The Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix releases the twelfth volume in its “Matrix+ Downloaded” series to coincide with the label’s 24th anniversary. The digital-only set collects 69 tracks across the label’s current spectrum – EBM, dark elektro/industrial, synth pop – and newer Spleen+ additions spanning post-punk, goth rock and coldwave. The compilation is offered as a free/pay-what-you-want download via the label’s Bandcamp page and also includes a PDF booklet.

On the cover you will recognize Erica Dunham from Unter Null.

Artists included on this free download compilation include: Studio-X (feat. Kyoko Baertsoen), Rector Scanner, Aesthetische, Cut.Rate.Box, Kant Kino, Frontal Boundary, C-Lekktor, Acylum, Diffuzion, Implant, Neikka RPM, First Aid 4 Souls (feat. Aux Animaux), Noemi Aurora, Suicidal Romance, Llumen, Hanging Freud, Lederman/De Meyer, The Ultimate Dreamers, Aiboforcen, Digital Factor, Armageddon Dildos, Helalyn Flowers, Krystal System, The True Union, Freakangel, Totem Obscura, Lovelorn Dolls (feat. Dero Goi), The Breath of Life, The Names, ImJudas, Synapsyche, Miseria Ultima, Unter Null, Alien Vampires (feat. Dani Divine), Venal Flesh, Helle9, To Avoid, Pouppée Fabrikk, Stahlgeist, Nigra Nebula, Aengeldust, Circuito Cerrado, Matthew Creed, Cubic, Metroland, The Psychic Force, Komor Kommando, First Aid Tech, Die Robo Sapiens, ELM, Plastic Noise Experience, AD:Key, Elektroklänge, 808 Dot Pop, Avarice in Audio, Elektrostaub (feat. Echo Image), Cryogenic Echelon, Entrzelle, Neuroactive, Technoir, Mondträume, Star Industry, Stray, Psy’Aviah (feat. Sorrow Stories), Zombie Girl, Darkness on Demand, Circumpolar, Dunkelwerk, and Lights A.M.

A&R manager, Sebastien Dolimont says: “In 2025, Alfa Matrix proudly celebrates 24 years of existence. Nearly a quarter of a century fighting for dark alternative music, discovering new talents, and keeping the underground alive. This anniversary is not just about us and our artists – it’s about you, our fans. Because without your constant support, there would be no label, no releases, no future for the scene we all love.”

And he add: “In a world where indie labels are disappearing, streaming revenues collapse, and risks of signing new talents are higher than ever, we are proud to still stand strong — but we can only do it with you by our side. By downloading this compilation, you are not just enjoying music — you are actively supporting 69 artists and helping keep our scene alive, fresh, and forward-looking. From all of us at Alfa Matrix and Spleen+, and on behalf of all our artists: thank you for 24 years of loyalty, passion, and support. Together, we’ll keep writing the future of the dark underground.”

About Alfa Matrix

Alfa Matrix is a Brussels-based independent label founded in 2001. The catalogue focuses on electronic subgenres including industrial, EBM, dark elektro, and synth pop, later expanding into post-punk/coldwave via the Spleen+ division. The label’s team includes label & artists manager Seba Dolimont, promo manager Bernard Van Isacker, and head of design Benoît Blanchart.

From the early 2000s, Alfa Matrix used series-based releases to build international reach. Notable strands include “Sounds From The Matrix” (label samplers), “Re:Connected” (digital label overview), and the club-oriented “Endzeit Bunkertracks” multi-CD anthologies (first “Act” released 21 March 2005, featuring 60 tracks with 50 exclusives).

In 2023, Alfa Matrix inaugurated Spleen+, a division centred on post-punk and adjacent styles, and followed with multi-artist projects and catalogue building, including the “Resurgence” 7-CD box that assembled 133 contemporary bands from the post-punk family.

The label has since the very start focused on a direct contact with its fans and customers via their online webstore and Bandcamp.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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The newest and seventh album by the German duo AD:Key, comprised of Andrea and René Nowotny, stands out as a particularly special release. Titled “06.09”, it references the couple’s wedding date, celebrating their bond through music. This album stays true to the energetic, intelligent, and old-school EBM style that has become AD:Key’s signature, delivering a powerful sound. Both members contribute vocals throughout, and they also invited long-time friend Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) to collaborate on one track. Interestingly, the album’s strongest tracks are positioned toward its conclusion. Compared to previous works, “06.09” has a slightly ‘softer’ or more Body-Pop sound, though it remains a refined and well-balanced production, merging strength and sophistication. An additional album complements the release with numerous remixes and alternative versions. Label mates Miseria Ultima and Digital Factor, as well as Martin Bodewell of Orange Sector, contribute compelling remixes, alongside AD:Key’s own reworks and another one from their side project, Rector Scanner. (Rating:8).

AD:keY commented on the album in an AD:keY interview published on Side-Line.

Listen to “By Your Side”:

About AD:keY

AD:keY is a Berlin-based German EBM duo formed by Andrea Nowotny and René Nowotny, a husband-and-wife team. The project grew out of René’s earlier act Rector Scanner, founded in 1997 as his very first music project, before he redirected his energy toward the more EBM-oriented AD:keY together with Andrea.

Formed around 2006-2007, the duo released classic, club-driven EBM early on. The debut album “Thema Nummer Eins” arrived on December 5, 2008, followed in 2015 by “Anthropozän”. After signing to Alfa Matrix in 2017, AD:keY released the digital EP “Shameless” and a steady run of releases on the label, including “Reanimator”, “10th Anniversary” and “Resonanz”, plus EPs and singles such as “Never Enough”, “Herz Lass Los”, “Alles Was Ich Will”, “Nackt” and “Deine Augen”, and a Depeche Mode tribute cover of “Master and Servant”.

“06.09”, the duo’s seventh album and a reference to the couple’s wedding date, was released in 2024 as a digital and CD album with an additional remix companion. It is the release reviewed here.

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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Last September, Alfa Matrix released the 7th studio album from AD:KEY, “0609” (available via Bandcamp): a release full of energy, strong old-school EBM basslines, catchy synth melodies, and addictive choruses, all highlighted by their unique male/female vocal interplay. NITZER EBB’s power meets KRAFTWERK’s melody for a smashing album evoking AND ONE or FRONT 242!

S. First of all, congratulations on the release of “0609” and your wedding anniversary! September 6th must hold a lot of personal significance for you both. Can you share how you spent your anniversary this year and what this date means to you in both your personal and professional lives? 

R. Thank you for your kind wishes. September 6th has a very big meaning for us indeed. We wanted to show the whole world that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. This year we spent our 16th wedding anniversary at the NCN Festival. The night before I performed at the NCN with Orange Sector. Andrea and I met at a festival 17 years ago, married 16 years ago and gave our first AD:keY concert in Kassel on that very day. So a wedding concert!

S. “0609” is described as your most personal album to date, reflecting your deep bond as a couple and bandmates. How did your relationship influence the creative process behind this release? Were there any moments that felt especially emotional or cathartic during the making of the album?

R. We are married, but at the same time we are best friends. We can tell each other anything and don’t shy away from criticizing each other. Because we have set up our studio at home, we can work on music at any time. Alone or together, whatever suits us. Of course there are emotional moments. Especially when a track gives us goosebumps at the same time. I think especially with the songs “Your Eyes” and “Two Souls” we felt a sense of deep connection…

S. The male/female vocal interplay is a core element of your sound. How do you approach balancing your voices and perspectives in the music? Are there specific tracks on “0609” where you feel this dynamic really shines?

R. That’s a tough question! My favorite on the album is “Your Eyes.” The song is based on Andrea’s voice. My voice can only be heard in the background during the chorus. Where a female voice is needed or rather a male voice, we also use it. Andrea finds the outro of the album, the song “0609”, particularly successful. Here both voices appear in a balanced ratio…

S. This album celebrates not only your relationship but also your dedication to the EBM genre. How do you see your sound evolving on “0609,” and what were your main influences or inspirations while working on this album?

R. I think we have undergone a lot of development in the last few years. Our songs seem (at least we think so) more grown-up, more mature than on the first albums. They are more classic, melodic old school EBM songs with a somewhat rough instrumentalization. We only use hardware synthesizers, many of which are analog devices. This makes the sound warm and rich – and somehow everything sounds a little like electronics from the end of the 80s. I think this is a new quality feature of “0609”. We like that sound because we grew up with it. These are our sources of inspiration. Our song “The Evil God,” for example, makes me think a little of Bigod 20 with its sounds and samples, for example the tracks “Kreusch” and “The Big Bang.” I’m a big Bigod 20 fan. Or the sequencer runs on the songs “Heartbeat” and “By Your Side” could perhaps have come from Nitzer Ebb. Andrea has been a Nitzer Ebb fan since she was a child. Some of the sounds on “0609” sound a bit like Armageddon Dildos, which I was a keyboard player for on stage for years. Uwe Kanka, the mastermind of Armageddon Dildos, finally insisted on contributing the vocals for our song “Feel the Beat” in the chorus. We have been friends with Uwe for years; after all, Uwe is originally from Kassel, just like Andrea. They even attended the same school, except that Uwe learned there a bunch of years before Andrea (laugh).  I would perhaps mention Terence Fixmer and Miss Kittin as further influences – and of course Front 242 and Kraftwerk.

S. The album comes with a bonus CD featuring remixes by artists like ORANGE SECTOR, ZWEITE JUGEND, and even your side project RECTOR SCANNER. How did you decide which artists to collaborate with for these remixes, and how does it feel to have your music reinterpreted by others?

R. First of all, thank you again to all the remixers. Almost all of us know each others personally and are mostly friends with each other. Whenever we hear a remix for the first time, we are amazed at how different such new recordings are from the original and what new ideas the remixers have contributed. Since we know what our friends’ music sounds like with their own projects, we could already guess in advance which direction the mixes could go. With the Bodewell (Orange Sector) remix we knew it was going to be a club number that was going to be a blast. The TC 75 mix would be more ambient – and “Zweite Jugend” will sound like “Zweite Jugend”. “Aktion:Fiasko” definitely had to be there because the project is new, crisp and fresh. Franzi (the front woman) lives a few doors down from us. But we didn’t know that we would be presented with such a bright mix of “The Evil God” that will certainly attract attention in the club. The Miseria Ultima remix was also a big surprise because we had only known this band for a short time.

S. Considering the intimate nature of “0609” and your long-standing relationship as both partners and bandmates, how do you manage to maintain that balance between personal life and the creative energy needed for your music? 

R. For us, making music is part of our private lives. It mainly takes place on the weekends, after dinner on Friday or Saturday evening. If the creative energy isn’t there, we do something different: we meet up with friends, go to concerts, or go to readings in my favorite bookstore “Otherland” in Berlin Kreuzberg where we gather strength and find new ideas.

S. As you celebrate this milestone with “0609,” what does the future hold for AD:KEY? Are there any upcoming projects, collaborations, or special plans that fans can look forward to?

R. Of course we pause for a moment when a project like a new album that we have been working on for almost 4 years is finished. It’s like closing a book you’ve read. And then you look around for something new, you look around and start the next project. We will definitely play some concerts, for example in March 2025 at the E-Only Festival in Leipzig. We have some remixes in the pipeline for other bands. There are already a few song ideas for our Rector Scanner project. In the future there will be a new Rector Scanner album. At the moment we are planning another AD:keY single from the current album, which should be released in the next months.  Another AD:keY song is also finished, which was originally supposed to be on the album “0609”, but ultimately didn’t fit thematically. This song was sung by Martin Bodewell (Orange Sector). We also want to release this song somewhere!  Andrea has also been active as a guest singer with VillaBorghese (side project of Ex Trial / Trilogy) in recent months and will certainly be heard there more often. In addition, Andrea is planning a project that she would like to launch together with exclusively female musicians, including Franzi from Aktion:Fiasko and Lily from MDS 51. Female Electronic Music – “FEM”.

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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Today the German EBM pop duo AD:keY releases a new double-CD album, “0609”, on Alfa Matrix. The duo, recently married Andrea and Rene Nowotny, matched the album’s title with the release date of the album: “0609” aka September 6th.

You can order the album now on Bandcamp as download and on 2CD via the Alfa Matrix webstore.

This is AD:keY’s seventh album. In “0609”, the duo reflects their deep bond as a married couple and as bandmates. Expect strong old-school EBM basslines, catchy synth melodies, and addictive choruses.

As a special treat, the album includes an 11-track bonus CD featuring alternative versions and remixes by friends such as Martin Bodewell (Orange Sector), To Avoid, Digital Factor, Miseria Ultima, Zweite Jugend, TC 75, Aktion:Fiasko, and their side-project Rector Scanner. Additionally, enjoy a special guest vocal contribution from Uwe Kanka, frontman of the cult act and label mates Armageddon Dildos.

About AD:keY

AD:keY, the German EBM pop duo, consists of Andrea and Rene Nowotny, who formed the band in 2006 as a side project.

Their first album, “Thema Nummer Eins”, was released on November 21, 2008, under the Electric Tremor Dessau label. This album featured tracks like “Alkohol” and “Hass Mich”, which helped establish their presence in the EBM scene. Following this, they released “A Deutschmaschine” on April 30, 2010, which included hits like “Deutschmaschine” and “Hölle”. Their third album, “Sharp Cuts”, came out on November 2, 2012, and included tracks such as “Haut” and “Prolet”.

In 2014, AD:keY released “Reanimator” on May 9, featuring songs like “Mein Weg” and “Maschinen”. Two years later, on June 10, 2016, they released “D’Accord”, with tracks like “D’Accord” and “Der Letzte Tanz”. Their sixth album, “Herz und Verstand”, was released on April 20, 2018, and included songs like “Herz und Verstand” and “In Mein Herz”. Most recently, on September 18, 2020, they released “Resonanz”, featuring tracks such as “Maschinenliebe” and “Revolte”.

The band is signed to the Belgian label Alfa Matrix.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) and Martin Bodewell (Orange Sector) are both part of the collective memory of EBM fans. Imagine both guys releasing an album together. They simply called the project Kanka Bodewell and first surprised us with the release of the heavy, retro-EBM-driven EP “Herzblut”. It was released in 2022 by Infacted Recordings. And two years later they hit back with the album “Stroboscope”. The full length is more diversified with, in addition to EBM, also strong Electro-Pop pieces and even a kind of retro-Techno track that takes us back to the 90s in the Frankfurter Techno Club. I contacted both artists to learn more about their collaborative work. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I think this collaborative project was already in the pipeline for a while, but what finally made it happen and what ideas did you have in mind when you decided working together?

Kanka: The idea for the project was born at a joint gig in Frankfurt twelve years ago. Martin suggested a collaboration and I agreed without any reservation. However, years went by and nothing happened. As Martin called me last year and told me that he had some tracks and that he could very well imagine releasing them with me I said yes and so the story went on.

Bodewell: We decided to call our project Bodewell & Kanka. The first ideas were Armageddon Sector or Orange Dildos. It is unbelievable what we think about. The first ideas were not good but very funny.

Q: You both can look back at incredible and successful careers so I guess it must be also exciting and challenging to set up something new. How did you experience this new project, the collaboration itself and what are the expectations?

Kanka: It was from the beginning and still is a very relaxed way of working for me. I liked the tracks straight away and felt very comfortable writing the lyrics and recording the vocals. I immediately had vocal lines for almost all the tracks Martin sent me and plenty of scope to play around with my voice in different styles and quickly realized that vocals and instruments harmonized very well.

Q: I can imagine that you got in touch with each other during the legendary Zoth Ommog years. How did you view each other’s respective bands Orange Sector and Armageddon Dildos and what are the influences from both bands you find back in Kanka Bodewell?

Kanka: As far as I remember, we didn’t have any intensive contact during our time together at Zoth Ommog. Lars and Martin lived in Hanover and Dirk and I lived in Düsseldorf. But we always had a lot of fun at occasional meetings in Frankfurt or at concerts together. I liked the guys’ musical style and energy right from the start. I think the way Martin uses the synths and his understanding of this kind of music has a big influence on the music of Kanka/Bodewell. It also gives me the opportunity to go new ways with my voice and the melodies of the vocals.

Bodewell: We find a good mixture of classic EBM and eighties-influenced Electro-Pop. Everything was allowed, but we didn´t want to sound like Orange Sector or Armageddon Dildos.

Q: Your debut EP “Herzblut” sounded like good, old EBM which can also be heard on the album “Stroboscope” although it is also featuring some Pop elements. Tell us a bit more about the album, the songs and its inspiration? And what have been the different stages to achieve the job?

Kanka: In a nutshell, it was like this: Martin sent me rough version of the tracks, I worked on the lyrics and vocals and sent him back the final recorded vocals. Mixing and mastering took place in Hannover. In my opinion, the work on “Stroboscope” actually took place without too much talking, rather intrusively and, above all, quite quickly.

Q: A very striking track is “Techno Club” which has a strong 90s Electro influence and is especially reminiscent of the legendary Techno Club in Frankfurt. I assume this is not a coincidence, but what have you been trying to express here? And how do you guys remind those unforgettable 90s and the Techno Club located in the Frankfurter airport?

Kanka: The nights at the Techno Club were often insane. Fans and bands from Music Research met up to have fun, exchange news and simply dance the night away. I have an incredible number of images from that time in my head and some of them inspired me to write the text for “Techno Club”.

