You for sure know Brant Showers as member of ∆Aimon. A few years ago now the American artist also set up Sølve. This is a solo-project wherein he can deal with more personal and occult themes. After the debut album “The Negative” (2016) he this year unleashed “Earth Inferno” which has been released by Re:Mission Entertainment. It’s a dark and sophisticated piece of music which is hard to define but clearly dealing with Industrial, Witch-House and Cinematic influences. I talked about Sølve and the new album with Brant Showers.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What does this solo-project means to you and what place does it take -next to  ∆Aimon, in your artistic odyssey?

Brant: Initially the Sølve project was meant as a way to work through some personal experiences unrelated to my relationship with my wife and partner in ∆Aimon. It was also an opportunity to explore pieces that were more Ambient and Experimental with a heavier dose of occult themes. As the project developed though, it has become a very important outlet of expression for me. I keep the style fluid and open so I can explore any influences or ideas, that appeal to me, whereas ∆Aimon has a much more consistent and solid aesthetic that we work within.

With ∆Aimon we approach everything as a duo so the subject matter and compositions reflect our relationship and the blend of our influences -my solo project tends to be inherently a lot more self-indulgent and often harsher in style because of my particular interests.

Q: Your debut-album “The Negative” originally released in 2016 and re-released plus remastered in 2021 was a very personal work. How was it to get back to this album and the themes that inspired you?

Brant: I actually had a really difficult experience going back to those works. “The Negative” came from some pretty dark thoughts and revisiting that headspace ended up taking a heavy toll on my frame of mind and emotional state. I definitely wasn’t expecting to be hit so hard with the ramifications of pulling up those sessions, but in the end I think it was really important and helpful for me to see it all from a relatively healthier perspective and to reflect on what I’ve accomplished since then -emotionally and artistically.

Q: Your new album “Earth Inferno” is directly inspired by the book of Austin Osman Spare. This is an interesting ‘artist’ as he got involved with different forms of artistic expression. I like him for his connection to  Symbolism and Art Nouveau, but you seem to be more inspired with the darker and occult side of the man. Tell us a bit more about it and especially the way you transposed the influences into music?

Brant: My introduction to Austin Osman Spare was through his occult writings and influence on Chaos Magick, so that’s where my mind went when I started working on the “Earth Inferno”-album. The album came about during quarantine at a time when police brutality, school shootings, alt-right rallies, political insurrection, and the numerous nation-wide protests were all boiling up to a breaking point. It’s all still incredibly pervasive, divisive, and intense everywhere, but the quarantine really seemed to push people past their limits. The themes in Austin Osman Spare’s “Earth Inferno” and my album share a similar distress over the bleaker side of the human condition and the nightmare of life. Spare’s own antisocial tendencies and way of condensing ideas into concise and blunt aphorisms has always been an influence on my writing as well -not to mention his specific occult work.

My first album was a lot more laden with magical significance, but there’s always a bit of it in my music as I’m a very ritualistic person and it’s an important way for me to process and develop.

Q: What have been the different stages, difficulties and maybe challenges you’d to go through to achieve this new album?

Brant: I Initially didn’t have any plans to work on a Sølve album at the time, as I had several other projects in the works, but sometimes inspiration just makes things happen. Within a few days I suddenly had the sketches for an EP underway and that quickly grew into a full length release.

As I mentioned, the circumstances regarding the political and social temperature was an important theme I wanted to convey but last year I went through an incredibly tragic loss of a close family member as well as the blessing of news that my wife and I were pregnant with our first child. These highs and lows had a profound impact and have me re-evaluating everything important to me. So the direction of the album changed pretty dramatically half-way through production. Everything took on a more directly personal context. Instead of focusing on the state of the world and my place within it, I found myself looking at it from the perspective of how deeply we are connected. How love and loss are intertwined. The cost of letting people into our lives is the heartbreak we endure when we lose them. Likewise, a new set of anxieties surfaced in regards to the world my daughter would inherit and all the insecurities and fears that come with it. The framework of “Earth Inferno”-shifted in a way I couldn’t have anticipated -a reflection of how my own philosophy and focus on life has shifted. It still carries a lot of the initial idea, but more intensely pointed.

