahead of “In Colors Of Void” (2023), reviewed here. Miseria Ultima returned in 2024 with a fourth studio album, “Arctic Esotericism”, also released via Alfa Matrix.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Hungarian duo Stahlgeist is driven by core members Istvan Gazdag (First Aid 4 Souls) and Tamás Bank (Worker Munkás). “Altered Reality” features reworked songs from the band’s self-released debut album “Escape Reality” (2019) which was re-released by Advoxya Records in 2020.

Content: If you don’t yet know Stahlgeist you better get prepared to discover a well-crafted old-school EBM opus which is clearly evoking early Frontline Assembly. Both last cuts weren’t featured on the original album.

+ + + : Stahlgeist deals with a classic EBM format but the way the songs have been written reveals a sophisticated process. This is much more than cheap EBM, but a well-thought and accomplished composition revealing great bass lines, icy sequences and raw, danceable songs. Istvan Gazdag remains a true genius musician when it comes to composing intelligent retro EBM. The sound is more ‘straightforward’  than First Aid 4 Souls so this is total EBM power & fun.

– – – : I’m convinced the production of the vocals could now and then be a bit better but you don’t hear me complaining. Both ‘new’ tracks aren’t exactly the most convincing ones.

Conclusion: Stahlgeist joined the Alfa Matrix roster which I hope will give them a wider exposure. This work kicks a**!

Best songs: “Infected Colony – Alternate Version”, “Stahlgeist – Alternate Version”, “Step By Step – Alternate Version”, “Inner Temple – Alternate Version”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/stahlgeist

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

About Stahlgeist

Stahlgeist is a Hungarian duo driven by core members Istvan Gazdag, also active as First Aid 4 Souls, and Tamás Bank of Worker Munkás. The project’s debut album “Escape Reality” appeared in 2019 and was reissued by Advoxya Records in 2020. Stahlgeist signed to Alfa Matrix in October 2022, as confirmed at the time, releasing an alternate version of “Escape Reality”, the release reviewed here as “Altered Reality”. The duo later returned with the five-track single “Silence” in February 2025 and the album “Justice” in June 2025, discussed in a Side-Line interview the same month.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Carlos Ruiz got involved with the Spanish Dark-Electro duo Dioxyde. The band gained recognition in its genre, but Carlos left in 2004 to move on with his solo-project Asseptic Room. The sound became different although still driven by good-old Dark-Electro vibes. The albums “Morbid Visions” (2006) and “Visceralophobia” (2011) saw the daylight. It next took ten years to Asseptic Room to strike back. Carlos Ruiz got joined by Mario González to compose the new work “Extinction Or Reawaken”. The opus has been again released by Advoxya Records and became a double album revealing next to the Dark-Electro influences at the first disc a more Cinematic exploration at the second disc. I asked a few questions about the past, the present and the future to both protagonists.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I noticed you first started in the scene as DJ. What kind of music were you playing and how did you finally made the step to compose your own music and getting involved with Dioxyde?

Carlos: I started as a professional DJ in a famous club in Madrid somewhere at the end of 1987 – beginning of 1988. I started collecting vinyls since I was 14 years old and my ear was always attracted by genres that were not very commercial at that time. One day a couple of vinyls came into my hands in an import store, (“Party Hate” from Click Click and “Freiheit Fuer Die Sklaven” from Pankow), which made me listen to genres such as Industrial, EBM from the 80’s and especially Dark-Electro from the 90’s.

I started to compose my first tracks in 1991, when I was able to buy my first great computer ever and a Kawai keyboard. But it wouldn’t be until 1998 when I would meet Marcos Calvo and decided to take the leap to produce an album. During one of my sessions as a DJ in a famous Club in Madrid, I met Marcos Calvo who told me about the idea of ​​making music together. In a short lapse of time we had a lot of good songs; Marcos had already composed some good songs, and at that time I had many bases and consolidated themes, which we finally managed to adapt to create the first Dioxyde album “Torschlusspanik”.

I decided to send a cassette with a small sample to Johan Van Roy (Suicide Commando). I never thought  he would answer that soon with the intention to know more about the project. It was the beginning of a beautiful story.

Q: How did you finally come to set up Asseptic Room and what makes the difference in sound and approach with Dioxyde?

Carlos: My experience with Dioxyde was incredible. It allowed me to grow as an artist and develop all my creativity and to create my own compositions. Time passing by I found the need to do something on my own and create that dark sound that had been spinning around in my head for so many years. So in 2006 I decided to take a leap into the void and started working for my most personal project.

With Asseptic Room I wanted to explore other types of genres, perhaps more retro, Experimental, more Ambient, but without neglecting the hardness of the percussion and the melodies that have been so successful in my previous work with Dioxyde and used to create songs. such as “Acto Primero”, “Angel (Espina Mortal)”, “Panzerfaust”, “Primary Structures” or “Torschlüsspanik”, a track that I had created for a long time and which has a lot of strength.

That same year (2006) I sent my first demo to Tommy T (DSBP Records) to release the first album “Morbid Visions”. The album responded satisfactorily to my expectations and proof of this is the long list of compilations that wanted to include songs from that first album.

Also, it gave me the opportunity to do some remixes for bands like: Alien Produkt, Vigilante, Aengeldust, Haushetaere, Tyske Ludder or Acylum (Pedro Engel’s project with whom I have had contact on several occasions to create some of my best remixes). Nor will I forget, the magnificent remixes that have been created for Asseptic Room, to highlight among others those of Totalverlust, Acylum, Hioctan, Reality, Suicide Solution, Proyecto Mirage, Larva and many others.

During these years I got in touch with my great friend, Mario González and we had the opportunity to work together in the studio, developing a track for this album. Next I personally went through dark and very difficult years. It was like this until 2011 and the release of the second album “Visceralofobia”. It was a difficult album, like a challenge going through a restless and desperate period. But in the end and with a lot of efforts I was able to release the album thanks to Advoxya Records. After this album I’d to go though the most difficult moments of my life resulting in abandoning the creation of music for many years.

Q: So does the new album you released last year feel like a new beginning? How did it feel all these years without releasing new material? What brought you back to compose new songs?

Carlos: Finally, after the loss of my partner and two years of mourning I came back to surface. One night some musical notes began to sound that I could not stop listening to over and over again. I had to get up and play it in the middle of the night. The first thing I thought was that it was different and it was born from deep within. Those were the first notes of “The Memory Of Silence”; I even imagine to play it in a great philharmonic. A nice dream;)

Around the same time I got back in touch with Mario after many years and everything started flowing quickly. The Covid 19 pandemic came into our lives and for us there were moments of great creativity that helped us to create many new songs.

Q: The new album “Extinction Or Reawaken” has been released as a double album and there clearly is a difference between both discs; than main disc is pure Dark (h)El(l)ectro music while the second disc sounds more into Soundtrack. Tell us a bit more about both discs and the global production process of the work?

Carlos: When we began to develop the songs for the new album, we realized that we had a lot of material and we did not want to leave any song off the album, for this reason we had to think that “Extinction Or Reawaken” should be a double one. It is true that in a few months we had a large and varied number of songs, some songs are pure Dark-Electro, but I incorporate new elements to the compositions that make them different from other personal works.

We had to stop for a moment to reflect if we wanted to create classic dark music or experiment to achieve what our heads wanted with these new compositions. We finally decided to open up and experiment with a multitude of genres.

We had classic songs, perfect to be played in an orchestra, with epic choirs and we had to learn to work with this type of instrument. We also had tremendously hard and dark tracks and other ambient and epic songs.

In the end, all those tracks were a mixture of feelings and emotions, which tell a story full of symbolism for us. It has been a very hard job that has lasted many months, and we are very satisfied with the final result.


Q: What have been the main sources of inspiration to compose this new work and what did you try to express by the title? What has been the input of Mario González and how did you get in touch?

Mario: The inspiration came mainly from the recent loss of our family members. They were very hard times for both of us, but thanks to this we have done our best work.
We explore many sounds with our equipment and for the first time we did not dare to put any limits on creativity and we were open to explore and experiment   even antagonistic genres.

We try to go beyond the Dark-Electro genre by simply trying to imprint the soul of Asseptic Room by using influences from classical music, epic passages, Tibetan sounds and even pure noise.

The album title was chosen on the edge of life’s bad circumstances and somehow represents the nature of human life that transcends good and evil to survive/self-extinct.

Carlos: Mario and I got in touch at the end of 2019 at a perfect time and with all the past experience we had making some tracks for the “Morbid Visions”-album. The process happened automatically and we rarely even talked about how to make music because of a very special connection. We really enjoy doing these things.

Q: How do you see Asseptic Room evolving and what are the further plans –especially in times of ongoing pandemic? 

Mario: Our next plans are to prepare the concert in Madrid with Hocico. We have finished taking up the album “Visceralofofia” with a new production. Eight tracks are included in this new work and our idea is to release it in a special vinyl edition. Now we have to assess the budget to launch it in the coming months.
We have also started working on new songs for Asseptic Room and doing a review of tracks created in my period with Dioxyde. A special way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the project.

Carlos: The pandemic has not stopped our illusion of continuing to do what we like and now our creativity is at a high level and we are excited about the amount of work we have in our hands. The pandemic has been very hard, as for everyone, but thanks to music we have been able to escape from this madness.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

After the previous album “Derailed” released in 2017, it seemed that there were no further plans for Instans. Luckily the Swedish project driven by Fredrik Djurfeldt has been reactivated and this year released a new album entitled “Trans Sector Hyperdrive”. The work released on Advoxya Records reveals a new opus filled with Minimal-Electro, which has been defined as ‘Neo-EBM’. The sound is miles away from EBM standards, which makes the album original, but also very efficient. I should say a great work, which also proves it’s still possible to remain creative in the rather conservative EBM scene. I talked about the album with Fredrik.  

(Picture credits by Bengt Rahm / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: “Trans Sector Hyperdrive” has been released a few months ago now so how do you look back at the album with hindsight? What are the main points of satisfaction?

Fredrik: I am quite happy with it, almost proud. I have always liked making thematic albums, and this time I decided the space race with all of it´s broken promises urgently needed to be dealt with. When I grew up, back in the 80´s, we were lead to believe that by the year 2000 everyone could travel to the moon and stuff like that. They lied to us, and now we are told how by 2030 anyone who really wants to will be able go on vacation on Mars. Same old story, and it is still a lie. This album is my reaction to it, and I think it came out the way I intended it.

Q: What have been the triggers to start composing this album? And how did the writing- and production process happened?

Fredrik:Fact is, Instans was meant to be dead by now. When we played at Front Fabrik Festival in Poland three years ago, we had planned for that to be the end. Then Dima, the brains and muscle behind Advoxya Records, somehow managed to kick me back into gear. We made up plans for nine shows in Russia and five in the United States, and I wrote half the album before lockdowns and travel bans came into effect. I completely lost motivation, and abandoned the project until Dima again kicked me into gear.

So there was a phase one, and a phase two. First, I enthusiastically wrote a bunch of tracks, then lockdowns, and then I wrote the rest of the album. The positive side effect of not playing live at all during phase two, is that I wrote slower tracks that I probably would not have otherwise.

Q: Are you a perfectionist? What are your personal criteria to say a song/album is finished?

Fredrik:I won’t not say perfectionist, no. Trying to be perfect tends to end up as self-censorship, and censorship is never a good thing. I tend to work the other way around, actually. First, I spend two or three hours working on the track. Then, some time later, I will go back and spend another hour working on it and it is usually done. In my experience, more work tends to ruin the track. There are of course exceptions from that rule, but it is the general idea.

I would also like to quote Steve Albini from his famous latter to Nirvana: ‘If an album takes more than a week to make, someone is fucking up.’

Q: Instans is a solo-project although for “Trans Sector Hyperdrive” you asked a few guests to join in. Tell us a bit more about these collaborative tracks and the input of Peter Mastbooms aka ‘Borg’ and Jonas Fredriksson?  

Fredrik: Both are good friends and we have been working together in other ways over the years. I am a full time member of ALVAR, and so I have been working actively with Jonas since 2014.

Borg and I have been playing the same venues many times over the years, him with The Juggernauts and The Klinik, and me with Boar Alarm, Alvar, Severe Illusion and No Sleep By The Machine. In the case of Borg, I found it particularly interesting to have a JUGGERNAUT perspective for one of the tracks, considering the overall theme of my album.

