Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Set up at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic Dead Lights features two producers; one based in the The Netherlands and the other in England. Richard Van Kruysdijk (Palais Ideal, Phallus Dei ao) is one of those members. After the excellent self-titled debut album, the duo is back on track unleashing this EP.

Content: After a short intro Dead Lights clearly reveal their EBM style characterized by impressive, low, resonating bass lines. Male- and female vocals are essential to the production. You’ll discover 4 new cuts and a remix of “The Raven” (opening song of the album).

+ + + :  The main strength of the composition is hiding in the heavy, carrying, bass lines. Even the softer pieces are carried by the power of the low, resonating, bass lines. “Run” sounds like a terrific exposure to this very own EBM approach. The “Video Mix” of “The Raven” is another attention grabber with a noticeable chorus.

– – – : Softer passages like running through “Follow Me” aren’t exactly the best part of the work.

Conclusion: Dead Lights confirm to be an EBM project with innovative elements and a true potential.

Best songs: “Run”, “The Raven – Video Mix”, “Vile”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.deadlights.band / www.facebook.com/officialdeadlights

Label: www.coldtransmission.com / www.facebook.com/coldtransmissionmusic

About Dead Lights

Dead Lights is an electronic duo based in London. The two producers, one working in the Netherlands and the other in England, started the project at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Richard van Kruysdijk, also active in Palais Ideal and Phallus Dei, is one of the two members. On Bandcamp the band describes its music as “Electronic glam goth with an industrial edge”.

The earliest entries in the band’s Bandcamp discography are “Hex Death Pop” and the self-titled “Dead Lights”. “Doom Doom Trash”, reviewed here, followed on 11 March 2022 through Cold Transmission Music. The duo wrote and produced the EP and Uwe Teichert mastered it at Elektropolis in Brussels. The CD edition is a four-panel gatefold digisleeve with a lyric booklet and adds the bonus track “The Raven (video mix)”.

Later releases listed on the band’s Bandcamp page include “Receiver”, “I Am Electric”, “Into The Night”, “Let The Ugly Out”, “Glitterspit”, “Grind”, “Take The Algorithm”, “Gravity”, “Break Out” and “Killing Time”. “Resonate” arrived in January 2026, “(The Edge Of) Dusk” in March 2026 and “Lash” in May 2026.

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, Cinematographic, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Jean-Marc Lederman has achieved a new work featuring guest singers. In the past few months he released similar albums like “13 Ghost Stories” and “Letters To Gods And Fallen Angels”, and also “Venus Chariot” as a collaboration between him and Emileigh Rohn. “The Raven” is driven by a new concept where Lederman asked his guests to work on old texts from poets like (Byron, Poe, Plato, Shelley, de Froidmont ao.

Content: The guest singers for this album areMari Kattman (Helix, Mari & The Ghost), Christopher Hall (Stabbing Westward), Mark Hockings (Mesh), Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris), Azam Ali (Niyaz), Dr. Strangefryer (aka John Fryer), Jim Semonik (Red Locust), Lis Van Den Akker (Misery, Psy’Aviah), Ken Mageman, Jean-Luc De Meyer (Front 242, 32Crash), Stefan Netschio (Beborn Beton), Emileigh Rohn (Chiasm), Christina Z.

Sound-wise the work is pretty eclectic, moving in between a free interpretation of Electro-Pop compositions and more pronounced Cinematographic music. The songs feature numerous, typical Cinema music arrangements, which are sometimes bombastic, but also pretty evasive. I also noticed very Minimal-Electro driven pieces. The songs have been sung/performed in English, French and Italian.

+ + + :Each time,  Jean-Marc Lederman Experience again sounds like a new and fascinating journey. First there is always an interesting concept and I like this one for mixing old poems together with music, which as an imaginary Soundtrack has been performed by the artist. There’s once again a true symbiosis between music and vocals, seeing Jean-Marc transforming himself into a sonic chameleon. Music and performer are totally complementary, now resulting in a sensual composition like the one with Mari Kattman, then into a kind of Lounge approach with Mark Hockings, becoming totally minimal with Dr. Strangefryer, getting us into a dreamy part with Lis Van Den Akker. But the most surprising- and poignant track is the one with Jean-Luc De Meyer inspired on a poem of Hélinand de Froidmont. It’s an old and tenebrous poem, which has been masterly interpreted by the Front 242 lead singer and adapted into a horror-like music composition. There are several noticeable cuts on this album, which is more an album to listen to instead of dancing.