Q: I think it’s nearly impossible to label your music, which also makes the strength and originality of your composition. How would you describe your album to people who never heard of Sølve before? And I’m wondering about criteria and references you’re using to compose and produce your music?

Brant: I struggle a lot with trying to describe my music to others. I’ve always listened to music in a sort of vacuum without associating it within any context, so I never really know how to categorize what I listen to or write. My brain doesn’t do well with trying to fit things into a framework and I find it really difficult to place music into any particular classification. I would say the elements I aim to bring to the forefront of my works are all emotional rather than stylistic, so I tend to describe it in those terms… ritualism weighed by melancholy -sentimental and sad. No idea if that helps anyone contextualize the music, but it’s how my reasoning works.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been heavily inspired lately by a lot of other difficult to categorize bands. Stuff like Health, Godflesh, Haunted Horses, Uniform, Witch Fever, and Profligate. All are artists that operate without fitting into any particular genre, and maybe that’s part of what is appealing to me. I can only describe what I write as an accumulation of decades worth of listening to a wide range of music -all pieced together from whatever speaks to me personally through all those years of absorbing sounds and styles.

Q: You’ve just released a new single, which is a cover version of “Blood And Tears” originally written by Danzig. What does the original song mean to you and how did you adapt the song into your own music universe? Any further plans?

Brant: I have a tradition of releasing new Sølve material every year on my birthday and always try to use it as an opportunity to do something outside of the usual style and themes that the project encompasses. Last year’s track was a rather emotionally heavy one (a cover of Lorn’s “Acid Rain”) recorded as a way to work through some of the grief I was experiencing -so this year it was really important for me to step outside of all the difficult subject matter I’ve been dwelling on lately.

Danzig happens to be an artist I’ve enjoyed since my teenage years and “Blood And Tears” is a song that I have a very strong nostalgic attachment to. It felt right to adapt a song that has such a positive personal significance but is still so moody and romantic. There is a bit more material from the “Earth Inferno” period that I’ll be putting out as a follow up EP -so I’ll be diving back into those heavy themes again, but in the meantime I’m thankful to have had the Danzig cover as a mental break.

Next up will be that satellite EP and then I’ll be following it with something on the noisier side in line with my Drone, Ambient, and Experimental work. That’s currently only in the beginning stages though, so we’ll see how that develops. Things will always evolve and change.

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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Genre/Influences: Industrial, Cinematic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Brant Showers (∆Aimon) is back on track releasing the second album of Sølve. “Earth Inferno” comes six years after the promising debut album “The Negative” , released on the now defunct Audiotrauma.

Content: The main influences haven’t really changed. Sølve sounds pretty Industrial-like and has been accomplished with heavy, bombastic/epic arrangements. Instrumental parts of the album also reveal a Cinematic approach, which sounds however bombastic, but also evasive. The production of the vocals is once again reminding me of Depeche Mode.

+ + + : Sølve is much more than simply Industrial music. It’s a free-style production, which is hard to define, but accomplished with different Industrial-like related elements. It’s a powerful production, which you can notice in the mix of electronics and guitar playing, but still through the heavy, bombastic, arrangements. One of the best cuts (cf. “Nothing Pure”) is driven by a great chorus while this song makes me think of an imaginary offspring between :Wumpscut: and Depeche Mode.

– – – : This work isn’t the most accessible production so you need a bit time and several tracks before really getting in it.

Conclusion: Sølve confirms the great potential revealed at the debut album and is an elaborated and sophisticated production in a heavier Industrial-driven genre.

Best songs: “Nothing Pure”, “Never + Enough (Inferno)”, “Lost In The Dark”, “Black Silk Stone”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.patreon.com / www.facebook.com/solvevlos

Label: https://linktr.ee/remissionentertainment /  www.facebook.com/remissionentertainment

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

Out now is the second album for the solo-project Sølve. Out now via the Re:Mission Entertainment label is “Earth Inferno” which brings a mix of industrial, witch house and experimental music. Sølve is the solo project of Brant Showers of the band ∆Aimon.

Taking its name from the infamous work by Austin Osman Spare, “Earth Inferno” offers a more raw, direct, and personal approach from Sølve in his follow up to 2016’s “The Negative” (reissued by Re:Mission Entertainment in 2021 as you can read here).

