Austrian industrial act Nachtmahr has announced an upcoming November tour to coincide with the release of the new album, “Verboten!“, which is set for release through Trisol Music Group GmbH on November 1st, 2024. The band are set to be supported by System Noire and Antibody.

The tour will include nine dates in Germany. In addition to classics from the band’s entire back catalogue, the band will present material from “Verboten!” live for the first time.

Thomas Rainer adds: “More than any previous album in the band’s history, VERBOTEN! was a team effort, incorporating the expertise of the live band members, which led to fresh visuals and a massive sound, blending the best of old and new Nachtmahr styles.”

Below is the earlier released single “Gegen”.

Nachtmahr tour dates

• 01.11. Oberhausen – Kulttempel
• 02.11. Mannheim – Ms Connexion
• 08.11. Erfurt – From Hell
• 09.11. Dresden – Reithalle
• 10.11. Berlin – Frannz Club
• 15.11. Friedrichshafen – Caserne
• 16.11. München – Backstage
• 22.11. Nürnberg – Cult
• 23.11. Hannover Musikzentrum

About Nachtmahr

Nachtmahr is an Austrian industrial and electronic music project founded by Thomas Rainer in 2007. Known for its aggressive, militaristic sound and provocative imagery, Nachtmahr combines hard-hitting beats with distorted vocals and harsh electronic instrumentation.

Rainer, who is also the frontman of L’Âme Immortelle, created Nachtmahr as an outlet for his harsher musical ideas. The project’s music is characterized by themes of control, power, and dominance, often portrayed through militaristic aesthetics, drawing inspiration from both cyberpunk and dystopian narratives.

Nachtmahr’s debut EP, “Kunst ist Krieg”, released in 2007, introduced the project’s signature sound, blending pounding beats with controversial, politically charged visuals. The project gained widespread attention with the release of “Feuer Frei” (2008) and subsequent albums like “Alle Lust Will Ewigkeit” (2009) and “Semper Fidelis” (2010). Each album reflects Rainer’s fascination with authoritarian imagery and explores dark, futuristic themes through a combination of industrial noise and EBM.

Rainer describes Nachtmahr as a commentary on power dynamics in society, using confrontational aesthetics to challenge listeners’ perceptions and provoke thought. Read the review of ‘Verboten!’.

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-Wave, Neo-Classic, Cinematic.

Format: Digital, 3CD.

Background/Info: “In Tiefem Fall” is the first new album in four years by the Austrian duo Thomas Rainer – Sonja Kraushofer aka L’âme Immortelle. The new work has been produced by Jan-Krischan Wesenberg (Rotersand). The work is also available as a hardcover book 3CD edition featuring two additional full-length discs.  

Content: L’Âme Immortelle remains faithful to their familiar sound formula; a melodic composition with a melancholic mood on top mixed with the heavenly and passionate vocals of Sonja Kraushofer at one side and the harsher singing of Thomas Rainer at the other side. I also noticed a surprising Dance-driven song (cf. “Catch My Fall”).

The ‘Book Edition’ presents the band’s entire visual and musical world in relation to their album. It has been adapted into sound by a Soundtrack (cf. “Portrait Of A Shattered Mind”) released on the second disc and written by Clemens Wijers (Carach Angren) and Patrick Damiani (Sopor Aeternus). The third disc features the audiobook “Das Königreich Der Schwarzen Farbe”, which is written and read by Lukas Materzok-Lavishly.

+ + + : The fans of L’Âme Immortelle will not be disappointed, their favorites having released a new work in the sound tradition of the band. The Austrian formation remains inspired by melancholia, which Rainer masterly adapted into melodic passages. The passionate, heavenly vocals of Sonja Kraushofer create an elevating effect during the choruses while Thomas Rainer injects a darker touch to his vocals. “Everything Just Falls Apart” is my favorite track for its deeply melancholic mood, but it still is an elaborated piece of music.

If you like Cinematic music I recommend listening to the second disc “Portrait Of A Shattered Mind”. It’s surprising and has less in common with the ‘familiar’ sound of the band, but it’s a poignant and achieved composition for Cinematic lovers. The songs are instrumental edits, which are created by violin sounds. I like the few epic arrangements running through some of the songs. It’s a great and refined composition inspired by movies.