Q: The sound of INSTANS remains characterized by a minimal EBM approach, which isn’t comparable to any other EBM formation. I dare to say a band with an own sound-DNA! What makes this atypical EBM-sound and what’s your perception of contemporary EBM?

Fredrik: My first attempt at song writing was probably when I was four or five years old, that is when I could reach up from the floor to my fathers piano. I am not sure how much that influences me to this day. Then, when I was six or so years old, I started experimenting with left over electronic equipment my father brought home from work. He is a scientist, so the equipment was not meant for music production at all. Still, I was able to make lots of exciting noise with it. That is probably the earliest roots of my music. That is probably also the first time I experienced what 220 Volts through the human body feels like.

Then, when I got my first computer, a Commodore VIC-20, I wrote music with that, or at least I tried. It must have been a nightmare for anyone around at the time, because the sound chip in that machine is really stupid and I had to write the software in Basic. The C64 came after that, and I became a huge fan of Rob Hubbard, Martin Galway and all the others. Again I had to write all the software I needed, but the SID chip is far better, and working with machine language is far, far more exciting. That era was certainly influential on the future sound of Instans.

To be really honest, I don´t listen to much contemporary EBM. I am more fond of older music from when the sound was not so annoyingly perfect, clean and outright boring as is usually the case today. There are still a few bands around, who understands what music is all about, but we seem to be going extinct. Let´s hope the younger generation wakes up to how boring things have become, and start making music more painful again.

Q: What brings the future for Instans and your other projects? Might we expect a new Severe Illusion-album?

Fredrik: The world has changed in some dramatic ways in recent years. It was an ugly place before, for sure. But now, we are seeing repression on a level that will soon make fascism look like a walk in the park. Touring has become near impossible, and that makes it even harder for any independent musicians out there. As long as we accept lockdowns, vaccin passes, and all the other repression that came along with the Scam-demic, things will get progressively worse until live music is a thing of the past for all of us. If we have learned anything from history, it should be that you can not give that kind power to politicians and expect them to ever give it back without a fight. That is the grim question which determines the chances of future releases, and of course not just for me.

That being said, I am very happy with the new Instans album, and I would love to move forward with it now as it is again an active project. I have started the work on a new album by Analfabetism, that I am really excited about. I have made some field recordings at what remains of a weapons factory built in 1620. There, weapons were made for the Swedish army who spent over 100 years, plundering, pillaging and murdering in Western Russia. That will be the sound of the next Analfabetism album.

There are plans for a split-release between my project Boar Alarm, and Ulf Lundblad´s Two Dimensional Skull. Most of the music is ready for that one. We have also been talking about making a new Severe Illusion album, and there is a new label involved in that project. With a little luck, we should start working on it in January.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, AggroTech.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Justin Thiele’s fourth official album has been introduced by the artist as ‘a personal record of accumulation for loss, pain, and unthinkable misery, yet also stands as a testament to perseverance in the face of a fate we all share’. “Death Curse” features eleven songs plus five remixes.

Content: Dark-Electro lovers will be for sure familiar with the dark and tormented Electronics of this American project. The album takes off with a kind of intro and rapidly moves on with furious and harsh Dark-Electro characterized by distorted vocals, carrying icy leads and stumping kicks. The last song has something Hardcore like.

Remixes have been accomplished by God Module, Sin DNA, Amduscia, Erk Aicrag and XXOt. 

+ + + : Viscera Drip has accomplished a hard and merciless work. It’s not that innovating, but simply a great, powerful piece of Dark-Electro like this artist has already done before. The global production process became more mature and resulted in several great songs. I especially recommend listening to “Why Can’t You See It?” and “Fading Voices”. There’re interesting names about the remixers, and also great pieces of music like the Dark-Techno remix of “The Other Side Of Hell” by Sin DNA and God Module’s remix of “A Place Beyond The Stars”.

– – – : The more Hardcore driven “Dark Water” isn’t exactly a song that I’ll keep in mind and with less in common with the rest of the tracklist.

Conclusion: Viscera Drip remains in my opinion a rather underrated or less familiar formation in the wide fields of Dark-Electronic music.

Best songs: “Why Can’t You See It?”, “Fading Voices”, “Better When We Die”, “A Place Among The Stars” + “The Other Side Of Hell – Sin DNA Remix”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/VisceraDrip

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Minimal-EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Fredrik Djurfeldt strikes back with a new album of his Instans EBM project. Known from his involvement with Severe Illusion, and also the Dark-Ambient project Analfabetism ao it took him four years to achieve the fourth opus of Instans.

Content: Instans stands for Minimal-EBM, which has been also labeled as ‘Neo-EBM’. However you want to label it, the sound is clearly driven by good-old EBM elements, but there’s something very personal running through the production. It sounds a bit ghost-like, the songs not being driven by fast BPMs but by oppressive atmospheres. It sometimes has something pretty Klinik-al-like, but also delicate. One of the songs features Belgian Peter Mastbooms aka ‘Borg’ from The Jüggernauts and live member of The Klinik while another cut is featuring Jonas Fredriksson –who  together with Fredrik Djurfeldt is involved with Alvar.

+ + + : I like EBM with such a minimal approach. It creates something different from the classical standards and that’s why the label ‘Neo-EBM’ makes sense. The songs are rather simplistic, but the strength emerges from the sphere and the power of the bass lines. It creates a freaky sensation and especially the second part of the album moves crescendo, “108 Minuter” featuring Jonas Fredriksson is an absolute highlight. But I also have to mention the next song “Monkeys In Space”, which has something Klinik-like. “Död Planet” is a dystopian title for another great piece of minimalism and “Space 1999” featuring Juggernaut Borg is also worthy of examination. 

– – – : The atypical EBM format might be less convincing for die-hard fans, but I don’t see real minus points here.

Conclusion: Instans holds on to this minimal taste for a different –and creative EBM format. Respect!

Best songs: “108 Minuter”,  “Monkeys In Space”, “Död Planet”, “Space 1999”, “The Eagle Never Landed”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Instans

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Hailing from Kalininbrag (Russia), Hired.Life succeeded to Denergized (releasing the album “VHS Recall” in 2008 on Advoxya). Hired.Life was set up in 2008 and released a few albums. “Her Demoversion” see them moving back to Advoxya Records. The album is meant as ‘a tale without a happy end’ and features ten songs.

Content: The best way to describe the sound of Hired.Life is ‘Wave-Pop’. There clearly is a kind of retro-80s like element running through their composition, which is mainly accentuated by the melodies. The songs have been empowered by guitar playing. You’ll also hear passages with piano arrangements. There’s also an old song taken from the band’s debut-album “End Of Line”, which has been reworked. And there are 2 surprising cover versions from old EBM band Morgue and Nexus VI. The vocals have been sung in English and Russian.

+ + + : The melodic side of the work is for sure one of the most noticeable elements and main strengths. There also is a good balance between synths and guitar, which mainly comes through in the instrumental song “Empty Cell (Alive)”, which has something Cinematographic like. There’s also a version with lyrics from this song, which was originally composed by Morgue. The instrumental edit has something elevating and dreamy-like. Another attention grabber is the “2020 Edit” of “Farewell”, which sounds more gothic-inspired.

– – – : The album is missing a true apotheosis; the songs are nicely going by, but they’re missing some substance.

Conclusion: Advoxya Records is a label with numerous great bands, which I can recommend without hesitation, but Hired.Life can’t convince me.

Best songs: “Empty Cell – Alive”, “Farewell – 2020 Edit”, “Твоя Демоверсия”.

Rate: 5½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/hiredlife.net

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Russian project Outpost11 strikes back with a third album. Previous productions revealed an interesting EBM format with some retro-elements on top. Rodion Skityaev is back on track and brings us fifteen new cuts. Notice by the way there’s also a double CD edition available featuring a bonus disc with some remixes.

Content: “Structural Defects” takes off in a rather surprising way by a heavy, harsh approach followed by a pure bombastic song. Quite progressively the album evolves towards a more familiar sound, where you’ll notice the influence of Canadian bands like Skinny Puppy and Frontline Assembly. The tracks are supported with cold melody lines, which also come back at the harder cuts. The work indeed evolves again towards harsher pieces.

The CD format reveals two more songs than the digital edit and both cuts definitely belong to the best part of the album. One of them is a remix by Asdean.

+ + + : I should say forget the very first cuts, which are more into a kind of chaos, but the album starts to be interesting right after the debut part. We here discover a well-crafted production merging EBM and Dark-Electronics together. The obvious Skinny Puppy influence resulted in some cool songs. I especially recommend “Out Of Control”, “Bad Signal” and the more ghost-like “Wageslaves”. The remix of “Bad Signal” by Asdean is a great bonus piece and even the best cut from the album.

– – – : This work is more versatile than previous albums. Both debut tracks took me by surprise, but unfortunately in a bad way. There’s nothing wrong with fast rhythms, but it’s not in harmony with the melody lines.

Conclusion: Outpost11 for the very first time didn’t take me by surprise although the work features a few cool and accomplished Electro tracks.

Best songs: “Bad Signal – Asdean Rmx”, “Out Of Control”, “Bad Signal”, “Wageslaves”, “Destroy”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/outpost11band

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This is album number eight for the French solo-project Electro Synthetic Rebellion (ESR). Driven by Vince Pujol, “Into Darkness” was composed between 2017 and 2020 and released four years after the last album. “Into Darkness” is the third work released on Advoxya Records.

Content: “Into Darkness” sounds like a continuation of this project’s previous album and entire discography. I consider ESR to be one of the numerous ‘pupils’ of Frontline Assembly and this comparison still makes sense for this work. It’s an elaborated EBM format mixing power, great sound treatments and retro-like atmospheres. The vocals still have this ghost-like production. One of the songs is a ‘new’ version of “Reanimate” originally released on ESR’s debut album “Distorted Visions” (2001). There’re also a few instrumental cuts on the tracklist.

+ + + : I guess it’s not the first time I say that ESR probably belongs to the most unrated EBM formations from the scene. “Into Darkness” once more proves the writing skills of Vince Pujol. He’s not composing original EBM, but simply a great, accomplished and alluring production. The retro touch running as a common thread throughout the album is achieved with a strong contemporary touch. The old- and reworked song “Reanimate” is a way to discover the evolution of ESR, but still confirming this project already had a nose for great EBM now twenty years ago. ESR stands for sophisticated EBM mixing power and freaky atmospheres.

– – – : ESR doesn’t innovate, but only improve the global production. I don’t think it’s a minus as the qualitative level of the production remains pretty high.

Conclusion: You like EBM and you’re in search of a great- and intelligent album, try “Into Darkness”.

Best songs: “Haunted Grounds”, “Too Late”, “Reanimate – Reminiscence”, “Broken”, “Dark Forces”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/DarkElectroESR

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: Ten years after the band’s last album, Asseptic Room strikes back with their third full length. Carlos Ruiz –previously involved with Dioxyde, has been joined now by Mario González.

Content: This double album clearly has two sides. The main album features 15 songs, which are clearly driven by good-old Electronic standards. Several songs will definitely appeal for fans of :Wumpscut:. There’s a similar tormented sphere mixed with powerful sequences and overwhelming strings. The enraged vocals –mainly sung in Spanish, only accentuate the aggressive approach of Asseptic Room. The last 3 songs are remixes by Acylum, Hiotcan and Nano Infect.

The second album is something totally different. The atmosphere remains pretty dark and you easily recognize the Dark-Electro influence in the song writing, but this album is clearly meant as an imaginary Soundtrack. Most of the songs are instrumental edits –although you’ll notice spoken samplings and a few vocal lines. The songs are sometimes achieved with epic arrangements and constantly driven by rhythms.

+ + + : This work stands for the comeback of Asseptic Room. The first new full length in ten years sounds a bit like a new start and I can assure you the Spanish duo didn’t miss a step. I especially like the darkest and most tormented cuts of the work, which are easily reminding me of the glorious days of :Wumpscut:, but also of Acylum. It’s not of a coincidence Acylum has been asked for a remix and it definitely is one of the best songs of the album. I like the icy sound treatments this album has been made by.

The second disc is different, but Asseptic Room also reveals to have great skills to compose a Dark-Electronic soundtrack. Especially “Syndrome Of Decay” is an impressive piece of music for its epic arrangements; kind of In Slaughter Natives in a more Electronic way.

