Genre/Influences: Gothic, Goth-Metal.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Martin Schindler moves on the sonic voyage of Mantus. “Verstärker” is the German word for ‘amplifier’ and reveals twelve songs meant as a support to hold on to our faith in life.

Content: “Verstärker” sounds in the line of previous releases; a typical German Goth sound which has been empowered by Metal-driven guitar play and characterized by the melodic approach of the artist. All songs have been sung in German while featuring female backing vocals by Chiara.

+ + + : Mantus avoid innovation but never stopped to increase the production skills of the work. “Verstärker” is a well-crafted and perfectly produced work. There’s a true symbiosis between the power of the guitar riffs and the magic of the synth melodies. But the main characteristic remains the dark, melancholic and sometimes tortured atmosphere recovering the work. The female vocals are adding a heavenly touch to this obscure atmosphere. I like the melodies when they’ve this elevating effect and the title song is a very good exposure to it. I also enjoyed the hypnotic feeling created by the guitar play at “Keiner” and “Schüsse In Der Nacht”. A last song I want to mention is “Komm Nimm Meine Hand”for Chiara’s dreamy vocals and the way the song evolves into enraged guitar playing.

– – – : I regret the title song is maybe a little bit too short while a few more female vocals would inject a graceful touch to the album.

Conclusion: Mantus remains a true warrant for good-old German Gothic music although this isn’t my favorite full length album.

Best songs: “Verstärker”, “Keiner”, “Schüsse In Der Nacht”, “Komm Nimm Meine Hand”, “Wolkenschlacht”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.mantus.de / www.facebook.com/mantus.band

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

Celebrating its 30th year, Audioglobe, the most important distributor in the darkwave scene, just shared a statistical review, revealing the shifts and trends in the darkwave (and related) music genre.

Our readers will surely remember that we have reported on these stats for years, until 2018, the first year that Audioglobe didn’t communicate these stats. Sebastian Koch from Audioglobe explains: “Some customers never really cared that much about these, as they have better things to do than reading boring mails from the undersigned. But… Surprisingly there are quite a high number of customers, that sort of ‘complained’ about the fact, that no stats were being done any longer… The reason is: I was simply always far too busy in past years. Anyway: Here we go with the first new stats since 2017!”

So here are some export facts.

Top 10 Bestselling Labels of 2023 (export)

1. FABRIKA/DEAD SCARLET
   • She Past Away, Lebanon Hanover, Selofan, Kaelan Mikla, M!R!M, Doric…
2. METROPOLIS
   • Birthday Massacre, Delerium, Front Line Assembly, A Projection, KMFDM, Legendary P.D…
3. ICY COLD/MANIC DEPR.
   • Twin Tribes, Je T’aime, Traitrs, Kill Shelter, Closed Mouth, Talk to Her, Schonwald…
4. ALFA MATRIX
   • Alien Vampires, Front 242, Metroland, Die Robo Sapiens, Elm, 808 Dot Pop, Helalyn Flowers…
5. RUSTBLADE
   • Claudio Simonetti, Ennio Morricone, Lycia Lunch, Spiritual Front, Ketvector, Legendary Pink D…
6. OUT OF LINE
   • Blutengel, Hocico, Solitary Experiments, Suicide Commando, Signal Aout42, Erdling…
7. TRISOL
   • Sopor Aeternus, Rome, Clan of Xymox, Asp, Ostara, Skinflicks, Nachtmahr, Mantus, Soman…
8. DEPENDENT
   • Kirlian Camera, Girls Under Glass, Spectra*Paris, Mildreda, Black Nail Cabaret, Beborn Beton…
9. ARTOFFACT
   • Actors, Noise Unit, cEvin Key, Kaelan Mikla, Ploho, Sacred Skin, Kauan, Ken Mode, Spectres…
10. AUERBACH
    • Spiritual Front, Sol Invictus, Tenhi, Moon and the Night Spirit, Haavard, Hekate, Orplid…

Best Export Territories of 2023

If we look at the Audioglobe stats, we notice that Germany and Greece remain the company’s strongest markets, continuing a trend that has been consistent for ages. However, the 2023 statistics reveal some notable shifts.

Canada, once a prominent market for Audioglobe, has surprisingly disappeared from the export landscape. In contrast, the United States and the United Kingdom have re-emerged as significant territories, marking their return to prominence in the darkwave music scene after several years.

