(Photo by Esme Bones) To celebrate hitting the 100.000 streams milestone London-based alt.goth and electro-metal act Ray Noir will release his mixtape “Scorpio” in a deluxe edition this Thursday.

The deluxe edition holds the bonus track “All Alone” featuring Mariann Rosa from Surferosa and a brand new remix of “Double Trouble” by alt.rockers TOVA. Additionally, it includes remixes by Gothminister, Corlyx, Tension Control, and others, along with the track “You, Me & The Devil” featuring Tom Saint.

Ray Noir will be playing some shows in August with Combichrist at Underworld and a headline show in Oslo, Norway.

• 7th of August – London, UK – Underworld, supporting Industrial Core legends Combichrist
• 31st of August – Oslo, Norway – Revolver, co-headlining with Piston Damp

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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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Gothminister press release) The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) season is upon us again, and there’s no denial that most songs participating aren’t in the scope of Side-Line readers. But fortunately there are exceptions – one of them being Gothminister from Norway, competing in Melodi Grand Prix, the Norwegian semi-finals, this Saturday!

Gothminister is Bjørn Alexander Brem’s heart child and alter ego. During the day, the Oslo man works as a lawyer, but at night Gothminister rises from the dark. Bjørn Alexander brings out his creative side through impressive costumes and music. Gothminister recently played to over 30,000 people in Germany, and has toured in more than 40 countries over the years. Last year they released the album ‘Pandemonium’, which won the Dark Album of the Year award, ahead of Rammstein and Placebo among others. Gothminister has numerous chart positions in Germany, and won a total of 19 international film awards for two of the music videos last year.

The song ‘We Come Alive’ was a collaboration with producer Jesper Borgen (Alan Walker, Coldplay), and is about the value of play, about believing in yourself and standing together against all injustice. With him on stage in MGP, he has, among others, chorister Hege Rødfjell, who has extensive experience from bands, orchestras, TV and film.

Between rehearsals and preparations for tonight’s semifinal we managed to slip in some questions:

SL: What made you participate again, 11 years after last time?

Bjørn Alexander Brem: In 2013 I met a famous producer called Jesper Borgen (Alan Walker, Coldplay). He told me he always wanted to produce a Gothminister track. 10 years after I called him and he was still interested.

‘We Come Alive’ is the result of the discussions between metal man Gothminister and pop man Jesper Borgen. In the end I think we landed a perfect hybrid between pop and industrial gothmetal, and suddenly the song was picked as 1 of 18 among about 2.000 songs to compete in Melodi Grand Prix, which is the national selections in Norway for Eurovision.

SL: There’s been mixed reactions; fans and music commentators don’t agree – what’s your take on that?

BAB: Yes, the song got mixed reviews – in the MGP podcast it got 5/6, but in Nettavisen 1/6 and they wrote that «the song is best when it is over.» This shows the typical commercial attitude to the Dark scene, and towards something that is different. Gothminister has always and is still representing the different ones.

PS! A hilarious note on the Nettavisen reviews of the songs: they added a voting form for their subscribers at the end of the article, ending up with Gothminister as the overwhelming victor with over 50% of the votes for the six contestants, leaving the next best with 17%!

SL: If you go to the finals or to Malmö, what can we expect?

BAB: I can’t say, but you know Gothminister is always «over the top», so it will be crazy, that’s for sure!

SL: What are you looking most forward to during this contest?

BAB: To show the Dark side, to show that it’s possible to be different and still good. And all the people out there who has felt rejected, mocked, struggling in life etc, like myself – I am performing for them first and foremost.

‘We Come Alive’ is about being different and thus being a bit outside. Gothminister has always been a champion for this group and for justice to be done. I myself was bullied by my former best friend at school and felt what it was like.

But being different also gives you unimaginable superpowers. Among other things, it makes you better able to understand others around you, and to respect them. Never be afraid to be different. Believe in yourself and never let go of your dreams, one day they will come to life. You must respect others and always strive to make others comfortable in your company.
If everyone stands together we are more alive, instead of being dead inside!

Check out the various versions of ‘We Come Alive’ right below.

Do also check out the official video here!

