With “Zuchthaus”, the sulphurous German duo (and couple) Acylum aka Nadine and Pedro Engel return with a new chapter in Acylum’s career for another ear- and eye- provocative effort. They are experts in setting the scene and plunging us in unbearable poignant atmospheres through their sinister and bombastic  harsh elektro deprived of any compromise.  We had a quick chat with the master of darkness…

The album is out as a limited edition 2CD and as an extended bonus version via Bandcamp.

SL: “Zuchthaus” is described as your most sombre and despair-ridden album to date. What inspired you to delve into such profound depths of tragedy and darkness for this release?

P. It wasn’t necessarily planned, I don’t always go to work with a deep plan, but always act spontaneously according to my mood and desire… Also, this time I didn’t really pay attention to what the listener might like in the end, I just really paid attention to my feeling about the music and nothing else.  Very spontaneous…

SL: The album’s rallying cry, “Fight! Victory or Death,” is quite powerful.  Can you elaborate on the message you aim to convey with this phrase and how it ties into the themes of the album?

P. This saying can be interpreted in different ways by everyone. And this is our intention! For me personally I would say it means something like… “do your thing”, “go your way”, “don’t give a shit about what others say”.  Everyone in this society is in their own personal war and you must never lose sight of your goals and your path. Plus it just sounds really cool and is a great opener for the album…

SL: Your music often immerses listeners in historical and political themes, such as the Cold War and gulags for example. What draws you to these subjects, and how do you approach integrating them into your sound?

P. These themes and the typical ACYLUM sound simply harmonize perfectly with each other. Furthermore, these topics are always very attractive to me and of course (especially in Germany) provocative. I like to create a kind of soundtrack for topics of this kind.

SL: Tracks like “Gabriel” and “1000 Meilen” introduce slower, melancholic moments. How did the creative process for these tracks differ from the more aggressive songs on the album?

P. For me an album needs variety and diversity,  If it just banged and crashed all the time I would probably get bored… and you too! For me it’s just super important to incorporate quieter moments into an Long player… and the contrasts between the songs make an album really interesting for me!  This is also what ACYLUM is all about.

SL: You mention a mystical touch of Nordic mythology in the background of the album. Can you discuss how you incorporated these mythological elements into your music and the significance they hold in the album’s narrative?

P. I am a big fan of Nordic mythology and its music. Thematically they don’t really have any meaning on this album, but musically I wanted to bring a little something into it (e.g. the song 1000 Meilen). It’s always nice to mix a few rather foreign instruments with the typical electronic style.

SL: Your sound is known for its confrontational and oppressive industrial noise sequences. How do you balance creating music that is both challenging and addictive for your listeners?

I think we managed to create a rather strange and perhaps unique style over the years. Of course, we are often compared to other bands, but we make it our mission to always be a little different than others.

SL: “Zuchthaus” seems to reflect a cyclical nature of human folly and chaos. What do you hope listeners take away from this portrayal of unrelenting misery and historical repetition?

P. I just hope you enjoy playing it and listening to it, and that you can vent your aggressions or make love to it… whatever you want, but at least it triggers something in you!

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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The German duo Acylum, Nadine and Pedro Engel, are back with an all new album, “Zuchthaus”, which is the follow-up release to 2021’s “Kampf Dem Verderb” and the 2023 EP “Kalashnikov“.

The initial release of the album emerges as a limited 2CD digipak edition, featuring remixes by formidable bands including :Wumpscut:, Supreme Court, Diffuzion, Darkness On Demand, Studio-X, Neikka RPM, Rroyce, Project Erratic, Winterhart, Say Just Words, Human Vault, Alien:Nation, Dyskolia and Deadly Injection.

You can order this limited 2CD edition right now via the Alfa Matrix webstore and as download on Bandcamp. Below are two videos from album tracks.

The German electro industrial project was founded in 2004 in Chemnitz by DJ Pedro Engel and he was joined in 2008 by Nadine “Cooraz” Engel. Read the review of ‘Zuchthaus’.

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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Carlos Ruiz got involved with the Spanish Dark-Electro duo Dioxyde. The band gained recognition in its genre, but Carlos left in 2004 to move on with his solo-project Asseptic Room. The sound became different although still driven by good-old Dark-Electro vibes. The albums “Morbid Visions” (2006) and “Visceralophobia” (2011) saw the daylight. It next took ten years to Asseptic Room to strike back. Carlos Ruiz got joined by Mario González to compose the new work “Extinction Or Reawaken”. The opus has been again released by Advoxya Records and became a double album revealing next to the Dark-Electro influences at the first disc a more Cinematic exploration at the second disc. I asked a few questions about the past, the present and the future to both protagonists.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I noticed you first started in the scene as DJ. What kind of music were you playing and how did you finally made the step to compose your own music and getting involved with Dioxyde?