– – – : The tracklist of both albums could have been a bit shorter; all songs can’t convince me in the same way.

Conclusion: Asseptic Room strikes back with its best album to date: freaky Dark-Electronics for the dancefloors, but still to freak out alone at home.

Best songs: “Extinction Or Reawaken – Redemption”, “Insomnia – Acylum Remix”, “The Rise Of Doom”, “Extinction Or Reawaken” + “Syndrome Of Decay”, “The Destroyer Of Worlds”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/assepticroom.official

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This new work by the duo Robert Van Kooij (The Netherlands) – Jan Ricker (Germany) has been presented as an EP. It features five new songs plus three instrumental bonus cuts so in the end it rather looks like a mini-album. “Stahlbeton” is the second work released on Advoxya Records and the next release after the great album “Evil Calls Home” (2019).

Content: The five new songs are moving on with power and rage. It feels a bit like Wolfchild became harder and more evil in their global approach. Some passages again remind me of the EBM power of Tyske Lüdder, but the songs also feature Dark-Electro leads and other haunting atmospheres. Most of the songs are sung in German, but you’ll notice English vocals.

The bonus tracks are totally different. Here we get 3 instrumental edits, which are also a bit slower and empowered by guitar riffs. One of the songs reminds me of the tormented sphere of the last Acylum-album.

+ + + : Wolfchild simply confirms their potential illustrated on previous works. The 5 new songs are pure rage and driven by adrenaline. The songs are remarkably worked out, carried by icy leads and driven by stumping rhythms. The furious vocals of Jan Ricker only increase the state of violence emerging from these songs. “Paranoia” is an absolute masterpiece, but I also have to mention “Snow In April”, and “Vom Tod Begehrt”.

– – – : The instrumental songs reveal another side of the band, which is clearly more into a kind of EBM soundtrack. It’s not bad at all, but a little bit of an antithesis to the rest of the work. The title song isn’t my favorite.

Conclusion: “Stahlbeton” is a great and dark EBM production, which I can only, but highly recommend for the five main tracks.

Best songs: “Paranoia”, “Snow In April”, “Vom Tod Begehrt”, “Stahlbeton”. 

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/wolfchildelectro 

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Set up in 2010 by Raúl Junior Padrón and Raúl José Padrón, this Venezulian duo is operating from Hungary. This is also the place of their label Advoxya Records. The album was released early in 2021 and is also available as a double disc featuring remixes by bands like First Aid 4 Souls, Viscera Drip, Nohycit, Tragic Impulse ao. 

Content: Subliminal Code is not what I can call a band, which repeats itself. They already revealed different sources of inspiration, from pure Dark-Electro towards a harder Industrial sound. I think this work rather sounds like the offspring of both styles; a perfect match between typical Dark-Electro sonorities and a harder Industrial side driven by guitar riffs. You’ll discover songs at full speed, but refined with melodies. The vocals accentuate the rage running through this work, which is symbolized by its title.

+ + + : What I like is the kind of harmony subliminal Code found between rage and melody. They really created a crossover between both genres, working on songs like “No More” and “To Night”. I especially recommend the second part of the album featuring the most interesting cuts. 

– – – : I can’t say the debut songs are worse, but without a similar harmony between power and melody. The songs are driven by nervous sequences and rhythms, which are sometimes maybe too fast.

Conclusion: Subliminal Code is definitely not a copyist, but a Dark-Electro band with a different approach and vision.

Best songs: “No More”, “To Night”, “Malevolencia”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/groups/subliminalcodegoups

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

The Spanish dark electro duo Larva – consisting of Marco InqUesT and Anoxia Larva – have been already been active for over twenty years since they formed in Barcelona in 1998. Out now via Advoxya Records is the band’s new album “Void” offering 12 new tracks.

“Void” is the band’s eleventh official studio album so far and the follow-up of 2017’s “Scars” album. It is out now as a double limited CD including the 3inch maxi “Into The Void” with 4 unreleased tracks.

Advoxya Records has also released a videoteaser to give you an idea what to expect.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Stahlnebel and Black Selket met via Myspace in early 2008 for a remix contest. Sander Kapper (Black Selket) from The Netherlands was looking for a singer while Ralph Neuhaus from germany (Stahlnebel) was in search for someone to make the music. Stahlnebel & Black Selket was born and started to release albums. The sound is not just Dark-Electro driven, but clearly empowered by Trance leads and other Technoid elements. It makes the originality of this formation, which has a very distinguishable sound.  The newest full length “The Darkest Hour” released on Advoxya Records doesn’t really innovate, but simply confirms the dance potential of the band. I talked about it all with Sander Kapper.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Stahlnebel & Black Selket are now active for numerous years and have released multiple productions so what makes the chemistry between you guys and what do you consider as your major accomplishments?

Sander: Our chemistry just works well to get results and that makes us strong in what we do. I still think “Lifeless” was our best selling album and “Noise” was our first box set sold by Advoxya Records. I am most proud of our vinyls because it is in my genes since I come from the early days of dance music. I produced a lot of vinyl during that time. This is different for Ralph.

Q: Throughout the years you created a very own- and recognizable sound, kind of ‘sound DNA’, which is mainly dancefloor orientated. What makes the essence and specificity of this sound?

Sander: The basis of our music has never really changed. Raw beats with a Trance build-up. We have tried to change our sound and production, but it just doesn’t work for us. Even when we make a remix, we try to keep that ‘sound DNA’ in it. This also distinguishes us from the main-stream

Q: Every band has its own sound formula and a proper way of working. What’s yours and what’s the input of each member?

Sander: We often work with a starting idea. This can be a sample or just something from the news or contemporary activity and Ralph starts writing a text for that and I lay the foundation for the melody. Ongoing production -we often adjust a lot of things to make it a composition and so you can hear that this is us.

I produce all the music, Ralph arranges the lyrics and vocals and Branko is mainly active on stage for the ‘live’ instruments.

Q: When did you start the writing of the songs for “The Darkest Hour” and how did the composition process happened in pandemic times? Did you try to change and/or improve specific aspects of the production and was there a particular focus?

Sander: “The Darkest Hour” is based on a real 90’s sound. Influences of Skinny Puppy and Hocico from that time. And the title of the song grew out of the dark days and the beginning of the pandemic. But as you may have heard in our old songs, Ralph has been writing about this for years so this pandemic gave us an extra boost.

Q: “The Darkest Hour” sounds as an appropriated title in times of Covid-19, but is there a real connection? What did you try to express lyrical wise  and especially by the song “Never Surrender” featuring famous samplings of Winston Churchill?

Sander: “The Darkest Hour” actually stands for several aspects. War, pandemic, overpopulation and these themes always come back in our productions.

The title says it all, “Never Give Up Or Give In”. Even when time is not good and things are heavy.

Q: How do you see the project evolving throughout the years? Do you’ve a kind of referential album or is every new work just the best one? Further plans?

Sander: This is our eighth album and personally I don’t really have a preference for a particular CD or song. For each of us we have our own preference and, which track we like best. Since I have two young children, it is a bit more difficult to produce these days. I have to manage my time well. I also do a lot of Techno and ‘Hardstyle’ so Stahlnebel & Black Selket always comes first for me. After the release of the box set “Decalogy” I first took some rest and started working on some new tracks. So… more music will follow… maybe a new single. The first thing we are waiting for now is our new “12 inch” We Never Surrender”. 

Since vinyl is back on the swing, the production time is extremely long. We thank Advoxya Records for this. Because the costs are very high to realize this, but we are glad we did it. And of course we want to  thank our loyal fans without them we cannot realize this.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro, Industrial, IDM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Russian duo The-Pulsar is back on track, releasing their first new album in nine years. “Pathetics” is the band’s third official full length, again released on Advoxya Records.

Content: I would describe this album as a Russian alternative to Haujobb. There’s a similar taste for intelligent Electronics, mixing sophisticated sound treatments, great atmospheres and rhythms. The songs are cold, complex, but accessible.

+ + + : “Pathetics” is a well-crafted and elaborated production. The songs have been meticulously built up, often being pretty extended and also evolving into a few true sound climaxes. Both debut songs reveal this intelligent approach, but I would especially recommend listening to “Someone”. This song sounds more danceable and features amazing strings right at the end. Another attention grabber is “Run”, which confirms the band’s sophisticated writing although it remains a pretty accessible song.

– – – : The single aspect that could be improved is the production of the vocals.

Conclusion: The-Pulsar strikes back with a genius and visionary piece of Electronics.

Best songs: “Someone”, “Run”, “Grim Desire”, “Never Disappear”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.the-pulsar.com / www.facebook.com/ThePulsar

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, Industrial-Rave.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Never change a winning team! The duo Stahlnebel – Black Selket strikes back with their seventh album to date.

Content: The Germans didn’t really change their sound formula; this is a powerful and fully club-driven approach mixing hard pumping kicks, dark atmospheres and carrying Trance-orientated leads. The vocals are more like growls, but you’ll also notice spoken samplings –featuring famous words of Winston Churchill.

+ + + : I can’t say that the sound of this band has really changed and/or evolved over the years. But the main strength of Stahlnebel & Black Selket is that they’ve a very recognizable sound and I really like artists with their own sound DNA. The album reveals some great songs, “Never Surrender” (featuring samplings of Churchill) being for sure one of the biggest potential dancefloor killers. But I also have to mention “God And The Devil” and the pretty surprising cover of VNV Nation’s “Control”.

– – – : The main strength of a band always often becomes its weakness… The sound formula remains exactly the same-old one so in the end “The Darkest Hour” has something predictable.

Conclusion: Stahlnebel & Black Selket don’t really care about innovation and eventually new sonic paths to discover; they move on composing great dance floor stuff for dark souls!

Best songs: “Never Surrender”, “God And The Devil”,  “Control”, “Schmerz”, “Help”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/stahlnebel.blackselket

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Metal & Electro, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Filipp Makarenko is hailing from Ukraine and last year released the official debut album of Reagent. The album features ten songs plus five remixes.

Content: The self-titled debut album of this project is for sure one of the hardest –or should I say most Metal-driven productions I’ve ever heard on Advoxya Records. The sound is a perfect fusion between harsh Metal guitar play and Electronics. Some songs are clearly reminding me of Rammstein. Remixes have been accomplished by Code: Red Core, Nano Infect, CL-20 and Outpost11 while there’s one remix by Reagent as well.

+ + + : Reagent enlarges the sonic horizon of Advoxya Records and that’s a rather good thing. The record will also appeal for all lovers of Electro-Metal and Industrial music. The Russian vocals are somewhat particular, but it works. I like the powerful production and especially the songs where there’s a good balance between guitar and electronics. Among the remixes I heard a great contribution by Nano Infect.

– – – : The global approach of Reagent isn’t new at all and there are numerous bands dealing with this kind of Electro-Industrial/Metal sound. The Russian vocals make the songs less accessible than when sung in German, but if it works for bands like Rammstein and Oomph why not for Reagent?

Conclusion: We’re often used to hearing these kinds of bands in Germany and the USA so it’s cool to discover some underground music from Ukraine.

Best songs: “Чужой”, “Одержимость”, “Чужой – Nano Infect Remix”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Fil1810

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Metal-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The Hungarian band Gunmaker has been active for a few years and released their third opus at the end of 2020. This new work features eight songs plus nine remixes. The album has been again produced by Rob Dust.

Content: The least I can say is that Gunmaker never repeats itself. From a rather Metal-driven debut album towards a more Electro/Indie-Pop next album they now strike back with a kind of Metal-Pop offspring. The songs have something Electro-Pop/Wave driven while being empowered by guitar riffs. Some of the most refined cuts remind me a bit of Apoptygma Berzerk.

Remixes have been made by Numb Haze, Rob Dust, Monolith, Human Vault, Dark Control Operation, Implant, Southern Pines, Cyberbob, Jihad, Angst Pop & Technomancer and Linda Daemon. The last song is an alternative mix of an album song by the band themselves.

+ + + : I can’t say that Gunmaker is constantly reinventing their sound, but at least they don’t get stuck in one specific sound formula. The mix of Metal driven riffs and Electro-Pop works pretty well, but I have a preference for one of the most Pop-driven cuts (cf. “Dreams And Desires”). Among the remixes I noticed a brilliant remix of “Wherever You Go” by French formation Dark Control Operation. I especially like the Gary Numan spirit emerging from the strings. Another cool remix is the one by Monolith.

