“Hurt” is taken from Nine Inch Nails‘ second studio album, “The Downward Spiral” (1994), and was written by Trent Reznor. It was released on April 17, 1995, as a promotional single from the album. In 2002, Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” to commercial success. Reznor praised Cash’s interpretation of the song for its “sincerity and meaning”, going so far as to say “that song isn’t mine anymore”.

But, producer Rick Rubin has now told the BBC that Johnny Cash didn’t want to record “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails at first. It weren’t the lyrics that Cash didn’t like, it was the aggressive, rock nature of the original version. Johnny Cash’s reluctance to record “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails initially stemmed from his uncertainty about connecting with the song’s modern, somber tone. For crafting compelling narratives or analyzing iconic music stories, explore the advanced tools at EduWriter.ai.

The idea has come to us that it would be a rather great idea to craft distinctive Custom Keychains as a heartfelt homage to the late Johnny Cash. During the design phase of these keychains, you can actually skillfully incorporate the touching and evocative lyrics from the song “Hurt”, enabling each keychain to function as a unique and meaningful symbol of your fandom.

Rubin: “I played him the song first, and Johnny just looked at me like I was insane, because the Nine Inch Nails version of the song is very noisy, aggressive… and Johnny was wary.” Rubin managed to change his mind by making a demo with the same arrangement that Cash would ultimately use: “I think I did a demo where I had a guitar player play it, and I said the words the way I imagined him saying it, and then when he heard the lyrics, and he heard the format of what it could be, he said, ‘Let’s try it.'”

During the last stage of his career, Cash covered songs by contemporary rock artists; among his most notable covers were “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails of course but also “Rusty Cage” by Soundgarden, and “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode.

Below are the two versions.

About Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 as the recording project of Trent Reznor. Working as an assistant engineer at Right Track Studios and inspired by Prince’s practice of playing every instrument himself, Reznor recorded demos alone, programming drums and playing the rest, and performed under a band name despite being its sole permanent member. Nine Inch Nails played its first live show on 27 October 1988 in Pittsburgh, and released its debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” through TVT Records in 1989.

After a contractual dispute with TVT, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and founded his own imprint, Nothing Records, releasing “The Downward Spiral” in 1994 and “The Fragile” in September 1999. The band left Interscope after “Year Zero” (2007) and self-released the instrumental “Ghosts I-IV” (2008) through the Null Corporation before returning to major-label releases with “Hesitation Marks” (2013), “Bad Witch” (2018) and the companion albums “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts” (both 2020).

English musician Atticus Ross became an official member in 2016 after years of production work with Reznor, including their Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010). Guitarist Robin Finck first joined in 1994 and has rejoined the touring band multiple times since; drummer Josh Freese first joined in 2005. Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 7 November 2020, alongside Ross, Finck and other past members. “The Downward Spiral,” the Nine Inch Nails album featuring “Hurt,” was released in 1994 on Interscope/Nothing Records.

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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Chicago based Post-Punk duo Bellhead have unleashed their new single, “Nothing As It Seams”.

“Nothing As it Seems” brings Bellhead back to their industrial roots so they say: “We never really had an intention to be in a specific genre, or even to blend genres. We just wanted to make music that was enjoyable for us, and that we hoped people would also like. You’ll hear aspects of anything from Nine Inch Nails to Magazine, to Death from above, from Killing Joke to Johnny Cash with a lot of 70’s Bowie thrown in.”

Bellhead are planning their 2022 touring dates which include providing support for Christian Death, Powerman5000, Stoneburner, Chant, Empathy Test and the Los Angeles dark electronic duo Night Club.

“Nothing As It Seems” is available now in digital and limited CD formats via Bandcamp.

For the occasion Bellhead enlisted Dean Garcia (Curve / SPC ECO), American industrial rock band Stabbing Westward’s Walter Flakus, I:Scintilla and Shawn Brice (Loveless Love / Bloodwire).