– – – : I can’t get away from the feeling that L’Âme Immortelle is a bit stagnating in their own sound formula. There’s nothing wrong with that, but using this formula I’ve already better work from this band. The more commercially driven “Catch My Fall” might become a true successful piece, but it sounds a bit ‘cheap’ to me. The audiobook featured on the last disc is mainly suited for the die-hard fans of the band, but without a true interest for non-German speaking people.

Conclusion: I have some mixed feelings with this new work of L’Âme Immortelle; they hold on to their initial spirit, but the accomplishment left me more unmoved.

Best songs: “Everything Just Falls Apart”, “Der Fluch”, “Still” + “La Folie Des Grandeur”, “Locked In”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/LAI.official

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471 Read the news on ‘In Tiefem Fall’.

About L’Âme Immortelle

L’Âme Immortelle is an Austrian darkwave duo formed in 1996 around Thomas Rainer and Sonja Kraushofer. The songs alternate harsh male and melodic female vocals, with lyrics in German and English.

The studio albums run from “Lieder Die Wie Wunden Bluten” (1997), “…In Einer Zukunft Aus Tränen Und Stahl” (1998) and “Wenn Der Letzte Schatten Fällt” (1999) to “Dann Habe Ich Umsonst Gelebt” (2001) and “Als Die Liebe Starb” (2003). The duo moved to Supersonic Records in 2004 for “Gezeiten” (2004), “Auf Deinen Schwingen” (2006), “Namenlos” (January 2008) and “Durch Fremde Hand” (August 2008), then returned to Trisol.

“Momente” (January 2012), “Fragmente” (April 2012), “Drahtseilakt” (November 2014) and “Hinter Dem Horizont” (January 2018) followed, alongside the compilations “Seelensturm” (2003), “10 Jahre – Best Of” (June 2007), “Best Of Indie Years” (May 2008), “Unsterblich – 20 Jahre L’Âme Immortelle” (February 2016) and “Letztes Licht” (January 2019).

“In Tiefem Fall” arrived in January 2022 and reached number 33 on the German album chart. The next studio album, “Ungelebte Leben”, followed in January 2024.

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

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Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Thomas Rainer took the Nachtmahr fanbase by surprise in 2020, releasing the Neo-Folk driven “Flamme”-album whereon he revisited some classical songs of his sonic brainchild. “Stellungskrieg” was introduced by the EP’s “Beweg Dich!” and “Die Strasse”, which clearly sounded like moving back to the original sound of the Austrian ‘Tanzdiktator’!

Content: No real surprises on “Stellungskrieg”! Thomas Rainer gets back to the familiar sound and style of Nachtmahr. From the 10 songs there’s only one single piece, which comes as a kind of intermezzo and more appeals for L’Âme Immortelle fans. The other tracks are pure harshness; bouncing beats, which sometimes evolves into Industrial kicks mixes with aggressive vocals and melodic choruses. I also notice a few instrumental edits where the vocals have been replaced by spoken samplings.

+ + + : The “Flamme”-album was an atypical release and probably the biggest challenge ever of the Nachtmahr project. “Stellungskrieg” moves back to the essence of the project; a hard, danceable sound carried by strong leads and melodies –Rainer remains a true melody maker, while driven by furious beats. When discovering the album, you rapidly know why “Beweg Dich!” and “Die Strasse” were previously released as EP title songs. Both cuts stand for the best of Nachtmahr. I however also want to mention “Geister” for its heavy orchestral arrangements.

– – – : “Dunkle Wasser” is the single cut, which can’t totally convince; it rather sounds as a dismissed L’Âme Immortelle piece. The image of this project remains a controversial point… but better to have a controversial image instead of none!

Conclusion: There’s enough stuff on this album to set dancefloors on fire.

Best songs: “Die Strasse”, “Beweg Dich!”, “Geister”, “Nicht Wie Sie”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/nachtmahr.band

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

About Nachtmahr

Nachtmahr is the Austrian industrial and electronic project founded by Thomas Rainer in 2007. Rainer, who also fronts L’Âme Immortelle, started Nachtmahr as an outlet for his harsher material, built on hard beats, distorted vocals and militaristic imagery.

The debut EP “Kunst ist Krieg” appeared in 2007, followed by “Feuer Frei” in 2008, “Alle Lust Will Ewigkeit” in 2009 and “Semper Fidelis” in 2010. The mini-album “Mädchen in Uniform” was reissued as a picture vinyl limited to 500 copies in 2019.

