Out now is the all new album “Aerial Human” by Sapphira Vee. This is already the 5th album by Sapphira Vee and her second release on the Distortion Productions label. You can expect a darkwave / trip-hop sound evoking 4AD acts like Lush . You will equally hear EBM touches recalling classic Chris & Cosey on for instance the first single “What Is This”.

For the album Sapphira joined forces with Houston hip-hop artist Pee Wee P on “Fools”, Blue Eyed Christ’s John Norten on “Let the Arrow Break”, and Veronica Tam on the opening “White Aura” which was written by Jean-Marc Ledermen of The Weathermen. Also included are the three original tracks from last year’s “Duet” EP, featuring Chris Connelly (Ministry / Pigface / Revolting Cocks / Cocksure, etc.), Mike Reidy (W.O.R.M. / The Joy Thieves /Dogtablet), and Jim Semonik (Jimmy Semtex / Red Lokust / Rein(Forced) / creator of Electronic Saviors). In addition, Roger Ebner (Roger Ebner Band / Bitter Elixir / Yeti Rain) played the saxophone on “This Gift Was Not Meant For Me”.

New York native Sapphira Vee has been active since 2018.

You can check out the full album right below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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When it comes to EBM, Front Line Assembly weren’t only pioneers, but still a formation that never stopped exploring new sonic paths. For more than 30 years now the Canadian formation driven by Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber is taking us by surprise. Albums such as “State Of Mind” in the early years and later on “Caustic Grip” and of course” Hard Wired” entered into history. More than 20 albums later Front Line Assembly this year released “Wake Up The Coma” (Metropolis Records), which is for sure one of the most atypical albums in their discography. Robert Görl (DAF), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks, Ministry, Cocksure) and Jimmy Urine (Mindless Self Indulgence) have been featured while it also is the last FLA-work featuring additional programming by Jeremy Inkel. Time for an interview with Rhys Fulber.

“Wake Up The Coma” is released by Metropolis Records and you can order the 2LP vinyl version right here.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I think “Wake Up The Coma” has something special because of the famous ‘guests’ you invited, but also because of Jeremy Inkel who for the very last time did some additional programming on a few songs. What does it all evoke to you and how will you remind Jeremy Inkel?

Rhys: Jeremy had sent Bill some ideas he had, I think ones he had worked on with Jared a couple years ago, so we thought in his honor we should finish them because we know he would have loved that.  We still miss him.  He was a sweet and energetic guy and its very sad he left so soon.

Bill wanted to try some different things on this record and after the Amadeus track with Jimmy came together so well, thought it would be interesting to try a few other guests.

Q: The song “Wake Up The Coma” clearly appears to be a reflection about a ‘certain’ system while it also became the title of the album. Tell us a bit more about it?

Rhys: Yes, it’s pretty much hinting at the future dystopia we are heading towards apathetically. It will take a lot of waking up on humanity’s part, or more specifically the wealthy ones who control everything. However, when brought into that context it may never happen. Also, starting a revolution might cut into binge watching your favorite Netflix series.

Q: You asked Robert Görl to contribute to “Eye On You”, which has been also released as EP title song right before the album. How did this collaboration and the global writing/production of the song happened?

Rhys: This was something Bill set up with Robert. Robert then sent us some analog synth and sequence recordings and I cut them up and added to them to make what you hear now.  Bill later added his vocals in Canada. A global file sharing collaboration, which is the norm now.

Q: The cover version of Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus” featuring Jimmy Urine is definitely one of the most surprising songs you ever accomplished. Who got the idea of this, what makes it that ‘special’ to FLA and how was it working on the song?

Rhys: Bill had been talking about doing a cover of this for a little while, so we finally got around to it.  The track went through a few different versions before we arrived on the one you hear now. I think it was also his idea to get Jimmy in, who I have worked with a lot in the studio before, because his style would work for the ‘rap’ parts.  I don’t know anyone else who could have pulled this off the way Jimmy did now that I think about it. We recorded his vocal at my studio and I tried my best to get the German close, with my limited grasp of the language. Bill added the low backing vocals in the chorus later. It was actually nice to work on a fun song for FLA, that isn’t too serious for a change.

Q: You also did a clip of “Rock Me Amadeus”, which is pure fun and quite surprising as well. You clearly don’t care about ‘image’ and some of your fans who’re desperately waiting for a new “Hard Wired”. I experienced it as pure ‘artistic freedom’, but what does it really mean to you?

