Nine Inch Nails released “Hesitation Marks” on 30 August 2013 through The Null Corporation, distributed by Columbia Records in the United States and Polydor Records elsewhere. The eighth studio album by Trent Reznor‘s industrial rock project turns 13 this year. It was the band’s first full-length release in five years, following 2008’s “The Slip,” and its only album distributed through Columbia.

“Hesitation Marks” was produced by Reznor alongside Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, Reznor’s longtime studio collaborators; it remains the most recent Nine Inch Nails album to be co-produced by Moulder. The standard edition runs 14 tracks: “The Eater of Dreams,” “Copy of a,” “Came Back Haunted,” “Find My Way,” “All Time Low,” “Disappointed,” “Everything,” “Satellite,” “Various Methods of Escape,” “Running,” “I Would for You,” “In Two,” “While I’m Still Here” and “Black Noise.” Guest musicians on the record include Lindsey Buckingham, Adrian Belew, Pino Palladino and Ilan Rubin. Tom Baker handled mastering. Cover art across the album’s several editions was created by Russell Mills, the artist behind the visuals for “The Downward Spiral” nineteen years earlier.

Three singles preceded the album: “Came Back Haunted” (June 6, 2013), “Copy of a” (August 13, 2013) and “Everything” (August 20, 2013). “Hesitation Marks” debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and topped the Canadian Albums Chart, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

About Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails was formed by Trent Reznor in 1988 in Cleveland, Ohio. Reznor wrote, arranged and performed nearly all instrumentation on the band’s debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” released via TVT Records in 1989. After a dispute with TVT over promotion, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and released the EP “Broken” in 1992, followed by “The Downward Spiral” (1994) and “The Fragile” (1999). Nine Inch Nails returned from a hiatus with “With Teeth” (2005) and “Year Zero” (2007), then left Interscope and independently released the instrumental double album “Ghosts I-IV” and “The Slip,” both in 2008, before entering a second hiatus.

Reznor announced the return of Nine Inch Nails in February 2013 and confirmed on May 28, 2013 that a new album, recorded in secret with Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, was finished. That record, “Hesitation Marks,” followed on August 30, 2013, backed by the Twenty Thirteen Tour featuring Reznor, Ross, Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini, Josh Eustis and Ilan Rubin. Ross, previously a production collaborator, became an official member of Nine Inch Nails in 2016. Subsequent releases include the EPs “Not the Actual Events” (2016) and “Add Violence” (2017), the album “Bad Witch” (2018), and “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts,” both released in 2020. Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. “Hesitation Marks”, the album that ended the band’s second hiatus, turns 13 this year.

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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Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have announced Future Ruins, a new one-day festival premiering on November 8, 2025 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The event is conceived as a live showcase for film and television composers.

Future Ruins will feature three stages with distinct sonic environments. According to the official announcement, the festival is “designed to feel thoughtful and immersive,” with a lineup that spans electronic sets, full live bands, and orchestral performances.

Future Ruins lineup and format

Future Ruins will mark the first live performance of several scores, including also Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein who wrote and the “Stranger Things” score. The lineup includes:

• Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
• John Carpenter
• Danny Elfman
• Hildur Guðnadóttir
• Cristobal Tapia de Veer
• Mark Mothersbaugh
• Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (Stranger Things)
• Terence Blanchard
• Isobel Waller-Bridge
• Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
• Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow (Annihilation)
• Volker Bertelmann (Hauschka)
• Tamar-kali
• Questlove presents the music of Curtis Mayfield
• Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin
• A rare live staging of Howard Shore’s “Crash” score

In an official statement, Reznor adds: “It’s about giving people who are, literally, the best in the world at taking audiences on an emotional ride via music the opportunity to tell new stories in an interesting live setting. There’s no headliner. There’s no hierarchy. This is a stacked lineup of visionaries doing something you might not see again.”

Tickets will be available starting Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 12 PM PT, exclusively via Front Gate Tickets. There are no current plans for livestreams or digital editions of the performances.

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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Recently we got a few questions in from readers regarding a new Nine Inch Nails album and if we knew something. So, here’s the status on Nine Inch Nails, for the moment that is. Trent Reznor, the frontman of Nine Inch Nails, discussed the future of the band on the Tetragrammation with Rick Rubin podcast which was published in June 2023. In the podcast he expressed a lack of interest in writing, releasing, and touring with new albums for Nine Inch Nails.

“I don’t want to be away from my kids,” Reznor said. “I don’t want to miss their lives to go do a thing that I’m grateful to be able to do, and I’m appreciative that you’re here to see it, but I’ve done it a lot, you know?”

However, in January 2025 it was revealed that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were composing the score for “Tron: Ares”, the upcoming third installment in the Tron franchise, under the Nine Inch Nails flag. Scheduled for release on October 10, 2025, this project marks the first time Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have composed a film score under the Nine Inch Nails name.

Nine Inch Nails versus collaborating with Attic Ross

The past few years, Reznor showed a preference for continuing to compose film scores with his long-time collaborator Atticus Ross​​​​. That resulted in the original score for the (excellent) film “The Killer”, directed by David Fincher. The film, starring Michael Fassbender, was released on Netflix on November 10th, 2023​​.

Note that the film included a lot of tracks from The Smiths. The plot starts with an unnamed skillful professional assassin (credited as “The Killer”) who stakes out a Parisian hotel room. He prepares to use a sniper rifle to kill a target who will check into the hotel room at an unspecified time. While waiting for the target, he eats, practices yoga, and listens to the Smiths.

Trent Reznor, 58 years old, founded Nine Inch Nails in 1988, he was the sole official member until 2016. The last Nine Inch Nails album was 2020’s “Ghosts VI: Locusts”, the eleventh studio album for the project. It was released as a free download on March 26, 2020, as a show of solidarity with the band’s fans during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released simultaneously with the tenth Nine Inch Nails album, “Ghosts V: Together”, and is the third release of the ‘Ghosts’ series.

The podcast with Trent Reznor

You can check the full podcast below in case you haven’t done so yet..

About Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 as the recording project of Trent Reznor. Working as an assistant engineer at Right Track Studios and inspired by Prince’s practice of playing every instrument himself, Reznor recorded demos alone, programming drums and playing the rest, and performed under a band name despite being its sole permanent member. Nine Inch Nails played its first live show on 27 October 1988 in Pittsburgh, and released its debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” through TVT Records in 1989.

After a contractual dispute with TVT, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and founded his own imprint, Nothing Records, releasing “The Downward Spiral” in 1994 and “The Fragile” in September 1999. The band left Interscope after “Year Zero” (2007) and self-released the instrumental “Ghosts I-IV” (2008) through the Null Corporation before returning to major-label releases with “Hesitation Marks” (2013), “Bad Witch” (2018) and the companion albums “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts” (both 2020).

English musician Atticus Ross became an official member in 2016 after years of production work with Reznor, including their Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010). Guitarist Robin Finck first joined in 1994 and has rejoined the touring band multiple times since; drummer Josh Freese first joined in 2005. Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 7 November 2020, alongside Ross, Finck and other past members. Nine Inch Nails has released studio albums on an irregular schedule since “The Downward Spiral” (1994), most recently the paired “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts” (2020).

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 today is the new “Feast of Agony” EP from industrial music legend Raymond Watts a.k.a. PIG (via Metropolis Records). Showcased by the video for “Fallout”, “Feast of Agony” arrives on the trail of the remastered version of PIG’s 1995 “Sinsation” album (originally released via Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records) and the studio album “Red Room”.

Released digitally today, the vinyl edition of “Feast of Agony” will only be available on PIG’s tour starting today.

PIG tour dates

• 9/28/24: Chicago, IL, – Metro
• 9/ 29/24: Minneapolis, MN – Cabooze *
• 9/30/24: Des Moines, IA – Lefty’s Live Music *
• 10/2/24: Milwaukee, WI – X-Ray Arcade *
• 10/3/24: Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel *
• 10/4/24: Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck *
• 10/5/24: Denver, CO Kulture Music Hall *
• 10/6/24: SLC, UT – Quarters *
• 10/7/24: Boise, ID – Visual Arts Collective *
• 10/9/24: Eugene, OR – John Henry’s *
• 10/10/24: Seattle, WA – El Corazon ^^
• 10/13/24: Portland, OR – Dante’s ^^
• 10/15/24: Sacramento, CA – Starlit Room ^^
• 10/16/24: SF, CA – DNA ^^
• 10/17/24: San Diego, CA – Whistle Stop ^^
• 10/18/24: Las Vegas, NV – Sinwave ^^
• 10/19/24: Los Angeles, CA – Catch One ^^
• 10/20/24: Scottsdale, AZ – Pub Rock ^^
• 10/21/24: Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad ^^
• 10/23/24: OK City – Beer City ^^
• 10/24/24: Dallas, TX – Three Links ^^
• 10/25/24 – Houston TX – Secret Group *
• 10/26/24: Austin, TX – Elysium *
• 10/27/24: New Orleans, LA – Santos *
• 10/29/24: Pensacola, FL – Handlebar *
• 10/30/24: Orlando, Fl – Handlebar *
• 11/1/24: West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable Street *
• 11/2/24: Jacksonville, FL – Underbelly *
• 11/3/24: Greenville, SC – Radio Room *
• 11/5/24: Atlanta, GA – Star Bar *
• 11/6/24: Richmond, VA – Fallout *
• 11/7/24: Baltimore, MD – Metro Baltimore *
• 11/8/24: New York, NY – STIMULATE *
• 11/9/24 – Wilmington DE – Bar 13 *
• 11/10/24: Millersville, PA – Phantom Power *
• 11/12/24: Cambridge, MA – Middle East *
• 11/13/24: Quebec City, QC – L’anti Bar *
• 11/14/24: Montreal, QC – Cabaret Fous *
• 11/15/24: Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace *
• 11/16/24: Detroit, MI – Smalls *
• 11/17/24: Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern *

* dates with Unitcode : Machine
^^ dates with Curse Mackey and Unitcode : Machine

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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Raymond Watts, better known as PIG, has released a fully remastered version of his iconic 1995 album, “Sinsation“. Out via Metropolis Records (CD, digital) and Armalyte Industries (deluxe 2xLP vinyl), this reissue arrives nearly three decades after the original, just in time to coincide with Watts’ forthcoming North American tour.

“Sinsation” originally hit the scene on Nothing Records, the label spearheaded by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor. The album emerged shortly after PIG opened for NIN, and as a result PIG found himself labelmates of acts such as Marilyn Manson, Autechre, and Einstürzende Neubauten.

