The documentary “Dark Sanctuary: The Story of The Church” is now available on Amazon Prime Video, as well as on Blu-ray, DVD, and other digital platforms. Released by Cleopatra Entertainment on March 31, 2025, the film explores the cultural impact of the Dallas-based goth club The Church and its community of artists, outcasts, and music lovers.

Directed by Timothy Stevens and produced by Spectrograph Films, the documentary features interviews with prominent figures from the dark electronic and industrial music scene, including cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy), Patrick Codenys (Front 242), Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly), Paul Oakenfold, and Claude S. (Anything Box).

cEvin Key also co-wrote the film’s title track with a separate standalone digital soundtrack composed by Joe Virus which accompanies the film’s release.

The narrative centers on Joe Virus, longtime DJ at The Church, tracing his personal and musical journey from his early days at the club in the 1990s through to its closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film documents his reflections on community, identity, and the loss of a cultural landmark.

According to director Timothy Stevens, “We couldn’t be more excited to release [the film] through Cleopatra Entertainment given their street cred with fans of dark alternative music. The Church is the ‘Studio 54’ of goth clubs, and it’s a piece of music history the world needs to know about.”

The release follows official festival selections at the Dallas International Film Festival and KNON Film Festival.

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.

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Out now is the first Iris Capricorn album “Decades”. The release comes after the release of 3 singles, the first being the April 2020 single “The Pilgrim”.

The Strasbourg, France-based artist Iris Capricorn began her career in 2000 by joining the band Dark Sanctuary (dark atmospheric, neoclassical) as a vocalist. After years of composing and studio experiences, the band made a comeback in 2021.

The album consists of 8 songs in English, French, and Russian (including a cover of the song “Dream” by the folk artist Rada i Ternovnik). The album was recorded and mixed in Strasbourg and at Kitchen Studios by Milos Asian in Bordeaux, and mastered by Peter Deimel at Black Box Studio in Angers.

You can check out the album 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.

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“Dark Sanctuary: The Story Of The Church” will be a feature-length documentary about the historic Dallas goth club The Church. The documentary will explore the history and stories of one of the longest running goth clubs in the U.S..

Through interviews with music artists (including Paul Oakenfold, Bill Leeb, Aurelio Voltiare, and RubberDoll), local bands, and patrons, the film will tell the story of the transgressive community of misfits that formed in the nearly three decades of the legendary club’s existence.

The film will center on the club’s DJ in residence, Joe Virus, and follow his journey from aspiring musician to DJ’ing the main stage for over 20 years. The film will also narrate the events of 2019 and 2020 as a multimillion-dollar real estate company bought up the neighborhood, and the pandemic claimed the community’s beloved building at 2424 Swiss Avenue. Now, their home of nearly three decades stands on the brink of being lost forever.

They plan to seek more interviews with many of the world-famous artists who performed there over years such as cEvin Key, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Combichrist, Clan of Xymox, VNV Nation, Dita Von Teese, and many more. The additional plan is to explore many of the stories and personalities intertwined with The Church’s history including such Marylin Manson, The Cure, Trent Reznor, Joan Jett, and even Madonna.

In tandem with the story of The Church, the film will talk about the Friday and Saturday EDM nights known as The Lizard Lounge where legends of electronic music performed: Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk, Moby, Tiesto, The Prodigy and more.

To complete the documentary Dallas, Texas-based Spectrograph Films has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to fund their film. You can check out the Indiegogo campaign right here.

Music by cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy

cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy will co-compose the title music track along with resident DJ of The Church, Joe Virus. Artist Ashley Thorpe known for the Shudder Exclusive film Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched will do illustrations and animations as well as design the movie poster.

The goal is to collect $70,000 in funds. The perks for the backers include DVD’s, signed posters, 45 rpm records, and even actual ceiling tiles from 2424 Swiss Ave.

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.

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Out via Avantgarde Music on February 18th is the “Iterum” EP by the French neoclassical ensemble Dark Sanctuary. The EP comes as a limited white 10″ plus a MCD limited to 500 copies.

