Swedish industrial project The Below and vocalist Aaron Sutcliffe have teamed up for an anti-war song, “No Place is Safe”, to be released on January 15, that’s today. Originally written in the midst of the 2014 Gaza conflict, it was not finalised until now.

You can also grab the track from Bandcamp.

About Aaron Sutcliffe

Aaron Sutcliffe is an alias of Johan Malmgren (of S.P.O.C.K) used for recording electronic covers of classic rock songs. Aaron Sutcliffe is presented as an entirely separate person from Johan, with a fictional backstory claiming he was the frontman for an American rock band called The Rebel Trousers in the 1980s.

The first Aaron Sutcliffe album focused on covers of Elvis Presley songs and was produced by Eskil Simonsson (of Covenant), while his second album featured covers of The Beatles and was produced by Andreas Tilliander.

About The Below

The Below is a solo project from the bass player of the infamous industrial ensemble Dr. Evil & The Boys From Below (active between 1985 and 1992). After the group disbanded there were no plans to continue playing and all instruments were either trashed or stored away.

But a couple of years ago bad health struck the musician with part-time / long-term sick leave as a result. To fill the time The Below was born. Some old instruments were dusted off, and the possibilities of the iPad were explored. Since then a couple of singles have been released sporadically. The previous single “Change is Coming (feat. Felix Lidforsen)”, a tribute to Greta Thunberg, turned out to be a bit controversial. Check the video below.

A lot of new material has been written and we might see a couple more songs, and maybe a complete album, released during 2021.

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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Sweden’s electropop act Covenant has covered the Yazoo song “Winter Kills” which was written by Alison Moyet. The band’s Andreas Catjar originally covered the track for a theatre piece, and when Eskil Simonsson heard it he decided to release it under the Covenant flag with his vocals.

Until the 1st of January 2021, 50% of the proceeds of the sales will go to #lauterwerden supporting the band’s crew and people working behind the stage making all the magic possible.

Backing vocals on the track were secured by Andriana Seecker while Joakim Montelius mastered the whole. Elise Fritzson delivered the artwork.

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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The Swedish electropop act Covenant has a new EP, “Fieldworks”, of unexpected sounds collected over time and woven into tracks. The sounds consists of field recordings of great and small things from tours across six continents, mixed with the everyday noise of living.

Aptly titled “Fieldworks: Exkursion” it will be available for digital download on April 1 (it better won’t be a joke then).

The EP is the first release of an upcoming cycle of records attributed to the theme “Fieldworks”, it also features one track written by each member of the band and a strong collaboration with French electro-industrial newcomer Grabyourface.

In the below video Covenant’s Joakim gives a quick insight into the text for “All That Is Solid Melts Into Air” (from the “Fieldworks: Exkursion” EP) plus some clips from the show at der ANKER in Leipzig.

Tracklist

• Pantheon (Lyrics by Montelius, Music by Montelius)
• All That Is Solid Melts Into Air (Lyrics by Montelius, Music by Simonsson*
• False Gods (ft grabyourface) (Lyrics by Marie Lando, Music by Myer, Simonsson)
• Popol Vuh (Traditional, Music by Jonasson)
• Das Nibelungenlied (I. Abenteuer) (Traditional, Music by Catjar)

Song by song background

“Pantheon”

Derived from a field recording made by Joakim Montelius in Rome, May 2014. This is his story: “I had spent the day walking around Rome and came down from the Spanish steps as darkness fell, arriving at the Pantheon just before closing time. So I went inside this marvelous building thinking about how it was once a temple to ALL gods, in the tolerant spirit of the ancient Romans, only to be monopolised and “purged” by the Christian Church and consecrated to the only god it allowed. In the ceiling of its mighty dome, for many centuries the largest unsupported dome on this planet, the empty eye of the Oculus offered a glimpse of the stars above and I suddenly felt very sad. I felt the weight of the ages on my shoulders and the absence of all the wonders of the human imagination, swept away by intolerance and thirst for power, over and over again.”

“This melancholy always hits me when I’m in Rome because the city is so steeped in history and it’s like being in a freaked out time machine, jumping wildly through time, leaving you dizzy and disoriented. But there are few places where it’s more present than in the Pantheon. And while I was standing there, lost in my thoughts, they closed it for the day. I quickly got out my phone and managed to record the speaker voice announcing that the Pantheon is now closed, kindly asking us to leave. And that felt so symbolic that I immediately sat down outside to write down the lyrics.”