Martin: The song “Hass Und Liebe” from ECO inspired me a lot for this idea.

Q: Do you consider Kanka Bodewell to be a one-shot project or are there future plans like new songs, remixes, new clips and why not a gig?

Kanka: I can very well imagine a continuation of the Kanka/Bodewell project. However, now is not the time to think about it. I’m in the middle of working on a new Armageddon Dildos-album. Unfortunately, I had a serious knee operation and am currently undergoing rehabilitation. Of course, that sets me back for a while. That’s why my focus over the next few months will naturally be on completing the new Armageddon Dildos-album.

Bodewell: The new Orange Sector will be released in the autumn of 2024. At this moment I work very hard on it. At the end of this year we will talk about the future. But performing the music of Kanka & Bodewell on stage is a very interesting idea.

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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The EBM pop duo AD:keY are back with a fresh EP, “Nackt”, following their previous single, “Two Souls”. With this new release the Berlin-based duo, Andrea and Rene Nowotny, offers a glimpse of what you can expect on their forthcoming album, “0609”.

“Nackt” holds 4 tracks, 3 remixes (including a single mix) of the title track plus a mix of the track “Deine Augen”. As usual the tracks come with the band’s signature blend of male and female vocals.

As usual with Alfa Matrix the release is first out on Bandcamp with other platforms to follow in the next weeks.

About AD:keY

AD:keY was formed in 2006 as a side project by the keyboardist from the band Armageddon Dildos. The band’s sound is rooted in pure old school EBM blending what we then described “the synths and beats of DAF and Nitzer Ebb with the vocal style and slight spaciness of Welle:Erdball”.

Their music is characterized by stomping beats, muscled bass lines, addictive melodic electro sequences, and powerful male and female vocals. Over the years, AD:keY has carved out its own identity within the Electronic Body Music scene releasing material via the Belgian based electro label Alfa Matrix.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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Genre/Influences: EBM, Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After the debut work (mini-album) “Herzblut” released in 2022 the duo Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) – Martin Bodewell (Orange Sector) are back on track unleashing the “Stroboscope”-album featuring eleven songs.

Content: Uwe Kanka sings and Martin Bodewell takes care of the music. “Herzblut” was great EBM but the album sounds more diversified and also exploring Electro-Pop fields. It’s quite interesting the way songs are switching from one genre till the other; sometimes reminding me of Pet Shop Boys for the Electro-Pop side and DAF for the harder, and pure, EBM work. The tracklist features 4 album-edits from songs that were already released at “Herzblut”.

+ + + : This is an exceptional project for the collaboration between two of the greatest EBM projects from the German 90s scene. The EBM side of the album remains terrific and definitely the songs I prefer. “Marathon” remains a great song but I also have to mention “Feuer” (also known from the mini-album) and “Strobolight”. “Techno Club” is another cool piece which seems evoking the famous Frankfurter Techno Club while sound wise it reminds me a bit of ECO. The Pop side is less interesting although revealing a few cool and well-crafted pieces always driven by solid bass lines. Uwe Kanka is definitely a talented singer for this kind of music. I here recommend listening to “Sisters & Brothers” which sounds like a hard adaptation of a Pet Shop Boys song.

– – – : As said before I’m less convinced by the Electro-Pop side of the work however it brings diversity.

Conclusion: Kanka Bodewell sounds much more than simply a fun project between EBM mates; those guys rock and have accomplished a cool work.

Best songs: “Marathon – Album Version”, “Techno Club”, “Strobolight”, “Feuer – Album Version”, “Sisters & Brothers”, “Wasteland”.

Rate: 8.

Artists: www.armageddondildos.info / www.facebook.com/armageddondildos / www.facebook.com/OrangeSector

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Kanka Bodewell

Kanka Bodewell is the collaborative project of Uwe Kanka of Armageddon Dildos and Martin Bodewell of Orange Sector. The idea for a joint project was born at a shared gig in Frankfurt, but the pair only started working together after Bodewell sent Kanka a set of tracks. The duo debuted in 2022 with the EP “Herzblut” on Infacted Recordings, followed two years later by the full-length “Stroboscope”, which reworks four “Herzblut” songs as album edits alongside new EBM and Electro-Pop material.

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

Alfa Matrix, the renowned Belgian label, commemorates its 22nd anniversary with yet another mastodont compilation on Bandcamp. The latest installment in the acclaimed “Matrix Downloaded” series, titled “Matrix+ Downloaded 011”, is now available as a free download on their Bandcamp page. Packed with 60 tracks, including new signings and a preview of the upcoming Spleen+ label releases, this compilation showcases Alfa Matrix’s diverse music repertoire.

“Matrix+ Downloaded 011” soared to the top of the industrial Bandcamp charts within hours of its release, claiming the coveted number 1 position.

The collection holds 60 tracks in total including several new signings. These are the bands present on this brand new free download compilation: Hanging Freud, The Ultimate Dreamers, The Breath Of Life, Psy’Aviah Feat. Sorrow Stories, ImJudas, Star Industry, Halo In Reverse, Lovelorn Dolls, The True Union, Freakangel, Avarice In Audio, Siva Six, Alien Vampires, Synapsyche, Helalyn Flowers, Neuroactive, Elektrostaub Feat. Stefan Netschio, Technoir, Entrzelle, Llumen, Noemi Aurora, Aiboforcen Feat. Jan D., Reichsfeind, Mondträume Feat. N-Frequency, The Psychic Force, Digital Factor, Implant, Darkness On Demand, Aesthetische, Komor Kommando Vs. The True Union, Matthew Creed, C-Lekktor, First Aid Tech, Pouppee Fabrikk, ELM, Die Robo Sapiens, Plastic Noise Experience, Armageddon Dildos, Stahlgeist, AD:keY, Kant Kino, Suicidal Romance, Miseria Ultima, First Aid 4 Souls, Neikka RPM, Circumpolar, Venal Flesh, Helle9, Diffuzion, Acylum, Circuito Cerrado, Aengeldust, Studio-X, 808 Dot Pop, Cubic, Metroland, Rector Scanner, Elektroklänge, Cosmic Armchair, Lights A.M.

You can download “Matrix+ Downloaded 011” for free via Bandcamp.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Nine years after the release of their first tribute to The Cure, titled “A Strange Play – Tribute to The Cure“, Alfa Matrix and Spleen+ have joined forces to create a follow-up tribute album. The second volume in the series, “A Strange Play (Vol. 2) – Tribute to The Cure“, features 27 tracks, including electro, synth pop, EBM acts from Alfa Matrix and cold wave, post-punk, and gothic rock bands from their Spleen+ division and is out now via Bandcamp, the label’s webstore and all other platforms.

The album includes reinterpretations of classic hits and lesser-known B-sides, shedding new light on the original tracks or giving them an entirely different sonic perspective. The tribute album itself this time is a collaborative effort between both established and emerging artists from the Alfa Matrix and Spleen+ rosters.

Compiled by and for The Cure fans, this new tribute adventure brings together a growing roster of Spleen+ artists, including Noemi Aurora, Star Industry, Imjudas, The Ultimate Dreamers, The Breath of Life, and Lovelorn Dolls. Additionally, the album features synth and electro cult acts, as well as upcoming Alfa Matrix artists, such as Neuroactive, Armageddon Dildos, Implant, Darkness on Demand (formerly Dance or Die), Helle9 (an Alien Vampires side-project), Metroland, Aesthetische featuring Zombie Girl, Aiboforcen, Technoir, Kant Kino, Digital Factor, Regenerator, Lights A.M (an Essence of Mind solo project), Neikka RPM, First Aid 4 Souls, Diffuzion, Avarice in Audio, Elektroklänge, Circumpolar, and Cosmic Armchair.

In conjunction with the release of “A Strange Play (Vol. 2),” goth-metal/darkwave act Lovelorn Dolls has released a single and accompanying video clip for their cover of “Lullaby.” The music video, created entirely using artificial intelligence, tells the story of a girl pursued by a mysterious, threatening, yet alluring man. The video’s creator, Kristell, was inspired by her own childhood experience of being both fascinated and frightened by The Cure’s original “Lullaby” music video.

Here’s the track list for the new volume which is available now on 2CD via the Alfa Matrix webstore and as download via the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page and the Spleen+ Bandcamp page.

Here’s the first volume.

Side-Line also covered The Cure’s ‘s ’.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Herzblutt” resulted from the common efforts between two living legends of the German EBM scene. Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) and Martin Bodewell (Orange Sector) released this mini-album featuring six songs.

Content: When you know the work of both protagonists you can only, but expect retro-EBM. And that’s what “Herzblutt” stands for although some passages have been refined with Electro-Pop elements. Martin operating behind the machines and Uwe singing in German this is total fun. You’ll get 5 songs which are progressively getting harder while the last track is a demo-version of the opener “Wilde Herzen”.

+ + + : I first of all salute the collaboration between two great and respected artists from the EBM scene. Both opening cuts reveal solid bass lines although the choruses are a bit softer and Pop-like, but the best is yet to come. “Marathon”, “Bleib Nicht Stehen” and “Feuer” are pure dynamite! Pure retro-EBM achieved with icy sound treatments and powerful bass lines. The last cut is a demo version of “Wilde Herzen” which I prefer to the opener of this work; it sounds rougher and darker.

– – – : Both debut cuts are cool but just appetizers for what’s coming up.

Conclusion: Pure fun, great EBM by two masters of the scene.

Best songs: “Marathon”, “Bleib Nicht Stehen”, “Wilde Herzen – Demo Version”, “Feuer”.

Rate: 8.

Artists: www.facebook.com/armageddondildos / www.facebook.com/OrangeSector Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Listen to “Herzblut”:

About Kanka + Bodewell

Kanka + Bodewell pairs Uwe Kanka, vocalist of Armageddon Dildos, with Martin Bodewell, singer and mastermind of Orange Sector. According to the duo, the idea for a joint project was born at a shared gig in Frankfurt around twelve years before its release, after the two first crossed paths during the Zoth Ommog years. Bodewell wrote and produced the music while Kanka handled lyrics and German-language vocals, with mixing and mastering done in Hanover. The project debuted with the mini-album “Herzblutt” on Infacted Recordings in 2022, followed two years later by the full-length “Stroboscope”, which added Electro-Pop passages and a retro-Techno track referencing Frankfurt’s Techno Club.

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: “Ton Aus Strom” is the third album by German project Tension Control which is driven by Michael Schrader. This is also the first self-released opus.

Content: If you’re familiar with the band you exactly know what to expect. This is pure old-school EBM. No tricks nor complexity but just straight forwarded EBM with DAF as their ultimate reference and source of inspiration. Most of the songs are sung in German but you’ll also find a few sung in English. You’ll also find cover versions from Der Plan and Michael Matters.

+ + + : Tension Control stands for pure 100% old-school EBM. The songs are moving on where the previous album stopped, same sources of inspiration, same fascination for DAF. This is an album appealing for fans of Orange Sector, AD:Key, Armageddon Dildos ao. It’s not hard-core but simply powerful music featuring carrying choruses. The title song is a great piece of music but my personal favorite one is “kRaNK KrANk” driven by a great bass line.

– – – : Tension Control avoids any innovation but simply keeps the true EBM spirit alive. I was less convinced by the few English sung tracks but you don’t hear me complaining. I can’t understand why this band hasn’t been signed to a ‘big’ label.

Conclusion: Tension Control stands for pure EBM and is a band deserving more recognition.

Best songs: “kRaNK KrANk”, “Ton Aus Strom”, “Kraftwport”, “DAF Im Plattenbau”, “Deutschland, Bleiche Mutter”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/tension.control.ebm

Listen to “Ton Aus Strom”:

About Tension Control

Tension Control is a German old-school EBM project founded in 2016 and run single-handedly by Michael Schrader, who writes all music, sounds and lyrics and sings. Schrader has been based in Hamburg since 2018 and works with analogue synthesizers. He set out his approach in a 2020 Side-Line interview, ‘Click Interview’ with Tension Control.

The first album, “Im Rhythmus der Maschinen”, came out in 2017 on Brandsatz Records, followed by “Fortschritt durch Technik” in 2019. “Industrielle Revolution” arrived in 2023 and “Freiheit” in 2025.

Tension Control self-released “Ton Aus Strom” on 26 November 2021 on CD and digital. The thirteen tracks include the Der Plan cover “Deutschland, bleiche Mutter” and the Michael Matters cover “Der Panther”, alongside “kRaNK, KrANk”, “Kraftsport”, “DAF im Plattenbau” and the title track. A “Kurzschluss Mix” of the title song followed as a single in 2024.

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: “Destruction” is the second EP taken from Armageddon Dildos’ last album “Dystopia” released in 2020.

Content: The title song was one of the main cuts of the album. It’s a powerful song to take off with while there also is a darker and punchy mix. A few other songs from the album have been remixed. “Ohne Dich” has been remixed by Aiborforcen and Messiaen Noir. Alien Vampires remixed “Burn Baby Burn” and Lights Of Euphoria remixed “Dance On Dead Bodies”. There’s also the new song “Colder”, which sounds simple while carried by a forceful chorus.

+ + + : “Destruction” remains a great EBM song from the “Dystopia”-album. It’s a well-crafted and powerful EBM song. I also recommend listening to the darker “Darkroom Mix”. Another essential piece is the impressive remix of “Ohne Dich” by Aiboforcen. This version sounds more accomplished and carried by a strong and elevating production.

– – – : I expected a bit more out of the other remixes.

Conclusion: “Destruction” brings the “Dystopia”-album back on the map; a great EBM production completed by this cool EP.

Best songs: “Ohne Dich – With Or Without Mix by Aiboforcen”, “Destruction”, “Destruction – Darkroom Mix”, “Colder”.

Rate: 7½.

Listen to “Destruction EP”:

Artist: www.facebook.com/armageddondildos

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Destruction’.

About Armageddon Dildos

Armageddon Dildos is a German EBM duo founded in Kassel in 1990. The band released through Zoth Ommog in the 1990s, including the CD EP “Fear” in 1993, and returned with “Morgengrauen” on Electric Blue in 2003 and “Sangreal” on Ausfahrt in 2005.

The Belgian label Alfa Matrix has released the more recent albums, among them “Untergrund” (2011), “Herbstzeitlose” (2018), “No Pain Forever” (2019) and “Dystopia” (2020). Side-Line spoke to the duo about that album in a ‘Click Interview’ with Armageddon Dildos in December 2020.

Two EPs drawn from “Dystopia” followed: “War Of The Religions” and “Destruction”, both released in 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

FleischKrieg is an American formation inspired by the ‘Deutsche Neue Härte’ calling their music ‘Brutal-Wave’. After a few singles they self-released the debut album “Herzblut”. This album is a mature and accomplished production. It sounds like an imaginary hybrid between Rammstein, KMFDM, Armageddon Dildos and Birmingham 6. A powerful sound with a perfect balance between guitar and electronics. “Herzblut” is a sonic bomb and you better can keep the band’s name in mind as they might become the ‘next big thing’! I asked a few questions to core members Richard Cranor and Thomas Crawford.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Let’s start by asking you how FleischKrieg saw the daylight? How did you get in touch and what kind of music did you want to compose?

Richard: I was a big fan of Synth-Pop and Industrial-Metal growing up. I’ve always related to the mystical and aggressive aspects of both genres. I wrote songs when I was in my 20s, but took a long hiatus from music. I honestly never had the self-confidence when I was young to really push as hard as you need to make a band work. So I did what grown-ups were supposed to do -stopped dreaming. That was of course until I started having dreams of Trent Reznor asking me to open for him -I had to tell him I didn’t have any songs. I guess that was a little nudge from my subconscious saying it was time to get to work and start writing again. I remember having a $200 light bill to pay. At the same time, there was a sale at Guitar Center for a 7 string guitar -same price. I made a fateful decision that day, and time has proven it to be the right one.

I met Thomas (FleischKrieg’s guitarist) while I was driving for Uber. I noticed he was wearing a RAMMSTEIN-shirt when I picked him up and we soon were collaborating on each other’s personal projects, one of which became FleischKrieg.

Thomas:  When we started putting together songs and wanting to play live, it was just the two of us.  We set up all the backing tracks and drums, and could play live with just the two of us.  But it didn’t feel full.  We were introduced to Nick Mason (FleischKrieg’s drummer) by our friend D-Punk from DK-Zero and clicked right away.  Shortly after, we collaborated with Nuda for our song “Reach”. She’s such a phenomenal EBM artist in her own right and worked so well together, we asked her to join as our live keyboard/sample player.

Q: The name of the band, but still elements of the music and the image are clearly evoking Rammstein and other ‘Neue Deutsche Härte’-bands. What do you like in this music genre and in which way do you feel connected with this -or any other band and what does the FleischKrieg sound stand for?

Richard: I don’t think there’s a more powerful form of music in the world than Industrial-Metal. You get all the power of Rock/Metal but also the seductive and mystical elements of Synth-Pop. I remember doing an inventory of all my favorite bands, and realized that the Germans had it all figured out just PERFECT for me.

Thomas: For most of my musical career, I’ve always been drawn to heavy music with industrial elements.  Be it Mushroomhead, Rammstein, Chimaira, or even more recently Lord Of The Lost.  I also love the opportunity to write music where guitar is the accessory rather than the focal point.  No flashiness, just pure energy.

