Artoffact &#8211; SIDE-LINE

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!

Cardinal Noire presents new single ‘Diatribe’ ahead of ‘Vitriol’ LP

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 10:19:07 +0000

Finnish industrial band Cardinal Noire has just released their new single, “Diatribe”, through Artoffact Records, as a preview of their upcoming album “Vitriol”, set to be released on December 6. The single showcases the band’s signature blend of aggressive electronic beats, distorted synths, and dark atmospheres.

Following their previous single “Killshelter” released in August, “Diatribe” digs deeper into a sound that pulls inspiration from industrial pioneers like Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and Nitzer Ebb.

Cardinal Noire, formed in the early 2010s by Kalle Linberg and Lasse Alander, launched their self-titled debut in 2015, followed by “Deluge” (2018).

You can pre-order the album right now on Bamdcamp.

Vitriol by Cardinal Noire

Штадт (Stadt) releases brand new single, ‘Wild High’ – Out now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 15:03:09 +0000

Out now is the second single from Штадт (Stadt) since joining Artoffact Records. “Wild High” holds a broad reach of ingredients including industrial, synthwave/retrowave, and post-punk.

The single follows last month’s label debut single, “Вплив Бездіяльності (Impact of Inaction)” which the band commented “is a song about being trapped in the vacuum cage of darkness and self-destruction.”

Wild High by ШТАДТ (STADT)

Штадт (Stadt) is an EBM/post-industrial project created by Dmytro Filiushyn from Donetsk, Ukraine. Throughout its career, the project has released three EPs and two LPs, performing across Europe at solo gigs and festivals. The latest album, “Мразь” (“Scum”), features a collaboration with the EBM project Qual.

Stadt was founded after Dmytro left Ukraine in 2018. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the project relocated to Serbia.

Reopening The Scars by Dawn of Ashes(Official)

Dawn of Ashes launch brand new album, ‘Reopening The Scars’ – Out now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 08:55:47 +0000

Out now is the all new album from the Los Angeles-based Dawn of Ashes: “Reopening The Scars”. “Reopening The Scars” is out on Metropolis Records and offers a hybrid of industrial and extreme metal.

Dawn of Ashes started out on Metropolis releasing three albums in the late 2010s, having previously recorded for Metal Blade and subsequently for Artoffact Records. For their return to Metropolis, Dawn of Ashes founder and frontman Kristof Bathory and co will celebrate the release of “Reopening The Scars” at the infamous Dark Force Festival in New Jersey.

Front Line Assembly interview – Catching up with Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:17:19 +0000

(Interview by Evan South) In a candid discussion with Side-Line Magazine’s Evan South, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Delerium and Front Line Assembly shared some insights into their recent tour with Ministry and Gary Numan. The duo also talks about the logistics of sharing resources like lighting and equipment, which contributed to the tour’s success. You’ll further hear more about Matthew Setzer joining the lineup, the revival of Cyberaktif with a new album, “EndGame”, and the potential for a Delerium tour. Lots and lots of info.

SL: It’s the final date of the Ministry/Gary Numan/FLA tour, how has your experience been?

BL: It’s the tour of a lifetime!

RF: It really is, it doesn’t get much better. These kinds of bands and this kind of tour…

BL: It’s almost impossible to get three bands to do a tour like this, because most bands at this level, financially it doesn’t work. But on this tour everyone was willing to make it work, hence all the shows have pretty much sold out.

RF: And there’s a lot of camaraderie. Everyone gets along. It’s what we established on the previous tour just carried over, everyone knows each other. Compared to most tours I’d say it’s a really good group.

BL: It’s a family.

RF: And everyone helps. We get a lot of leeway from Ministry and their crew.

BL: They let us use their stuff, their projector, which is an amazing one! It just doesn’t happen with most bands, you know, everybody’s trying to outdo everybody. But this tour everybody wants everybody else to succeed!

RF: Everyone knows who they are and where they fit in, and it’s great!

SL: So you didn’t have to pack in as much equipment, you were able to share?

RF: They let us dip into their lighting production and things that a lot of times would not happen on package tours. They realize we set the table too, so if we have a good night, they have a good night. It’s a real cool system.

SL: Any of these three bands could headline on a given night. How do you like the supporting role compared to headlining?

BL: There’s no question, both these artists are much bigger than we are, but it’s the perfect hierarchy, right?

RF: You can’t argue with Ministry, Al’s an icon, he’s a national treasure, Ministry established themselves over the years, and we’re not going to get in front of those kind of crowds on our own! And we’re in front of crowds that seem to like what we’re doing, so it’s just great for everybody, it’s like a win/win. I personally like going on playing a quick set of all bangers, I like it! The pressures not on us!

BL: And Gary’s an institution as well! His history and his amount of hits he’s had…

RF: Everybody knows “Cars”! Everyone knows that song. Just to be part of that, it’s hard to believe sometimes. We remember when that record was new. And now we hang out with Gary Numan everyday, it’s wild…

SL: Expanding on what you said about a tight, “banger” type set…

RF: We keep our energy level up, so it hits hard the whole time.

SL: Rhys, during this tour you had your own “Tour within a tour” afterparty DJ sets…

RF: Those were just… Some of them were great, some of them were… eh! (laughs) Sometimes you’re playing on a Tuesday night in the Midwest, so… The weekend ones were all pretty good!

SL: I was hoping there would be an Afterparty tonight, like a “wrap” party, being the last date of the tour!

RF: Honestly, we’re pretty tired… and doing both of those was… yeah.

BL: Gary (Numan) has booked a room in LA for an afterparty for when we play our last show there, it’s going to be a sold out show. So there’s lots going on. For Rhys it made sense to do those afterparty DJ gigs, because we were done at 8pm. So from 8 to midnight what do you do, right? Might as well be spinning…

RF: A couple of parties were really good… Montreal, Toronto…

BL: And a lot of fans came and would talk to us, and all the other bands would come down after. Ministry would come down, Gary Numan’s crew.

RF: Yeah, Ministry’s band and Gary’s band would always be there. I think the first show in Portland even Al was there. Everybody was there, it was great!

BL: It was like an all night exclusive!

SL: You have a new guitarist on this tour, how did Matthew Setzer (Skinny Puppy, London after Midnight) come into the fold with you?

BL: We had Tim Skold for two years and we thought we had built up a really good rapport with him, and then all of a sudden he became unaffordable. Me and Cevin (Skinny Puppy), had been pretty tight and lifelong friends, and we just finished the new Cyberaktif album, so we were talking every day for a full year. Puppy just finished their tour, so it was just natural, “Let’s ask Matthew,” he’s in our family.

RF: He stepped in pretty easily, he’s a great musician.

BL: And all our fans are Puppy fans, and vice versa, so it seemed like a perfect fit. And he’s skilled, right?

RF: I don’t think people realize he’s a very good musician, multi-instrumentalist.

BL: And he’s a tour guy. He goes on his own, he’s got friends everywhere… it’s amazing.

RF: He’s a real infectious, positive personality, and it’s great to have people like that on tour. Matthew hasn’t had a bad day, he’s always upbeat, he’s always ready to go. He’s a good fit for us, he’s working out really well.

SL: Bill, you brought up Cyberaktif. It had only been 33 years!

BL: At least 31 for sure… We go at this rate the next one we’ll be dead! Like Cevin said, the album is called “EndGame”. Doesn’t sound very hopeful for the future, right?

SL: How did the new Cyberaktif come together? Was it a result of the end of Puppy?

RF: When Cyberaktif started (the new one) there was no end of Puppy.

BL: No, that’s true.

RF: We actually kicked stuff around a few years ago, so Puppy was not over at the time. It seems like it now, but when we started it…

BL: It was a lot of back and forth.

RF: Yeah, it wasn’t “Hey, Puppy’s over”, we just started doing it.

BL: And when Cevin sent tracks initially, me and Rhys looked at each other and we’re like “Well…”

RF: At first we had a hard time figuring it out, and then we just kinda isolated certain parts, and then all of a sudden it all came together really quickly!

BL: Rhys made it for me the way we understand each other, and how I know where I can sing, and what I can do, because at first they were these long jams…

RF: Cevin sent all these really interesting grooves and jams and ideas, so it was a question of taking those and giving them some structure so Bill can go “I got this part here and this part here” because I know that’s how Bill works and that’s what he’s comfortable doing, that’s sort of the sound of Front Line. So what we did was put a structure together and then Bill put the vocals on top of that structure.

BL: It was a real three-way collaboration.

RF: Cevin sent these, there were varying degrees of composition, but they’re all unique sounds and drums, then I put them to arrangement. It was Cevin→me→Bill. It was like a filter.

SL: At what point did you decide it was going to be under the Cyberaktif name?

RF: Pretty much right away.

BL: Yeah, it was definitely going to be Cyberaktif. Cevin just loves the project. He even talked about maybe doing it live, if we figure out how, when and what. He said it’s his favorite thing right now.

RF: Cevin’s very big on it right now. Not that we aren’t, but he’s already big on it.

SL: You think Cyberaktif might become a live project?

BL: Maybe one time. Cevin wants to make it interesting. He said “I don’t just want two guys and a keyboard and a mic,” whatever that means. But right now we’re letting the album get out there and we’ll see…

RF: The (live) idea has been discussed. That’s what we can say.

SL: It feels like the Cyberaktif album came together very quickly…

RF: Honestly, the Cyberaktif record we made quicker than any other record in recent memory. It came together really fast. Once we got an idea of what we were doing, we just banged it together. I don’t know why… I think everyone honestly was inspired by just working together. It wasn’t hurried, it just rolled and fell into place. That doesn’t happen very often, but it happened on this one.

SL: Bill, was it surreal for you thinking this was going to be a Cyberaktif record after 3 decades?

BL: I think me and Cevin both felt like we just completed a big circle. We started Puppy 35-40 years ago, and everything that’s happened in-between, it felt like some kind of closure. It just felt right and good and something that we left unfinished now feels finished. If we don’t do another one, if it (Cyberaktif) doesn’t do anything else, it feels like it was the right thing to do at the time. With Puppy calling it quits, for now… I’ve heard so many bands do this now. Front 242 has been doing it for a couple years now. I told Al, and he goes “Richard, he says that every year it’s the last tour.” (laughs) Motley Crue has done 4 of them (final tour) now, and now they have a new singer!

RF: Never say never I say…

BL: It was just the right time at the right place, Cevin had some things, Me and Rhys had time, we were all on the same page. Maybe that will never happen again, but the energy was right, Greg Reely was available… It was like “Silence” (Delerium single), everything had to fall into place. It will probably never be like that again. So it’s a magic record for us, and people love it, and that’s all that matters, right?

SL: Since the Front Line tours have been going so well, what are the chances of another Delerium tour?

RF: A tour is tough, a tour is way more complicated, especially for acts like that.

BL: That first Delerium tour we did was two tour buses, three singers…

RF: It was the right time, too, I don’t know if that’s possible now.

BL: It was kind of a money losing scenario, but the production was great! I just don’t think labels are willing to do that anymore.

RF: No, it’s a different time now.