– – – : I still think the production of the vocals could be better. It remains the main point of the band to improve.

Conclusion: Gunmaker moves on composing a very personal interpretation of different, but related music genres.

Best songs: “Dreams And Desires”, “Wherever You Go”, “Wherever You Go – Dark Control Operation Remix”, “Wherever You Go – Monolith Remix”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Gunmaker-474227946012195  

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Asdean is a Belorussian project originally set up in 2010 as Asdeandare and was renamed to Asdean in 2017. The debut album “Time.Space.Life” (“Время.Пространство.Жизнь”) was released last year and features nine songs plus five remixes.

Content: Asdean deals with a rather familiar Dark-Electro sound, which is dominated by harsh vocals –sung in their Mother tongue, and featuring some female backings. There’s a cool twist between powerful sequences plus hard kicking rhythms at one side and retro-melodic strings at the other side. Some of the strings remind me now and then of Gary Numan.

Remixes have been made by Outpost 11, Larva, Synthetische Lebensform, TomZigota and Object16.

+ + + : Asdean has found the right home at Advoxya Records, which is totally devoted to this kind of haunting Electro. I like the noticeable melodic side of the production, which has something old-school and creates a nice contrast with the global power of the production. Several songs are carried by cool melody lines. Among the remixes I especially like the ones accomplished by label mate Larva and the Russian project Synthetische Lebensform injecting an EBM touch to the original song.

– – – : I noticed a few slower passages, which aren’t the best ones. Some remixes are better than the original edits.

Conclusion: Asdean doesn’t innovate, but the sonic fusion between traditional Dark-Electro and retro melody lines sounds cool.

Best songs: “Shadow Guardian”, “Cosmos”, “Shadow Guardian – Sin Dios Mix by Larva”, “Imprisonment – Synthetische Lebensform Remix”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/asdeanofficial

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Colombian duo Adeonesis last year struck back with their third full length album. Driven by the brothers Wilger and Ferry (who’s also involved in his solo-project Nohycit) this band doesn’t release a new work on a regular basis. There’s a hiatus of four years between each full length.

Content: Adeonesis are moving on the path of darkest Electro fields. The songs are driven by pumping rhythms and supported by overwhelming leads. The songs are sung in their Mother tongue and are extremely rough and hard to understand. A few tracks feature female vocals (backings) injecting a somewhat angelic touch to the work. One of the songs is featuring Stahlnebel & Black Selket.

+ + + : Adeonesis stands for (h)el(l)ectro although the female vocals featured at a few tracks are injecting an unexpected, classical and graceful touch. It might sound like a contract, but finally appears to be complementary with the harshness of the duo. This work is not just into merciless power, but still revealing more refined passages accomplished with subtle arrangements. I was impressed by some of the leads hanging over the composition.

– – – : The sound formula is somewhat repetitive and becomes a little bit predictable after a while. That’s a point I already noticed from previous albums.

Conclusion: This album comes directly from hell and will for sure please the darkest Electro souls.

Best songs: “Psychophony”, “Oblivion”, “Sendero Nocturno”.

Rate: (7 ½)

Artist: www.adeonesis.com / www.facebook.com/adeonesis

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

LIVINGTOTEM is a Hungarian solo-project driven by András Gulyás. He released his first official album “40K” in 2014 on Advoxya Records. The next album “Raw Effort” got released in 2017 on Ant-Zen and revealed a strong fusion between different music styles like Industrial, Trance, Techno, IDM and Tribal. The newest opus “Surreal Existence” got released by the end of 2020 and clearly sounds as a new masterpiece, but also revealing an artist with a very own sound approach. If you don’t know yet LIVINGTOTEM I can only, but encourage you to discover the great work of András Gulyás.

(Picture credit by infinitbeat.hu / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How did you get in touch with Electro/Industrial music and what incited you to set up LIVINGTOTEM?

András: I grew up in the vicinity of a brick factory, so I experienced industrial noises and visual impacts at a young age. However, sometime in the late 80s, getting to know FRONT 242, DAF, TEST DEPT and SKINNY PUPPY gave me the real push towards that direction. At that time it was not easy to get this music here in Hungary, the ‘iron curtain’ was still closed and we were living in the era of cassette copies… but there were also Hungarian bands at that time. These concerts also left a mark on me. We even shot a documentary about it a few years ago, but have not managed to finish it yet due to the lack of time and financial means, so the material is resting on a multi-terabyte external drive at the moment, unfortunately…

In 1992 I started DJ-ing once a month at the legendary Depeche Mode Fan Club events at the PECSA Klub in Budapest, along with DJ Fatman. After a while I was more and more drawn to music that mixed my favorite styles, but there were very few bands that actually did that / Tribal-Industrial-Acid-EBM-Techno. So I started thinking about making my own music. For the sake of this, I was trying to find a compact piece of hardware -but not a laptop, that I could take on stage as a one-man act. This came true in 2006 when I bought my first Electribe groove box. This cost about 730EUR, at a time when my monthly salary in Hungary was around 290EUR!

Q: You’ve been involved with different bands; from QUANTUM COWBOYS to PANORAMIC BARRIER to LIVINGTOTEM and you’re still active as DJ! What means music to you and tell us a bit more about these different projects?

András: For me, music always gets absolute priority. This, of course, poses challenges both in my professional- (I work in the construction industry 8-10 hours a day on weekdays) and in my private life as well. LIVINGTOTEM is my main project. As I have mentioned, this mixing of styles is like a Ritual Cyber-Punk dystopia in Industrial technology.

My other project is PANORAMIC BARRIER, it’s a completely analog stuff fusing EBM, Techno and Experimental. The ‘gear’ is completely CV-controlled just like in the 70s; no MIDI, no USB; including semi-modular synths, drums and effects. This is practically a live-only project. All of these performances are unique and unrepeatable.

The band QUANTUM COWBOYS will never be as it used to be again because BradyO, one of our lead singers, passed away in 2013. I have even recorded a song or two with her as a duo, one of which appeared on a compilation of 4mg Records titled “Little Green Bag”. Of course, I hope to be able to get on with this style as well, but who knows what the future holds.

As a DJ, I usually play within the New-Wave, EBM, Industrial, Rhythm & Noise, Ambient and Psychedelic-Trance styles, not only at party events but also in my bi-weekly radio broadcast on Tilos Radio / FM90.3 Budapest, tilos.hu.

Q: You already mentioned the mix of styles, which is characterizing LIVINGTOTEM. What can you say about your influences and your way of composing/producing music? How does your studio looks like?

András: I pay attention to music of every genre in general. I went to a lot of events, exhibitions for as long as I could and these all served as an inspiration. Work, movies, exhausted moments after parties or when I’m intoxicated by love, all these challenges that swirl in my head help me to find inspiration, culminating in the music I make.

At home I use the same hardware machines as during the performances, Korg Electribe, Korg mixer with a built-in chaos bench, Roland SP-555 sampler, Waldorf Micro Q, Zoom effect and self-made sound generating devices… I make a lot of demo recordings at home, of which about a quarter gets ever released. One day I hope to share these on some platform. I create 90% of the music on these instruments, recorded on multiple tracks before we start mixing. In this process, we can add or even subtract much more effects and sound designs. That’s why the music will surely sound different in a live performance than on a record! It really matters to me that my audience gets more from a live gig than just an exact reproduction of what the release contains! Going to the studio, make recordings and mixing requires a lot of time that I’m usually lack of. So it takes several years for an album to be completed. Usually I just find a couple of hours on the weekends with my friend Péter Buza, with whom I create the final sound of the album at the Astral Escape Studio. He was also actively involved in an album for NOUVELLE PHENOMENE.

I need a studio because of idea ‘more ears, hear more’. I always welcome comments and suggestions from others. These are added values, which I think can add color to existing music. I asked Eric Van Wonterghem for mastering again; I respect him very much and I appreciate his work. Many people insist on doing everything themselves; music, mixing, mastering, cover design… which is why they come up with very similar things after two or three records. I want to blend a bit of the Industrial-EBM world of the ’80s with today’s modern, dark club sound and also draw from the world of early Acid, which can of course get ‘distorted’ in many ways flowing into a tribal sound out of this world. I don’t often make remixes, but I was very happy when TEST DEPT asked me to do a remix for them which I gladly accepted of course. They came out with a very good new album in 2019 and I was able to perform as their support act at their concert here in Budapest which was also a great honor for me.

Q: You’re taking time to work on new material. How do you prepare a new album and how did you achieve “Surreal Existence”?

András: Due to my job the final process of making music, i.e. studio work, is a bit difficult for me. The other thing is that I’m having a hard time picking the tracks that end up on the release from the countless demo recordings. There are still several tracks that I could not include, but they will certainly appear on the next album or in some other form. The equipment of the studio also evolved and changed in the meantime. Therefore, three of the tracks had to be recorded again, but in my opinion and also according to the feedback, it was really worth it. The physical release also encountered some obstacles which we eventually managed to solve. Attila Csihar who is a good old friend of mine also contributed to this record. This acquaintance dates back to 1992 when he played in a band called PLASMAPOOL. We had been planning to make music together for a couple of years, we had a lot of jam sessions, but due to a lack of time we never found time for more. We have now finally managed to collaborate on one single track.

Last but not least I was very happy to be able to release this album at the Ant-Zen records label, just as my previous one. The title of the album refers to all the surreal things that occurred in my home country and in my life.

Q: 2020 has been a dramatic year because of Covid-19! How did it feel at your side and especially as a musician who could no longer play live to present his new work? What do you expect for the further months?

András: The situation is really dramatic, and the whole world has become strange, as if we were part of a huge experiment like in World War III. I have the feeling, unfortunately, that life as we knew it before the end of 2019 will never return. However, I can call myself lucky because I was able to play at the Fekete Zaj Festival with my projects PANORAMIC BARRIER and LIVINGTOTEM featuring my friend Mr. TibaLt KusH known from ROSINFLUX. We called our performance a ‘bound improvisational fusion’. With PANORAMIC BARRIER I had another live gig at “Alkotótábor” which is an artistic camp. These open-air gigs were an amazing boost of energy. At the end of the year I had an online live-gig with LIVINGTOTEM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkZkYX6A4Is) which was originally planned as an album release party (Industrial Fusion) that had to be cancelled when all clubs were closed in November. Just before that, clubs in Budapest could still operate with a curfew at 11pm. I also played a few DJ-sets, like the International EBM-Day in February and an extended chill-set before and after Carbon Based Lifeform. Even in Autumn I was able to play at some EBM and New-Wave parties. I do hope that 2021 will bring at least some domestic events. Who knows, maybe even a movie will come out with a soundtrack from me…

Q: Tell us a bit more about your live performances? What are you exactly doing on stage and how do transpose the studio tracks into a live performance?

 András: For me, the process is exactly the other way around, I test my new compositions live on stage first, sometimes I even play demo versions in DJ-sets at Industrial-Techno parties. I pay attention to the reaction of the audience that helps me with deciding which tracks to include on the record. But there are always 1 or 2 tracks that I have never played live which can only be heard on the album because they do not fit into the live concept. As a result, so to sum it up, I play a lot of new music at live gigs where I’m already testing the material for the upcoming albums. I never play two identical concerts because I always play 2-3 brand new compositions. I keep fine-tuning them at every single performance. In this scene, there is unfortunately practically zero revenue from social media and other online platforms or physical releases. The only way to make money out of music is to play live.

Originally, I have started LIVINGTOTEM as a live act to show how music is created by rolling and turning all those little knobs, instead of looking at a person standing in ‘blue light’ behind a monitor pushing some buttons you can’t even see. I like to put great emphasis on the stage set as well and I don’t only mean the background projection, but a whole design concept that I have in mind.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Chilean duo Die BRAUT has been set up in 2007 by singer Katia Figueroa Letelier and composer Voz y Líricas Cristián Soto Vanell. DIE BRAUT is for sure one of the most familiar Electro-underground bands from their country. They released albums on labels such as Danse Macabre, Orion and NoiTekk. They last year released their newest opus “Virtual Communication” on the Russian label ScentAir Records. It also was the band’s first full length album since “Psychotherapy” (2011). The songs are danceable pieces mixing elements of Electro-Pop and New-Wave music, but it’s without a shadow of a doubt the most mature and accomplished work of the band to date. Time for a chat with the Chilean duo.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You guys are active under DIE BRAUT moniker since 2007! What do you consider as the main facts in the band’s history and how did you evolve from the early years till today?