The most unexpected development in 2023 is the rise of Australia as a key market. This growth stands in stark contrast to Switzerland, which, despite its affluence, has seen a sharp decline in sales. Sebastian Koch adds: “The (by far!) lowest sales of all countries where we export to, was to Switzerland… The rich Swiss don’t buy records! Since I left the country (1990), something is wrong back home!”

Here is the top 10 list of export territories:

1. Germany
2. Greece
3. Netherlands
4. Portugal
5. USA
6. United Kingdom
7. Australia
8. Spain
9. Russia
10. Poland

Not in the top 10, but France, Japan, Malta, Brazil, Sweden, Mexico, and Perù are also good export territories for Audioglobe.

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 label Trisol has been set up in 1997 by Alex Storm. He’s also running Apocalyptic Vision, which was his first label. Trisol is characterized by a true eclectic taste of music; from EBM to Dark-Electro to Industrial to Dark-Wave, Neo-Folk and related genres. Trisol is the home of artists such as Rome, Project Pitchfork, Die Form, Clan Of Xymox, Nachtmahr, Asp, L’âme Immortelle, Samsas Traum, Mantus, Scheuber, Persephone ao. Apocalyptic Vision is still active today releasing the work of Sopor Aeternus.

(Stéphane Froidcoeur / Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Was there a kind of ‘philosophy’ when you set up your label and did it evolve over the years? How would you define your label activities today?

Alex: To answer this question properly, I need to go back in time a little and begin before I founded Trisol. The first label I founded was Apocalyptic Vision, which I (unofficially) started in 1992, so five years before starting Trisol. In the early 90s, when lots of vinyl albums were being released on CD for the first time, I was waiting in vain for CD reissues of many of my favorite albums –albums by Clair Obscur, Esplendor Geométrico, Memorandum and others. And even back then, I was also a big Sopor Aeternus fan. So I contacted quite a number of labels to suggest they reissue various albums on CD, or that they sign Sopor Aeternus –but not a single label was interested. Completely unfathomable!

After months of investing my time and money into these activities, I thought: ‘Just do it yourself!’ In other words, Apocalyptic Vision was intended as being purely a label for reissuing some of my favorite albums by my favorite bands, as well as for Sopor Aeternus. That was of course naive, but luckily, I was able to pull it off.

It seemed I developed a good reputation with this label, and as a result I received more and more interesting enquiries from bands that I treasured, both personally and artistically (such as DIE FORM). Bands that unfortunately didn’t fit into the Apocalyptic Vision re-release concept. I therefore decided to set up a second label, which enabled me to sign precisely these types of bands.

Apart from those specific re-release intentions for Apocalyptic Vision, the philosophy behind both labels is to work with artists who pursue the ‘total work of art’ approach, and who literally live their art. Good music alone was never enough for me, even just as a fan of bands. What excites me is when artists strive for a synthesis of the arts, in order to then transcend art’s boundaries. This idea of striving for a total work of art still applies today. So nothing in my basic philosophy has changed over the last nearly 30 years.

Q: I can imagine you must have specific and explicit criteria to sign an artist/band. Can you give us more details about this aspect and how important is it for you to know the person(s) hiding behind the ‘artist(s)’?

Alex: As explained above, the important thing for me is the ‘total work of art’ approach. I therefore look for artists in whom I see this potential. What’s more, I’m not interested in copies of copies. Back in 1992, when I founded the label, there were countless Sisters Of Mercy clones about. Some of these were really good, but of course, some of them were really terrible. But even the very best of the clones didn’t interest me. I’m interested in artists who want to create something new, and who have this irrepressible drive; this special ‘spark’. And last but not least, the chemistry must also be right. I’m proud to run an independent label, and for me that means first and foremost that the human element must first be established before a contract is concluded, because goals and visions can only be achieved by working together.

Two examples of this ‘total work of art – individuality – partnership’ trinity are Asp Spreng (ASP) and Alexander Kaschte (Samsas Traum). At the time, I was ripped to pieces for these signings. Lots of colleagues, and above all the press, shook their heads. Today, these are two of my most successful artists, and without them ever having had to compromise their principles in any way. As well as their musical projects, both of them are meanwhile active as authors, owners of their own publishing imprints, A&R people and consultants. In short: they’re indefatigable all-rounders.

But because of digitalization, I also have bands on my roster for whom I only release a digital single here and there. In these cases, I don’t apply the above-mentioned selection criteria quite so strictly. Because of the nature of purely digital releases, this is OK, and things work on this premise.