Watts says this about the actual album: “Every record I make is PIG through a different noose, and when I made ‘Sinsation’ the noose hung high. It was born at Ranch Apocalypse in London, a place where creation and cremation coexisted. I was locked inside both the studio and myself, with only [guitarist] Steve White and a large box of drugs for company. ‘Sinsation’ was the sound of the last card turning and burning. The only way out was through. I had to give birth to the noise inside my head and record it.”

The remastering process was an emotional experience for Watts: “I was surprised and saddened to revisit ‘Sinsation’. Surprised by the energy and invention and saddened to hear the pain. But, I was strangely glad to have visited hell, and blessed that I didn’t stay.”

The original ‘Sinsation’ was a collaborative effort, recorded and mixed by PIG and Helen Woodward, featuring contributions from Karl Hyde (Underworld), Jimmy Cauty (The KLF), Steve White (KMFDM), Carol Anne Reynolds (Sow), and Japanese artists Imai Hisashi (Buck Tick) and Hoppy Kamiyama.

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 of print for a decade, the fine British record label Cold Spring has now reissued the cult release “Recoiled” featuring Coil Remixes of Nine Inch Nails tracks. This much-demanded new vinyl edition of this legendary collaboration comes in black or coloured vinyl in full-colour sleeve with printed inner sleeve.

Note that the ‘Pallid Amber’ version which is limited to only 100 copies was only available via Cold Spring and this as a strictly one copy for customer only. If you attempt to buy more than one copy, your entire order will be cancelled. This way the label wants to avoid scalpers are getting their hands on this release.

Both the ‘Heavy Gold’ and ‘Solid Bone White’ come in a limited edition of 500 copies. Also available is a black vinyl (with T-shirt of wanted) and a CD in full colour digipak.

All orders direct from Cold Spring will receive a release promo card.

Genesis of Coil / Nine Inch Nails LP “Recoiled”

The Nine Inch Nails tracks on “Recoiled” were remixed by Danny Hyde (Coil, Electric Sewer Age) and Peter Christopherson (Coil, Throbbing Gristle) on the demand of long time Coil admirer Trent Reznor. Reznor sent over the original multi-tracks and DATs to Hyde and Christopherson, who independently mixed versions and then met to synch both creations.

It was first released in the 5-track format on February 24, 2014, via Cold Spring posthumously after the deaths of the two original Coil members, Peter Christopherson and John Balance. “Recoiled” is actually based on the fan-created digital EP, “Uncoiled”, initially released freely on The Pirate Bay as fully tagged MP3s and FLAC files of the remixes, including original photography and printable jewel case inserts.

The “Recoiled” EP contains remixes of four Nine Inch Nails songs, including “Gave Up”, from Broken (1992), and “Closer”, “The Downward Spiral” and “Eraser”, from The Downward Spiral (1994). The Cold Spring release of the album features additional mastering, and a remix of the song “Eraser” that was not on “Uncoiled”.

These 5 lengthy compositions (just under 40 minutes) are pre-Ableton / laptop generation type creations, with the use of baby alarms and numerous wires to create the effects.

Track listing:

A1. Gave Up (Open My Eyes) (5:28)
A2. Closer (Unrecalled) (7:41)
A3. The Downward Spiral (A Gilded Sickness) (7:59)
B1. Eraser (Reduction) 8:45
B2. Eraser (Baby Alarm Remix) (8:54)

Here’s an idea what to expect

Below is a 21 minute video posted by Danny Hyde in 2018 showing the making of the Nine inch Nails “Recoiled” record. Danny: “Maybe it will go in some way in Explaining the steps taken for the release. The end section of video has footage filmed at time of construction, with various solo samples.”

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: Shoegaze, Post-Punk, Psychedelic-Rock.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: This is a live recording featuring seventeen songs from Scottish formation The Jesus And Mary Chain. The recordings happened during December 2018 shows at Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles (USA). The Reid brothers and their gang were doing a support tour for NIN. That’s quite interesting as back in 1990 NIN were doing the support for The Jesus And Mary Chain. Trent Reznor has been influenced by them and asked them as a sign of respect to do it the other way round nearly thirty years later.

Content: The Jesus And Mary Chain became famous for their Noise-like approach of Rock and Dark-Wave music. It has been called Shoegaze, Psy-Rock, Noise-Rock, ao but it was rather innovative and influenced numerous bands. The tracklist brings a true melting pot featuring tracks from the early years until the last album. Now dreamy and then powerful all tracks remained driven by this unique fuzzy guitar noise and the vocals of Jim Reid.

+ + + : You can easily recognize the live sound and interaction with the audience. This band remains unique while “Psychocandy” remains a legendary album released38 years ago now. The show also started with a famous song from that album (cf. “Just Like Honey”). Two more major tracks of the album and “Psychocandy” remain “The Living End” and “In A Hole” both reminding us the essence of Shoegaze-sound. I also recommend “Far Gone And Out” and “Reverence” both originally released in 1992 on “Honey’s Dead”  which was the band’s fourth full length. One thing is for sure, The Jesus And Mary Chain haven’t lost their original energy and magic. 

– – – : I regret there are no more songs from the “Psychocandy”-era featured. It remains the greatest work of this legendary band.

Conclusion: This album is a great gift for all fans of this unique band in history.

Best songs: “The Living End”, “In A Hole”, “Just Like Honey”, “Far Gone And Out”, “Reverence”, “Sometimes Always”, “Some Candy Talking”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: https://themarychain.com / www.facebook.com/JesusAndMaryChain

Label: www.fuzzclub.com / www.facebook.com/FuzzClubRecords Read the news on ‘Sunset 666’.

Listen to “Sunset 666”:

About The Jesus And Mary Chain

The Jesus And Mary Chain is a Scottish band formed in East Kilbride in 1983 around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim Reid and William Reid, the only consistent members throughout the band’s history. The original lineup added Douglas Hart on bass and Murray Dalglish on drums, with Bobby Gillespie later taking over on drums. The band signed to Creation Records and released the debut single “Upside Down” in 1984, followed by the debut album “Psychocandy” in 1985. Further studio albums followed with “Darklands” (1987), “Automatic” (1989), “Honey’s Dead” (1992) and “Stoned & Dethroned” (1994), before the band split in 1999 after “Munki” (1998). The Reid brothers reunited in 2007 and released “Damage and Joy” in 2017 and “Glasgow Eyes” in 2024. In autumn 2018, the band opened for Nine Inch Nails’ North American tour, and shows recorded that December at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles form the live album “Sunset 666”.

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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Nine Inch Nails’ reunion concert including former members, held on September 24, 2022, at the Blossom Music Center, marked an event more than two years in the making. Led by Trent Reznor, who originally founded NIN in Cleveland back in 1988, the concert saw the return of former band members who had not performed with the group in nearly two decades.

Among the notable returning members were guitarist Richard Patrick, who had departed following the 1991 “Pretty Hate Machine Tour,” and drummer Chris Vrenna, who had moved on after Nine Inch Nails reached international fame with “The Downward Spiral.” The long-awaited reunion, initially scheduled for 2020 to coincide with Nine Inch Nails’ induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, faced postponement due to the COVID-19 lockdowns that gripped the world.

However, with the easing of the pandemic in 2022, Nine Inch Nails seized the opportunity and announced a “one night only” concert at the Blossom Music Center for the occasion. Prior to the performance, Trent Reznor and the former bandmates reunited for a panel discussion at the Rock Hall, reminiscing about their time together and the journey that led them to this momentous event.

At the concert, the crowd was treated to an electrifying performance as the former bandmates graced the stage to play beloved fan favorites, including “Eraser,” “Wish,” “Sin,” and “Gave Up.”

But the highlight of the night came when Richard Patrick picked up his guitar and sang “Hey Man Nice Shot,” a hit from his band Filter, which he founded after departing Nine Inch Nails in 1993.

Reflecting on the night, Richard Patrick expressed his overwhelming gratitude for the audience’s love and support, calling the experience a defining moment in his life. Reznor from his side posted on his Discord after the show, “When/If we tour again, it will be different. Not like [2018′s “Cold Black Infinite” tour] era – It’s over.”

About Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 as the recording project of Trent Reznor. Working as an assistant engineer at Right Track Studios and inspired by Prince’s practice of playing every instrument himself, Reznor recorded demos alone, programming drums and playing the rest, and performed under a band name despite being its sole permanent member. Nine Inch Nails played its first live show on 27 October 1988 in Pittsburgh, and released its debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” through TVT Records in 1989.

After a contractual dispute with TVT, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and founded his own imprint, Nothing Records, releasing “The Downward Spiral” in 1994 and “The Fragile” in September 1999. The band left Interscope after “Year Zero” (2007) and self-released the instrumental “Ghosts I-IV” (2008) through the Null Corporation before returning to major-label releases with “Hesitation Marks” (2013), “Bad Witch” (2018) and the companion albums “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts” (both 2020).

English musician Atticus Ross became an official member in 2016 after years of production work with Reznor, including their Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010). Guitarist Robin Finck first joined in 1994 and has rejoined the touring band multiple times since; drummer Josh Freese first joined in 2005. Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 7 November 2020, alongside Ross, Finck and other past members. Nine Inch Nails’ touring lineup has included guitarist Robin Finck, who first joined in 1994 and has rejoined the band multiple times since.

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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“Hurt” is taken from Nine Inch Nails‘ second studio album, “The Downward Spiral” (1994), and was written by Trent Reznor. It was released on April 17, 1995, as a promotional single from the album. In 2002, Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” to commercial success. Reznor praised Cash’s interpretation of the song for its “sincerity and meaning”, going so far as to say “that song isn’t mine anymore”.

But, producer Rick Rubin has now told the BBC that Johnny Cash didn’t want to record “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails at first. It weren’t the lyrics that Cash didn’t like, it was the aggressive, rock nature of the original version. Johnny Cash’s reluctance to record “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails initially stemmed from his uncertainty about connecting with the song’s modern, somber tone. For crafting compelling narratives or analyzing iconic music stories, explore the advanced tools at EduWriter.ai.

The idea has come to us that it would be a rather great idea to craft distinctive Custom Keychains as a heartfelt homage to the late Johnny Cash. During the design phase of these keychains, you can actually skillfully incorporate the touching and evocative lyrics from the song “Hurt”, enabling each keychain to function as a unique and meaningful symbol of your fandom.

Rubin: “I played him the song first, and Johnny just looked at me like I was insane, because the Nine Inch Nails version of the song is very noisy, aggressive… and Johnny was wary.” Rubin managed to change his mind by making a demo with the same arrangement that Cash would ultimately use: “I think I did a demo where I had a guitar player play it, and I said the words the way I imagined him saying it, and then when he heard the lyrics, and he heard the format of what it could be, he said, ‘Let’s try it.'”