Richard:  As for our name and meaning, I felt the band needed a German name. ‘FleischKrieg’ literally means ‘Flesh War’. So as to what our name/sound stands for -I would say ultimately it’s about reclaiming your power and personal sovereignty from forces trying to steal it daily. In my opinion, we are fighting a ‘Flesh War’ every day. Most of the songs reflect personal experiences dealing with the particular journey I’ve had with the subject. Just about everybody has some personal war to fight on some level. I’d like to think FleischKrieg can provide the soundtrack.

Q: You last year self-released the debut album “Herzblut”. Tell us a bit more about the writing and production process of this work? What was the input of each member? And is there any particular reason you self-released the album instead of getting signed to a label?

Richard: It all started with “Bloody Prophets”. I’d been having alien abduction nightmares and was too terrified to go back to bed. So I stayed up all night and wrote the rough demo of the song. Thomas filled in the guitars and recommended other arrangements, and we went and filmed our first music video. I think it was then I knew we could do something really great together.

Being the band’s founder, I drive the creative vision and do the main songwriting/arrangements with Thomas providing guitars and feedback on the compositions. I then work with Nuda and Nick on how the rest of the arrangements/drums should sound -and how the live show should work. At the end of the day, everyone brings their personal touch to the FleischKrieg sound. I am grateful to have met such talented and brilliant people.

Self-releasing is easier than waiting around for the cavalry to show up. We’ll see what the future brings. I certainly don’t think it’s worth waiting around for a label’s help -at least in the beginning.

Thomas:  Also, it’s so much easier for musicians to be independent now. While it was expensive to do it on our own, we were fortunate enough to receive some funding through a crowdfunding campaign. We also wanted to make sure that we were doing everything right. We worked with D-Punk as a producer who not only gave us insight into the mixing/mastering process, but also how to release it right. Because of this, we definitely have been successful for being a brand new band formed in the middle of a pandemic.

Q: You already made a few clips and especially the one of “Relax” caught my attention. It looks like a great ode to Frankie Goes To Hollywood. What does the original song mean to you and what did you try to express by the cover version and the clip?

Richard: What’s weird is Frankie spoke to me and Thomas from the psychic dimension lol. We’d both been contemplating doing an 80s cover… and on the same night, we called each other up and BOTH recommended the song to each other. It was kinda weird. It just popped into both our heads as THE song todo.

For me the song means freedom to be yourself without judgement. I tend to censor myself to please others often. I always loved how unabashed the song comes off. It’s literally about spraying semen everywhere. You can’t get more liberated than that, right?

Q: How do you see FleischKrieg as a live band? What have been your experiences so far and what are the further plans? Do you’ve contacts in Europe and other foreign countries? 

Richard: The live band has worked out exceedingly well, more so than I ever expected. Each member has great stage charisma and we truly love performing. It was a major affirmation to me when we played the Wasteland Weekend festival last year -people really loved our set. You could tell we had an impact, that our energy on stage and the quality of the music delivered the goods. We hope to do a lot more touring, in Europe would be fantastic.

Thomas: The interesting thing for me is how the crowd reacts to us for the first time.  Almost every single show, there’s a handful of people in general audience area with mild curiosity. Then by the end of the first song, everyone in the venue comes right up to the stage. By the beginning of the second song, there are people dancing.  I say again, ‘Dancing!’ That is truly a first for me as I’ve been in several bands and never had people dancing.

As for touring in Europe, we have been making contacts in Germany and the UK trying to set something up in spite of Covid.  However, we’ve recently started working with a booking agent. They’re confident that we’ll be able to get over to Europe once things start to die down.  We’re hoping for late summer of this year.

Q: I noticed a cool quote affirming ‘If Hell hosted a dance party -FleischKrieg would be the headliner’! What would be the other bands on the list that night? And how do you imagine ‘hell’? More seriously now, what brings the future for FleischKrieg?

Richard For me hell is more of a metaphor where individual spirits go to be themselves, to free themselves from the soul-crushing burden of being ‘well behaved’. I would definitely want all the Neue Deutsche Härte bands we could book, plus any 80s Synth-Pop band willing to show up. I have no desire to go to any actual hells lol.

I remember at one show a 20-something kid told me his favorite thing about our performance was that ‘it was real’. I’m not exactly sure what he meant, but I believe he felt we were there to really play versus just to get lots of new likes and subscribers on social media. I think that strikes as disingenuous to fans -just trying to look the part versus connecting an audience to a much bigger reality only music from the heart can reach. He could tell our songs meant something to us, and I think that made them mean something to him. I honestly think the kids are getting burnt out on the Instaworld we live in. There’s no filter for genuine connection.

I’d like to think FleischKrieg’s rebellion hidden behind heavy dance music can act as a form of subterfuge to the system, even if we someday get on a major label and have a similar success to what NIN had in the mid-90s. Just dreaming for now, but so far… our dreams do tend to become reality.

Thomas:  As for the future, the sky’s the limit.  We’re continuing to find ways to play more live shows in more and bigger places.  We’re dying to play some festivals in the near future. Additionally, we’re working on at least one more music video in support of “Herzblut”. And we’re currently writing our second album and if all goes well will be out in early 2023.

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, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: FleischKrieg is an American formation inspired by the ‘Deutsche Neue Härte’ calling their music ‘Brutal-Wave’. After a few singles they self-released the debut album “Herzblut”.

Content: There clearly is some Rammstein inspiration driven through this album, but I can also refer to bands like KMFDM, early Armageddon Dildos and Birmingham 6. FleischKrieg brings harsh, Metal-driven guitar playing together with carrying Electronic treatments. There’s a constant power polished with Electronic music and powerful vocals on top. The last track is a powerful cover version of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s mega-hit “Relax”.  

+ + + : FleischKrieg isn’t exactly the most original band I’ve heard, but I was deeply impressed by the mature writing and production work. This combo perfectly knows how to play merciless guitar parts together with Electronic sound treatments. It creates an elevating effect, which comes through at several tracks. I want to mention “Reach” and “Brawler”, which both are impressive pieces of music. “Saunting Eyes” is another noticeable cut and definitely more into extreme guitar power. I also have to say a word about the charismatic vocals. I’m nearly sure this band will rapidly catch the attention of a major label.  

– – – : “Relax” is the only song, which can’t totally convince me although I’m nearly sure this song live will get great reactions. 

Conclusion: FleischKrieg is a name you better keep in mind; this debut full length sounds like dynamite!

Best songs: “Reach”, “Brawler”, “Saunting Eyes”, “DOROS”, “Parasite”. 

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.fleischkrieg.com /  www.facebook.com/fleischkrieg  Read the news on ‘Herzblut’.

About FleischKrieg

FleischKrieg is an American industrial metal band that describes its own style as “Brutal-Wave”, drawing on the German Neue Deutsche Härte tradition. The group released a run of singles before “Herzblut”, among them a cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax”, covered on Side-Line as Industrial act Fleischkrieg pays tribute to Frankie Goes To Hollywood with new video ‘Relax’.

“Herzblut” was self-released in 2021 in digital and CD formats. The band spoke about its approach in the Click Interview with FleischKrieg published in February 2022. Later singles include “I Believe In Gnomes” in 2024, the video “Eve” in 2024, and “Reach” with Militia Vox in 2025.

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

Over the past 12 months Inferno Sound Diaries‘ Stéphane Froidcoeur selected nearly 750 productions of which 600 also got a review on Side-Line. Some productions have been refused because the style of music didn’t fit, while a lot of reviews are still to be published in 2022.

Stéphane: “I’m really grateful to all labels, bands and promoters considering my work and efforts and I hope they’ll keep on providing me new promos next year. My greatest gratitude and thank goes once again to Rich Bova (NEIKKA RPM) who for years and years now is reading, correcting and improving the reviews. I don’t have enough words to express my gratitude and without Rich I simply would have to stop this job. No need to say I’ve been once again disappointed by a few so-called ‘artists’ and label owners. The attitude and lack of respect shown by those people -luckily a very few number, is just disgusting… but I’m afraid it reflects the world we’re living in… Behind a genius artist is not always hiding a great person…”

2021 has been also a very special year for Stéphane as he celebrated his 30th anniversary of journalism with an impressive series of interviews featuring very different people from this scene. Stéphane : “Big thanks to Séba Dolimont, Suicide Commando, Juno Reactor, Raison D’Être, Jürgen Vanvlasselaer, Rich Bova, Armageddon Dildos and Bernard Van Isacker who kindly accepted to contribute to this celebration.”

Here are the interviews conducted:

• Celebration Interview with Bernard Van Isacker (Side-Line & Alfa Matrix)
• Celebration Interview’ with Uwe Kanka / Armageddon Dildos
• Celebration Interview’ with ‘Music Lover’ Jürgen Vanvlasselaer
• Celebration Interview’ with Rich Bova / Neikka RPM
• Celebration Interview’ with Peter Andersson / Raison D’Être
• Celebration Interview’ with Ben Watkins aka Juno Reactor
• Celebration Interview’ with Johan Van Roy (Suicide Commando)
• Celebration Interview’ with Seba Dolimont (Alfa Matrix)

Like every year Stéphane has made a selection from the best albums of the year. This Top 25 covers different styles like EBM, Dark-Electro, IDM, Synth-Pop, Ethereal, Dark-Ambient, Industrial, Cinematographic, Gothic, Post-Punk, Dark-Techno and a few related genres and is taken from the promotional material we got while compilations, ‘best of’-productions, EP’s and singles were not considered for this ‘best of’.

But now, here are the 25 best albums!

1. Rome – “Parlez-Vous Hate?” – Trisol
2. Circumpolar – “Awaiting The Dawn” – Alfa Matrix
3. Clicks – “Goth” – Dependent Records
4. Of The Wand And The Moon – “Your Love Can’t Hold This Wrath Of Sorrow” – Heidrunar Mykrunar
5. Crystal Geometry – “Distressing Visions” – Sonic Groove
6. Mechanimal – “Θόρυβος” – Inner Ear Records
7. Raison D’être – “Demonum“ – Cyclic Law
8. Zwaremachine – “Conquest 3000” – Phage Tapes
9. Eclipsed – “Holyiens” – Electro Frequent
10. Nattskiftet – “Stamplar In” – Progress Productions
11. Nnhmn – “Deception Island 2” – Zoharum
12. This Morn’omina – “The Roots Of Saraswati” – Dependent Records
13. Skrika – “Fifth Nature” – Cryo Chamber
14. Llumen – “Polygon Heart” – Alfa Matrix
15. Not My God – “Simulacra” – Metropolis
16. Seasurfer – “Metropolis” – Reptile Music
17. Ps Stamps Back – “Au Bout De La Nuit” – Ant-Zen
18. The Illusion Of Silence – “Gardens In The Dark” – Shadowplay
19. She Spread Sorrow – “Huntress” – Cold Spring Records
20. Blutengel – “Fountain Of Destiny” – Out Of Line
21. Agonoize – “Revelation Six Six Sick” – Reporecords
22. The Force Dimension – “Mortal Cable” – Sonic Groove Experiments
23. Cubic – “The Cubic Alphabet” – Alfa Matrix
24. Pyrroline – “Struggling” – Electro Aggression Records
25. Beckahesten – “Tydor” – Cyclic Law

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, … all have released 10 new streaming albums and EPs this morning from the Belgian Alfa Matrix label from artists such as Armageddon Dildos, Circumpolar, Cubic, Elektrostaub, First Aid 4 Souls, Imjudas, Rector Scanner, Siva Six and Suicidal Romance.

All in all a mix of good oldschool darkwave, EBM, synthpop, electropop, industrial and harsh electro.

If your prefer HQ audio downloads, then you can head for the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page where are all available as well since a few days.

Below are the releases in alphabetic band-order. Enjoy!

Armageddon Dildos – Destruction EP

Circumpolar – Awaiting The Dawn

Cubic – Phonic Lessons Part 3 EP

Elektrostaub – Reliance

First Aid 4 Souls – Beyond The Galaxy (Rework)

ImJudas – Ritual EP

Rector Scanner – Das Mädchen Aus Dem All EP I

Rector Scanner – Das Mädchen Aus Dem All EP II

Siva Six – Deathcult

Suicidal Romance – Love Promise EP

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 today via Alfa Matrix is the all new EP by the German cult EBM act Armageddon Dildos. “Destruction” is the 2nd EP taken from their last “Dystopia” album featuring 6 previously unreleased songs and mixes.

Note that Uwe Kanka totally reinvented the title song through his own ‘darkroom’ mix, with different vocals and a fully revamped instrumentations. Also included is the exclusive and previously unreleased EBM cut “Colder” plus remixes by Aiboforcen, Alien Vampires, Lights Of Euphoria and Messiaen Noir. 7 tracks in total.

Note that Side-Line published an interview with Uwe Kanka just yesterday.

Here is the new EP, available right now from Bandcamp with other platforms to follow. Read the review of ‘Destruction’.

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

Back in 1991 I started writing my first reviews for Side-Line magazine. I would have never thought to go on writing reviews and making interviews non-stop for 30 years. So 2021 is a special year to me, a kind of ‘celebration year’. I got the idea to celebrate this special event by interviewing people from the scene who all have a special meaning to me. EBM formation Armageddon Dildos  definitely is a band I had to interview. The German band, which started as a duo, composed a very dynamic EBM sound and got rapidly famous for their impressive live shows. The band never stopped to evolve and rapidly started experimenting with harder Industrial elements to finally move towards a more ‘Poppy’ production. Uwe Kanka kindly accepted to look back at the impressive career of ‘the dildos’.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Armageddon Dildos  was originally set up in 1990 (!) by you and Dirk Krause. How did you guys meet and what was your music background? 

Uwe: Dirk and I met us in 1986 in the same rehearsal room in Kassel. I played guitar/vocals in a classic three-man band (Beat The Beat) and Dirk  keyboards/synths in a Synth-Pop group.

We liked each other immediately and very quickly it became clear to us that we wanted to explore new musical ways. Harder and more aggressive Electronic sounds and harder beats, that was the plan. After a few jam sessions, we knew that it worked great!

Q: Armageddon Dildos became an instant successful EBM band; you got directly signed to Zoth Ommog, releasing the EP’s “Never Mind / Pressure”, “East West”, “Resist” and of course the debut album “That’s Armageddon”. According to you what made the success formula of the early productions and what has been the impact of Talla 2XLC who produced your first works? 

Uwe: I am still firmly convinced that it was largely due to the symbiosis between Dirk and me – added to that the incredible energy of that time.

Actually, something new was always happening; musical as well as social (fall of the Berlin Wall) changes certainly played a part in it. It was an unbelievable dynamic, open and wild time. Being signed to Talla 2XLC and Musik Research/Zoth Ommog was a blessing for us. It was the perfect timing for Armageddon Dildos. Talla and its staff convinced us with their high level of competence and passion for music. Frankfurt and the Techno Club, for example, was, along with Berlin, the measure of all things in Germany for us at that time. Looking back, I am sure that the success of Armageddon Dildos was largely due to Talla 2XLC and his team. We were in the right place at the right time!

Q: Zoth Ommog was one of the absolute leading labels from the 90s Electro underground scene. How do you look back at this period, the 90s, Talla 2XLC,  the label and label mates? 

Uwe: Zoth Ommog was very important for the development and spread of Electronic music at that time worldwide. Label bands like Leather Strip, X Marks The Pedwalk, Bigod 20, Orange Sector, Consolidated, Psychopomps, The Armageddon Dildos to name a few, played an important role in the scene in the late 80s to the mid 90s. Those were very exciting times.

Through Talla’s contacts and our gigs at the New Music Seminar 1991 and 1993 in New-York, Howie Klein became aware of us and we got a contract with Sire Records in the U.S.A. Rüdiger Ladwig took over our management and booked our concerts. “Homicidal Dolls” was released by Sire Records in 1993 in The States and “Lost” followed in 1994. After the release of “Lost” we went on tour and played among others at the Zillo Festival in December 1994 at the Zeche Karl. We were accompanied at the Zillo gigs by Markus Hartmann, who would play an important role for us in the next few years.

Q: Quite progressively the band evolved towards harder music, still EBM driven, but with an Industrial input with guitar play and samplings. What made this evolution towards a more ‘Industrial’ sound? 

Uwe: We have always worked with samples. That was our usual way of working. Sampled speech, noises but also instruments like guitars were part of almost every production.

On some tracks I  played the guitars later myself. In 1994, for the production of “Lost”, we went to Chicago to Wax Trax Studio to work with Keith ‘Fluffy’ Auerbach (producer/sound engineer of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Pigface, Skinny Puppy etc.). During this time we recorded guitars and drum sequences instead of sampling them. To bring the production to the stage, Vom, who now drums for The Toten Hosen, and Uwe Osterlehner, played guitars, joined the band.

Q: You also started working with another producer; Sevren Ni-Arb produced several productions and I remember a lot of bands wanted to record in his studio. What made him that special and what has been his true impact on the final production? Are you still in touch with him?

Uwe: Most of our albums/EP/singles from ’89 to ’99 were produced by different producers. However, Dirk and I were always significantly involved.

