In this interview, we sit down with David Thrussell, the Australian electronic music legend known as Black Lung, to discuss his provocative new album, “The Brutal Gardener”. Known for his unique blend of technology, art, and culture, Thrussell delves into themes of global governance, cultural leadership, and the intersection of technology with human life. As he explores the darker sides of our modern world, he offers a stark vision of the future shaped by powerful, unseen forces. Through his lens, we see a world where technology can be both a tool of control and a beacon of possibility. Join us as Thrussell unpacks his latest work and shares his thoughts on the current state of global affairs.

SL: You link technology, art, and culture with population control. How do you exactly see these elements interacting to shape the future?

DT: In the swirling crucible we call ‘life’, many currents and forces compete for ascendancy (or even just survival). Indeed, the occult maelstrom manifests in our realm through mass media (hypnosis), technology (magic), twilight language (word spells), and public ritual (invocation). The neon wasteland of materialism renders all the forces of sorcery as mundane to the unseeing, unquestioning eye, but just behind the veil, the alchemists are busy weaving dark, ancient incantations. For what is magic truly, except the exertion of will (power) over base metal (sleeping souls)? The cosmic clock has struck midnight, and the warlock shepherd has grown weary of herding his flock hither and yon, frightening the cattle from one pasture to the next with dramatic gestures, faux lightning bolts, and shadow plays. The vengeful rancher now yearns to manage, cull, and dwindle the herd.

SL: Your new album explores twelve scenarios for the future of global governance and cultural leadership. Is there any governance existing right now in the world that is the closest to what you’d call global cooperation and technological harmony? Which one is heading in the worst direction?

DT: Nations are a fiction whispered to cowering children in the dark of the night. A lilting lullaby sung softly to a lost man forever dying of thirst in a forgotten, windswept desert. Democracy is the last, hurried dance on the petrified deck of a glacial Titanic, as it ever so slowly sinks beneath the cold waves. In the ancient world, the Colosseum served as the site of mass blood sacrifice to appease the elder gods and keep them at bay. Today, wars, prescribed poisons, infanticide, and other media bloodsports fill the cauldron as the eldritch ones await. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and the dark sages use their conjuring to distract, divide, disempower, and disable the innocent Eloi majority, harvesting their passions and energy to build the very cages they languish in.

SL: Being often described as a conspiracy thinker, I find it kinda odd that trust is a recurring theme in your work.

DT: Free will, trust, and faith are the greatest powers we possess. But they can be used against us. As Doctor Faustus chose to sign away his immortal soul to Satan’s agent Mephistopheles, so too we unconsciously contract with Beelzebub at the ballot box, the motor registry, the mortgage office, and the medical abattoirs. While the eternal heavens deserve our trust and faith, here on Earth we wrestle ‘not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’

SL: You envision the role of culture in achieving a better world. But since humans walk around here, we haven’t really seen culture change anything. It didn’t prevent wars, sure as hell didn’t prevent genocides.

DT: The oldest struggle is good against evil, life against death, the light against the void. Man has always saved his best seeds in ideas, songs, stories, and culture. As the flood wipes away everything before it, a handful of seeds—brilliant seeds—are swept deep under the waves only to sprout long into the future on that dry, final shore.

SL: How do you see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fitting into your vision of technology transforming lives? I see they have entered the presidential race in the USA already. I personally invested in uranium, gold, and silver mines since I don’t trust fiat money.

DT: I see technology as a lifeform. Humans, the animal kingdom, and the green kingdom are carbon-based lifeforms. Today, technology is largely a silicon-based lifeform. Currently, silicon lifeforms engage in a uniquely parasitic relationship with humankind. Perhaps, in the future, carbon-based lifeforms will be able to form a synergetic alliance with technology. Like the human gut aligns with microbes and bacteria to digest human food, we might form a potential symbiotic relationship with the grey (technological) kingdom.

While it is true that fiat currencies are a complete scam (as is the entire banking system), it is possible, in my view, that what we may be witnessing here with cryptocurrencies is an example of what has been described as a ‘false binary.’ A ‘false binary’ is a situation when both (or all) options that are presented are all essentially a trap. Whereas fiat currencies are a relatively obvious fraud, cryptocurrencies are marketed as the ‘edgy’ alternative to fiat bondage, supposedly offering ‘liberty’ and financial ‘independence’ while possibly delivering (in actuality) omniscient financial control, limitless surveillance, and dubious programmability.