– – – : The album once more creates the illusion listening to a compilation instead of an album composed by one artist. That’s part of this concept and I’m sure Jean-Marc Lederman still has enough ideas and creativity to move on with it.

Conclusion: Jean-Marc Lederman Experience and his guest singers stand for a true sonic intercourse. This is a new brilliant piece of music and the perfect successor to “Letters To Gods And Fallen Angels”.

Best songs: “The Worms Of Death”, “Invocation”, Frankenstein”, “Smouldering Corpse In The Morning Sun”, “The Cold Heart Slept Below”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.jmlederman.com / www.facebook.com/Music-composer-Jean-Marc-Lederman-1585277635023000 / www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.lederman

Label: www.facebook.com/copint

About Jean-Marc Lederman Experience

Jean-Marc Lederman is a Brussels-based Belgian keyboard player, composer and producer. Active since the late 1970s, he worked with Fad Gadget, The The, Gene Loves Jezebel and Front 242, and co-founded projects including The Weathermen, Kid Montana, Jules et Jim with Julianne Regan, Ghost & Writer with Frank Spinath, Lederman / De Meyer with Jean-Luc De Meyer, and the Jean-Marc Lederman Experience. He also composes for film and videogames.

The Jean-Marc Lederman Experience is built around invited vocalists. “13 Ghost Stories” appeared in 2019 on Dependent and “Letters To Gods (And Fallen Angels)” in 2020 on Wool-E Discs, both with a large cast of guest singers. “Venus Chariot”, his 2021 duo album with Emileigh Rohn of Chiasm, came out on COP International, the same label releasing “The Raven”.

Lederman’s later solo work includes “The Bad-Tempered Synthesizer” in 2021, “Night Music for Seahorses and Manatees” in 2022, “Soul Music For Zombies” in 2023, “Sci-Fi Revisited” in 2024 and “Electronic Slipper Music” in 2025. The Rohn-Lederman duo continued with “RAGE!” in 2022, “Black And Bleu” in 2024 and “Forbidden Planet” in 2025. “The Raven” sits in that sequence as the third Jean-Marc Lederman Experience album built on guest performances.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: UK project Dead Lights has been introduced as ‘androgynous and visceral creators of raw art that disrupts gender and genre’. This debut album features nine new songs plus six songs from both previously released EP’s “Death Pop” and “Hex”. 

Content: The songs are carried by solid EBM-driven bass lines and minimal Electronic treatments. The songs have been accomplished by filtered sequences, passages with good-old strings and male – female vocal lines. The songs from the album are perfectly matching with the EP’s tracks, whereon you’ll find the best cuts from Dead Lights.

+ + + : Dead Lights composes a kind of sexy EBM with a personal, minimal touch on top. I like the bass lines, but still the way the band achieved their songs. There’s a nice twist between harder- and somewhat softer cuts, but the more elaborated and harder songs definitely are the best ones. I would recommend listening to “Plastic Girl” and “The Future” plus the EP-tracks “Death Pop”, “Hex” and “Format The World”. The most original element from the album is the atypical drum patterns driven through a few songs, which are less typically EBM, but just great.

– – – : Dead Lights is a band you’ve to discover; so let’s hope they’ll get opportunities to play live and spread their sound over the EBM scene.

Conclusion: Dead Lights is a cool discovery for lovers of EBM in search of something a little bit different from the rest.

Best songs: “Hex”, “Death Pop”, “Plastic Girl”, “The Future”, “Format The World”, “Futile”, “The Raven”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.deadlights.band / www.facebook.com/officialdeadlights

Label: www.coldtransmission.com / www.facebook.com/coldtransmissionmusic

About Dead Lights

Dead Lights is a duo split between London, England and Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Discogs lists Richard Van Kruysdijk as a member. The project debuted on Cold Transmission Music with the three-track digital EPs “Death Pop” and “Hex”, both released in 2020.

The self-titled album was released by Cold Transmission Music on 14 May 2021 on CD, as a limited LP and as a download. The nine new songs are “The Raven”, “Plastic Girl”, “The Future”, “Deleted Scenes”, “Futile”, “Insekt”, “Industry”, “Quiet Pleasure” and “The Witching Hour”; the CD adds the six EP tracks “Death Pop”, “Dead Lights”, “The Host”, “Hex”, “Ice Queen” and “Format The World”. Dead Lights wrote, recorded and produced the album and Uwe Teichert mastered it at Elektropolis.