DB: Exactly! And that name is due to the existence of a frontwoman in the band. For years now we have enjoyed our art and reached great moments like the release of every single and album, each performance,  all what we’ve learned from great musicians who left us and the affection and support of the people. We of course always cherish the great moments.

We especially keep in mind two great festivals where we were invited to play. There was Wave Gotik Treffen in 2011 and Orus Fest in 2016, both leaving us a clear feeling of doing things well and being able to enjoy playing in front of thousands of people, which we like the most of all.

Evolution is part of the same learning and love for music, dedication, study, being clear about concepts and always ready listening to others, to live each experience as the best of our lives and thus continue to grow.

Q: You last year released the new album “Virtual Communication”, which clearly sounds different in sound and influences. The global production is more ‘Pop’-driven, but what’s your perception of this work and what have been the main influences to compose the new stuff?

DB:The perception of things is subjective and influences have always been present in our lives. Mainly it is about experiences, things that happen to people, illnesses, hunger, abuse, misery and pain. Musically for us the influences to compose this or another album have always been the same, the difference is that we can show it with different faces and nuances. We love Synth-Pop, as well as Grunge, Rock and all its evolution over the years. What is changing from an album to the next one is the concept of each work and we think that today the most appropriate thing for us is to present “Virtual Communication” as one of the great shortcomings of human being in recent times and we believe that it was just the right time to say it.

We will never pigeonhole ourselves into anything specific and we also don’t believe there’s a reason to have another band with a different musical style. We are sure that variations feed our creation and that is how we have seen it reflected in our albums and listeners.

Q: The lyrical content of your work has often been a critical perception of what happens in your own country, Chile, but what did you try to express on “Virtual Communication”?

DB: Indeed, the truth is that we spent a good time showing our own experiences as a country and American continent, but this is what we commented in the previous answer; each concept may differ as time passes and while we observe it, it is worth telling it. “Virtual Communication” means a globalized world, mixed with the immeasurable expansion of social networks, their aggressiveness and their misuse. It stands for the selfishness of nations, people and not having an own identity, where written criticism seem to have more value than honest conversation.

We don’t see it as a path in the opposite direction, but as something that is a real fact from which we must know how to take advantage and learn to be able to relate.

Q: Do you follow a particular procedure to compose the music and writing the lyrics? Do you’ve specific references when it comes to production?

DB:Music is supposed to be spontaneous, something that comes from the heart and mind, and not necessarily from a synth or computer. Music has to be sexy in all its dimensions and the transforming channel of ideas into songs, so we don’t have a specific way to start working. As we said before, it’s enough to be clear about the concept on, which we want to deepen and all that results from it is an album as we have made it

Q: I noticed you’ve been already worked with multiple labels; Orion Records of course, but also European labels such as Danse Macabre, Noitekk, Advoxya Records and now ScentAir Records. What makes you’re constantly working with new companies and what do you expect from a label?

DB:We believe that each of them has been a great learning experience. All things always have a limited time and we have lived it to the end. Some of them are no longer active and regarding others it simply were personal decisions, which have nothing to do anything specific. We see positive the fact that each of them has had enough interest to have welcomed us and believed in our music, and from our side to have been able to go a step further.

Right now we are happy with ScentAir and we hope to continue releasing records on this label. Promotion and support both are very important itemds and you don’t hear us to complaining in all what we got so far.

Q: Artistic activities have been affected all over the world because of the Covid-19 pandemic. How’s the situation in Chile and how do you try to manage this situation now that you’ve a new album out? What brings the future for DIE BRAUT?

DB:Of course, and it’s a global health issue. For now we just have to wait patiently and stay current by making more and more records. A new single with remixes will be released pretty soon and we’re working on a new album with another lyrical and musical concept, which is totally different from “Virtual Communication”. It will surely transport the listener to the 80s with a theme refering to love and respect for nature, native peoples and a lot of geographical histories, which we believe represent us spiritually. It will remain Electronic music in all its variations!

Thank you very much for this interview and the support of our work

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Set up in 2007 by singer Katia Figueroa Letelier and composer Voz y Líricas
Cristián Soto Vanell, Die Braut clearly is one of the most familiar Electro-underground bands from Chile. They released their stuff on very different labels such as Danse Macabre, Orion, NoiTekk and Advoxya Records while this new opus (the first ‘new’ album since 2011) has been released on Russian label ScentAir.

Content: Die Braut already has experience with varied Electronic influences, but they’ve always been connected with some Pop influences. The new work is clearly moving in between Electro-Pop and retro-like Wave-Pop music. They’ve reached a very own sound, which is hard to compare and yet some songs remind me a bit of the spirit of Kirlian Camera. Die Braut definitely sounds more melodic and Pop driven, but the production is  supported with a colder atmosphere. Most of the songs are danceable and masterly driven by the female vocals of Katia Figueroa Letelier.

+ + + : Die Braut probably accomplished their most elaborated and mature work to date. I can’t say that they are innovating, but they are simply good in what they do! This is an electro-Pop format with attitude! The songs are boosted by danceable kicks while the melodic choruses create an elevating effect. I also like the production of the vocals creating a perfect balance with the sound.

– – – : This album is maybe missing ‘the’ hit that would convince all Electro lovers of this band’s true potential.

Conclusion: Die Braut strikes back with style unleashing a well-crafted and efficient album.

Best songs: “Words In An Empty Space”, “Virtual Communication”, “Without Time”, “Dissonance”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/diebrautmusic

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

It all started in 1998 as Morbid Mind. They had less money and equipment, but a great motivation. Later on they changed the name of the band, moving on as LARVA. Driven by the creative impulses of Marco aka ‘InqUesT’ and assisted by ‘Anoxia’ the Spanish project from Barcelona (Spain) slowly conquered the dark-electro scene. Their newest full length “Desolation Road” has been already released on Advoxya and is for sure their most accomplished album to date. There’s still the initial power of the band, but the overwhelming atmospheres became more important and even an essential aspect of their work. Unfortunately 2020 hasn’t been the most happy year for the band’s front man…

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Spain has been seriously impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. How do you as Spanish citizens and artists experience(d) this drama?

Marco: Well, I suffered this pandemic in a different ways. I lost my mother because of a Covid-19 infection in May, and I got infected too.

And of course, all the shows, the tourism, the travels, etc were and are completely stopped. We had to postpone our tour through Mexico, USA and Perú for 2021. So, no shows from February on… In fact, 2020 is being a shitty year in a lot of ways.

Q: The good news is you this year released your newest album “Desolation Road”. Tell us a bit more about the way this album was conceived and what does the title stands for? 

Marco: This album is some kind of monographic. It’s about the feelings you experience when you take some decisions in your life. Sometimes these decisions make your way more lonely. But you can’t do another thing, because it’s your only way.

Q: I experienced the new songs as more ‘atmospheric’-like; it all feels like the songs are less aggressive, but more poignant and even emotional. Is it an aspect of the production you recognize and eventually work on? What do you perceive as the biggest changes/evolutions compared to previous albums? 

Marco: I think it’s evolution. I try to not over think things too much; I only do what I want to do in that specific moment. My tastes evolve, and that is reflected in production, composition, etc…

At the beginning we were really raw, we were younger and without that much experience, but we really wanted to shout, to experiment with everything, to be really direct. All these things are here today, but with another point of view. Maybe more refined.

Q: I noticed –like many other bands, you did some live streams. How does it feel playing without audience and what have been the reactions so far?

Marco: At the beginning it was really weird! To have only my two Chihuahuas as a crowd, hahaha. Streaming live shows is the only thing that we had until now from the beginning of the pandemic. That’s not so bad, but to me, a live show means LIVE, not only the band, but also the crowd. It’s another experience.

It’s not only about listening music, or watching a show; it’s about feelings, it’s a complete experience.

And I think you can only feel that if you are there. And of course, another important aspect is that in our live shows we need that feedback from the crowd, that you only can get when you are there, seeing them, feeling them and sharing that magic moment with them.

Q: Covid-19 and the lockdown inspired numerous artists to compose new songs or working on remixes and release new clips. What have you been doing and was the lockdown a creative period?

Marco: A lot of things! We have finished an EP that we plan to release before the end of 2020; working on two music videos, and of course lot of new songs (including remixes). What can you do when you live in a really small town, and lockdown in your studio all the day? 

Q: Larva seems to have a serious fan basis in Russia –next to other countries. How do you explain this success in Russia and in, which way is it related to your label Advoxya Records having a connection with Russia?

Marco: I don’t know really… I mean, in Mexico it’s easy for us to have a lot of followers because of the language, so the people can understand our lyrics easily. And because we share some kind of ‘social reality’ and ‘day by day base’.

But Russia was a surprise from the first day we played there. I don’t know, maybe because we understand the live performances the same way. They enjoy very powerful, visceral and raw performances. And that is what we do and what makes us happy.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, industrial-pop, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Asdean is a formation hailing from Belarus. Originally set up in 2010 as Asdeandare they in 2017 changed their name into Asdean. The official title of their debut album is “Время.Пространство.Жизнь”, which means “Time.Space.Life”. The work features nine songs and five remixes. 

Content: One of the band’s specificities is that the songs are sung in their Mother tongue. The vocals are rough and often produced with harsh, distorted effects. Most of the songs are sung by the male singer, but you’ll also hear female backings. Sound-wise this work features a ‘harder’, dark-electro side driven by hopping rhythms and vaguely evoking the work of Amduscia. But there also is a more ‘melodic’ and pop-side resulting in a sort of industrial-pop sound.

Remixes have been done by Outpost 11, Larva, Synthetische Lebensform, Tom Zigota and Object 16.

+ + + : Asdean is an interesting discovery; the specificity of the language is a noticeable element, but I also like their dark-electronic approach, which is powerful, danceable and led by great melody lines. On the other side they also show an exciting pop-orientated sound, which is rough and a bit industrial-like. “Divine Engineering ” is a remarkable illustration of this approach. I personally prefer the harder side of the band and highly recommend songs as “Shadow Guardian” and “Imprisonment”. Among the remixes I heard some great contributions from Larva and the Russian formation Synthetische Lebensform.

– – – : I also noticed a very few cuts (cf. “My star” and “Discoverer”), which have something rock/metal minded and, which aren’t my favorites.

Conclusion: The debut work of Asdean features a few cool surprises, but I’ll especially recommend the darker electro parts.

Best songs: “Divine Engineering”, “Shadow Guardian”,  “Imprisonment”, “Hibernation”, “Shadow Guardian – Sin Dios Mix by Larva”, “Imprisonment – Synthetische Lebensform Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/asdeanofficial

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, dance-pop, body-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This compilation will reveal to the international electro-pop community there’s a synth-pop scene in Hungary! The idea started with the Facebook page “Hungarian Synthpop Allstars”-community. It’s quite interesting to see Advoxya Records –indeed an Hungarian label, but mainly devoted to dark-electronics, to release this work featuring nineteen artists from the Hungarian electro-pop scene.  

Artists: Plazmabeat, Apsür.de, Gunmaker, Syntax Error, 8BIT, Analog Puzzles, PopFilter, Ian, Clayfeet, ION Projekt, Ed Ruspa, Pixelplants, Flow, LED, Ügynökség, DeWolf, Müller, Avantgarden, B Machina & Ian.

Content: The least I can say is that there clearly is a synth-pop scene in Hungary. The sampler is quite diverse, moving from dance-pop –sometimes on the edge of commercial pop music, to harder body-pop to traditional electro-pop –often inspired by the Masters themselves: Depeche Mode. Most of the bands are singing in their Mother tongue, which is somewhat weird if you’re not familiar with this language, but the other side it also makes the originality and specificity of the compilation.

+ + + : I’m always open for compilations, which can make me discover new names and especially when hailing from a country I’m not used to hearing electro-underground music. So you can imagine how lucky I was as I only knew Plazmabeat, Apsür.de and Gunmake. The other bands were new to me and I discovered some promising songs. Especially the last part of the work is impressive; from the heavenly melancholia of Flow to the body-pop driven Ügynökség to the dance-pop of DeWolf to the power emerging from Müller to the melodic melancholia of Avantgarden and somewhat And One reminding B Machina & Ian those artists reveal a real potential. I also have to mention the very Depeche Mode driven 8BIT and the dark, danceable Syntax Error.