“All That Is Solid Melts Into Air”

Video of Joakim Montelius talking about the impetus of this song: “The title is a quote from Karl Marx and also the title of an academic text by Marshall Berman from the 1970s, in which he deals with social and economic modernization and the contrasting relationship to modernity. The second part of the song borrows from Romanticist poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822): “all that is solid melts into air, for its very name has grown to an echo all your own.” “

“False Gods”

Intense, hard, hammering song collaboration between band member Daniel Myers and French electro artist Marie Lando, aka Grabyourface.

“Popol Vuh”

Band member Daniel Jonasson crafted “Popol Vuh” borrowing from the homonymous Holy Book of the Quiché-Maya in Guatemala. To subtle tribal-like sounds, Simonsson recites lines from an English translation of this “book of advice” that tells the mythology of the Maya, the creation of the world, the people of the gods, the emergence of languages, cults, and rituals. “A quiet, withdrawn track that takes you a long way back in the history of humanity.”

“Das Nibelungenlied”

Band member Andreas Catjar’s contribution, “The Nibelungenlied (1st Adventure),” fits in with his work last year at the Staatstheater Mainz, where he was responsible for the music in the Nibelungen production (the Friedrich Hebbel version) by Jan-Christoph Gockel. Nearly seven minutes long, this lengthier track features a spoken recitation by Eskil Simonsson.

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: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Elena Alice Fossi and Angelo Bergamini truly are veterans of the electronic underground scene. Active since the early 80s Kirlian Camera never stopped taking their fans by surprise. Mixing genres and hardly to define this new opus is the first new studio album in 5 years time! The band made a remarkable comeback by the EP “Sky Collapse” featuring Covenant’s front man Eskil Simonsson.

Content: “Hologram Moon” is still dominated by the danceable “Sky Collapse”, which remains one of the best songs of the Italian duo in history. It also sounds pretty Covenant-like and not only because of Eskil’s vocals. If you expect an entire album in this genre you for sure going to be disappointed, but there are more danceable cuts featured. Eskil Simonsson got however featured at another song.

The work mixes evasive electro-pop music together with more danceable pieces and the unavoidable experimental flavor on top of the production. I was also surprised by the track “I Don’t Sing” featuring Angelo Bergamini on vocals and dealing with funny lyrics as a declaration to Elena Fossi. Notice by the way John Fryer has produced this work.

+ + + : “Hologram Moon” is a surprising return for Kirlian Camera, which has accomplished one of their most noticeable albums in history. The album is more ‘poppy’ and ‘danceable’ than any other work although it’s much more than only ‘dancefloor’ music. Kirlian Camera fans will recognize the ballad and evasive style of the band accomplished with experimental sounds and arrangements. The work remains carried and blessed by Elena’s sensual and bewitching timbre of voice. But a great singer also needs a talented musician and that’s what Bergamini illustrates. He’s an old-school driven musician who still likes analogue experiments this way creating unique sound treatments.

– – – : There’s a hiatus between the most danceable cuts and the rest of the tracklist. It for sure injects diversity to the work, but it’s not that evident to switch from a danceable track such as “Sky Collapse” into a piece of reverie and later on the electro-ballad sung by Bergamini.

Conclusion: Kirlian Camera remains a particular experience in sound! A band you can’t compare to another, but simply moving on exorcising their own sonic ideas. This is for sure one of their best releases to date.

Best songs: “Sky Collapse”, “Kryostar”, “Haunted River”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/kirliancamera.official

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

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

“Hologram Moon” is the first Kirlian Camera album after five years for Elena Alice Fossi and Angelo Bergamini. In October 2017, the duo already returned with the single “Sky Collapse”, the title track of which was sung together with Covenant’s Eskil Simonsson.

The album “Hologram Moon” will be released on 4 different formats: a double (clear) vinyl (available here), a regular double vinyl (available here), a 2CD + book (available here) and a regular CD (available here).

The 2CD + book set holds a bonus disc with the following tracks: “Too many Friends”, “La Caduta del Cielo (Sky Collapse – Italian)”, “Holograms (Radio Version)”, “Equation Echo 2”, “Absentee 2018”, “Turin Obscurity Diary”, “Coming back Home”, “Moonlight Sonata for Holograms” and “Der Mond über Mosul”.

Check out the band’s recent single “Sky Collapse”.

https://youtu.be/KNhZY9XMN8o

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: Electro-pop, body-pop.

Background/Info: Italian duo Kirlian Camera has their new album “Hologram Moon” in the pipeline. They released this 4-tracks EP as a teaser. The title song is featuring a version together with guest singer Eskil Simonsson from Covenant.