The EP Doom Doom Trash followed on Cold Transmission Music in 2022, and the band remixed Dead Astronauts on “Silhouettes Redux” the same year. Dead Lights then moved to darkTunes Music Group for the EP “Let The Ugly Out” (2023), the second album Glitterspit (reviewed on Side-Line in January 2024) and the 2026 single “Resonate”. The self-titled album is the band’s debut full-length and its first Side-Line review.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

(Photo by Stranglers French forum) Again bad news from the music world. This time we learned that The Stranglers’ keyboard player Dave Greenfield has died at the age of 71 and this after contracting the coronavirus. Greenfield died on Sunday evening, May 3. The musician contracted the virus in a hospital where he was treated for heart problems.

Greenfield has left a legendary legacy that includes the music for for instance the classic “Golden Brown”.

Greenfield, the Ray Manzarek of The Stranglers

The sound of the UK-born musician has frequently (and correctly) been compared to that of Ray Manzarek of the Doors, most of you will without any doubt remember the distinctive sound on the early The Stranglers recordings including the use of Hohner Cembalet (model N), Hammond L-100 electric organ, a Minimoog synthesizer, and later an Oberheim FVS-4 polyphonic synthesizer. On the albums “The Raven”, “Gospel According to the Meninblack” and “Aural Sculpture”, Greenfield used a Korg VC-10 vocoder.

Little known is that he frequently contributed harmony backing vocals to the band’s songs, and sang the lead vocals on a few of their early tracks including “Dead Ringer”, “Peasant in the Big Shitty”, “Do You Wanna?”, “Genetix” and “Four Horsemen”.

Apart from The Strangles he also produced a single in 1981, namely “Back to France” by the band Boys in Darkness. Greenfield and fellow-Strangler Jean-Jacques Burnel also released a joint album in 1983, “Fire and Water” which was used as the OST for the film, “Ecoutez vos murs” (directed by Vincent Coudanne).

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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Norwegian artist Mortiis, also known as the godfather of dungeon synth, is preparing for another cycle of his Era I material and has just launched a brand new video for the song “Visions of an Ancient Future” which is taken from his forthcoming album “Spirit Of Rebellion”. The video was directed and produced by Finnish film maker Ari Savonen who is known for his work for “Takapihan Pojat: Joulutarina” (2011), “Törkypukki vol. 2” (2016) and “Backwood Madness” (2019).

Check out “Visions of an Ancient Future” here:

Asked about the video Mortiis says: “I had to fend off a lot of demons to get to this point. They’ll be back, they always come back, but at least my vision is no longer clouded…When I was working on re-interpreting my old music for the Cold Meat Industry festival in Stockholm a little over a year ago, I had no idea that I´d eventually create an (almost) new record, nor that a section of it would be used for my first Dungeon Synth video since 1996. But here we are. New video and (almost) new music, and my first Era 1 US tour since 1999.”

24 albums for free download and North American tour

Mortiis recently announced his return to North America this year and will be embarking on a 10-date strong trek this Spring which kicks off on March 28th and finishes on April 7th 2019. To celebrate the forthcoming tour, Mortiis is for a limited time only offering free downloads of 24 of the Mortiis (& related projects) digital releases via Bandcamp!

North American tour dates

Mar. 28 2019 Metro Gallery Baltimore MD: Event Page, Tickets
Mar. 29 2019 Brooklyn Bazaar, New York NY: Event Page, Tickets
Mar. 30 2019 The Raven, Worcester, MA (Northeast Dungeon Siege): Event Page, Tickets
Mar. 31 2019 Petit Campus, Montreal QC: Event Page, Tickets
Apr. 01 2019 Velvet Underground, Toronto ON: Tickets
Apr. 02 2019 The Forge, Joilet, IL: Tickets
Apr. 04 2019 El Corazon, Seattle, WA: Event Page, Tickets
Apr. 05 2019 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR: Tickets
Apr. 06 2019 Oakland Metro, Oakland CA: Event Page, Tickets
Apr. 07 2019 Lodge Room, Los Angeles CA: Event Page, Tickets

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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Mortiis has announced upcoming live dates as part of the ongoing Mortiis Era 1 live performances around the world. This time you can find tourdates for North America. The tour will start in Baltimore on March 28th and will halt at Los Angeles April 7th.

Here’ sthe complete list of tourdates.

