Out via Mannequin Records on vinyl on July 5th is “Voltage Control (1990-1992)”, a compilation of the Dutch EBM-Techno pioneers Voltage Control aka Arno Peeters & Tibor Fülöp. The compilation comes with a selection of their dancefloor tracks originally released on the legendary Belgian label Antler Subway.

The duo was inspired by Front 242, Skinny Puppy and Clock DVA and both Arno and Tibor were fellow students at the Centre of Electronic Music (CEM) in Arnhem/NL during the mid 80’s. After getting a record deal with Antler Subway, they started producing their first EP while acid house hit Europe. As a result they incorporated some of those influences in their first record, “Force d’Inquisition” released in 1990.

The compilation includes also the legendary “Apocalypse”, which was quite a hit at the time both in the EBM and acid scene. Arno Peeters was later part of Random XS and Urban Electro on Djax-Up-Beats. The release is dedicated to Tibor Fülöp, who died in 2010.

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

The legendary Belgian label Antler returns. Pioneering in the 80s and 90s and an absolute vanguard in the world of post-punk, cold- and new wave, EBM, electro… a series of albums and compilations from the extensive Antler archives are now being re-released. Following the earlier released remastered version of the double album of the Limburg Cold Wavers Siglo XX, a first compilation of tracks from the early period of the label: “Antler Records – Early Years Vol. 1” is now following.

Roland Beelen: “For almost half a century, Antler has been my life, my love, and my soul. I founded Antler Records more than 40 years ago. In the early days, I was not only chasing my own dreams, but those of many new and groundbreaking bands in Belgium in an exciting new world of music and an emerging music scene. After the collaboration with Maurice Engelen, there was no turning back. Our label has broken barriers in many different genres with our joint forces, from dark electro, EBM, pop, dance and techno, singer-songwriter to even reggae. It’s now 2023 and I’m proud to put parts of this legacy back in the spotlight with a series of releases and reissues. After more than 40 years, Antler will come back to life and bring joy to all fans who have cherished the label over the years.”

The history of Antler

Neue Sachlichkeit and their single “Ice/Painless Rage” was the last release on Roland Beelen’s Kleo Label and came out in 1981. It also became the first release on the Antler label founded after a meeting in café De Knoet in Aarschot with Maurice Engelen. Kleo Records became Antler Records and both gentlemen entered into a collaboration that would last until 2005. Beelen had a serious accident and withdrew from the music biz in 2005, Engelen continued with Praga Khan and Lords of Acid.

In 1995, Antler (by then transformed into Antler-Subway Records) entered into a collaboration with EMI Records. The legendary Belgian alternative-new wave catalog was supplemented with a series of striking and still current and unforgettable Belpop hits in 2023. From 1995 onwards, even more Belgian and international hits were scored and millions of records and CDs were sold, including Black Uhuru, 2 Fabiola, Kate Ryan, Milk Inc, Lasgo, Ian van Dahl, but also Praga Khan, Lords of Acid and in Belgium Leopold 3)

With the disappearance of EMI Records and EMI Music, the label was swept under the rug, archives were lost and Antler eventually ended up at Warner Music via Universal after wanderings.

Starman Records acquired the right from Warner Music in 2022 to use the name Antler and Antler-Subway again to breathe new life into the more than 40-year-old label. Two compilations (vinyl only) with the rarest and long-lost tracks from the early Antler period were compiled by Lieven De Ridder (Walhalla Records) with the greatest care and remastered by Pieter De Wagter. The first of these: “Antler Records – Early Years Vol. 1” will be released on January 5, 2024.

The logo has now a very sustainable green colour.

Siglo XX returns as well, more or less

Also to be re-released on Antler will be the Siglo XX “Double album” which is the last album of the Limburg coldwave band that appeared on the Antler label. The release is the result of the last artistic collaboration between Roland Beelen and Siglo XX in the mid-1980s. The record is considered a masterpiece and numerous renowned artists from the then Belgo-Manchester Scene collaborated on it.

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

Out on October 7th is “Psychopuppets”, the new album by the legendary Leuven based post-punk band Soviet War.

The release comes out on Track & Traces, a sister label of Starman Records founded by veteran Roland Beelen (Antler). Via Tracks & Traces Beelen releases material from artists who at the same time have strong roots in the past and enough creativity to produce new material in the present. Previous albums have been released by, among others, TB Frank & Baustein, TV Smith, Honeymoon Cowboys (Siglo XX) and Suns of Arqa.

Included on the release is archive and live material from the early 80’s, plus new material. The band is also touring again and recently played support for The Stranglers in Het Depot , Leuven.