Carlos: I started as a professional DJ in a famous club in Madrid somewhere at the end of 1987 – beginning of 1988. I started collecting vinyls since I was 14 years old and my ear was always attracted by genres that were not very commercial at that time. One day a couple of vinyls came into my hands in an import store, (“Party Hate” from Click Click and “Freiheit Fuer Die Sklaven” from Pankow), which made me listen to genres such as Industrial, EBM from the 80’s and especially Dark-Electro from the 90’s.

I started to compose my first tracks in 1991, when I was able to buy my first great computer ever and a Kawai keyboard. But it wouldn’t be until 1998 when I would meet Marcos Calvo and decided to take the leap to produce an album. During one of my sessions as a DJ in a famous Club in Madrid, I met Marcos Calvo who told me about the idea of ​​making music together. In a short lapse of time we had a lot of good songs; Marcos had already composed some good songs, and at that time I had many bases and consolidated themes, which we finally managed to adapt to create the first Dioxyde album “Torschlusspanik”.

I decided to send a cassette with a small sample to Johan Van Roy (Suicide Commando). I never thought  he would answer that soon with the intention to know more about the project. It was the beginning of a beautiful story.

Q: How did you finally come to set up Asseptic Room and what makes the difference in sound and approach with Dioxyde?

Carlos: My experience with Dioxyde was incredible. It allowed me to grow as an artist and develop all my creativity and to create my own compositions. Time passing by I found the need to do something on my own and create that dark sound that had been spinning around in my head for so many years. So in 2006 I decided to take a leap into the void and started working for my most personal project.

With Asseptic Room I wanted to explore other types of genres, perhaps more retro, Experimental, more Ambient, but without neglecting the hardness of the percussion and the melodies that have been so successful in my previous work with Dioxyde and used to create songs. such as “Acto Primero”, “Angel (Espina Mortal)”, “Panzerfaust”, “Primary Structures” or “Torschlüsspanik”, a track that I had created for a long time and which has a lot of strength.

That same year (2006) I sent my first demo to Tommy T (DSBP Records) to release the first album “Morbid Visions”. The album responded satisfactorily to my expectations and proof of this is the long list of compilations that wanted to include songs from that first album.

Also, it gave me the opportunity to do some remixes for bands like: Alien Produkt, Vigilante, Aengeldust, Haushetaere, Tyske Ludder or Acylum (Pedro Engel’s project with whom I have had contact on several occasions to create some of my best remixes). Nor will I forget, the magnificent remixes that have been created for Asseptic Room, to highlight among others those of Totalverlust, Acylum, Hioctan, Reality, Suicide Solution, Proyecto Mirage, Larva and many others.

During these years I got in touch with my great friend, Mario González and we had the opportunity to work together in the studio, developing a track for this album. Next I personally went through dark and very difficult years. It was like this until 2011 and the release of the second album “Visceralofobia”. It was a difficult album, like a challenge going through a restless and desperate period. But in the end and with a lot of efforts I was able to release the album thanks to Advoxya Records. After this album I’d to go though the most difficult moments of my life resulting in abandoning the creation of music for many years.

Q: So does the new album you released last year feel like a new beginning? How did it feel all these years without releasing new material? What brought you back to compose new songs?

Carlos: Finally, after the loss of my partner and two years of mourning I came back to surface. One night some musical notes began to sound that I could not stop listening to over and over again. I had to get up and play it in the middle of the night. The first thing I thought was that it was different and it was born from deep within. Those were the first notes of “The Memory Of Silence”; I even imagine to play it in a great philharmonic. A nice dream;)

Around the same time I got back in touch with Mario after many years and everything started flowing quickly. The Covid 19 pandemic came into our lives and for us there were moments of great creativity that helped us to create many new songs.

Q: The new album “Extinction Or Reawaken” has been released as a double album and there clearly is a difference between both discs; than main disc is pure Dark (h)El(l)ectro music while the second disc sounds more into Soundtrack. Tell us a bit more about both discs and the global production process of the work?

Carlos: When we began to develop the songs for the new album, we realized that we had a lot of material and we did not want to leave any song off the album, for this reason we had to think that “Extinction Or Reawaken” should be a double one. It is true that in a few months we had a large and varied number of songs, some songs are pure Dark-Electro, but I incorporate new elements to the compositions that make them different from other personal works.