SL: It’s been 30 years since your monumental releases “Millenium” and Delerium’s “Semantic Spaces.” You took risks in adding guitar to the FLA and vocals to the Delerium. How important were those releases?

BL: When we released “Millenium,” we did an online thing and people were calling in and it was pretty divided. People were going “What, they picked up guitars!” Remember?

RF: Yeah.

BL: But we knew we did the right thing. We felt like we had to change and do some different things, and no regrets, right?

RF: It expanded the fan base. Regardless of what those people had been like… When we did the Hard Wired tour we had double the audience! We got metal coverage, we were on a metal label that knew how to handle that kind of music… Metal and industrial is pretty interlinked now. A lot of metal heads love industrial music, and that maybe wasn’t the case then. It definitely is now. Between Fear Factory and that record…

BL: And now “Millenium” is getting re-released by ArtofFact records! Picture disc, the whole thing, as of yesterday they announced it!

RF: It was the right move, because we had to progress. And like I said, when we did the Hard Wired European tour, especially in the UK, we had significantly more people. Also, I think it’s the biggest selling Front Line record. Again, people that don’t like the record they might not realize that was probably our biggest record! I know a lot of people that maybe wouldn’t have been listening to us that listened to that record, so it’s all good. And it all makes more sense now in the whole repertoire.

SL: What did you think of the changes of Delerium, taking it from old world instrumentals to adding the pop element and blowing things wide open?

RF: You can’t even compare the differences…

BL: We didn’t really plan it, either! The first Delerium was just a home project with a few synths and a tape recorder and Dossier records and I was just happy twiddling away and doing stuff, there was no concept of it ever being… with Puppy and the whole Nettwerk contact and we knew people and they were next door. We couldn’t plan it, and then Kristy (singer) showing up…

RF: Again it was just right time, right place. And then it took Delerium into the mainstream, in Canada at least. It completely changed everything. In Canada it really opened a lot of doors for us. It put us on the video channel, places that we had never been before.

BL: That’s the great thing about music and art. You just don’t know who you’re going to affect, who you’re going to reach. We enjoyed the process of making all that music, and then it just came back like that. We had no expectations. We weren’t trying to make singles or trying to be on a major label, we just had carte blanche on everything, right?

RF: Yeah, and it all came together! Anytime you force something, anytime you go out of your way to make a commercial record or commercial song it usually doesn’t work. It has to be a serendipitous event. That’s another example of that.

SL: So to wrap up, what’s next?

BL: The picture disc re-release of “Millenium” is pretty exciting. Rhys has a solo album coming out, right?

RF: Yeah, more of the techno type stuff. We got some more shows. We got Mexico with Front 242, we have some European festival dates…

BL: We’re playing the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas in 2 weeks… I’m excited about the 2 shows with Front 242 in Mexico!

RF: Yeah, more live shows and then I think we’re not really going to know until we get home and figure out what’s next. But we still have live shows booked even into November in Europe, I think.

SL: Anything as far as upcoming music?

RF: Not yet, we need to get off the road.

BL: I think we want to do a Delerium album.

RF: Yeah, we talked about that.

BL: And again, you always think you have to re-invent the wheel, because just the way the world is, I think we’ll try to find some sort of group, because everything’s been done now. I think when we started Delerium, and with Karma, we were one of the first to do that kind of music. But now, if you go on internet radio, there’s channels with that music, right Rhys?

RF: Oh yeah, chill out music forever…

BL: So hopefully you can find your niche, but our sound, whatever that is, people respect that so we’re good with that.

Side-Line also covered Front Line Assembly’s ‘Molotov’.

Spectres offers brand new single: ‘Am Gold’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 11:54:41 +0000

The Vancouver-based post-punk act Spectres is back with another new single from their upcoming album: “AM Gold”. The single acts as a teaser for the band’s new album “Presence“, which is set for worldwide release on March 15th, 2024. It’s the band’s first release since 2021’s “Hindsight”.

Emerging originally from the DIY Punk underground in 2005, overtime the band’s vocalist and founder Brian Gustavson wanted to blend anarcho-punk with 1980’s post punk and death rock. and though the band’s output has matured with time to embrace a wider range of new-wave and shoegaze influences their ethos remains rooted in anarcho punk.

After working with several different DIY labels over their first 12 years, as a band Spectres signed with Artoffact records in the summer of 2018. Spectres is Brian Gustavson (vocals), Zach Batalden (guitar), Mitch Allen (drums), Adam Mitchell (guitar) and Jason Renix (bass).

Presence by SPECTRES

Audioglobe statistics on the darkwave music sales in 2023 out now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 11:54:57 +0000

Celebrating its 30th year, Audioglobe, the most important distributor in the darkwave scene, just shared a statistical review, revealing the shifts and trends in the darkwave (and related) music genre.

Our readers will surely remember that we have reported on these stats for years, until 2018, the first year that Audioglobe didn’t communicate these stats. Sebastian Koch from Audioglobe explains: “Some customers never really cared that much about these, as they have better things to do than reading boring mails from the undersigned. But… Surprisingly there are quite a high number of customers, that sort of ‘complained’ about the fact, that no stats were being done any longer… The reason is: I was simply always far too busy in past years. Anyway: Here we go with the first new stats since 2017!”

So here are some export facts.

Top 10 Bestselling Labels of 2023 (export)

FABRIKA/DEAD SCARLET
- She Past Away, Lebanon Hanover, Selofan, Kaelan Mikla, M!R!M, Doric…
METROPOLIS
- Birthday Massacre, Delerium, Front Line Assembly, A Projection, KMFDM, Legendary P.D…
ICY COLD/MANIC DEPR.
- Twin Tribes, Je T’aime, Traitrs, Kill Shelter, Closed Mouth, Talk to Her, Schonwald…
ALFA MATRIX
- Alien Vampires, Front 242, Metroland, Die Robo Sapiens, Elm, 808 Dot Pop, Helalyn Flowers…
RUSTBLADE
- Claudio Simonetti, Ennio Morricone, Lycia Lunch, Spiritual Front, Ketvector, Legendary Pink D…
OUT OF LINE
- Blutengel, Hocico, Solitary Experiments, Suicide Commando, Signal Aout42, Erdling…
TRISOL
- Sopor Aeternus, Rome, Clan of Xymox, Asp, Ostara, Skinflicks, Nachtmahr, Mantus, Soman…
DEPENDENT
- Kirlian Camera, Girls Under Glass, Spectra*Paris, Mildreda, Black Nail Cabaret, Beborn Beton…
ARTOFFACT
- Actors, Noise Unit, cEvin Key, Kaelan Mikla, Ploho, Sacred Skin, Kauan, Ken Mode, Spectres…
AUERBACH
- Spiritual Front, Sol Invictus, Tenhi, Moon and the Night Spirit, Haavard, Hekate, Orplid…

Best Export Territories of 2023

If we look at the Audioglobe stats, we notice that Germany and Greece remain the company’s strongest markets, continuing a trend that has been consistent for ages. However, the 2023 statistics reveal some notable shifts.

Canada, once a prominent market for Audioglobe, has surprisingly disappeared from the export landscape. In contrast, the United States and the United Kingdom have re-emerged as significant territories, marking their return to prominence in the darkwave music scene after several years.

The most unexpected development in 2023 is the rise of Australia as a key market. This growth stands in stark contrast to Switzerland, which, despite its affluence, has seen a sharp decline in sales. Sebastian Koch adds: “The (by far!) lowest sales of all countries where we export to, was to Switzerland… The rich Swiss don’t buy records! Since I left the country (1990), something is wrong back home!”

Here is the top 10 list of export territories:

Germany
Greece
Netherlands
Portugal
USA
United Kingdom
Australia
Spain
Russia
Poland

Not in the top 10, but France, Japan, Malta, Brazil, Sweden, Mexico, and Perù are also good export territories for Audioglobe.

ArtOfFact label issues public apology amidst Mr. Kitty scandal

Eldrina Mich — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 08:50:50 +0000

ArtOfFact Records has found itself embroiled in an ongoing controversy following their decision to release a remix by the self-confessed pedophile musician Mr. Kitty (“Vital Signs – Mr. Kitty Remix”) for one of their recording artists, KANGA on November 10, 2023. The remix is part of a collection of KANGA’s Soundcloud-era remixes released by ArtOfFact Records.

This particular move by ArtOfFact Records was heavily criticized, as Mr. Kitty had previously been involved in a scandal where he admitted to having had an inappropriate online relationship with an underage fan in 2019. The situation raised questions about the label’s decision-making and ethical considerations, with Brutal Resonance for instance accusing the label of prioritizing profit over moral responsibility. At Side-Line we are very much concerned of the lack of initial insight that the rights of a child were grossly violated, which made this release a no-go from the start.

ArtOfFact Records initially did not comment on the situation but then as issued a formal apology on November 19th, 2023, following backlash from fans and artists within the scene. The label stated that they did not condone Mr. Kitty’s actions and announced a donation to a victims of abuse charity. However, their statement was criticized for not mentioning KANGA.

KANGA’s reaction was faster and included removing the remix and issuing video apologies as well as written notes on her social media accounts. Since ArtOfFact Records initially did not issue an apology, they left KANGA to manage the situation on her own bearing the brunt of the fallout. KANGA also said in an Instagram story that ArtOfFact pushed her into it although she constantly tried to reject the idea.

pic.twitter.com/AKhGOLwj2Y

– KANGA (@KANGAkult) November 16, 2023

Two days after the initial apology, ArtOfFact Records issued another statement directed at KANGA posting it as a reply under the initial statement. Despite these apologies, there continues to be considerable criticism towards the label for releasing the remix despite being aware of Mr. Kitty’s past.

Where did it all start with the Mr. Kitty scandal?

The controversy surrounding Mr. Kitty started with an article in the Austin Chronicle in Summer of 2021. The article accused Mr. Kitty, whose real name is Forrest Avery Carney, of being involved in a nearly four-month exchange of explicit Twitter messages, nude photos, and graphic videos with a 15-year-old fan from Russia and this in 2019. As a result Mr. Kitty posted an admission to having an inappropriate online relationship with the underage fan and that he was seeking help.

The victim stated that he felt “grossed out” by the experience and believed that Mr. Kitty’s public apology was an attempt to salvage his career. The conversations also leaked out online.

This singer is a pedophile and exchanged nudes with a 15-year-old boy. He manipulated and said that he was depressed and wanted to kill himself, people forgave him and continue to listen to his music. People should know the truth. His name is Mr.Kitty.

Please spread the word ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ycOubKJ8gN

– vasya (@VasyaNartov) June 27, 2021

Following the revelation, some of the Mr. Kitty tour dates were canceled or postponed, and the Chicago-based darkwave record label Negative Gain announced that it would immediately discontinue all sales of Mr. Kitty’s albums and transfer streaming sales rights to his estranged husband. The label also stated that it does not support Mr. Kitty’s actions and made donations to RAINN and HRC in support of those harmed.

Mr. Kitty continues to release new material and so far has not responded to this new development.