Formed as The Soviets the primitive punk of the early years evolved into post-punk, as a result the band changed their name to Soviet War. The band recorded a cassette ‘Bootleg’ and sold hundreds of copies at concerts, but when the Anything But label put one of their songs, “The Nuthouse”, on its compilation “No Big Business 2” the band also recorded “Just a Story” during the same sessions. The track would end up on the “Koude Golven” compilation. In 1982 a second recording session resulted in the single “It became a problem/Guns for fun” on the same Anything But label and two other unreleased tracks, which you can finally find on this LP.

In early 1983, guitarist Leon left and the band split up. 36 years later, in 2019, Soviet War reformed with the three remaining original members, Bergy, Tirre and Zip joined by new guitarist Koen. Corona prevented their comeback concert from taking place, Instead they started work on new songs. As soon as the live circuit regained some breathing space in the autumn of 2021, concerts finally followed.

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

Front Line Assembly’s Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber have just announced “Deviator”, the first new Noise Unit record in over 15 years. The duo will release the new album on Toronto-based Artoffact Records on double vinyl, CD digipak, and digital formats.

The new album features exclusive artwork by Dave McKean (see below), and one of the announced tracks is a collaboration with KMFDM / PIG vocalist Raymond Watts. The first single to drop from the record is “Body Aktiv”.

About Noise Unit

Noise Unit was founded by Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly as a side project. The project has seen several changes in line-up, with Bill Leeb being the only permanent member.

Noise Unit’s first album, “Grinding into Emptiness”, for instance arose from the collaboration between Leeb and Marc Verhaeghen of Belgian industrial band Klinik. It was released in 1989 through Wax Trax! and Antler-Subway. The 1990 album “Response Frequency” included Rhys Fulber. While Verhaeghen left Noise Unit for several years, Fulber remained with the band for the next three releases. Verhaeghen resumed his collaboration with Noise Unit for the 1996 album “Drill”, which also featured members of German industrial band Haujobb.

After an eight-year hiatus, Leeb teamed with former Front Line Assembly member Chris Peterson in 2004 to release “Voyeur” in 2005. Jason Filipchuk and Michael Balch also contributed to the album.

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: Dark-Folk, Neo-folk, Cinematographic, Medieval, Ethereal.

Format: Digital, Double CD.

Background/Info: Eight years after the previous chapter in the “Dark Britannica”-series, Cold Spring Records strikes back with the next album featuring thirty two bands –and songs, devoted to Dark-Folk.

Artists: Winterfylleth, Sol-De-Murte, Finglebone, Tim Lane, Soldat, The Familiars, The Sound Of Antler, Beau, Perkelt, A Tiding Of Magpies, C J Mann & Becky Sharp, Thornland, Larynx And Claw, My Silent Wake, Peleser, Robert Pitcher, Peter Ulrich, Sedaylenore, Wolcensmen, Brocc, Venereum Arvum, Sixpenny Wayke, Alex Monk, The Psychogeographical Commission, Silver Of World Union, Sand Snowman Feat. Moonswift, Tim Lane & Hayley Evenett, Sunshine Coding, Coma Wall, Job Eth Young, Nathaniel Mann, Ignis Astrifer.

Content: The common element and main influence running through this compilation for sure is ‘Folk’. It’s a Dark-Folk format mixed and alternated with other influences such as Ethereal (beautiful voices), Medieval spheres reminding music of troubadours and simply Ballads.

The first disc is more diversified, but still more into Medieval music and Ethereal ballads driven by angelic voices. The Folk style is created by the magic of acoustic guitar, accordion, flutes and other acoustic instruments. The vocals are mostly little stories diving the listener into a world of magic.

The second disc takes off with an exclusive song composed for this compilation by Peter Ulrich. This disc is less diversified, but still devoted to the Folk sphere and here again accentuated by authentic instruments.

+ + + : This is much more than simply a conceptual album. Most of the artists are simply devoted to this music style, which in a way belongs to the British culture; it’s an ode to the history of this great country, several songs have been inspired by old poems and old songs. It also is an opportunity to discover an impressive number of less familiar –and totally unknown artists dealing with the same love for this kind of music. Peter Ulrich is for sure the most famous name of the list, but he got some good company. I’m referring to the beautiful debut song by Winterfylleth, the Ethereal Ballad accomplished by Perkelt, the somewhat mystic song by C J Mann & Becky Sharp, the instrumental Medieval performance by My Silent Wake and the beautiful final track by Ignis Astrifer. The CD format also features an illustrated booklet, which gives you some more info about the artists and the songs.

