Genre/Influences: Industrial, Experimental.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Caroline Laure Masson aka Mei is a French artist who’s been busy for a couple of years now. The album “Les États De La Matière” ‘was originally conceived as a complete story’ and has been divided into several EPs released on different labels like Ant-Zen, Detroit Underground, and Schematic Records.

Content: We get 8 songs leading us into the particular Industrial-like sound universe of Mei. The tracks are driven by slow rhythms creating a sensual sensation which together with Caroline’s singing becomes only more orgasmic. A few cuts feature extra, danceable, Techno vibes and I even noticed a kind of Industrial-Trip-Pop cut. 

+ + + : Industrial music has never been so sexy which is a feeling I already got at previous Mei-productions. This artist creates an ‘Industrial free-style’ revealing her creative mind. I think this work might appeal to lovers of Grausame Töchter and S.I.N.A.; kind of provocative girl-power but first of all a talented artist. The tracklist is maybe a bit short but we only get great songs becoming better and better towards the end of the album.

– – – : I prefer a great album with only 8 songs instead of a poorly inspired work featuring an endless number of songs but a few more cuts would have been cool here.

Conclusion: Mei confirms to have a nose for great and visionary Industrial music.

Best songs: “Équinoxe”, “Sushis”, “Aqua Ghoul”, “F**k You”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/closetomei

Label: https://ecunderground.com / www.facebook.com/ecunderground

Listen to “Les États De La Matière”:

About Mei

Mei is the industrial project of French artist Caroline Laure Masson. “Les États De La Matière” was conceived as a complete story and released in stages as EPs on Ant-Zen, Detroit Underground and Schematic Records before this full album, issued via EC Underground, gathered the eight tracks together with their individual music videos.

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: EBM, Wave-Pop, Electro-Punk.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After the compilation album “Werkschau” (2022) German, eccentric, formation around front woman Aranea Peel strikes back with the band’s seventh full length released at the end of 2023.

Content: The album reveals 15 songs featuring several cuts you might have discovered as single. Grausame Töchter remains driven by provocation and an explicit image but still by this eclectic Electro format whereon you’ll notice pure, hard, EBM, Electro-Wave empowered by guitar play, Industrial passages and the good-old Cabaret-like approach.

+ + + : Grausame Töcheter is a band which has considerably evolved throughout the years. Image and lyrics both remain provocative defying censorship but the music has really evolved towards a professional and alluring production. This new work moves on there where previous albums stopped; kind of Electronic perversity with Aranea Peel’s vocals on top. She still reminds me of Nina Hagen and even if all songs are still sung in her Mother tongue you’ll rapidly understand the sexual themes and winks she’s dealing with. I like the EBM side of the work but also the songs empowered by guitar riffs.

– – – : The last part of the album isn’t the best one; kind of total free-style where the artist is experimenting with a true Electronic, chaotic, style.

Conclusion: Grausame Töchter remains a band with a true DNA; for image and sound!

Best songs: “BDSM For Satisfaction”, “Annika Wird Filmstar”, “Folterkeller”, “Meine Droge hei​ß​t Sex”, “Schnabel Zu”, “Schmertz”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/GrausameToechter

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Grausame Töchter

Grausame Töchter formed in Hamburg, Germany, in 2009, built around vocalist Aranea Peel and drummer and studio mixer Gregor Hennig. The band mixes EBM, industrial, punk, film-score elements and techno, with German-language lyrics that center on sadomasochism and relationship conflict. Live shows add guest musicians, dancers and film projections, and carry an 18+ age restriction tied to the BDSM content of the performance.

Grausame Töchter released the debut album “Mein eigentliches Element” in 2011 through Scanner / Dark Dimensions, followed by “Alles für Dich” (2012), “Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung” (2014) and “Vagina Dentata” (2016) on the same label. “Engel im Rausch” followed in 2018 through Scanner / Broken Silence and included cover versions of Joachim Witt’s “Goldener Reiter” and Hubert Kah’s “Rosemarie”. The band returned to Scanner / Dark Dimensions for “Zyklus” in 2021, issued with a limited bonus disc of Aranea Peel performing classic German chansons, and the compilation “Werkschau” in 2022. The seventh studio album, “BDSM For Satisfaction”, followed on Scanner / Dark Dimensions at the end of 2023.