“Flamme” arrived in January 2020 and revisited earlier Nachtmahr songs in a neo-folk setting. “Stellungskrieg” followed on Trisol in 2021, introduced by the EPs “Beweg Dich!” and “Die Strasse”. Rainer announced the album “Verboten!” and a German tour in September 2024.

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

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Out via Trisol on January 7th 2022 is the all new album by Thomas Rainer and Sonja Kraushofer aka L’âme Immortelle. Produced by Jan-Krischan Wesenberg of Rotersand fame, the new album also gets some visual support by Oliver Schlemmer and Torsten Geyer.

The new album will also be released in a hardcover book 3CD edition featuring two additional full length discs presenting the duo’s visual and musical world in relation to their album “In tiefem Fall”.

Here’s what this 3CD set holds:

• Opulent illustrated book containing 3 CDs
• 27 tracks – over 2 hours’ playing time
• CD #1: regular album, produced by Jan-Eric Wesenberg (Rotersand)
• CD #2: soundtrack ‘Portrait of a Shattered Mind’, composed by Clemens Wijers (Carach Angren and others) and Patrick Damiani (Sopor Aeternus and others)
• CD #3: audiobook ‘Das Königreich der schwarzen Farbe’ (‘The Kingdom of the Colour Black’), written and read (in German) by the young, up-and-coming author Lukas Materzok
• The book holds paintings by Oliver Schlemmer (Janus and others) and holds 36 pages including all album lyrics

And here’s an idea how the band sounds nowadays. Read the review of ‘In Tiefem Fall’.

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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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) June 25^th saw the release of ‘Terminal Love’, the third EP this year from the Norwegian industrial synth rockers Zeromancer, a worthy follow up to their previous releases ‘Damned le Monde‘ and ‘Mourners‘. In addition to interviewing the band about the EP, we also got hold of the guys behind the L’âme Immortelle and Architect remixes to get their thoughts on the song and the remix process.

Side-Line: ‘Terminal Love’ – feels like it’s a continuation of ‘Mourners’, like the next chapter or a different view of a similar story – an ongoing theme there? Or coincidence?

Alex Møklebust: Some of the continuation feeling you also get is probably how the song opens. Like ‘Mourners’ it starts with only synths and vocals, before the chorus hits. The chorus melody line on ‘Terminal Love’ is taken from a unreleased ZMR song during the making of ‘Sinners International’. Kim gave it another chance on ‘Terminal Love’ and the chorus finally made sense. Felt so good singing that melody line 12 years later. Never throw away ideas!

Kim Ljung: Alex has a memory like no other. All the time he surprises me with stories I have forgotten a long time ago. Though in this particular case I believe he’s a couple of years off 😉
The chorus of ‘Terminal Love’ is taken from a demo originally named ‘Collider’, which then again was a spin-off of an old Red 7 track (Lorry and Dan played in this band). Quite sure it was written in the aftermath of the ‘Death of Romance’ album. The pre-chorus of ‘Terminal Love’ I found on my phone where I always tape simple ideas with acoustic stuff, me singing on top. The date was June 26, 2014. One day later than the official release date which was about a week ago. Not so strange maybe, that musicians lose their minds carrying all this stuff around for years and years.
Regarding the connection with ‘Mourners’, I’m blind to those aspects. Just another Zeromancer song written in a fashion that suits that particular track.  What we always do. People has a tendency to ask what song or album we prefer ourselves. That’s irrelevant. I never set them up against each other. Not my job 🙂

S-L: When hearing the main synth melody line my first thought was “this is something Vince Clarke would’ve wished he made himself for a Yazoo song!”

AM: Thanks! I’ll take that as a huge compliment. The synth needed lots of movement to carry the first verse by itself. The modular setup works well for that and blends in with all the other instruments in a good way. The analogue imperfection is key.

KL: Word, Alex!
We had a lot of sessions at Room 13, Alex’s studio, where Alex sat and tweaked those knobs on the modulars. The idea was to create a signature sound for the intro of the song. Something significant that opens a track, and when you hear it, you instantly know which song it is.

S-L: The external remixes were both quite down-tempo and atmospheric, which also suits this track very well. Surprising that both chose this direction?

AM: It was a very pleasant surprise. Love the way it turned out. Both Thomas and Daniel had a short deadline, but managed to make two beautiful remixes. Thomas made it so personal that you immediately hear it’s a L’âme Immortelle remix. Respect.
Daniel also made ‘Terminal Love’ his own. The deep sub version takes you on this beautiful ride into Daniels universe. Love it. So talented musicians. We are so grateful for having friends all over the world collaborating with us. Musically, but also on a personal level.