SL: If you look closely at the economy worldwide, there are clear signs there is a huge crisis coming up in 2025. That’s not all; there are geopolitical tensions, environmental degradation, social unrest, health emergencies, cyber threats, resource scarcity, misinformation, and fake news. The 10 ingredients that make up a global crisis.

DT: World War III has already started. The greater mass of the population are still fighting the last war—the noble myths of foreign enemies and Marvel movie villains. But a new war now rages, undeclared by the cable news carnival barkers and empty social media influencers: leviathan forces don the mask of domestic governments and wage a silent war against bewildered citizens who bicker amongst themselves over hot-button issues and occult theatre phantoms. The occult spell of financialization and the black magic of the market will be weaponized.

SL: Can you elaborate on why you believe this moment of time is full of opportunities? We have various totalitarian countries on the outlook to what is possible with the USA and its allies acting like sheep towards Russia, China, and co. I miss the real hawks, to be honest.

DT: Though we are spiritually enslaved, shackled in a materialist nightmare, and chained to ritual subjugation and mass humiliation, we do, theoretically, still possess free will, the ability to reject our overlords or at least question the unquestionable and speak the unspeakable. Though the hour is late, not all is lost. The distant candle of knowledge and light is still flickering… just. We can choose…

SL: Let’s play the advocate of the devil. If you look at the low quality of the political class nowadays, is a (totalitarian?) technocratically run state by definition bad?

DT: That has always been the totalitarian’s (and the colonist’s) best argument, and there may be dark, private moments when it could be tempting to agree, for indeed the people are at best hopelessly innocent or perhaps even haplessly stupid. But, do remember that we are witnesses to incredible systems of control, distraction, and indoctrination. Literally trillions of dollars are spent every year on education, mass media, political and social systems whose primary purpose, I would argue, is to infantilize, divide, distract, and dumb down the population. Incredible resources and energy are marshaled to demoralize and disable people: to separate them from source, spirit, and truth. If we could destroy, neutralize, or deflect those systems…

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: Experimental, Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: American Leslie Keffer is a familiar female artist for lovers of Noise and Experimental music. She’s already involved with music for a while and has released an impressive number of works and collaborative productions. She released this new opus in 2023 on No Part Of It.

Content: The album remains strongly driven by Experimental music although the Minimal-Electro format is pretty accessible. And some of these cuts are reminding me to the great and legendary Chris & Cosey. Nevertheless the work brings much more and also features mystic elements reinforced by mysterious chants. Leslie Keffer uses her voice as an extra, mystic, instrument reinforcing the mood hanging over the work.

+ + + : I like this work for its free-style which is however touching ground with Electro-Experimentalists. The slow rhythmic is an essential aspect to this work. I recommend listening to songs like “In Tongues”, “Energetic Code” and “Seeding” but also to the mystic opener “The Veil”.

– – – : A very few passages are maybe a little too experimental to my taste; it for sure remains a very minimal work.

Conclusion: Fascinating to see how an artist who’s active for years now can still reinvent het own sound. This is cool Minimal-Electronic music.

Best songs: “In Tongues”, “Energetic Code”, “Seeding”,  “The Veil”, “Sifting”.

Rate: 7½. 

Artist: https://soundcloud.com/lesliekeffer

Label: www.facebook.com/nopartofit

About Leslie Keffer

Leslie Keffer is an American noise and experimental musician who began releasing music in the mid-2000s in Athens, Ohio. She is a member of The Laundry Room Squelchers and has collaborated with artists including Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. Her catalog spans dozens of releases across cassette and CDR labels.

Leslie Keffer has released a series of albums through NO PART OF IT since 2022, including “Aethereal”, “Pollutes” and “Veiled Matter”. “Veiled In Black” followed on the same label in 2023.

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

Das Ich musician Bruno Kramm offers a tapestry of sound and narrative, as shown in his latest work, “Die Schöpfung und andere Kurzgeschichten”. The collection is a blend of dystopian melodies paired with short stories, each piece a window into Kramm’s expansive creative realm.

Within the anthology, “Eight Oscillations from the Latent Space” are stories crafted during Kramm’s tenure with the now-defunct Zillo music magazine. These narratives are a testament to his enduring connection to the music world. Meanwhile, “Seven Nightmares From A Random Forest” is a product of the isolation and global upheaval brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Conceived amidst the grip of feverish illness, these stories delve into the eerie and uncanny, underscored by soundscapes that evoke the modern zeitgeist.