During the last stage of his career, Cash covered songs by contemporary rock artists; among his most notable covers were “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails of course but also “Rusty Cage” by Soundgarden, and “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode.

Below are the two versions.

About Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 as the recording project of Trent Reznor. Working as an assistant engineer at Right Track Studios and inspired by Prince’s practice of playing every instrument himself, Reznor recorded demos alone, programming drums and playing the rest, and performed under a band name despite being its sole permanent member. Nine Inch Nails played its first live show on 27 October 1988 in Pittsburgh, and released its debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” through TVT Records in 1989.

After a contractual dispute with TVT, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and founded his own imprint, Nothing Records, releasing “The Downward Spiral” in 1994 and “The Fragile” in September 1999. The band left Interscope after “Year Zero” (2007) and self-released the instrumental “Ghosts I-IV” (2008) through the Null Corporation before returning to major-label releases with “Hesitation Marks” (2013), “Bad Witch” (2018) and the companion albums “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts” (both 2020).

English musician Atticus Ross became an official member in 2016 after years of production work with Reznor, including their Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010). Guitarist Robin Finck first joined in 1994 and has rejoined the touring band multiple times since; drummer Josh Freese first joined in 2005. Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 7 November 2020, alongside Ross, Finck and other past members. “The Downward Spiral,” the Nine Inch Nails album featuring “Hurt,” was released in 1994 on Interscope/Nothing Records.

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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Mark Stewart, a pioneering figure in post-punk and industrial hip-hop, passed away in the early hours of Friday, 21 April 2023. Born on 28 April 1960, Stewart was an English singer and founding member of The Pop Group.

Mute label boss Daniel Miller, a close friend of Stewart, shared his fond memories: “I’ve known Mark as a mate and fellow traveller for over 40 years since he was the lead singer of The Pop Group. I have countless brilliant memories of him – some odd, some outrageous, but always inspiring and somehow purposeful. His musical influence has been far greater than often recognised. He was always supportive of young artists, particularly those local to him in Bristol – many have gone on to become international stars. His warmth and kindness as a friend have always been incredibly important to me. We had so many laughs together, and he had such creative energy. The last time I saw Mark was a few months ago in Bristol, performing an improvised set with Lee Ranaldo. He was nothing short of hilarious, his piece essentially a stand-up routine, and after the show, we spent hours putting the world to rights, a fantastic memory. I’ll miss him dearly. Mark, I can’t imagine you being anything other than restless, but I hope you find your unique peace.”

Gareth Sager, founding member of The Pop Group adds: “Mark was the most brilliant mind of our generation, rest in peace.”

Adrian Sherwood, who collaborated with Stewart via his On-U Sound Records label, expressed his heartfelt appreciation: “Cheers, my brother. You were the most significant musical influence in my life, and our extended family will miss you dearly. Eternal love.”

Stewart formed The Pop Group in Bristol in 1977 as a teenager. Influenced by dub and reggae, driven by political conviction and sonic experimentation, the band released their debut album, “Y”, that same year – a defining album of its era. After The Pop Group disbanded following a final performance at a significant CND rally in 1980, Stewart continued working with CND and, inspired by the emerging hip-hop scene in New York, collaborated with dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood to create the 1983 album “Learning to Cope with Cowardice”. His solo discography continued with 1985’s “As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade” and spanned the next two decades, culminating with 2012’s “The Politics of Envy”.

In 2010, The Pop Group reformed, driven by renewed political disillusionment, and delivered a series of incendiary live performances, recording two new studio albums. Their last performance with Stewart took place in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, invited by Terry Hall for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021.

Stewart recorded for On-U Sound Records and Mute Records during his career. He leaves behind a unique and significant body of work, encompassing The Pop Group, his solo efforts, collaborations with artists such as Trent Reznor, Tricky, Massive Attack, Chicks on Speed, ADULT., and Primal Scream, and his conceptual art. Mark Stewart’s creative impact has been immense – as Nick Cave stated, he “changed everything” – and his influence will continue to resonate through the music, art, and political activism of generations of artists inspired by his creative work, energy, and spirit.

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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Editor’s note: We are sorry.

We have just received confirmation that Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, and Ministry have joined forces to form a new supergroup, Steel Harmony. The band’s debut single, “Metal Lullabies”, is an unexpected blend of soothing melodies and lullaby-like tunes with a subtle industrial edge. Out now, this track is out now.

“Metal Lullabies” features a fusion of genres that’s never been heard before. The track begins with delicate, ethereal synth pads, gently luring listeners in, while Trent Reznor’s whisper-like vocals set a calming tone. As the song progresses, Rammstein‘s signature guttural guitars subtly sneak in, adding a layer of depth and complexity. Al Jourgensen’s experimental electronic beats provide a hypnotic pulse, seamlessly merging the industrial elements with soothing lullaby melodies. The chorus sees a surprising shift, as a children’s choir joins in, singing angelic harmonies that contrast with the gritty soundscapes created by the industrial legends.

If you don’t hear the tune, then you probably didn’t use the Infoport audio devices.

“Metal Lullabies” is a bold and unexpected statement, capturing the essence of an industrial surprise that fans will never forget. You can view the video for the single below.

About Rammstein

Rammstein formed in Berlin, Germany, in 1994. Guitarist Richard Kruspe, who had fled East Germany for West Berlin in 1989 and later returned to form a project with bassist Oliver Riedel and drummer Christoph Schneider, recruited singer Till Lindemann after hearing him sing. The four-piece won a Berlin battle-of-the-bands contest in 1994, with the prize of a week of professional studio time; guitarist Paul Landers and keyboardist Christian “Flake” Lorenz completed the six-member lineup shortly after. The band’s name derives from “Rammstein-Flugschau,” a reference to the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster, with an extra letter “m” added to the spelling.

The band signed to Motor Music after the 1994 contest and released its debut album, “Herzeleid,” in September 1995. “Sehnsucht” followed in August 1997 and debuted at number one in Germany. From “Mutter” (April 2001) onward, Rammstein has recorded for Universal Music. Subsequent studio albums include “Reise, Reise” (2004), “Rosenrot” (2005), “Liebe ist für alle da” (2009), an untitled seventh album (May 2019) that reached number one in 14 countries, and “Zeit” (April 2022). The band’s lineup – Lindemann, Kruspe, Landers, Riedel, Schneider and Lorenz – has remained unchanged since 1994.

Richard Kruspe has fronted the side project Emigrate since 2007, and Till Lindemann has recorded as Lindemann, with Peter Tägtgren, since 2015. Rammstein won the Revolver Golden God Award for Best Live Band in 2011, its first US award, and has received two Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance, for “Du hast” (1999) and “Mein Teil” (2006). The Rammstein tag on this article refers to the band referenced in the story above.

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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We are still getting quite a few questions regarding this, so here it is again. The “Celebrating David Bowie” tour has been postponed to the fall due to headliner Peter Murphy undergoing “an unexpected medical procedure that prevents his ability to travel as planned,” as announced by the his management. The Bauhaus frontman is recovering well and is expected to be fully fit to tour the U.S. in the fall.

The tour, which also features guitarist Adrian Belew and members of Spacehog and A Perfect Circle, was initially scheduled for April and May. The rescheduled dates now begin in October and continue through late November. The tour itinerary remains largely unchanged, albeit in a different order, and has expanded from 26 to 27 dates with the addition of a concert in Chicagoon November 21st. The planned San Antonio, Texas, stop has been moved to nearby Austin. More information can be found at celebratingdavidbowie.com.

The assembled musicians will highlight David Bowie’s greatest hits during the tour, with a strong emphasis on Ziggy Stardust, the Berlin trilogy (“Low”, “Heroes”, and “Lodger”), and his later Trent Reznor-inspired years. Murphy and Belew, who have both played with Bowie and Nine Inch Nails, will be joined on stage by guitarist Scrote, Spacehog frontman Royston Langdon, A Perfect Circle members Matt McJunkins (bass) and Jeff Friedl (drums), saxophonist Ron Dziubla, and guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, who played with Bowie’s Tin Machine.

Murphy had been touring with the reunited Bauhaus last year, but the journey fell apart when Murphy entered rehab in late August. The other members of Bauhaus have since agreed to reform as Love and Rockets.

Initial Rescheduled Appearances are:

• 10/10 Tacoma, WA Temple Theatre
• 10/11 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
• 10/14 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom
• 10/16 Anaheim, CA City National Grove of Anaheim
• 10/17 San Diego, CA Music Box – San Diego
• 10/18 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theatre
• 10/20 Austin, TX ACL Live at The Moody Theater
• 10/21 Tulsa, OK Tulsa Theater
• 10/22 Grand Prairie, TX Texas Trust CU Theatre
• 10/24 Houston, TX House of Blues
• 10/25 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
• 10/26 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
• 10/29 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Broward Center – Parker Playhouse
• 10/31 St. Petersburg, FL Mahaffey Theater
• 11/03 Chattanooga, TN Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium
• 11/05 Virginia Beach, VA Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
• 11/06 Washington D.C. The Hamilton Live
• 11/10 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
• 11/11 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
• 11/12 Westbury, NY NYCB Theatre at Westbury
• 11/14 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Center for the Arts
• 11/15 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center
• 11/16 Lynn, MA Lynn Auditorium
• 11/17 Staten Island, NY St. George Theatre
• 11/20 Munhall, PA Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
• 11/21 Chicago, IL Copernicus Center %
• 11/22 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre

% – New Confirmed Performance – On-Sale 4/14

About Peter Murphy

Born on July 11, 1957, Peter Murphy is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the post-punk goth rock band Bauhaus. When Bauhaus initially split up, Murphy collaborated with Japan’s bassist Mick Karn to form Dali’s Car, releasing one album titled “The Waking Hour” (1984). Subsequently, Murphy embarked on a solo career, releasing several albums, such as “Should the World Fail to Fall Apart” (1986) and “Love Hysteria” (1988).

In 1990, Murphy found mainstream success with his hit single “Cuts You Up”, which topped the American Modern Rock Tracks for seven weeks, and the album “Deep” also achieved commercial success. In 1992, he released “Holy Smoke” along with the lead single “The Sweetest Drop”.

In 2002, Murphy collaborated with Turkish-Canadian composer and producer Mercan Dede on the – excellent – album “Dust”, which showcased a departure from his previous pop and rock styles. The album incorporated traditional Turkish instrumentation and songwriting, blending elements from progressive rock, trance, classical music, and Middle Eastern music with Dede’s signature atmospheric electronics. In 2014, Murphy released “Lion”, produced by Killing Joke’s Youth.