Rhys: This had a lot to do with the director Jason Jensen. We weren’t sure where to take a music video for the song. He proposed something bright and 80s themed so we went with it. I think it’s like a classic ‘music video’ in the old MTV style and we really like it. You can’t always worry about what people will think when you want to try new things, and its liberating to do so. We knew it might confuse a few people, but that was also part of the appeal.

Q: FLA has been set up more than 30 years ago now. I think you accomplished a lot of great things, which make me say you no longer have anything to prove, but what are the focuses and main goals when working on an album and how do you see the future?

Rhys: It’s never really mapped out too much. We just start and see where it leads. Maybe deeper into an album we might go ‘we need another fast one’, but that’s as far as that goes. We just do it and organize the music after. Again, after this long you are never sure. We don’t worry about it too much. Like you said there isn’t much left to prove other than, ‘we can still do this’….

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro.

Background/Info: Frontline Assembly have been active for more than 30 years now. They don’t exactly release a new album every single year and got also involved with ‘special’ releases like the “WarMesh”-album released last year on ArtOffact Records and, which was a kind of soundtrack. They last year also released the EP “Eye On You” announcing this new studio work.

Content: FLA no longer has anything to prove. Even if the fans are sometimes desperately waiting for a new “Caustic Grip” or “Hard Wired”, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber are simply moving on, accomplishing new studio albums from time to time. We already discovered Robert Görl (DAF) who was featured on the last EP, but the album also features Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks, Ministry, Cocksure) and Jimmy Urine (Mindless Self Indulgence) who sings on a surprising cover version of Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”.

It all resulted in a pretty diversified work, which also features ‘typical’ FLA-song; sophisticated song structures recovered with dark atmospheres and the spooky vocals of Bill Leeb.

+ + + : The best part of the work remains the more ‘traditional’ FLA songs, which bring all the familiar sound elements together. Great bass lines, obscure electronic atmospheres, complex, but danceable rhythms and Bill’s great timbre of voice. The sound production is absolutely impressive confirming the experience of this band. “Eye On You” featuring Robert Görl remains a great collaboration. My favorite song is the easy recognizable “Mesmerized”, but I also have to mention the more into bombast driven “Living A Lie”.

– – – : Speaking for myself I expected a bit more out of the other featuring. The songs together with Nick Holmes and Chris Connelly bring some diversity, but aren’t exactly the most convincing cuts. I’m missing a climax. I also have to say a word about the cover version of Falco. The adaptation itself is pretty cool, but not exactly what you can expect from FLA so in the end I can say this song took me by surprise…

Conclusion: When you realize the impressive discography of this band, “Wake Up The Coma” is probably not the production that will enter into history although it reveals a few brilliant songs. I’m afraid a few great songs don’t make a Spring, but in the end there only is one Frontline Assembly!

Best songs: “Mesmerized”, “Living A Lie”, “Eye On You”, “Arbeit”, “Tilt”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.mindphaser.com / www.facebook.com/frontlineassembly

Label: www.metropolis-records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Front Line Assembly has just released a new video for their cover of Falco’s cult track “Rock Me Amadeus” featuring Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence. The song is part of FLA’s album entitled “Wake Up The Coma” being released by Metropolis Records this week with contributions from Robert Görl (DAF), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), and Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks, Cocksure, Ministry).

You can order the 2LP vinyl version right here.

The video:

Eldrina Mich

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

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(Picture by Bobby Talamine) Metropolis Records will release the brand new Front Line Assembly album “Wake Up The Coma” on 8 February 2019. On this new album Front Line Assembly provides a few surprising new elements, such as a cover of Falco’s “Amadeus” (feat. Jimmy Urine), and contributions from Robert Gorl (DAF), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost) and Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks, Cocksure).

We can already tell you that the “Amadeus” cover will rock the clubs, the FLA cover turned out to be great remaining quite faithful to the original yet introducing typical FLA ingredients.

The album will hold 12 tracks: Eye On You, Arbeit, Amadeus, Tilt, Hatevol, Proximity, Living a Lie, Wake up the Coma, Mesmerized, Negative Territory, Structures, Spitting Wind. You can order the album right here as a double vinyl and right here on CD.