– – – : Some of the most familiar bands aren’t delivering the best cuts and that’s just fine proving there’s more big fish in the Hungarian pond.

Conclusion: I had some serious reservations when starting the listening of this work, but this is a compilation I highly recommend.

Best bands: Avantgarden, Flow, DeWolf, Müller, Syntax Error.

Rate: (7½).

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: The Spanish Larva duo consisting of ‘InqUesT’ and ‘Anoxia’ are now terrorizing the dark-electro community for more than twenty years. “Desolation Road” must be their ninth official studio album featuring thirteen new cuts.

Content: I often have compared Larva to Suicide Commando although the past few years saw the band evolving towards a more personal and elaborate sound. “Desolation Road” might be seen as the apotheosis of this evolution. The songs are meticulously composed, carried by great synth lines and often driven by a slower tempo. The real harshness emerges from the vocals, which are mainly in Spanish, but you’ll also notice a few English sung songs. The global sphere hanging over the work became more present –and important, than the power of the tracks. This album will make you dance, but it also dives into melancholic pieces as well.

+ + + : The sound formula of Larva hasn’t changed that much throughout the years, but the main difference hides in the global production process and the songs becoming more sophisticated and less powerful. Larva remains a band that will make you dance, but it’s no longer a dancefloor killer. This work also reveals more atmospheric pieces built up with great, dark synth lines. The songs are still featuring numerous Spanish spoken vocal passages, which in a way also reinforce the dark and somewhat mysterious sphere hanging over the album. Larva remains dark and tormented, but there also is something emotional in this album and that’s rather rare for this kind of production.

– – – : The harsh vocals remain a typical characteristic from the Larva production, but sometimes it all sounds a bit exaggerated. It’s hard to understand the lyrics.

Conclusion: It’s hard to say if this is Larva’s best album to date, but it for sure is the best produced opus in the band’s wide discography. Larva has found its own sound and style.

Best songs: “Falsa Realidad”, “El Decorado De Mi Fracaso”, “Solo Soy Un Recuerdo”, “Tan Alto”, “Burbuja de Cristal”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: https://www.larva.band/index.php/en /

www.facebook.com/larva.official

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Dark-electro and EBM formation Wolfchild released its third full length album “Evil Calls Home” a few months ago now. The band originally set up by Robert Van Kooij (The Netherlands) and later on joined by singer Jan Ricker (Germany) released two albums on DSBP, but moved to Advoxya Records to unleash their newest work. The album  reveals an alluring number of great, danceable songs, which sometimes make me think to the imaginary offspring between Tyske Ludder and God Module. If you don’t know yet this album, it definitely is an opus I highly recommend. I talked about it with both members.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How did you guys met and how did the first songs took shape? What makes the chemistry between both of you?

Jan: We met in 2016 via Facebook, when I was in a band called 13th Angel. Robert was searching for some guest singers for his first album “Sunt Mala Quae Libas”. So we agreed to make a song together. Later on when the first Wolfchild singer quit I told Robert that I could do more vocals if he needed any. Said and done. It was a good change for me as 13th Angel was a lot more mellow and less aggressive and Robert really liked the songs we did for Wolfchild, so he asked me if I would join permanently and I accepted.

Our taste in music is very similar, I know right away what I want to do with the songs that Robert writes, which was never the case before in my musical career. It just works out very well.

Q: Sorry to say guys, but Wolfchild is maybe not the most original name for a band as there’re other bands with the same name. So what’s the deeper significance behind and eventually the link with the lyrical subjects and song titles?

Robert: I’m sorry too, but I don’t give a shit how original a bands name is. I just liked it for this project, because I am a huge fan of wolves. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jan: Honestly, I didn’t know any of the bands when I joined, so I am not too concerned. Also changing it now would just feel wrong. But it definitely lead me to write lots of lyrics that are ‘Wolf’-related. It wasn’t really planned, it just happened. It’s a recurrent theme I like to explore again and again.

Q: A few months ago now, you released your third album “Evil Calls Home”. How do you look back at the entire writing- and production process of this work? What has been the main focus and the biggest challenge(s)?

Jan: Well, all in all it went relatively smoothly. The biggest challenge for me was to convince Robert that the wrote good songs (lol). He had some problems with “Wenn Wölfe Heulen” and “The Burden Of A Sinner”, which he hated at first, but they were really good, so I told him he should stop complaining and let me do my thing… and everything turned out great. Unfortunately he still hates “The Burden Of A Sinner” today…

Q: Do you follow a particular procedure and/or way of working? Do you notice an evolution/changes in the working process since your early songs?

Jan: The procedure is nearly always the same: Robert comes up with a song and I write lyrics and sing to that song. Sometimes I give him a sample that I want to use… Sometimes I tell him what I want to write about, so he can try to match it a little closer. But there was definitely an evolution in our songs itself. I took a lot more care writing better lyrics and also I try to tell a story with each song which I have never done before. Also the music evolved; we included a lot more orchestral elements and epic percussion… and we are definitely not finished with evolving, we always do what we like, there are no boundaries.

Q: I noticed an interesting quote at your Facebook page ‘You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something. I am God’!  This quote is taken from the movie “Malice”. What makes this quote interesting and is there any link with Wolfchild?

Robert: I’ve heard this quote a long time ago…back in the Robert Dope days. Like you said, from “Malice”. Since then it’s in my head and always wanted to use it for something. Nothing to do with Wolfchild, but once again… I just like it.

Q: There’s also an album in the pipeline from the side-project Robert Dope? Can you reveal us some details? Other further projects, plans in the pipeline?

Jan: We both are working on a new Robert Dope album, parallel to our new Wolfchild release. Yes, I am on board this time, too. But of course it will be a very different ‘beast’;  a different musical approach and also the vocals will sound very different. Otherwise there would be no point, really. And of course…

Robert: Not sharing a damn till everything’s ready!

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Hungarian synth-pop duo Laczó Niki (vocals) – Grag Velvet (music) unleashed their newest opus in 2019. It took them several years to get the job done. I discovered them by the compilation opus 
 “Plazmapop Selection 2011-2015”, which was a refreshing and fully enjoyable work.

Content: The title of this album, which can be translated as ‘I travel’ is a new ‘happy synth-pop’ creation by this Hungarian formation. Everything sounds sweet and easily accessible. The female vocals have something of a delicate caress while the music sounds like an invitation travelling through imaginary electro-pop fields. This album has something of relief or at least a cure to darker days. One of the main characteristics remains that all the songs have been sung in Hungarian. You’ll also notice one track with male vocals, which also sounds a little bit  harder. This is ‘classical’ electro-pop creation featuring a few songs with guitar on top.

+ + + : The Hungarian language injects an exotic touch to the work, but the main aspect you’ll feel when listening to this work is the ‘feel-good’ sensation. This is the kind of music you simply forget your daily stress leaving your troubles behind. I like the space-elements on top of the songs and the 80s retro sound treatments and effects. Plazmabeat remains an ‘alien’ on Advoxya Records, which is a label we all know for their dark-electro and EBM taste… but the fact it here concerns  compatriots might have been a serious reason to sign them. Well, Plazmabeat enlarges the sonic horizon of the label.

– – – : It remains a challenge to conquer a wider audience when you’re a synth-pop singing in Hungarian. From a pure product ion point of view, I think there could have been a little less more creative in the sound construction and –treatments. I too often got the feeling to gear preset sounds. 

Conclusion: Forget the darker days and welcome Plazmabeat, which sounds like the smell of spring!

Best songs: “Túl Modern”, “Fellobban A Tűz” , “Küzdenem Kell”, “Itt És Most”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.plazmabeat.hu / www.facebook.com/plazmabeat

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The Finnish duo Aleksi Martikainen –  Kimmo Huhtala strikes back with their second full length album. Set up in 2016, they were picked-up by Advoxya Records, which released the band’s debut album “Phosphor” in 2017. It was a solid- and ultra promising debut for Miseria Ultima so I was wondering about their newest sonic creation.   

Content: I think I might say that this album moves on there where “Phosphor” left off. It’s the perfect osmosis between EBM and dark-electro, both styles being clearly indicated by the band as their main sources of inspiration. The songs are driven by pumping kicks, the songs being all very danceable. But there also is a kind of dark, catchy aspect in the melody lines getting the production even more accessible. I don’t want to compare Miseria Ultima with another formation, but I can imagine their sound will appeal to fans of God Module. 

+ + + : The different elements from the production are pretty complementary. There’s a constant twist between hard-pumping beats and rather catchy, but dark melody lines. The production is powerful and masterfully driven by a great vocals’ production. “Allegiance” appears to me as the biggest potential hit from the album. The chorus of the song has an elevating effect, which can’t leave you unmoved. Miseria Ultima doesn’t reinvent the EBM/dark-electro style, but they’re a talented, contemporary ambassador.

– – – : I’m less surprised by this release than when I listened to the “Phosphor”-album, but that is the major difficulty for bands after having released a successful debut work is to follow up with another hit. Well, that’s exactly what Miseria Ultima did!

Conclusion: I’m still convinced this band has the potential to become a real influential- and perhaps a leading band in the dark-electronic music scene!

Best songs: “Allegiance”, “Bayonet Of Her Arms”, “Let Down”, “Remote Warning”, “Temple Behind The Shades”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.miseriaultima.com / www.facebook.com/miseriaultima  

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059 Read the news on ‘Graygarden’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After having released two albums on the American label DSBP, Robert Van Kooij (The Netherlands) and singer Jan Ricker (Germany) signed to Advoxya Records. “Evil Calls Home” was released by the end of 2019 and features eleven songs.

Content: “Evil Calls Home” is a work evoking different bands dealing with EBM and dark-electro music. I experienced some songs as the offspring between Tyske Ludder and God Module, but in the first place it’s a fully accomplished opus. The songs are driven by danceable beats, melodic leads and vocals in English and German. The last track is a remix of “No Warning Shot” by Stahlnebel & Black Selket.

+ + + : The opening song “Hydrangea” is a cool take off for the neo-classic arrangements with violin sounds. It also and directly reveals the EBM/dark-electro inspiration from Wolfchild. The melodic touch running through the work makes it fully accessible. But I also like this work for the elaboration of the songs resulting in an album with several attention  grabbers. The remix of Stahlnebel & Black Selket brings a great apotheosis.

– – – :  Despite of the great songs, this album also has something predictable. There’s nothing new, but also no reason to complain as the global production sounds right!

Conclusion: “Evil Calls Home” is a successful EBM fusion, which I can, but only highly recommend!

Best songs: “Wenn  Wölfe Heulen”, “Bestie:Mensch”, “Hydrangea”, “The Burden Of A Sinner”, “No Warning Shot – Touched by Stahlnebel & Black Selket”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/wolfchildelectro

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Stahlgeist is a new Hungarian EBM duo set up in 2017. The band is driven by Istvan Gazdag (First Aid 4 Souls) and Tamás Bank (Worker Munkás). Last year the duo self-released the digital album “Escape Reality”. In the meantime they joined hands together with Advoxya Records, which released the CD format of this debut work.                                                                                

Content: The album takes off a pure old-school EBM way characterized by a solid bass line. Quite progressively Stahlgeist moves into an intelligent format of ‘body music’, which is –just as First Aid 4 Souls, sometimes reminding me of Frontline Assembly (pay attention to “Infected Colony”). The songs are diversified, but all inspired by retro-EBM. This diversity also comes back in the vocals –mainly sung in English, but you’ll also notice other languages as well.

+ + + : This is a great debut work. The classical EBM format has no surprises, but the way the songs have been written reveals a sophisticated process. This is much more than cheap EBM, but a well-thought and accomplished composition revealing great bass lines, icy sequences and raw, danceable songs. There are several cool songs featured on this work. It’s a good thing this album has now been released on CD!

– – – : The link with FLA became rapidly obvious, but I’m not complaining when the result is that accomplished.

Conclusion: Stahlgeist knows how to bring the true EBM spirit to life! This is another strong and promising debut released by Advoxya Records!