The power game between musicians and fans

The situation – again – underscores the importance of considering the moral implications of business decisions, especially when they involve individuals with controversial pasts. The controversy also reflects broader issues within the music industry, such as power dynamics and the responsibility of labels in upholding ethical standards. Overall, Artoffact Records’ involvement in this controversy serves as a case study in the balancing act between commercial interests and ethical considerations in the entertainment industry.

The dynamic between a person in power, such as a musician, and underage fans is complex and often problematic due to the inherent imbalance of power. The relationship between musicians and underage fans is laden with potential risks due to the power imbalance. It is crucial for the industry, society, and the musicians themselves to recognize and address these risks to protect young individuals from exploitation and abuse.

Here are some key aspects of this dynamic:

Power Imbalance: Musicians and celebrities generally hold a position of power and influence, which can create an imbalance in their relationships with fans, especially underage ones. This power can stem from their fame, wealth, or the idolization they receive from fans.
Idolization and Vulnerability: Young fans often idolize musicians, viewing them as role models or figures of admiration. This idolization can make underage fans vulnerable to manipulation and abuse, as they might be willing to overlook or excuse inappropriate behavior.
Manipulation and Abuse: In some cases, musicians might exploit their power and the adoration of young fans for personal gain. This can include grooming, where the musician slowly manipulates and coerces a fan into a sexual or otherwise inappropriate relationship.
Consent and Maturity: Underage fans, due to their age, are not legally capable of giving consent in many jurisdictions, especially in the context of a relationship with an adult. Furthermore, the cognitive and emotional immaturity of minors makes them incapable of fully understanding or consenting to certain actions or relationships.
Responsibility of the Influencer: Musicians, as public figures, have a responsibility to conduct themselves ethically, especially in interactions with young and impressionable fans. Exploiting their status or the admiration of fans for personal or sexual gain is not only unethical but often illegal.
Fan Communities and Peer Influence: The dynamics within fan communities can also play a role. Sometimes, peer pressure or a desire to fit in with a group can lead younger fans to engage in behavior or overlook warning signs that they might otherwise question.
Societal and Industry Responsibilities: The music industry and society as a whole have a duty to protect young fans from potential abuse. This includes enforcing laws and regulations, promoting ethical behavior, and providing education about the risks of power imbalances in fan-celebrity relationships.

This is not the first and will not be the last time that certain musicians abuse their power in order to get sexual favors from (underage) fans.

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.

Dawn Of Ashes announces return to Metropolis Records for new album

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:45:56 +0000

Dawn of Ashes, an American industrial / extreme metal band formed in 2001, has announced their return to Metropolis Records. They made three albums for Metropolis Records in the late 2010s, having previously recorded for Metal Blade and subsequently for Artoffact Records. They have just released a single entitled “Her Lethal Injection” for the latter, but have today announced a return to Metropolis for their next studio album due out in early 2024.

Dawn of Ashes is an American industrial metal band founded in 2000 from Los Angeles, California, United States. Singer and music composer Kristof Bathory started Dawn Of Ashes as a purely dark electronic act, influenced by various forms of extreme metal, but in 2009 he embraced and made a huge leap into the extreme metal world, eventually fusing both styles.

More news will be announced soon.

KANGA releases all new album ‘Under Glass’ and video for ‘Magnolia’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:34:23 +0000

(Artwork by Steven Anthony Roe) The new KANGA album, “Under Glass”, has officially been released under the Artoffact Records label. This project was a collaborative effort, produced by Dave Adrounie, Josh Franks, and KANGA herself. The recording and engineering were handled by Josh Franks and Dave Adrounie, while Nick Townsend took charge of the mastering.

You can experience the album’s essence through its featured track, “Magnolia,” available in this video.

Hailing from Los Angeles, KANGA is an artist—producer, musician, and live performer. She recently gained prominence as the opening act for Gary Numan’s 40th-anniversary tour. Currently, she is on the road with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult across the United States. Beyond her own music, KANGA has been remixing tracks for artists like Clipping, 3 Teeth, PIG, Aesthetic Perfection, and many others. Her latest album, “Under Glass”, signifies a stylistic metamorphosis, transcending traditional genre boundaries.

Kanga’s debuted in 2015 with the self-released single “Vital Signs”. In 2016, she was signed to Negative Gain Productions, under which she released her self-titled album, “Kanga”. After that she also contributed vocals to Delerium’s single “In the deep”.

Reflecting on her new album, KANGA shares: “I’m immensely proud of ‘Under Glass.’ While I’ve spent years carving out my niche as a producer, this album allows me to expand my artistic scope, offering a more vulnerable and earnest form of storytelling. I hope it resonates beyond genre limitations and connects with a diverse audience seeking intricate narratives and evolving musical styles. Crafted from the heart, this album was born from pure creative freedom, devoid of any agenda or stylistic constraints. Listening to it gives me a newfound sense of liberation, and I hope it instills the same feeling in others.”

Under Glass by KANGA

Los Angeles, California-based act Kanga releases new single: ‘Bad Girl’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 14:07:04 +0000

Kanga, a musician and producer hailing from Los Angeles, California, has just unveiled her latest single titled “Bad Girl”. This new track serves as the follow-up to her previous single, “Rehab.” In addition to these singles, “Under Glass,” the title track from her forthcoming album, has already been released, giving fans a glimpse of what to expect from the full project. Musically, listeners can anticipate a blend of electronic underground pop, showcasing Kanga’s style.

Regarding “Bad Girl”, Kanga describes the track as “my groovy 90s throwback track that I wrote in the shower.”

After spending a year touring extensively across Europe and the United States, she has dedicated herself to studio work, focusing on her new album. For this project, she has collaborated with the producers Josh Franks and Dave Adrounie. Her album “Under Glass” is set to be released on October 6th through Artoffact Records.

Kanga’s introduction to the music world came in 2015 when she debuted with the self-released single “Vital Signs”. In 2016, she was signed to Negative Gain Productions, under which she released her self-titled album, “Kanga”.

Below is the new single.

Under Glass by KANGA

Skinny Puppy’s Cevin Key announces a new album, ‘bRap and fOrth Vol. 9’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 06:43:47 +0000

Cevin Key is set to release his new album, “bRap and fOrth Vol. 9”, on October 6th via Artoffact Records. The first single, “House Tried To Kill Me”, is already available for your listening pleasure. Check it out below.

The album “bRap and fOrth Vol. 9” is the latest installment in the Back and Forth series released through Artoffact Records. This upcoming album is the successor to 2018’s “bRap and fOrth Vol. 8”, which featured restored and remastered tracks from Key’s personal archive. Vol. 9 promises to continue this exploration of Key’s archives. Key describes the album as “a collection of some of my earliest recordings recently discovered on 4 track tapes. Most are from 1985 from the infamous ‘bites’ apartment, with a few more from later, but still made on a 4 track. This vibrant time and the unique collection of gear inspired a lot of writing. Enjoy this time capsule <3.”

In the formative days of Skinny Puppy, when the band was still a concept in development, Key devoted much of his time to recording demos and experimenting with electronic equipment in his apartment. Some of these early recordings became the foundation for initial Skinny Puppy releases like “Back and Forth”, “Bites”, and “Remission”.

Here’s the new single for you to enjoy.

Delerium releases video for song ‘In The Deep (feat. Kanga)’ – new album ‘Signs’ out today

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 12:20:57 +0000

Out today is the all new Delerium video by the Canadian duo of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber. Titled “In The Deep (feat. Kanga)” the track is taken from the band’s new album “Signs” which is out today as well. “Signs” features contributions from Mimi Page, Phildel, Inna Walters and Kanga.

Here’s the video for the new single, directed By Vicente Cordero / Industrialism Films.

Top 25 albums of the year 2022

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 18:08:55 +0000

(By Stéphane Froidcoeur for Inferno Sound Diaries/Side-Line Reviews) 2022 has been once again a sad, bloody and terrible year. Living in a mad world music once more remains a true therapy to appease pain and frustration. Concerts and festivals came back; the perfect place to meet friends again. Artists remain prolific releasing great studio work. So I’m once more closing the year by a personal selection of my very own ‘best of’-albums of the year.

Over 700 productions have been selected while 540 reviews have been made all over the year. Some productions have been refused because the style of music didn’t fit, while other reviews will be postponed to 2023. I’m really grateful to all labels, bands and promoters considering my work and efforts and I hope you’ll go on providing me new promos next year.

I one again have to express my deepest gratitude to Rich Bova (NEIKKA RPM) who for years and years now is reading, correcting and improving my reviews. Without Rich there would be no reviews. I also want to thank Bernard Van Isacker – chief redactor Side-Line Music Magazine – for the successful collaboration.

Up now to 2023. I already reduced my activities this year and will move on reducing it in 2023. I made my first reviews and interviews back in 1991 (!). Some of the readers and artists weren’t even born when I wrote my first review for Side-Line. So after more than 30 years non-stop activities I think it’s not that strange to move on slowly.

I also want to express a big ‘F*** you’ to so-called ‘artists’ and label owners who don’t realise and appreciate the work I’m doing by making reviews and preparing interviews to get them in the spotlights. The attitude and less of respect shown by those people – luckily a very few number – is just unacceptable… but I’m afraid it reflects the world we’re living in… Behind a genius artist is not always hiding a great person… It’s quite strange to realise the ’biggest’- and long-time established artists from this scene often are the most accessible ones.

Writing reviews remains very ‘subjective’ and always a source of discussion, but keep in mind it will be always the perception of the reviewer. I can assure you I’m always trying to argue my reviews the best as possible. A review will be never objective, but has to be honest!

Like every year I’ve 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, Cold/Dark-Wave, Dark-Techno and a few related genres. It remains an exciting but tough exercise.

This ‘TOP 25’ is taken from the promotional material I got while compilations, ‘best of’-productions, EP’s and singles were not considered.

So, here’s my ‘TOP 25’ from 2022 and don’t forget to share it with your friends….

Top 25 albums 2022

IVARDENSPHERE: “Ragemaker” – Metropolis Records
DIE ROBO SAPIENS : “Robo Sapien Race” – Alfa Matrix
EBE04 : “Inrush – Give/Take
CALDON GLOVER: “Labyrintia” – Cyclic Law
ROME: “Hegemonikon” – Trisol
NEIKKA RPM: “Scorpio In The Hourglass – Alfa Matrix
VANGUARD: “Spectrum” – Infacted Recordings
SUICIDE COMMANDO: “Goddestructor” – Out Of Line
ELM: “Penetrator” – Alfa Matrix
OBERER TOTPUNKT: “Totentanz” – Danse Macabre Records
THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE: “Fascination” – Metropolis Records
BLACKBOOK: “Confessions Of The Innocent” – DarkTunes Music Group
BEYOND THE GHOST: “Sundown” – Cryo Chamber
THEN COMES SILENCE: “Hunger” – Metropolis Records
PRINCIPE VALLIENTE: “Barricades” – Metropolis Records
DAWN OF ASHES: “Scars Of The Broken” – Artoffact Records
MONSTERGOD: “Ozymandias” – Space Race Records
STATIQBLOOM: “Threat” – Sonic Groove Records
AXIOME: “Field Guide To Alien Planets And Other Disco Balls – Audiophob
REICHSFEIND: “Darken” – Alfa Matrix
FIRST AID 4 SOULS: “I Am The Night” – Alfa Matrix
ORDO ROSARIUS EQUILIBRIO: “Nihilist Notes And The Perputual Quest 4 Meaning In Nothing” – Out Of Line
KILL SHELTER: “Asylum” – Manic Depression Records / Metropolis Records
JAGATH: “Svapna” – Cold Spring Records
KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND: “Voodoo” – Shyrec

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.