When all’s said and done, working together should be enjoyable. But even though it’s not really the primary consideration for me: I also need to see a certain amount of commercial success. It may not fit in with romanticised conceptions, but even independent labels and their artists need to earn money. As a result of the major –or more precisely, dramatic –developments of recent years, labels need to unfortunately keep a closer eye on this aspect. If you don’t, you’re out of the picture more quickly than you think. There’s a fitting German saying that says you can’t just live on fresh air. Unfortunately, this is true!

Q: You are already active for numerous years now so you must have seen a lot of things changing and evolving; think about social media, streaming platforms, Youtube channels… but also economic crisis etc. What are the pros and cons of these changes/evolutions and in, which way did you had to adapt/change your strategy and activities?

Alex: Digitalization was and is the most radical upheaval of all. People even speak of it as being a new industrial revolution. The positive aspect of digitalization is the accompanying democratization of the music industry.

Today, we can no longer imagine how difficult –rather, hopeless –it was as a newly founded label back then to get a distribution deal. Especially with a distributor who was actually capable of being able to get CDs into the shops. The difficulties we faced back then, just to get an album reviewed in a music magazine, are barely imaginable! In those days, music magazines were the only medium in, which indies could make their releases known. And if that wasn’t enough: all these problems described here didn’t just apply to Germany, but to every country in the world. As a German label without the internet, and armed only with a telephone connection, how could you find out whether there were relevant magazines –and what they were called –in for example France? I can still vividly recall how, for my very first release, “In Out” (cat no AV 001 CD) by the French band Clair Obscur, how difficult it was to send the CDs over the border into this neighbor country (!) and to market it there. It was as easy as it would presumably be today to export Trisol albums to North Korea, hahahaaa!

Today, the entire world is only a mouse click away. Being able to distribute and market music no longer depends on the benevolence of just a few quasi-monopolists.

And as for the negative aspects –everybody knows what they are, so I don’t know if I still need to list them? Today it’s all about Individual songs and playlists. Whoever succeeds in getting onto popular playlists is guaranteed substantial listener figures. For example, most playlists are orientated towards the course of the day, spanning ‘Good morning!’ to ‘Beating afternoon fatigue’ and up to ‘Gently fall asleep’. The artist is no longer important. Everything is based on users’ habits instead. So it’s no longer surprising that the people listening to music are no longer called ‘fans’, but rather really are called ‘users’. But music is also a haptic experience. Apart from the cover artwork and booklet, this also includes the signs of wear that a record or CD in a fan’s possession for a long time displays. Streaming and downloads are soulless! This soulless consumption also has some quite different ramifications. In the past, you could offer a contract to ten bands that you believed in. Nine of these bands would however never make it, but there was always one band who would make a breakthrough. Earnings from this one band could then subsidize the others, which was vitally important for promoting newcomers and keeping the market dynamic. Today, this is no longer possible. Or on a related topic: protest culture and protest songs. Has anyone ever encountered Fridays for Future protest songs?

Of course, strategies need to be adapted. To explain all that, I’d need to write a reference book. I’ll try to illustrate this by means of an example: When I started, it was all about releasing albums on CD, because vinyl was dead. Furthermore, when realizing album projects, we had to take into consideration that the playing time was way over 60 minutes, because the capacity of a CD is greater than that of a vinyl record. And then, when I occasionally did release a vinyl edition, I usually received the pressing, including test pressings, within three weeks, because the vinyl presses were otherwise at a standstill. Today, when releasing albums, you predominantly have to think about the vinyl edition, and therefore a playing time of 45 minutes maximum. Ideally, this must also be easy to split across two sides of a record. But nowadays, a vinyl pressing means having to plan ahead for nearly six months. In short, virtually everything is diametrically opposed to how things were when I started.

Q: The ongoing pandemic has affected all artistic life and activities so what’s the true impact on your label activities and do you think it will also affect your long term objectives?

Alex: The pandemic’s effects on the work of the label can be split into two groups: bands that play live lots or tour, and bands who only occasionally play live, or not at all. For more popular bands, it’s vitally important that album releases are accompanied by a tour. This means that, without a tour, the releases planned for these bands also have to be postponed. But for bands whose releases aren’t supported by tours, the pandemic doesn’t affect release strategies in any way at all. However, some of my colleagues see this aspect differently.