We met Andre Schmechta (Sevren Ni-Arb) through Talla in Frankfurt. We immediately got along really well, had a very consistent understanding of music and, not to be underestimated, a very similar sense of humor.  Therefore we decided to produce “Homicidal Dolls” with Andre. Working on the album was a lot of fun, full of energy and musical creativity. Later on we worked again with him on “Fear” and “Homicidal Maniac”. Besides, it always smelled wonderfully of freshly baked goods in the studio because there was a bakery in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, we lost track of each other over the years and are no longer in contact.

Q: I got the impression the “Speed”-album (my favorite by the way) released in 1997 was a kind of turning point in the band’s early years. You signed to a major company (BMG), got produced by Bob Kraushaar and Andy Gill (Gang Of Four). The sound became ultra-professional, but how did you experience the “Speed”-album and the move to a major company? 

Uwe: Through Markus Hartmann (see above) we got the contract with Metronome and later also with BMG Ariola in Hamburg. The move from Zoth Ommog to a major label changed a lot for us: first of all, of course, the financial means for production, marketing etc.. We travelled to London in search of the right producer and met Bob Kraushaar (Pet Shop Boys, Paul McCartney, ABC etc.) among others. Bob had very concrete ideas about the production of the new Armageddon Dildos album and suggested to have one half of the CD produced by himself and the other half by Andy Gill, the legendary guitarist of Gang Of Four. We agreed immediately and went to London in the Summer of 1996 to produce “Speed”. But some tracks on the album were also produced at Skyline Studio in Düsseldorf. “Speed” is, and I agree with you 100%, a very professional production and an excellent album.

Q: Do you remember how much albums you were selling at that time and was it possible to earn a living from your music? 

Uwe: We had very good sales at times and could also live on it during such periods. However, the consistency was missing. I think many artists are in the same situation. You should always have a plan B in mind. But let’s be honest: there were never enough albums sold to be able to make a living from it in the long run.

Q: BMG became a one-shot experience, you get back to Zoth Ommog, revisiting some of your early songs by the album “Re:Match”. It also was the last work together with Dirk Krause. How do you explain the split of the band and are you still in touch with Dirk today? 

Uwe: In hindsight, I think the events following the completion of “Speed” were key to the band’s development. We had a fantastic team behind us at the Metronome, a killer production and a very good video for “Open Up Your Eyes” recorded in Kenya. Everything was great and then we got the devastating news: Metronome was dissolved!

What a bummer. We got the rights for “Speed” and ended up with BMG Ariola, but that didn’t work out. The label split up with us and we had to look for a new label. All that was hard stuff and the band didn’t take it too well.

Dirk decided to leave the Dildos to start a new project. I wanted to continue. We decided to do one last release together and that became “Re.Match” on Zoth Ommog in 1999. Dirk and I have hardly any contact today.

Q: “Morgengrauen” released in 2003 on Electric Blue was the first album you were totally involved in the song writing. That was something new and without offending you Uwe, I think the only Armageddon Dildos-album that couldn’t convince me. What’s your personal analysis about this work? 

Uwe: I underestimated, as I see it not only now, that this kind of music definitely does not fit to an EBM/Industrial band like The Armageddon Dildos.

I like “Morgengrauen”. It’s an Electro album with good songs, artwork and photos. However, I should have released it as a new project with a different name. But as we all know, hindsight is always the wiser!

Q: “Sangreal” got released in 2005 on Ausfahrt, but it finally was the “Untergrund”-album released in 2011 on Alfa Matrix that put you back on the map. You joined back hands with a leading label from the scene and for the very first time you also produced the album. What does this album mean to you and where do you place this work in the band’s discography? 

Uwe: “Untergrund” is a very important album for me. It combines interesting Electro sounds and beats with hard guitars without slipping too much into pure Industrial. Unfortunately, I could not convince Ausfahrt/Electric Blue with this production. I asked for a termination contract, got it and signed with Alfa Matrix a short time later. 

However, this is not the first independently produced album. I have been working with sound engineer and producer Mathias Black since 1997, who mixed and co-produced all Armageddon Dildos albums from “Re:Match” onwards.

Q:  After “Untergrund” it took your nine years to strike back with the “Dystopia”-album, which became one of the most achieved, diversified and professional albums. Do you feel this album as different from the others? And tell us a bit more about the ‘teamwork’ to achieve “Dystopia”? 

Uwe: “Dystopia” is the first Armageddon Dildos album where I did everything on my own until the mixing phase. From the composition/lyrics to the recording and programming of the instruments to the recording of the vocals including Malin’s vocals for “Neon”. I had quite clear ideas in which direction “Dystopia” should move. Mathias changed or added vocals and some sounds later while mixing the tracks. We had a very good division of labor. I am really satisfied with the result of this production!

Q: Armageddon Dildos always had a strong live reputation. How did you see the shows evolving throughout the years and what’s your connection with the fans?

Uwe: What has changed over the last thirty years is the number of musicians on stage: Dirk and I started in ’89 as a duo. In the mid-90s, there were four of us for a while with Vom and Uwe Osterlehner. After that with Vom it was three.

At the first gig without Dirk at the beginning of 2000, Malin and Dave Anderson were there with me. Then Ulf Häusgen joined on guitar/vocals. A short time later Rene Nowotny took over the keyboards. On our five-week U.S. tour with Inertia in 2007, Gabriel Shaw joined me and Ulf Häusgen.

And for almost ten years now, it’s been just the two of us on stage again: Uwe Kanka and Sven Mouhcine. Last but not least, it is very important to say that Mathias Black has been responsible for the sound of the Dildos as a member of the band for 99% of the gigs since 1996.

What has not changed at all during this time, thank God, is the energy and power of every Armageddon Dildos show, which also includes the very close contact to the audience and the fans.

Q: I remember there was an Armageddon Dildos fan-club. How important is it for a band to have a fan club? 

Uwe: I think that a fan club is very important for artists. In our case it was phenomenal. The Armageddon Dildos Fan Club was founded in Aachen after our gig in Übach-Palenberg on 24.06.1991. After that, regular meetings took place in Düsseldorf or Aachen. The fan club did unbelievably good public relations work, e.g. published an info letter. Members of the fan club were at almost all the band’s concerts until the middle of the ’90s. Due to personal changes and also due to the musical development of the band from the middle of 90s onwards, the interest of the members of the Fan Club in the band waned.

Q: If you had to introduce Armageddon Dildos  to people who never heard of the band before, what song and album would you choose first? 

Uwe: It depends on the people. I have friends who can’t do anything with our older songs; I would play “Stay” or similar tracks for them. People from the scene who don’t know us, mmhm, that’s not so easy. Maybe “I Can’t Remember” or “White Room”. But I could also think of pieces by “Speed” and “Homicidal Dolls”. I personally like “Gottland” very much.

Q: Do you’ve other passions in life next to music? 

Uwe: Ride a motorbike, skiing and enjoy the tranquility of nature.

Q: Did the success of the band had an impact on you as human being? 

Uwe: I don’t think so. Rather the failures. Because those were the ones that kept me going.

Q: What’s your best- and worst memory after more than thirty years Armageddon Dildos? And do you still have secret wishes and dreams? 

Uwe: I would like to mention two of the many wonderful memories: the fantastic concert in Übach-Palenberg together with And One, when we met the people from the later Fan Club, and our performance at the Roskilde Festival at midnight in front of about 10,000 spectators. That was gigantic.

The worst was definitely the moment when we were informed about the closure of Metronome. 

Secret wishes and dreams? Yes, I do. And they should be kept secret.

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: This new EP by German EBM legend Orange Sector was accomplished together with another legend of the genre, Armageddon Dildos. Both bands remind us of the great Zoth Ommog label.

Content: The title song is pure EBM adrenaline, carried by a solid bass line, dancefloor rhythms and charismatic vocals. There also is a cool spoken sampling. The song has been remixed by Rob Dust, TC75 and Puppenjungz. The B-side song is heavier than the “War Of The Religions”, sung in German, but with a less carrying chorus.

+ + + : To see both EBM Grandmasters united is a pretty cool thing and for sure a very good reason for EBM fans to purchase this work. The title song also is a great piece of music, which is the right song as the EP title track. Among the remixes I heard a cool contribution by Rob Dust and a short, but powerful EBM remix by the unknown Puppenjungz.

– – – : The B-side song “Alles Ist Grau” is nothing less than an EP-filler with less substance.

Conclusion: Orange Sector had a great idea to ask Armageddon Dildos to work together; this is good-old EBM.

Best songs: “War Of The Religions”, “War Of The Religions – Puppenjungz Remix”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/OrangeSector

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Orange Sector and Armageddon Dildos

Orange Sector is a German EBM band founded in Hannover in 1992, with Martin Bodewell, Lars Felker and Rene Nowotny listed as members. Discogs traces the band from "Faith" in 1993 and "Kids In America" and "Flashback" in 1994 through "Love It!" in 1997 and "Masquerade" in 1998, then a second run that includes "Bassprodukt" in 2006, "Der Maschinist" in 2012, "Endzeit" in 2017, "Die Fahne" in 2018, "Alarm" in 2019 and "Zerstörer" in 2020.

Armageddon Dildos is a German EBM duo founded in Kassel in 1990 around Uwe Kanka and Dirk Krause. Their catalogue runs from "East West" in 1990 and "That’s Armageddon" in 1991 through "Homicidal Dolls" in 1993, "Unite" in 1995 and "Speed" in 1997, with later returns on "Untergrund" in 2011, "Herbstzeitlose" in 2018, "No Pain Forever" in 2019 and "Dystopia" in 2020.

"War Of The Religions" was issued by Infacted Recordings in 2021 as a digital single credited to Orange Sector feat. Armageddon Dildos. Uwe Kanka set out the two bands’ shared history with Side-Line in the ‘30 Years Of Journalism – Celebration Interview’ with Uwe Kanka / Armageddon Dildos, and Kanka and Bodewell were later interviewed together in the Click Interview with Kanka Bodewell.

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 29 years in existence as a band, the UK act Inertia are back with a brand new single, released on their very own label, Cryonica Music: “Scowl”. “Scowl” features bandleader, Reza Udhin with members Ollie Cater (Guitars), Andrew Lowlife (Keyboards) and Circus performer Blue Jigsaw on drums. And, good news, coming back to the Inertia fold after 7 years is co-leadsinger and ex drummer, Alexys B, lending her vocals to the track.

And that’s not all, we also hear 3 more guitarists: Steve White (KMFDM and PIG), Tim Stephens (ex-Inertia, ex-EMF, Mojiles) and Nick Bayford from Alexys B’s own Rockabilly band Lady Luck Lexy & the Riverside Boys.

Next to the title track we also get 2 remixes by CyberIndustries and Modulate. Out today, you can check the lyric video below, and get the 3-track single right here on Bandcamp.

Welcome back guys!

About Inertia

Inertia was formed in 1992 Reza Udhin and was signed to Germany’s Celtic Circle Productions in 1994 through which the debut MCD “Infiltrator” was released in June 1995. This CD was actually a re-recording of the band’s first demo tape. The band returned to the studio in February 1996 to start work on the “Programmed to respond” album and the “Mind-Energy” MCD. The album and MCD were released respectively in February 1997 and December 1996. By then 1996 Alexys B had joined Inertia on electronic drums.

1997 Mark Barrett leaves Inertia., Ed Luxmoore joins Inertia on Synths.

February 1999, the band released the remix album “Demagnetized / Remagnetized” which featured remixes by artists such as Das Ich, Spahn Ranch and Julian Beeston (Nitzer Ebb). The same year a brand new album, “Negative Prime”, was released in May 1999 on Nightbreed Recordings. A year later the remix CD “Positive Angel” was released on Inertia’s own label Cryonica Music.

November 2001, the new single “No Defect” is launched while the band complete their brand new album “Advanced Revelation” due for release in February 2002. In 2004, the album “Black Ice Impact” hits the streets followed in December 2005 by a best of Double CD “Decade of Machines – 1994-2004”. This DCD is released by Cryonica Music in Europe and Cleopatra Records in the USA.

May 2007, a brand new self titled album “Inertia” is released on Cryonica Music. The album features several guest musicians, including Kneill Brown (Killing Joke), Client E / Emily Strange (Client) and Phill Good (Libitina/Pinion). Inertia also recruit a new member, Bob Malkowski as guitarist. 2 years later the remix album “Interpret”, with remixes from Youth (Producer/Killing Joke), Die Krupps and Armageddon Dildos featured, is released by the Japanese label Deathwatch Asia. In the meantime Reza Udhin becomes the keyboard player for the legendary band Killing Joke.

2010, Inertia emerge with a new line up with Kneill X on Guitar (ex Killing Joke, Killer B Movie) and Andrew Lowlife on Synths (Swarf). In early 2010, they release the covers album “Kloned”, it is followed by the single “Repeat & Follow” later that year. November of the same year sees the new album “Deworlded” being released. At at the end of the year they collaborate with UK band Mechanical Cabaret to release a cover version of the classic John Leyton/Joe Meek track “Johnny, Remember Me”.

2012 Inertia signs with Metropolis Records. A new single “Alive” is released in October, followed by a brand new album “Universal Blood” in November 2012. 2 more albums follow on Metropolis, “Existential” (2015) and “Dream Machine” (2017), plus a string of singles, the last one being “Only Law” in 2017.

4 years later the band returns with the single “Inertia” featuring Sieben on Cryonica Music, and now the new single “Scowl”.

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: Industrial-Pop, Electro, Experimental.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: Belgian Implant duo is back on track, unleashing their eleventh album in history. Len Lemaire and Jan D’Hooghe have been inspired by the ongoing pandemic and the impact on humans. It resulted in a double disc featuring numerous remixes on the second disc. Noemi Aurora (Helalyn Flowers) contributed to some songs of the album.

Content: Implant already revealed a different approach in sound on the previous –and great, album “Oxynoxe-X” while the last year released EP “Phantom Pain” confirmed this evolution although getting more into Electro-Pop fields. It’s quite significant for this new opus, which is bringing elements such as Minimal-Electro and a kind of Industrial-Pop together. The ‘Trance’ roots of the band are far away, but still present on a few cuts. The main evolution of the sound is due to the use of analogue gear, which becomes pretty explicit at a few shorter, instrumental pieces. Noemi Aurora is singing on 3 songs, creating a weird, but cool match with the growls of Len Lemaire.

The work features remixes by Suicide Commando, Signal Aout 42, Aiboforcen, Q’Pnz, 808 Dot.Pop, Növö, Armageddon Dildos, AD:Key, Neuroactive and Helalyn Flowers. The second disc also features a few extra songs by Implant. Last, but not least The Breath Of Life simply covered one of the songs instead of making a remix.

+ + + : I truly respect the global evolution in sound Implant has made during the past years. It still sounds Implant-like, but the Belgians seem to have found new sonic paths to explore. The analogue sound treatments create this minimalism, but also very original sequences emerging at the shorter ‘intermezzo’ cuts. Noemi Aurora remains to me one of the most talented singers in this scene and she adds a graceful-, sensual- and artistic touch on top of the songs. “Phantom Pain” remains a cool track, but she also sings on “The Last Record”, which clearly appears to be a potential hit –and has been remixed by several artists. One of my favorite songs however is “The Room” for its extra robotic dimension plus deep, resonating bass line and “Nutshell” for its minimalism. The opening song “I Don’t Trust The Machine” is another attention grabber with a strong dance/club appeal and driven by an amazing lead.

The list of remixers is also a noticeable aspect of the album. I here want to mention the work by Suicide Commando and Trance-driven remix by the Belgian producer Q’Pnz. The Breath Of Life did a great job covering “The Last Record”; this is a beautiful and sensitive version. Last, but not least Implant put 2 more great pieces on this disc (cf. “Censorship Through Noise Part III” and “Lied 13”.

– – – : I regret some short, instrumental cuts from the main disc haven’t been more worked out; “Nutshell” is not only one of the best tracks, but unfortunately it’s just a kind of break. Despite the impressive list of remixers, I definitely expected a bit more.

Conclusion: Implant is now active for nearly 30 years and has already found new new horizons to explore.

Best songs: “The Room”, “I Don’t Trust The Machine”, “Nutshell”, “The Devil Made Me Do It”, “The Last Record”, + “The Last Record – Cover by The Breath Of Life”, “Run To The Lights – One Messed Up Mix by Suicide Commando”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.implant-music.be / www.facebook.com/Implantmusic

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Cognitive Dissonance’.

About Implant

Implant is a Belgian electronic act formed in 1992 by Geert Machtelinck and Len Lemeire (spelled Lemaire in the review above), mixing dark electro roots with dance-oriented electronics. The debut album “Soft Flesh-Hard Steel” appeared in 1996 on Celtic Circle Productions after the single “Fun”, followed by the “BrainFX” EP in 1998. “Kmputor” (2000) moved toward goa trance influences, and the double CD “Unidentified Flying Frequencies” was released via Flatline Records. When that label closed, Implant moved to Alfa Matrix and released “Planet Euphoria” (2002), featuring Canadian singer Jennifer Parkin, then “Horseback Riding Through Bassfields” (2003), “Self-Inflicted” (2005), “Implantology” (2009) and “The Productive Citizen” (2013). The double CD “Oxynoxe-X” (2017) was reviewed on Side-Line in January 2018.