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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“Desertland” is the all new album for Shadoworld, which is actually the duo consisting of Roberto Del Vecchio and Old Boy aka Claudio Carluccio. Especially Roberto Del Vecchio will ring a bell, he is an Italian composer since 1994 and founded projects such as Gothica (Cold Meat Industry), The Last Hour (Other Voices Records / Seventh Crow Records) and Les Jumeaux Discordants (Athanor Records). Claudio Carluccio from his side is an Italian multi-instrumentalist he worked with various musicians.

Shadoworld debuted in 2017 with a self titled album on The White Room Netlabel, followed by the “Silver Rain” in 2018.

On “Desertland” you can expect dark folk with a touch of western style and modern electronica, combined with neo-classical. The band’s label describes it as music that “in some parts reminds of Nick Cave, Death in June, Depeche Mode, Johnny Cash, Ennio Morricone, Mark Lanegan.”

Check it for yourself below.

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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Moog Music has announced that Depeche Mode songwriter Martin Gore will receive the 2019 Moog Innovation Award.

Here’s what Moog Music has to say about it:

“Musical pioneer Martin Gore’s masterful electronic meditations on the human condition have illuminated the connection between transformative sound and pure emotion for decades. A founding member of the band Depeche Mode, Gore’s sensual electronic compositions and introspective lyrics have resonated with faithful audiences around the world and impacted the direction of countless visionary artists from Trent Reznor to Johnny Cash.

Gore’s enduring ability to connect the rawest aspects of the human experience to the dance floor defined an era and perpetually reminds us what it means to be human through the emotional power of electronic sound. For his contributions we are honored to name Martin Gore as the recipient of the 2019 Moog Innovation Award.”

Martin Gore will be presented with the award during the Moogfest which takes place on Friday, April 26 at the Carolina Theatre immediately following his keynote conversation with Mute Records founder Daniel Miller. Since 2004, Moogfest has brought together artists, futurist thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, scientists, and musicians. By day, Moogfest is a platform for conversation and experimentation. By night, Moogfest presents cutting-edge music in venues throughout in Durham, North Carolina. Performing artists include early pioneers in electronic music, alongside pop and avant-garde experimentalists of today.

The Moog Innovation Award recognizes artists who have contributed to the exploration of sound in popular music and beyond for the past 50 years, exemplifying the bold, innovative spirit of Bob Moog. Past recipients include visionary artists Gary Numan, Devo, Suzanne Ciani, Brian Eno, Bernie Worrell, synth designers like Herb Deutsch, last year’s recipient Bernie Krause, and Thomas Dolby, who will also be performing and presenting this year.

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘Master and Servant’.

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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Dark folk / neo-folk artist King Dude (real name Thomas Jefferson Cowgill) returns with a brand new album, “Music To Make War To“. The album is the follow-up to 2016’s “Sex” and brings more dark folk material in his typical style which holds resemblances with the music by Johnny Cash.

The new album will be released on vinyl as well and can be ordered right here. He has once again been helped by August Johnson, Tosten Larson and Lee Newman.

King Dude has previously released material on Dais, Avant!, Bathetic, Clan Destine, and Ván records and has succeeded in succesfully integrating elements from British Folk, Americana, Country and Blues in his work.

Here’s a song taken from the new album, “Good And Bad” featuring Josephine Olivia.

And this is “Velvet Rope” which was shot in Kiev.

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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King Dude aka Thomas Jefferson Cowgill sees his CDr-only release of “Tonight’s special death” (2010) re-released in re-mastered quality and including a number of bonus-tracks. The re-release is available on CD and on vinyl right here. The vinyl comes with an LP-sized inlay, including all lyrics of all 10 tracks, packaged inside black poly-inner sleeve.

King Dude is an American Seattle based dark folk / neo-folk project trademarked by the singer’s deep voice. The lyrics often deal with death as well as pain. The project has often been compared to Johnny Cash’s music. Apart from Cowgill we also find August Johnson, Tosten Larson and Lee Newman in the band’s line-up.