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: Electro-Pop, Electro-Punk-Pop, Trip-Pop, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Driven by Maria and Lena, theUkrainian-Swiss duo this summer struck back with their second full length album, which comes two years after “Unification”.

Content: The work remains a true sonic mishmash or just a collage of multiple influences. It’s a diversified piece of music, which also comes back in the production of the vocals, alternating German- and English language. Some parts remind me of Björk while others might appeal to fans of Grausame Töchter. The songs have been boosted by surprising Metal guitar riffs, but globally speaking the work is, in my opinion pretty Pop-driven.

+ + + : The least I can say is that Twins In Fear have seriously improved their production while seriously empowered by guitar riffs. The album stands for a creative- and original sound mixing passion, fun, rage, and power. But the main strength of this work is that it’s all remains compact, which is not an easy thing considering the multiple influences running through this work. There are several great songs, but I recommend listening to “Disappearance” for its styled composition and ‘hot-pop’ style. Another noticeable cut is “Illusion” for its harder, Industrial touch on top of the Pop basis.

– – – : There are a few passages leading you into reverie, which is not my favorite side of the work.

Conclusion: After an hesitant debut album Twins In Fear strikes back with a true sonic smasher; girls with testosterone!

Best songs: “Disappearance”, “Illusion”, “Stoff Für Meine Seele”, “Nothing But A Dream”, “Creep-Py”, “Nothing Be Like Twins In Fear”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063560821950

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Twins In Fear

Twins In Fear is the electro project of Ukrainian-Swiss singers Maria and Lena, based in Hamburg, Germany. Both had worked as backing singers and dancers for other bands before starting the project in spring 2019, focused on dark electro pop. Their debut album, “Unification”, was released on Scanner in November 2020 with 13 tracks and lyrics in German, English and Russian. “Nothing But A Dream” is Twins In Fear’s second full-length, released on Scanner / Dark Dimensions two years after the debut.

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, Experimental, Industrial, Punk.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Grausame Töchter has released six albums between 2011 and 2021. “Werkschau” is a look back at ten years of music, but also at one of the most unique bands from the ‘Industrial/Electro’ scene. We get seventeen songs taken from the discography featuring multiple reworked and remixed edits.

Content: Defining Grausame Töchter has never been an easy thing. I always got the impression Aranea Peel and her gang have been active at the side line, mixing different influences together and creating a provocative and uncensored Electro format. Electro, Punk, Industrial and Pop have been masterly mixed together reaching a point of total artistic freedom where music, imagery and show come together in a total concept.

+ + + : This work is not a ‘best of’, but definitely an extra to the familiar edits originally released at the different albums. I like the danceable vibes emerging at the surface of the composition. It sounds now enraged and next into styled, anarchistic theatral expression. Titles like “Ich Lieve Meine Vagina” and “Fickmaschine” don’t need any translation. Grausame Töchter breaks all barriers and has no taboos. Perverted themes have been transposed into an approach of ‘total art’. Art is expression and Grausame Töchter better than any other knows how to expose its art. There are several reat songs featured, but I have a preference for the danceable Techno-Industrial remake of “Fickmaschine”. Other essential songs are the “Tanz Für Dich”-remixed version, the Minimal-Electro driven “Angst Entstellt Den Menschen”, the uplifted, Punk-Techno, version of  “Mein Messer” -which brings us back to the debut album, “Wie Eine Spinne” and “Ich Darf Das” which sounds as a great final song.

– – – : There are a very few softer, and especially slower songs, which have been never my favorites. 

Conclusion: If provocation wouldn’t exist, Graumsame Töchter would be its inventor, but the German formation first of all remains a great artist who never stopped to grow.