In “Die Schöpfung”, Kramm explores themes of creation and perception through the lens of a machine recognizing humanity as its creator. This story, unique in its German narration, resonates with the motifs of “Der Achte Tag” from the Das Ich album “Antichrist”, linking his literary work to his musical legacy.

Kramm’s literary influences are eclectic, drawing inspiration from the likes of Stanislaw Lem, Sabine Hossenfelder, and H.P. Lovecraft. His stories, according to Kramm, are the perfect companion to the restless and the insomniac, for times when the veil between reality and fiction thins, revealing a world charged with mystery.

The album is out now via the Danse Macabre label.

Das Ich: The Dark Wave Legacy of Bruno Kramm

Bruno Kramm’s involvement in Das Ich has been pivotal to the band’s influence on the German dark wave movement. Since its inception in 1989, Das Ich has been at the forefront of a genre that marries the gothic aesthetic with electronic music’s visceral punch. Kramm, along with vocalist Stefan Ackermann, has crafted a sound that is both avant-garde and accessible, marked by theatrical live performances and deeply philosophical lyrics.

Das Ich’s music often grapples with the complex relationship between humanity and technology, a theme that Kramm further explores in his literary work. The band’s influence has been profound, shaping the direction of dark wave music.

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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The New Orleans-based gothic rock duo, The Palace Of Tears, has just released a new single and video for the title track from the upcoming sophomore album, “Veiled Screen, Woven Dream”.

This version of the single is a more synth-heavy ambient mix, and comes in a shortened and condensed version adapted for the accompanying self-produced music video.

“Veiled Screen, Woven Dream” was originally a romantic song Erick r. Scheid and L.V. Darkling explain: “On the mundane level, it is about reuniting after prolonged separation and isolation, and the intensity that accompanies the experience, sometimes as a blissful revelry, while at other times it is almost painfully sweet. So sweet that it hurts, as if your heart were going to burst. On the arcane level, it speaks to those who have passed on, and our desire to commune with those we love and miss beyond the veil, and when you might meet again in another form.”

“Veiled Screen, Woven Dream” is available on all major digital outlets including Bandcamp. Below is the video.

You can download the new mix of the single from Bandcamp.

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 ambient/experimental artist Karsten Hamre, now based in Sofia, Bulgaria, is back with two releases. The first one is under the Defraktor moniker with the album “From the Netherworld” for which he has started to perform live with a forthcoming live appearance on the 13th of May in Sofia Bulgaria. The next that was just put up on Bandcamp is Karsten Hamre’s new instalment in the ‘Through Alien Eyes’ series: “The Veil Between Worlds: Echoes of The Past”.

You can order both releases below. The first is Karsten Hamre’s new instalment in the ‘Through Alien Eyes’ series: “The Veil Between Worlds: Echoes of The Past”.

And this is Defraktor’s “From the Netherworld”.

About Karsten Hamre

Hamre has created music across various genres such as dark ambient, drone, neoclassical, and experimental electronic music. With more than 25 years of experience in the music industry, Hamre has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential artists in Norway. He is also a visual artist and has created a number of striking album covers and artwork.

Hamre’s musical journey started in the early 1990s when he formed the experimental music project, Penitent, which released the debut album “Melancholia” on the legendary Cold Meat Industry label. With Penitent, Hamre explored the darker and more atmospheric side of music, incorporating elements of industrial, neoclassical, and dark ambient music to create a unique sound that would later become his trademark.

Count to that his work under aliases and in groups such as Arcane Art, Beastus Rex, Defraktor, Dense Vision Shrine, Veiled Allusions, Museum Of Transient Lights and The Flux Komplex.