Mar. 28 2019 Metro Gallery Baltimore MD: Event Page, Tickets
Mar. 29 2019 Brooklyn Bazaar, New York NY: Event Page, Tickets
Mar. 30 2019 The Raven, Worcester, MA (Northeast Dungeon Siege): Event Page, Tickets
Mar. 31 2019 Petit Campus, Montreal QC: Event Page, Tickets
Apr. 01 2019 Velvet Underground, Toronto ON: Tickets
Apr. 02 2019 The Forge, Joilet, IL: Tickets
Apr. 04 2019 El Corazon, Seattle, WA: Event Page, Tickets
Apr. 05 2019 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR: Tickets
Apr. 06 2019 Oakland Metro, Oakland CA: Event Page, Tickets
Apr. 07 2019 Lodge Room, Los Angeles CA: Event Page, Tickets

Mortiis is a band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. Mortiis started as the solo project of Ellefsen as a means to convey a story. Over time and Mortiis slowly formed into a band.

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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Does the name Gil O. Santos make ring a bell? He got involved in the Brazilian EBM formation Morgue, which became a praised and recognized band during the 90s. Gil O. Santos is now back into electronic music and set up Amorphous. After the promising debut EP “Behaviourism” he now accomplished the full length “Shapeshifting”. This work has been released on Wave Records and is a real great and intelligent EBM experience.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Can you briefly tell us how you got back into music and what incited you to set up Amorphous?

Gil: I never stopped making music, but there was a hiatus between my industrial/EBM productions. I’ve been involved in other styles, mainly on demand (lounge, remixes and film scores). I think when I saw Skinny Puppy during their “Handover Tour” I’d to go into my studio and make some industrial/EBM music again.

Q: Amorphous clearly sounds driven by EBM influences while the lyrical content seems to be inspired by psychology and human behavior. Tell us a bit more about the global approach and concept?

Gil: Before studying electronics I was fascinated about psychology (and I still am). I find it is so fascinating trying to understand human behavior (if any one can do), so I like to talk about it and put it in my music.

Q: I also noticed electro-industrial influences and overwhelming, spooky atmospheres recovering the songs. What does this darker side stands for?

Gil: There is certain romance in darkness and melancholy. There is something mysterious about that which is hidden and unknown. Just like the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, which is an example of a delightfully spooky dark poem, I try to express certain darkness delight within some of my songs.

Q: Next to psychology, what have been the main ideas/elements you tried to put into “Shapeshifting”?

Gil: Life’s mysteries, ritual of passage, visionary ideas, time & space.

Q: What’s your perception of contemporary EBM/dark-electronics and do you notice differences between the 90s and today?

Gil: There are so many new ones out there I would love listening to, but the ones that sound like too close to fascist electro-music or psychedelic-trance with just kick, bass & acid arpeggios plus screaming, tortured vocals do not excite me at all… there is no art or ideas and just appeal for cyber ravers.

Q: How do you look back at your involvement into Morgue?

Gil: Morgue is where my roots are in electronic music; it was so good to work with a vocalist, drummer and keyboard player. I had loads of fun in the 90s and I miss the good times playing live nearly every weekend. But I am glad where I am now and I like to live in the present.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Cyber-industrial, dark-electro.

Content: The Raven was set up by Dave Strehler. After a debut EP (cf. “One Last Time”) released in 2000 the band seems to have disappeared from the radar. It’s now time for The Raven to drop a new dance-bomb entitled “Selfdestruct”.

The single features the original song, which is pure dance-electro with a solid cyber-industrial appeal. The hard kick clearly sounds like an invitation to dance while some of the sequences are pretty 90s like, but reinforced with an industrial-rave touch on top. The harsh vocals inject a scary and aggressive flavor to the song. “Selfdestruct” reminds me of bands like Extize and DH 3rror.

Label mates of Unterschicht have remixed the song adding their personal touch to the work. The remix sounds pretty cool as well.

Conclusion: One song is not enough to speak about a successful return of The Raven, but “Selfdestruct” sounds cool so let’s now wait for more new songs to get an idea about the real potential of the band.

Best songs: “Selfdestruct – Original Version”.

Rate: (DP:7)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/theravenofficial

Label: www.dansemacabre-group.de / http://de-de.facebook.com/pages/Danse-Macabre-Records/161032440594773

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 “Self Destruct”, the new electro tainted single from The Raven, aka Davey Strehler. The project originally started as a gothic rock formation when the “One Last Time” EP was released back in 2009. But since then the sound has drastically shifted towards dark electro.

The new single holds 3 tracks, the title track and two versions (the Unterschicht remix and the Alternative version) and can be download via iTunes and streamed on such platforms as Spotify.

A new The Raven album is also in the making and will be titled “Apocalypse”.

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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