We had to stop for a moment to reflect if we wanted to create classic dark music or experiment to achieve what our heads wanted with these new compositions. We finally decided to open up and experiment with a multitude of genres.

We had classic songs, perfect to be played in an orchestra, with epic choirs and we had to learn to work with this type of instrument. We also had tremendously hard and dark tracks and other ambient and epic songs.

In the end, all those tracks were a mixture of feelings and emotions, which tell a story full of symbolism for us. It has been a very hard job that has lasted many months, and we are very satisfied with the final result.


Q: What have been the main sources of inspiration to compose this new work and what did you try to express by the title? What has been the input of Mario González and how did you get in touch?

Mario: The inspiration came mainly from the recent loss of our family members. They were very hard times for both of us, but thanks to this we have done our best work.
We explore many sounds with our equipment and for the first time we did not dare to put any limits on creativity and we were open to explore and experiment   even antagonistic genres.

We try to go beyond the Dark-Electro genre by simply trying to imprint the soul of Asseptic Room by using influences from classical music, epic passages, Tibetan sounds and even pure noise.

The album title was chosen on the edge of life’s bad circumstances and somehow represents the nature of human life that transcends good and evil to survive/self-extinct.

Carlos: Mario and I got in touch at the end of 2019 at a perfect time and with all the past experience we had making some tracks for the “Morbid Visions”-album. The process happened automatically and we rarely even talked about how to make music because of a very special connection. We really enjoy doing these things.

Q: How do you see Asseptic Room evolving and what are the further plans –especially in times of ongoing pandemic? 

Mario: Our next plans are to prepare the concert in Madrid with Hocico. We have finished taking up the album “Visceralofofia” with a new production. Eight tracks are included in this new work and our idea is to release it in a special vinyl edition. Now we have to assess the budget to launch it in the coming months.
We have also started working on new songs for Asseptic Room and doing a review of tracks created in my period with Dioxyde. A special way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the project.

Carlos: The pandemic has not stopped our illusion of continuing to do what we like and now our creativity is at a high level and we are excited about the amount of work we have in our hands. The pandemic has been very hard, as for everyone, but thanks to music we have been able to escape from this madness.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Pedro Engel setup Acylum in 2004. A few years later he got joined by his wife Nadine ‘Cooraz’ Engel. From the very early productions the German project revealed an extremely dark and tormented Electro style. Acylum released some very successful albums, “Pest” released in 2015 being becoming an essential opus for Dark-Electro lovers. Six years later, “Kampf Dem Verderb” released on Alfa Matrix, appears to be even darker than ever before. A work filled with terror, provocation, controversy, but still with great and accomplished Dark-Electro. I talked about different topics with Pedro Engel.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: After the “Pest”-album released in 2015 you seem to have focalized on different side-projects. What do these side-projects mean? How do you make the difference between all projects? And when did you finally start writing new songs for Acylum?

Pedro: The “Pest”-album was the fifth Acylum-album and after that we just wanted something different.

With Aengeldust you don’t need to think much about content or lyrics. You just have to produce hard and raw Industrial, it’s just a lot of fun. All you need is a cool topic, some great samples and let’s go!!

Things look different with Totem Obscura. This is more about darker and more mystical topics. The music also sounds in the direction of Dark-Electro, but also with many other influences; here we also use Medieval sounds or even go more in the direction of Gothic-Electro.

The work on “Kampf Dem Verderb” began more than two years ago. Problems with the software and the fucking Corona virus cost a lot of time so it took more than 5 years until we finally had a new Acylum album! It will be faster until the next one .. I promise :-)))

Q: “Kampf Der Verderb” sounds to me as your darkest and most tormented work ever, but what kind of album did you want to accomplish; sound- and lyrical wise?

Pedro: This was actually not an intention; maybe it was because of the long time between the albums. A lot has changed; we changed and the world changed as well… Acylum should always reflect current events, and what are they like at the moment? Terror, the Covid-19 virus, corrupt politicians and sometimes freedom of speech is not advisable in these times. I think that’s the reason!

Q: What have been the different stages you had to go through to achieve the album? What have been the main difficulties and maybe challenges you encountered and what makes this work maybe different from previous Acylum productions?