KL: Both versions blew me away. I didn’t expect it at all. Pure genius. You can hear in an instant how much love and passion they put into this track. Fold my hands for those guys.

S-L: Alex, your alter ego SnifferGod ends the EP with an up-tempo remix, a good contrast to the other remixes, with great beats and rhythms! Some elements here puts me back to the end of the 80’s/early 90’s, like Nitzer Ebb doing a 90’s rave with S’Express and a touch of acid house, but layered in a 2020’s updated soundscape. Tell us what you did here!

AM: I had to work on this one in-between mixing the Zeromancer album. Mixing daytime and remixing nighttime.
You are absolutely spot on. Because of the high tempo, I wanted to get that 90’s techno feel combined with some 80’s EBM. Nearly all synths are from my modular and semi-modular setup. No samples, except sampling ourselves. It’s an up-tempo remix, maybe close to stress-techno, but the «party boy» Alex kicked in. Blame the late night sessions.

KL: Stress-techno or stress-synth. Hahaha….it’s an internal wordplay on a comment by the Foo Fighters-drummer in a recording session with good,  old Rick Springfield. He calls Springfield’s style stress-rock. And he does so as a kind of a compliment. However, who wants that type of label 🙂

Yeah, SnifferGod is Alex going back in time. A real killer version. Lots of raving flashbacks, with the God himself on the dancefloor.

S-L: Kim, where’s your mother this time on the cover photo? Vacation in the fjords, or where she’s originally from?

KL: This time the photo is taken on the roadside near Odda in Hardanger. The roads were obviously a lot more curvy back in 1957. Though they still are…
The family took these endless road trips from Sauda all around Norway every summer holiday. My mom is on the left, my uncle at the right of the photo. They are facing the glacier, Buerbreen. Both of them are carsick as hell. My grandfather took the shot, as he did with the previous singles.

I think the distance and the vibe of the photo suits perfectly with title of the song.

Check out this playlist of Zeromancer and SnifferGod remixes!

As with all three EPs this year, this one also features brilliant remixes, which made an easy decision to repeat the remixers part from the ‘Mournes’ article. Both Thomas Rainer (L’âme Imortelle/Nachtmar) and Daniel Myer (Architect/Liebknecht/Haujobb/Covenant etc.) had some to say about their contributions.

First off is Thomas Rainer from Vienna, Austria:

S-L: What’s your relation to Zeromancer before this remix?

Thomas Rainer: They already made 2 remixes for my band L’âme Imortelle and are also label mates, so it was kind of obvious that we would also collaborate the other way around one day. It also didn’t hurt that I have also always really liked the music of the band.

S-L: How did you like the new song ‘Terminal Love’?

TR: I really liked the song from the very beginning. The vocals immediately caught my ear, but after further listening I really enjoyed listening to all the small details in the very sophisticated production.

S-L: The other ZMR releases in 2021 – what’s your opinion so far?

TR: I enjoyed all of the new material so far especially since it shows an even more mature form of the band. Something I greatly appreciate.

S-L: What was your main idea with your remix?

TR: I usually approach all remixes by listening to the vocals alone first, and Alex’ stellar performance made it clear that it needs to be given as much space as possible with the music just being a supporting element. 

Check Thomas’ playlist of his remixes!

Next remixer were Daniel Myer from Leipzig, Germany:

S-L: What’s your relation to Zeromancer before this remix?

Daniel Myer: I’ve known Zeromancer since they came to the scene. It’s a fairly small scene, so of course you know every new act that comes out, especially back in the day;)

We also share the same booking agency, so I went to see them live quite often when they were in town or at festivals. I always liked their style and I really like the songs and Alex’ voice.

S-L: How did you like the new song ‘Terminal Love’?

DM: Terminal Love had a real anthem feel to me. That’s why I approached a friend of mine to do this remix with me. I wanted to make it really big, like a “Pop Hymn” in the style of Imagine Dragons. But my friends was busy with her release, so I did the remix by myself.

S-L: The other ZMR releases in 2021 – what’s your opinion so far?

DM: I haven’t heard it all, only the last single, and I love Krischan Wesenbergs remix. He is one of my favourite producers at the moment.

S-L: What was your main idea with your remix?