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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Soundgarden fans, check this out. In 1996, Johnny Cash recorded a cover of Soundgarden’s hit “Rusty Cage”, written by frontman Chris Cornell, on his album “Unchained”. Twenty years later, Cornell wrote the next chapter in this musical relationship by setting a newly discovered poem of Cash’s to music, to create the all-new song “You Never Knew My Mind”. It was recorded at the historic Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, TN, and marks one of Cornell’s final solo recordings.

The song is featured on “Johnny Cash: Forever Words”, out April 6 on Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. The album is comprised of Cash’s unknown poetry, lyrics, and letters, now set to music by an array of contemporary artists. Along with Cornell, the album features new songs by Ruston Kelly & Kacey Musgraves, Rosanne Cash, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Kris Kristofferson & Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, John Mellencamp, Carlene Carter, Elvis Costello, The Jayhawks and more.

Today, on what would have been Johnny Cash’s 86th birthday, Legacy Recordings is releasing “You Never Knew My Mind”. You can listen to it below.

And here’s a video with Chris Cornell in the studio recording the track and discussing his relationship with Cash.

Said Chris Cornell of Cash at the time he recorded the song: “I met the man once or twice in my life, and he was so gracious and he was such an influence on me as a musician. And he also covered a song that I wrote. Since that time, I’ve felt like he’s maybe one of the bigger presences in my life, in terms of artists that I’m a fan of.”

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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German duo Robert Grolms – Niko Kötzsch are active under the Gimme Shelter moniker for a couple of years now. They signed to Space Race Records and have released 2 albums so far. The band doesn’t label their sound as any particular genre, but their audience will be mainly find among the lovers of electro-pop and EBM. A few months ago now they released the album “Kosmodrom” revealing great writing skills and a mature production process. This interview is a look back at this work.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Do you remember how you get contaminated by the electronic music virus and how did you come to set up Gimme Shelter?

Robert: Well, in 1990 I was ten years old and I became a great fan of Depeche Mode. Their music influenced me very much and I founded my first band at the age of twelve to emulate them. Afterwards, I was active in several bands and founded Gimme Shelter in 2008. A short time later, Niko joined in and since then we have released two albums and played some concerts. But not only electronic music has shaped me. For this reason, there is no electronic virus for me, but we make the music because we want to clean up our inner life. The fact that the music is very electronic is due to the fact that we are not so well trained on classical instruments.

Niko: I remember the first CD I bought was “Moosehair Underwair“ from Cat Rapes Dog. I next discovered artists like FrontLine Assembly, Front 242, And One and many many more (yes of course a little bit Depeche Mode but I wasn’t a huge fan ). I was 17 years old when I started going out in German Clubs to become a DJ. Ten years later I stopped DJ-ing. I experimented with some synthesizers and music programs. Robert came to me and asked me if I could help him to play live synths for the first Gimme Shelter live gig. I said to first have a listen at his stuff, but the problem was it sounded like a demo tape. I finally composed a demo for him and he liked it. That was the beginning of Gimme Shelter.

Q: For numerous people Gimme Shelter will for sure evoke one of the most famous Rolling Stones songs in history… or the cover version by The Sisters Of Mercy. What inspired you to choose for this band name and what can you say about potential sources of inspiration?

Robert: Well, the band name fits to the content of our music. I do not know what is so funny about being named after a title of the Rolling Stones. Their music is still very good and has shaped the music world enormously. We are included. We of course are also inspired by the life we live and the experiences we get. Love, relationships, desire, loss. All this flows into the music of Gimme Shelter. Musically, we are both very open-minded. We are inspired by a lot of things, but we do not jeopardize anybody, but create our own sound -regardless of whether we are successful or not.

Q: I experience your music as a mix between electro-pop elements and harder EBM influences. What do both genres evoke to you and how would you analyze your own sound?