The EP “Phantom Pain”, announced in Cult Belgian electro act Implant breaks silence with brand new EP ‘Phantom Pain’ in December 2020, preceded “Cognitive Dissonance”, which Alfa Matrix released on 26 March 2021 as a download and as a limited deluxe double-CD digipak. The thirteen album tracks are “I Don’t Trust The Machine”, “Phantom Pain”, “The Shipwreck”, “Nutshell”, “Hell Hole”, “The Devil Made Me Do It”, “The Drums Have Been Talking”, “The King And The Rebel”, “The Room”, “Run To The Lights”, “Censorship Through Noise (Part I)”, “Censorship Through Noise (Part II)” and “The Last Record”; Noemi Aurora sings on “Phantom Pain”, “The Shipwreck” and “The Last Record”. The bonus disc “When Prophecy Fails” holds the remixes and cover named in the review plus the exclusive tracks “Censorship Through Noise (Part III)” and “Lied 13”. No further production credits are listed on the Bandcamp page.

The single “The Drive” followed in December 2023, leading into the trilogy No More Flies On The Windscreen -The Chaos Machines Part 1 (2024), Scratching The Surface – The Chaos Machines Part 2 (2024) and Judging Sinners / The Chaos Machines Part 3 (2025), all reviewed on Side-Line; Lemeire discussed the series in the Implant interview of May 2024. “Cognitive Dissonance” is the band’s eleventh album and its fifth Side-Line review.

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

Alfa Matrix has been set up in 2001 by three friends. Séba Dolimont, Benoît Blanchart and Bernard Van Isacker were all involved with Side-Line magazine, but decided to start an Electronic label. The label became a home for artists dealing with EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop, but throughout the years the label welcomed other genres like Gothic, Ambient and Industrial. Front 242, Ayria, Pouppée Fabrikk, Plastic Noise Experience, Armageddon Dildos, Unter Null, Acylum, Implant, Metroland,  Zombie Girl, Helalyn Flowers, I:Scintilla, Mentallo And The Fixer, Leather Strip, Star Industry, Alien Vampires and many others joined the ‘matrix’. And I nearly forget to mention Aiboforcen which was set up by Benoît Blanchart and Séba Dolimont.

(Stéphane Froidcoeur / Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Was there a kind of ‘philosophy’ when you set up your label and did it evolve over the years? How would you define your label activities today?

Seba. Alfa Matrix was created in 2001 with 2 key values: running the label from an artist perspective in our collaboration approach, and focusing on a direct servicing of our customers. All this with the aim to support and market underground Electronic music with attitude with an eclectic approach. Twenty years later, and although the music market situation has drastically changed, we are still active on the same Indie music scene, we still dare signing newcomers and our repertoire confirms our quite open-minded sound range of interest. We do run the label in mutual respect and care with our roster of artists and developed a quite strong direct sales approach for both digital and physical releases.

So we quite sticked to our original mission and simply adapted our operational mode to the constantly evolving music consumption habits and we keep anticipating new trends in order to stay relevant and future proof.

Q: I can imagine you must have specific and explicit criteria to sign an artist/band. Can you give us more details about this aspect and how important is it for you to know the person(s) hiding behind the ‘artist(s)’?

Seba: Through the years, it has become harder and harder to open the gate of the ‘matrix’ simply because we want to stick to a certain maximum number of bands, but also because any new signing to the label should bring something new to the label family, add a new color to our sound/artistic palette. Also important for us is that any new addition to the label must get the green light form the 3 members of the label management team.

The art must touch us for sure, but personally, in my role of artists manager, I pay a lot of attention to the personalities of the artists, probably more today than 20 years ago! Simply because we believe in long term collaborations and to achieve such goal we better construct our relationship on solid foundations and values. So that personal click is also something I need to give my vote…

Bernard: Nowadays it takes time to launch a new unknown artist, and we work slowly, but steadily to get their music heard to the public. There is no magic formula to create instant success, it’s continuous work both by the label and the band. The first has to use the best channels to create the best value for the band while the bands have to work on social presence, and the interaction with fans on several platforms. It’s also why we have started releasing lots of singles, so bit by bit we reach a bigger audience this way via all platforms.

When we started the music market was already in decline so we had to start early on with a new model to get the word out. Know that there are many bands out there and if you actually look at it, too few labels to manage all those great talents.

Q: You are already active for numerous years now so you must have seen a lot of things changing and evolving; think about social media, streaming platforms, Youtube channels… but also economic crisis etc. What are the pros and cons of these changes/evolutions and in, which way did you had to adapt/change your strategy and activities?

Seba: As owners of a company several dozens of artists gave their trust to, the least we can do is running this company professionally through a strong overall financial management and anticipating business and market evolutions to remain future proof. This is why Alfa Matrix was one of the first labels from our scene to be on digital platforms, and I even remember some were laughing about us, especially when we decided to invest a lot in streaming that is still seen as a danger by some today. Like other labels we also went through some tough economic challenges when we faced several bankruptcies from big CD distributors in Germany or in America. But with our strategy of focusing on an international market rather than putting all eggs in one or two baskets, it was easier for us going through all this, and especially with the unmatchable force of having a strong fanbase buying in direct from our e-shops and giving us more financial independence.  So the decisions we make are more guided to the way we adapt our ‘go to market’ strategy: changing distribution channels, deciding how we spread our budgets and investments, etc…

Bernard: In respect to that, we have been continuously checking out new platforms to vet if they were adding value to our media mix or not. For instance Facebook was quickly used by us, but we also knew that this free ride would not continue and that at some point Facebook would close the open gates and restrict the organic reach from their pages. That happened, a bit later than we anticipated, but it did happen. The same for Instagram for example. The free rides are over and done and you can no longer count on getting free unpaid reach for every communication you do. During that process we continued to work on a direct relation with customers. So while some bands and labels have gone that far to only have Facebook as their window we never neglected the own properties we can manage for the full 100%: an own e-shop, a very active Bandcamp page which both have given that what we are looking for, namely a direct link with the fans. So, suppose that Facebook or any other social media platforms stops their activities, we won’t feel any impact as we have a direct link with customers. This under the hood approach has been working very well for us and is something we will continue to do. Social media for us are a nice extra, but nothing more than that, the real value lays elsewhere for us.

I also strongly believe in the streaming market for the future, it’s how most of the music will be digested by music fans alongside HQ audio which people will find on Bandcamp and via physical products. As far as YouTube is concerned, I share the same comment and idea which Dave Heckman made earlier this week to you. This Google moloch pays really peanuts, 10 times less than Spotify, it also offers poor audio, but surprise surprise… everybody wants to be on it. It’s maybe good for the image but not so good for your wallet in the end if you consider the production cost of a video versus the extremely low return you get from it. It doesn’t mean we don’t have to be present there, but I seriously doubt that a lot of money should be thrown at it, it’s not our preferred medium.

Q: The ongoing pandemic has affected all artistic life and activities so what’s the true impact on your label activities and do you think it will also affect your long term objectives?

Seba: First of all the pandemic affected every person behind our Alfa Matrix bands and the label staff itself, most probably first on a personal level, cos they themselves struggled against Covid-19 or lost loved ones around them. What obviously hurts the most is the recurrent cancellation of tours, festivals, shows… this is hard for all bands. The stage remains the ultimate place of communion between artist and fans. The duration of the pandemic crisis also makes it more and more complex for artists releasing new albums and not being able to perform the new songs live.

Economically, so far we have been working hard and increased our promotional efforts to support the bands. As a result we actually managed increasing our label turnover between 2019 and 2020 with over 15% although the lockdown hit us all heavily. It was a combination of efforts: we continued to deliver CD’s to shops in direct -when some of our distributors were obliged to keep doors closed for example, but also from our bands who released more digital music to also bring some nice entertaining moments to their fans in these difficult moments, but also from our fans who continued supporting us massively.

Now unfortunately we all know that the economic crisis that will follow will hurt at all levels, but we will only start experiencing the real impacts in the second half of this year. It’s then that more and more people will continue loosing their jobs, loosing a portion of budgets they usually put into art and leisure. I also hope that this sanitary crisis will lead more people to pay more attention to their health in general. So yes, the world will change for sure, and we will all need to adopt and adapt at some point.

Q: Do you think media (magazines, online platforms etc…) still have an impact and a role to play today? What’s your relationship with ‘journalists’ and how important is their work?

Seba: Media changed a lot in 20 years indeed! Print magazines have been going through tough times. The major challenge is remaining relevant as a print magazine coming out monthly while online news get published instantly and spread a few clicks further. Combining digital with print is not easy. Integrating social medias, streaming platforms, etc… in the overall journalistic equation is tricky.

It’s just like for music, the new generations tend to consider that art and information should be free of access. As a label, of course journalists still play an important role for a certain portion of music fans who still enjoy turning pages while reading and enjoying the pleasure of holding a magazine or a book in your hands. They then also reach out to the digital audience via their blogs and other websites. But the readers tend to identify themselves less than before to some specialized journalists, but will rather trust and follow the advise of some friends posting on social medias, other buyers leaving comments on webstores or other influencers. They also tend to trust themselves more and more and believe in algorithms recommending them the next music to play on their own music radar.

Bernard: Many online magazines do not publish news daily or even regularly which makes it difficult for them to stay relevant in these days of social media. In the past we were able to work with a lot of great web magazines, but these days we have to work with hundreds and most really have a very very small readership, while others have been smart enough to evolve, develop, stay relevant. Those online magazines from the past who did not evolve have seen their visitors go to Facebook and never have seen them back. Most also ceased all activity. It shows clearly that Facebook for instance is not the booster that most had hoped, on the contrary, and it also explains why many magazines are increasingly negative towards Facebook because they have now largely decided what you get to see, what you discuss about etc..  

As a label we must combine all these elements to reach out to our customers/fans and make choices based on gathered experience and acquired know-how, while exploring new grounds… 

Q: What do you consider as your biggest accomplishment(s)? Do you have specific goals/dreams you want to achieve and how do you prepare and see the future of the label(s)? And what are your biggest regret(s)?

Seba: I think our biggest accomplishment is to be talking with you today and celebrating 20 years of Alfa Matrix, each release from our music repertoire between 2001 and now each contributed to this success, from newcomer acts to living legends from our beloved music scene.

The only regrets I might have are first of all not to have 10 days in a week to do all I’d like to do, and maybe having put a couple of friendships in danger by starting a label collaboration with friends without having been enough aligned and synched together on strategic elements. As far as the future, I hope we will still be able supporting talents as long as possible and having the chance to release the great work from our artists, and working with experienced music supporters like you…

Bernard: I personally never expected that this story that started as an idea amongst friends would turn out to be that successful and long-lasting. Seba had the basic idea and then pitched it to Benoit and me. Since I knew Seba as a very trustworthy guy (you introduced him to me remember!) it didn’t take long for me to decide to get on board and invest in it.

As far as the future for the label, or any label, I guess that the love for what we and the bands do will be the biggest power behind it all. I still discover great music in this scene so we are not in desert modus. The biggest challenge will be to keep on making new people warm for this scene’s music. Not a simple task, but we’ll manage alright I think.

My biggest regret… we all know it’s very time consuming and it’s not always easy to find a good balance between family life and work. As far as my two colleagues is concerned, I know how to separate my private life from work, so even if we have some catfights about certain things (we have to agree all 3 on something or it doesn’t happen), we remain loyal friends above all. And as far as how we function together, you can say that the structured thinking of Seba combined with the fuzzy logic style of thinking of Benoit and myself is an ideal breeding platform for great adventures!

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 & 2CD.

Background/Info: The German band Acylum driven by Pedro ‘Acylum’ Engel and his partner in crime Nadine ‘Cooraz’ Engel strike back with the first Acylum album in nearly six years! “Kampf Dem Verderb” was introduced last year introduced by the EP “Sieg Oder Walhalla”. The work wants to be a reflection upon the ‘overall bloody atmosphere of hatred, violence, terror and war’. 

Content: The return of Acylum is characterized by an extremely dark and tormented sound perception, which totally matches with the ‘concept’ of the album. The songs are constantly driven by harsh, Industrial kicks while similar desolate tunes are supporting the work with darkness. The use of mainly German samplings accentuates the horror of the war vision, but still appears to be provocative. The harsh vocals by Pedro Engel only accentuate the nightmarish atmosphere emerging at the surface of this opus. The main difference with the brilliant and previous album (cf. “Pest”) is that this work sounds less powerful, but more into an atmospheric approach. A few tracks are even harder! One of the most surprising cuts is a new version of “The Enemy” (originally released in 2009 at the same-titled album) and now reworked with the contribution of Nano Infect, Totem Obscura, Viscera Drip, Wolfchild, Xentrifuge and Technogenetika. 

The bonus disc from the limited edition is featuring remixes by Suicide Commando, Armageddon Dildos, David Blackstar, Asseptic Room, Ice Ages, Larva, Advent Resilience, Schwarzstern, Project Eratic, Dirty K, Implant, Nano Infect, Aesthetische and Mental Exile.

+ + + : I was eagerly awaiting the sixth album of Acylum and especially after the brilliant “Pest”, which I consider as one of the best Dark-Electro productions from the past ten years. This new work sounds different, which in a way is a good thing, revealing a band which doesn’t want to repeat itself. But the good thing is you rapidly recognize the unique and extremely tormented horror vision emerging from the tracks. Acylum has its own sound DNA, which you’ll instantly recognize. The best cuts however are the hardest ones; “What Do You See?” is my favorite and for sure a song reminiscent of the glorious days of :Wumpscut:. I also have to mention “Violin Of Death” and the already known “Sieg Oder Walhalla”. The idea of reworking “The Enemy” by inviting multiple bands from the darkest Electro scene is a great idea.

Among the remixes I heard different inspired versions, but especially want to pick up Suicide Commando with the very ‘Klinik-al’ remix of “Masquerade”, some club-driven remixes by Armadeggon Dildos and Schwarzstern, the Industrial and instrumental transformation of “Venom” by Dirty K and the phenomenal EBM transposition of “Sieg Oder Walhalla” by Aesthetische. The last remix by Mental Exile is also worthy of examination as they remixed “Sieg Oder Walhalla” into an Electro/Disco-Pop edit.

– – – : I’m missing the power and rage of “Pest” while the melody sounds/tunes are pretty similar to each other. Acylum remains a particular experience, but this not my favorite album!

Conclusion: No doubt about it this harsh and provocative album will catch a wider attention, but I was less impressed. It however remains a particular experience in (h)el(l)ectro music!

Best songs: “What Do You See”, “Violin Of Death”, “Sieg Oder Walhalla”, “Venom – Album Version” + “Sieg Oder Walhalla – Aesthetische Remix”, “Hunter – Armageddon Dildos Remix”, “Schwarzer Adler – Schwarzstern Remix”, “Masquerade – Suicide Commando Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Acylum.Music

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Kampf Dem Verderb’.

About Acylum

Acylum is a German dark electro project set up by Pedro Engel in 2004. Nadine “Cooraz” Engel joined the project as his creative and vocal partner a few years later. Engel released Acylum’s debut album, “Your Pain,” in 2005. The project has continued on Alfa Matrix through albums including “Karzinom” (2011) and “Pest,” with “Kampf Dem Verderb,” reviewed here, arriving as the sixth full-length. Beyond Acylum, Pedro Engel records under the side projects Totem Obscura and Aengeldust.

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

Implant’s 11th album is a fact and officially out since this morning! The Belgian electronic act recently released the “Phantom Pain” EP and video clip as a teaser for what was to come, and now the band has finally released the full length “Cognitive Dissonance” in 2 physical versions: CD and a very limited 2CD.

You can expect an array of sounds on the new album, from industrial dance over dark elektro and melancholic chanson (“The Last Record”) to upbeat future pop and techno pop. For the album Implant could count on vocal contributions by Helalyn Flowers’ front woman Noemi Aurora on several songs.

The limited deluxe double-CD digipak edition of the album (available here) holds the “When Prophecy Fails” bonus disc featuring 2 exclusive tracks and an eclectic selection of remix collaborations with such artists and bands like Breath Of Life, Suicide Commando, Armageddon Dildos, 808 Dot Pop, Signal Aout 42, Aiboforcen, Helalyn Flowers, Neuroactive, AD:keY, Q’pnz and Növö.

You can check the tracks from the album below on Bandcamp (where you can also pre-order the release).

About Implant

Implant was formed in 1992 when Geert Machtelinck and Len Lemeire attended the same university. It took them till 1996 to release the first CD album (“Soft flesh / Hard steel”) which was followed by 2 MCD’s (“Fun” and “Brain FX”). The band then took a swing in unexplored territory of psy-trance, becoming one of the first psy-electro bands. They later on returned to a more eclectic electro approach incorporating various electronic influences in their work.

Since 2004 Implant is signed to Alfa Matrix for which Len Lemeire has also been mastering quite a lot of releases. Read the review of ‘Cognitive Dissonance’.

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

After some releases with their side-projects Totem Obscura and Aengeldust, plus the publication of rare early demo material through the “Filthy Memories 2” release, the Acylum duo (Pedro and Nadine Engel) are back with the successor of “Pest”. “Kampf Dem Verderb” is out now via Alfa Matrix.

The first edition of this 12-track album is released as a deluxe double-CD digipak edition offering some 14 exclusive bonus remixes by Suicide Commando, Armageddon Dildos, Implant, Aesthetische, Mental Exile, Nano Infect, Asseptic Room, Ice Ages, Larva, Advent Resilience, Project Erratic, Dirty K, Schwarzstern and David Blackstar.