Content: “Sky Collapse” is a real strong song, maybe the most danceable Kirlian Camera song in their long history. It’s carried by a solid and danceable kick, a body-pop bass line, heavenly strings and Elena Alice Fossi’s sensual timbre of voice. The song is not what I would call a typical Kirlian Camera song and even reminds me of Covenant.

And that’s probably not of a coincidence as Eskil Simonsson is singing in duo with Elena on the other version while the more you listen to the track the more it will remind you to Covenant’s “We Dance Alone”, which by the way is a song both singers already performed together on stage.

Both other cuts are more into the traditional Kirlian Camera style.

+ + + : “Sky Collapse” –and especially the duo with the Covenant’s singer, is a genius piece of music. It’s a beautiful and styled song mixing elements of pop with heavenly strings and a darker EBM flavor on top. I especially enjoyed the evasive lead of the song. “Sky Collapse” also brings 2 great singers and performers together. “Sky Collapse” is not the most original Kirlian Camera song in history, but it could for sure become one of their biggest hits!

– – – : I just regret “Sky Collapse” sounds a bit like a reworked version from Covenant’s “We Stand Alone”. But if it’s okay for Covenant and all fans of both formations, who am I to complain!?

Conclusion: “Sky Collapse” is a real strong appetizer to welcome the new Kirlian Camera album. This is a great EP!

Best songs: “Sky Collapse feat. Covenant”, “Sky Collapse – Dancetronik Mix”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/kirlian.camera

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

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

“Sky Collapse” isthe first single from Kirlian Camera’s new album “Hologram Moon” and marks the collaboration of Kirlian Camera with Swedish electronic icons Covenant on the A-side version of the track (as we reported over a year ago already), which is also a duet between singer Elena Alice Fossi and Covenant’s Eskil Simonsson.

Angelo Bergamini: “Sky Collapse represents memories from a recent hard period during which any possible light seemed to turn into deep darkness as if everything had been lost. The sky looked as if it had collapsed just when … an unexpected ray of hope started shining on a gloomy evening. Here we are now, describing quite an ordeal with simple words and “dance on all those ruins”, whether they stand for the past we briefly mentioned above or a hard future we’ll have to face. Covenant own this particular feeling, this ability to link cold electronics with drama. We have always felt connected to Eskil Simonsson and his project, so this meeting today, on these strange roads, is just a natural result of such research in music.”

Youcan purchase the single right here on CD and/or vinyl.

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.

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, body-pop.

Background/Info: Covenant is back on track and will unleash their new full length “The Blinding Dark” within a few weeks. A first single/EP has been released to give us an idea about the new songs.

The title song has been inspired by the band’s ‘fascination with a network of large concrete acoustic mirrors built during WWII on the coast of southern England. These structures, known as ‘Sound Mirrors’, still stand today and were erected as early-warning devices by British air defense forces to detect incoming enemy aircraft. Yet they were rendered obsolete by the invention of radar long before they could be put into widespread use.’ It also is a story ‘that underscores the paradox of progress’.

Content: “Sound Mirrors” is a rather typical Covenant-song featuring the charismatic vocals of Eskil Simonsson and alluring sound vibrations mixing intelligent sound sculptures and a carrying chorus. Next to this rather catchy title song Covenant also features a more experimental B-side track “In Theory”, which is composed with impressive sound manipulations.

Like any good EP we also get an important part of remixes. “Sound Mirrors” has been remixed by Faderhead, Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Architect) and Iszoloscope.

+ + + : “Sound Mirrors” is a typical Covenant-song without real surprises. It’s the kind of track confirming the high-tech sound of this Swedish leading formation and their unique skills to create ‘hits’. Speaking for myself I prefer the experimentalism and sound research of “In Theory”. The remixes bring some extra diversity to the great title song.

– – – : “Sound Mirrors” definitely is a cool song although not the one that can compete with some of their numerous, earlier hits. I think the album will have more to offer.

Conclusion: Covenant is back on track and already seems to have taken their time to achieve new and masterly written songs. The EP is a cool appetizer; by I’m especially looking forward to discover the full length album.

Best songs: “Sound Mirrors”, “In theory”, “Sound Mirrors – Daniel Myer Remix”

Rate: (8).

Band: www.covenant.se / www.facebook.com/Covenant–OFFICIAL-156626197713557

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

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

While we are still waiting for Covenant’s new single “Sound Mirrors” (available here on CD and vinyl) to hit the stores, we can already announce “The Blinding Dark” which is the newest album by Swedish finest dark electropop act.