Pedro: For me it is important that I don’t copy myself. I don’t want a new album to sound like another one I’ve already released. And of course it shouldn’t lose our typical style. In addition, finding the right choice of content is not always easy. Ten years ago it was somehow a lot easier… maybe that’s because you thought less about what you’re doing ;-))

Q: One of the most surprising songs is the reworked version of “The Enemy” (originally released in 2009 at the same-titled album) featuring Nano Infect, Viscera Drip, Wolfchild, Xentrifuge, Technogenetika and your own side-project Totem Obscura. How did you get the idea of this reworked versions with different artists and how did it happen? What has been the input of each artist?

Pedro: Ohhh yes I love this song!! The beat is probably one of the darkest I’ve ever made. That’s why I really wanted to record it again. I always try to do something that nobody (in our scene) has done before. Hence the idea to put many different artists on the track. There was only the requirement that it should be aggressive and provocative… otherwise the artists had a free hand with the lyrics. I just love to hear the different styles, voices and languages on a track. We will definitely repeat that!!

Q: How do you see the evolution in sound and composing process from the early Acylum songs till today? What do you consider as the major changes and evolutions?

Pedro: It’s not that easy to answer. The biggest change is of course myself. The quality and the production both have evolved, of course, but the attitude and the approach has always remained the same. I have never paid attention to what is currently in vogue… the critics have never interested me… So I would say we have been walking our way for 6 albums and it will stay that way for the next.

Q: I noticed there have been people on social media denouncing Acylum for being ‘politically incorrect’. Do you feel affected by these accusations and do you have something to say to the critics?

Pedro: Oh yes we have had this problem for a long time… I am aware that our music is very provocative and many topics are very sensitive and in today’s social media time it happens very quickly that people write bullshit about you and others believe it too. But that doesn’t bother me.

I can only say that I am neither a political person nor a racist. We work with so many international artists that it’s just ridiculous. But I don’t think the critics even want to hear that. It has just become trendy to denounce people who have their own opinion that does not correspond to the mainstream.

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.

Format: Digital, CD & 2CD.

Background/Info: The German band Acylum driven by Pedro ‘Acylum’ Engel and his partner in crime Nadine ‘Cooraz’ Engel strike back with the first Acylum album in nearly six years! “Kampf Dem Verderb” was introduced last year introduced by the EP “Sieg Oder Walhalla”. The work wants to be a reflection upon the ‘overall bloody atmosphere of hatred, violence, terror and war’. 

Content: The return of Acylum is characterized by an extremely dark and tormented sound perception, which totally matches with the ‘concept’ of the album. The songs are constantly driven by harsh, Industrial kicks while similar desolate tunes are supporting the work with darkness. The use of mainly German samplings accentuates the horror of the war vision, but still appears to be provocative. The harsh vocals by Pedro Engel only accentuate the nightmarish atmosphere emerging at the surface of this opus. The main difference with the brilliant and previous album (cf. “Pest”) is that this work sounds less powerful, but more into an atmospheric approach. A few tracks are even harder! One of the most surprising cuts is a new version of “The Enemy” (originally released in 2009 at the same-titled album) and now reworked with the contribution of Nano Infect, Totem Obscura, Viscera Drip, Wolfchild, Xentrifuge and Technogenetika. 

The bonus disc from the limited edition is featuring remixes by Suicide Commando, Armageddon Dildos, David Blackstar, Asseptic Room, Ice Ages, Larva, Advent Resilience, Schwarzstern, Project Eratic, Dirty K, Implant, Nano Infect, Aesthetische and Mental Exile.

+ + + : I was eagerly awaiting the sixth album of Acylum and especially after the brilliant “Pest”, which I consider as one of the best Dark-Electro productions from the past ten years. This new work sounds different, which in a way is a good thing, revealing a band which doesn’t want to repeat itself. But the good thing is you rapidly recognize the unique and extremely tormented horror vision emerging from the tracks. Acylum has its own sound DNA, which you’ll instantly recognize. The best cuts however are the hardest ones; “What Do You See?” is my favorite and for sure a song reminiscent of the glorious days of :Wumpscut:. I also have to mention “Violin Of Death” and the already known “Sieg Oder Walhalla”. The idea of reworking “The Enemy” by inviting multiple bands from the darkest Electro scene is a great idea.

Among the remixes I heard different inspired versions, but especially want to pick up Suicide Commando with the very ‘Klinik-al’ remix of “Masquerade”, some club-driven remixes by Armadeggon Dildos and Schwarzstern, the Industrial and instrumental transformation of “Venom” by Dirty K and the phenomenal EBM transposition of “Sieg Oder Walhalla” by Aesthetische. The last remix by Mental Exile is also worthy of examination as they remixed “Sieg Oder Walhalla” into an Electro/Disco-Pop edit.