Best songs: “Fickmaschine- GetOffOnMyOwn Mix”,  “Tanz Für Dich – 2022 Remix”, “Angst Entstellt Den Menschen – Werkschau Mix”, “Mein Messer – Werkscha Version”, “Wie Eine Spinne”, “Ich Darf Das”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/GrausameToechter

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Grausame Töchter

Grausame Töchter is a German electronic band led by Aranea Peel, mixing EBM, electropop and aggrotech with dark, theatrical live shows. Core members are Aranea Peel on vocals and Gregor Hennig on drums and mixing, with a live band that has included Era Kreuz on bass, Bojana Tadic on cello, Neila Fynn on keyboards, and Charona and Harpyiena on backing vocals and dancing. The band released six studio albums between 2011 and 2021, moving from EBM and aggrotech roots toward the more sombre, darkwave-leaning songwriting of the album “Glaube Liebe Hoffnung”. “Werkschau” compiles seventeen reworked and remixed tracks from across that decade of releases.

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: Electro-Punk, Industrial-Pop, Cabaret.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: Grausame Töchter, which means ‘Cruel Daughter’ is back unleashing the sixth album in the band’s history. Driven by the enigmatic and eccentric Aranea Peel, this work has been introduced as ‘a dark, dystopic, sexual, sarcastic and grotty look at humanity.’ A pessimistic vision the band prefer to label as ‘joyful pessimism!’

Content: You don’t necessarily have to speak German to understand the provocative themes of this formation. “Zyklus” is as provocative as it is artistic. The music remains a truly free-style of Electro mixed with Industrial-Pop and a Punkish way of singing reminiscent of Nina Hagen. The songs reflect a mature writing process while the sound became an osmosis between all different sources of inspiration. You now get the feeling of discovering the female alter ego of Dive while you next get a pure reincarnation of Punk music into Electro. Sometimes sensual, but often moving on the edge of censor, “Zyklus” reveals a non-stop amount of sonic surprises.

The bonus disc reveals a kind of ‘cabaret burlesque’ style; a more theatrical approach and personal interpretation of German ‘chanson’. It reveals a minimal style, accomplished with classical instruments and creating the illusion to watch a kinky, forbidden performance in a secret underground bar.

+ + + : Grausame Töchter remains a very unique experience because of the image, but also because of the sound. They elevate the art of provocation to a high artistic degree. It’s never a ‘cheap’ thing, but clearly a creative process where image and sound become fully complementary to catch the attention of the heaviest skeptics. I was a skeptical mind right at the beginning of this band’s career, but became progressively convinced by the talent of Grausame Töchter. I hate when artists just focus on a strong image, but I like artists who behind the image still have the skills to compose great music. “Zyklus” is a genius work –one more,  somewhat versatile, but always easily recognizable because of Aranea Peel’s unique timbre of voice and theatrical way of singing. And behind the voice also hides an accomplished song writing, which mainly comes thorugh at the Industrial sounding “Sarkastische Katzen”, which is a kind of Dive-song on sex! And I also recommend “Laber Laber” for its Industrial-Punk approach carried by a solid lead.

The bonus disc also reveals a great free-styled Cabaret-music style, which I can imagine together with the band’s image would become a true live sensation!

– – – : The Cabaret-style of the bonus disc will probably not ravish all music lovers and rather sounds as a production for the German market.

Conclusion: If provocation wouldn’t exist, Grausame Töchter would invent it! This music would be the right soundtrack for a forbidden version of the successful series “Babylon Berlin”!

Best songs: “Laber Laber”, “Sarkastische Katzen”, “Wilde Wölfe”, “Fickstück” + “Ich Lass Mir Meinen Körper Schwarz Bepinseln”, “Das Lied Von Den Braunen Inseln”.

Rate: (8 ½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/GrausameToechter

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Grausame Töchter

Grausame Töchter formed in Hamburg, Germany, in 2009, built around vocalist Aranea Peel and drummer and studio mixer Gregor Hennig. The band mixes EBM, industrial, punk, film-score elements and techno, with German-language lyrics that center on sadomasochism and relationship conflict. Live shows add guest musicians, dancers and film projections, and carry an 18+ age restriction tied to the BDSM content of the performance.