The release is out as a digital album, a limited edition digipak (100 copies worldwide), a limited edition ‘smoky tint’ cassette (50 copies worldwide) and a limited edition ‘red tint’ cassette (50 copies worldwide), all available via Bandcamp. You can check the release 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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Out now is “The Negative”, the remastered reissue of the debut album by Sølve, the solo project of Brant Showers of the band ∆Aimon. With roots in industrial, witch house and dark atmospheric sound design, Sølve uses occult themes to form the basis of his output.

Since releasing his first EP, “Svovel | Salt | Kvikksølv” in 2013, Sølve has been executing a string of remixes, shows and festival performances. This year, the project also released the single “Never + Enough” as well as a fully remastered edition of his debut album “The Negative”.

Sølve is currently working on a follow-up album to be released early next year through Re:Mission Entertainment.

Brant: “The first Sølve album, ‘The Negative’, came together through a personal need to explore aspects of myself that I saw as having the potential of becoming destructive and dangerous if I didn’t take the time to analyze, deconstruct, and individuate them within a more complete self. The process of addressing these traits was difficult and deeply uncomfortable, but lead to much broader personal discoveries and insights. Rather than simply representing this process, ‘the negative’ IS the process; my alchemical and spiritual way of confronting my shadow, breaking down and rebuilding from a deeper sense of understanding.”

In the five years since its release, Brant has continued along this path, using the Sølve project as his vehicle for ritualistic exploration and personal growth/acceptance/discovery.

Brant: “These days I’ve often found myself slipping a bit into this darker mind-set again. Thankfully, revisiting this album has been an incredible reminder of the progress I’ve made and just how incredibly blessed I am to have such encouragement and support from so many along this journey. And with this in mind, this newly remastered edition of ‘The Negative’ has taken on new intention – a ritual emboldened with the foresight of outcome, and I welcome you all to experience it from a clear perspective.”

You can get the remastered version on CD, cassette or as download via Bandcamp. Check out the release 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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Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, EBM, crossover, industrial-pop.

Background/Info: Grendel became without a shadow of a doubt one of the leading formations in dark-electronics. It finally took 5 years for ‘VLRK’ to achieve this new opus, which is the fifth full length in history of the band from The Netherlands.

Content: The hiatus of five years between the previous album and the new songs might explain the ‘renewed’ sound of Grendel. This work is quite different from the ‘traditional’ and extremely powerful work Grendel has previously composed. This new album is a fusion between multiple influences, which are still dark-electro and EBM driven, but still revealing noticeable guitar playing, a kind of industrial melodies and electro-rock. The vocals became quite different as well, being clearer and more ‘natural’.

The bonus disc features a nice selection of remixes by some famous bands such as Plastic Noise Experience, Shiv-R, Panic Lift, Assemblage 23, Ludovico Technique, Solar Fake and other formations like Noire Antidote, Sølve, The Ladder, Spit Mask, Riot Kitten, Alpha Quadrant, High-Functioning Flesh and Peter Turns Pirate.

+ + + : It could have been easy to emulate the successful sound formula of previous albums, but Grendel clearly experimented with other influences. The sound became more personal and mature, but it clearly takes some time to realize this is maybe a new beginning for Grendel. The sound is mixing danceable vibes, power, carrying melodies and a great vocal production. VLRK aka JD Tucker reveals to be a talented singer for this kind of electro-rock & industrial-pop music. But the biggest surprise remains the innovating elements running through his music. The guitar playing is not exactly what you expect from Grendel, but there’s even a song featuring saxophone parts. I however prefer some of the solid EBM bass lines (cf. “Dead Inside”, “Fall Like Rome”).

The list of remixes is quite impressive and I here especially want to mention the great job done by Shiv-R and Spit Mask.

– – – : It takes some time to get used to this new opus, but the least I can say is that you better have to discover the new stuff while forgetting all previous releases.

Conclusion: No doubt about it, Grendel will take the fans by surprise unleashing a different sound, which is more open-minded and ‘rockin’. I however prefer the dark-electronic format from the early years.