Italian experimental duo OvO set to release new album ‘Ignoto’ later this month – new single out

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 04:43:00 +0000

Italian experimental duo OvO are set to release their new album, “Ignoto”, on September 23rd via Artoffact Records. Today, the band has released the final single before the album’s release. The track is called “Distillati Di Tenebre, Pt. 3.”.

OvO also recently announced a run of European tour dates in support of their upcoming album “Ignoto”. The tour kicks off on September 30th in Brussels and wraps on December 12th in Bologna, Italy. Full dates are below. OvO consists of front woman Stefania Pedretti and Bruno Dorella. In their 22 years as a band, OvO released 9 albums already.

For now check the new single “Distillati Di Tenebre, Pt. 3.”.

Tour dates

30/09/2022 BE Brussels Magasin4
27/10/2022 SLO Ljubljana Gromka
28/10/2022 CRO Zagreb Mochvara
29/10/2022 AT Linz Stadtwerkstatt
30/10/2022 CZ Prague Underdogs
31/10/2022 PL Wroclaw Liverpool
1/11/2022 PL Warsaw Hydrozagadka
2/11/2022 PL Gdansk Drizzly Grizzly
3/11/2022 DE Berlin Arkaoda
4/11/2022 DE Leipzig zxrx
5/11/2022 DE Karlsruhe P8
6/11/2022 CH Bern TBA
12/11/2022 IT Macerata Dong
17/11/2022 IT Bari International Gender Festival
19/11/2022 IT Busto Arsizio Gagarin
25/11/2022 IT Roma Forte Prenestino
11/12/2022 IT Bologna Freakout

Industrial act Noise Unit lands brand new single ‘Dub it up’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 09:57:18 +0000

Industrial outfit Noise Unit shares a new single “Dub It Up” today. This is the second single off of the group’s upcoming full-length “Cheeba City Blues” out October 21st via Artoffact Records. In July, Noise Unit already released “Alone Again”, the first single off of their upcoming album.

The album “Cheeba City Blues” was recorded by Bill Leeb and the late Jeremy Inkel (also of FLA fame). It references William Gibson’s 1984 science fiction novel “Neuromancer” set in Chibi City, Japan and is considered one of the first in the cyberpunk genre. It was Gibson’s debut novel and the beginning of the ‘Sprawl’ trilogy. Set in the future, the novel follows Henry Case, a washed-up hacker hired for one last job, which brings him in contact with a powerful artificial intelligence.

“Cheeba City Blues” is the follow-up to Noise Unit’s 2021 record “Deviator”, also released via Artoffact Records. “Deviator” was the first full-length from Noise Unit in over 15 years and included work by Leeb and Rhys Fulber.

Here are the two singles.

Electronic post-punk duo Wingtips announce Summer 2022 tour dates

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 03 May 2022 11:11:09 +0000

The electronic post-punk duo Wingtips have just announced their Summer 2022 tour dates.

Front man Vincent Segretario says, “We’re stoked to be hitting the road once again for our first headline tour of the states since the release of “Cutting Room Floor”. Many thanks to those who have made it to our shows this past year, or supported us otherwise. Looking forward to what the rest of 2022 brings!”

The duo released “Cutting Room Floor” worldwide on Artoffact Records last year in September.

Tour Dates

06.30 Toronto – Lee’s Palace
07.01 Detroit – Small’s
07.02 Chicago – Lincoln Hall
07.30 Denver – Lion’s Lair
07.31 Calgary – Terminus Festival
08.03 Seattle – Cherry
08.04 Tacoma – Real Art
08.05 Portland – Coffin Club
08.06 Baker City – Churchill
08.08 Sacramento – Starlet Room
08.10 San Diego – Casbah
08.11 Costa Mesa – Wayfarer
08.12 Los Angeles – Catch One
08.13 Las Vegas – Tba
08.14 Yuma – Red Moon Ale House
08.15 Mesa – Nile Underground
08.16 El Paso – The Reagan
08.18 Laredo – Cold Brew Rock Bar
08.19 San Antonio – Paper Tiger
08.20 Houston – White Oak Music Hall
08.21 New Orleans – Banks Street Bar

About Wingtips

Wingtips was formed in Chicago in 2014 by Vincent Segretario after informally using the moniker for a number of previous experimental solo performances. In 2016, the band released an EP entitled “Greyarea” and former live member Hannah Avalon became creative collaborator. The band continued to do live shows and record demos in 2017.

In August 2018, the band’s new single, “Relativity”, their first public work in close to two years, was released. In 2019 they announced a record deal with Toronto-based Artoffact Records, which has released two of the band’s records to date, 2021’s “Cutting Room Floor” and 2019’s “Exposure Therapy”.

Icelandic industrial duo Reptilicus announces reissue of ‘Crusher of Bones’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 11:39:12 +0000

Artoffact Records and Reptilicus announce a new edition of the band’s “Crusher of Bones” album featuring the single “Snakes”. The reissue is fully remastered and includes new and updated art, personally overseen by the band. This deluxe edition also includes a booklet with liner notes and historical information.

“Crusher of Bones” was originally released on vinyl in the autumn of 1990 and was recorded and mixed by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. Birgir Baldursson, percussionist of S.H. Draumur and Bless, did drums and percussion on several tracks, and Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson (Godkrist), formerly of Þeyr and Kukl, played guitar on three tracks. The album was released through the band’s own label Product 8 in collaboration with British distributors People who can’t (later renamed to World Serpent Distribution). The album was reissued on CD with over 20 minutes of extra material, again via Product 8 and World Serpent, in 1996.

About Reptilicus

Reptilicus emerged from a nocturnal chance encounter in late December 1988 when GIM met Johann Eiriksson skulking in one of Reykjavík’s shadier spots. Johann was involved in an experimental group, Huus, with Paul Lydon and Laura Valentino, and GIM was working in the electro-industrial outfit Svölurnar (or The Swallows) with his late friend Þór Jóhannsson.

The name, which they assumed a few days after their first recording session, is the title of the Danish-American film “Reptilicus”. Reptilicus was launched to the public on 12th of January 1989, when they appeared live for the first time, along with Johann’s collaborators in Huus, Paul and Laura. Earlier that same evening saw the last performance of Svölurnar.

Recently the band has released the album “Unison” on Artoffact Records, and also reissued their collaboration with The Hafler Trio, “Designer Time”.

Here’s the album’s first single “Snakes”.

Ottawa industrial act Encephalon announce new album ‘Echoes’ – first single ‘Someone Else’s Dream’ streaming now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 15:44:00 +0000

Ottawa industrial act Encephalon has announced its 4th album “Echoes”. It will be the band’s first album since 2017’s “We Only Love You When You’re Dead”. The new album “Echoes” will be released as a limited deluxe double-CD, featuring a bonus album, “Surfacer”, that includes early demos and outtakes on June 3rd.

Leading off with their first single in five years, Encephalon have now released “Someone Else’s Dream”.

Encephalon was formed in 2005 in Ottawa, Canada by Alis Alias, Matt Gifford, and Sam Mainer. The duo self-released a number of demos before getting the attention of labels. Artoffact Records released the band’s debut, “The Transhuman Condition”. Over the span of a decade, the Ottawa-based trio has released three albums.

Here’s the new single.

Dawn Of Ashes – Scars Of The Broken (Album – Artoffact)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Two years after the great “The Antinomian”-album Dawn Of Ashes strikes back with a new opus. “Scars Of The Broken” has been introduced by Kristof Bathory as his most personal work dealing with mental issues.

Content: Sound-wise Dawn Of Ashes moves on the path from previous releases. There’s a constant sonic merge between Metal-, Industrial- and Dark-Electronic music. The songs have been empowered by epic arrangements and the familiar, tenebrous shouts of Bathory. Together with the dark strings hanging over the work it creates a true apocalyptic vision.

+ + + : Dawn Of Ashes already took me by surprise and especially the first half of the album is driven by apocalyptic power. This is an ultra-professional production featuring a perfect balance between guitar and electronics. The production of the vocals injects an extra haunting effect to the work. The sphere supporting the album has something tormenting which totally fits with the inspiring theme of the work. It’s also accentuated by the titles and themes of songs like “Emdr”, “Limbo (Numb)” and of course the title track itself. “It Comes In Waves” and “Bane Of Your Existence” both are masterpieces for the elevating guitar sensation and impressive, orchestral arrangements. But there are more outstanding cuts featured.

– – – : As I already mentioned the first half of the album is amazing while the second half sounds cool as well but without similar highlights.

Conclusion: This album is already a great and accomplished production by Dawn Of Ashes which I consider as one of the real references in its music genre.

Best songs: “It Comes In Waves”, “Bane Of Your Existence”, “Emdr”, “The Despondent Hole”, “Love Is Asphyxiation”, “The Antidote”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: http://dawnofashesband.com / www.facebook.com/dawnofashes

Label: www.artoffact.com / www.facebook.com/artoffact Read the news on ‘Scars Of The Broken’.

Artoffact Records released “Scars Of The Broken” on 18 March 2022, digitally and on CD. The twelve tracks are “(Descending) Torn Inside”, “Love is Asphyxiation”, “The Despondent Hole”, “EMDR”, “Bane of Your Existence”, “(Limbo) Numb”, “It Comes in Waves”, “Heart Beats Cold”, “Turn It Shallow”, “Scars of the Broken”, “The Antidote” and “(Ascending) Catharsis”.

Listen to “Scars Of The Broken”:

Scars of the Broken by Dawn of Ashes

About Dawn Of Ashes

Dawn Of Ashes is the American project led by vocalist Kristof Bathory. It started in 2005 with “Sacred Fever”, followed by “In The Acts Of Violence” in 2006, “The Crypt Injection” in 2007 and “Genocide Chapters” in 2010. The band moved towards black and industrial metal on the “Farewell To The Flesh” EP for Metal Blade Records in 2012, “Anathema” in 2013, “Theophany” in 2016 and “Daemonolatry Gnosis” in 2017.

“The Crypt Injection II (Non Serviam)” and “Origin Of The Ashes” both appeared in 2019, followed by “The Antinomian” in 2020 and the “Blood Of The Titans” EP on Artoffact Records in 2021. “Scars Of The Broken” followed in March 2022.

Bathory continued the sequence with “Reopening The Scars” in April 2024, after announcing a return to Metropolis Records in November 2023. “Infecting The Scars” arrived in 2025 and the remix set “Reinfecting The Scars” later the same year. The project recorded the single “Penumbra” with Suicide Commando ahead of the 2026 album “Anatomy Of Suffering”.