Robert: This is hard to say. There probably is no other band that sounds like us. This is simply because we do not want to sound like other bands. We consciously allow all possible influences, from Depeche Mode to Johnny Cash. In general, a musician sees his own music quite differently than the listener conceives. We find -like every other band, that we naturally fit into no drawer. On the contrary, we think that we sound extremely independent and can only make comparisons with individual songs. The aforementioned influences play naturally also in it.

Furthermore, we have certainly also shaped Front 242, And One, Nitzer Ebb and above Kraftwerk. But that is only unconscious in us and we do not sit down and want to create a certain music style. We just do our thing. And what is going on here can be described as a whole. But generally, these whole subgenres do not matter.

Niko: I´ve many influences. I like artists like Royskopp or Deadmau5, but I like the sound of the 80s, too. I do not care how a song sounds. If I think that the sound fits the song then we go on working on it until we are both satisfied.

Q: You this year released your second full length album “Kosmodrom”. What is the album all about and what kind of work (sound-wise) did you try to accomplish?

Robert: Basically the answer is quite simple. The album is of course love. It is about, which forms of love exist and how they can develop. The title “Kosmodrom” is a good metaphor for this. It stands for the beginning of something great, just like at the beginning of a love. After the start, everything can develop well or badly. But the hope for something beautiful drives human beings. We also found that the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was the first human being to cross space, deserved to get an appreciation from us. In the Western world, his name often falls into oblivion; but he showed courage and opened a new door to humanity. But we also use his figure as a metaphor for the album “Kosmodrom”. It is only at first sight around the space on our current album. But the concrete content must be accessible to every listener himself. One’s own fantasy when listening to music is the great thing that music can do.

Niko: “Kosmodrom” is a bridge between the analog and digital world. We’ve worked a lot with analog synthesizers such as KORG MS20, NORD Modular, Yamaha Cs1x and many other synths. Each synth has its own flair and I like them all. Each song takes a lot of time to achieve. Robert writes  most of the melodies while. I’m more into the rhythm thing. When Robert comes up with a ballad I make a dance pop song out of it because I think it fits. You also have to try something different and not always repeatinbg yourself. That’s why we’re not letting anyone talk about how we should make our sound. I learned most of what I did from my friend Daniel Myer. He showed me programs and VST’s how they work. I thank him again and again that I can do what he showed me. That is why we decided to master the album by Daniel. He knows exactly what he’s doing and is worth every penny. I can only say to every musician to give away the mastering work. Do not be concerned with so many trifles. I had to learn that too. Therefore “Warnemünde” has lasted nearly 5 years (hahaha).

Q: Do you see main changes or an important evolution in the writing process and production from your debut album “Warnemünde” towards “Kosmodrom”?

Robert: Of course. “Warnemünde” has emerged in a much longer period of time. This is why the album is less self-contained -unlike “Kosmodrom”. But many bands like that. You need a few albums to find yourself as a band. Therefore, we would like to thank our fans, who have followed us through the early days and gave us the chance to further develop our music and bring it to a higher level. Of course, the process is not over yet. But “Kosmodrom” was already a real development in comparison to “Warnemünde”. The writing process has not really changed because we have a good view upon the tasks of each other. I usually write the songs and lyrics and Niko gives these songs a better and final touch. We keep on working until it sounds good for both of us. This can sometimes take a long time and a song can go through several versions until the final product is finished. But that is precisely the exciting thing about making music. It is very democratic, so it can be frustrating if your own idea is not implemented, because the other is not at all satisfied. But that’s exactly what a band does. In the end there is a work that took blood, sweat and tears.

Q: What means music generally speaking and Gimme Shelter more specifically to you and are there some plans/dreams you actually want to accomplish?

Robert: Music is a big part of our lives. We are fortunate that we have found a way to put our soul into music expression. This is a good valve. We also have a lot of fun and love to give concerts and get in touch with our fans. Gimme Shelter helps us giving our feelings a bit of air, and we can preserve beautiful and few situations with songs. At the moment, we are back in the studio and are working on new ideas and songs, because we are still not finished with Gimme Shelter, but we still have a lot to say and want to develop further. We hope that this year we can release some new songs on an EP and maybe release another album next year. But this also takes a lot of time and we are just at the beginning of another album. There are also new concerts planned. Next year Hannover and Hamburg will be on the agenda.