With his thin frame, striking cheekbones, deep baritone voice, and affinity for dark poetry, Murphy is often referred to as the “Godfather of Goth”.

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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Trent Reznor, the mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails, played a crucial role in launching Marilyn Manson’s career, mentoring the musician during his early years. Despite their initial collaboration, the relationship between the two artists deteriorated, culminating in Reznor distancing himself from Manson, who faced multiple accusations of sexual assault.

Origins of their relationship and Manson’s rise to fame

The origins of Reznor and Manson’s relationship can be traced back to 1989, when Manson, then known as Brian Warner, interviewed Reznor for a Florida-based music publication. The two hit it off and remained in touch, with Manson’s band eventually supporting Nine Inch Nails during their Florida tour in the early 1990s.

Manson secured a record deal with Sony Music in 1991, but failed to release any music before being dropped from the label. Reznor then offered Manson a lifeline, signing him to his recently-founded label, Nothing Records, and producing Warner’s debut album, “Portrait Of An American Family”. The partnership continued with Reznor producing Manson’s sophomore album, “Antichrist Superstar”. However, tensions began to grow between the two artists during the recording process, with reports of a physical altercation in the studio. The release of “Antichrist Superstar” propelled Manson into superstardom, exacerbating the strained relationship between the two musicians.

Destructive memoirs

In 1998, Marilyn Manson unveiled his memoir, “The Long Hard Road Out of Hell,” co-written with Neil Strauss. This account of Manson’s life covers his early years up to the release of his third album, “Mechanical Animals”. Within the pages, numerous scandalous anecdotes about Trent Reznor are shared, including one featuring the duo and inebriated women.

The controversial passage supposedly stems from an unreleased interview with the now-defunct Empyrean Magazine, initially slated for publication in 1995. However, due to content objections from the magazine’s publisher, Centaur Enterprises, the interview was never printed. They cited unethical interviewing methods employed to gather information from Manson, as explained in Manson and Strauss’ book.

Reznor vehemently denied the allegations made in Manson’s book, stating: “I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties with him nearly 25 years ago. As I said at the time, the passage from Manson’s memoir is a complete fabrication. I was infuriated and offended back when it came out and remain so today.” “If certain people do certain things which cross a line of what is decent, I don’t deal with them any more,” Reznor said. “With Manson, that line has been crossed. He said some very ignorant, mean, malicious things. You can believe me or you can believe someone else, but on that tour I was peripherally involved as an observer, and suddenly I’m pictured as the ringleader. It’s just stirring up shit. That friendship was a big fuck-up for me,” he adds.

Reconciliation for a short time

In subsequent interviews, Reznor expressed regret over his association with Manson, saying, “He said some very ignorant, mean, malicious things. You can believe me or you can believe someone else, but on that tour, I was peripherally involved as an observer, and suddenly I’m pictured as the ringleader. It’s just stirring up shit. That friendship was a big fuck-up for me. It fucked me up pretty good.”

The relationship between the two artists briefly seemed to improve in 2000 when Manson joined Nine Inch Nails on-stage in New York. However, the reconciliation was short-lived, and the animosity between them persisted. In a 2009 interview with Mojo, Reznor described Manson as “a malicious guy” who would “step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency.”

Over the years, Manson has occasionally addressed his relationship with Reznor in interviews, at times expressing gratitude for Reznor’s early support and claiming to have “no bad feelings” toward him. Reznor, on the other hand, has remained more guarded, telling Rolling Stone in 2015, “We were good friends at one point in the past, and we became not such good friends.”

In a surprising turn of events, Manson told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in 2017 that they had mended their broken relationship. He shared an email from Reznor that read, “It really pisses me off that music’s not dangerous anymore, and it reminds me of how great you were, and I was and the time, the era.”

The past catches up

However, when the controversial excerpt from Manson’s book resurfaced on social media in 2021, Reznor released a public statement reiterating his denunciation of his former friend, saying, “I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties with him nearly 25 years ago. As I said at the time, the passage from Manson’s memoir is a complete fabrication. I was infuriated and offended back when it came out and remain so today.”

Given the serious allegations against Manson and Reznor’s strong statement in 2021, it seems unlikely that their relationship will ever fully recover.

About Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 as the recording project of Trent Reznor. Working as an assistant engineer at Right Track Studios and inspired by Prince’s practice of playing every instrument himself, Reznor recorded demos alone, programming drums and playing the rest, and performed under a band name despite being its sole permanent member. Nine Inch Nails played its first live show on 27 October 1988 in Pittsburgh, and released its debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” through TVT Records in 1989.

After a contractual dispute with TVT, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and founded his own imprint, Nothing Records, releasing “The Downward Spiral” in 1994 and “The Fragile” in September 1999. The band left Interscope after “Year Zero” (2007) and self-released the instrumental “Ghosts I-IV” (2008) through the Null Corporation before returning to major-label releases with “Hesitation Marks” (2013), “Bad Witch” (2018) and the companion albums “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts” (both 2020).

English musician Atticus Ross became an official member in 2016 after years of production work with Reznor, including their Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010). Guitarist Robin Finck first joined in 1994 and has rejoined the touring band multiple times since; drummer Josh Freese first joined in 2005. Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 7 November 2020, alongside Ross, Finck and other past members. Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records signed Marilyn Manson as its first act in 1993.

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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After parting ways with the post-punk powerhouse Public Image Ltd. in 1985, drummer Martin Atkins found himself in high demand, collaborating with numerous bands such as NIN, Killing Joke, and notably, William Rieflin of Revolting Cocks and Ministry. Together, Rieflin and Atkins embarked on their most ambitious project to date: an industrial music supergroup called Pigface, bringing together the talents of their various associates.

In 1990, Pigface released their debut album “Gub,” which includes the original version of “Suck” featuring Trent Reznor. Reznor later re-recorded this track for the 1992 NIN EP “Broken.” With contributions from artists such as Chris Connelly of Revolting Cocks, David Yow of The Jesus Lizard, Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Paul Barker of Ministry, En Esch of KMFDM, and Steve Albini, “Gub” has rightfully earned its reputation as one of the most daring sound recordings ever created.

Atkins reflects on the album, saying, “This was such a liberating time-bringing together this extraordinary group of musicians and not worrying about the outcome (although, of course, we did). We had the luxury of working in the legendary Chicago Trax studios with the talented Steve Albini to capture and convey it all. It’s fascinating to think that Trent’s involvement was even a topic of debate-NIN wasn’t well-known yet, and some suggested we could save $150 on a round-trip airfare from Cleveland by not involving him. I vetoed the idea. Bill Rieflin and I came up with the concept for the project during warm-ups for Ministry’s cage tour, and the immense contribution of Francesca Sundsten’s iconic artwork to the project cannot be overstated.”

The album is now receiving a deluxe reissue from Cleopatra Records, showcasing Francesca Sundsten’s restored artwork and a gatefold image of Pigface’s original promotional picture, assembled by Chris Connelly. This reissue also offers bonus remixes and extra track versions for the first time in a single release. The CD edition comes in a premium digipak, while the vinyl version is available in an array of colors.

The tracklist:

1. Tapeworm with Steve Albini
2. The Bushmaster with Trent Reznor & David Yow
3. Cylinder Head World
4. Point Blank with Steve Albini, Chris Connelly
5. Suck with Trent Reznor & Paul Barker
6. Symphony For Taps
7. The Greenhouse with Chris Connelly
8. Little Sisters with Chris Connelly, William Tucker
9. Tailor Made with Steve Albini, Paul Barker
10. War Ich Nicht Immer Ein Gutter Junge? War Ich Nicht Immer Schoen Und Nett? Ich Zerpfluckte Niemals Eine Spinne-War Neimals Frech Und Stahl with En Esch
11. Blood and Sand with Chris Connelly, Matt Schultz
12. Weightless with Chris Connelly
13. Tonight’s The Night (Little Sisters Remix)
14. Winnebago (Induced Tapeworm Remix) with Nivek Ogre
15. The Bushmaster (Bushmaster Remix)
16. War Ich Nicht Immer Ein Gutter Junge? War Ich Nicht Immer Schoen Und Nett? Ich Zerpfluckte Niemals Eine Spinne-War Neimals Frech Und Stahl (Remix)
17. Suck (VX Remix)
18. Suck (Reverse Sitar Mix)

About Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 as the recording project of Trent Reznor. Working as an assistant engineer at Right Track Studios and inspired by Prince’s practice of playing every instrument himself, Reznor recorded demos alone, programming drums and playing the rest, and performed under a band name despite being its sole permanent member. Nine Inch Nails played its first live show on 27 October 1988 in Pittsburgh, and released its debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” through TVT Records in 1989.

After a contractual dispute with TVT, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and founded his own imprint, Nothing Records, releasing “The Downward Spiral” in 1994 and “The Fragile” in September 1999. The band left Interscope after “Year Zero” (2007) and self-released the instrumental “Ghosts I-IV” (2008) through the Null Corporation before returning to major-label releases with “Hesitation Marks” (2013), “Bad Witch” (2018) and the companion albums “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts” (both 2020).

English musician Atticus Ross became an official member in 2016 after years of production work with Reznor, including their Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010). Guitarist Robin Finck first joined in 1994 and has rejoined the touring band multiple times since; drummer Josh Freese first joined in 2005. Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 7 November 2020, alongside Ross, Finck and other past members. Trent Reznor founded Nine Inch Nails in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988.

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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“Dark Sanctuary: The Story Of The Church” will be a feature-length documentary about the historic Dallas goth club The Church. The documentary will explore the history and stories of one of the longest running goth clubs in the U.S..

Through interviews with music artists (including Paul Oakenfold, Bill Leeb, Aurelio Voltiare, and RubberDoll), local bands, and patrons, the film will tell the story of the transgressive community of misfits that formed in the nearly three decades of the legendary club’s existence.

The film will center on the club’s DJ in residence, Joe Virus, and follow his journey from aspiring musician to DJ’ing the main stage for over 20 years. The film will also narrate the events of 2019 and 2020 as a multimillion-dollar real estate company bought up the neighborhood, and the pandemic claimed the community’s beloved building at 2424 Swiss Avenue. Now, their home of nearly three decades stands on the brink of being lost forever.

They plan to seek more interviews with many of the world-famous artists who performed there over years such as cEvin Key, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Combichrist, Clan of Xymox, VNV Nation, Dita Von Teese, and many more. The additional plan is to explore many of the stories and personalities intertwined with The Church’s history including such Marylin Manson, The Cure, Trent Reznor, Joan Jett, and even Madonna.

In tandem with the story of The Church, the film will talk about the Friday and Saturday EDM nights known as The Lizard Lounge where legends of electronic music performed: Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk, Moby, Tiesto, The Prodigy and more.