And don’t forget to vote tonight if you’re Norwegian, you can register at https://delta.nrk.no/mgp/.

jrstange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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VampireFreaks announces Dark Force Fest 2024, a 3-day gothic-industrial music festival and convention. Dark Force Fest will be held April 19th – 21st, 2024 in Parsippany, New Jersey.

In addition to live bands on two stages, Dark Force Fest also features drag queen performances, sideshow acts, a live bats exhibit, band meet-and-greets, DJ club events, 100+ vendors, panels, presentations, meet-ups, food trucks, and spooky crafting activities. Dark Force Fest takes place in Parsippany, NJ (1 hour from New York City), where goths from around the world congregate and take over the massive castle-themed Sheraton Parsippany—including 44,000 square feet of event space and all 370 hotel rooms. The castle will be adorned in gothic décor and art installations for an immersive experience. Rooms in the main venue sold out within 2 days of announcing the dates, but there are still overflow hotels in the area.

The festival lineup includes live performances from:

Stabbing Westward, Nitzer Ebb, The Crüxshadows, Leaether Strip, Gothminister, Das Ich, Priest, Vision Video, Vampires Everywhere, Then Comes Silence, Ayria, Ash Code, System Syn, Dawn of Ashes, FGFC820, Moris Blak, Danny Blu, Kanga, Auger, Creux Lies, Angels & Agony, I:scintilla, Ego Likeness. Abstinence, Nite, Al1ce, Astari Nite, Mechanical Vein, The Long Losts, October Noir, Biomechanimal, Eva X, Stoneburner, Oberer and Rabbit Junk.

Activities include:

• Over 100 Vendors
• A drag queen show hosted by Onyx Ondyx
• Sideshow performances
• A live bats exhibit and presentation by NJ Batman
• Dj club events playing goth-industrial music
• Panels and presentations
• Arts & crafts activities
• Food Trucks
• Karaoke

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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(Photo by Simon Marter) London-based goth artist Ray Noir is gearing up to launch his latest single “Pity Party” on September 29th. This track is taken from Noir’s upcoming mixtape “Scorpio” and will soon be accompanied by a club remix from Gothminister, set to release on October 13th.

The production and mixing of “Pity Party” were handled by KANGA, while the songwriting credits go to Ray Noir and Madeleine Wood. Additional keyboard contributions come from Bjørn Heden of Combichrist, and the track features guitar work by Christer Krogh and mastering by Joe Farr.

Originating from Oslo, Ray Noir’s musical odyssey is deeply connected to the Norwegian Black Metal scene. His sound also holds a fusion of diverse influences, ranging from The Prodigy and Boy Harsher to Nine Inch Nails.

Speaking about the forthcoming club remix, Gothminister said, “Ray and I have had our share of memorable parties. So, when he asked me to remix ‘Pity Party,’ I couldn’t resist. This remix is a tribute to our good times in Norway and across Europe, and it’s my gift to Ray and club DJs everywhere. Enjoy!”

Below is the video for the single which will be out on all platforms on September 13.

Ray Noir is also excited to announce his debut UK tour, commencing this October. He will be the opening act for Vampires Everywhere from the US and RXPTRS from the UK. The tour dates are as follows:

• October 18, 2023: Manchester, Factory
• October 19, 2023: Edinburgh, Bannermans
• October 22, 2023: London, O2 Islington Academy
• October 23, 2023: Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms

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 7th track on our free (or pay-what-you-want to support our charity work) download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 5” is by Auger, a UK based dynamic-darkwave duo signed to the fine darkTunes label.

You can listen to “Find My Own Way Out” right below.

Auger are Kyle Wilson (21) lead vocals, keyboards, programming and Kieran Thornton (21) guitar and backing vocals. Founded in July 2017, Auger quickly sold out their debut CD single “New Life” / “My Guardian” (Rebco Records UK) and got noticed by the darkTunes label which selected the track “My Guardian” for their “Gothic Music Orgy Vol 4” compilation.

The band debuted with the album “The Awakening” in April 2018 and offers the band’s typical hard-hitting and hyper-melodic approach which will please the fans of BlutEngel, Project Pitchfork and Gothminister to name just a few.

The band also released a video for the track we feature today.

Check “Face The Beat: Session 5” on Bandcamp to discover the other bands. All donations will go to charity.

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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