Russian post-punk act Ploho release ‘Plattenbauten’ single

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 10:37:51 +0000

The Russian post-punk trio Ploho have release their first-ever German-language track, “Plattenbauten”, a translation and re-recording of the band’s 2015 debut song, “Новостройки” (New Buildings in English).

The standalone single is accompanied by a video featuring frontman Viktor Ujakov walking in dark back-alley while singing along to the song’s lyrics.

The lyrics were translated by the German poet Boris Shneider, and the song itself refers to a new style of communist-era high-rise apartment blocks calling to mind the Soviet era aesthetic. Frontman Viktor Ujakov adds: “This song was playing in German in my head when I found myself in eastern Berlin. I lived in exactly the same area thousands of kilometres away in Novosibirsk (West Siberia). The atmosphere was amazing.”

Formed in 2013, the trio has recorded several albums and EPs, as well as more than 10 singles. They are currently signed to Toronto-based Artoffact Records.

Check out the video for “Plattenbauten” below.

Watch video newest single from LA based industrial metal act Dawn Of Ashes: ‘The Despondent Hole’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 17:08:50 +0000

The Los Angeles based industrial metal band Dawn Of Ashes has released “The Despondent Hole”, the newest single from their upcoming LP, “Scars Of The Broken”. “Scars Of The Broken” is the follow-up to their 2020 album “The Antinomian”. “Scars of the Broken”, is set for a March 18th release date on Artoffact Records.

Here’s the band’s newest single.

Ritualz is back with an all new single: ‘Disintegration’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 19:31:22 +0000

Ritualz is back with an all new single, “Disintegration”. This is the first single off Ritualz ‘s upcoming new album “Radical Macabro”. This single includes remixes from Pictureplane, Sidewalks and Skeletons, plus two remixes made by Ritualz, a cover of “Ugly” by The Smashing Pumpkins and a short instrumental track from the “Radical Macabro” sessions.

This is the fourth week in a row Ritualz has released new music this year, something the project will continue to do until the release of the album this Summer.

You can find the full single on Bandcamp.

DISINTEGRATION by RITUALZ

You can watch the video for “Disintegration” right below.

About Ritualz

Ritualz is the dark electronic project of JC Lobo from Mexico City. Once part of the first wave of witch house acts the one man band has since branched out to explore other styles like darkwave, industrial, noise and dark ambient, crafting a style of his own.

Releases include the witch house classics “CDR” and “Ghetto Ass Witch”, recently reissued on vinyl by Re:Mission Entertainment for their 10th anniversary, the debut album “Doom” and its follow up EP “Satanico Supremo” on Artoffact Records, and “Häxan”, a live score performance to the 1920s silent film.

Industrial metal act Dawn Of Ashes announces new album ‘Scars of the Broken’ – New single ‘EMDR’ out now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 13:31:35 +0000

The LA-based industrial metal act Dawn of Ashes have announced the follow-up to their 2020 album “The Antinomian”. The new album, “Scars of the Broken”, is set for a March 18th release date on Artoffact Records.

A first single is out now, “EMDR”. You can check it out below. Read the review of ‘Scars Of The Broken’.

Mexico’s witch house act Ritualz gets ‘Ghetto Ass Witch’ reissued on vinyl for 10th anniversary

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 05:31:27 +0000

Ritualz is a dark electronic music project started in 2010 by JC Lobo and is based in Mexico City. Known as part of the witch house scene in its early days, the project has since moved on to explore a broader spectrum of styles while also remaining strictly faithful to a dark sound.

Ritualz and Re:Mission Entertainment have now announced that the witch house album “Ghetto Ass Witch” is now being reissued on vinyl for its 10th anniversary. You can order it right here. The album reissue features the original cover art and comes remastered for vinyl and pressed on 180g/33RPM black vinyl.

Also available here on Bandcamp is the 10th anniversary vinyl for “†‡†”.

Over the last 11 years Ritualz has released music on Disaro, Mishka, Robot Elephant, Maligna, and Artoffact Records, with appearances on compilations and remix albums on labels like Cleopatra and Clan Destine Records, and toured across North America and Europe, gaining the project quite a following.

If you don’t know Ritualz then this video will already give you a good idea. Warmly recommended!

Icelandic post-punk act Kælan Mikla collaborate with Alcest on new single ‘Hvítir Sandar’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:37:53 +0000

(Photo by Dean Wallflower) Kælan Mikla’s new single “Hvítir Sandar” is now streaming on all platforms. The track is a collaboration with French post-metal pioneers Alcest. “Hvítir Sandar” appears on Kælan Mikla’s forthcoming Undir Köldum Norðumljósum, the fourth album by the Icelandic band, set for an October 15th release on Artoffact Records.

Stream the official music video below.

In addition to touring with Alcest, Kælan Mikla has toured with the likes of Drab Majesty and King Dude and was hand-picked by Robert Smith of The Cure to play The Cure’s 40th anniversary show as well as a slot on the Pasadena Daydream festival. In 2018, the band’s third album, “Nótt eftir nótt”, won Album of the Year at the prestigious Kraumur Awards in Iceland and landed on year-end lists in magazines and blogs worldwide.

Vancouver post-punk act Spectres release music video for ‘Tell Me’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 10:56:04 +0000

After releasing their new single “Tell Me”, Vancouver post-punks Spectres have released a new music video for the track. The video was directed by Vancouver-based Wayne Moreheart and features the band members performing live in a dark live setting.

The upcoming album “Hindsight ” will be out on November 5th via Artoffact Records on clear-vinyl as well as on CD and in digital formats.

But for now, check the video for “Tell me”. In related info, you will also get three tracks recorded for the Los Angeles radio show Part-Time Punks on the upcoming album.

About Spectres

Founded in Vancouver in 2004 by vocalist Brian Gustavson and Steve Hanker, Spectres is commonly cited as one of the bands responsible for kicking off the renewed interest in the post-punk sound in Canada. The duo recorded two demos after which Heather Szilagyi, Nathan Szilagyi and Zach Batalden joined the lineup.

After the “Cold War” single Heather left the band and was replaced by Steve Gerenscer. After touring for the “Visions of a New World” single founding member Steve Hanker left the band and was replaced by Tyler Pilling. This line up went on to record an unreleased single titled “Decline and Fall” in 2009, the “Last Day”s LP and a split single with Arctic Flowers in 2010 and their second LP “Nothing to Nowhere” in 2012.

Gerenscer left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Mitch Allen. Gustavson, Batalden, Pilling, Szilagyi and Allen recorded the band’s Third LP “Utopia” in 2015 at Little Red Sounds in Vancouver BC with producer Felix Fung. The band’s fourth album, “Nostalgia”, followed in 2020.

They then spent the pandemic year off in the studio, finetuning their sound and recording new tracks for “Hindsight”.

Russian post-punk trio Черная речка (Russian for ‘Black River’) lands on Artoffact Records

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 12:27:15 +0000

Today Toronto-based Artoffact Records has announced the signing of the Russian post-punk trio Черная речка (Russian for ‘Black River’). Черная речка formed in Kirov in 2013 and emerged from the ashes of the garage punk band Debauch.

Since 2021, the band has fully relocated to St. Petersburg, where they are in the process of recording a new album, slated for release in 2022 on Artoffact Records. In the meantime, the band’s entire back catalogue, a collection of 7 EP-length recordings, is now available digitally.

Their discography:

Сторона А (2014)
Сторона Б (2014)
Праздник (2015)
Часть 2: Свои (2016)
Часть 1: Чужие ‎(2016)
В Этом Северном, Снежном, Холодном Краю ‎(2018)
О (Sierpien Records – 2019)

Below is the band’s most recent output.

Valhall release new single ‘Slithering’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:52:20 +0000

Out now is the newest single from the Swedish witchhouse and darkwave duo Valhall, “Slithering”, it’s the second single taken from the upcoming release, “Neversleep”. The “Slithering” single is out now on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and other DSPs.

About the new album, the band says: “It was not an easy album to make for many reasons, pandemic life and day job and others, and when we sent in the masters and artwork (last day of the deadline) I was more tired than I’ve been in many years. However it is definitely the best work I, and we, have ever done.”

“Neversleep” will be out on CD and digital formats worldwide September 3rd on Toronto-based Artoffact Records.

Listen to “Slithering” below.

Wingtips returns with new single ‘Run for Shelter’ and Hannah Avalon on vocals for the occasion

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 12:39:30 +0000

(Photo by Carlos Azuara) Out now is the newest single by Wingtips, “Run for Shelter”, taken from their upcoming Artoffact Records album “Cutting Room Floor”.

Wingtips consist of the duo Vincent Segretario and Hannah Avalon. While Segretario is usually doing the vocals, on “Run for Shelter” we find Avalon behind the mic, and the result is rather excellent.

The band debuted in 2019 with the album “Exposure Therapy” on Artoffact.

Icelandic synth-punks Kælan Mikla to launch fourth album, ‘Undir Köldum Norðumljósum’ with guest appearance by Alcest

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:15:41 +0000

Soon out via Artoffact Records will be the fourth album, “Undir Köldum Norðumljósum” by the Icelandic synth-punks Kælan Mikla. “Undir Köldum Norðumljósum” features a guest appearance by Alcest, with whom Kælan Mikla toured Europe in early 2020.

Two singles have been released from the album so far in 2021 — “Sólstöður” and “Ósýnileg”.

Kælan Mikla was founded in 2013 as part of a poetry contest hosted by the Reykjavik Library. In 2015, the song “Kalt” was released, it was followed by three LPs and touring with the likes of King Dude and Drab Majesty and as headliners. Kælan Mikla also played The Cure’s 40th anniversary show,.

The upcoming fourth album, “Undir köldum norðumljósum”, is set for an October 15th release on Artoffact.

The lineup consists of Laufey Soffía Þórsdóttir, Margrét Rósa Dóru-Harrysdóttir and Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir.

Here’s the track “Sólstöður” taken from the new album, an excellent track by the way.

Skinny Puppy founder to release 5th solo album – new track streaming feat. Edward KaSpel (The Legendary Pink Dots)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 15:42:41 +0000

(Photo: Michael Mendoza) Skinny Puppy co-founder cEvin Key is releasing his 5th solo album, “Xwayxway”, on February 19th via Artoffact Records. “Xwayxway” (anglicized as “Whoi Whoi”) is an indigenous village located in what is now Stanley Park in Key’s hometwon of Vancouver.

Key: “I was surprised to hear only recently of a 3,000 year old village which stood on the spot of Lumbermen’s Arch, its history erased. This instantly explained the many enigmatic sensations, profound feelings, and visions I’ve had in the park. I am saddened by the story of Xwayxway. I truly believe this is something we should have been taught in schools so people would recognize the park sits on Salish land which to this day has never been ceded. Perhaps that is why no one mentions it, or its secret mysteries contained within. [Skinny Puppy’s 1990 album] ‘Too Dark Park’ refers to this park, and I feel that title to now be an only more appropriate reference, given its dark history. I have an immense love for the forest in the park. It can speak. I could feel this inspiration deeply. I dedicate this album to the spirits of Xwayxway.”

You can stream the new single “Night Flower” from “Xwayxway”, featuring guest vocals by Edward KaSpel of The Legendary Pink Dots (and a longtime collaborator of Key’s in the band The Tear Garden) right below.