But the effects on physical sales are downright epochal. Because bricks and mortar shops were closed –and to an extent still are –the pandemic’s effect on the decline of traditional offline shopping has been like that of an accelerant on a forest fire. Records and CDs are hardly ever bought in local shops, but rather sold via mail order.

Q: Do you think media (magazines, online platforms etc…) still have an impact and a role to play today? What’s your relationship with ‘journalists’ and how important is their work?

Alex: Ah, the good old days of print media… those days are long gone. Personally, I miss those times enormously, because back then I virtually devoured all the magazines: Glasnost, Zillo, Elegy, D-Side, Side-Line, New Life, Ritual, Black, Ghastly Magazine, Propaganda Magazine and Music From The Empty Quarter. The latter in particular made a lasting impression on my musical taste. In those days, if you read a good review by Zillo journalists Joe Asmodo or Dirk Hoffmann, you knew that you could buy the album in question. And you weren’t disappointed. Those were still the days of quality journalism.

Today, a lot of it is just meaningless crap. After you’ve read the reviews, you often still don’t even know what sort of music they’re writing about, and how the album might sound. The press hasn’t done itself any favors there. To an extent, they have themselves to blame for this irrelevance. Luckily, there are exceptions, and I’m glad that in Germany, we still have Orkus! as a print magazine.

So of course, I’m pleased to cooperate with journalists who turn out really great work, and I can still see a clear relevance, irrespective of whether in print or online media.

Q: What do you consider as your biggest accomplishment(s)? Do you have specific goals/dreams you want to achieve and how do you prepare and see the future of the label(s)? And what are your biggest regret(s)?

Alex: My biggest achievement is that, after nearly 30 years, I’m still running my two labels. My greatest dream is that I’ll be able to pursue this path for many more years to come. Ideally, literally until the end of my life. There are no special preparations in place for this –only my passion for music and a willingness to always be open to new developments, even if I may not always personally approve of them.

My greatest regret is probably the virtually archetypal A&R error: that artists sometimes slip through the net, and that you then regret this for the rest of your life.

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: Gothic, Goth-Metal.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: German Mantus is now active for more than twenty years and has released a serious discography. The band driven by Martin Schiller and assisted by female vocalist Chiara Amberia has unleashed their “Manifest” featuring thirteen new songs.

Content: Mantus has moved throughout different periods; the main style and basis of the work has been always centered on Gothic, but some albums moved into harder Metal riffs. “Manifest” seems to be a very personal work, but still a dark one, which is clearly driven by the dystopian world we’re living in. Mantus transposed these dark visions into melodic, carrying passages, which have been seriously empowered by heavy guitar playing. Chiara heavenly vocals are once again injecting a touch of grace to the tenebrous and melancholic world of Mantus. She stands for the angelic side of the work while Martin’s rougher way of singing is more demoniac. The songs have been as usual sung in the band’s Mother language.

+ + + : “Manifest” is an interesting title as it perfectly symbolizes an imaginary ‘manifest’ of this band or a kind of summary of their career. The songs remain melodic, which has always been a kind of trademark, but also touching ground with heavier and somewhat Metal guitar play. The Electronic arrangements achieve the work with some subtle elements. Mantus in fact is the symbiosis between opposites, but in the end it simply makes sense and once more resulted in noticeable songs. The album first of all stands for a ‘classical’ German Gothic sound and reveals multiple cool songs.

– – – : There are numerous attention grabbers, but unfortunately a potential big ‘hit’, which is probably what Mantus is missing to reach a wider, international reputation.

Conclusion: I’ve already said it, but I’m still convinced Mantus is an underrated formation in the Gothic style. They’ve this kind of imaginary license to compose a powerful gothic style where melancholia has been adapted into melodic songs.

Best songs: “Lohokla”, “Norwind”, “Straßen der Stadt”, “Mantra”, “Fast Perfekte Welt”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.mantus.de / www.facebook.com/mantus.band

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

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, electro-wave, dark-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Suicide Songs” marks the return of Black Heaven. After an absence of eight years Martin Schindler –who’s better known for his involvement with the gothic project Mantus, reactivated his ‘electro’ project, which has been introduced as an ultra dark opus.

Content: “Suicide Songs” in a way stands for the dystopian world we’re living in; a world that is driving mad and, which seems to have its impact at the artist. All these feelings have been transposed into a melancholic, danceable electro-format, which is mixing electronics together with pop, gothic and new-wave. The music has a retro feeling reminding me of the 90s and especially Fortification 55 comes to mind. The songs are dark and melodic, and also feature noticeable lyrics about the disillusion of the artist.