Here’s part of his large discography:

• “The Beauty of Pain” by Penitent (1997) – Released by Draenor Productions.
• “As Life Fades Away” by Penitent (1998) – Released by Draenor Productions.
• “Roses By Chaos Spawned” by Penitent (1999) – Released by Memento Mori.
• “Through The Corridors Of Time” by Veiled Allusions (2000) – Released by L.S.D. Organisation.
• “The Cursed Artist” by Arcane Art (2000) – Released by Memento Mori.
• “A Curious Dimension” by Veiled Allusions (2000) – Released by Bestial Records.
• “Visions Of The World” by Veiled Allusions (2001) – Released by Counter Attack Productions.
• “Reflections Of Past Memories” by Penitent (2001) – Released by Counter Attack Productions.
• “Songs Of Despair” by Penitent (2002) – Released by Beyond Productions.
• “Split” by Vinterriket/Veiled Allusions (2002) – Released by Neodawn Productions and Regimental Records.
• “Rosenkranz” by Veiled Allusions (2002) – Released by Dragon Flight Recordings LLS.
• “Litanies Of Desire” by Dense Vision Shrine (2003) – Released by Beauty And Pain.
• “Dream A Little Dream” by Museum Of Transient Lights (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “A Shapeless Beauty” by Penitent (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Themes For The Lunatic” by Defraktor (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Lost Illusions” by The Flux Komplex (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Deserted Dreams” by Penitent (2004) – Released by Beyond Productions.
• “Nightly Terrors” by Arcane Art (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Die My Illusion” by Dense Vision Shrine (2005) – Released by Einzeleinheit.
• “Broken Whispers” by Karsten Hamre (2005) – Released by Flood The Earth.
• “A Voyage Of Imagination” by Dense Vision Shrine (2006) – Released by Epidemie Records.
• “Unwinding The Inside” by Dense Vision Shrine (2007) – Released by Rape Art Productions.
• “Placenta World” by Karsten Hamre vs. Kenji Siratori (2007) – Released by Hypermodern.
• “Among The Sleepless” by Penitent (2007) – Released by Hydra.
• “A Hole In The Void Of Time (Part 1 & Part 2)” by Defraktor (2007) – Released by Lona Records.
• “Time Lost In Oblivion” by Dense Vision Shrine (2009) – Released by First Fallen Star.
• “Magic & Mystery” by Dense Vision Shrine (2012) – Released by NeoKunst.
• “When The Gods Die” by Arcane Art (2012) – Released by NeoKunst.
• “Compendium II” by Karsten Hamre (2014) – Released by Black Mask Media.
• “When Darkness Descends (Defraktor Remix Session)” by Veiled Allusions (2014) – Released by Black Mask Media.
• “Through Alien Eyes Volume I” by Karsten Hamre (2017) – Released by Wounded Hearts Productions.

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: Ritual, Dark-Ambient, Cinematic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Bart Piette strikes back with a new opus of his sonic alter-ego Dead Man’s Hill. “The Sacrifice” features five tracks.

Content: The Belgian artist moves on composing a very personal dark and Ritual music style. The work is mixing different familiar genres of Dead Man’s Hill; from Dark-Ambient and pure Cinematic passages towards deeply, Ritual parts the work is mixing electronics and acoustic instruments plus percussions. The Ritual side is accentuated by some of these instruments but also by the singing.

+ + + : First there’s the artwork of the album which is handmade with a painted logo on it. It’s not just a detail but an essential element symbolizing the style and approach of the project. Next there’s the content which is mysterious, sometimes frightening because of the dark spheres and finally, deeply Ritual because of the cadence, vocals & chants and even a kind of throat singing. We feel visiting a secret temple of unknown rites which are accentuated by overwhelming sound arrangements and the mystic power of vocals. I’ve already heard great, artistic, productions from Dead Man’s Hill but this new work is again better than its predecessor.

– – – : I don’t see minus points to mention but regret there are no more tracks featured.

Conclusion: Dead Man’s Hill is not the most accessible project but for those who are into Ritual trips, “The Sacrifice” is an absolute masterpiece.

Best songs: “Ijsdemonen”, “The Veil”, “Doodsklok”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/deadmanshill

Label: www.facebook.com/blackmararecords

Listen to “The Sacrifice”:

About Dead Man’s Hill

Dead Man’s Hill is the Ritual and Dark-Ambient project of Belgian artist Bart Piette, released via Black Mara Records. Piette is also part of the related Belgian collective Brotherhood Of Sleep, alongside Els. “The Sacrifice”, a five-track album, follows Piette’s established mix of electronics, acoustic instruments and percussion under the Dead Man’s Hill name.

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

In November we announced that the UK new wave act Into A Circle had been recording what looked like their first album of original material since their 1988’s debut album “Assassins”. The band which features Paul ‘Bee’ Hampshire and Barry Jepson were last seen live in 1989 before splitting in the autumn of that year.