Note that no less than 6 bands collaborated on the remake of the band’s classic song “The Enemy”, namely Nano Infect, Xentrifuge, Totem Obscura, Техногенетика (Technogenetica), Wolfchild and Viscera Drip.

You can check out the release below via Bandcamp or as a 2CD set via the Alfa Matrix web store.

For those who missed out on the digital only “Filthy Memories 2” release, you can grab it below. Read the review of ‘Kampf Dem Verderb’.

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

It has been a hectic year, also for Alfa Matrix, but luckily their bands took the time to work in their studio to record new material. Out now via the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page is the label’s 10th edition in the “Matrix Downloaded” compilation series, again offering you a – free – insight in what the Belgian label is all about. You can discover 64 tracks right here on Bandcamp.

The download holds tracks from Cubic, Psy’Aviah, Aesthetische, Digital Factor, Reichsfeind, Llumen, Zombie Girl, Diffuzion, Matthew Creed, Circuito Cerrado, Circumpolar, Venal Flesh, Mentallo & The Fixer, Freakangel, Alien Vampires, I:Scintilla, Schwarzblut, Totem Obscura, Reactor7X, First Aid 4 Souls, Lederman / De Meyer, Implant, AD:keY, Kant Kino, Die Robo Sapiens, ELM, Pouppee Fabrikk, Armageddon Dildos, Plastic Noise Experience, Synapsyche, Avarice In Audio, Elektrostaub, Junksista, First Aid 4 Souls, Benestrophe, Mental Exile, Star Industry, Halo In Reverse, Lovelorn Dolls, Helalyn Flowers, Essence Of Mind, Rector Scanner, Elektroklänge, Metroland, Lights A.M, Cosmic Armchair, Aiboforcen, H.O.W., 808 DOT POP, Suicidal Romance, Entrzelle, Technoir, Neuroactive, Mondträume, The Psychic Force, Studio-X, Studio-X Vs Simon Carter, Neikka RPM, Komor Kommando, Siva Six, Aengeldust, Acylum, Dunkelwerk and Növö.

Exclusive face masks

Next to that you can also get the download together with a face mask, out in a very limited series. You can either buy them separately or get all 3 in one. Check the set of 3 Face Masks (Blue Matrix + Endzeit + Red EBM Alert) or the separate masks.

Note that EVERY face mask order comes with a free compilation CD on top: “Sounds from the matrix 022” with 20 extra tracks.

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.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: “Come With Me” is for the comeback of the German EBM formation Digital Factor. The German formation driven by the creative spirit of Mike Langer released a successful album during the 90s and the first decade of the new Millennium. Nine years after the last album “Trialog”, Digital Factor has been reactivated and joined hands together with Alfa Matrix. The band’s eighth album will be released in 2021.

Content: The new EP features the title song plus 8 remixes and 1 B-side track. “Come With Me” is a rather soft, but danceable song mixing elements of EBM with dark Electro-Pop. The remixes by Armageddon Dildos, Heise, Ah Cama Sotz, Margaret Street and Damascus Knives bring some diversity. From the boosted edit by Armageddon Dildos to the minimal driven remix by Damascus Knives, the original song has been seriously revisited while Mike Langer reworked the song into some extra mixes; one into the 80s spirit, another with a wink to the 90s and even an acoustic version. Last, but not least the song “I Am Dangerous” sounds a bit harder. 

+ + + : The comeback of this formation is an interesting fact. The title song is maybe not the hottest dancefloor stumper this band has ever composed, but it rocks. I like the diversity of the remixes and especially seeing Ah Cama Sotz remixing this kind of project is interesting; a crossover between different genres! I have a preference for the totally minimalistic remix of Damascus Knives (a side-project by David Christian from Cervello Elettronico). But there’s also something to say about the 80s- and 90s edits, which are original. I also enjoyed the remix by Margaret Street, which sounds vintage-like. 

– – – : I’ve never been a fan of EP’s with an endless number of remixes. The “Acoustic Version” for example is maybe original, but nothing less than an EP filler. This EP doesn’t say that much about the announced new album so let’s be patient.

Conclusion: Digital Factor is back and that’s what this EP mainly inspires; the title song is cool, but not exactly what I expected from a comeback.

Best songs: “Come With Me – Damascus Knives Remix”, “Come With Me”, “I Am Dangerous”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.digitalfactor.de / www.facebook.com/digitalfactor

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Come With Me’.

About Digital Factor

Digital Factor is a German electronic band from Altenburg built around Mike Langer (synth/vocals). The project released “Suiciety” in 1993, followed by “Join The Evilisation” (1994) on WallCURE, “Relationchips” (1995), “On Demand” (1996), “Countercheck” (1997) and “Over One Million Times” (1999) on Hypnobeat, “One More Piece” (2006), “Dein Herz” (2008, Wannsee Records) and “Look Back To Go Forward” (2009, Lukotyk Records). The album “Trialog” followed in 2011.

Nine years after “Trialog”, Digital Factor signed to Alfa Matrix and released the “Come With Me” EP in 2020, followed by “What?” and “A Chemical Process” in 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

Set up in 2007 by René and Andrea Nowotny AD: KEY rapidly became a noticeable band in the ‘old-school’ EBM style. The band’s debut works were released by the now defunct Electric Tremor Dessau (a true reference in this music genre) while they next signed to Emmo.biz, which is another label that is no longer active. The German duo finally joined hands together with Belgian label Alfa Matrix. They this year released their sixth full length album “Resonanz”. It remains an EBM experience although AD: KEY experienced with new elements so this work is maybe opening new paths for René and Andrea.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries) 

Q: “Resonanz” is your sixth full length album. How do you look back at the writing and production of this album and what is it all about?

Rene: “Resonanz” is primarily about interpersonal relationships. We tried to reflect on daily life; less our own lives than what we hear, see and read.

Andrea: It’s about love and hate, about hurt vanities. But also about problems such as sexual harassment, where every woman is sure to have had her unpleasant experience. This is exactly what our song “Ich Will, Dass Du Jetzt Gehst” is about, for example.

Q: I experienced “Resonanz” as your most sophisticated and maybe mature work to date. How do you explain the evolution in sound? Is it just growing experience & maturity or still a will to experience with new sounds, equipment and ideas?

Rene: The fact that “Resonanz” sounds a little different from the previous albums has several reasons. At first, our goal was not to repeat ourselves over and over again. This time we wanted to push the EBM attitude a bit into the background and work more song-oriented. We are also constantly looking for interesting sounds. And since we’re fans of the 70s and 80s electronics, we went the opposite way that many other bands take. We didn’t want to use modern equipment or software, but analog synthesizers. So we rebuilt our studio and bought a lot of new / old equipment.

Andrea: We are also older (except me):-D, maybe more mature.

Q: The song “Electro Musik” sounds to me as a homage to DAF and Gaby Delgado. What did you try to express with this song and do you want to say something about the tragic loss of Gaby who definitely belongs to the icons of EBM?

Andrea: Gabi Delgado’s death in Spring hit us hard. I’m a big DAF fan -Gabi and Robert‘s music has always had a certain influence on AD: keY. Then we made a cover version of “Verschwende Deine Jugend”, because this song speaks to us from our hearts. Maybe someday we will release this cover version.

Rene: Our song “Electro Musik” was written a few months before Gabi’s death. The song is the result of a jam session that we did together with Axel Machens from Placebo Effect in the AD: keY studio. We wanted to test one of my new synthesizers -and Axel had his Korg MS 20 -a synthesizer that DAF used very often. In principle, the basic structure of “Electro Music” was ready that evening. The song name speaks for itself -a nod to the roots of electronic music.

Q: I always link EBM with energetic live performances so I can imagine it must be frustrating because of Covid-19 to no longer play on stage. What are you feelings about this situation and how do you expect to see things evolving?

Rene: Yeah. It is very frustrating not to be able to go to any more concerts and not be able to play any more live concerts. We miss that very much. But in September this year we were very lucky to be able to perform at the NCN Festival for a concert under strict hygiene rules. It was an indescribably good feeling.

Andrea: But we see the need to implement these tough restrictions. We hope that the situation will improve in the foreseeable future. But this COVID 19 virus doesn’t just go away on its own. So we retired to the studio and work on new music. There will be a new AD: keY EP in December.

Rene: At the same time, I’m working on my side project, a new RECTOR SCANNER album that is due to be released next year.

Q: René, you’re still pretty close with ARMAGEDDON DILDOS and became member of ORANGE SECTOR too. What’s your input with these other bands and is there something like a big German EBM family?

Rene: Yes, I’m good friends with Uwe from the ARMAGEDDON DILDOS. Nothing has changed about that, even if I‘m no longer a live member. We sometimes stil work together making music. Uwe recently made a remix for AD: keY and I did a mix for ARMAGEDDON DILDOS. Uwe has always been a kind of musical mentor to me, and I value his opinion very much.

With ORANGE SECTOR it’s a lot of fun on stage. It’s just as great as it was with the ARMAGEDDON DILDOS. Martin, the mastermind of ORANGE SECTOR, produces the songs and the basic concept. The main work is up to him. He sends the files to me, I add my files and tracks and he mixes everything together.

Overall, one can say that the EBM / Electro scene in Germany is kind of a big family. Because the scene is relatively clear, you know each other, respect each other and are friends.

Q: How do you see AD:KEY evolving towards the next few years? What might we expect and what are you still dreaming of?

Rene: I don’t know how AD: keY will develop in the coming years. We are open to new influences because we don’t want to limit ourselves. We like to experiment. AD: keY will always sound like AD: keY. We stay true to our basic sound.

Andrea: In any case, we will start a new AD: keY album in 2021. We just let ourselves go -and we’ll see what comes out of it in the end.

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

Uwe Kanka and Dirk Krause set up ARMAGEDDON DILDOS in 1990. The German duo from Kassel became an instant successful EBM formation with a great live reputation. They got signed to the legendary Zoth Ommog label and became one of the EBM flagholders from the 90s. When Dirk Krause left the band, Uwe Kanka decided to went on. He released a few more albums on Ausfahrt and Alfa Matrix “Dystopia“ released on Alfa Matrix is the band’s new full  length and also the first new one since 2011. It also is the most diversified opus in the band’s history. From EBM to Electro-Rock to Electro-Pop with an 80s touch on top, the new work sounds as the most mature and achieved one to date. Time to ask a few questions to Uwe.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries) 

Q: I realized the first ARMAGEDDON DILDOS EP’s “Never Mind/Pressure” and “East West” were released exactly 30 years ago now! What do you keep in mind from the early, successful years and how did you see the band –and yourself, evolving till today?

Uwe: Dirk Krause and I met in a joint rehearsal room in Kassel. He made Synt-Pop with his band while I was involved with harder sounding New-Wave guitar music with the formation Beat The Beat. It quickly became clear that we were on the same wavelength. We wanted to break new ground together, make harder electronic music; powerful, aggressive, sweaty. We were young and didn’t know any limits. With the record deal with Zoth Ommog and the success of the first singles, we felt confirmed walking on the right path. It was an incredibly dynamic and lively time with lots of gigs and fantastic fans.

The cut came in 2000 when Dirk left the band. We had grown apart, musically and privately. I chose to continue alone with ARMAGEDDON DILDOS. The first few years weren’t easy for me. I had to buy new equipment and get used to it. The advantage, however, was that I could implement my ideas more uncompromisingly. For me, “Dystopia” is the logical consequence of this tough and instructive time.

Q: “Dystopia” is the first new album since “Untergrund” (2011). Why did this new work took that long and did you ever consider to stop composing new songs?

Uwe: I just take the time it takes for me. It has always been like this. We also published “Herbstzeitlose“. Then there is the work on remixes. And no, I never thought of stopping composing.

Q: Let’s talk about “Dystopia”, which I personally consider as the most mature and still most diversified work since you’re composing the songs. When did you start the writing and what has been the input of Mathias Black and Sven Mouhcine?

Uwe: All songs, except for “High Up In The Sky“, were written in the last four years. I started with the compositions and texts on my own. Later on, Mathias receives the material in order to edit it musically and soundly if necessary. After that, I continued to work on it in order to produce the final versions with Mathias. We were in direct contact with each other, including Sven, during the entire process. Sven plays the keyboards and sings since 2012 and is responsible for all questions about the band’s live hardware and software, the entire sound and technical process including video recordings on stage.

Mathias and Sven are extremely competent in their work and have meanwhile become indispensable for the smooth performance of the Dildos. We also get along very well, which makes things easier.

 Q: The cover of the album and its title both remind me to the legendary novel of George Orwell “1984”, but the album is a critical perception of our society and the world we’re living in, right? Does dystopia became reality!?

Uwe: The big problems of our time such as environment and climate change are no longer national problems. The effects can be felt worldwide. Poverty and famine, crisis areas such as the Syrian conflict and the resulting waves of refugees affect us all. The growing gap between rich and poor and the associated social unrest knows no boundaries. And I’m not mentioning Corona. And yes, we are on the highway to dystopia!

Q: Your daughter, Malin, is already featured on this album. What does it mean for you as father to see your daughter joining in? And what does she think about ARMAGEDDON DILDOS?

Uwe: Malin has already worked on “Morgengrauen” and “Untergrund“. So this is not a new situation for me. She is professional, has a very special voice and excellent empathy. It is always a great pleasure to work with her.

What does she think about the ‘Dildos’? Well, I don’t think it’s like she’s listening to ARMAGEDDON DILDOS at regular basis. In the end, it’s just not her music, but out of the many songs I’ve written, there’re probably a few ones she really likes.

Q: Reality today is that artists no longer can play live because of the pandemic. What do you think about this situation and what will be the impact for the further years?

Uwe: These are tough times for culture enthusiasts, artists, event organizers, club owners and all of those who’re involved with it. I have never experienced something like that. Unfortunately, the entire industry in Germany lacks government support.

I hope that soon something will happen and that we all together can get out unscathed from this situation. It is important that we find our way back to the ‚pre-Corona‘ status very quickly. Music belongs to the stage !!!

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: Irish singer Aidan Casserly has been very busy during the past few years. Next to his involvement with Empire State Human, which released their last album in 2019 and the new project Ferrochrome he set up together with ex-Armageddon Dildos member Dirk Krause, he also released an album together with Kriistal Ann while working on solo-material. “Ballads Of Sorrow” is a work wherein the artist tries to travel through the sorrows of the human condition without giving up and finding an exit.

Content: Aidan Casserly first of all remains a ‘voice’, one of the most special and enigmatic, androgenic voices from this music scene. It’s a timbre of voice you’ll like, or not, but you directly recognize it! The sound properly speaking is driven by good-old Electro-Pop stereotypes and you for sure are going to recognize the wink to Fad Gadget’s “Back To Nature” when listening to “Pins To Close”. But the work has much more to offer, revealing several sensual and evasive passages. I also noticed a few saxophone parts injecting a warming effect to the work. The songs are mainly melodic. I’ll end with the debut song featuring his friend Kriistal Ann singing together on the opening song “World Will Kill”.

+ + + : I’ll never become a huge fan of Aidan Casserly’s timbre of voice, but I have to admit he has a very special voice. That for sure makes the strength of his creation and is the for sure one of the reasons other artists like to work with him. But this album is also a well-crafted work mixing retro Electro-Pop elements carried with great melody lines together with a more contemporary and refreshing approach. It’s interesting to see the way he adds some sensuality in an album dealing with the sorrow of other people. You feel some consolation listening to this album.  

– – – : The work features 10 songs, which will accompany you for a voyage of only 36 minutes. There are several cool songs featured, but maybe not a potential hit.

Conclusion: This is an Electro-Pop album that will ravish all fans of the genre; it has something old-school like and yet stimulating.

Best songs: “World Will Kill feat. Kriistal Ann”, “Steal For Love”, “Slip Away”, “The Dead Bell”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/aidancasserly

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

About Aidan Casserly

Aidan Casserly is an Irish singer known as the voice of Empire State Human, who released their last album in 2019. In 2016 he teamed up with ex-Armageddon Dildos member Dirk Krause to form Ferrochrome, with Krause handling the music and Casserly the vocals on a debut recording titled “Under The Tongue”. Casserly has also recorded together with Kriistal Ann, and “Ballads Of Sorrow” continues his run of solo output alongside these ongoing collaborations.

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, Double CD.

Background/Info: Armageddon Dildos is back on track unleashing the first ‘new’ studio album since “Untergrund” (2011). Uwe Kanka introduced the new album by the solid EP “Heut Nacht” released earlier this year. “Dystopia” wants to be a critical reflection about the dystopian world we’re living in. The front cover clearly reminds me of the legendary “1984” novel of George Orwell.

Content: The regular album features 13 songs while the bonus disc features 12 extra songs/remixes. The album takes off with a unique song for the band, but still a great and overwhelming piece of music. Armageddon Dildos next moves from harder EBM cuts –including the already known “Heut Nacht”, towards slower pieces. I also noticed some interesting experiments like the minimal driven “Night People”, which sounds a bit 80s like. The song “Neon” is also a noticeable cut featuring female vocals by Malin Kanka (Uwe’s daughter). “Stay” is already something totally different and brings a surprising guitar Electro-Rock style. The work ends with a hard “Club Mix” of the title song.