Here’s how the album sounds like, that is if we have to base ourselves on what the promo sheet of the release reads: “In the electronic rhythms, so like heart beats. In synthetic sound, full of life, in those moments where the blinding dark slowly shifts into blinding light and back again.”

The album will be out on CD (available here), as well as in a deluxe 2CD version (available here) featuring the “Psychonaut” EP as an extra which is over an hour of improvised and experimental music by Covenant, recorded directly to 2 channels. All tracks were improvised and performed live (without the aid of computers) by Andreas Catjar, Daniel Jonasson, Joakim Montelius and Eskil Simonsson at a private session in Osterlov forest 4th of September 2015.

And… there is also a limited edition vinyl which you can pick up right here! Be fast as this one will be selling quite rapidly like all Covenant releases.

Here’s a preview of the cover art for the 2CD deluxe version:

For Covenant, which formed in 1986 in Helsingborg, Sweden, this will be their 9th studio album to date, coming after their 2013 release “Leaving Babylon”.

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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The fine label Artoffact Records has announced the authorised reissues of the three 1980s albums that introduced the Canadian electropop act Psyche to the world on CD and on vinyl. To get an overview of all available releases (including a huge fan pack), check this link. EU orders for the vinyls can be placed right here.

Psyche was formed by brothers Darrin and Stephen Huss in Edmonton, Alberta, named after the B-Side of Killing Joke’s Wardance single as well as being chosen for the meaning of the word. The band’s debut performance was on December 13, 1982 with the late Dwayne Goettel (Skinny Puppy) on additional keyboards. Although Psyche is now based in Germany, during the 80s the band was located in Canada from where singer Darrin Huss and his brother/musician Stephen Huss (who unfortunately died last Summer) would conquer the electropop world in no time.

Available now are the CD versions and vinyl versions.

We decided to talk with Darrin Huss about each of these 3 amazing albums which finally see a well deserved reissue and which have been part of the upbringing of almost the complete Side-Line staff.

“Insomnia Theatre” – Deluxe (available here / EU vinyl orders can be placed here)

During 1983-85 Stephen and Darrin Huss would record what would become their debut album “Insomnia Theatre”. They self-released the LP in 1985. The album’s style mixed dark electronics, new wave, industrial, and horror in ways that were quite shocking to its first Canadian audience, and which today are seen by synth music aficionados as a master work. The album held such classic cuts as “The Brain Collapses”, “Maggots”, “Eating Violins” and “Children Carry Knives”. The album also made its way to Europe where it was licensed by the pioneering French New Rose label.

The Artoffact Records reissue is completely remastered and includes several bonus tracks which have never before been released. The base of the recording is the original Canadian LP Mix, with the addition of several tracks from the New Rose 1985 edition, plus bonus tracks from the “Contorting the Image” EP (1986) and the very rare “Unleashed” cassette (1988). Singer Darrin Huss personally selected all the bonus material, including the never-before-heard “Ice” and “Mind Over Matter”.

Darrin: “Psyche’s debut has now been released several times, the biggest edition being the “Insomnia Theatre” Box on VOD Records in 2011. This time however, I have attempted to make a definitive release containing only the recordings from 1983-1985, and the album cover is now in fact the actual photo of my brother and I that I found in his collection in Canada after his passing away last year.

I spent a lot of time deciding what to put on here, so it reflects the Canadian release with one additional related track on Side A and B. “Lies” was only recording once directly to cassette, and performed briefly at the beginning of our live concerts between 1982-83. It shows the influence of DAF, mixed with more punk attitude lyrics inspired by Dead Kennedys
as also heard in “Children Carry Knives”. Side B adds “Wrench” as it was recorded even before the debut album, and later included on the New Rose release of “Insomnia Theatre”.

New discoveries are collected on Side D, as well as the previously unreleased instrumental “Ice” that I always liked, but we never pursued it further afterwards. “Night Watcher” on Side D is my personal highlight discovered on our early demo cassettes, and would make a great debut for today’s Cold Wave / Minimal scene. The album is rounded out with never before published press photos that my brother took at the time, and a lyric sheet adding the newly discovered songs.”

This reissue can now be ordered right here.