Into A Circle have now released “Mercenaries”, a track originally penned in the mid-80s.

“”Mercenaries” is about the power of the word and how books can shape a person, and their ideals, in both constructive ways and destructive ways,” says Bee. The single finds Bee unearthing memories of his childhood at a faith school and reflecting on how those experiences would ultimately influence his rebellious later years.

As Bee adds: “As a young child, I attended a very religious school where each kid was given a personal bible. In the beginning, was the word! In my mid-teens, I put down the bible and picked up books by Brion Gysin and William Burroughs, whose mission was to cut up, rub out the word, lift the veil and explore the power and message behind the word.”

The release of “Mercenaries” is accompanied with a video directed by Mark Jordan.

Here’s the video.

About Into A Circle

Into A Circle (also known as In2a0) was founded by members Paul “Bee” Hampshire and Barry Jepson in 1985. Barry, who was also a member of Southern Death Cult (a band that featured vocalist Ian Astbury and later went on to become The Cult) was later introduced to Bee in the legendary post/punk band Getting The Fear.

Into A Circle issued their debut single “Rise” in 1985. It featured Rose McDowall, formerly one-half of the pop-punk outfit Strawberry Switchblade. While never a full-time member, the single’s success saw McDowall become something of a regular feature with Into A Circle, with her vocals appearing on all of the band’s subsequent singles and often as a part of the band’s live set-up whenever commitments permitted too.

Signing to Abstract Records in July 1986, Into A Circle released the “Inside Out” EP which featured input from Billy Morrison, who would later play with acts as diverse as Robbie Williams to Black Sabbath and Billy Idol.

The band’s debut album “Assassins” was preceded by the single “Forever”. Co-produced by Larry Steinbachek of Bronski Beat, “Assasins” found the band in experimental mood and exploring a more electronic/dance oriented sound.

From there, Into A Circle would cut just one more single from the record, “Evergreen”.

The completion of the tour at the end of 1989, would also draw a line in the sand for the band. As a series of unplanned twists in their personal lives unfolded, along with Bee’s decision to relocate to Thailand, plans for the release of a second album fell apart.

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 “Behind The Veil” by Beauty In Chaos, the brainchild of and curated by guitarist Michael Ciravolo, which features an all-female cast of vocalists. Earlier the band previewed two singles featuring Whitney Tai and Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, SPECTRA*paris).

The 13 tracks also involve vocalists Cinthya Hussey, Tish Ciravolo, Pinky Turzo and Caterwall’s Betsy Martin, the last one is also presented in Beauty In Chaos’s newest video “Grasp the stars” which you can see below. The video is a “homage to the ’87-’88 Scream scene in Los Angeles” so Ciravolo says.

The 6 original tracks are also re-envisioned by the following producers: Tim Palmer and John Fryer, as well as MGT, Julian Shah-Tayler, Statik, Tommy Hatz and Michael Rozon.

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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(Photo by MWC / Art retouch by Eugene Noir) Fort Lauderdale, FL based electro gothic act Miss FD has released her brand-new dark pop EP “As Above, So Below”.

Influenced and inspired by Göbekli Tepe, a Neolithic archaeological site near the city of Sanliurfa in Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, “As Above, So Below” sees the project including ancient middle eastern textures injected on the EP. Not all that surprising we have always thought here at Side-Line that her vocals are a perfect match with middle eastern ingredients. Add to that some vocal resemblances with the Norwegian act Bel Canto on “Summoning” and you’ll realize we are a fan of this release.

The single has 3 tracks, the super excellent “Summoning” followed by “The Veil” and the title track “As Above, So Below”.

About Miss FD

Miss FD is an underground electronic musician, artist, singer, songwriter, producer, and performer. The project began in 2009 and has since known a constant output debuting with the single “Together Forever”. It was followed-up in 2010 with her seminal debut album “Monsters in the Industry”.

From 2010 to 2017, Miss FD went on to release a string of singles including “Love Magic”, “Down in the Dungeon”, “Infatuated”, “Cry For You (Haunted)”, “Unraveling”, and “Electropop Sickle”. She also released two more albums, 2011’s “Love Never Dies” and 2013’s “Comfort for the Desolate”.

In 2018 followed the industrial-rock album “Transcendence”. The seven-track album also included a collaboration with Vulture Culture, whom she would further collaborate with on the singles “Ashes Of Stars”, “Spitfire”, and “Faster Than Light”.