+ + + : I like the retro-90s feeling, but more than that, this album reveals great melody lines (which is not that surprising if you’re familiar with Mantus), a dark electro-wave sphere and danceable rhythms. I also like his dark timbre of voice, which only accentuates the darkness of the concept. There also is a cool song “Another Life” with female backings. The main strength emerges from the carrying choruses. This album features several beautiful songs. Black Heaven doesn’t really bring something new, but this dark opus has something refreshing in times dark-electro artists became the copy of another copy.

– – – : It’s not that easy to release a new work after a hiatus of eight years. So it will be not that easy for Black Heaven to bring this album in the spotlights. From a pure musical point of view, some songs are maybe a bit too similar, but I’m not complaining.

Conclusion: Black Heaven strikes back with style! This is the right album to put this project back on the map.

Best songs: “No Love”, “Wake Me Up”, “When I’m Dead”, “Another Life”, “Leave Me Alone”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: http://sepia–music.com/bh / www.facebook.com/Black–Heaven-183146875047967

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

Genre/Influences: Gothic, goth-rock, medieval.

Background/Info: Martin Schindler is the creative spirit and music instigator of Mantus, a gothic orientated project he’s now running for twenty years. Together with singer Chiara Amberia he achieved two different albums.

Content: “Katharsis” is a rather typical Mantus work, which sounds definitely gothic, but is also into dark-rock elements and few goth-metal passages. You’ll easily recognize the typical melancholia of the band and the alternation between male- and female vocals. “Immer Wieder” reminds me a bit of Within Temptation for the volume of Chiara’s vocals. The melancholia has been mixed with powerful guitar parts and carrying electronic choruses. You’ll also notice the artistic and somewhat neo-classical arrangements.

“Pagan Folk Songs” is not just an extra disc. Mantus explores medieval sonic paths, achieving a real tour de force. It’s more pagan and folk-like, getting us back to the imagery of the Middle Ages and the music of troubadours. You get the impression the songs have been played by real instruments, but I’m afraid that’s just an illusion… but a damned good one! Flutes, bagpipes and tambourines are just a few instruments you might recognize on this work filled with reverie and, which remains mainly instrumental.

+ + + : This is an album with two different albums, and each one is worthy of examination. I like “Pagan Folk Songs” for its innovative side. This is a new experiment for Martin Schindler, but definitely an album that might open new perspectives and who knows, maybe a side-project. I like the fairy-like approach. But next to this great bonus work, “Katharsis” also reveals a band in good shape. It’s more traditional and faithful to what we’re used to hearing from Mantus, but here again the songs are pure lust for the ears. The melodies and melancholia both are efficient, but I also noticed great guitar parts and heavenly female vocals while Martin’s growls inject some extra darkness. 

– – – : My only regret is that the songs of “Pagan Folk Songs” haven’t been composed with authentic instruments, which would have added an extra dimension to this cool work.

Conclusion: Nearly each new Mantus opus makes me say that this band deserves more recognition and especially from outside their homeland. They remain one of the most underrated bands from the gothic scene, but they always got my full support!

Best songs: “Tagebush”, “Sonne”, “Moment”, “Chaos”, “Pandopra” + “Scottish Dance – Part Two”, “Furor Celtica”, “Djeema El Fna”, “Yggdrasil”, “Pagan Spirit”, “Scottish Dance – Part One”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.mantus.de / www.facebook.com/mantus.band

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

Genre/Influences: Gothic, cinematographic.

Background/Info: Mantus definitely is one of the most faithful ambassadors from the German label Trisol. All releases have been released on Trisol while the band driven by Martin Schindler and Chiara Amberia (vocals) can already look back at an impressive discography. “Staub & Asche” appears to be the band’s 15^th studio album and the fans will be not disappointed that it is a double disc.

Content: Since the very first Mantus album (cf. “Liebe Und Tod”) released in 2000 Martin Schindler has always remained faithful to a kind of melodic and melancholic gothic sound, which he constantly spiced with new elements. Right at the moment I thought Mantus was becoming a goth-metal formation, he back again moved to more ‘classical’ structures.