Musical guests include Edward KaSpel, IAMX, Traz Damji, Soriah, Otto von Schirach, Dre Robinson, Guilherme Pires, Omar Torres and Eric In Quantum.

Canadian post-punk act Actors releases new single ‘Love U More’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 18:04:56 +0000

Canadian post-punk foursome Actors recently announced their sophomore album, “Acts of Worship”, set for release in 2021. Ahead of the release, the band has now released their first new music in the form of the Halloween-friendly single “Love U More”. You can watch the video below.

The track was produced, mixed and mastered by lead Actor Jason Corbett at his Jacknife Sound studio, the track is just a taste of what is to come on the album. The video itself was directed by Peter Ricq.

Vancouver post-punk outfit Actors released its debut, “It Will Come to You”, in 2018 on the Toronto-based Artoffact Records. The band spent the following 18 months touring the USA, Canada, and Europe including Terminus Festival, Wave-Gotik-Treffen, Cold Waves, Infest, A Murder of Crows, and others.

But here’s the new video to start with.

Icelandic electronica artist Sólveig Matthildur releases new single ‘Venus’ – listen here

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 14:20:48 +0000

(Photo by Dean Wallflower) Icelandic artist Sólveig Matthildur has released a new single, “Venus”, available right now on all streaming platforms. You can check it below, and it was also added to our playlist on Spotify.

Based in Reykjavik, Iceland, Sólveig Matthildur is one of the founders of the post-punk band Kælan Mikla and also runs the record label Hið myrka man. In 2015 she moved to Berlin where she started a solo project under her own name working primarily with synthesizers, strings and voices circling around 20 hz sine waves that eventually start beating with your heart.

She has previously released two full-length albums on Artoffact Records. In 2020, Sólveig has used the pandemic downtime to release a series of singles on streaming platforms, and the new single “Venus” marks the fourth to be released this year.

The series of singles will culminate in 2021 with the release of Sólveig’s third full-length.

‘Click Interview’ with Blank: ‘Live-Streaming Will Probably Become A Regular Thing’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 17:00:32 +0000

Italian duo BLANK saw the daylight in 2000. Driven by Davide Massa and Riccardo Mattioli they got rapidly signed to the Canadian label Artoffact Records. The albums “Artificial Breathing” (2004), “Impact Zone” (2008) and “Dark Retreat” revealed a modern and accomplished EBM sound. The songs feature multiple influences, which are also easy noticeable in the new- and self-released album “Drifting Slowly”. Davide Massa is not just composing EBM; it’s a sonic fusion between different-, but related genres. The mix between EBM, Techno, IDM, Industrial and Pop resulting in brilliant songs. “Drifting Slowly” also marks the return of BLANK after a hiatus of seven years! Enough reasons to ask Davide Massa for more details.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: It’s already twenty years ago now you released your first demo as BLANK. How do you look back at the BLANK’s history and discography so far. What have been the best and worst facts and memories?

Dave: It’s been an interesting journey although we haven’t been very prolific during the years. With a little more consistency maybe we could have played more gigs and reached more people, that’s something I’d definitely try to do better if I could go back. Other than that, I feel we’ve created the music we wanted to create, with no other boundaries than our own creativity and technical ability, and I love all of our releases, and how our music has evolved and improved in time. Also, we witnessed enormous changes in the music business and technology. Some good, some bad, but overall it’s been exciting.

Best memories? Every time we wrapped up an album I felt such an enormous pride, and I will never forget those feelings! But also the amazing response to our first demo… that brought us to being signed, or that time we’ve had Black-Metal bands attending our gig because they had come to the wrong venue… ? That was really fun. Worst facts? I tend to focus on the positive so I cann’t really list bad experiences, but I guess the networking/marketing part has always been stressful for me and the less enjoyable aspect of what we do… I am very shy and don’t play well in that field.

Q: You this year strike back with a new album, which is the first one since “Dark Retreat” (2013). Why did it take you that long to strike back and is the new album also a new beginning?

Dave: Well, I moved to a new house and rebuilt my studio changing my setup completely, and had to dedicate some time learning new instruments and do other non-music related things; then I wrote music for a theatre play I was involved with and that kept me busy for the good part of a year, and then I got a call from Kirlian Camera to join their line-up so I had (and still have) to work with them when preparing gigs and/or collaborations and remixes. These are just a few of the things that prevented me to focus on a proper release for a while… They’re valid enough reasons, but I know they cannot really explain a seven years wait -so let’s add that I didn’t feel like I had the right material yet, and the more I waited, the more I expected from myself. It took me some time to get where I wanted to be and now that I have found an efficient setup, I hope it really is a new beginning, with good music coming out more frequently!

Q: Tell us a bit more about “Drifting Slowly”? What have been the main ideas –sound- and lyrical wise, to compose this new work and is there a kind of established procedure and/or structure you follow when composing an album?

Dave: I don’t have a standard procedure -when I write a song it usually happens in one of two ways: I look for a certain atmosphere and I pursue it, until I reach a point where the song flows naturally and tells me where to go; or, I play around with synthesizers and when I find a sound or a sequence that intrigues me, I build from there. Once I had a few demos that were convincing enough, I started thinking about lyrics and themes.

Since my lyrics have always been quite introspective, I wanted this album to be a little more attentive to the external world -and I didn’t like what I saw, so the main theme ended up being, well, watching our world rapidly becoming an ugly mess. For people who enjoy digging deeper, trying to connect a song title with its lyrics might reveal hidden meanings and references you might not had thought about.

Musically, I wanted “Drifting Slowly” to be a great listening experience, mixing all kind of influences that I love, many different sounds and alternating between aggression and sweetness… of course while having fun with synths and samples. I also wanted to do everything by myself, as a personal challenge… and it turned out pretty good, I think.

Q: The album reveals an interesting duality between more danceable cuts at one side and dreamy songs at the other side. Tell us a bit more about both sides and the choice of the song “Thanatosis” as EP title-track plus the song composed together with Elena Alice Fossi?

Dave: I suppose it’s a bit the way I am. I enjoy hard-hitting EBM as well as Shoegazing or Trip-Hop, I like good pop melodies but also noises and stuff made in unconventional ways. So to find a nice balance of different paces and styles was my intention from the very beginning. As I enjoy diversity and get easily bored by sameness, it’s the kind of album that I’d personally buy.

“Thanatosis” was one of the first songs I completed, it sits right in the middle between the danceable tracks and the atmospheric ones, and it’s a song that doesn’t exactly belong to a specific genre, so I decided to use it as the first single. It’s been appreciated by many who are not into electronic music, so it’s been an interesting experiment to me.

Regarding “Apophenia”, as a long-time friend of Kirlian Camera, I asked Elena Alice if she was interested in singing one song, as she already did in my previous album. I had this kind of Trip-Hop song that I already wrote with a female voice in mind, and I decided to ‘mangle’ it a little, adding a distorted bass and an unusual, odd ⅞ time signature, a trick that gives it a weird ‘slowed-down industrial’ vibe. I sent it to Elena and she got back to me very quickly with vocal parts and harmonies that left me speechless: I think she got the song perfectly and we make a hell of a team! It’s art, it’s unusual, it sounds great… it made me happy and that’s exactly what I enjoy creating.

Q: Previous albums were released on Artoffact Records while you now self-released the new work. How did this evolution happened and what does it mean to have this self-control?

Dave: When we got signed, in 2003, the whole music business was completely different, digital had just appeared, streaming did not exist, CDs still sold well. We’ll be forever grateful to Artoffact for taking a chance with us and releasing three albums that didn’t follow any trend and ended up being well received even though not too commercially successful. Now it makes sense that they focus on different (and newer!) projects, while we can self-release using these amazing resources that didn’t exist in the past, like Bandcamp and other digital distributors. Being 100% independent is great, although it’s a lot of work since you cannot delegate anything anymore. Also it’s harder getting noticed if you’re not that good at social networking and self-promoting! But it sure feels more rewarding.

Q: Italy has been badly touched by the Covid-19 pandemic, which also had an impact on all artistic life and activities. What does it evoke to you and how do you as artists try to fight back?

Dave: It’s been a weird, surreal and frightening time. Late and at times unclear responses from the government have caused lots of deaths and called for extreme measures. We’ve lived almost three months of lockdown, every activity stopped, and now we’re struggling to get back to normal -if it’s even possible. The art/music category has been terribly affected and still is, lots of music tech have lost jobs, tours and concerts have been canceled, clubs have closed, artists have had no source of income for a long time.

My hope is that the current situation will somehow awaken the will to fight back and collaborate more, leading to more solid and concrete opportunities for everyone. But in a country where culture is not considered a priority, I believe it will take a lot of work to get there. At the moment, as we can attend events only with social distancing, we will have to re-think performances, possibly focusing more onto visual/mind experiences rather than physical ones. And yeah, live-streaming will probably become a regular thing, and we’ll have to find other new ways to engage fans… It’s going to be tough, but creative people like challenges, so I look forward to future exciting times.

Siberian post-punks Ploho to release new album Phantom Feelings early February via Artoffact Records

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 15:18:09 +0000

Canada’s Artoffact Records has been talent shopping in Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia where they found post-punkers Ploho working on their “new wave of Russian music”. Their music holds melancholic guitars, minimalist beats, and Russian vocals.

The lineup consists of Victor Uzhakov (vocals, guitar), Andrei Smorgonsky (bass) and Igor Starshinov (synth) and formed in 2013. The trio has since been working on their career. To date, Ploho has recorded four albums and several EPs, as well as more than 10 singles, which they supported by touring more than 40 cities in Europe.

The band also collaborated with the Belarusian band Molchat Doma to record a song in 2019, which you can listen to below.

Post-punk act Bootblacks release ‘Nostalgia Void’ single from upcoming new album on Artoffact Records

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 13:18:22 +0000

(Photo by Katrin Albert) The New York City based act post-punk band Bootblacks have released a new single, “Nostalgia Void”. The song appears on the upcoming Artoffact Records album “Thin Skies”, to be released October 23rd.

About the new single, Bootblacks vocalist Panther Almqvist states: “The person we were in the past often seems unrecognizable. Memories can often seem like scenes from another person’s life. There are moments however when we see ourselves in the present and that we realize that we are summation of the experiences of the past and maybe we haven’t changed as much as we think we have.”

Check out the single below.

“Thin Skies”, Bootblacks’ first album for Artoffact Records, was produced by Jason Corbett of Artoffact labelmates Actors.

Bootblacks The band consists of Panther Almqvist (vocals), Alli Gorman (guitar), Barrett Hiatt (synth) and Larry Gorman (drums). The band has toured North America and Europe, most recently being handpicked by Modern English as direct support for a 2020 North American tour (currently postponed).

So far they released 3 albums: “Fragments” (2017, Manic Depression Records), “Veins” (2016, self-released) and “Narrowed” (2012, self-released).

Seeming launch new track and video ‘Reality is Afraid’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 12:48:19 +0000

(Photo by Benjamin Torrey) Seeming has launched a new track and video, “Reality is Afraid”. The song appears on Seeming’s upcoming, third album, “The Birdwatcher’s Guide to Atrocity”, out August 21st on Artoffact Records.