Following her 2020 singles “Keep Going” and “Pandemic 2020”, Miss FD released her three-song EP “Adore”, and the single “Your Core”, which were heavily infused with futuristic and cyberpunk elements.

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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(Photo by Vincente Cordero and Francesco Licata) Out now is “The Kiss of the World” by the Los Angeles-based alt post-punk collective Beauty In Chaos featuring Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris).

This is the second single from the forthcoming Beauty In Chaos album “Behind the Veil” and follows the single “Orion” featuring Whitney Tai which was released in Autumn. “Behind the Veil” is featuring all female vocalists and is scheduled for release on February 22 Los Angeles’ 33.3 Music Collective.

Here’s the video for “The Kiss of the World”. The video was shot by Vicente Cordero’s Industrialism Films.

Both Michael Ciravolo and Elena Alice Fossi gave feedback on their collaboration and the video.

As for the collaboration with Elena Alice Fossi, Ciravolo explains: “What drew me to Elena, besides her incredible voice, was that her lyrics are deep, intelligent and interpretive. It was her stage persona and a couple of interviews I had seen of her that sparked the ‘1984-big brother / V is for Vendetta’ concept. Vicente’s team did a great job of pulling these elements together … marrying Elena’s footage (filmed in Italy by famed photographer Francesco Licata) with our sets.”

Elena Alice Fossi from here side has this to say about the video: “This story’s plot is enclosed in the domination and deception that, perpetrated over time, have generated a zombified society, where the living dead obey an authority which in turn is the servant of stronger occult powers. And it’s these powers that pull the strings of a comedy in which consumerism, betrayal and manipulation are the masters.”

About Beauty in Chaos

Beauty in Chaos is the brainchild of guitarist Michael Ciravolo. The LA-based New Orleans native is also President of Schecter Guitar Research and until launching BIC, Ciravolo was guitarist in Human Drama for 30 years and had also played live and recorded with Michael Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel since 1998.

In 2020, Beauty In Chaos released “The Storm Before The Calm” and the remix-based “Out Of Chaos Comes…” albums.

Recorded at Ciravolo’s SAINTinLA Studio, this new LP was produced by Michael Rozon, known for his work with Ministry.

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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Projekt Records is gearing up to release a name-your-price single from the Brooklyn, New York based goth/darkwave act Abbey Death on July 27 via Bandcamp. The single will be called “Death is for the Living” and will feature Addam Robert Paul.

Valerie Abbey explains the title: “It’s been a year of deaths and close calls. However, only the survivors hear about it. I heard a friend say ‘Death is for the Living’ in regards to the news reporting lots of deaths as a way to grab our attention. It all grew so frustrating! To balance this, I started writing this brooding-abrasive yet chilly romanticized track to give a traditional dark intensity back to the meaning of death in a remote, stylistic statement.”

Abbey Death has been active since 2014 and consists of husband-and-wife duo Valerie Abbey (Valerie Gentile) and Abbey Nex. In the project they used their past experiences in Combichrist, The Cruxshadows, Psyclon Nine, Angelspit, Genitorturers, and Black Tape For A Blue Girl. The debut EP “Realignment” was released in 2016. After that they collaborated with Sevin VII (Columbine) on the 2016 single “The Veil”, released their sophomore EP “Ethos” in 2018, and covered Phil Collins’ “Land of Confusion” in 2020.

The new single features guest vocalist Addam Robert Paul of ritual industrial band TheDestructPrinciple.

Check out the band’s other singles.

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: Cinematographic, electro-ambient.

Background/Info: David Wright was one of the AD Music founders and is the first artist who released productions on the label. David Wright can now look back at an impressive discography and still gets the inspiration to explore further sound paths. A few years ago he got in touch with Carys who joined him on stage during live performances. Both artists now have accomplished this “ Prophecy”-album.

Content: The music of David Wright is pure synthesizer music rapidly reminding me of some of the most famous pioneers in the genre. This is the kind of artist appealing for fans of Jean-Michel Jarre, but simply to all lovers of early electronic music. Ou get the feeling to be transported among the stars. “ Prophecy” has a transcendental feeling, which is only accentuated by the sensual and angelic vocals of Carys.