DM: For the remix, like I mentioned above, I had something big in mind, but I only had a very limited amount of time.
I was on vacation with my girlfriend and we had very specific plans for this time. I started the remix with this Imagine Dragons idea in mind and then send it off to my friend in NYC. She came back to me after a few days, telling me that she couldn´t work on it, so I had to finish it by myself. By that time I was in a very strange headspace, a lot of things went wrong on our vacation trip, so I was stressed out and I had to go see my mother.

So I actually finished the remix on the train to Bielefeld one morning, on the day of the deadline. Overall I had only 12 days to do the mix, Alex came basically in the last minute to ask me for it 😉 And my mother lives in the woods, so there was no good internet connections. I actually used the hotspot from my phone to deliver the remix to Norway! 😀

Check Daniel’s playlist of his remixes!

Listen to and buy the ‘Teminal Love’ EP from Spotify, Apple music and other services – click here!

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Genre/Influences: Neo-folk.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Nachtmahr doesn’t need any further introduction. The dark-electro/industrial project of Thomas Rainer has gained a serious reputation. Music, image and artwork have caught the attention of numerous fans. “Flamme” is for sure the most unusual and surprising album in the Austrian project’s discography…

Content: “Flamme” is a fine selection of some of the most famous Nachtmahr songs, which have been completely reworked into pure neo-folk style. I sometimes wondered why Nachtmahr didn’t innovate, but this is not an innovation, this is a cataclysm!

The songs have been composed with acoustic guitar and accentuated by bombast arrangements and drums. The only element, which is nearly the same, is the enraged singing of Thomas Rainer. You don’t directly recognize the original songs, but the die-hard fans will recognize the lyrics.

+ + + : I can’t say that “Flamme” is my favorite Nachtmahr-album, but I really respect the artist for having dared to release this opus. It’s an original way to transpose your music into something completely different. It will for sure catch the attention of a different audience while the biggest fans will probably buy the album to complete their collection. If you listen to this album you’ll have to agree the neo-folk style is not bad at all and even characterized by a very personal touch, which are the furious and passionate vocals of the singer.

– – – : This album is original, but clearly sounds like a totally different project.

Conclusion: Better than a usual ‘best of’ album Nachtmahr has selected some of their best cuts to transpose them into a different music genre; a great challenge.

Best songs: “Alpha Omega”, “Rise And Fall”, “Feinbild”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/nachtmahr.band

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471 Read the news on ‘Flamme’.

About Nachtmahr

Nachtmahr is an Austrian industrial and EBM project founded by Thomas Rainer in Vienna in 2007, run alongside his darkwave duo L’Âme Immortelle. The first release, the EP “Kunst ist Krieg”, appeared in 2007 through Trisol Music Group, followed by the studio albums “Feuer Frei!” (2008), “Alle Lust Will Ewigkeit” (2009) and “Semper Fidelis” (2010). After the EP “Widerstand” in 2018, Nachtmahr released “Flamme” in 2020, the double album “Unbeugsam” in 2023, “Verboten!” in 2024, and the studio album “Imperivm” in 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

The newest Nachtmahr album “Flamme”, the follow-up to this year’s release “Antithese”, will be out on January 31st 2020.

The 11-track counting album is the band’s 8th studio album to date and will hold the following tracks: “Feindbild”, “Kampfbereit”, “Liebst du mich”, “Krieg und Frieden”, “Alpha Omega”, “Wo ist dein Gott”, “The Torch”, “Ich bin”, “Rise and Fall”, “Mein Name” and “Die letzten Dämme”.

Nachtmahr is the solo project of Thomas Rainer (also known for his other projects: L’Âme Immortelle and the now defunct Siechtum). Nachtmahr’s musical style is best characterized as techno industrial.

Here’s “Antithese” while you await the new album… Read the review of ‘Flamme’.

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: Gothic-pop, electro-wave.

Background/Info: One year after their latest successful album “Hinter Dem Horizont” the Austrian duo Sonja Kraushofer – Thomas Rainer strike  back unleashing this ‘extended’ EP.

Content: The title song was not my favorite from the album. We here get a “Classic Version” next to the “Album Version”. There also is a remix made by Blue May Rose. We also get 2 exclusive songs with a dreamy atmosphere. The song “Fear” originally released in 2004 has been reworked while we also get a few more older songs, which have been remixed by Soman and 18 Summers. Last, but not least 3 songs from the band have been covered by Collection D’Arnell-Andréa, Dunkelsucht feat. Chelsey Schill and My Equinox Divine.