Niko: At my side I would like people understand what we want to express with our music. It always depends from the emotional state you’re going through when you’re listening to our music. And every time one understands and feels the songs different. Of course the goal is to reach more and more people with it. But I prefer 100 real fans than 2000 ‘likes’ at Facebook. We are available for everyone and are available for all questions to Gimme Shelter.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

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

Extize has released their fifth album “Redneck Industrial” on Dark Tunes Music Group. The new work took me by surprise like never before. Extize clearly sounds like an antidote to traditional dark-electro and EBM. Those guys are totally crazy, but still talented musicians. I got in touch with crazy front man Cyb3rella.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: “Redneck Industrial” definitely is one of the craziest albums I’ve heard in quite a long time now so let’s start with a crazy question, which hallucinogens did you take to compose this new full length?

Cyb3rella: I’m pleased I could take you in our madness spiral! Hallucinogens? No, it’s too hippie… I think we have to thank Jack Daniel’s for this album…lol

Q: The funny side however always has been part of Extize and according to me even a kind of answer to the usual dark themes shared by EBM and dark-electro bands. Is it just the way you are or just a kind of modern punks?  

Cyb3rella: Yes, that’s the point, it’s an answer to the ‘true dark electro bands’. Too many electronic musicians in this scene are taking it too serious, they think they’re doing high end electronic music… But let us be honest, the most of the dark-electro, industrial, future-pop and EBM music is simply cheap techno/trance with distortion and lyrics about death, religion and sex… And by the way, you are right too with my person, I’m a funny guy and I like to laugh! Come to an Extize show and you’ll see that I don’t hide behind a ‘serious mask’.

Q: I really like the ‘crazy’ side of this album, but it still is an original composition and according to me your most accomplished and personal work to date! Who came up with this “Redneck”-idea and how did you transpose it into music?

Cyb3rella: Thank you for the flowers! The new album is my favorite Extize album too. About the creative process, why try to renew ourselves every year, so I’m always looking for something original to do. For “Redneck Industrial”, I was at my tattoo studio to finish my arm tattoo, and during it, I always think about a lot of things. I was thinking about a new concept album, then I heard some old country-blues song played on the radio. I think it was some Johnny Cash. Then I realized that I never heard country-industrial before, so I wanted to give it a try. It was a challenge to mix both genres, but the result is pretty cool!

Q: The artwork also reflects the atypical and  funny side of the band, which is also true for the cool clip of “Lawless Gringo” and the other cartoon-like lyrics videos. What can you tell us about this aspect of Extize?

Cyb3rella: Funny? No no no, it’s totally serious! (haha). Well, it’s important for me to entertain the people, and as I said, I love to laugh. That’s why we made a video that catches the people and that is not boring to watch. About the artwork, same thing. We chose the cartoon style to make everybody clear that they have to listen to the album with a wink. Why? Because for instance, when we released the “Gothic Pussy-EP some people thought that it really was a serious song, because of the ‘not so funny’ artwork.

Q: How did you get the idea to release some totally hilarious phone hoaxes on the album and what have been the first reactions so far?  

Cyb3rella: As I said, nowadays people get very fast bored. It’s difficult for the people to listen to a 1 hour album without losing the concentration. So that’s why I wanted to catch them again every 3 tracks. Everybody like pranks, and I’ve never heard such pranks on a music CD so I decided to test it! The reactions are very positive, we’ve got many feedbacks from fans who had a great time with these pranks. So I’m happy!

Q: What might your fans expect from the new Extize-album on stage and what brings the future?