– – – : This compilation series is totally different from what we’re used to hearing on Cold Spring Records so don’t expect the classical Industrial/Noise/Experimental work. Speaking for myself I definitely prefer the first disc featuring the best songs.

Conclusion: This is an interesting work, which sounds as a sonic voyage visiting less familiar music horizons.

Best bands: Ignis Astrifer, Perkelt, Winterfylleth, My Silent Wake, C J Mann & Becky Sharp, Brocc, The Sound Of Antler.

Rate: (7½).

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

About Cold Spring

Cold Spring is a British label founded in 1990, initially focused on industrial and noise releases before broadening into dark ambient, neofolk and dark folk. Its “Dark Britannica” dark-folk compilation series began in 2007 with “John Barleycorn Reborn: Dark Britannica”, exploring themes of the cyclical nature of the seasons and the English harvest-folklore figure John Barleycorn.

“The Forme To The Fynisment Foldes Ful Selden” (Dark Britannica IV), released on Lammas (1 August) 2020, closes out the series thirteen years after the first volume, gathering thirty-two artists across a double disc, with Peter Ulrich contributing an exclusive opening track to the second disc.

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

Good news, the duo Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb are working on a brand new Noise Unit album and this 15 years after the last album “Voyeur” was released on Metropolis. Precise details are not yet known though, more news as we get it.

Noise Unit: a continuously evolving project

Noise Unit is a Canadian industrial project founded by Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly as a side project. The band has seen several changes in line-up, with Bill Leeb being the only permanent member.

Noise Unit’s first album, “Grinding into Emptiness” was a collaboration between Leeb and Marc Verhaeghen of Belgian industrial band Klinik and was released in 1989 through Wax Trax! and Antler-Subway. For the 1990 album “Response Frequency” Leeb was joined by Rhys Fulber. After the completion of the album, Verhaeghen left Noise Unit for several years while Fulber remained with the band for the next 3 releases.

Verhaeghen resumed his collaboration with Noise Unit for the 1996 album “Drill” which also featured members of German industrial band Haujobb. Leeb finally teamed up with former Front Line Assembly member Chris Peterson in 2004 to release “Voyeur” in 2005 with further help from Jason Filipchuk and Michael Balch.

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

The ‘older’ electro fans familiar with EBM will probably remind Schicksal. This Belgian solo-project set up by Rudi Huybrechts released one single and noticeable 12” entitled “24 Hours”. This EP got released exactly 30 years ago now and got very enthusiastic reactions. Unfortunately no other official Schicksal release got ever released. This year the Belgian label Walhalla Records, which is devoted to good-old (Belgian) electronics recovered Schicksal from dust. The album “365 Days” got released on vinyl format and features next to the familiar songs from the “24 Hours”-maxi several previously unreleased songs. Schicksal is alive and answered a few questions about this noticeable ‘return’.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Schicksal is one of these ‘forgotten’ electronic projects from the early 80s, which this year released the album “365 Days”. Can you remind us the who’s hiding behind this project and the way you got in touch with electronic music?

Rudi: My real name is Rudi Huybrechts. I was born in 1967 in Hoboken, a town near Antwerp. Imagine Hoboken was at that time as an old industry township with industrial artefacts, such as an old petrochemical abandoned plant, bankrupt shipyard Cockerill and a polluting chemical plant.

As a young kid I was already interested in electronic music. I went to the library to lend LP’s which helped me discover all kinds of music. And that’s where I first heard “Autobahn”. From that point on, nothing was the same anymore. I started discovering bands like D.A.F., Human League, Heaven 17. The release of Front’s “Geography” in 1982 is for me a true landmark. This was the first time where synth music had this kind of aggression, passion and groove. Front 242 used synths in a way which was never done before. And then of course there was the radio show ‘Vrijaf’ by Gust Decoster, every Wednesday afternoon. It is on Vrijaf that I discovered a lot of fantastic ‘Belpop’ and recorded it on lots of C90 tapes.

Q: The 12” “24 Hours” released in 1988 on Antler’s subdivision Subway Records has been your single official release before the album. Back in time Subway Records was devoted to the new-beat scene so what does it evoke to you?

Rudi: For me, the New-Beat period started a lot earlier than many think. During the late 80’s, some DJ’s in Antwerp nightclubs such as ‘Prestige’, ‘Berchem Palace’ and ‘Rudy’s Avant Garde’ in St.Niklaas started pitching songs and playing downtempo dance music. It was a time of decadence, so-called ‘m’as tu vu’ and no rules.