Best songs: “Infected Colony”, “Step By Step”, “Nihilist”, “No Regrets”, “Escape Reality”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/stahlgeist

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059 Read the news on ‘Escape Reality’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Outpost 11 is the sonic brainchild of Moscow (Russia) based solo-artist Rodion Skityaev. On his debut album “Resonate” (2018) he added a fresh breeze to the Advoxya roster.  This new opus was released during the last days of 2019.                                        

Content: After a remarkable debut opus “Transition” again brings a refreshing touch to the dark-electro minded Advoxya Records. The album even has something versatile although mainly driven by an intelligent- and sophisticated EBM format. Some songs have been polished with a poppy touch while others have been mixed with astral lead and atmospheres. I also noticed songs with harder, industrial sound treatments and the most ‘complex’ structures even reveal elements of IDM. Most of the tracks bring retro-EBM elements to life, which sounds in the vein of the debut album. “Transition” features 12 songs plus 2 remixes by Asdean and Larva.

+ + + : If EBM appears to be this project’s main source of inspiration, the band still reveals its very own approach in the genre. It’s not just EBM, but retro-body-music elements merged with multiple other elements. Some songs are danceable while others have something dreamy-like. Some cuts are a little bit harder and rough sounding while others are accomplished with subtle arrangements. I however prefer the more danceable driven cuts at the last part of the work. “Rotten” and “Split” both are noticeable songs, but I also have to mention “Half-Life” for its global sound intelligence and IDM reference.

– – – : I can imagine some EBM purists will not find total satisfaction listening to Outpost 11. The project has something complex and appears to be a sonic challenge!

Conclusion: “Transition” might be seen as a prophetic title; the sound still has something retro-EBM like, but facing the future and some modernism!

Best songs: “Half-Life”, “Rotten”, “Split”, “Dopamine”, “Ready? Set! War!!!”, “Action”, “In The Woods”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/outpost11band                                                  

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Bolivian solo-project Nohycit last year stroke back with a second full length album. Set up by Ferry Humerez Rios  (together with his brother still involved with Adeonesis) the album “Anomico” (2018) was an astonishing official debut.

Content:  “En Exilio” moves on there where the previous album stopped. The influences and format haven’t really changed. Nohycit sounds like an electronic power-bomb. The songs are driven by hard-danceable kicks and recovered with awesome leads. The vocals are still sung in Spanish expressing rage and aggression. A few songs are featuring less familiar guest artists Blackgito and Neon Roads.

This opus features 11 tracks plus 4 remixes by Stahlnebel & Black Selket, Bloodconnk7ion, Adeonesis and Nigen.

+ + + : I could make a copy-paste from the “Anomico” review, but the main difficulty and challenge for Nohycit was without a shadow of a doubt to release a new qualitative album. All I can say is that ‘Ferry Nohycit’ totally succeeded in unleashing a new accomplished piece of music. This music is powerful, danceable, somewhat plagued (but that’s what we like listening to dark electronics) and featuring multiple great songs. I especially like the kind of hopping sequences, which together with the rhythmic creates an irresistible groove. “Submission” is my favorite song from the tracklist, but I also have to mention “Abismo”.

– – – : I was a bit disappointed by the remixes, which don’t really add an extra to the work. It’s maybe not a coincidence the Adeonesis remix is the only cool one!

Conclusion: Nohycit confirms the potential revealed at its debut album. This project has enough talent to conquer a wider dark-electro audience!

Best songs: “Sumission”, “Abismo”, “En Exilio”, “Mi Refuguio”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/NohycitOficial

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Larva is already active since the late 90s. The Spanish project driven by ‘InqUesT’ and assisted by ‘Anoxia’ has already released an impressive number of productions, becoming one of Advoxya Records’ flag holders. “Mundos Subterraneos” was already released a while ago, and it’s the latest Larva album to date.     

Content: Larva hasn’t lost its influences over the years although the global production became a bit different. I often experienced Larva as the Spanish answer to Suicide Commando; dark-icy electronics mixed with enraged vocals. This opus took some distance with the early sound of the band, becoming a more atmospheric production. There’s a dreamy element hanging over the songs while the melodies sound like expressing melancholia.  The vocals however remain harsh and enraged. It creates a certain duality, but in the end it remains Larva. I get the feeling this album is more a kind of soundtrack-inspired work.

+ + + : A few songs from the album remain faithful to the ‘classical’ Larva-sound, but globally speaking “Mundos Subterraneos” is a step towards new sonic –or different sonic horizons. I like the melancholia emerging from the melody lines, creating the most intimate Larva-work ever. The band took me by surprise, revealing subtle and refined sound treatments. “No Soy Yo” sounds like the ultimate song for an imaginary soundtrack.           

– – – : The production of the vocals still has this constant expression of shouting rage. It’s a familiar Larva-element although maybe a bit too harsh for the music of this work.

Conclusion: I never expected Larva composing a sensitive work; even if it remains dark and tormented, this album has something emotional!

Best songs: “My Old Demons”, “No Soy Yo”, “Guilty”, “Vidas Derribadas”, “Gritos Que Solo Las Paredes Oyen”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.larva.band /

 www.facebook.com/larva.official

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

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Genre/Influences: Industrial, electronic, metal, crossover.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After having released three albums on Alfa Matrix and one album on Advoxya Records, Cynical Existence unleashed its fifth opus at the end of 2019. Fredrik Croona got some assistance from Anders Ström and  Rodolfo Montenegro. The guitar has been played by Jimmy Bergman while Erik Gustafson played some additional guitars on the opening song. George Klontzas (known from his involvement in Pre.Emptive Strike 01) did some additional keyboards. Notice there’s also a limited edition available featuring an extra disc.                 

Content: The album “Dying Light” (2017) already was a step towards a new sound direction. “Rebirth” simply confirms this evolution in sound. The guitar has been accentuated and features several solo parts, injecting a clear metal touch to the songs.  There’s something ‘doom’-like hanging over the production,  which is an aspect you also can notice in the production of the vocals. However Cynical Existence remains influenced by electronic music as well, the electronic parts adding a melodic touch to the work. 

+ + + : If “Dying Light” could be considered as a transitional opus, “Rebirth” seems to indicate the new path of Cynical Existence. The band left its electronic roots behind –or to the Fredrik Croona-project, to focus on pure crossover. It always is a challenge to transpose your original and successful sound into something new. I enjoy the ‘doom’ sphere recovering this work. If you like hard and enraged ‘industrial’ music Cynical Existence has something of a sonic demon!

– – – : From a very personal point of view I definitely prefer the early work of the band. “Rebirth” has less in common with the electronic side, which gives the band some recognition. It even sounds a bit as music for a different (metal) scene. 

Conclusion: “Rebirth” in a way stands for the renewed sound of Cynical Existence!

Best songs: “Crawling Chaos”, “Cursed”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.cynicalexistence.com / www.facebook.com/cynicalexistenceband

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This is the third full length by the French project Stupre. It was released ten years after their debut opus “Priceless” (2009) on Cortex Records. “Das Ist Electro Dark” should be released in 2013 on Advoxya Records. Six years later Stupre front man ‘NarCis Prince’ invited Dolls Of Pain singer ‘Nore Guide’ to sing on six songs from this album.

Content: I remember Stupre as a band with a sophisticated electronic sound. I dare to say this album sounds a little bit more accessible. The compositions have been supported with dark atmospheres while the songs are driven by cold sequences. Several songs are sung in French. Globally speaking the production of the vocals seems to express rage. One of the songs (cf. “Ton Chemin”) has a minimal touch on top. The last track is a remix of “You Pay You Play” (one of the best cuts from the album) by Gunmaker.

+ + + : I can’t say Stupre totally reinvented its sound, but this album sounds ‘different’. I like bands daring to evolve and experimenting with different ideas. I especially enjoyed the atmospheric side hanging over the album. It creates a right balance with the dark-electro- and EBM influences. Most of the sharp sounding leads reinforce the cold sphere of the album. “Le Monstre” is according to me the highlight from this work. 

– – – : It’s maybe a detail, but I’m not a huge fan of the album’s artwork, which has something psychedelic/punk/cartoon like. Sound-wise I don’t consider this album as an absolute ‘must have’ although an interesting experience.                                                              

Conclusion: Stupre is not ready to become a leading formation from the dark-electro scene, but it brings some diversity to the genre!

Best songs: “Le Monstre”, “Ton Chemin”, “Un Dieu Etrange”, “Fou”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Stupre-282239884184

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, EBM.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Yiannis Chatzakis is a Greek musician based in Crete and active as the keyboardist in the renowned formation PreEmptive Strike.01. But he’s also busy with his solo-project Degenerated Sequences. A self-titled debut album got released in 2016 on Advoxya Records. The project is now back on track unleashing five self-released new songs.

Content: The basis of the work remains dark-electro inspired, but the main difference with the “Degenerated Sequences”-album is the mix with some ‘pop’-like arrangements. The opening song of the EP reveals this evolution, mixing dark-electro vocals, sequences and drum programming together with a more evasive ‘pop’-like lead. Only the two last cuts are more powerful and still elaborated, featuring filtered sequences and a heavier danceable kick.

+ + + : Degenerated Sequences remains a unique formation in its genre, but the question is what music genre this band is dealing with? It more sounds as a hybrid between dark-electronics, EBM and electro/future-pop. I like the way the vocals have been produced; dark-electro minded although not saturated with distortion. Both of the last songs “Stranger To My Self” and “Never Die” reveal the true potential of the project. Both songs are more sophisticated and dynamic.

– – – : I think the sound production could have been more professional and especially with the percussion. That’s maybe intentional because of the ‘poppy’ flavor the songs have been supported with, but I didn’t hear a climax.

Conclusion: Degenerated Sequences has something atypical for the ‘pop’ element hanging over the songs. It’s a sexy approach in the dark-electro genre, which now has been boosted.

Best songs: “Stranger To My Self”, “Never Die”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/degeneratedsequences

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

From Venezuela comes the harsh EBM act Subliminal Code who will see their first single “Malevolencia” released in advance of their second LP which is planned to be launched this year through the Hungarian label Advoxya Records.

“Malevolencia” has a more traditional EBM sound with some drum and bass rhythms mixed through it. Frontman Raul Jose explains: “It is a song that is addressed to all those people who envy and are hypocrites, and who only seek damage to their neighbor instead of worrying about growing or reaching their goals.”

The band is at the moment working on the recordings of their newest album. “The entire album will be ready soon, we are just missing the vocals on 5 tracks, but that’s due to some health problems”, says Raul Jose.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Miseria Ultimas upcoming album has a release date. The album is called “Graygarden” and it will be released on January 15, 2020. The physical album will be released by Advoxya Records and the digital version of the 10-track album will be released by the Finnish based label Inverse Records. The material from the album was recorded between 2017 and 2019.

The album “Graygarden is about the denial of mortality says the band: “A haven, where a person is a kept imprisoned, an illusion of that, everything is eternal. Fighting against nature and inevitable loss.”

Members of Miseria Ultimas includes Aleksi Martikainen​ (vocals, lyrics) and Kimmo Huhtala​ (synths). You can find out more about the band right here.

Brand new single “Allegiance”

Before the album is being released, a first download single called “Allegiance” will be released by Inverse Records. You can watch the video below.

For those having Spotify, you can play it below.

Upcoming tour

The band has also a few shows lined up: Read the review of ‘Graygarden’.

• 11.01.2020 YO-talo, Tampere, Finland. With King Satan & Nachtmahr
• 25.01.2020 Ilokivi, Jyväskylä, Finland. With King Satan & Status Abnormis
• 28.03.2020 Hannover, Saksa. With Nachtmahr

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, body-pop, cinematic-EBM.

Background/Info: I discovered this Mexican project a few years ago now. The debut album “The Demon-Haunted world” released in 2015 by Advoxya Records was a rather disappointing introduction to the project’s sound universe. “Manifiesto” is the band’s second project, which has been released in their homeland by Sector Industrial Producciones.

Content: Compared to the debut album, the influences remain pretty similar, but the global production has been seriously improved. Neuvision still sounds inspired by EBM elements, which have been mixed together with an electro-ambient approach reminding me J.M. Jarre and related artists. On top of it all you’ll also noticed a few electro-pop elements injecting a catchy flavor to the work. The vocal parts are rather clear. Both last cuts are remixes by Dimitri Berzerk and Luis Bishop.

+ + + : First of all there’s a cool artwork. The digipak format says much more than the music you can hear on streaming platforms. Sound-wise Neurovision has made a serious progression. The carrying bass lines together with the retro-synth sounds create a surprising, but original match. I’m totally in the vintage-style of the work resulting in several noticeable cuts. “Eraser” is a truly attention grabber.  