+ + + : I like the global concept of this EP, which next to a title track featuring a few different edits reveals exclusive songs, remixes and especially cover versions. L’Âme Immortelle remains faithful to their sound featuring the graceful vocals of Sonja Kraushofer, but there also is some diversity injected by the other artists. That’s precisely what I expect from an EP. I recommend the cover version of “Fallen angel” by the French formation Collection D’Arnell-Andréa (now signed on Trisol).

– – – : I’m still not a huge fan of the title song. I think there are much better songs featured at the last full length, but it also is a matter of taste. I also expected a bit more from the remixes.

Conclusion: The concept of this EP is absolutely great! This is so much more than releasing a title song and asking for an endless list of bands to make a remix.

Best songs: “Fear – Re-Recorded 2018”, “Fallen angel – Cover by Collection D’Arnell-Andréa”, “Demon be Gone – Cover by Dunkelsucht feat. Chelsey Schill”, “Lake Of Tears – Cover by My Equinox Divine”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/LAI.official

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

About L’Âme Immortelle

L’Âme Immortelle is the Austrian dark electro and darkwave duo of Thomas Rainer and Sonja Kraushofer, formed in Vienna in 1996. Their debut album “Lieder die wie Wunden bluten” appeared in 1997, followed by a steady discography through “Drahtseilakt” (2014) and “Hinter dem Horizont” (2018) on Trisol. “Letztes Licht” collects alternate versions, remixes – including one by Soman – and cover versions, among them a reading of “Fallen Angel” by the French act Collection d’Arnell-Andréa. The duo’s next studio album, “In tiefem Fall”, followed in January 2022, produced by Jan-Krischan Wesenberg of Rotersand.

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

Available now for ordering is a strictly limited collector’s picture-LP edition of Nachtmahr’s long deleted and sought after cult mini-album “Mädchen in Uniform” (which was originally released in 2010). This re-release is limited to only 500 copies and can be ordered right here.

Nachtmahr is the solo project of Thomas Rainer (also known for his other projects: L’Âme Immortelle and the now defunct Siechtum). Nachtmahr’s musical style is best characterized as techno industrial with a strong focus on what some colleagues call ‘sexist and fascist imagery’ (something which Rainer rejects). In September 2007, Nachtmahr had its first release, “Kunst ist Krieg”.

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

Background/Info:

About Nachtmahr

Nachtmahr is an Austrian EBM/military-pop project led by Thomas Rainer, releasing on Trisol since its 2007 debut material, including “Kunst Ist Krieg”. “Gehorsam” revisits that early, harder sound ahead of the then-announced album “Antithese”; Nachtmahr continued on Trisol through later albums such as “Flamme” (2020) and “Verboten!” (2024).

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 ‘Widerstand’.

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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Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Gothic-pop, electro-wave.

Background/Info: The Nachtmahr commander and the Persephone nymph are joining hands again for their Mothership project; the band with which Thomas Rainer and Sonja Sonja Kraushofer got successful and word-wide recognized. “Hinter Dem Horizont” is the first new studio album in four years for L’Âme Immortelle. Next to the ‘standard’ edition there also is a limited edition featuring an extra disc.

Content: If my info is right, this must be the 13^th studio album from the Austrian duo. They hold on the basic elements, which made their sound easily recognizable. There’s the impact of Sonja’s charismatic vocals, but still the melodic aspect of the work. The songs are moving in between gothic atmospheres and dark-pop arrangements. Thomas Rainer is singing as well, creating this complementary sensation between both members.

+ + + : “Hinter Dem Horizont” doesn’t sound as a get back to the roots, but you still can hear the original melodic approach mixed with a mature and contemporary approach. This album moves on there where “Drahtseilakt” stopped. It’s album filled with harmony and an emotive content. Thomas Rainer once more confirms his skills to write great melody lines and elevating choruses. But I think it still is one of the most delicate compositions by L’Âme Immortelle. It’s the kind of composition on, which I can easily imagine both members being joined by authentic, acoustic instruments just to empower the sensitive touch of the work. So I guess it’s not of a coincidence they invited a guest musician to play piano on one of the cuts. Notice by the way the album got mastered and produced by Krischan Wesenberg.

– – – : If there’s one regret I can imagine about this work I should dare to say I’m maybe missing a hit that would enter into the band’s history. What I want to say is that I noticed multiple great songs, but maybe not a new  “Bitterkeit” and “Life Will Be Never The Same Again”.

Conclusion: No doubt about it, L’Âme Immortellle will fully satisfy their fans with their most polished and accomplished work to date… which however doesn’t mean it’s their best record ever.