Here’s what the band has to say regarding this long awaited comeback EP: “After twelve years of silence, we are more than pleased to come back with a brand new EP, reviving the melancholy and dark atmospheres that have been our signature since our debut. We are so happy, after all these years, to have been able to revive this alchemy and to present you very soon our new compositions. It’s been a long time and we missed making music together. The idea had crossed our minds several times but maybe the time was not right… We have now decided to go back to work to enjoy ourselves and we hope with all our heart that it will please those who have followed us during all these years.”

“Iterum” is now available digitally as a two-track single featuring the tracks “L’intime” and “Renaissance”.

The physical release comes with an additional track (“Loin de moi”) not included in the digital version you can check below.

About Dark Sanctuary

Dark Sanctuary is a French neoclassical darkwave, gothic metal band that was formed in Paris in 1996.

The band’s first official release was a 20-minute single-track music CD, “Funeral Cry”, released in 1997. At that time, the band consisted of only two members, Arkdae on keyboards and Marquise Ermia on vocals. In 1998, the band added additional members to their line-up: Hylgaryss (keyboards), Sombre Cÿr (percussion/bass) and Eliane (violins). Together, they recorded their debut album, “Royaume Mélancolique”.

In November 1999, the band signed with Wounded Love Records, and after “Marguerite” (violins) joined, recorded their 2nd album, “De Lumière Et d’Obscurité”, which was released in November 2000. Right after the recording sessions, Marquise Ermia left the band to continue her studies, and a new singer, Dame Pandora, joined.

Their third album, “L’Être Las – L’envers Du Miroir”, was released at the beginning of 2003, a few months after the release of a two-track single. Their fourth album, “Les Mémoires Blessées”, was released in early 2004 and was followed by their first compilation album “Thoughts: 9 Years in the Sanctuary” in 2005.

Subsequently, they released two albums called “Exaudi Vocem Meam – Part 1” and “Exaudi Vocem Meam – Part 2”, in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

As of 2009, they were on an indefinite hiatus.

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.

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A verdict in the EU top court – which lasted for 22 years (!) – is defining the rules of musicsampling. The legal battle involved the German band Kraftwerk versus rap artist Moses Pelham who sampled 2 seconds of Kraftwerk’s “Metall auf Metall” single from 1977. Pelham looped the sample into the hip-hop track “Nur mir” produced for vocalist Sabrina Setlur in 1997.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled in favor of Kraftwerk, stating that a permission needed to be obtained to sample another musician’s song. Even if the clip used is very short, in this case 2 seconds. However, if the sample is modified in “a form unrecognizable to the ear” the music producer’s rights would not be violated.

Moses Pelham’s actions remain peanuts compared to the German rapper Bushido who really hit the jackpot as far as stealing music. He had to pay over €60,000 to the French gothic band Dark Sanctuary for having lifted – and this is not a joke – 16 of their tracks without consent and calling them his own. Bushido also ‘stole’ music from Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows, Dimmu Borgir, Nox Arcana, etc..

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Genre/Influences: Pop-rock, indie-pop.

Background/Info: The Wishing Machine is a duo joined by a third member on the graphic part. Sophie Boss is a name who doesn’t maybe says that much, but she was the singer of Dark Sanctuary, which remains to me one of the most understated dark ethereal bands in history. The K is a multi-instrumentalist who also can look back on different involvements and experiences.

The band has already released several songs on their Bandcamp page.

Content: “Sanity Kills” is hard to grasp although inspired by elements of pop music and d’n’b elements. The most intriguing aspect is that their pop approach does not exactly featuring melodies. The pop format is accomplished by deep-resonating sound blasts mixed with some fine bleeps.

Sophie’s vocals are different from her work in Dark Sanctuary. She sings in a sensual, but intriguing way. It’s the kind of voice appealing for a dreamy trip throughout an imaginary, prosper space.

+ + + : The Wishing Machine clearly avoids jumping on fashion trends and danceable standards. This EP sounds like a will to create an own musical horizon, which is their main strength.

– – – : The 3^rd and final song is more into the ‘reverie-style’, but it sounds too flat and without passion.

Conclusion: “Sanity Kills” features interesting elements, but I got the impression the band is still in search of their sound.

Best songs: “Loud & Soft”.

Rate: (6)

Band: www.thewishingmachine.net / www.facebook.com/TheWishingMachine

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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