The bonus disc is featuring remixes by Schramm, Intent:Outtake, First Aid 4 Souls, Inertia, Dave Anderson, Digital Factor, Orange Sector, AD:Key, Fredrik Söderberg, Lights Of Euphoria, Rico Ferenc Piller and Synapsyche.

+ + + : “Dystopia” is a diversified album driven, by good-old EBM sequences mixed with eclectic elements. The die-hard fans will be ravished discovering songs such as “Dystopia” and “Heut Nacht”. “High Up In The Sky” stands for modernism while “Night People” is a great ode to 80s electronics. “Heut Nacht” and “Destruction” both reveal noticeable melody lines. Last, but not least “Ohne Dich” is a cool Body-Pop song sung in German while featuring female French samplings. Among the remixes I want to mention the devastating remix of “Dance Of Dead Bodies” by Lights Of Euphoria. Intent:Outtake did also a great job remixing “Dystopia”.

– – – : Some cuts are clearly unexpected, and not totally convincing. I of course refer to the already mentioned “Stay”. The early and successful days of this band are clearly a way behind us.

Conclusion: I remember to have been disappointed when discovering the “Untergrund”-album while “Dystopia” reconciles me a bit with the true spirit of the band.

Best songs: “Ohne Dich”, “Dystopia – Club Mix”, “Heut Nacht”, “Night People”, “Destruction” + “Dance On Dead Bodies – Light Of Euphoria Stadium Mix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.armageddondildos.info / www.facebook.com/armageddondildos

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Dystopia’.

About Armageddon Dildos

Armageddon Dildos is a German EBM duo founded in Kassel in 1990. The band released through Zoth Ommog in the 1990s, including the CD EP “Fear” in 1993, and returned with “Morgengrauen” on Electric Blue in 2003 and “Sangreal” on Ausfahrt in 2005.

The Belgian label Alfa Matrix has released the more recent albums, among them “Herbstzeitlose” (2018) and “No Pain Forever” (2019). “Dystopia” followed in 2020, and Side-Line spoke to the duo about the album in a “Click Interview” with Armageddon Dildos in December 2020. Two EPs drawn from “Dystopia” later followed: “War Of The Religions” and “Destruction”, both released in 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: EBM.

Format: Digital, Double CD.

Background/Info: Andrea and Rene Nowotny set up AD:Key in 2007. Thirteen years later they now release their sixth studio album featuring twelve songs. The limited edition features an extra disc with twelve remixes.

Content: I consider AD:Key as one of the absolute old-school EBM masters from the past years. “Resonanz” however appears to be a milestone in the band’s career. The EBM basis remains intact, but this work clearly reveals new elements. They injected other influences –sometimes pretty Electro-Pop driven, to their work while the usual power of the band has been a little bit more under control and replaced by more elaborated songwriting. You still can feel a connection with bands such as DAF at the ‘harder’ cuts, but you also will notice surprising, softer, but sexy songs. The vocals are sung in English and German while alternating male- and female vocals. The album features a few two familiar songs that were previously released on the  “Herz Lass Los”-EP, which served as a strong appetizer to this new opus.

The second disc features a bunch of alternative edits by the band itself and remixes by Armageddon Dildos and Steril (2 songs) plus one of the album songs featuring Schramm.

+ + + : I’m not saying that the Nowotny duo has tries to reinvent their sound, but this album is clearly different. The good-old and constant EBM power is now interrupted by some softer cuts even featuring melody lines (cf. “You Can’t Fuck Me”) and sensuality (cf. “I Stay”). But the main evolution is the elaboration of the writing, the songs never have been that worked out and even sophisticated (cf. “Du Und Dich”). That’s maybe because of the use of analogue sound treatments. “Nur Der Mond” is maybe ‘the’ song symbolizing this evolution the best. But AD:Key still stands for great and pure old-school EBM; that’s what they reveal on familiar cuts like “Herz Lass Los” and “Der Letzte Tanz”, but I also have to mention “Electro Musik”. Some lyrical passages are clearly evoking the influence of DAF… maybe meant as homage to Gaby Delgado.

On the second disc I noticed a great collaboration with Schramm (cf. “This Is Not The Time”), a great “Club Mix” of “Alles Was Ich Will” and 2 noticeable remixes by Steril (what a great return of this band!).

– – – : I’m missing the harder AD:Key style from the early days, but on the other side I prefer a band striving for evolution and elaborating new ideas instead of a band repeating itself.

Conclusion: “Resonanz” is maybe the AD:Key work we didn’t expect, but I want to reassure the fans, it still remains great EBM!

Best songs: “Electro Musik”, “Herz Lass los”, “Der Letzte Tanz”, “You Can’t Fuck Me”, “Nur Der Mond” + “Ich Will Dass Du Jetzt Gehst – Evvilking-Mix By Steril”, “Ich Will Dass Du Jetzt Gehst – Axl-Mix By Steril”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/ADkeY-offical-106750002700971

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Resonanz’.

About AD:Key

AD:Key is the German duo of Andrea and Rene Nowotny, built around a signature male/female vocal interplay set to old-school EBM. Rene has performed live on keyboards for Armageddon Dildos and also records under the side project Rector Scanner, while Andrea has appeared as a guest singer with VillaBorghese. “Resonanz”, released via Alfa Matrix, is the duo’s sixth studio album, thirteen years after they formed the project in 2007, and follows the EP “Herz Lass Los”.

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

“Come With Me” is the title of the newest Digital Factor download EP which holds 10 tracks and which is out today via Alfa Matrix. That’s correct, one of the most missed cult electro-EBM bands from the early nineties is back. Not only will Digital Factor release a new single, the German band have equally announced their forthcoming 8th studio album on their new label Alfa Matrix.

While spending the last years writing music for movies, theatre, adverts, radio plays and producing other artists, original founding member Mike Langer took the time to upgrade his home studio to reactivate Digital Factor.

10-track EP and video out now

The “Come With Me” 10-track EP offers an excellent mix of synth pop and EBM. Next to the future pop inspired “Come With Me” title track, you get various versions of the track going from an eighties synth pop mix to Heise’s house/dance version, from an old school EBM version by Damascus Knives to an acoustic piano version. You also get a trancelike remake by Margaret Street and remixes by Armageddon Dildos and Ah Camarillos Sotz.

The EP also holds a second new song, “I Am Dangerous”. This track offers a more modern and eclectic electro approach merging Front 242-esque basslines, female vocals and powerful male vocals.

You can check the EP below or download it right now from Bandcamp.

Also launched today is the official video clip for “Come with me”, depicting how seductive products, ideas or chemicals can sometimes be by promising us that ultimate trip that we can’t resist.

The official video clip for “Come With Me”.

The good old days are back

Digital Factor was founded in 1993 and quickly established itself as a popular live act on the electronic scene. In 1994 the band signed to the Danish label Hardrecords after which their first single “Falling Down” was released.

In 1995 they joined the Hyperium / Hypnobeat where they would release five albums here. After the release of the 1999 album “Over One Million Times” things got quiet around the band. Founding member Tino Schmidt left the band that year.

After a long break and with guitarist Guido Litke on board, Digital Factor released their seventh album “One More Piece” on Wannsee Records in 2006. In mid-2007 the band went back to the studio and started working on a new album. The online single “Dein Herz” was followed in January 2009 by “Look Back To Go Forward”. For this, Digital Factor worked together with artists such as Steril and Leonardo von Leibnitz.

In 2010 Torsten Heise left the band and was replaced by Leo von Leibnitz after which the band began work on a new studio album “Trialog”, which was released in 2011 by Black Rain.

In 2020 the band signed to Alfa Matrix pro write a new chapter in their history. Read the review of ‘Come With Me’.

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

“Resonanz” is the title of the newest 6th full length studio album (and the follow-up to the 2017 album “Reanimator”) by the Berlin-based duo AD:keY. Andrea and Rene Nowotny reconnect with their mix of strong EBM/bodypop and powerful male and female vocals using both German and English languages.

The first edition of this album is available now as a very limited double-CD deluxe digipak with 12 bonus tracks including alternative versions made by AD:keY themselves, plus collaborations with Schramm, Steril, Armageddon Dildos and Rossi BM. You can already check 2 tracks below,

The download edition is available via Bandcamp right now while the 2CD set can be ordered via the band’s label, Alfa Matrix. Read the review of ‘Resonanz’.

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

In March 2020 Düsseldorf’s leading EBM act Armageddon Dildos launched a brand new download EP, “Heut Nacht” (available here on Bandcamp). Today the band releases a new album. Uwe Kanka takes the opportunity to protest against our world’s dystopia in general, and socio-political issues in particular like intolerance, abuse, disinformation or yet selfishness.

For the occasion he surrounded himself with studio gurus and old time friends Mathias Black and Sven Mouhcine. You can expect 80’s melodic influences with the 90’s power of industrial dark techno.

Below you can listen to the complete album.

The limited edition of the album includes a bonus album featuring one remix of each album song by a wide range of collaborators including Orange Sector, Digital Factor, Ad:Key, Lights Of Euphoria, Schramm, Intent:Outtake, First Aid 4 Souls, Inertia, Synapsyche, Dave Anderson, Rico Piller and Fredrik Söderberg.

Available formats:

Armageddon Dildos – Dystopia Download
Armageddon Dildos – Dystopia CD
Armageddon Dildos – Dystopia 2CD

And here are the first 2 tracks to check out.

Slowly but steadily

Armageddon Dildos was formed in 1988 in Kassel Germany, and the name comes from the slang term for intercontinental ballistic missiles. The band has always been popular within their native Germany but also outside of Germany they have a cult following among industrial music lovers. They released their first album, “That’s Armageddon”, in 1990 on the cult label Zoth Ommog. The rest is history.

Noticeable is that the band has always taken it time to record and release new material. Their latest full album already dates from 2011 when they released “Untergrund”, also on Alfa Matrix. Read the review of ‘Dystopia’.

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

It’s Bandcamp Friday today, which is a great day to support artists, as the download platform charges no fees that day. The Belgian electronic label Alfa Matrix goes the extra mile and offers 50% reduction on top when using the discount code SUMMER20.

So, if you want to support the label and artists (Armageddon Dildos, Psy’Aviah, AD:keY, 808 Dot Pop, Lights A.M, and lots more), then don’t hesitate to go crazy on the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page!

You can of course also help us out today by ordering a Side-Line T-shirt including a free mouth mask or download and donate towards one of our compilations. Hundreds of parcels have already be sent out worldwide, so if you want one as well, check it out on our Bandcamp page.

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.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Two years ago  the EP “Herbstseitlose” saw the German EBM act Armageddon Dildos get back into business. The EP was meant as a teaser to the new album –the first one since “Untergrunt” (2011). Ano 2020 Uwe Kanka is back again with a second EP announcing the new album “Dystopia”. Mathias Black did some additional programming and production work. He previously already worked with Armageddon Dildos as a remixer and producer.

Content: “Heut Nacht” is a solid piece of EBM reminding me a bit of the early hours. It has a strong DAF connotation –especially during the chorus, while the vocals have something grave. Remixes have been accomplished by Dave Anderson, Messiaen Noir, AD:key, Melting Rust Opera, First Aid 4 Souls and Flesh Wire. The remixes inject a real diversity, some of the artists having totally decomposed the original edit.

+ + + : The previous EP already was an interesting comeback, but “Heut Nacht” is probably the band’s best song in years! It’s a cool title track revealing a well-crafted, danceable EBM. It sounds a bit minimal-like, but definitely promising for the upcoming album. Among the remixes I noticed great contributions from label mates AD:key and First Aid 4 Souls. Especially the last mentioned Hungarian formation did a great job, boosting the song with extra power and dance vibes!

– – – : I was less convinced by the experimental exposure of Melting Rust Opera and Flesh Wire. This is not exactly the kind of remixes you expect for an EP released by an EBM band!

Conclusion: Time for “Dystopia” so we can really hear if Armageddon Dildos is back to improve its image and become again the EBM leader they were during the 90s!

Best songs: “Heut Nacht – Club Mix by First Aid 4 Souls”, “Heut Nacht – AD:key Mix”, “Heut Nacht”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.armageddondildos.info / www.facebook.com/armageddondildos 

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Heut Nacht’.

About Armageddon Dildos

Armageddon Dildos is a German EBM project founded in 1990 in Kassel, with Uwe Kanka as its constant member. The band’s 2018 comeback EP “Herbstzeitlose” was followed by the single “No Pain Forever” in 2019 and this “Heut Nacht” EP in 2020, both released ahead of the album “Dystopia”, issued on Alfa Matrix later in 2020.

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

To support Namenlos and BLA, two clubs/live venues in Bonn (GER) a sampler has been released to donate towards the the 2 clubs who face financial problems due to the corona crisis. The bands featured include Flesh Wire, Armageddon Dildos feat. Melting Rust Opera, Mona Mur, Mind Area and Melting Rust Opera.

Every track on the sampler was written before the corona crisis took place and are previously unreleased tracks.

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

Cult German Electronic Body Music act Armageddon Dildos have launched a new EP and (title)song before the release of the new album “Dystopia”. On “Heut Nacht”, which is available now on Bandcamp, veteran artist Uwe Kanka and his gang bring full-frontal ripping basslines, minimal melodic electro sequences and powerful German vocals with a catchy chorus.

The track itself was inspired by an autumnal night stroll in a foggy forest evoking darkish childhood fairy tales souvenirs. The track itself got also reinterpreted by various artists coming from quite different musical horizons for this EP. You’ll find renditions by Dave Anderson, Messiaen Noir, AD:keY, Melting Rust Opera (who renamed the song, “Noise Nacht”), Hungarian industrial veteran First Aid 4 Souls and Flesh Wire (who renamed the song, “Silent Nacht”).

You can download the EP right below! Read the reviews of ‘Heut Nacht’ and ‘Nacht’.

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.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Negant is a Danish trio set up in 2017 by Jens B. Petersen (Neotek, ManMindMachine),  
Tommy B-Kuhlmann (In Absentia, ManMindMachine) and John R. Mirland (Mirland, Am Tierpark, M73, Holm/Mirland, Mirland/Larsen). They previously released their debut album “Nothing!” (2018) and the EP “No!” (2018). This is their third official record, which was already released during Summer 2019.  

Content: The work features 6 songs so in the end it’s more a mini-album instead of an EP. Negant moves on walking at the path of old-school EBM and especially with a 90s flavor recovering the songs. One of the best cuts (cf. “Euthanasia”) reminds me a bit of early Armageddon Dildos. A few cuts are however diversified with some extra, surprising elements such as acid sequences during the final part of “Absolution”. Except this last song, all other cuts are rather short and powerful.

+ + + : If you’re into retro-EBM this work is definitely something to your taste. But it’s not only an old-fashioned driven production, it also is a well-crafted and accomplished work revealing the EBM skills of composer John R. Mirland. The bass lines are solid and efficient, but I also enjoyed the string parts running throughout the songs. “Euthanasia” and “Terror” both are great exposures from this EBM formation.

– – – : Negant is not the kind of EBM band you are going to like if you’re in search of a progressive band; this is pure EBM for the die-hard freaks. I just have some doubt they are going to like the acid apotheosis on the last song.

Conclusion: Negant moves on composing enjoyable EBM with a strong 90s connotation.

Best songs: “Euthanasia”, “Terror”, “Triggered”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/negantofficial

Label: http://laebel–music.dk / www.facebook.com/laebelmusic

About Negant

Negant is a Danish trio founded in late 2017 by Jens B. Petersen, John R. Mirland and Tommy B-Kuhlmann, all also active in the shared project Bitter Distrust. The debut EP “No!” and album “Nothing!” followed in 2018 on Læbel, the label run by Mirland and Claus Larsen, alongside the band’s live debut in Berlin and Copenhagen. A digital mini EP of Gary Numan covers, “Numan!”, appeared in March 2019, self-released on Bandcamp, before Negant presented “Refuse!” at the Familientreffen XV festival in Sandersleben, Germany, in July 2019. Erik Sejer Pedersen of ee:man replaced Mirland in 2023, and Negant, now signed to Tinnitorturous, has been working on a second album, “Reject!”.

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

Available now for free (or pay-what-you-want) via Bandcamp is the 9th volume in the “Matrix Downloaded” compilation download series by the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix. In the past these compilations have been downloaded by ten thousands of fans around the world and we don’t expect it will be different this year.

The label also announces that it will invest all donations in nurturing new bands and getting their careers launched.

Here’s what Seba Dolimont, A&R at Alfa Matrix, has to say about it: “The music market has shifted a lot over the years and in many ways losing its solid footing. CDs sales are collapsing entirely and the shift from downloads to streaming has not yet shown a revenue that is replacing what has been lost. (…) This evolution has created an environment where many labels have almost stopped playing their key-role of talent scouting, no longer daring to invest in new talents who deserve to be heard by you! Alfa Matrix is one of the very few record companies in this scene who try to keep the right balance between releasing renowned artists and supporting younger bands who still need to catch the attention and reach your ears.”