“The Birdwatcher’s Guide to Atrocity” was co-produced with percussionist Sarah Hennies and features a guest vocal by Bill Drummond of legendary UK duo The KLF – Drummond’s first recorded vocal appearance in two decades.

Seeming is the project of Alex Reed, with Aaron Fuleki. They had previously been in the band ThouShaltNot.

Here’s the video for “Reality is Afraid”.

Debut solo album late Jeremy Inkel to be released in November

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 14:31:26 +0000

(Photo: The Jeremy Inkel Estate) Jeremy Inkel’s debut as a solo artist comes to us nearly 3 years after his untimely passing. Inkel died January 23 2018 due to complications arising from an asthma condition. He was only 34 years old.

Although Inkel was a member of Front Line Assembly, Left Spine Down, Delerium and Noise Unit he also worked on a first solo album, “Hijacker”. “Hijacker” will be out in November via ArtOfFact Records and is an album of hard-hitting EBM and techno grooves and industrial dancefloor experiments. A first single, “I don’t need your money” is out now on Bandcamp.

Hijacker will be released on CD and vinyl formats worldwide as well as on all streaming platforms on November 6th, 2020. A portion of proceeds from each sale will be donated to the Vancouver Food Bank.

Hijacker by Jeremy Inkel

Dawn Of Ashes – The Antinomian (Album – Artoffact Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 20:00:00 +0000

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

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Next year Dawn Of Ashes will celebrate their 20^th anniversary. They already can look back to an impressive discography featuring dark-electro albums during the early years and more industrial-metal productions later on. But the last year released album “The Crypt Injection II” was a kind of back to the roots, revealing a move to explicit electronic compositions. So I was wondering how this new opus would sound like, which also is their first album released on Artoffact.

Content: This American formation clearly hates repeating themselves. “Antinomian” sounds definitely electro-like and is carried by dark, impressive EBM bass lines. If you think that the last Pouppée Fabrikk album was your darkest experience in EBM, Dawn Of Ashes clearly will show you what real darkness is all about. But it’s not just EBM! The songs are a constant mix between different influences covering dark-electronics, industrial with a good-old metal flavor on top. This is a hard production, which also comes through in the vocal production.

+ + + : I thought to have already seen and heard all imaginable styles and formats when it concerns Dawn Of Ashes. But front man Kristof Bathory appears to be unpredictable and I like it. He now worked out a powerful and haunting sound hybrid reassembling solid EBM bass lines, doom-like atmospheres, aggressive guitar riffs and unpolished industrial sound arrangements. The songs have something menacing, like announcing a nearby apocalyptic vision. But more than this, Dawn Of Ashes deals with a very own sound DNA. I don’t want to compare this work with the newest Pouppée Fabrikk album, but both releases are extremely dark in their genre, but “Antinomian” clearly gets the award for most tormenting album.

– – – : There are a few rather short duration tracks featured and that’s maybe a pity… because the music is good so you never get enough of it!

Conclusion: Where too many bands are stagnating by repeating themselves, Dawn Of Ashes dares to walk on new paths. That’s what I call a creative formation and this album is a new masterpiece in its unique style of music!

Best songs: “Sleep Paralysis”, “Straight To The Core”, “Pawns Of The Wretched”, “Scum Of The Earth”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.dawnofashesband.com / www.facebook.com/Dawnofashes

Label: www.artoffact.com / www.facebook.com/artoffact Read the news on ‘The Antinomian’.

About Dawn Of Ashes

Dawn Of Ashes is a Los Angeles-originated dark electronic and extreme industrial band fronted by Kristof Bathory. “The Antinomian”, reviewed here, was the project’s first album for Artoffact Records. The band later returned to Metropolis Records, releasing the album “Infecting The Scars” on 6 June 2025 and the remix EP “Reinfecting The Scars”, before pairing with Belgian act Suicide Commando on the 2026 single “Penumbra”, which precedes the album “Anatomy Of Suffering”.

Artoffact Records to release NYC post-punks’ Bootblacks new album ‘Thin Skies’ – check the first track streaming now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 14:35:28 +0000

Following a handful of formative sessions with prolific drummer/producer Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Sonic Youth), the Brooklyn-based Bootblacks released its first EP “Narrowed” in the fall of 2012. The debut full-length eVeinse came next in 2016 and was backed by extensive touring. 2017’s “Fragments” found the band expanding to a more synth-heavy sound.

Out on October 9th on Artoffact Records is the new album release of “Thin Skies” by Bootblacks. With “Thin Skies”, the band’s first album for Artoffact Records, they continue where “Fragments” left off. The whole was produced by Jason Corbett of Artoffact labelmates Actors with backing vocals courtesy of Shannon Hemmett (Actors) and Kennedy Ashlyn (SRSQ, Them Are Us Too).

You can stream the new track “Traveling Light” right below and pre-order the album right here on Bandcamp in various formats.

Dawn of Ashes announce 8hth album: ‘The Antinomian’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 15 May 2020 13:25:14 +0000

Los Angeles based industrial metal act Dawn of Ashes announces its new album “The Antinomian” on Artoffact Records. “The Antinomian” is the follow-up to their 2019 album “The Crypt Injection II”.

Lyrically “The Antinomian” explores humanity’s possible downfall as it blindly follows it’s leaders. Vocalist and composer, Kristof Bathory expands on the inspiration behind the album: “We are witnessing a critical era where a mass amount of human beings follow a herd mentality. Corruption is all around us and our leaders are the ones who are planting this seed. Society is full of mindless machines who live their lives to bow down to the wretched ones. Hollow and empty there is nothing inside.”

The Antinomian will be released July 10th on Artoffact Records worldwide. The lyric video for their new song Pawns of the Wretched can be seen below. Read the review of ‘The Antinomian’.

Post-punk group Ötzi reveals 3rd single ‘Eight Cups’ from upcoming Artoffact Records album ‘Storm’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 14 May 2020 11:20:54 +0000

(Photo by Kevin Brown) Oakland post-punk group Ötzi have released “Eight Cups,” the third single from their sophomore album, “Storm” which will be released May 22nd on Artoffact Records.

Stream the song below.

Storm by Ötzi

Ötzi is a dark post-punk band from Oakland, CA, comprised of singer & bassist Akiko Sampson, singer & drummer Gina Marie, guitarist K. Dylan Edrich, and keyboardist Winter Zora. Since their formation in 2014, Ötzi has toured the world with the likes of The Chameleons, Deerhoof, Modern English, and She Past Away. Their debut album “Ghosts” was released in 2017 via Near Dark/Last Hour Records. The band also released 2 EPs: “Gong Show” EP (2016, Long Way To Go Records) and “Part Time Punks Sessions” EP (2019, Psychic Eye Records).

Lithuanian post-punk squad Solo Ansamblis reveals surreal ‘Fosforinis Baseinas’ music video

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 16:58:53 +0000

(Band photo by Tomas Terekas) Out now is the official music video for Solo Ansamblis’ track, “Fosforinis Baseinas”. The song appears on the Lithuanian band’s new, sophomore album, Olos, out now on Artoffact Records.

Here’s what the band says about the video: “The atmospheric, improvisational video for ‘Fosforinis Baseinas’ was created by Šarūnas Akelaitis, mixing performance and documentary film styles. The video experience ties in to the lyrics, questioning surrealistic apocalypse and lost desires. What’s important today? How important are human relationships after all? The video looks best in the dark.”

You can view the track below.

Emerging from the Baltic scene, Solo Ansamblis mixes moody post-punk and robotic techno, with lyrics sung entirely in the band’s native language. “Fosforinis Baseinas” translates to “Phosphorous Pool” in English.

Gary Numan-approved Kanga reissues ‘Eternal Daughter’ with new bonus tracks via Artoffact Records

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 16:29:49 +0000

Following up 2016’s breakthrough self-titled debut album, Kanga’s “Eternal Daughter” gets a deluxe reissue with three bonus tracks on Toronto-based Artoffact Records. The extended version is now available on Bandcamp as a budget-priced CD perfect for fans and collectors and will hit streaming services later this month.

The Los Angeles-based Kanga – a one-woman solo project of Kanga Duchamp – was formed in 2015 and quietly released a self-titled album that caught the attention of several festivals and like-minded artists. Kanga toured with The Black Queen and appeared at Cold Waves Festival, Terminus Festival, and Substance LA, before being embraced by Gary Numan as his personal selection for direct support on the sold out (R)evolution 40th Anniversary tour around the UK in late 2019.

Shortly thereafter, Kanga signed with Toronto-based Artoffact Records to reissue “Eternal Daughter”. Kanga is currently in the studio with Justin McGrath (Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Puscifer) to record a new album, scheduled to be released on the label In Fall 2020.

You can pre-order the reissue right now from Kanga’s Bandcamp page!

Kanga is also playing select dates around the US prior to her new album release: Read the review of ‘Kanga’.

April 16 in Madison, WI at Crucible
April 17 in Minneapolis, MN at The Red Sea
April 18 in La Crosse, WI at Warehouse
June 25 in Cincinnati, OH at Mixwell’s Northside
June 26 in Detroit, MI at Small’s
June 27 in Nashville, TN at The Cobra

Artoffact Records announces the March 6th release of ‘Nostalgia’, the new album by post-punk act Spectres

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 12:52:37 +0000

(Band photo by Lindsay Wallace) Founded in Vancouver in 2005 by vocalist Brian Gustavson, the post-punk act Spectres is one of the bands responsible for kicking off the renewed interest in the post-punk sound in Canada.

Guitarist Zach Batalden states: “The band was started as a way to creatively explore 1980’s British anarcho-punk, and while creatively we have drifted in new directions this core influence still holds a lot of inspiration for us. Bands like The Mob, Crisis, Crass and Zounds are all still very important for us. From there we took a deep interest in ’80s post-punk and new wave, with bands like The Sound, The Chameleons, Theatre of Hate, and Modern English, central to the way our sound has developed. For the new album, Nostalgia, we were listening to a lot of Flying Nun bands like The Bats, The Verlaines, and The Clean as well.”

The band’s newest album “Nostalgia” was produced by Actors frontman Jason Corbett at Jacknife Sound in Vancouver. It follows three independent albums which were all reissued by Artoffact Records in 2019.

To get an idea how the band sounds like, here’s the “Northern Towns” music video from the 2019 “Provincial Wake” 7″.

The band’s current lineup consists of vocalist Brian Gustavson, Zach Batalden on guitar, Mitch Allen on drums, Adam Mitchell on guitar and Jason Renix on bass.

2020 Tour

The band will also depart on a US tour later in 2020.

Mar 6 – Portland, OR – Blackwater Bar
Mar 7 – Oakland, CA – First Church of the Buzzard
Mar 8 – Los Angeles, CA – Part Time Punks
Mar 10 – San Diego, CA – The Whistle Stop
Mar 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Rec Room
Mar 12 – San Francisco, CA – The Eagle
Mar 13 – Chico, CA – Naked Lounge
Mar 14 – Portland, OR – Lovecraft

Italian noise-rock duo OvO signs to Artoffact Records

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 12:11:18 +0000

The Italian noise-rock duo OvO has signed with Toronto-based label Artoffact Records. The duo, who have previously released with UFOMammut’s label Supernatural Cat, will release the band’s tenth full-length “Miasma” on February 7th. A full European tour will follow.