For the Falco fans:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Cocksure, the Revolting Cocks spin-off with long time Revolting Cocks/Ministry collaborator/composer/singer Christopher J. Connelly and Acumen Nation front man Jason C. Novak, is releasing a brand new album later in September. “Be Rich” will be coming out on September 7 2018.

The album is the follow-up to 2015’s “Corporate_Sting” album, and comes 2 years after band’s self-released “Heretic Hypocrite” single. You can still order the “Corporate_Sting” album from this fine mailorder.

Here’s some Cocksure pleasure!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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(By Fiona K.) Looming on the summer horizon is the UK’s premier electronic music festival, Infest, on 26th – 28th August in Bradford, near Leeds in northern England. Now in it’s 18th year, Infest’s now fully-announced 2016 line-up is 3 glorious days of heavyweights of the electronic music genre, old and new.

Playing are Pop Will Eat Itself, Atari Teenage Riot, 3Teeth, Dead When I Found Her, Leaether Strip, Vigilante. to name but a few; and you’ll also get 3 days of top quality DJ’s to add to the fun.

Last year’s festival continued Infest’s long-standing reputation of impeccably-chosen line-ups of musically interesting and entertaining bands. Some of the highlights from last year included:

• a beautifully messed-up and rowdy electronic assault by ex-Ministry/Revolting Cocks’ frontman’s current incarnation, COCKSURE;
• a darkly-twisted techno set by the electronic trailblazers EMPIRION;
• an introduction to the primal industrial sound of CHANT all the way from Texas (which was a festival highlight);
• a sojourn in the incredibly polished theatrical-gothic niche that Germany’s L’Ame Immortelle dominate;
• the intense, emotive and diverse sound of KLANGSTABIL;
• the Pink Floyd of dark electronica, MIND IN A BOX, delighted with an intelligent, diverse and musically-rich performance.

And then there was the karaoke (yes, your read that correctly!), the dance-floor shenanigans and the after-parties and mayhem.

Here’s the thing about Infest though. It’s human-scale. It’s one stage. There’s no running around from venue to venue; no having to chose which of your bands you are prepared to miss because of cross-over scheduling. The staff are super-friendly; there’s food stalls and shots and outdoor seating and a general welcoming party atmosphere. If you haven’t been, go. It’s not one to miss.

Additional info on the official website. Tickets can be purchased right here. You can already watch here what to expect!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Coming out at the end of October is the official “Cold Waves IV” festival CD compilation. The compilation features 15 tracks – 8 of which are exclusive to this compilation, including exclusive tracks and remixes from Pop Will Eat Itself, Lead Into Gold, Front Line Assembly, Cocksure, High-Functioning Flesh (remixed by Covenant) and more.

Other artists that appear include Severed Heads, Godflesh, Author & Punisher, and Prurient. The CD is limited to 1,000 copies, but beware – most of these were already sold at the festival, so if you want one, you better order it now.

The complete track list (* = exclusive):

1. Two From The Eye – The Clasp *
2. Pop Will Eat Itself – War Inside My Stupid Head (Acucrack Remix) *
3. Lead Into Gold – Lunatic Genius (Cocksure Remix) *
4. Front Line Assembly – Next War (Slighter Remix) *
5. Human Traffic – Degeneration *
6. Godflesh – Curse Us All
7. Severed Heads – Lo Real
8. Cocksure – Razor Invader (Cyanotic Remix) *
9. High-Functioning Flesh – Afterbirth (Darkwraith Covenant Remix) *
10. Author & Punisher – Body Dome Light
11. Acumen Nation – Insurgent Collective *
12. Prurient – Cocaine Death
13. Rorschach Test – The Third Day
14. Rabbit Junk – Pop That Pretty Thirty
15. Lab Report – Bombastic One

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Out by mid-August is the brand new Cocksure album “Corporate_Sting”. Cocksure consists of the duo Christopher J. Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks) and Jason C. Novak (Czar, etc.). The release comes after 3 separate releases on 3 different labels for Cocksure in 2014. “Corporate_Sting” delivers 10 tracks offering industrial punk including also a cover of a classic 30-year old Severed Heads tune.

The album also includes a guest ‘memo’ written by Duane Swierczynski, author of “Severance Package”, “The Blonde” and a writer for the monthly Marvel Comics series Cable, plus photography by Black Pearl Photo.

Written and produced by Connelly and Novak at the Cracknation Studios, “Corporate_Sting” will be out on CD (order here) and vinyl (available here).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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