– – – : I’m missing the power and rage of “Pest” while the melody sounds/tunes are pretty similar to each other. Acylum remains a particular experience, but this not my favorite album!

Conclusion: No doubt about it this harsh and provocative album will catch a wider attention, but I was less impressed. It however remains a particular experience in (h)el(l)ectro music!

Best songs: “What Do You See”, “Violin Of Death”, “Sieg Oder Walhalla”, “Venom – Album Version” + “Sieg Oder Walhalla – Aesthetische Remix”, “Hunter – Armageddon Dildos Remix”, “Schwarzer Adler – Schwarzstern Remix”, “Masquerade – Suicide Commando Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Acylum.Music

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Kampf Dem Verderb’.

About Acylum

Acylum is a German dark electro project set up by Pedro Engel in 2004. Nadine “Cooraz” Engel joined the project as his creative and vocal partner a few years later. Engel released Acylum’s debut album, “Your Pain,” in 2005. The project has continued on Alfa Matrix through albums including “Karzinom” (2011) and “Pest,” with “Kampf Dem Verderb,” reviewed here, arriving as the sixth full-length. Beyond Acylum, Pedro Engel records under the side projects Totem Obscura and Aengeldust.

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

After over 5 years of isolation in their bunker, the Asylum duo, Pedro and Nadine Engel return with a brand new download EP which is available now via Bandcamp.

“Victory or Valhalla was the motto one thousand years ago”, says Pedro Engel. “Today it’s even more true than ever! We all get pushed into corners when we don’t want to stand, opinions get imposed on us even when we don’t share them.”

“So there is nothing left for us to do but switch to attack mode and follow the steps of our ancestors!”, adds Nadine Cooraz.

This new 7-track EP “Sieg oder Walhalla” announces Acylum’s forthcoming album “Kampf dem Verderb” that will be released in early 2021. It offers a first peak into the sound direction taken by the hellektro duo. Read the review of ‘Sieg Oder Walhalla’.

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, medieval-(h)el(l)ectro.

Background/Info: Behind Totem Obscura is hiding Pedro ‘Acylum’ Engel and his wife Nadine ‘Croona’ Engel. They’re both known for their work under the Acylum moniker, but Nadine recently also released a harsh and industrial new album as Aengeldust. “Nordische Fest” is the second opus of Totem Obscura.

Content: Totem Obscura is a bit to Heimataerde, like Acylum is to Wumpscut! “Nordische Feste” mixes dark-electronic elements together with medieval atmospheres. The German lyrics bring a gothic touch to the work. But the album is not excelling in power and sonic violence, but reveals overwhelming atmospheres and even melancholia. I sometimes get the impression Totem Obscura got inspired by the imaginary world of “Game Of Thrones” and I think to have recognized samplings from this famous series running through the album.

The album also features a song featuring Cosmic Armchair, which logically resulted in a more danceable approach. Another noticeable cut is “Helden” for featuring Hubert Kah (who did some backing vocals in the 80s for Sandra). Last, but not least you’ll discover remixes by Ruined Conflict, Hell:Sector and Crytek.

+ + + : I really admire the work and genius of Pedro Engel who according to me is one of the most talented musicians of his era dealing with dark-electronics. But he also is a man of many talents, which can accomplish much more than only Acylum tracks. I have to admit I expected this album to be a bit harder, but globally speaking I like the medieval atmospheres this album has been made of. I like the bleak mood recovering the songs, which feel like announcing a nearby disaster. It all sounds raw and tormented. The famous EP-song “Eisenmann” remains one of the major cuts of this album, but I also have to mention “Blut Marschiert” for its coldness. The medieval chants running through a few cuts inject an extra touch of mystery and visual appeal. Among the remixes I want to mention a great contribution by Ruined Conflict.

– – – : I expected a harder and powerful album, but that says more about me instead of the band. “Nordische Feste” is not the kind of work that will put dancefloors on fire (like early Heimataerde) although it’s a fascinating experience.

Conclusion: Totem Obscura transforms dark-electronic music into a medieval voyage and other fantasy universes. This is the perfect alternative soundtrack for “Game Of Thrones” or “The Lord Of The Rings”.

Best songs: “Eisenmann”, “Blut Marschiert”, “Bluttanz”, “Blut Marschiert – Ruined Conflict Remix”, “Gestandig”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/totemobscura

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

About Totem Obscura

Totem Obscura is a side-project of Pedro and Nadine “Cooraz” Engel, the duo also known as Acylum, which Pedro Engel set up in 2004 before Nadine joined him a few years later. Where Acylum deals in dark-electro, Totem Obscura explores darker, more mystical themes, mixing dark-electro with medieval and Gothic-electro elements.