To complete the documentary Dallas, Texas-based Spectrograph Films has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to fund their film. You can check out the Indiegogo campaign right here.

Music by cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy

cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy will co-compose the title music track along with resident DJ of The Church, Joe Virus. Artist Ashley Thorpe known for the Shudder Exclusive film Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched will do illustrations and animations as well as design the movie poster.

The goal is to collect $70,000 in funds. The perks for the backers include DVD’s, signed posters, 45 rpm records, and even actual ceiling tiles from 2424 Swiss Ave.

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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A while back we wrote about the debut single, “Alive”, by the electro indie pop act Phoeno. Out now is the band’s newest single, “Follower”, it is available on all streaming platforms from today on and comes accompanied by a brand new video.

The video itself was shot by Luca Truffarelli, features Lloyd Cooney who you might have seen recently in RTE’s “Kin”.

Phoeno is the Dublin based duo Adam Matthews and Liam Corbett which formed in late 2019. The band offers a kind of synthpop which sounds like a blend between Mesh and Iris. The band itself says that their music “tends to blend genres as our influences range from 80’s synth to pop and rock, we think our music is very reflective of this influence while always endeavouring to bring something new to the table.”

We asked the band about their influences. Corbo: “I’m usually quite open-minded when it comes to musical genres – inspiration can come from anywhere if it’s a well written and produced track. The bands I always find myself going back to are Wild Beasts, Tame Impala, Radiohead, Local Natives, NIN, and Jaguar Ma.” Adam adds: “My inspirations are Kate Bush, Matthew Good, Joni Mitchell, Trent Reznor, and Depeche Mode.”

Check the new single “Follower” below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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FleischKrieg is an American formation inspired by the ‘Deutsche Neue Härte’ calling their music ‘Brutal-Wave’. After a few singles they self-released the debut album “Herzblut”. This album is a mature and accomplished production. It sounds like an imaginary hybrid between Rammstein, KMFDM, Armageddon Dildos and Birmingham 6. A powerful sound with a perfect balance between guitar and electronics. “Herzblut” is a sonic bomb and you better can keep the band’s name in mind as they might become the ‘next big thing’! I asked a few questions to core members Richard Cranor and Thomas Crawford.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Let’s start by asking you how FleischKrieg saw the daylight? How did you get in touch and what kind of music did you want to compose?

Richard: I was a big fan of Synth-Pop and Industrial-Metal growing up. I’ve always related to the mystical and aggressive aspects of both genres. I wrote songs when I was in my 20s, but took a long hiatus from music. I honestly never had the self-confidence when I was young to really push as hard as you need to make a band work. So I did what grown-ups were supposed to do -stopped dreaming. That was of course until I started having dreams of Trent Reznor asking me to open for him -I had to tell him I didn’t have any songs. I guess that was a little nudge from my subconscious saying it was time to get to work and start writing again. I remember having a $200 light bill to pay. At the same time, there was a sale at Guitar Center for a 7 string guitar -same price. I made a fateful decision that day, and time has proven it to be the right one.

I met Thomas (FleischKrieg’s guitarist) while I was driving for Uber. I noticed he was wearing a RAMMSTEIN-shirt when I picked him up and we soon were collaborating on each other’s personal projects, one of which became FleischKrieg.

Thomas:  When we started putting together songs and wanting to play live, it was just the two of us.  We set up all the backing tracks and drums, and could play live with just the two of us.  But it didn’t feel full.  We were introduced to Nick Mason (FleischKrieg’s drummer) by our friend D-Punk from DK-Zero and clicked right away.  Shortly after, we collaborated with Nuda for our song “Reach”. She’s such a phenomenal EBM artist in her own right and worked so well together, we asked her to join as our live keyboard/sample player.

Q: The name of the band, but still elements of the music and the image are clearly evoking Rammstein and other ‘Neue Deutsche Härte’-bands. What do you like in this music genre and in which way do you feel connected with this -or any other band and what does the FleischKrieg sound stand for?

Richard: I don’t think there’s a more powerful form of music in the world than Industrial-Metal. You get all the power of Rock/Metal but also the seductive and mystical elements of Synth-Pop. I remember doing an inventory of all my favorite bands, and realized that the Germans had it all figured out just PERFECT for me.

Thomas: For most of my musical career, I’ve always been drawn to heavy music with industrial elements.  Be it Mushroomhead, Rammstein, Chimaira, or even more recently Lord Of The Lost.  I also love the opportunity to write music where guitar is the accessory rather than the focal point.  No flashiness, just pure energy.

Richard:  As for our name and meaning, I felt the band needed a German name. ‘FleischKrieg’ literally means ‘Flesh War’. So as to what our name/sound stands for -I would say ultimately it’s about reclaiming your power and personal sovereignty from forces trying to steal it daily. In my opinion, we are fighting a ‘Flesh War’ every day. Most of the songs reflect personal experiences dealing with the particular journey I’ve had with the subject. Just about everybody has some personal war to fight on some level. I’d like to think FleischKrieg can provide the soundtrack.

Q: You last year self-released the debut album “Herzblut”. Tell us a bit more about the writing and production process of this work? What was the input of each member? And is there any particular reason you self-released the album instead of getting signed to a label?

Richard: It all started with “Bloody Prophets”. I’d been having alien abduction nightmares and was too terrified to go back to bed. So I stayed up all night and wrote the rough demo of the song. Thomas filled in the guitars and recommended other arrangements, and we went and filmed our first music video. I think it was then I knew we could do something really great together.

Being the band’s founder, I drive the creative vision and do the main songwriting/arrangements with Thomas providing guitars and feedback on the compositions. I then work with Nuda and Nick on how the rest of the arrangements/drums should sound -and how the live show should work. At the end of the day, everyone brings their personal touch to the FleischKrieg sound. I am grateful to have met such talented and brilliant people.

Self-releasing is easier than waiting around for the cavalry to show up. We’ll see what the future brings. I certainly don’t think it’s worth waiting around for a label’s help -at least in the beginning.

Thomas:  Also, it’s so much easier for musicians to be independent now. While it was expensive to do it on our own, we were fortunate enough to receive some funding through a crowdfunding campaign. We also wanted to make sure that we were doing everything right. We worked with D-Punk as a producer who not only gave us insight into the mixing/mastering process, but also how to release it right. Because of this, we definitely have been successful for being a brand new band formed in the middle of a pandemic.

Q: You already made a few clips and especially the one of “Relax” caught my attention. It looks like a great ode to Frankie Goes To Hollywood. What does the original song mean to you and what did you try to express by the cover version and the clip?

Richard: What’s weird is Frankie spoke to me and Thomas from the psychic dimension lol. We’d both been contemplating doing an 80s cover… and on the same night, we called each other up and BOTH recommended the song to each other. It was kinda weird. It just popped into both our heads as THE song todo.

For me the song means freedom to be yourself without judgement. I tend to censor myself to please others often. I always loved how unabashed the song comes off. It’s literally about spraying semen everywhere. You can’t get more liberated than that, right?

Q: How do you see FleischKrieg as a live band? What have been your experiences so far and what are the further plans? Do you’ve contacts in Europe and other foreign countries? 

Richard: The live band has worked out exceedingly well, more so than I ever expected. Each member has great stage charisma and we truly love performing. It was a major affirmation to me when we played the Wasteland Weekend festival last year -people really loved our set. You could tell we had an impact, that our energy on stage and the quality of the music delivered the goods. We hope to do a lot more touring, in Europe would be fantastic.

Thomas: The interesting thing for me is how the crowd reacts to us for the first time.  Almost every single show, there’s a handful of people in general audience area with mild curiosity. Then by the end of the first song, everyone in the venue comes right up to the stage. By the beginning of the second song, there are people dancing.  I say again, ‘Dancing!’ That is truly a first for me as I’ve been in several bands and never had people dancing.

As for touring in Europe, we have been making contacts in Germany and the UK trying to set something up in spite of Covid.  However, we’ve recently started working with a booking agent. They’re confident that we’ll be able to get over to Europe once things start to die down.  We’re hoping for late summer of this year.

Q: I noticed a cool quote affirming ‘If Hell hosted a dance party -FleischKrieg would be the headliner’! What would be the other bands on the list that night? And how do you imagine ‘hell’? More seriously now, what brings the future for FleischKrieg?

Richard For me hell is more of a metaphor where individual spirits go to be themselves, to free themselves from the soul-crushing burden of being ‘well behaved’. I would definitely want all the Neue Deutsche Härte bands we could book, plus any 80s Synth-Pop band willing to show up. I have no desire to go to any actual hells lol.

I remember at one show a 20-something kid told me his favorite thing about our performance was that ‘it was real’. I’m not exactly sure what he meant, but I believe he felt we were there to really play versus just to get lots of new likes and subscribers on social media. I think that strikes as disingenuous to fans -just trying to look the part versus connecting an audience to a much bigger reality only music from the heart can reach. He could tell our songs meant something to us, and I think that made them mean something to him. I honestly think the kids are getting burnt out on the Instaworld we live in. There’s no filter for genuine connection.

I’d like to think FleischKrieg’s rebellion hidden behind heavy dance music can act as a form of subterfuge to the system, even if we someday get on a major label and have a similar success to what NIN had in the mid-90s. Just dreaming for now, but so far… our dreams do tend to become reality.

Thomas:  As for the future, the sky’s the limit.  We’re continuing to find ways to play more live shows in more and bigger places.  We’re dying to play some festivals in the near future. Additionally, we’re working on at least one more music video in support of “Herzblut”. And we’re currently writing our second album and if all goes well will be out in early 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

The American composer, singer, and songwriter Danny Elfman (known from the new wave band Oingo Boingo and for his various film scores) has joined forces with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor. The result is the duet “True” (out via Epitaph Records) for which you can see the video below.

The video was directed by Aron Johnson and produced by Human Person. Additional video footage was done by Melisa McGregor. As far as the song goes, it was mixed by Alan Moulder including guitars by Danny Elfman, drums by Josh Freese and bass by Stu Brooks. The whole was mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound.

Check out the video for the duet “True” below.

Elfman has frequently worked with directors Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, and Gus Van Sant, including the scores for 16 Burton-directed films including “Batman”, “Edward Scissorhands”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Alice in Wonderland”, and “Dumbo”. He also worked on Raimi’s “Spider-Man”, “Spider-Man 2”, “Oz the Great and Powerful” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.

As far as his work for Van Sant is concerned he wrote music for “Good Will Hunting” and “Milk”. Other work includes music for all of the “Men in Black” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise films, the songs and score for Henry Selick’s animated musical “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and the themes for the television series “Desperate Housewives” and “The Simpsons”.