+ + + : “Prophecy” is a beautiful work, the kind of release an artist can be proud of. But it also is the music David Wright is now dealing with since the nineties. He however still finds the inspiration to move on exploring new paths. I personally like the kind of contrast between his music and violin-like sounds. It sounds a bit like a sonic clash between space-music and neo-classic music, but in the end it sounds cohesive and deeply artistic. The analogue sound treatments always have this particular kind of magic, which is reinforced by the beautiful vocals of Carys. The production reflects a high degree of knowledge and comes close to perfection.

– – – : There are many great artists in the genre of David Wright, but there’s only one Jean-Michel Jarre. I don’t want to make too much of a comparison, but this is the kind of album that rapidly evokes such a legendary artist.

Conclusion: This is pure vintage electro-space music accomplished with a masterly production process and resulting in a stunning piece of music.

Best songs: “Ocean To Stars Pt. 1”, “Ocean To Stars Pt. 3”, “Beyond The Veil”, “Night Tide”.

Rate: (8).

Artists: www.davidwrightmusic.com / www.facebook.com/officialdavidwright / www.carysmusic.com

Label: www.admusicshop.com / www.facebook.com/ADmusiconline

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: EBM, dark-electronics, ambient-electro.

Background/Info: I can’t remember to have ever heard of Introspect Void. This work also is a kind of comeback as it’s the first album in 10 years. So I think we might speak about a resurrection and/or new beginning for the American formation.

Content: I can’t really say that the debut songs are hesitant, but not that easy to define. Quite progressively Introspect Void reveals their real nature, which is into dark-electronics and dense atmospheres. The spooky vocals are the perfect match with this sound. The songs are well-crafted and revealing some sophistication, which comes through in multiple details like numerous effects, dense sound layers and other production tricks.

One of the most surprising songs is the cover version of the bonus song “Send Me An Angel” originally written by Real Life.

+ + + : Introspect Void is not the most accessible band active at the wider fields of EBM. This is not exactly a typical EBM band although several songs are reminding me to early FLA –for the dark atmospheres and some of the arrangements. This work is fully accomplished and I definitely like the complex approach and the haunting ambience accentuated by spooky vocals.

– – – : The main point that hurts is the final mix and maybe mastering. This is an important element, which is purely technical and which doesn’t say anything about the writing skills of a band. It however is a point they have to consider improving on a next work.

Conclusion: Introspect Void is an interesting formation revealing great composition skills, but where some technical elements could have been more convincing.

Best songs: “Decompiled Intellect”, “Progenitor”, “Behind the Veil of Anu (Tenebris)”, “Dissenting Intelligence Transmission”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.introspectvoid.com / www.facebook.com/Introspect.Void

Label: www.latexrecords.com / www.facebook.com/LatexRecords

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

Wave Records are preparing an essential best of release of the US/British 80s New Wave/Goth Rock band The Veil. The CD, called “History”, comes with a 12-pages booklet including rare and never seen documents and pictures from the 80s as well as an extensive comment by Mick Mercer.

The CD collects all tracks ever released by the band on 1 album, two 12” singles and one 7” single. You can expect it to hit stores in early December. Pre-orders can be placed here.

The Veil was born from the ashes of San Francisco Death Rock/Goth band Beast, who dissolved at the end of 1983 following their last UK tour at which time Andrella Canne (vocals) and James Christ (bass) decided to remain in the UK where they felt the climate was right for what they wanted to do next musically: The Veil. Local Brits Andrew DaKeyne (guitar) and John Kingham (drums) completed the Lineup.

A first single was recorded at Blackwing Studios, engineered and produced by John Fryer (Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, Cocteau Twins). In 1985 the band began recording the album, “Surrender”, again recorded at Blackwing Studios, and again with John Fryer assisted by John Brand (The Waterboys, Big Country, The Cult, Go Betweens, Aztec Camera, Gene Loves Jezebel…).

Due to Clay Records being in serious financial trouble, they were forced to release their new EP on their own. And the bad luck didn’t stop there, the two founders of The Veil, being American, were forced to leave the UK due to the fact that the UK Home Office would not renew their work permit for the UK. The pre-internet times forced The Veil to dissolve.

Clay Records in the end didn’t go under until late 1990. The independent record label founded by Mike Stone in 1980 out of a record shop in the English city of Stoke-on-Trent had such artists as Sex-Gang Children, Play Dead, The Lurkers, Demon and G.B.H. on its roster. Members of Clay went on to form Jungle Records in 1984. But that’s another story.

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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