Italian formation They Die saw the daylight in 2020. Driven by three experienced musicians who knew each other from other projects they are/were involved with, the band released two noticeable albums so far. “Deviant Love” released in 2021 by Jetglow Recordings sounds as pure Cold-Wave reminding legendary 80s formations. They last year stroke back releasing “Emptiness Prevails” on Swiss Dark Nights. Giorgio Ricci, Massimiliano Griggio and Simone Scarani confirmed the strong potential of the debut work. I consider They Die as one of the most promising formations from Dark-Wave scene. I got in touch with ‘Simon Scar’.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I think you set up They Die in 2020. How did you guys met and can you give us more details about your music background?

Scar: Exact, They Die exist since 2020; set up by three members that have been collaborating together for some time in various projects, First Black Pope, Black Beat, Templezone, Templebeat… A lot of music made and lived in the underground, always within the dark Industrial scene. They Die was born out of our need to be able to express our most…’romantic’ part;  our decadent vision of love.

Q: What kind of band and sound did you’d in mind when setting up the band? Do you’ve specific sources of inspiration and/or references when composing your music?

Scar: When I compose, the music is born first and then I add vocals and lyrics. I never have a band in mind… I have a billion hahahaha, that is like everyone I am influenced by many bands, especially from the 80s and 90s, always alternative. With They Die I initially wanted to pay homage to the bands that made me grow by recreating in my own way the atmosphere created by those pieces that I heard as a teenager in the alternative disco in my area

Q: For a new band you’ve just released your second full length album. What means music -and especially They Die to you and how do you perceive the evolution from “Deviant Love” towards “Emptiness Prevails”?

Scar: Music is magic, something invisible that generates emotions, spreads in the air, envelops you, hits you, moves you in time. Having the power to create music, to generate that magic is an honor for me, and I can’t live  without it; my whole life has been and is based on music. Right now They Die is the name I use to speak to the world, to express myself, to excite… on the one hand…. and on the other it’s my way of talking to myself, of looking inside myself, of keeping myself alive.

From the first to the second album I think you notice a certain maturity in the sounds and in the production in general. I always try to do better and I’m very picky, sometimes even too much, actually no it’s never too much hahaha

Q: Tell us a bit more about the new work? What is “Emptiness Prevails” all about how did the album took shape?

Scar: “Emptiness Prevails” is that emotional emptiness that is perceived in the stomach when we lose someone, someone who was part of us, that overwhelming feeling of emptiness that makes us seem to have taken away a part of ourselves. The album was written much more consciously than the first one, and it feels, above all because with “Deviant Love” we had received good reviews and attracted good attention, thanks above all to Yami Spechie who gave us the opportunity to upload our videoclips on his Youtube channel, and we didn’t want to disappoint expectations. We did our best and I’m very happy you’re enjoying it, I notice it from the amount of web compilations that arrive every day with our songs featured on it.

Q: You mentioned the influence of the 80s Dark-Wave music but what means this music to you?

Scar: The 80s are the years that left me the most influences on an artistic and aesthetic level; they were the years in which synthesizers exploded, music was cold and fashion was square…. I clearly remember as child I was listening to the radio and it often happened that my mother came into the room and found me near the radio in tears, and she asked me: ‘why are you crying?’… and I returned to reality: this music is sad… I was already a little Goth… I have gravitated to the dark environment all my life, it is a subculture that has lived in time since the 80s, musically it has a thousand of facets and sub-genres, but more generally it is a way of being and of seeing the world

Q: What are the plans for the next few months and how important are live performances to you?

Scar: We have just joined the Blackweb tour-booking agency and therefore we hope to continue promoting “Emptiness Prevails” even better with live performances. In the meantime I have started writing new songs for the next album which will be released in 2023. I have always performed live and it was my therapy; I am a very shy and lonely person and finding myself with all eyes on me always is a challenge against myself. Two or three hours before the show my hands start shaking and I need to be alone and concentrate, and as soon as the show ends everything relaxes and I feel drained.

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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The Italian electro industrial band Synapsyche joined the Belgian electro industrial label Alfa Matrix in 2018. Since then they released the highly successful “Praise Of Folly” album and its two related EPs “Mirror Terror” and the most recent “Viva Insanity”. The label has now also reissued the band’s previously released material including bonus material.

Already released by Alfa Matrix are the following releases:

In praise of folly (Bonus Tracks Version)
Viva Insanity EP
Mirror Terror EP

So what do we find in this reissue series? Let’s have a look.