The debut album “Mein Eigentliches Element” appeared in 2011 through Scanner / Dark Dimensions, followed by “Alles Für Dich” (2012), “Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung” (2014) and Vagina Dentata (2016), reviewed on Side-Line in June 2016. Engel Im Rausch followed in 2018 and was reviewed in December 2018; it included cover versions of Joachim Witt’s “Goldener Reiter” and Hubert Kah’s “Rosemarie”.

“Zyklus”, the sixth album, was released by Scanner / Dark Dimensions on 9 April 2021 on CD, as a download and as a limited double CD in a digipak with a 16-page booklet, limited to 999 copies according to Discogs. The fifteen tracks are “Alpha”, “Wilde Wölfe”, “Alles Kaputt!”, “Annika Nimmt Drogen”, “PENG! PENG! …TOT!”, “Respekt Und Sex”, “Klinik”, “Zyklus”, “Sarkastische Katzen”, “Laber Laber”, “Wie Ein Hamster”, “Messer An Die Kehle”, “Fickstück”, “Süchtig Nach Ewigkeit (Rhumba)” and “Omega”. The bonus disc, “Aranea Peel Singt Klassische Deutsche Chansons”, also issued as a separate download, holds ten German chansons by Friedrich Hollaender, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler, among them “Seeräuberjenny”, “Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuß Auf Liebe Eingestellt” and “Das Lied Von Den Braunen Inseln”, with edits and arrangements by Hans-Jürgen Osmers.

The compilation Werkschau followed in 2022 and the seventh studio album BDSM For Satisfaction at the end of 2023; Discogs lists “Get Your Overdose” for 2025 and the limited 7″ “Get Your Kinky Overdose” on Dark Dimensions for 2026. “Zyklus” is the band’s third Side-Line review.

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: Experimental, Electronic, Punk-Pop, EBM.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: We welcome the Ukrainian-Swiss project Twins In Fear. The female duo driven by Maria and Lena, was previously active as background singers and dancers in different bands. They started their own band unleashing their very first album by Scanner.

Content: Most of the songs have been sung in German, but you’ll also notice 3 tracks sung in English. The German vocals and especially the way of singing sometimes has something theatrical, which creates a match with the music. The sound is hard to define, but mixing elements of Electro-Experimental music together with Electro/Punk-Pop, Trip-Hop and harder EBM influences (especially for the English sung tracks). Some elements of the production remind me of Grausame Töchter. There’s some minimalism running through this work, which makes me think of songs made for a visual goal.

+ + + : This album stands for originality although it also is a real challenge. Most of the tracks aren’t easily accessible pieces, but that’s just the strength of Twins In Fear; this duo dares to innovate and explore new paths. I like the minimalism running through the songs; you sometimes get the feeling parts have been composed as a lullaby while others with piano arrangements for theatre. But the harder pieces –sung in English, have the power to entertain the clubs. You also can feel drama and passion in the production of the vocals.

– – – : I’ll always support originality, but it’s not easy to conquer a wider audience with this kind of music. It maybe depends if those girls will bring their music to the stage; a great show might for sure catch the attention of the audience.

Conclusion: Twins In Fear is a band with different faces; it’s a bit complex, but definitely worth giving it a listen and making up your own mind.

Best songs: “Angst”, “The Hunt”, “Unification”, “Abseits”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/TWINS-IN-FEAR-410678636387630

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206 Read the news on ‘Unification’.

About Twins In Fear

Twins In Fear is a project formed by Ukrainian-Swiss vocalists Maria and Lena, who relocated to Hamburg after both had worked as background singers and dancers for various bands in different genres. They set up the project in the spring of 2019 to release material under their own name for the first time.

“Unification” is the debut album, recorded in the autumn of 2019 at Studio Nord in Bremen with producer Gregor Hennig and released in November 2020 on Scanner / Dark Dimensions. The songs are sung in German, English and Russian.

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: EBM, Dark-Electro, Electro-Pop, Body-Pop, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, 2 CD.

Background/Info: Scanner is a subdivision of Dark Dimensions, which this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary. Set up by Francesco D’Angelo, Scanner has been always and mainly devoted to Electronic genres like EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop. The compilation features twenty six artists and songs reminding us of the great artists from this label.