“Unveiling The Secret” – 30th anniversary (available here / EU vinyl orders can be placed here)

Released 30 years ago on the New Rose label, Psyche’s “Unveiling the Secret” was lauded by fans and praised by generations of musicians including Sven Vath, Joris Voorn, and Eskil Simonsson (Covenant). The leading tracks included “The Saint Became A Lush” (which appeared on Trevor Jackson’s famous “Metal Dance” series), “Prisoner to Desire” (remixed by the famous Joseph Watt of Razormaid fame), “Prisoner to Desire”, “Lord Unleashed”, and several more.

The Artoffact Records reissue is completely remastered and includes several bonus tracks which have never before been released. Darrin Huss again personally selected all the bonus material, including a rare Razormaid mix and the never-before-heard track “Lock The Door”.

Darrin: “A re-release of this album took place on CD in 1999, but it has never really been put together remastered and with all the single mixes together until now.

This latest release on CD and Vinyl also contains a rare black and white press photo taken by Alain Duplantier in Paris for New Rose. We decided to make all 3 albums black and white, and since this was the only album with a color photo at the time, I replaced it with this official press photo for consistency. It was a scandal at the time to have us on the cover, as indie bands usually have obscure graphics, and people were surprised that a “Horror Synth-Pop” act would suddenly advertise themselves rather than an image to represent the music. However, we did this consciously. As Skinny Puppy became popular with a similar sound and image, we moved on to a more Electro-Pop approach, and broke out of the Goth/EBM mold with “Unveiling The Secret” and “Prisoner To Desire”.

“The Saint Became A Lush” is of course a definitive Psyche sounding track that I feel represents what we do rather completely. I decided to add the Razormaid Mixes, and all the 12” single B-Sides to this release. Also new are two demos, one the previously unreleased “Lock The Door” another great instrumental by Stephen that was recorded in several versions, but for whatever reason we never finished it for an album. “Words Cannot Express” is an unreleased unfinished song that I practiced around the time of recording. The singing is fairly raw, but I think it makes a nice epilogue to the sleek Unveiling The Secret production.”

This reissue can now be ordered right here.

“Mystery Hotel” – Definitive Edition (available here / EU vinyl orders can be placed here)

In 1987/88 Stephen and Darrin Huss recorded what would become “Mystery Hotel”. The final album would be mixed, and produced at Synsound Studios in Belgium by Dan Lacksman (Telex) with additional mixing and engineering assistance by Stephan Krämer and Cookie. Following the success of “Insomnia Theatre” and “Unveiling the Secret”, Psyche turned to a classic wave sound on their third and most polished album. The album is in many ways the darkest Psyche album, just listen to tracks such as “Wake the Flood Unconscious”, “Nocturnal Passenger” and “The Outsider”.

The Artoffact Records reissue is completely remastered and includes several bonus tracks which have never before been released or never released before on CD.

Darrin: “The third in Psyche’s somehow unplanned “trilogy”. I call the albums the Holy Trinity of Dark Synth-Pop. All 3 have certain songs that stand the test of time, and awaken strong emotions in listeners just discovering our sound.

I have to say, this was the hardest to work on as “Dreamstreet” brought me to tears every time I tried to perfect this already beautiful sounding instrumental. We played this at my brother’s memorial, and it reminds me most of him, and our time together recording, and mixing at Dan Lacksman’s studio in Belgium. The album was original recorded at Garage studios in Paris where we had done “Unveiling The Secret” previously, but we somehow wanted to sound even more “glossy” at the time as most 80s bands were going from their rough beginnings to a more “radio friendly” sound.

We spent ages on “Uncivilized” and I rewrote the lyrics several times, but finally it became the debut single, and seemed to be getting us further towards the dream of bringing Psyche’s alternative Synth-Pop to a wider audience.

The reaction to this album at the time was fairly mixed. For me the 2 highlights are “The Outsider” and “Eternal”. Those have become the defining sound for what Psyche does when we go Pop, but keep our style. “Uncivilized” is equally popular, and at the time “Nocturnal Passenger” was the most requested song live. I think we advanced a little quicker than most of our fans were ready at the time, and whatever wasn’t Dark EBM was too soft for them.

“Eternal” managed to get radio play, and we made our most expensive video with a production team in Toronto for that one. Somehow the song is magical, and the appreciation grows with every new listener. For this re-release I have included again the Razormaid mixes, B-Sides, and the Live EP that originally came with the limited New Rose release. The demos of Stephen and I practicing some of the songs from this album will be added as a bonus download.