Cyb3rella: We’re actually on tour with Project Pitchfork to promote the new album, and of course, you’ll get the ‘Redneck feeling’ on stage too. We’ve many specials on stage, from guns to cowbells, and you won’t get bored after 3 songs. Here too, we’ve got the greatest feedbacks ever after our shows. About the future, I think the next album will be a second opus of ‘Redneck-Industrial’, but first, we’re preparing a new video attack like our last video “Industrial Kombat”… It will be a big surprise for the scene… lol

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

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: Neo-folk, cinematographic, ballad, martial, industrial, chanson.

Content: Rome for sure became one of Trisol’s leading formations. The music project set up and driven by the creative mind of Jérôme Reuter this year celebrates its 10th anniversary. That’s a real good reason to look back at the artist prolific discography to release this kind of ‘best of’ album featuring 20 songs.

Rome has always been a sonic enigma to me. The early years of the band (back in time signed to Cold Meat Industry) mainly revealed a mix of neo-folk, martial and industrial influences although there already was a more intimate kind of chanson approach. Reuter calls it ‘chanson noir’. This is the kind of style he mainly elaborated throughout the last years. The least I can say is that this musician native from Luxembourg doesn’t really belong to an established music genre, but simply sounds like the sonic exorcism of multiple influences.

“Anthology” is an interesting way to analyze the evolution from the artist all over the years. Getting back to his debut album “Nera”, you’ll hear the song “A La Faveur De La Nuit” revealing a somewhat martial approach. If you take a great cut like “Querkraft”, which was originally released at “Confessions D’Un Voleur D’Ames” (2007) you already can see the evolution towards a sound becoming more ballad and country-like and, which will remind to Johnny Cash.

“The Accidents Of Gesture” taken from “Flowers From Exile” (2009) confirms the ballad and chanson-style, which is now more reminding me of Nick Cave. The guitar definitely remains the main instrument of Rome, but it’s interesting to see the evolution of the composition. One of the most recent songs like “One Fire” which was originally released at the album “A Passage To Rhodesia” reveals an accentuation of the ‘chanson noir’ format, which now became pretty intimate and the kind of music leading the listener into a kind of dark reverie.

I’ve taken these 4 songs to show the progression of Rome. This evolution happened quite progressively, but in the end I would say that the accentuation of some influences have been the main –and probably real evolution in sound.

Another important evolution concerns the production of the vocals. Jérôme Reuter seriously improved his global skills of singing and that’s maybe why he finally accentuated the ballad and chanson style of his work. “A Legacy Of Unrest” is definitely one of the most brilliant songs of this work. It sound simple, somewhat melancholic and progressively growing towards a truly apotheosis. I regret the absence of a song like “Hate Us And See If We Mind”, which is one of Rome’s best songs in the genre, but in the end it’s all about taste, which remains a subjective subject.

The songs are not only taken from the different albums, but also from a few EP’s and even a 10” vinyl. The song “The Orchards” that was originally released on the “Berlin”-EP is one of these songs. It once more reveals the wider arsenal of influences explored by Rome, which on this song mixes dreamy passages with industrial elements.

A last and important element of Rome is the lyrical commitment of Reuter who explored many themes and historical subjects like anarchistic rebels, the fight for freedom of the Rhodesian people, the French resistance during WWII etc. Other songs were inspired by poets and famous writers. If you really want to know a bit more about the inspiration behind this project I can only but strongly recommend to put your finger on the deeply artistic “A Passage To Rhodesia”-box, which was released in 2014 and which features a superb DVD documentary about this great artist.

Last, but not least, Rome will also celebrate this 10th anniversary with an important tour all over Europe.

Conclusion: 20 songs for an anthology covering 10 years of music is not a small thing! When you consider the impressive discography of Rome I think it definitely is an interesting tracklist showing the multiple influences and evolution of the band.

Best songs: “A Legacy Of Unrest”, ”Der Wolfsmantel”, “The Accidents Of Gesture”, “Querkraft”, “Das Feuerordal”, “L’Assassin”, “Pornero”.

Rate: (DP:8½)DP.

Band: www.jeromereuter.com / www.facebook.com/romeproject

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471

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