Artists: Gin Devo, BhamBhamHara, Autodafeh, Kreign, DSTR, Fractal Age, Destin Fragile, Blue Images, Twins In Fear, Cyan Inc, Vomito Negro, [:SITD:], Eden Synthetic Corps, Mechanical Moth, Centhron, Intent:Outtake, Disorder:Mankind, Das Werk, X-Fusion, Spetsnaz, Grausame Töchter, Epinephrin, Black Heaven, A Spell Inside, Absurd Minds, Straftanz. 

Content: This sampler is a perfect way to (re)discover the Scanner label roaster, which features some great EBM names such as Autodafeh and Spetsnaz while other names such as [:SITD:], Vomito Negro + Gin Devo, Eden Synthetic Corps and Absurd Minds were more active in a darker EBM format, getting pretty close with pure Dark-Electro. Centhron and X-Fusion are for sure Dark-Electro! Other bands like BhamBhamHara and Straftanz are more representative of the progressive (Techno)-EBM format. A Spell Inside remains one of the ‘oldest’ bands from the roster and still one of the few to deal with Electro-Pop. And then there’s Grausame Töchter, which remains a very unique experience in sound. The compilation also features a few bands we’ve a bit forgotten like Fractal Age, Destin Fragile, Epinephrin. It’s also a while ago we’ve heard something from Cyan Inc. And there’re new signatures like the promising EBM formation Kreign and the Experimental-Electro Twins In Fear plus a few totally unknown names like Das Werk and Disorder:Mankind.

+ + + : When you take a brief look at the names featured at this compilation you can only, but agree Scanner has been for numerous years one of the leading labels from the Dark-Electro scene. But this compilation becomes really interesting when you’ll know that nearly all of the tracks are exclusive ones and/or rare edits. Frank D’Angelo always has had a nose to sign great artists, Kreign being the new sensation! My favorite cuts from the album are the ones by X-Fusion and Grausame Töchter remixed by And One.

– – – : This compilation doesn’t cover the entire Scanner roster, which says something about the Electronic welfare from the label. Some artists that haven’t been featured (because they’re no longer part of the label) are Amnistia, Stromkern, Distorted Reality, Sleepwalk, Page 12, The Eternal Afflict, Cycloon, Sara Noxx, Re:Work, Spiritual Reality, Inside, Das Präparat.. More than enough to fill an extra disc and they all are still part of this great label’s history.

Conclusion: This compilation is a part of history; 20 years of great underground music by Scanner!

Best bands: X-Fusion, Grausame Töchter, Autodafeh, Straftanz, BhamBhamHara, [:SITD:].

Rate: (8½).

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Scanner

Scanner is a label run by Francesco D’Angelo as a subdivision of the Dark Dimensions Label Group, set up in the year 2000 and focused on EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop.

“A Human Scanner – The 20th Anniversary Compilation” marks the label’s twentieth year. Released in December 2020, it gathers twenty-six mostly exclusive or rare tracks from artists including Autodafeh, Vomito Negro, [:SITD:], Centhron, X-Fusion, Grausame Töchter and Twins In Fear, whose debut album “Unification” appeared on Scanner the same year.

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: Industrial-pop, experimental, electro-punk, EBM.

Background/Info: Areana Peel and her gang are back on track unleashing album number five of her fetish-electro project Grausame Töchter (‘Cruel Daughters’). Notice by the way there also is a limited edition of this album available as DCD featuring numerous remixes.

Content: Grausame Töchter is a band that first gained a reputation by their fetish/BDSM image and live shows, but which next became more and more recognized. I must say that I noticed a constant evolution in the composition and, which seems to find a new apotheosis by this new work.

“Engel Im Rausch” (cf. “Intoxicated Angel”) features 18 songs covering different influences. The main themes remain characterized by explicit lyrics (you don’t even need to speak German to understand “Sex In Deutschland”, “Fickmaschine”…) and a versatile electronic sound moving from electro-rock and punk into industrial-pop into EBM.