“Staub Und Asche” doesn’t move back at all to the original sound of the band, but you might recognize the traditional aspects accentuated by dreamy choruses, melancholic atmospheres recovering the songs, empowering guitar play and the duality in the vocals. Next to the angelic and heavenly female vocals you get the more dramatic male vocals. I don’t say that it’s a completely new element featured on the main disc, but I noticed a more explicit cinematographic aspect, which mainly comes through at the instrumental song “Melancholische Unruhe”.

The second disc entitled “Blumen In Der Hölle” is something totally different. This album is pure poetry and sounds definitely as the most personal and intimate work of Martin Schindler to date. Chiara Amberia is not featured on this disc. The songs clearly sound like the artist exorcising his most intimate ideas. It sounds pretty gothic as well and might remind to Goethes Erben. It’s more theatric, but still revealing a few surprising songs evoking Endraum.

+ + + : I’ve always been seduced by the work and the gothic magic of Mantus. It’s not that different for this new opus revealing two different sides. You first get the ‘traditional’ approach featuring melancholia, drama, beautiful piano arrangements, powerful guitar play and elevating choruses and a perfect twist between both singers. I’ve to admit I always have had a preference for the angelic vocals of Chiara injecting a more refined and delicate touch to the work.

Next you get the second disc revealing something new for Mantus. It’s a more classical and I dare to say ‘old-styled’ gothic approach, which is evoking different German productions from the 90s, but it’s well crafted, intimate and sometimes dreamy-like.

Last, but not least this CD-format features a great artwork featuring a beautiful digipak and including 2 massive and separate booklets.

– – – : Even if “Blumen In Der Hölle” sounds different from what we’re used to hear from Mantus, this band has no longer a surprising effect. And that’s quite understandable for a band, which is already active for more than 20 years now so it will not become my favorite Mantus album in history. When you know Mantus, you already know in advance what you going to hear… but I still like it!

Conclusion: If you like German gothic music, Mantus remains a sure value in the genre and especially because this new oeuvre reveals 2 different although related sides.

Best songs: “Wir Sind Die Nacht”, “Phosphor”, “Melancholische Unruhe (Instr.)” + “Angriff Großer Poesie”, “Blumen In Der Höle”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.mantus.de / www.facebook.com/mantus.band

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

The biggest distributor for the industrial electro scene, Audioglobe, has announced its Top 10 in best selling industrial music labels. The numbers were already out there for the labels to look at it, but here they are also for the regular fans. Note that with 2018, Audioglobe also enters it’s 25th year of existance as the distributor set up shop on 6 December 1993. We will of course have a big extended interview and more with Sebastian Koch regarding this great achievement in a very tough market.

But now the numbers many of you have been waiting for!

The Top 3

First the Top 3. The number 1 label in sales is Trisol which has bands such as Clan of Xymox, Rome, Project Pitchfork, Sopor Aeternus, Nachtmahr, Rotersand, Asp, Mantus etc. under contract. The second label in the list is the Belgian based Alfa Matrix which nurtures the talent of Front 242, Underviewer, Daniel B Prothèse, Metroland, Alien Vampires, Ayria, Leatherstrip, Psy’Aviah, Kant Kino and so many other acts. Note that this label also has a very strong e-shop presence (direct sales are not included in this Top 10 list). The 3rd label is Out Of Line with Blutengel, Combichrist, Hocico, Solar Fake, Heimataerde, Unzucht, Solitary Experiments. Also this label has an own e-shop.

The rest of the Top 10

The 4th label is Fabrika/Dead Scarlet (She Past Away, Lebanon Hanover, Selofan, Kaelan Mikla, M!R!M, Doric…) followed by ArtOfFact (Legend, Frontline Assembly, Haujobb, Psyche, Noise Unit, Dead When I found her, Pankow…) and Metropolis (Birthday Massacre, Aesthetic Perfection, God Module, Lords of Acid, Skinny Puppy, Delerium…). The 7th place is occupied by Rustblade (Morricone, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, Leaether Strip, Lydia Lunch, Legendary Pink Dots, Merzbow…). Also Dependent is still in the Top 10, namely on spot 8 with their label roster (Covenant, Mesh, Pride & Fall, Beborn Beton, Seabound, Encephalon, Frontline Assembly, Clicks..). Place 9 and 10 finally are for Manic Depression (Winter Severity Index, Ash Code, Schonwald, Box and the Twins, Sjoblom, Dear Deer…) and Undo (Marsheaux, Girl One and the Grease Guns, Mesh, Fotonovela, OMD, Nikonn, Mikro, Vienna, Liebe…).