Best songs: “Schwerkraft”, “Treiben”, “Am Ende Aller Tage”, “Memories”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/LAI.official

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Background/Info: Nachtmahr was set up in 2007 by Thomas Rainer. The Austrian musician was the creative spirit behind the successful L’Âme Immortelle while he also was the instigator of the electro-industrial Siechtum. Nachtmahr was a kind of get back to harsh dark-electronics and became in no time a new dance sensation. “Unbeugsam” is a kind of 10 year anniversary release celebrating one decade of dance terror, one decade of Nachtmahr.

This double disc features 34 tracks featuring the most essential hits, but also a few rarities and even 2 new cuts. Nachtmahr has also been a band with a strong and controversial image, somewhere at the edge of controversy, but here again Thomas Rainer fully succeeded in his goal.

Content: “Unbeugsam” goes back to the early work of Nachtmahr reminding us of the original sound of the band, which back in time was somewhere linked with other ‘new’ projects in the genre like Noisuf-X and Reaper. The music was made of harshness and pumping kicks. Somewhere inspired by industrial treatments and carried by melodic strings, the songs always have been driven by the merciless and harsh –mainly in German sung, vocals of ‘Tanzdiktator’ Thomas Rainer.

This is a way to get back to mega-hits like “Katharsis, “Feuer Frei”, “Can You Feel Beat?”, Strenge Liebe”, “Mein Name” and the already evoked “Tanzdiktator”. Seven albums have been released and “Unbeugsam” is an opportunity to rediscover the hardest cuts of this band’s career.

The 2^nd disc lets us discover 2 new cuts, which are in the same, hard and merciless dance style as all the previous hits. The rarities are mainly getting back to the numerous EP songs of Nachtmahr and here again you’ll (re)discover essential pieces.

+ + + : This is a great ‘best of’ perfectly summarizing the impressive discography accomplished in 10 years. The hardest cuts have been taken, which also remain the best exponents of this Austrian formation. It also confirms the great composing skills of Thomas Rainer, which perfectly mixed rough and blasting kicks with constant, carrying melody lines. Thomas Rainer remains a great melody maker. The album also features 2 impressive booklets with familiar illustration material, sometimes provocative, often sexy and definitely controversial.

– – – : All songs are pretty blasting and in the long run creating a little less saturation although I guess the fans will not complain about it.

Conclusion: Some Nachtmahr releases sometimes made me think that the image became more important than the music, but this ‘best of’ gave me hard smack in the face confirming the amazing writing skills of this project.

Best songs: “Can You Feel The Beat”, “Tanzdiktator”, “Mein Name”, “Katharsis”, “Strenge Liebe”, “Tradition”, “Ich Bin” + “I Believe In Blood”, “El Chupacabra”, “Boom Boom Boom”, “Feuer Frei!”.

Rate: (8½).

Band: www.nachtmahr.at / www.facebook.com/nachtmahr.band

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-industrial.

Content: When I discovered this album I first thought that Siechtum had been awakened after a hibernation of 14 years! The electro-industrial project that was set up by Thomas Rainer (L’Âme Immortelle, Nachtmahr) and Joachim Sobczak (Schattenschlag) was active right after the millennium during a rather short lapse of time.
“Zeiten:Wende” is just a re-release of their 3 full length albums (cf. “Gesellschaft:Mord”, “Kreuz:X:Feuer” and “Diagnose:Zeit”), which have been placed on 2 discs. Siechtum has been considered as a pioneer in the genre, which I think is an interesting statement.

I remember industrial music during the 80s, which was composed with an impressive arsenal of hand-made equipment resulting in a kind of ‘art-brut’ sound. Bands like Test Department, SPK and Einstürzende Neubauten were absolute masters in the genre, but there were many less famous and recognized projects dealing with a similar taste. The industrial music progressively evolved towards electro-driven compositions where the sounds got manipulated by monstrous studio effects creating this typical distorted-electro format. Esplendor Geometrico probably was one of the most famous pioneers in the genre, which would rapidly contaminate numerous other bands.

The ‘industrial’ style of Siechtum moved a bit further getting us to the point where dark-electronics and electro-industrial music merged together. I’ll not start a controversy about who really was the first one in the genre, but Siechtum were one of the precursors.
“Gesellschaft:Mord” (2000) brings us back to this early years revealing a typical electro-industrial sound carried by bombastic rhythms and haunting atmospheres. The work remains rather elementary, instrumental and repetitive. A few samplings injected some diversity, but globally speaking this album really suffers from the weight of time. It sometimes starts a bit like an improvised jam session of industrial-inspired music. This is the kind of work, which left me rather skeptical today, but I have to admit that I enjoyed it back in time.