“Wake The Flood Unconscious” is also one of the most original things for a synth-pop band to do. Psychedelic rock on Synth. We were inspired by Soft Cell’s Hendrix Medley, and listening to The Doors, so we thought, why not make our own song in that style? With all three albums, it’s this breaking down barriers between various genres that makes Psyche stand out from the average. We had idols, and favorites, but we always wanted to do things our own way, and I am proud to have created a small piece of musical art in my lifetime, that still carries on to this day.

How appropriate then, that our Canadian partners, and label ArtofFact Records should have the definitive releases of these 3 groundbreaking albums.”

This reissue can now be ordered right 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.

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And now something completely different and oh so tabloid like. Eskil Simonsson, the frontman of the Swedish band Covenant, has a new look as you can see above.

Nothing world shocking you might think, but the blond music god has cut off all of his hair and that pushed some fans to give rather funny comments such as “Having a Britney moment Eskil?” or simply “Fantomas”.

Others took it more serious, or what to think of these comments: “No hair No eskill !!”, “Unless you’re covering up male pattern baldness I say keep the hair. There’s enough of this in the industry.”, “For the love of God, you’re gorgeous. This does NOT work on you. For realzies. You have lovely blonde hair. Let it grow back unless something else is going on.” and “Because there are not enough old bald guys in teh scene?!”

Some even photoshopped the photo of Eskil Simonsson a bit as you can see on the left.

Eskil’s answer to the whole bald versus hair thing was this: “It’s very refreshing and has challenged me in a interesting way more deeper than I thought. The world is different now.” Nothing to take too seriously of course, just like this article.

Covenant are at the moment in the middle of studio work on a brand new album. It will be the follow-up to the 2013 released “Leaving Babylon” album.

More info as we get it. On the music that is.

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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ArtOfFact Records is on a new reissue spree of Front Line Assembly releases to celebrate the band’s 30th year anniversary. Below are the 3 reissues that the label presents now and which you can purchase here (for the North American market) and here (for the EU market).

1. “Fallout” double vinyl featuring bonus tracks

The original remix album, the second for FLA, came hot on the heels of the “Artificial Soldier” full-length. The band commissioned remixes by a who’s who of hot industrial and EBM talent, including Icon of Coil’s Sebastian R. Komor, Combichrist, Covenant, Portion Control, DJ? Acucrack, and more. Additional remixes from FLA’s circle were added by Greg Reely, Jeremy Inkel, and Dan Kearley. And the album is rounded out by 3 non-album tracks that appear here for the first time.

The limited edition record will be released on standard black vinyl (available here), and a limited edition half-half effect with white / toxic blue will also be pressed (available here). In case you want both versions, then you should place your order here. EU-orders can be placed right here.

Check the remastered tapes below:

2. “Re-Wind” double vinyl featuring bonus tracks

This first remix album was released as a stacked double-CD in 1998. “Re-Wind” was a 14-track release that featured the talents of Front 242, Collide, Tim Schuldt, Kalte Farben, Eat Static, Cydonia, and Finitribe on remix duties. An additional 7 remixes were executed by Front Line Assemmbly themselves, resulting in a 14-track document which is now available on double vinyl.

The limited edition record will be released on standard black vinyl (available here), and a limited edition yellow-black splatter version (available here). In case you want both versions, then you should place your order here. EU-orders can be placed right here.

Check the remastered tapes below:

3. “Artificial Soldier” double vinyl

Ten years ago, Front Line Assembly released “Artificial Soldier” on the dawn of their 20th year anniversary. This year marks 30 years of Front Line Assembly and finally sees this album available on vinyl.

The album features two collaborations by Front 242’s Jean-Luc de Meyer who contributes vocals to “Future Fail”, and by Covenant’s Eskil Simonsson who contributes both vocals and keys to “The Storm”.

The double limited edition vinyl will be released in a gatefold sleeve complete with restored Dave McKean artwork. Collectors will be treated to three versions of the record: an outside-inside effect with a deep yellow outside surrounding a metallic silver-grey inside version (100 copies and available here), a cherry-coke red version (200 copies and available here) and a standard black edition (available here). In case you want all 3 versions, then you should place your order here. EU-orders can be placed right here.

Check the remastered tapes below:

4. All in one

For the die-hard fans, you can also buy ALL versions of the Front Line Assembly “2016 – 30th anniversary” vinyl series in one shot. You will get:

• 2 versions of “Re-Wind” (Black, Splatter)
• 2 versions of “Fallout” (Black, Half-Half)
• 3 versions of “Artificial Soldier” (Black, Cherry Cola Red, Inside-Outside)

You will also get download codes for these albums.

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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