The work also features cover versions from Joachim Witt and Hubert Kah plus a cover (or simply reworked version) of an early Graumsame Töchter-song (cf. “Beleidigte Engel”).

+ + + : Graumsame Töchter already had the image, but is progressively revealing a very unique sound approach. The songs feel like a truly electronic osmosis of styles. I noticed several clubby cuts such as “”Wildes Tier” and the more EBM-driven “Lila Katzen”. Areana Peel is not only a visual artist (referring to the live shows), but also a passionate singer with clearly a taste for theatrical performances. The songs definitely reveal cohesion between all influences, which also comes through in the electro- and guitar parts, which are complementary. Sometimes bombastic and even epic-like, the songs are accomplished with refined arrangements.

– – – : The versatility of the work is not only a strength, but still one of its controversial sides. Grausame Töchter can’t be totally labeled as one specific and established genre and the tracklist is pretty impressive.

Conclusion: Grausame Töchter is a kind of electronic alien still interested in fetishism; it sounds rather surreal, but this new work is worthy of examination and definitely the best I’ve heard from this artist.

Best songs: “Lila Katzen”, “Wildes Tier”, “Goldener Reiter”, “Sex In Deutschland”, “Beleidigte Engel 2020”, “..Und Ich Fühle Nichts”, “Fickmaschine”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.grausame-toechter.de / www.facebook.com/GrausameToechter

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

About Grausame Töchter

Grausame Töchter is the German fetish-electro project of Areana Peel. The project released “Vagina Dentata” on Scanner / Dark Dimensions in 2016; “Engel Im Rausch”, reviewed here, is Grausame Töchter’s fifth album, followed by “Zyklus” (2021) and “Werkschau” (2022).

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 electropunk

Background/Info: Anna Pehlitz a.k.a. Aranea Peel is the frontwoman of this German female industrial cabaret-act which started in 2009 in Hamburg. Before she was active as a professional singer, actress and ballet-dancer.

Content: This is already the 4th album of this provocating and shocking electropunk project. 14 tracks + 1 remix by xotox are presented in a little different way that we are used to hear from her.

This is because the album starts, after downtempo opener “Vagina Dentata”, with 3 guitar-songs (“Liebe Will Beweise”, “Ich Liebe Meine Vagina”, “Wie Eine Krake”), which surprised me very much. I think these songs would have been better used as outro of the album because we have to wait until track #5 (“Annika Ist Tot”), before we hear Grausame Töchter on her best: uptempo electro on danceable beats!

“Tor Zur Hölle” brings a nice mixture of synths with guitars, after which the best song of this album appears: “Los Schlampe, Ficken Geht Immer!”, electropunk with sharp lyrics, a dancefloor-filler for the clubs!

Time for bombastic cabaret then with “Die Ganze Welt Ist Ein Zirkus”, directly followed by “Fleish Für Die Hyänen”, EBM which could have been composed by And One. The dreamy voice combined with accordeon on “Nordsee – Tango” takes you away and is abruptly disrupted by the uptempo EBM on the next song (“Fette Katzen”).

“Angst Entstellt Den Menschen” is very melodic synthpop and for sure one of the better tracks of this album. And then it’s time for another guitar-track (“Perverse Mädchen”) which unfortunately again could not charm me as much as the other electronic songs, like the last sing-a-long track “Sisyphos Will Vögeln”.

Track 15, at last, is a remix of the first track “Vagina Dentata” in a very unrecognizable industrial version.

+ + +: Aranea Peel repeats herself a bit on some tracks but produces still very good danceable songs and is a great live-performer.

– – -: I expected a bit more from this album because the previous albums were already very convincing!

Conclusion: Another nice album of Grausame Töchter which contains some great dancefloor-fillers!

Best songs: “Annika Ist Tot”, “Los Schlampe, Ficken Geht Immer!”, “Fleisch Für Die Hyänen”, “Nordsee – Tango”, “Angst Entstellt Den Menschen”.

Rate: (WH:8)WH.

Band: http://www.grausame-toechter.de / http://www.facebook.com/grausametoechter

Label: http://www.darkdimensions.de / http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206