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

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

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

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

About AD:keY

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

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

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

The band is signed to the Belgian label Alfa Matrix.

Eldrina Mich

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

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Genre/Influences: Soundscape, Dark-Ambient, Noise, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD, Cassette.

Background/Info: This is a split release between Italian projects. Empty Chalice has already released several productions while this is the first work released by Cactus Dildo.

Content: Empty Chalice has been featured by 2 extended cuts which are moving into the fields of Dark-Ambient and Soundscape. Both cuts are driven by a dark soundwave with some extra noises on top. Cactus Dildo has accomplished 4 tracks. They experiment with heavy distorted noises and voice effects at one side but also with a more ‘structured’ and dark work at the other side.  

+ + + : The contrast between both projects is noticeable although interesting and complementary. I like the debut track of Empty Chalice which has been progressively built up and holds you in its grip for 10 minutes. Both last cuts from Cactus Dildo are definitely my favorites. The sound has something perverted and tormented with ghost-like vocals on top. It reminds me a bit of the minimalism from Sleepchamber.

– – – : Both debut tracks by Cactus Dildo sound more improvised and without real structure.

Conclusion: This work is not what I would call groundbreaking but Empty Chalice has accomplished a cool soundscape while the minimalism and haunted sphere created by Cactus Dildo is fascinating.

Best songs: Empty Chalice: “Schisma” + Cactus Dildo: “Diary Of An Old Pervert”.

Rate: 7.

Artists: www.facebook.com/EmptyChaliceFBOfficial / www.cactusdildo.bandcamp.com

Label: https://cardinium.com / www.facebook.com/iorecs

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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“Platz Eins” and “Till the End”, the newest videos from Rammstein’s frontman Till Lindemann (also starring collaborator Peter Tagtgren) turn out to be porno movies. Not really a surprise for most of course. There’s a censored version and an uncensored version of each video . You can access both here as a pay-per-view.

The music video for “Platz Eins,” from Lindemann’s 2019 album “F & M”, was released on February 4, 2020. It features graphic sexual content, including scenes of full-frontal penetration and an orgy, with Lindemann and Tägtgren appearing in the video. The uncensored version is hosted on the German adult site Visit-X, while a censored version is available on platforms like YouTube with explicit content obscured.

The video, directed by Zoran Bihać, incorporates surreal elements like women wearing death masks of Lindemann, blending decadence with horror. It sparked debate over whether Lindemann participated in the explicit scenes or if editing techniques, such as prosthetics or body doubles, were used, as was done in Rammstein’s earlier “Pussy” video. Some fans speculated about clever editing, while others believed the scenes were real.

The second video, “Till the End,” premiered on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2020, also on Visit-X. It features even more explicit content, including scenes of Lindemann engaging in oral sex and intercourse, with some sequences perceived as amateurish and lacking the artistic flair of earlier works like “Knebel”. The video includes controversial elements, such as a scene with a book (“In Stillen Nächten”, Lindemann’s poetry collection) pierced by a dildo, used in sexual acts. This specific element caused publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch ending their relationship with Lindemann in June 2023, citing a “gross breach of trust” due to the depiction of sexual violence.

The videos come 11 year after the Rammstein video for “Pussy”, the Lindemann videos for “Fish On” and “Kneel”, and of course the famous dildo boxset… which got us a ban from Google’s advertising program.

The videos were part of Lindemann’s broader exploration of sexual themes, a hallmark of both Rammstein and his solo work. However, they intensified scrutiny on Lindemann, especially following allegations of misconduct in 2023, including claims of spiked drinks at after-show parties. These allegations, though later dropped by German authorities, fueled criticism of the videos as glorifying sexual violence.

The controversy surrounding these videos, combined with the 2023 allegations, led to a temporary halt in new videos.

Till Lindemann’s ‘Platz Eins’, censored and uncensored

Here’s the censored version of “Platz Eins”.

The full porno flick is available via Visit-X and can be purchased for for £1.99.

About Rammstein

Rammstein formed in Berlin, Germany, in 1994. Guitarist Richard Kruspe, who had fled East Germany for West Berlin in 1989 and later returned to form a project with bassist Oliver Riedel and drummer Christoph Schneider, recruited singer Till Lindemann after hearing him sing. The four-piece won a Berlin battle-of-the-bands contest in 1994, with the prize of a week of professional studio time; guitarist Paul Landers and keyboardist Christian “Flake” Lorenz completed the six-member lineup shortly after. The band’s name derives from “Rammstein-Flugschau,” a reference to the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster, with an extra letter “m” added to the spelling.

The band signed to Motor Music after the 1994 contest and released its debut album, “Herzeleid,” in September 1995. “Sehnsucht” followed in August 1997 and debuted at number one in Germany. From “Mutter” (April 2001) onward, Rammstein has recorded for Universal Music. Subsequent studio albums include “Reise, Reise” (2004), “Rosenrot” (2005), “Liebe ist für alle da” (2009), an untitled seventh album (May 2019) that reached number one in 14 countries, and “Zeit” (April 2022). The band’s lineup – Lindemann, Kruspe, Landers, Riedel, Schneider and Lorenz – has remained unchanged since 1994.

Richard Kruspe has fronted the side project Emigrate since 2007, and Till Lindemann has recorded as Lindemann, with Peter Tägtgren, since 2015. Rammstein won the Revolver Golden God Award for Best Live Band in 2011, its first US award, and has received two Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance, for “Du hast” (1999) and “Mein Teil” (2006). Lindemann has recorded outside Rammstein as well, releasing music with Peter Tägtgren under the name Lindemann since 2015.

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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Good news for the Pink Floyd fans living near the US-Mexico border. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters is planning a concert on the US-Mexico border in protest of President Donald Trump’s planned completion of wall that is already partially separating the southern border between the US and Mexico.

Waters isn’t a fan of Trump and he previously likened Donald Trump’s candidacy to the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1930s Germany (which caused an uproar with the Jewish community because it made Waters look like he was downplaying the suffering of the Jewish people under the nazi-regime). More recently Waters has been mocking Trump by depicting him as a dildo-loving Nazi with a micro-penis. Yup, Waters sure has a beef with Trump.

It’s not the first time Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” is being performed near a wall (or what was left of it). In July 1990, Waters performed the album in Berlin, Germany to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall 8 months earlier.

After Sisters Of Mercy’s promise to record and release a new album, this is yet another good news (at least for the locals fans there) thanks to the not so well digested outcome of US presidential elections by the music world one could say.

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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