– – – : I think it would be a little bonus getting more vocals. The mix of influences isn’t an easy thing, which I’m afraid will not convince everybody. I expected a bit more out of the remixes.

Conclusion: Neurovision has seriously improved and elaborated their sound. “Manifiesto” is a noticeable unique work, which I recommend for you to discover.

Best songs: “Eraser”, “Nukem”, “Sunblock 5000”, “Manifiesto”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/NEUVISIONofficial

Label: www.sector–industrial.com / www.facebook.com/sector.industrial.producciones

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

(Pictures by Ari Rantanen.) The Finnish based dark-electro duo Miseria Ultima (Aleksi Martikainen on vocals and Kimmo Huhtala on synths) are back. They have just released their brand new single “Allegiance” this morning.

About their comeback the band says: “The time was more than perfect. The hurries have now ceased – at least in our personal lives. During the break we also had time to finish our second album, making some finishing touches. We are more than excited for this return; we are grateful that people still want to see us live and have waited patiently.”

The digital release of the new single will be handled by Inverse Records, which will also be handling the digital release of the yet to be announced second full length album. The physical version of the album will be released by Advoxya Records.

Here’s the band’s debut album “Phosphor” (2017 – Advoxya Records) to check out, it got the high score of 8½ when it was reviewed on Side-Line.

Miseria Ultima was formed in Finland, by Aleksi Martikainen and Kimmo Huhtala in 2016. The music of Miseria Ultima combines EBM and dark electro with some other electronic music ingredients. After forming Miseria Ultima they recorded the demo “Unfocus” and released it as a digital version in the beginning of 2017. Soon after they were signed by Advoxya Records. You can read an interview with Miseria Ultima right here as published in March 2018 on Side-Line.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Czech artist Martin Pavlik is now active under the Frontier Guards moniker for several years. He released two albums on Aliens Production, one album on UTSC and another on Advoxya Records. His fifth full length #You# saw him moving back to Aliens Production. The opus is a sophisticated and refined piece mixing elements of IDM, ambient-electro and down-tempo. The music has something visionary-like while #You# might be  considered as the artist’s best work to date. Frontier Guards remains one of those talented artists who never got the deserved recognition.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: #You# is your fifth full length album under the Frontier Guards moniker. The album sounds a bit like a move back to your early influences, but can you tell us a bit more about the concept and the writing  and what have been the main differences/evolutions compared to previous works?

Martin: The album was released very quickly in a matter of weeks. Unlike the rest of the album, it is a relaxed album with a slow pace and softer themes lacking vocals. The album was dedicated to a specific person (see the inner cover of the CD) and describes a certain life experience, the relationship of two people and in relation to their surroundings, landscape, nature.

There were some compositions on the album, which I only wore in my head for many years, only now it was my turn to write these ideas into my notes. Primarily, it is about the relationship of two people, what can happen between them, what can be wrong / remedied.

Q: What has been your main focus in the writing and production of #You# and what have been the main instruments/equipment you’ve used to compose the album?

Martin: I composed the whole album in REASON 10. And the most important instrumental part of the album was the piano, which I consider to be the most elegant instrument.

Q: How do we have to understand the title of the album and what did you try to express by the cover of the album?

Martin: It’s more into interpretation. The album was dedicated to a specific person with the nickname ‘FOX’. But everyone can find him/herself in it; for everyone who wants to identify with this album. The album is a reflection on what I do, how I behave and how my surroundings react to it. Furthermore, it is possible to perceive the album as well as how one treats his surroundings – nature. How he can interact with nature and how he can be in conflict with nature – wage war with nature.

Q: #You# has been again released on Aliens Production, which also released both debut albums. Why did you leave the label after the “Interface”-album (2013) and why did you finally joined back hands again with the label?

Martin: There was nothing wrong with leaving and returning to the Aliens Label, it was a development.

Q: What can you tell us about the clip of the new album’s title song?

Martin: The clip was created by colleague Stefan Kollarik and the main idea of the clip is the face, the female face. The word YOU is instantly linked to the idea of someone specific, and a woman’s (anonymous) face suits the clip best.

Q: Any news about your other (side) projects?

Martin: Patrik Lev and I dusted up one older project …… and you will be among the first ones to be informed about it. For now, the whole thing is in a very advanced preparation.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Rodion Skityaev is a Russian musician operating from Moscow (Russia). He last year released the official debut album “Resonate” of his sonic brainchild Outpost 11. The CD format has been released on Advoxya Records and sounds as a powerful sonic bridge between EBM and dark-electro. The sound has something 90s-like reminding me formations such as X Marks The Pedwalk and early Skinny Puppy. It’s a real promising debut from a band we’ve to keep an eye on.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Outpost 11 is a rather new name active at the wider fields of EBM and dark-electronic music. How did you get in touch with this music style and what do you consider as your main sources of inspiration?

Rodion: Well, I first got in touch with this kind of music not even knowing what I was listening to. Back in time I was just a kid playing video games. And those games featured pretty good soundtracks. I played a lot of C&C games, featuring brilliant music of Frank Klepacki. I also adore Quake franchise, especially the first three games. The soundtrack of the first game was done by Trent Reznor, the second game was scored by Sonic Mayhem and third one had Front Line Assembly bashing in the background. I’m a big fan of “Silent Hill” series, and it’s music done by Akira Yamaoka, respectively. That’s some good quality music right there! And so this kind of sound etched into my mind and stayed there for a while. Until much  later, when I consciously researched what was the music that I liked so much. Since then I  was exposed to all the good stuff we know and appreciate today as post-industrial music.

As my source of inspiration I consider acts like Nine Inch Nails, Ministry (mostly early records, but I like their metal stuff too), Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly, to name a few. It is also worth mentioning recent L.A act Youth Code. Basically, there was no Outpost 11 before I saw them live in 2016. I had some demos that would end up on “Resonate”, but I didn’t consider developing them into a finished record, until those two fellas came to my town. It was just mind-blowing! I had no idea that people are still playing this kind of music and listening to it, rather passionately. Besides electronic music I listen to a lot of stuff, I think something occasionally can slip through into Outpost 11, but that’s not something that I consciously control 100% of the time.

Q: What kind of album did you have in mind when writing the songs for “Resonate” and how do you look back at the entire composition- and production process?

Rodion: To be really honest with you, I didn’t have any concrete vision of what “Resonate” would be. I have a serious background in the local metal scene and so doing electronic music in any capacity was an experiment for me, I haven’t done any before. Surely, I was applying my songwriting skills from before, but it would not always fit into the sound or mood I was trying to achieve for Resonate. I wanted to get that sound and vibe from my earlier experiences with this kind of music. When I think a bit deeper about it, It’s somewhat romantically odd, trying to capture experiences from your past, using yet to be developed skills from present. Kinda weird…

Though the biggest issue for me on that record was the production of the vocals. Now I’m a bit better singing, but before then it was like a clean slate, tabula rasa, you know. I had to figure out the way of singing that would fit into my music and this raspy kinda subtone vocals worked well for me. I got that idea from one of my favorite movies –“Escape From New-York”. The character of Snake Plissken speaks in this kind of dramatic action-hero tone and I thought, well who cares, I’m gonna try that and see what comes out! By the way, John Carpenter is awesome. So to summarize, the process was somewhat chaotic, but I managed to tame it and extract some valuable knowledge from it.

Q: “Resonate” clearly reminds me to the good-old EBM from the late 80s/early 90s with an extra personal touch on top. What can you say about the Outpost 11 ‘sound’ and do you’ve personal criteria/references when it comes to production?

Rodion: I tend to produce relatively simple sounds, but I like big instrumentations. It starts usually with drums and bass, and then I add the other stuff; a pad chord progression (I also like extended chords), some noises to accentuate passages, a lead, a harmonized pluck, a few more elements to the drum kit, occasionally movie samples, a filtered sweep… It can go on and on, but sometimes it’s better to keep things simple. The main criteria in the arrangements is to find the right balance between all elements.

I have a few sources of inspiration when it comes to song writing generally speaking. I can start a song from a weird sound, or I can start it with a nice riff, or just a chord progression. It kinda depends on my mood actually. Heavier songs are usually taking off from a riff, like “…But He Likes You” for example. More melancholic stuff has more musical roots, so to speak. Then I develop this initial idea into a complete song, or at least into verse-chorus combination, to tackle it later.

As for sound design, I use very few VST plugins. Synths are mostly VA, with wavetable or FM occasions here and there. I tend not to layer instruments, it doesn’t fit really well into my approach to instrumentation. It’s hard to fit a lot of fat sounding stacks of synths in one song, for me at least. I also like my pads and leads to be a bit wide in the stereo field, so when they come in at some point in a song, you can really hear them, but not in an obvious way. Probably this overall approach gives my music this old-school vibe. And I like it that way!

Q: What have been the main lyrical themes for this album and what’s the importance of the lyrics when composing EBM-like music?

Rodion: The album is called “Resonate” because of certain topics are resonating with me, sometimes violently. That’s kinda silly idea, to name an album this way, but it works for me anyway. The album’s themes and ideas come from me being a part of a modern world and my experience of it so far. That results in lyrics related to my perspective on current global political climate, or about religion, war, propaganda and other nasty stuff. There are few more introspective songs, where I try to reflect on my more personal side of things. Or sometimes I just had fun paying homages to favorite pop cultural pieces. It’s a bit of everything. Kind of like life itself, in a sense.

A few times I stumbled upon an idea; that lyrical content of successful musicians tend to resonate strongly within their audiences. That’s true, and I hope my lyrics do the same, but I don’t think it is strictly necessary. Any musician is an artist (in a greater sense) in a first place, genres are good at describing what musician do, but they aren’t definitive, they can’t dictate what you can do and what you can’t. Hell, if I want to write an EBM banger, featuring a sax solo, with lyrics about pink ponies having nasty fun with some BDSM gear, no one’s gonna stop me from doing that 🙂 And I bet you, some people are even gonna like it! My point is simple, do what you feel necessary, but beware for the consequences. And yes, there’ll be always somebody telling you that you’re doing it all wrong, you can’t get away from that…

Q: The artwork of the album is quite intriguing. What does the front cover stands for and what’s the parallel with the sound and the lyrics?

Rodion: A: Cover art is product of imagination of a good friend of mine. He’s drawing style features many techniques, but this particular image was done with ink on a thick cardboard as a canvas. He did a few death metal covers in this style and i thought that i could use that for my little project, somehow his artwork resonated (he-he) with me. I approached the man with a simple task: listen to the music, read the lyrics if necessary and do what you think fits the mood. As a result, his disturbing art reflected my obsessive desire to share my music pretty well, i must admit. I did a few tweaks in Photoshop, to make an image a bit surreal and i think our combined result is representing an album pretty nice. It’s sufficiently rough, a bit surreal and somewhat disturbing. Pretty much like Resonate sounds, i think. I did the CD packaging by myself, i was just extending the mood of cover art by using grungy textures as backgrounds.

Q: A debut album is always something special, so how does it feel for you and are there some elements you want to improve in the future and what are the plans for the next few months?  

Rodion: Well, maybe it’s a debut for Outpost 11, but for me as musician it would be the second or even the third album. This experience gives me a certain perspective on things that I need to improve. You can expect a new album this year, that’s for sure. At the moment I’m focused on perfecting the vocal parts here and there, but I’m almost finished. So you can expect me singing better than on “Resonate”. I also learned a few sound design tricks, which I used on the new album. But I think the main contribution to the overall improvement would be the mixing. This time I did it myself and from what I gathered from my listeners, it’s a big step forward. For the “Resonate”-album I was at the very beginning of that mixing-engineering path. I had serious doubts about my skills so I outsourced mixing and mastering to another buddy of mine. He did a great job, but there were moments where we took a few improper decisions, so to speak. Thankfully, now I can fully express myself and I’m happy with the results. Sound’s gonna be brighter, a bit wider and punchy this time.

Regarding live performances I think I’ll do a few shows later on this year. For the moment Outpost 11 still is a studio solo-project, but I’m also in the process of recruiting musicians to form a live line-up. I’ve managed to recruit a keyboard player. No idea what parts she’s gonna play, but we have a lot of enthusiasm. I think we’ll figure this out somehow! I hope that we’ll do a few shows this year and I’m really looking forward to it. Further in time, I’ll do at least one more album released by Advoxya Records in 2020 and next we probably will extend our contract for a few more albums.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com