About Oingo Boingo

Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band, formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the years previous.

Oingo Boingo were known for their experimental music, which can be described as mixing rock, ska, pop, and world music. The band’s body of work spanned 17 years, with various genre and line-up changes. Their best-known songs include “Only a Lad”, “Dead Man’s Party” and “Weird Science”.

As a rock band, Oingo Boingo started as a ska and punk-influenced new wave octet. During the mid-1980s, the band changed line-ups and adopted a more pop oriented style, until a significant genre change to alternative rock in 1994. At that point, the name was shortened to simply Boingo and the keyboardist and horn section were dropped. The band retired after a farewell concert on Halloween 1995, for which they reverted to the name Oingo Boingo and readopted the horn section.

Here are a few songs.

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

“Mank” is a 2020 American biographical drama film about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his development of the script for Citizen Kane (1941) which has hit Netflix today. Directed by David Fincher the filmscript was written by his late father Jack Fincher in the 1990s. David originally intended to film it after he completed The Game (1997), with Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster as the leads. It never came to fruition, and Jack Fincher died in 2003. Eventually, the project was officially announced in July 2019, and filming took place around Los Angeles from November 2019 to February 2020.

The original soundtrack for the film was written and recorded by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and holds 52 tracks spread over 90 minutes.

But on Bandcamp you can get the complete score along with an additional 2 hours of unreleased music and demos from the “Mank” sessions. These are additional and alternate compositions that didn’t get used in the film along with a selection of Trent and Atticus demos pre-orchestration.

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

(Photo by Erica Shumsky) The blog for the ongoing project ‘Push – A Cure Fan Documentary’ has posted an update (you can read it right here) about the night Trent Reznor met Robert Smith, in 1996 in New Orleans, more precisely at the Blue Crystal Club. The photo taken by Erica Shumsky with Trent Reznor and Robert Smith has circulated online for a few decades and now ‘Push – A Cure Fan Documentary’ has posted an article about the occasion but seen through the eyes of the public that was there.

This is pure fan material, but if you are one, it will probably be a very good read, and that’s what the ‘Push – A Cure Fan Documentary’ is all about of course. The project itself began in 1999 when Arusha Baker started recording the stories of fans she met along the way. Cure Fans that is.

Reading this particular blog post it reminded me of when I was young (I still am of course) and of all the things I was doing back then. 1996 was, if I remember well the year I started writing for Side-Line, it was also the year I recorded a very obscure record (ping me of you find out out which one that was – the label never paid me though), and the year I got in touch with a load of artists thanks to my daytime job as a journalist (badly paid, so I quickly decided that would not be my main income).

So, if you want a ride back in time, make sure to check this, I had fun reading it!

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: Industrial-metal, industrial-rock, EBM

Background/Info: The famous Wax Trax! Records label was originally much into new wave and punk music and was founded by Jim Nash and his partner Dannie Flesher in Denver in 1975. In 1978 the independent label moved to Chicago and became the most important record label and store/boutique for industrial music in the US that served as the headquarters of underground electronic and industrial bands in the eighties and nineties. The strong brand Wax Trax! offered record deals to the artists they liked (as fans) and also licensed European artists in America. The very impressive Wax Trax! catalogue featured well-known bands like Ministry, Front 242, Revolting Cocks, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, Coil, Chris & Cosey and more!

Content: Industrial Accident has contributions of Al Jourgensen (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Paul Barker (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Chris Connelly (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Luc Van Acker (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Richard23 (Front 242/Revolting Cocks), Patrick Codenys (Front 242), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly), Groovie Mann (Thrill Kill Kult), David J. Haskins (Bauhaus), Sascha Konietzko (KMFDM), En Esch (KMFDM), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Steve Albini (Big Black), Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle), Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and more. It explains the rise and fall of an important musical movement as well as the details and artifacts of this entire Wax Trax! Records history that was nearly lost forever.

A lot of hilarious anecdotes are explained by the contributing artists which makes it fun to watch! Al Jourgensen: “I played in Divine’s band by the way, playing guitar for Divine was … bizarre!”. Luc Van Acker, when speaking about Laibach: “How provocative can you be? It takes intelligent people to understand that! Wax Trax! created a space where we could do whatever we wanted!”. Unfortunately the label without business model (operating on trust, without contracts with their artists) declared bankruptcy in 1992 and Jim and Danny sold it to TVT Records. Jim Nash passed away on October 10, 1995 and Dannie Flesher deceased on January 10th, 2010.

+ + + : This 94 minutes (+ 75 extra minutes bonus material) documentary was directed by Julia Nash (daughter of Jim Nash) and won awards on the Santa Cruz Film Festival and Chicago Underground Film Festival. It is also available on Blu-Ray and as download on AppleTV, Amazon Prime and Google Play/YouTube Streaming.

– – – : Just one minor point: to make the circle complete, maybe an interview with some licensed European bands that were released by Wax Trax! (The Neon Judgement, The Young Gods, A Split Second, Laibach and more) would have been interesting, to hear their point of view.

Conclusion: Although it’s a huge story to tell the complete Wax Trax! history, this documentary gives a pretty good overview of what happened in the old days. Jim and Dannie “accidentally” built up the industrial scene in the US due to their passion and love for this music and bands and will never be forgotten!

Label: www.waxtraxchicago.com / www.facebook.com/WaxTraxRecords.Chicago/

About Wax Trax! Records

Wax Trax! Records was founded by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, first in Denver in 1975 as an outlet for new wave and punk records. The label moved to Chicago in 1978 and grew into the main hub for industrial music in the United States through the 1980s and 1990s, signing and licensing acts on both sides of the Atlantic.

The label ran without contracts, on trust between Nash, Flesher and their artists. It filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and was sold to TVT Records. Nash died on October 10, 1995, and Flesher died on January 10, 2010.

“Industrial Accident: The Story Of Wax Trax! Records” is directed by Julia Nash, Jim Nash’s daughter, and gathers the artists who built the label’s catalogue to tell that history on screen.

Rodion Skityaev is a Russian musician operating from Moscow (Russia). He last year released the official debut album “Resonate” of his sonic brainchild Outpost 11. The CD format has been released on Advoxya Records and sounds as a powerful sonic bridge between EBM and dark-electro. The sound has something 90s-like reminding me formations such as X Marks The Pedwalk and early Skinny Puppy. It’s a real promising debut from a band we’ve to keep an eye on.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Outpost 11 is a rather new name active at the wider fields of EBM and dark-electronic music. How did you get in touch with this music style and what do you consider as your main sources of inspiration?

Rodion: Well, I first got in touch with this kind of music not even knowing what I was listening to. Back in time I was just a kid playing video games. And those games featured pretty good soundtracks. I played a lot of C&C games, featuring brilliant music of Frank Klepacki. I also adore Quake franchise, especially the first three games. The soundtrack of the first game was done by Trent Reznor, the second game was scored by Sonic Mayhem and third one had Front Line Assembly bashing in the background. I’m a big fan of “Silent Hill” series, and it’s music done by Akira Yamaoka, respectively. That’s some good quality music right there! And so this kind of sound etched into my mind and stayed there for a while. Until much  later, when I consciously researched what was the music that I liked so much. Since then I  was exposed to all the good stuff we know and appreciate today as post-industrial music.

As my source of inspiration I consider acts like Nine Inch Nails, Ministry (mostly early records, but I like their metal stuff too), Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly, to name a few. It is also worth mentioning recent L.A act Youth Code. Basically, there was no Outpost 11 before I saw them live in 2016. I had some demos that would end up on “Resonate”, but I didn’t consider developing them into a finished record, until those two fellas came to my town. It was just mind-blowing! I had no idea that people are still playing this kind of music and listening to it, rather passionately. Besides electronic music I listen to a lot of stuff, I think something occasionally can slip through into Outpost 11, but that’s not something that I consciously control 100% of the time.

Q: What kind of album did you have in mind when writing the songs for “Resonate” and how do you look back at the entire composition- and production process?

Rodion: To be really honest with you, I didn’t have any concrete vision of what “Resonate” would be. I have a serious background in the local metal scene and so doing electronic music in any capacity was an experiment for me, I haven’t done any before. Surely, I was applying my songwriting skills from before, but it would not always fit into the sound or mood I was trying to achieve for Resonate. I wanted to get that sound and vibe from my earlier experiences with this kind of music. When I think a bit deeper about it, It’s somewhat romantically odd, trying to capture experiences from your past, using yet to be developed skills from present. Kinda weird…

Though the biggest issue for me on that record was the production of the vocals. Now I’m a bit better singing, but before then it was like a clean slate, tabula rasa, you know. I had to figure out the way of singing that would fit into my music and this raspy kinda subtone vocals worked well for me. I got that idea from one of my favorite movies –“Escape From New-York”. The character of Snake Plissken speaks in this kind of dramatic action-hero tone and I thought, well who cares, I’m gonna try that and see what comes out! By the way, John Carpenter is awesome. So to summarize, the process was somewhat chaotic, but I managed to tame it and extract some valuable knowledge from it.

Q: “Resonate” clearly reminds me to the good-old EBM from the late 80s/early 90s with an extra personal touch on top. What can you say about the Outpost 11 ‘sound’ and do you’ve personal criteria/references when it comes to production?

Rodion: I tend to produce relatively simple sounds, but I like big instrumentations. It starts usually with drums and bass, and then I add the other stuff; a pad chord progression (I also like extended chords), some noises to accentuate passages, a lead, a harmonized pluck, a few more elements to the drum kit, occasionally movie samples, a filtered sweep… It can go on and on, but sometimes it’s better to keep things simple. The main criteria in the arrangements is to find the right balance between all elements.

I have a few sources of inspiration when it comes to song writing generally speaking. I can start a song from a weird sound, or I can start it with a nice riff, or just a chord progression. It kinda depends on my mood actually. Heavier songs are usually taking off from a riff, like “…But He Likes You” for example. More melancholic stuff has more musical roots, so to speak. Then I develop this initial idea into a complete song, or at least into verse-chorus combination, to tackle it later.

As for sound design, I use very few VST plugins. Synths are mostly VA, with wavetable or FM occasions here and there. I tend not to layer instruments, it doesn’t fit really well into my approach to instrumentation. It’s hard to fit a lot of fat sounding stacks of synths in one song, for me at least. I also like my pads and leads to be a bit wide in the stereo field, so when they come in at some point in a song, you can really hear them, but not in an obvious way. Probably this overall approach gives my music this old-school vibe. And I like it that way!

Q: What have been the main lyrical themes for this album and what’s the importance of the lyrics when composing EBM-like music?