Best songs: “Dead Inside”, “Fall Like Rome”, “Flux” + “Dead Inside – Shiv-R Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/grendel.music

Label: www.infacted–recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted–Recordings/124099254321690

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: IIOIOIOII (pronounced I.O.) was set up by Christopher Gurney in 2012. After a self-released debut-album (cf. “Reflect”) and EP he got signed to the now lost Juggernaut Music Group on, which the second album “Sun” got released in 2014. IIOIOIOII last year joined AnalogueTrash unleashing “Post Brimstone” as a 5-track digital release. This EP has been now re-released featuring one extra song plus 3 remixes.

Content: If you’re already familiar with the electro-pop style of IIOIOIOII you will immediately recognize the band’s approach. The songs reflect a rather soft-electronic style supported by moody passages. The music is filled with reverie and astral bleeps. It also is a delicate composition, which mainly comes through in subtle piano arrangements. Some parts are even pretty soundtrack-like. The vocals are quite clear and filled with a melancholic touch.

The new song “In Disguise” has a retro-like feeling featuring simple, but nice synth parts. It also is a sweet, danceable song.

The remixes by Nature Of Wires, Sølve and especially Avarice In Audio all inject a more danceable and even club-minded approach.

+ + + : IIOIOIOII is an interesting band composing a rather simple electro-pop sound, but accomplished with grace and reverie. The music also has a kind of visual strength, which makes me think of a soundtrack composition. Into a real pure soundtrack approach, this EP reveals the beautiful “Until There’s Nothing Left To Us”. There’s no rhythm running through this song, which only accentuates the melancholic touch.

The remixes add a real extra to this EP. IIOIOIOII was transposed into harder dance vibes with a real club-approach. That’s precisely what an EP needs to get a chance on dance floors.

– – – : IIOIOIOII is more the kind of pop music to listen to instead of dancing to. It’s relaxing, but sometimes maybe a bit too much into space atmospheres. The remixes are the total opposite for being harder and danceable, which will maybe disappoint the lovers of the band.

Conclusion: This EP has something pretty schizophrenic. You have the more evasive and atmospheric approach of IIOIOIOII next to heavier dance remixes. It creates a somewhat versatile release, but probably accessible for a wider audience.

Best songs: “One Moment”, “Until There’s Nothing Left To Us” + “We Are The One – Avarice In Audio Remix”, “One Moment – Nature Of Wires Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.iioioioii.com / www.facebook.com/IioIndustrial

Label: www.analoguetrash.co.uk / www.facebook.com/analoguetrashofficial

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, electro-industrial, ambient.

Background/Info: Behind this project is hiding Brant Showers who’s mainly renowned for his involvement in ∆Aimon. Sølve is another project, which unleashed its debut work on the visionary Audiotrauma label.

Content: “The Negative” is an atypical industrial release, which is clearly inspired by heavy industrial elements, but still explores other sonic paths. It’s an interesting voyage that will lead us towards tribal influences, neo-classic piano-like arrangements, subtle bombastic passages and even a kind of industrial trip-hop experience. The electro-industrial element is quite accomplished and reveals an impressive sound arrangements.

The vocals are quite diverse as well. It now reminds me a bit of Depeche Mode (cf. debut song) while other passages are more into a whispering format and fragmented parts. The album also features a few instrumental parts accentuating the versatile format of the album, which remains pretty compact.

+ + + : Just like on the ∆Aimon project this is an original and fully artistic composition. There’s a great progression running through the songs while some tribal elements are simply genius. The debut part of the album is really close to perfection. There’s a judicious balance between heavy, bombastic and industrial elements at one side and refined arrangements at the other side. “The Negative (Perspective 1)” and “What Remains” both a masterpieces.

– – – : The debut part is amazing while the final part of the work is not exciting and quite different. That’s a pity otherwise it would have been an album that comes close to perfection.

Conclusion: Sølve belongs to a new generation of industrial artists, who are more into elaboration and the mix of multiple influences. This is another noticeable release on Audiotrauma.

Best songs: “The Negative (Perspective 1)”, “What Remains”, “The Negative (Perspective 2)”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/solvevlos

Label: www.audiotrauma.org / www.facebook.com/audiotrauma.records

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