First there’s the “Wait / Hate” EP (available here on Bandcamp) which was originally released on January 31st 2013. The “Wait/Hate” EP is the very first self-released EP from Synapsyche from their early days offering upbeat harsh and noisy dark elektro EBM.

Next is the “Crashdown Connected” album (available here on Bandcamp) which was originally released on December 19st 2014, and also includes their cover of HIM’s “Your Sweet 666” in a rather well-executed way. The re-release of this album features the exclusive bonus “requiem version” of “Suicyber Girl” by First Black Pope.

Next is the “Meds” EP (available here on Bandcamp) which was originally released on September 30th 2015 and which features a stunning cover version of Placebo’s “Meds”. Next to 4 new tracks, including the other club hit “Push”, this 9-track EP also served exclusive bonus tracks from the “Crashdown Connected” album recreated by dark industrial/elektro friends like Chamaeleon, First Black Pope, Binary Division, M.O.D. and Thornsectide. The re-release of this EP features the exclusive bonus remix of “Hyperfuck” by T-Error Machinez.

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

Background/Info: The Italian combo First Black Pope is clearly not the most renowned band active in the wider fields of dark-electronic music and yet I’ve always been seduced by this formation. “Post Mortem” is the third full length of the band, which was already released several months ago now.

Content: “Post Mortem” became a heavy and merciless fusion between quite typical dark-electro music and heavy guitar riffs. The haunting electronic style for some of the leads  might remind you of Suicide Commando and to Leather Strip for some of its sequences. The empowering guitar playing clearly injects an industrial-metal flavor, which makes the characteristic of this band, but not from the music genre. The vocals are somewhere in between rage and a ghost-like expression.

+ + + : “Post Mortem” is a violent production, which will appeal for dark-electro freaks, and also to a ‘harder’ audience listening to bands such as Freakangel, Seraphim System and related bands. The sound is not innovating although First Black Pope has something on their own. I like the power running through the work, which is sometimes accentuated by a few epic arrangements.

– – – : The only –and important element from the album I was a bit disappointed with is the mixing. The sound is pretty compressed and has a dirty production. This album is maybe missing an ‘absolute’ hit, but globally speaking this is a great tracklist.

Conclusion: If you don’t know yet First Black Pope, I can only, but recommend you to put your hand on this work to discover the ultra-violent work of this formation.

Best songs: “Collector”, “Human Sacrifice”, “Fallen Star”, “I Invoke”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/FIRSTBLACKPOPE

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

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

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

Content: This newest EP by Acylum has been released nearly at the same time of the “Venom”-EP. “Venom” revealed a completely new song plus an extra exclusive track while “Hate” brings you back to the dark inferno of the “Pest”-full length.

The main song “Born To Be Hated” was reconstructed into a so-called “Shot Two”, which remains pretty faithful to the raw electro-industrial Acylum sound. It all sounds brutal and harsh, which is an element you once again will discover in the production of the vocals. It’s an overwhelming dark-electro style, which is highly danceable, but still influenced by a sort of tormented layer. Acylum is the kind of band that can’t leave you unmoved.

“Born To B Hated” was remixed on this EP by 4 different formations, which each have tried to inject their own touch to the song. Xentrifuge and First Black Pope both did it a rather familiar dark-electro and industrial way, and both of the remixes are pretty well-crafted.

The biggest surprises were accomplished by a more clubby-danceable remix of Simon Carter and totally transformed and impressive work of Venal Flesh. The remix of Venal Flesh really deserves a special mention for their creative work.

The few remixes left are also songs that were originally released on the last album. The “Pest” song was remixed by two bands, but I here especially noticed the amazing work by Llumen. This new-signed Alfa-Matrix band transformed the original song into a modern dark cut with vague technoid elements and a kind of avant-garde approach.

“My Knife” was remixes by two different bands as well and I here especially recommended the brilliant and somewhat body-minded remix by VV303.

Conclusion: “Hate” reveals not as many surprises compared to “Venom”, but a few remixes transposing the original songs into a new approach and sound dimension are worthy of examination.

Best songs: “Born To Be Hated – Shot Two”, “Pest – Llumen Remix”, “The Knife – VV303 Bunker Remix”, “Born To Be Hated – Venal Flesh Remix”.

Rate: (DP:8)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/Acylum.Music

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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