Rodion: The album is called “Resonate” because of certain topics are resonating with me, sometimes violently. That’s kinda silly idea, to name an album this way, but it works for me anyway. The album’s themes and ideas come from me being a part of a modern world and my experience of it so far. That results in lyrics related to my perspective on current global political climate, or about religion, war, propaganda and other nasty stuff. There are few more introspective songs, where I try to reflect on my more personal side of things. Or sometimes I just had fun paying homages to favorite pop cultural pieces. It’s a bit of everything. Kind of like life itself, in a sense.

A few times I stumbled upon an idea; that lyrical content of successful musicians tend to resonate strongly within their audiences. That’s true, and I hope my lyrics do the same, but I don’t think it is strictly necessary. Any musician is an artist (in a greater sense) in a first place, genres are good at describing what musician do, but they aren’t definitive, they can’t dictate what you can do and what you can’t. Hell, if I want to write an EBM banger, featuring a sax solo, with lyrics about pink ponies having nasty fun with some BDSM gear, no one’s gonna stop me from doing that 🙂 And I bet you, some people are even gonna like it! My point is simple, do what you feel necessary, but beware for the consequences. And yes, there’ll be always somebody telling you that you’re doing it all wrong, you can’t get away from that…

Q: The artwork of the album is quite intriguing. What does the front cover stands for and what’s the parallel with the sound and the lyrics?

Rodion: A: Cover art is product of imagination of a good friend of mine. He’s drawing style features many techniques, but this particular image was done with ink on a thick cardboard as a canvas. He did a few death metal covers in this style and i thought that i could use that for my little project, somehow his artwork resonated (he-he) with me. I approached the man with a simple task: listen to the music, read the lyrics if necessary and do what you think fits the mood. As a result, his disturbing art reflected my obsessive desire to share my music pretty well, i must admit. I did a few tweaks in Photoshop, to make an image a bit surreal and i think our combined result is representing an album pretty nice. It’s sufficiently rough, a bit surreal and somewhat disturbing. Pretty much like Resonate sounds, i think. I did the CD packaging by myself, i was just extending the mood of cover art by using grungy textures as backgrounds.

Q: A debut album is always something special, so how does it feel for you and are there some elements you want to improve in the future and what are the plans for the next few months?  

Rodion: Well, maybe it’s a debut for Outpost 11, but for me as musician it would be the second or even the third album. This experience gives me a certain perspective on things that I need to improve. You can expect a new album this year, that’s for sure. At the moment I’m focused on perfecting the vocal parts here and there, but I’m almost finished. So you can expect me singing better than on “Resonate”. I also learned a few sound design tricks, which I used on the new album. But I think the main contribution to the overall improvement would be the mixing. This time I did it myself and from what I gathered from my listeners, it’s a big step forward. For the “Resonate”-album I was at the very beginning of that mixing-engineering path. I had serious doubts about my skills so I outsourced mixing and mastering to another buddy of mine. He did a great job, but there were moments where we took a few improper decisions, so to speak. Thankfully, now I can fully express myself and I’m happy with the results. Sound’s gonna be brighter, a bit wider and punchy this time.

Regarding live performances I think I’ll do a few shows later on this year. For the moment Outpost 11 still is a studio solo-project, but I’m also in the process of recruiting musicians to form a live line-up. I’ve managed to recruit a keyboard player. No idea what parts she’s gonna play, but we have a lot of enthusiasm. I think we’ll figure this out somehow! I hope that we’ll do a few shows this year and I’m really looking forward to it. Further in time, I’ll do at least one more album released by Advoxya Records in 2020 and next we probably will extend our contract for a few more albums.

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 Emilie Elizabeth) Alessandro Cortini will have his labeldebut on the legendary Mute label on September 27th when he releases his 7th solo album “Volume Massimo”. The album follows 2017’s “Avanti”.

“Amore Amaro”, the opening track, is available today.

Alessandro Cortini will be premiering his new “Volume Massimo” A/V show again at Berlin Atonal this year and a tour will follow, with shows at London’s Barbican and festivals such as Up to Date, Draaimolen, LEV, Sonica Mira, Bozar, and more.

Alessandro Cortini is an Italian musician best known for being keyboard player in Nine Inch Nails. Cortini is also the frontman for the Los Angeles-based electronic-alternative band SONOIO. He was also a founding member of Modwheelmood, an electronic/alternative band from Los Angeles, with former Abandoned Pools guitarist Pelle Hillström. Cortini also joined How To Destroy Angels, a project consisted of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Rob Sheridan and Mariqueen Maandig, as a touring member.

Upcoming shows

• 28/8–1/9 Atonal, Berlin
• 8/9 Up to Date Festival, Białystok
• 14/9 Draaimolen, Tilburg
• 22/9 TBA, Japan
• 28/9 Sonica, Ljubljana
• 19/10 The Barbican, London
• 20/10 LEV Matadero, Madrid
• 21/10 St Paul`s Sessions, Athens
• 25/10 Semibreve, Braga
• 6/11 Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm
• 8/11 Mira Digital Arts Festival, Barcelona
• 30/11 TBA, Copenhagen
• 6/12 Monk, Rome
• 7/12 Argo 16, Venice
• 11/12 Bozar Electronic Series, Brussels
• 11/4 Concertgebouw, Bruges

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

Moog Music has announced that Depeche Mode songwriter Martin Gore will receive the 2019 Moog Innovation Award.

Here’s what Moog Music has to say about it:

“Musical pioneer Martin Gore’s masterful electronic meditations on the human condition have illuminated the connection between transformative sound and pure emotion for decades. A founding member of the band Depeche Mode, Gore’s sensual electronic compositions and introspective lyrics have resonated with faithful audiences around the world and impacted the direction of countless visionary artists from Trent Reznor to Johnny Cash.

Gore’s enduring ability to connect the rawest aspects of the human experience to the dance floor defined an era and perpetually reminds us what it means to be human through the emotional power of electronic sound. For his contributions we are honored to name Martin Gore as the recipient of the 2019 Moog Innovation Award.”

Martin Gore will be presented with the award during the Moogfest which takes place on Friday, April 26 at the Carolina Theatre immediately following his keynote conversation with Mute Records founder Daniel Miller. Since 2004, Moogfest has brought together artists, futurist thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, scientists, and musicians. By day, Moogfest is a platform for conversation and experimentation. By night, Moogfest presents cutting-edge music in venues throughout in Durham, North Carolina. Performing artists include early pioneers in electronic music, alongside pop and avant-garde experimentalists of today.

The Moog Innovation Award recognizes artists who have contributed to the exploration of sound in popular music and beyond for the past 50 years, exemplifying the bold, innovative spirit of Bob Moog. Past recipients include visionary artists Gary Numan, Devo, Suzanne Ciani, Brian Eno, Bernie Worrell, synth designers like Herb Deutsch, last year’s recipient Bernie Krause, and Thomas Dolby, who will also be performing and presenting this year.

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘Master and Servant’.

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

Out on June 22nd is the brand new 6-track album “Bad Witch” by Nine Inch Nails. The albums follows the 2016 EP “Not the Actual Events” and 2017’s “Add violence”.

And yes, you read it well, the album will only hold 6 tracks. You can order it on CD on Amazon UK and on CD and vinyl via Amazon USA

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Below is already a first short teaser.

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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Kid’s time again in music land. Ex-Marilyn Manson keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy has posted a Facebook rant in which he described Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan as “arrogant” and “whiny”. Oh and according to Gacy, Trent Reznor doesn’t like Manson either.

You can read the rant below. And we thought that all musicians were basically mostly busy creating music. Not so much it seems.

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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PIG is back in business. Raymond Watts will be releasing the album “Risen” later in June. For this album he collaborated with Ben Christo, Z.Marr, En Esch, Tim Skold, Marc Heal, Phil Barry, Mark Thwaite, Anita Sylph and Emre Ramazanoglu.

The new album is already up for pre-order and will count 14 tracks including 5 remixes.

Watts was an early member and periodic collaborator of KMFDM, and has been a visible part of the industrial music scene since the early 1980s. He has toured with KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, Schaft, Schwein, and Einstürzende Neubauten and is basically the founding and sole member of the post-industrial music project PIG, sometimes written as <PIG> as well.

Some trivia you ought to know from Watts in case this is the first time you hear about him:

• From 1984 to 1986 Watts was sound engineer for Mona Mur.
• From 1985 to 1989 Watts was a sound engineer for Einstürzende Neubauten.
• Watts has occasionally collaborated with J. G. Thirlwell, briefly playing bass in Foetus Corruptus and co-writing songs for Steroid
• Maximus on the album “Gondwanaland”. Thirlwell, in turn, has cowritten and remixed songs for PIG.
• Watts recorded music for ex-girlfriend spoken-word artist Sow (aka Anna Wildsmith)’s 1994 album “Je M’Aime” and again for her
• 1998 album “Sick” and 2010 album “Dog”. “Je M’aime” was reissued under the name “Pig/Sow” in 1999.
• PIG’s 1995 album “Sinsation” was released in the US on Trent Reznor’s label Nothing Records.
• Several of his albums were originally released in Japan.
• Watts has performed with KMFDM as part of the touring lineup, with the concerts billed as “KMFDM featuring PIG”. The setlists for those shows feature KMFDM songs alongside Pig songs.

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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“Death Note” is an American supernatural horror-thriller film directed by Adam Wingard, based on the (excellent!) manga series of the same name by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. The film stars Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, Paul Nakauchi, Shea Whigham and Willem Dafoe was released on Netflix on August 25, 2017.

Plot

The story follows Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook from a Shinigami named Ryuk that grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose name and face he knows. The series centers around Light’s attempts to create and rule a world “cleansed of evil” as “God” using the notebook, and the efforts of a detective known as L to stop him.

Here’s a trailer:

Original OST by Nine Inch Nail collaborator Atticus Ross

The original very dark soundtrack was created by Nine Inch Nail collaborator Atticus Ross together with Leopold Ross. It’s not the first time that Atticus Ross ventures into the film score industry. Along with Trent Reznor, Ross also composed the original score for “The Social Network” in 2010. In 2013, the pair created the soundtrack to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. In 2016, Ross became an official member of Reznor’s band Nine Inch Nails. The duo will Reznor – Ross have also worked on the “Twin Peaks: The Return” soundtrack.

Previous live action attempts

“Death Note” was adapted into a series of live-action films in 2006. The first two films were directed by Shūsuke Kaneko and the third was by Hideo Nakata and produced by Nippon Television. The first film, simply titled “Death Note”, premiered in Japan on June 17, 2006 and topped the Japanese box office for two weeks, pushing “The Da Vinci Code” into second place. The sequel, “Death Note: The Last Name” premiered in Japan on November 3, 2006. A spin-off from the films named “L: Change the World” was released in Japan on February 9, 2008. It is focused on the final 23 days of L’s life, as he solves one final case involving a bio-terrorist group.