It is a coincidence that “24 hours” was released on Subway. In fact, it was Marc Grouls (resident DJ at Prestige Club) who played “24 hours” for the first time, after some stalking from me! The dancefloor went wild so the day after Marc picked me up at home to sign a contract with Maurice Engelen on the Subway label. In short notice New-Beat became hot, so hot that it became mainstream and unfortunately evolved in the so called ‘Nouga Beat’.

Q: How did it finally happen that the album “365 Days” got released 30 years after “24 Hours”?

Rudi: It happened because of one man, Lieven De Ridder. There’s a Belgian underground community of people who are dedicated to the electronic scene. They are interested in minimal-synth, New-Beat and music which was played at ‘Liaisons Dangereuses’ (an historic radio show on free radio station SIS). Lieven De Ridder is one of the main influencers in that scene. His knowledge and passion for music, especially synth music, borders on the unbelievable. Lieven is the founder of Walhalla Records, a label that is specialised in releasing vinyl which has only been released on cassette before. Lieven and I got in touch, and started playing on his Radioshow ‘Wave Frequencies’ on Radio Centraal. The first Walhalla record was “Underground Belgian Wave Vol.l 1” featuring 2 Schicksal songs “Time“ and “Saturday”, previously released on the historic “Climax”-tape. Lieven had the idea to release a full album of Schicksal, with previously unreleased material. We got together again and chose representative tracks to cover 30 years.

Q: Back in time “24 Hours” got a very positive response, but how do you look back at the songs featured on it and what has been the impact of this release on your career as artist?

Rudi: The song “24 hours” itself was rather accidentally connected to the New-Beat sound; it was not my intension to create or compose New-Beat. I could have got probably more out of it, but in that time there was no internet. As an 21 year old modest student I was not really interested in the ‘music industry’ and let alone all the merchandising and commerce around it.

Q: So what can you tell us about the songs featured at “365 Days”? When did you compose these tracks and what can you say about the sound, influences, equipment?

Rudi: The A side of “365 Days”, together with “Saturday” on the B-side is from the early days and made with analogue gear. I bought my first synth (with money I earned working as a student) in 1983, at the age of 15. It was a Roland SH-101. It felt like the world got open in front of me… I started compiling the instruments you require as a solo synth-artist; new ones and most second hand instruments. My first drum computer was a Boss DR 55 for example. I am a fan of Roland, especially the TR series. But buying something new meant that other instruments had to be sold. Can you imagine I once sold a TR-909…if only I knew at that time… My favourite configuration was the Roland SH-101, the DR-110 drum computer,  the Korg Poly 800 and Boss DSD-2 sampler/delay. Picture yourself, a small bedroom (3 x 2,5m), the gear on the bed because I’d no space, a cassette deck with hifi deck, mixer, microphone and me trying to get control of it all (lol) That’s how many of the Schicksal songs were created.  The other songs on “365 days” are more recent. Today I create my songs on PC with Reason and a Nektar midi keyboard. But last year I got a Korg MS-20 (!) as a birthday gift from a good friend and recently I bought a Korg Volca Bass. So I’m back into the analogue gear! The first demos are a fact, but I’m still trying to sync them all together. The pitfall of creating music on computer is that you can lose yourself for hours in looking for that specific sound instead of being creative. For me ‘less is more’.

Q: A lot of things have changed since the late 80s; I’m referring to instruments, recording techniques, music styles, labels, promotion, distribution, media, social media, streaming… Do you feel you’re still living in the same world as 30 years ago and what’s your perception about all these evolutions/changes?

Rudi: Indeed, in 30 years of time, a lot changed! Every change has his advantages and disadvantages. In fact it is much cheaper today to make electronic music than it was in the 80’s. Also the possibilities/sounds/samples are endless. With Facebook and Youtube you have, as an artist, much more opportunities to share your music and find allies. If the internet wouldn’t exist, the “365 Days”-release wouldn’t have been released! On the other hand I today miss some artists who’re experimenting and thinking outside the box. The bulb was not invented by improving the candle if you know what I mean… All MTV and big radio stations play the same EDM-shit, over and over again. Youngsters, stop looking at your smartphone and create your own revolution!

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

Background/Info:

About Schicksal

Schicksal is the solo project of Rudi Huybrechts, born in 1967 in Hoboken, near Antwerp, Belgium. Inspired by Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn” and early EBM acts such as Front 242, D.A.F. and Human League, Huybrechts released the 12″ single “24 Hours” in 1988 on Subway Records, a division of Antler Records.

No further Schicksal material followed for three decades until the Belgian label Walhalla Records revived the project, releasing the vinyl album “365 Days,” which gathers the “24 Hours” material alongside previously unreleased songs composed between 1982 and the album’s release.