“Kreuz:X:Feuer” (2001) sounds more diverse and sometimes reveals unexpected influences like acid bleeps (cf. “Gegenschlag”) and a kind of technoid-industrial style (cf. “Wiederstand”). The album even explores passages of cinematographic-industrial music (cf. “Die Ruhe Nach Den Sturm”) and other parts carried by metal (sampled) guitar riffs (cf. “Chaos”).

“Diagnose:Zeit” (2001) finally appears to be the most convincing album (today), but the least industrial minded. Siechtum now added real vocal parts to the work, which makes it more dark-electro driven with industrial flavors on top. It definitely is not a classical dark-electro production but rather a band exorcizing some ideas.

We again notice different influences running through the work, which move into epic passages (cf. “Follow Me”) to a kind of ritual approach (cf. “Winterstahl”). This album appears to be the most accomplished and for sure the most elaborated one. The title song remains the best example in the genre.

Notice by the way that the original albums of Siechtum were released by Matrix Tube, which was an earlier subdivision of Trisol.

Conclusion: This album is available in a beautiful digipak format while there also is a box-edition for the biggest fans of the band. I think this work is mainly meant for the fans of Siechtum and Thomas Rainer in particular.

Best songs: “Diagnose:Zeit”, “New Breed”, “Judas Ischariot”, “Gedankengift”, “Atomkernspaltung”, “Wiederstand”.

Rate: (DP:7)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/siechtum.official

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, EBM.

Content: Lat year Shiv-R released their 3rd full length “Wax Wings Will Burn” featuring 13 songs. “On Blackened Wings” moves back to this album delivering 13 remixes, but the main point is that all the songs have been remixed. They hold on to the original tracklist while we get two extra remixes from songs originally released on the “This World Erase”-album (2011).

I personally prefer this kind of formula instead of numerous remixes of one and the same song. “On Blackened Wings” also reveals a nice selection of bands like Freakangel, Thomas Rainer, Nitronoise, Acylum, ∆Aimon and less familiar names like Viral Millennium, Cellmod, Sleepless Droids, Symbiote, Syndroid or the remix contest winner, which was organized for this album Thanosmylonas.
The result is an interesting twist between different influences each band tried to inject into their own remix.

Cellmod is the first band that took me by surprise for the impressive sound manipulations alternated with a rather evasive chorus running through “Territory”. The remix of “Wolves” coming up next by Sleepless Droids is another noticeable cut. This remix reveals an elaborated approach in sound, while it remains a powerful track.

Dark-electro freaks will be pleased by the somewhat Suicide Commando inspired remix of “Of The Machine” by Acylum. But it all looks like some of the less familiar names had the greatest inspiration. Symbiote did a great and punchy job remixing “Shadow With A Voice”. Riotlegion maybe is a bit more renowned in the scene and they also did a noticeable work remixing “Payload” in a rather hard way while taking care for some cool sound treatments.

I also have to mention the somewhat symphonic approach in the remix of “Bood Rose” by L’Âme Immortelle. The remix by Thomas Rainer is maybe not the most noticeable one of the album although it’s one of the most ‘different’ ones.

I also have to tip both remixes from the songs that originally appeared at “This World Erase”. Syndroid remixed “Pharmaceutical Grade” into a kicking experimental way by accomplishing great sound manipulations. Last, but not least “God Is Art” has been reworked by Symbiote in a brilliant way. This remix is terrific and powerful body-tech driven piece of music. Notice by the way that Symbiote is the only band that has taken two remixes and both are absolutely successful.

Conclusion: You don’t hear me saying that I prefer this album over the original one, but I especially like the diversity emerging from the artists, which globally speaking did a great job. It’s quite interesting to realize some of my favorite songs on “Wax Wings Will Burn” are no longer my favorite ones on this opus. Great concept, cool album!

Best songs: “God Is Art – Vandalized by Symbiote”, “Yerritory – Cellmod Remix”, “Payload – Riotlegion Remix”, “Shadow With A Voice – Symbiote Remix”.

Rate: (DP:8)DP.

Band: www.shiv-r.com / www.facebook.com/shiverindustrial

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