In August 2016, a three-part miniseries entitled “Death Note: New Generation” was announced as a part of the Death Note live-action film series and aired in September. A fourth Japanese Death Note movie was released in 2016 and featured a cyber-terrorism setting with the inclusion of six Death Notes brought into the human world.

Sequel?

Director Adam Wingard stated that Netflix has wanted to make at least two films, if enough people watch the first one: “There are definitely lots of places to go, and we know generally where we would take it. Hopefully people will watch it and Netflix will order a sequel. They definitely are ready to. They just need people to watch it.”

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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“Add Violence” is the newest EP by Nine Inch Nails to be released in September. It was released digitally on July 19, 2017, two days ahead of its scheduled release date, under Trent Reznor’s label The Null Corporation.

You can order the MCD right here.

This marks the second EP in a proposed trilogy following the 2016 release of “Not the Actual Events”. The final EP of the series is expected to be released before the end of 2017. The album itself was announced on July 13, 2017, and the lead single “Less Than” and an accompanying music video directed by Brook Linder followed immediately after. On July 18, “This Isn’t the Place” was released with an accompanying music video directed by Alex Lieu.

Note that the artwork which you can see above is clue-filled.

The tracks on this EP are:

1. Less Than
2. The Lovers
3. This Isn’t The Place
4. Not Anymore
5. The Background World

Listen to the 2 previous singles below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Out now and available right here is the vinyl reissue of the self-titled debut album by Prick, which was an American industrial rock band signed to Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records imprint. The project was founded in 1992 in Los Angeles by guitarist and songwriter Kevin McMahon, after his first project Lucky Pierre disbanded. Pressed on vinyl for the first time, this very limited vinyl edition can be ordered right here.

The first line-up of the band featured McMahon on vocals and guitar, Chris Schleyer on guitar and Andy Kubiszewski (Exotic Birds and Stabbing Westward) on drums. The songs on the band’s debut were written from 1989 to 1992 by Kevin McMahon. He then recorded four demo songs with Trent Reznor, a longtime friend and a former Lucky Pierre member who found success with his new project, Nine Inch Nails.

These demo-songs were recorded in Reznor’s Le Pig studio and featured a re-recording of a track from Lucky Pierre’s 1988 “Communiqué” EP. After Reznor was fully immersed in the recording of Nine Inch Nails’ second album, “The Downward Spiral”, McMahon went to England to collaborate with British producer Warne Livesey. 8 songs were recorded after which the band signed to Nothing Records of Interscope, a vanity label founded by Reznor and former Lucky Pierre manager John Malm Jr..

In 1994, McMahon assembled a live band for this project. The new line-up featured Kevin McMahon on vocals and guitar, Chris Schleyer on lead guitar, Sebastien Monney on bass, Brian Kehew on keyboards and Sean Furlong on drums and performed under the name Riverhead in clubs in Los Angeles. Kehew eventually left the band after 3 shows and was replaced by Paul Roessler in late 1994 after which the band changed its name to Prick and released its debut 7-inch single, “Communiqué”, which was followed by the band’s self-titled debut album in 1995. The album would sell 66,000 copies.

The track “Animal” became a minor alternative radio hit and its music video, which you can see below, was released the same year.

Furlong and Roessler were fired from the band in 1995 while Garrett Hammond replaced Furlong on drums and Dave Ogilvie was hired for live programming. In 1996, McMahon moved to London to record a follow-up Prick’s debut album. Due to creative differences and McMahon’s reluctance in producing a more radio-friendly effort Prick was dropped from Nothing Records. In 2002, he released Prick’s second studio album, “The Wreckard”, independently through Lucky Pierre Music’s official website. At the same year, he assembled a new line-up for the Prick, consisting of Greg Zydyk on guitar, former Lucky Pierre member Tom Lash on bass and Andy Kubiszewski on drums. The band briefly performed in 2002 and 2003.

After that the band would only release “Boston Live” in 2009 via Lucky Pierre 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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Nine Inch Nails fans are having an exciting time these days as a listing popped up on Discog claiming that a new Nine Inch Nails single is to be released on September 16.

According to the listing which was posted on the online music database Discogs the new single will be called “Dive And Slam” and should see a release through Columbia Records. The release corresponds with an earlier tweet from Trent Reznor saying that a “New NIN (is) coming in 2016. Other stuff, too.” You can see the accompanying picture above.

It will be the band’s first new material since the 2014 remix EP “Seed Eight”.

However, in a tweet Trent Reznor has dismissed the news as being a hoax:

https://twitter.com/AcostaMzk/status/761145473503821824

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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Content:

Read the news on ‘Backwards’.

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

Nope, it’s not a joke, the Reznor Combat Boot does exist and is a limited edition in black ink with wax finish that is being put on the market by N.I.C.E. Collective. The shoes were custom made for our Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. ‘Built’ (their word, not ours) locally in San Francisco, this adaptation of the N.I.C.E. Collective Combat boot will only be sold through the N.I.C.E. Collective online shop for a limited time.

So in short, start scraping together all the pennies you can get ahold of… you’ll need it! You can get a glimpse right here.

The designer clothing brand N.I.C.E. Collective was founded in 1997. Though their focus is on menswear, the designers also produce collections for women as well. In the past N.I.C.E. Collective has outfitted tours for Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins and The Police. The line’s celebrity following includes Robert Pattinson, Gavin Rossdale and Brad Pitt.

Which means you’ll be in good company if you get a pair :). Keep in mind that the price is not really exceptional considering this is not cheap Chinese import… local products cost more because of the non-use of cheap (Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, …) (child) labour. Just saying.

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: DVD documentary about history of modular synthesizers.

Content: We’re not used to review DVDs and more especially when it concerns documentaries, but this film is one, which will interest all lovers of electronic music. “I Dream Of Wires” was made by an original idea of Robert Fantinatto and Jason Amm. Some of you probably know Amm as the hidden force and brain behind the Solvent music project.

The documentary is a search to understand the rise, fall and resurrection of THE machine that was the origin of electronic music. “I Dream Of Wires” is a fully appropriated title to remember us the history of the legendary modular synthesizer.

The documentary brings us back at the end of the 19th (!) Century and the creation of generators and electricity. They created a kind of noise, which was the basis to conceive machines able to create music. It was a purely scientific research that happened in laboratories. So we get informed about the creation of oscillators during the ’50s, which would become essential equipment in the construction of the first synthesizers.

One of the most important and definitely pioneers in the entire history of electronic music was a physician. Robert Moog was a serious impact on the electronic music and it remains a mystery how electronic music would have sound today without the work of Moog. We get an idea about how so-called Voltage Control Oscillators (VCO) got created and how a keyboard was used as a controller to the Moog ‘machine’. It all leads to famous machines that were used during the ’70s like the Minimoog and ARP2600.

A next interesting passage concerns the rise of punk music, which in a way became a serious obstacle against the evolution of electronic music, but modular synthesizers got also exposed to a new form of synthesizers, which were conceived in Japan. There’s an interesting talk about the legendary DX7 from Yamaha becoming the pioneer of programmed sounds (presets), the evolution into digital equipment and the first Workstations.

The documentary tells us that the rise and evolution of Acid music contributed to the rebirth of analogue machines and the use of the still famous 909 and 303.

The reliability of those machines and their maintenance both contributed to the extinction of modular machines till during the 90s Bruce Duncan came up with new evolutions, creating modern modular equipment (Modcan modular synthesizers). It all becomes rapidly clear for non-musicians that the modular synthesizers have been always more creative and unique to create unique sounds instead of presets.

A lot of famous and interesting artists have contributed to this documentary. I’m referring to Trent Reznor, Cevin Key, Chris Carter, Daniel Miller, Vince Clarke, Alex Empire, Gary Numan, Carl Craig, Flood and many more.

There also is an interesting extra featuring different passages like an interview with Trent Reznor & Alessandro Cortini (NIN) or a look at the studio of Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Erasure…), but also clips by Solvent, which is an opportunity to (re)discover the music of this great artist.

Conclusion: “I Dream Of Wires” is a real informative and fascinating view at the history of electronic music and more especially about the enigmatic and fascinating modular synthesizers. I’m not surprised this movie seems to have become a very successful item.

Rate: (DP:9)DP.

Label: www.monoduofilms.com / www.facebook.com/monoduofilms

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 in October is a reissue of the 2014 DVD “I Dream Of Wires”, a documentary about the rise, fall and rebirth of a machine that shaped electronic music: the modular synthesizer. For this documentary over 100 inventors, musicians and enthusiasts were interviewed about their relationship with the modular synthesizer.

Electronic pioneers like Gary Numan and Daniel Miller discuss the modular synthesizer’s 1970s heyday, through to its near-extinction in the 1980s, while musicians including Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Vince Clarke (Erasure) talk about their ongoing passion for the modular synthesizer, and how it influences their music.

“I Dream Of Wires” also explores the early development of modular synthesizers in the 1960s, from pioneering companies Moog and Buchla.

Below is a trailer for the DVD, you can order this splendid documentary right here. Highly recommended!

In addition also the “I Dream Of Wires” soundtrack sees a reissue, containing a full addition CD of bonus tracks and remixes. This is Solvent aka Jason Amm’s sixth full-length LP and also marks the return of Solvent to his own Suction Records label, his first album for the label since 1999.

You can order the 2CD right here.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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After the release of 1990’s “Love’s Secret Domain” album, Coil also started working on “Backwards” in 1992. The recordings were updated considerably between 1993 and 1995, and transferred in 1996 to New Orleans, where it was finished in the Nothing Studios of Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). The album obviously saw the results of Jhonn Balance’s recent vocal coaching. 23 years after its initiation, these tracks finally have been preserved by Danny Hyde and made available.

Important to know, these recordings differ substantially from the later, remixed incarnation, “The New Backwards” (2008). What is being released now under the “Backwards” flag are the original versions which have appeared on various compilations over the years, and are now presented as originally intended.

The 12 tracks are available as a CD digipak and as a 2LP gatefold sleeve.

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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Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has been acting as musical consultant to the upcoming video game “Batman: Arkham Knight” (the game is available here). More precisely Reznor would have helped facilitate a meeting with the game makers and directors Tim Cronenweth and Jeff Cronenweth, who worked as director of photography for “Gone Girl”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “Fight Club”.

The first commercial for the game features the Nine Inch Nails track “The Wretched” (see below) and showcases everyday people being determined, courageous and fearless as they rise to become the Batman.

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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