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.

Background/Info: Artoffact Records moves back into history. Together with the re-release of “Deceit / Struktur” we now get the digital version of “Agitate / In Vain”, which was the second and last 12” by the duo Bill Leeb (FLA) and Marc Verhaeghen (The Klinik). Both songs also appeared on the album “Response Frequency” originally released on Antler-Subway.

Content: Both songs were released in 1990 and that’s for sure an element you’ll easily notice. This work clearly sounds like late 80s – early 90s EBM and is the perfect offspring between both artists main bands. The sequences and of course the vocals by Bill Leeb are into pure FLA while Marc Verhaeghen injected his darker, experimental and more industrial tricks from The Klinik.

+ + + : Especially the song “Agitate” reveals early, but great and worked-out EBM. The sound also revealed a more elaborate writing and more harmony between the influences of FLA and The Klinik. Bill Leeb’s vocals on this release were also more mature and charismatic.

– – – : Even if both songs remain great early EBM pieces they for sure suffer from the weight of time.

Conclusion: We’re getting back into time awakening during the early magic of EBM and the common efforts between 2 of the greatest artists in the genre!

Best songs: “Agitate”, “In Vain”

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/Noise–Unit-178935318858983

Label: www.artoffact.com / www.facebook.com/artoffact

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.

Background/Info: Noise Unit was set up in the late 80s by two ‘giants’ of the early EBM/dark-electro scene. Bill Leeb (Frontline Assembly) and Marc Verhaeghen (The Klinik) joined hands composing 2 full lengths together. “Grinding Into Emptiness” and “Response Frequency” both entered into the collective memory of the late 80s. They also released 2 maxi’s. “Deceit / Struktur” released in 1989 on Antler-Subway was the first one. Both songs were also the first cuts from the CD-format of their debut album –but didn’t originally appear on the vinyl format of the album.

Content: Great music and great memories! That’s for sure what I felt when getting back to this typical late 80s sound. The music is closer to early FLA instead of The Klinik. The bass line running throughout “Struktur” even reminds me of Die Krupps.

Both songs are definitely driven by the typical late 80s spirit of EBM. I like some drum passages adding some extra elaboration to the work. A last essential aspect of this band remains the vocals by Bill Leeb, which were a bit spooky and cavernous.

+ + + : Noise Unit never gained the fame and popularity of FLA and The Klinik although it remains a genius band driven by 2 masters and visionary artists. Both songs sound pretty old-school like, but there’s still some magic emerging. I like the typical EBM format and the great drum arrangements.

– – – : There’s nothing really negative to say about this release, but you better avoid it if you’re tired of early EBM.

Conclusion: “Deceit / Struktur” was a perfect appetizer or little bonus to the album “Grinding Into Emptiness”. Noise Unit belongs to the history of ‘body-music’ and I’m sure I’m not the only one missing this legendary- and original duo today.

Best songs: “Struktur”, “Deceit”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/Noise–Unit-178935318858983

Label: www.artoffact.com / www.facebook.com/artoffact

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

ArtOfFact will release the 2LP vinyl reissue of Noise Unit’s “Decoder”, the project’s 4th album, originally released in 1995 via Dossier and Cleopatra. The line-up for the “Decoder” album consisted of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. The re-release will include 2 unreleased bonus tracks (“Falling” and “Lifetime”) and will be available in 2 versions, a black double vinyl and an orange one (only version in the EU).

You can order this vinyl right now from ArtOfFact (for EU orders) or from Storming The Base (non-EU orders) where you can buy both version in one go too. Shipping is expected in February 2016. And while you at it, both stores have other Noise Unit vinyls on offer too!

Noise Unit is a Canadian industrial band, founded by Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly as a side project. Over the years the band has seen several changes in line-up, with Bill Leeb being the only permanent member. The first album, “Grinding into Emptiness”, arose from the collaboration between Leeb and Marc Verhaeghen of Belgian industrial band Klinik. It was released in 1989 through Wax Trax! and Antler-Subway. The 1990 follow-up, “Response Frequency”, was the last release to feature Verhaeghen until 1996 and included Rhys Fulber who would remain with the band for the next three albums. Verhaeghen resumed his collaboration with Noise Unit for the 1996 album “Drill” which also featured members of German industrial band Haujobb.

After an eight-year hiatus Leeb teamed with former Front Line Assembly member Chris Peterson in 2004 to release “Voyeur” in 2005. In 2014, Front Line Assembly announced that a new Noise Unit album is in the works and the line-up is the same as on Front Line Assembly album “Echogenetic”.

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