About the new label deal, band founder Bruno Dorella said, “after many albums on DIY labels, we felt it was time for something more structured, something to face the new music biz without losing our punk attitude. We finally stepped into Artoffact, which seemed perfect for its proven attitude and balance between heavy music and synthpunk.”

Based in Ravenna, Italy, OvO was formed in 2000 by Stefania Pedretti and Bruno Dorella, and to date have released nine albums and many EPs, splits, and one-off singles. Their latest was the 2016 DioDrone release “Creatura”. The band has performed at festivals on nearly every continent, and have toured extensively, with the likes of Lightning Bolt, Zu, and many others.

Below you can listen to the band’s most recent output.

Massiv in Mensch return with ‘Badminton’ single on July 29

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 11:47:06 +0000

The German EBM act Massiv in Mensch returns with an all new single, “Badminton”, by the end of July. On the same day, the band will also publish a video on Youtube.

To be released via Katyusha Records, the single will act as a teaser for the band’s all new album which is being completed as we speak. The release for this new album is expected for the end of 2019.

Massiv in Mensch is a German industrial musical duo that was founded by Daniel Logemann and Mirco Osterthun in 1996. The band debuted with “Belastendes Material” in 2000 on Wire Productions, and later on signed with Artoffact Records. Over the years the band has grown quite a popular fanbase thanks to good songwriting and dito vocals. Read the review of ‘Badminton’.

‘Click Interview’ with OHMelectronic: ‘I Don’t Want To Put Out Music That I Feel Has Already Been Done’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 17:00:15 +0000

Craig Huxtable (Landscape Body Machine) and Chris Peterson (Decree, Left Spine Down, Damage Control, FLA…) started a common project Öhm and released a self-titled debut album in 2013. They renamed their project into OHMelectronic and are now back on track with this new and again self-titled album released by Artoffact Records. The songs are moving from sophisticated and intelligent EBM pieces to heavy, industrial power tracks. This is what Chris and Craig have to reveal about their work. (Picture credits @heybadgood)

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: From Öhm to OHMelectronic six years have passed, the name has changed, but the taste for electronic music seems to be intact. How do you perceive the evolution from your first album towards the new one and why did you have to change the name?

Chris: We went from a more exploratory approach on the first record, to a more focused vision on the new one. We both have wide and varied tastes in music, but with this project it is indeed very electronics focused and we’re both very passionate about that type of approach and sound. We wanted some more bite on this album, and to have less clutter so to speak, so it came together the way it did with that in mind. We also learned a fair bit from our live performances, and wrote new material that would help round out our live set and put some more energy into it.

Craig: Chris and I will always try to do something different every record and it comes from a place of wanting to please ourselves as much as the listening audience. I don’t want to put out music that I feel has already been done, there’s not much of a point to that. We discussed a heavier album and then it evolved from there.

The name change felt natural and was something we felt necessary from a branding perspective. The more unique the name, the easier to find… and the name OHM was getting harder to distinguish from other entities using the name.

Q: You both are into music for numerous years now and have been involved with different projects. What brings OHMelectronic you maybe didn’t find into other projects and tell us a bit more about the sound you’d in mind for this project?

Chris: We compliment each other’s skill sets and have a working relationship based on mutual respect. Further to that, as with many other collaborations I take part in, we make each other better artists by learning from each other. When that stops happening you need to move on, but with Craig there is a long road ahead of us with much growth and music to be done. My time in FLA really helped me sharpen my skill-set as an electronic composer, but I stopped growing in that environment, however I really wanted to keep working on synth based music. Working with Craig, we both agreed this is very much a synth obsessed project for us and it fills a void that we see both in our music collections and our collaborations.

Craig: I’ve spent most of my career as a solo artist with periodic collaborations, which is funny, because working alone is not my preference. It’s very hard to find people that you get on with and can work well with and that is OHMelectronic’s greatest strength. At the core is our bond and when you care about people and respect them your working relationship benefits. We both know what it’s like to work with difficult people and so it’s a relief that we meet in the middle on everything really.

Q: How did the writing of the new album happened, what has been the focal point and what makes the chemistry between both of you?

Chris: We don’t get to be in the same room as much as we’d like thanks to Craig living in Victoria and me being in Vancouver still. When we are, we’ve become very efficient at writing and recording with very limited time. On one day we had a few hours to record vocals for 4 songs I think it was, at our friend Tom Slug’s studio space before Craig had to run off to catch the ferry back to Victoria. It was a crazy session considering we had to discuss what we wanted to capture and in one case even transplanting lyrics from one track onto another song… there was no rehearsing for him in that case, just us sorting out the timing and tone right there and then, hitting record, and that’s that. Other times like this featured me setting up some patches and such for him to bash out some keys for me, and again more than one song idea and in quick time. Besides those fun moments, the rest is sending files back and forth and lots of discussions about the direction things are going as I develop and produce the finished track. I suppose the simple way to see it is that Craig is a very good songwriter and musician, and I’m the guy that obsesses with the production and sounds, but as I’ve mentioned before we learn from each other and those distinctions get blurred as occasionally I add some melodic elements, or Craig’s ever improving production values make using what he sends me easier and I can spend less time cleaning things up or swapping things out.

Craig: The chemistry is born out of wanting to make good music with no bullshit attached (laughs). Don’t get me wrong, Chris and I will disagree on parts and sometimes even whole songs, but we respect each other and put the music first. The best idea wins, no whining, and then we move on. I’ve been in creative situations where people refuse to back down because ‘it’s their guitar part’ or whatever and that’s when a good song can turn to shit because you’re not doing what’s best for the art itself. As soon as you start serving your own ego, it’s done. We truly enjoy working face to face in the studio and I believe that’s when the real magic happens between us creatively.

Q: There clearly is a duality running through this album; some songs are driven by sophisticated EBM influences while other songs are more into a kind of hardcore industrial style. How do you explain this sonic schizophrenia?

Chris: We are the sum of our influences added on to our original stories and perspectives. What category you find it in is of little concern to me. I guess some people would find my music collection very confusing, it’s all over the place. With OHMelelctronic we love a good dance track, but also enjoy a blistering heavy as fuck ass kicker or an atmospheric piece, etc. Considering how far technology has come along, electronic music can be so many things, just don’t expect us to bust out the guitars 😉 We’ve both been doing this for a while now and have so many different influences, that I’m sure we will continue to confuse anyone wanting to say it’s one specific thing. I like that.

Craig: At no point during the record were we consciously trying to go this way or that way other than going for a heavier sound and simpler song writing ideas. Is it a good song? Did I make you sad? Mad? Introspective?

I think your perception of this record and how it sounds depends on where you come from. You may hear variety where others may say the songs are too similar in their approach. We are trying to carve out a new niche in a sound we’ve both been a part of for a long time and I like the challenge of finding a new twist on something you’ve done before. I would rather make people upset by trying something new rather than make a cookie cutter EBM record.

Q: The clip of “Uppercut” is quite interesting; it has something retro-like, reminding me a bit of the 80s. Is it more a kind of message or a critical perception of the world we’re living in? And what have been the other sources of inspiration for the lyrical content?

Craig: The thing with “Uppercut” is the lyrical themes are timeless really. Religion where it intersects with power and money has been going on for thousands of years. My lyrics may appear topical, but I’m inspired as much by history as I am the present. I think things are pretty bad in world politics today but then again I thought they were pretty bad in the 80’s too… the more things change the more they stay the same I suppose.

Behind all of the topical lyrics is my own personal themes that I am working through. My first marriage was long, manipulative and abusive so I find when I listen back to songs like “With” or “Disarmed” I’m still working some of those things out.

Q: I noticed you’ll play the next Infest-festival (UK), which is an opportunity to see you on stage in Europe. How does OHMelectronic on stage looks like and how do you transpose the original song edits into live versions?

Chris: For now we’re not really getting into changing the arrangements in any significant way as we are doing limited time slots that don’t allow for adding extra verses/choruses and such. We both have keyboard setups, and hope to have a live drummer down the road as well, but as it is right now, we have to keep things very streamlined to be able to travel for these shows. I like to keep busy up there and always engaged, as does Craig. Both of us really enjoy performing and our setups let us add a lot of feel to the tracks and add new elements. The keyboards get a good workout, and much like my home studio, it’s a small setup but I get a lot out of it. If you want to see the traveling fetish circus with all the bells whips and whistles, featuring a bunch of people doing shit in costumes or on stilts, that’s not us 😉 If you want to see two guys that love what they’re doing, playing their asses off, come see us and be sure to say hi.

OHMelectronic – OHMelectronic (CD Album – Artoffact Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 04 May 2019 18:00:12 +0000

Genre/Influences: EBM, industrial.

Background/Info: Craig Huxtable (Landscape Body Machine) and Chris Peterson (Decree, Left Spine Down, Damage Control, FLA…) started a common project Öhm and released a self-titled debut album in 2013. They renamed their project into OHMelectronic and are now back on track with this new and again self-titled album featuring nine songs.

Content: Both debut songs were previously released as digital singles. They also show the sound and influences from the duo. “Uppercut” is a well-crafted and sophisticated piece of EBM, which might remind you of Frontline Assembly while “Everything Is Gone” is pure industrial-rock power, which might appeal to Ministry fans. The other tracks are switching from EBM to industrial. Craig Huxtable’s vocals are perfectly matching with the sound; now spookier, EBM driven and then shouting like an enraged animal.

+ + + : I already like the album by Öhm and even if OHMelectronic is a little bit different, you easily recognize the intelligent sound treatments. There’s a kind of duality running through the work, but it creates an exciting diversity. I’m more into the EBM-driven cuts and songs like “Uppercut”, “With” and “Decline” which are sensational. But the hardcore industrial power emerging from “Everything Is Gone” and “Undone” is quite cool as well. The production is fully accomplished with efficient sound treatments and a great vocals production.

– – – : I don’t have anything against the diversity or duality running through the work, but it’s somewhat surprising; a bit like a band exorcising different influences. It has something schizophrenic… but it’s a great sonic madness! My single regret is that there are no more songs featured here.

Conclusion: OHMelectronic is mixing intelligent EBM and merciless hardcore industrial; it’s a mind-blowing experience!

Best songs: “Uppercut”, “Decline”, “With”, “Everything Is Gone”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www .facebook .com /OHMelectronic

Label: www .artoffact .com / www .facebook .com /artoffact Read the news on ‘OHMelectronic’.

About OHMelectronic

OHMelectronic is the Vancouver duo of Craig Joseph Huxtable, also known for Landscape Body Machine and Noise Unit, and Chris Peterson, known for his work with Front Line Assembly, Decree and Damage Control. The pair first recorded together as Öhm, releasing a self-titled debut album in 2013, before renaming the project OHMelectronic for its self-titled second album, reviewed here and released on Artoffact Records in 2019.