And on spot 11 and 12…

2 labels didn’t make the Top 10, namely Hall Of Sermon (Lacrimosa, Snakeskin, Black Moon Secret, Eyes Shut Tight) and Infacted (NamNamBulu, Grendel, Torul, Reaper, Frozen Plasma, Ruined Conflict, Orange Sector, Syntec…). Both labels ended on place 11 and 12.

Here’s the complete list again. The bands next to the label are listed in order of sales results/total turnover per band in 2017 via Audioglobe.

01 TRISOL (Clan of Xymox, Rome, Project Pitchfork, Sopor Aeternus, Nachtmahr, Rotersand, Asp, Mantus…)
02 ALFA MATRIX (Front 242, Underviewer, Daniel B Prothèse, Metroland, Alien Vampires, Ayria, Leatherstrip…)
03 OUT OF LINE (Blutengel, Combichrist, Hocico, Solar Fake, Heimataerde, Unzucht, Solitary Experiments …)
04 FABRIKA/DEAD SCARLET (She Past Away, Lebanon Hanover, Selofan, Kaelan Mikla, M!R!M, Doric…)
05 ARTOFFACT (Legend, Frontline Assembly, Haujobb, Psyche, Noise Unit, Dead When I found her, Pankow…)
06 METROPOLIS (Birthday Massacre, Aesthetic Perfection, God Module, Lords of Acid, Skinny Puppy, Delerium…)
07 RUSTBLADE (Morricone, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, Leaether Strip, Lydia Lunch, Legendary Pink Dots, Merzbow…)
08 DEPENDENT (Covenant, Mesh, Pride & Fall, Beborn Beton, Seabound, Encephalon, Frontline Assembly, Clicks..)
09 MANIC DEPRESSION (Winter Severity Index, Ash Code, Schonwald, Box and the Twins, Sjoblom, Dear Deer…)
10 UNDO (Marsheaux, Girl One and the Grease Guns, Mesh, Fotonovela, OMD, Nikonn, Mikro, Vienna, Liebe…)
11 HALL OF SERMON (Lacrimosa, Snakeskin, Black Moon Secret, Eyes Shut Tight)
12 INFACTED (NamNamBulu, Grendel, Torul, Reaper, Frozen Plasma, Ruined Conflict, Orange Sector, Syntec…)

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: Gothic, goth-rock.

Background/Info: Mantus is already back on track with a new exposure of this German goth formation’s creative mind: Martin Schindler. This artist can look back at an impressive discography. Mantus has experimented with multiple influences, moving from metal to rock, but always remains faithful to the gothic basis of their sound joined by beautiful female vocals.

Content: “Refugium” rapidly appears to be one of Mantus’ most versatile albums. A few albums like “Zeichen” and “Wölfe” appeared to be a harder fusion between gothic- and metal music while the previous work “Melancholia” revealed a softer and sensitive approach. I’m not saying “Refugium” is a symbiosis between previous releases and sources of inspiration, but it’s more open-minded.

There still is this typically German gothic sound, which has been polished by neo-classic arrangements while other parts are joined by furious guitar riffs. There is the occassional switch from male- to female vocals, Martin Schindler symbolizing the ‘evil’ and ‘Chiara Amberia’ the grace and beauty.

“Refugium” doesn’t deliver real surprises, but remains a deeply artistic creation featuring opposite styles melding into a sacred sound. The arrangements can be sensitive and refined with piano parts, but the next song might reveal a heavier and bombast, epic arrangement. Mantus is not predictable and that’s why this work is once more taking you by surprise.

+ + + : Martin Schindler remains to me one of the less recognized gothic artists in the scene. He brings multiple influences together in a solid and goth-transcendental sound. The arrangements are absolutely amazing while the female vocals inject this sensual and graceful touch.

– – – : The album reveals seseveral cool songs, but maybe not a kind of essential piece, which you would choose as  a single. I can imagine the album’s diversity will not be praised by all gothic lovers.

Conclusion: Mantus remains a typical German gothic formation and “Refugium” will for sure enter into the band’s history as one of their most accomplished pieces.

Best songs: Schliess Die Augen”, “Traurig Bin Ich Sowieso”, “Zwischen Den Nächten”, “Kampf Der Kulturen”.

Rate: (8).

Band: http://sepia–music.com/mantus / www.facebook.com/mantus.band

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

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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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