61 bands and tracks

The compilation holds the work by 61 label bands who joined hands to deliver you 61 songs representing the label’s most recent singles and albums while giving a preview of some promising forthcoming 2020 productions including announced new releases by POUPPEEE FABRIKK, NEUROACTIVE, ALIEN VAMPIRES, HELALYN FLOWERS, DIE ROBO SAPIENS, IMJUDAS, 808 DOT POP, ACYLUM, ARMAGEDDON DILDOS, PSY’AVIAH, AVARICE IN AUDIO, SIVA SIX, NEIKKA RPM, AESTHETISCHE, KANT KINO, KOMOR KOMMANDO, AD:KEY, H.O.W., CIRCUMPOLAR, SYNAPSYCHE, LLUMEN, ENTRZELLE, LIGHTS A.M, REACTOR7X, FIRST AID 4 SOULS, etc.

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.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: German duoMaikko Advance (Mind.Area, Human Decay ao) and ‘Flesh Wire’ have been active since 2014, which was the year they also released their debut album “Reality Design”. They released this EP as a teaser to their new full length “There Will Be Solutions” asking Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) to sing on the title song while he also did some additional production.

Content: “No Pain Forever” is an EBM-inspired song, which is mainly carried by a solid bass line. The vocals are featuring harsher passages and clear ones. The song has been remixed by Sceptica and TC75. About the other songs left you’ll get an exclusive cut (cf. “Obsolete Cyborgs”), which sounds soft and 2 more remixes from a song (cf. “Soon You’re Mine”) that will be featured on the new album as well. Remixes have been done by The Negativity Bias and Photic Sonar.

+ + + : There’s no better way for a rather ‘unknown’ formation than asking a famous guest to get featured on one of your songs and in this case, the title song! There also is some potential in this track and especially the EBM-driven bass line sounds cool. It also becomes pretty rare to see Armageddon Dildos collaborating or doing remixes.I also have to say a word about the rough and yet melodic remix of “Soon You’re Mine” by The Negativity Bias.

– – – : The title song reveals some good ideas, but globally speaking this song is under produced. The chorus is missing a true climax and even the remixes don’t bring any real improvement. The B-side (exclusive) song is poorly inspired and the remixes of “Soon You’re Mine” don’t bring any real bonus.

Conclusion: to feature a renowned artist is for sure a good strategy, but when the result is disappointing, it feels like a total failure!

 Best songs: “Soon you’re Mine – The Negativity Bias Remix”, “No Pain Forever feat. Armageddon Dildos”

Rate: (5).

Artist: www.ai–zero.de  / www.facebook.com/aizero.music

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

About A.I. Zero

A.I. Zero is a German duo of Maikko Advance, also known for Mind.Area and Human Decay, and Flesh Wire, active since 2014. The duo’s debut album, “Reality Design,” was released the same year. “No Pain Forever,” reviewed here, is an EP featuring Uwe Kanka of Armageddon Dildos on the title track, released as a teaser for the duo’s second album, “There Will Be Solutions.”

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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Belgium’s cult dark electro act Aiboforcen is back among the living. A teaser was already released online a few days ago, but it’s now official, there is a brand new Aiboforcen EP out via Bandcamp: “In My Arms”.

The 13-track (!!) extended EP focuses on Benoit Blanchart’s collaboration with Mari Kattman. Both “In My Arms” and “Tears” are taken from the band’s recent 6th full length album “Sense & Nonsense”. The title track also got the remix treatment by label mates Mondträume, Mental Exile and Jean-Marc Lederman who each plunged the song in totally different moods. “Tears” on the other hand got re-discovered by the other Alfa Matrix companions Aesthetische, SD-KRTR and Psy’Aviah.

This new 13-track EP (available now from Bandcamp) also reveals some 4 new exclusive songs: “Therapy Through Violence”, “Abysses” (featuring Patrice Synthea of Regenerator fame) and 2 radically different cover versions of New Order’s “True Faith” and DAF’s “Als Wars Das Letzte Mal” (featuring Uwe Kanka of Armageddon Dildos on vocals).

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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The track is taken from the E.P. “No pain forever” which will be released (as a free download) on Jan. 25 via this link and an album named “There will be solutions” will be released in early 2019. The 6 track EP holds 2 remixes of the song next to the original and the extra tracks “Obsolete Cyborgs” and “Soon You’re Mine” which comes in 2 remixed versions.

Here’s the official video.

Here’s some info about the band’s endeavours so far. A.I. Zero was founded in 2014 and consists of Maikko Advance (Mind Area, Sceptica, ex Human Decay member) and Flesh Wire. The first digital EP was released via Hunter Records while the band’s first album was released on Scent Air Records (on CD and digital) in 2014. In 2015 the band also completed a remix for Tanya Tagaq, whom you will know from her work on the Björk album “Medulla”. A second A.I. Zero E.P. also launched in 2015 with remixes from Armageddon Dildos and Photic Sonar (among others).

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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With the 8th edition of their now classic free “Matrix Downloaded” label digital compilation, Belgium’s Alfa Matrix label presents a selection of 55 songs via Bandcamp.

The 55 songs represent the label’s most recent singles and albums while giving a preview of some promising forthcoming 2019 productions including announced new releases by Helalyn Flowers, Synapsyche, Avarice In Audio, H.O.W., Llumen, Mental Exile, SD-KRTR, Diffuzion, Reactor7X, Aesthetische, Armageddon Dildos, Die Robo Sapiens, Junksista, Imjudas, Alien Vampires, Mondträume, Aiboforcen, Dunkelwerk, Komor Kommando, Neikka RPM, Acylum, etc.

You can download it for free or as a what-you-want-to-pay from Bandcamp.

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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Genre/Influences: EBM.

Background/Info: Ten years after the debut album “Thema Nummer Eins” (2008) the ex Armageddon Dildos live keyboardist Rene Nowotny and his wife Andrea are celebrating the 10^th anniversary of their AD:KeY EBM project with this album. The duo released 5 albums on the defunct labels Electric Tremor Dessau and Emmo.biz while their latest studio opus had been released on Alfa Matrix. This ‘retrospection’ is a selection of (reworked) hits, alternative versions, remixes and 2 new cuts.

Content: I’ve often considered AD:KeY as the only and single formation that moved on there where the original members of Armageddon Dildos decided to split. The songs are pure EBM-like, filled with energy, but still composed with intelligence. The ingredients are pretty familiar, but the result is absolutely great. This work is an invitation to rediscover some of the band’s finest hits, and also the cover version they made of Front 242’s “Kampfbereit”.

Remixes were accomplished by Brigade Werther, Digital Energy and last, but not least Armageddon Dildos.

+ + + : AD:KeY definitely belongs to the best contemporary EBM bands and this anniversary-album simply confirms it. From their very first album on which, they masterly accomplished alluring EBM carried by danceable kicks, elaborated structures characterized by solid bass lines, metallic percussion and cool strings. The vocals always felt like a kind of sonic intercourse between the sterile vocals of Andrea and the more testosterone vocals of Rene. This is powerful EBM, which also reveals a new cool song entitled “Pfeil In Den Hertz”. The cover version of “Kampfbereit” also remains a great piece of music. It sounds as this song was originally written by AD:KeY. They masterly transposed the 242-version into their own sound approach. I also want to say a word about the artwork and especially the funny pictures inside the booklet.

– – – : The sound formula is quite repetitive and after 10 years of involvement it no longer has any secrets. But in the end what we all want is to hear and enjoy good music!

Conclusion: This album is a well-deserved anniversary gift for this great contemporary EBM band.

Best songs: “Autodynamik – Edit”, “Elitär – 10^th Anniversary Version”, “Mein Weg – Extended Space-Version”, “Alte Geister – Vorwärts Mix”, “Mein Weg – Remix by Digital Energy”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/ADkeY–offical-106750002700971

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

Read the news on ‘10th Anniversary’.

About AD:Key

AD:Key is the German duo of Andrea and René Nowotny, built around a signature male/female vocal interplay set to old-school EBM. René has performed live on keyboards for Armageddon Dildos and records under the side project Rector Scanner, while Andrea has appeared as a guest singer with VillaBorghese.

The duo continued past this anniversary release with further albums and EPs on Alfa Matrix, including “0609” (2024), “Deine Augen” (2024) and “Kontraktion” (2025).

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: Struck9 is a Colombian EBM project set up in 2008. After a debut album (cf. “Democracy”) released in their homeland on Black Leather Records (2010) the band is now back on track with a new opus. They joined hands with EK Product to unleash their “Ritual Body Music”.

Content: Struck9 stands for pure old-school EBM with a raw and somewhat unpolished production. The sound might remind you of great names such as DAF, Armageddon Dildos and co, but I also have to say this band has a very own approach. The songs are well-crafted and not just an easy and cheap EBM cliché.

Both last songs are remixes by Autodafeh and Atropine.

+ + + : This is retro-EBM, but with a personal style and attitude. The songs might appear ‘classical’, but they’re well-crafted and accomplished with little details like cool bleeps, metal percussion sounds at the right place and simple, but efficient tunes. The album features a succession of great songs and honestly there’s no song to throw away. Struck9 doesn’t reinvent EBM, but will please all lovers of the genre by this outstanding work.

– – – : The unpolished sound production is pretty vintage-like, but it took me a few minutes to get used to it. I think a more contemporary (and professional) production would give an extra to the album although the spirit would maybe be different. It’s a bit the same for the production of the vocals. So in the end it’s pure old-styled EBM in influences and production. The remixes of Autodafeh and Atropine are cool, but I personally prefer the original versions.

Conclusion: Struck9 doesn’t innovate, but this album is absolutely phenomenal. I even dare to say one of the best EBM releases I’ve heard in months!

Best songs: “No Fracking U.S.A.”, “Kapital”, “Resist”, “Bodytemple”, “Ritual Body Music”, “Interconnected”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.struck9.com / www.facebook.com/strucknine

Label: www.ekproduct.com / www.facebook.com/EKProduct

About Struck9

Struck9 is an EBM project from Colombia, formed in 2008. The band released its debut album “Democracy” on Black Leather Records in 2010 before signing to EK Product for “Ritual Body Music”. The same year a companion release, “Remixed Rituals”, gathered reworks of the album, including the closing contributions from Autodafeh and Atropine.

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: Jürgen Engler, Ralf Dörper and Marcel Zürcher aka Die Krupps have set up a new project named Die Robo Sapiens. There where Die Krupps always ends with electronics mixed with guitars, this new band wants to be 100% electronic and devoted to good-old EBM. This EP is a teaser to the debut album.

Content: The EP reveals 2 songs of Die Robo Sapiens plus 5 remixes. The songs are definitely inspired by good-old, vintage EBM. The sound formula is based upon solid bass lines, robotic effects and vocals plus rhythmic reminding me to Liaisons Dangereuses. The sound is pretty different from Die Krupps and definitely music for the EBM community.

Remixes were accomplished by Elektrolänge, Sebastian Komor,  Metroland, Armageddon Dildos and Rector Scanner.

+ + + : This debut EP reveals a strong potential and Jürgen Engler and his acolytes simply reveal (or confirm) to still have the secret formula to compose great EBM music. There clearly is a strong vintage flavor hanging over the songs, but it has been mixed with refreshing elements. It’s a new challenge for those experienced and renowned artists and the least I can say is that this work is fully accomplished and the perfect stuff for dancefloors.

Both songs are great although I’ve a preference for “Tanz Mit Dem Robotor”. There also is an interesting selection of remixers and I here have to mention the mind-blowing remix of “Teufelskreis” by Seb Komor. Armageddon Dildos also did a cool remix while Metroland as Belgian band reinforces the link with Kraftwerk.

– – – : There clearly is a move back to the roots of German electronics and more especially to EBM, but I hope the album will not become an emulation of Kraftwerk and co.  I regret this EP has been not released as CD format.

Conclusion: An EP is mainly meant as an appetizer before the release of an album. All I can say is that this is a strong and successful work announcing a promising album. This is the kind of record, which reminds me why I like EBM!

Best songs: “Tanz Mit Dem Roboter”, “Teufelskreis”, “Teufelskreis – Sebastian Komor Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/DieRoboSapiens

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

Read the news on ‘Teufelskreis / Tanz Mit Dem Roboter’.

About Die Robo Sapiens

Die Robo Sapiens is a side-project of Die Krupps members Jurgen Engler, Ralf Dorper and Marcel Zurcher, set up to pursue a purely electronic, EBM-driven sound apart from Die Krupps’ guitar-driven industrial-metal direction. Signed to Alfa Matrix, the project released this EP, “Teufelskreis / Tanz Mit Dem Roboter”, as its debut in 2018, followed by the “FanFanFanatisch / The Dusseldorf EP” in 2020 and the debut album “Robo Sapien Race” at the end of 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: EBM.

Background/Info: Set up in 1990 Armageddon Dildos definitely became one of the major EBM bands from the 90s. They released several groundbreaking albums and numerous EBM hits. After the band’s split singer Uwe Kanka struck back during the early millennium years. New work got released on irregular basis, but this EP is the first new work since the rather disappointing “Untergrund”-album (2011). “Herbstzeitlose” is meant as a solid teaser to the upcoming full length.

Content: The EP features 4 new songs plus 7 remixes. The sound remains pure EBM-like, but once again less comparable with the early successful releases of the band. Since Uwe Kanka is the single member on board the ‘Dildos’ have found a different EBM direction. The new songs are more elaborated revealing multiple effects and even sophisticated arrangements. The vocals no longer express the rage Uwe sung with during the 90s.

The most noticeable song definitely is “Resist (2.0)”, which remains one of the biggest hits of the band, but which has been reworked in a total new and different song only holding on the famous lyrics from the original chorus.

Remixes have been made by Plastic Noise Experience, Kant Kino, Tolchock, Hell:Sector, The Psychic Force, Venal Flesh and Technoir.

+ + + : I first of all have to say that the new songs are more convincing than the last album of the band. Uwe Kanka hasn’t reconsidered his sound and influences, but simply became a better musician. Some of the songs maybe became too elaborate, but you don’t hear me to complain. The ‘new’ and totally different version of “Resist” is a great cut. Among the remixes I especially like the job done by Plastic Noise Experience and Kant Kino both empowering the EBM basis of the original songs. I also have to mention Hell:Sector for the guitar riffs injecting some metal-touch to “Resist”.

– – – : It’s probably because Armageddon Dildos remains to me one of the ‘best’ EBM acts from the 90s, but I still expect a bit more from this band! Don’t get me wrong, this EP reveals interesting ideas, but no real mega-hit! It could maybe interesting to see Uwe Kanka working with an extra EBM member to bring the ‘old’ power of the band back alive!

Conclusion: Armageddon Dildos is back and I can only hope the new full length will surpass all expectations. This EP is honest, but not ‘hot’!

Best songs: “Resist (2.0)”, “Mandy Crash”, “Resist – Old School Mix By Plastic Noise Experience”, “Resist – Hell:Sector Mix”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.armageddondildos.info / www.facebook.com/armageddondildos

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

Read the news on ‘Herbstzeitlose’.

About Armageddon Dildos

Armageddon Dildos is a German EBM duo founded in 1990 in Kassel around singer Uwe Kanka. The band released a run of albums and singles through the 1990s before splitting; Kanka revived the project in the following decade, releasing “Untergrund” in 2011. This EP, “Herbstzeitlose”, served as the teaser to the album that followed, “Dystopia”, released on Alfa Matrix in 2020.

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.

Background/Info: Irish synth-pop formation Empire State Human was set up in 1999 and driven by Aidan Casserly. “Romo” released in 2017 is the first new opus of the band since 2009. In the past years we discovered a few other projects featuring Aidan Casserly; he released together with Kriistal Ann the “Muse”-album (2015) and more recently joined hands with ex-Armageddon Dildos member Dirk Krause on the Ferrochrome project. You maybe also remember him from The Garland Cult he set up together with Empire State Human founding member Lar Kiernan.

Content: It’s not that useful talking first about the Casserly’s very unique timbre of voice, which is easy recognizable. It’s a particular experience, somewhat androgenic, but very recognizable. It also is the right singer to get involved with electro-pop music. The music is quiet vintage-like revealing solid bass lines and fine, precious bleeps.

+ + + : The vocals remain one of the main characteristics and strengths of this project. It’s the kind of ‘voice’ you are either going to like or not; there’s no way in between, but one thing is for sure, the vocals are making the specificity of this band. The music is well-crafted and I especially like the delicate bleeps, and especially the good-old analogue sound construction, which remains something apart and definitely magic-like! “Future Sex” is the absolute highlight of the work.

– – – : The main strength of an album often is the weakest point for other music lovers. Even if I recognize the talent of Aidan Casserly as a singer I never have been a huge fan of his so unique timbre of voice. I would like to love his voice, but as I said, there’s no real way in between: you like it or not. It often starts to bore me after a while and it’s not that different on this work.

Conclusion: Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because the timbre of voice doesn’t fit with my personal taste and expectations that this is not a good album. Not at all, “Romo” is a well-crafted opus revealing impressive analogue sound treatments.

Best songs: “Future Sex”, “Nomophobia”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/empirestatehuman

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

About Empire State Human

Empire State Human is a synth-pop and electro-pop project from Dublin, Ireland, driven by Aidan Casserly. The project’s discography runs from “Pop Robot” (2002) through albums including “Liquid Blue” (2003), “Cycles” (2005) and “Audio Gothic” (2009) to “Romo”, reviewed here.

Casserly has also recorded as part of Ferrochrome with ex-Armageddon Dildos member Dirk Krause. Side-Line later covered the compilation “Robot Love 2002>2009” in 2024 and the album announcement “Opulent” in 2026, both carrying the Empire State Human name forward.

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