Totem Obscura’s discography includes “Waldgeist” and “Forgotten Time” (both 2013), “Nachtwache” (2014) and the “Blutiges Eisen” EP (2016), followed by “Nordische Feste”, reviewed here, released on Alfa Matrix in 2017. The “Helden” EP, featuring Hubert Kah, followed in 2018.

Pedro Engel discussed Acylum’s own output in a Click Interview with Side-Line, around the release of Acylum’s “Kampf Dem Verderb” album.

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

Aengeldust is an electro-industrial solo-project set up and driven by Nadine ‘Cooraz’ Engel. She’s one of the few women involved with this ‘hard’ kind of music revealing a sound, which is much harder than the other projects she’s been involved with. You maybe remember her from HausHetaere, but you for sure know her from Totem Obscura and especially Acylum, which are all projects she’s running together with her husband Pedro Engel. Aengeldust has now unleashed her second album “Agent Orange” on Alfa Matrix while there also is a new EP entitled “Zucht”. Nadine ‘Cooraz’ Engel’s new work has been introduced as ‘the bitch is back’ and this is what she has to say.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Nadine, we all know you from you involvement with Acylum and Totem Obscura, which are bands you’re running together with your husband. So what means Aengeldust to you as an artist and as a woman?

Nadine: Aengeldust is my own baby. I can realize this project and do all the crazy things I always wanted to do.

Q: Aengeldust clearly sounds more into industrial influences although I noticed an evolution from “Freakshow” towards “Agent Orange”. How do you see this evolution and tell us a bit more about this new opus?

Nadine: It always depends on my mood, as the song sounds at the end of the day. It is important to me that I continue to develop. I think that I succeeded well.

Q: What can you tell us about the song writing referring to your way of working, sound research/creation, favorite equipment and potential sources of inspiration?

Nadine: It always comes out of my stomach. No rules. That’s the difference to Acylum and Totem Obscura.

Q: The title of your album is pretty intriguing, referring to chemical/herbicidal warfare used by the US during the Vietnam war. What did you try to express on “Agent Orange” and tell us a bit more about the numerous spoken samplings you’re using (instead of vocals)?

Nadine: I am a big fan of Asia, the culture and architecture and people as well. “Agent Orange” is the worst war crime of our time and therefore it should never fall silent.

Q: Next to the “Agent Orange”-album you’ve just released the “Zucht”-EP featuring new songs that haven’t been featured on the album. What did you want to accomplish with this extra release and tell us a bit more about the choice of the remixes?

Nadine: I had the need to tell and finish the story a bit further. Since I deliberately had no remixes on the album, they were realized on the EP. Cool bands like Acylum, Siva Six, Parasite of God and some more have made really good remixes.

Q: Why are there less women involved with industrial music and do you notice any form of macho attitude against the women (like you) who are involved?

Nadine: I do not care who does industrial music. Woman or man, it does not matter to me. It just has to sound different from others and only that counts to me.

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

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘Agent Orange’.

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

While Acylum aka Pedro Engel has started work on the 6th Acylum album, Alfa Matrix has now released the 16-track download album “Filthy Memories” for the hardcore Acylum fanbase. “Filthy Memories” holds a collection of rare and previously unreleased tracks, remixes, collaborations and other early demos.

This collection of songs also reminds us that Kai Arnold (Wynardtage) used to be the first singer of the band, something many seem to have forgotten. You will also find collaboration tracks Pedro Engel made together with other artists like Nano Infect, Alien Produkt, and Hydra Division V.

Available right here on Bandcamp.

In related news, Alfa Matrix has also released “Matrix​:​Reb00ted – The Acylum Guerrilla – Zion (Dark Elektro) Warfare (02)“, the 2nd edition of its new low-price digital compilation series. On this new volume you’ll find 15 songs from Alfa Matrix’s massive music repertoire remixed by Acykum. You’ll find a long list of label bands such as Under Null, Zombie Girl, Alien Vampires, Circuito Cerrado and many many more. You can listen to the tracks below and download them right here.

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!

side-line.com

Content:

Read the news on ‘Venom’.

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

• ACYLUM – “Hate” EP
• ACYLUM – “Venom” EP

Read the reviews of ‘Venom’ and ‘Hate’.

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!

side-line.com