Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Cinematic, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This is the official debut album by American solo-project Aetherium Nebula. Behind this music project is hiding  Dan Barrett who you might know from his involvement with Worms Of The Earth, Venal Flesh ao. Aetherium Nebula seems to be more introspective and reflecting, darker and deeper, existential themes.

Content: The tracks are inviting the listener to sail on dark sound fields of Ambient music which are alternating obscure- and evasive parts. Low resonating sound waves have been mixed with field recordings while you’ll notice different passages with voices and chants.

+ + + : I salute the sonic metamorphosis of the artist who seems to be a talented Dark-Ambient composer. He creates a dark, and menacing, sonic voyage which is accomplished by subtle sound treatments. The work has a strong visual strength mainly emerging at “The Ethereal Fog Of Dream” -which is a strong opening cut, and “Aqueous Sepulchre”. Both chants are featuring mystic chants in the background empowering the obscure sphere of the work. Another attention grabber -and for similar reasons, is “Subterra I – Where The Machines Sleep”. I like the flute sounds injecting an icy and extra-mysterious touch to the work.

– – – : The work is just missing an absolute apotheosis but it’s however a promising debut.

Conclusion: Aetherium Nebula is an interesting and promising addition to the great Winter-Light roster.

Best songs: “Aqueous Sepulchre”, “The Ethereal Fog Of Dream”,  “Subterra I – Where The Machines Sleep”, “A Dead God Frozen For Eternity”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/aetheriumnebula

Label: www.winter-light.nl / www.facebook.com/winter.light.1

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Background/Info: After 2 successful official albums Viscera Drip strikes back with an album for the fans. This American project driven by Justin Thiele went back into the archives of the band releasing early, previously material (mainly written in between 2002 and 2007) and a few remixes.

Content: The dark-electronic style is easy to recognize, but you’ll also and quite rapidly recognize the horror-like influences. Most of the songs are supported by haunting, spooky leads. Some of the songs are a little less into minimalism, but the main characteristic of this work is the ‘demo’-like style (which has been already revealed in the title). Two from the last cuts sound more elaborated and that’s not really a surprise as these cuts were composed for the “Abattoir”-album. Remixes were made by Lucidstatic, Worms Of The Earth, Sarcophagic and Ironhand.

+ + + : This album is clearly a way to please the fans of Viscera Drip. I personally only like the two songs that were composed during the “Abattoir”-period. These songs are more elaborated and revealing a great potential.

– – – : I want to make one thing clear: Viscera Drip is an interesting project, which could convince by its official albums. This kind of record is just for the fans, but even the fans will have to admit this sound is not convincing at all. There are some demos that would better never saw the daylight… although it would have been a pity to never discover both songs that were written during the “Abattoir”-period. Even the remixes can’t convince me.

Conclusion: Viscera Drip has a new full length in the pipeline featuring new studio tracks. I’m eagerly waiting for the real ‘new’ opus while “Demo(n)s” is an album I’ll quickly forget.

Best songs: “Who Controls You”, “Sexualized Violence”’.

Rate: (5½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/VisceraDrip

Label: www.advoxya–records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya–Records/265765706059

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

Loyal Side-Line readers will remember that we always have had a soft spot for the now defunct idm, electro label Tympanik Audio which launched in September 2007. The Chicago-based electronic music label closed in March of 2016 and as a result its back catalogue ceased being distributed… until now!

The fine people from Storming The Base have taken over the complete back catalogue stocks and are selling it now at rock bottom prices (US,98 per CD album) via this hidden link.

Attention: For the US-readers, keep in mind that Storming The Base is offering free shipping from US$100 on, so you might want to take advantage of this by filling your basket with plenty of goodies. The same goes for overseas fans as the shipping diminishes a lot per item once you buy in bulk.

Tympanik Audio’s artist roster includes: Totakeke, Displacer, Ad·ver·sary, Stendeck, ESA, Unterm Rad, Pneumatic Detach, Broken Fabiola, Integral, Atiq & EnK, Geomatic, Flint Glass, Haujobb, Erode, Tangent, Normotone, Disharmony, Anklebiter, Comaduster, Tineidae, Known Rebel, C.H.District, MultiColor, Subheim, [Haven], Fractional, c.db.sn, EyeScream, Zentriert ins Antlitz, SE, Black Lung, Worms Of The Earth, r.roo, Access To Arasaka, Ex_tension, Candle Nine, Tapage, Zinovia, Meander, Dirk Geiger, Endif, Zeller, Lucidstatic, Undermathic, Autoclav1.1, Opposite Exhale, Pandora’s Black Book, Famine, and Aphorism.

Recommended!

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.

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Background/Info: Hailing from Washington DC (USA) Venal Flesh got signed to Alfa Matrix and last year released the digital EP “Sacrament To The Scalpel”. The band previously released another digital EP at the now gone Juggernaut Music Group. Driven by the creative spirit of Dan Barrett (Worms Of The Earth) and DJ/model VanityKills the duo has now accomplished their official debut album.

Content: Venal Flesh clearly deals with pure dark-electronics and has been inspired by a concept ‘exploring the juxtaposition of desire for physical beauty with fanatical religious devotion’. They ‘explore here the abyssal torments of imperfection and the struggle to attain transcendence and perfection via self-mutilation, plastic surgery, advanced medicine and more’.

It all sounds like a rather tormenting theme, which has been perfectly transposed into pure (h)el(l)ectro music. Venal Flesh is the kind of formation that reminds me to Suicide Commando for the icy, tormenting leads and sequences and the dark, doom-like atmospheres of Yelworc. They clearly don’t innovate, but are real masters in the writing of efficient dark-electro music.

The songs have been remarkably composed and achieved by cool sound treatments, harsh vocals and carrying, cold tunes. The vocals are pretty harsh and demonic, which is the only and appropriated vocals format for this kind of music.

The extra CD of the limited version features 5 exclusive songs and 5 remixes. The tracks are not exactly the best ones so I think it was the right choice to place them on this extra disc although they’re not just album fillers. Among the remixes you’ll find the mark of Mnemonic, Adeonesis, A7ie and Dunkelwerk.

+ + + : This is a rather interesting and successful debut album featuring real cool songs. The tracks reflect maturity and an efficient formula made of stumping rhythms, elaborated passages and icy, carrying choruses lead by a possessed, but great vocalist. I especially like the somewhat mystic sounding “Emulgent Disfigurement”, which was originally released at the Juggernaut Music EP.

– – – : No doubt about it, this is a well-crafted album, but I’m missing some diversity in the tracklist. The songs are quite similar to each other so after a few cuts it all starts a bit to become predictable and without surprises. The extra disc of the limited edition is a bit disappointing and doesn’t deliver any real bonus. There’re less essential new songs and poorly inspired remixes on it.

Conclusion: Speaking for myself I expected a bit more out of this debut album, but a few great cuts make me think there’s more potential hiding inside this band than what they’ve shown so far.

Best songs: “Emulgent Disfigurement”, “Incurable”, “Apostate” + “A Fire Infolding Itself – A7ie Remix”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/venalflesh

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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

With the release last April 2015 of the download EP “Sacrament To The Scalpel” and the “Emulgent disfigurement” 2-track download single on the Alfa Matrix label, Washington DC act Venal Flesh triggered quite some expectations in the hungry dark elektro scene. Out now is “Worshiping At The Altar Of Artifice”, the debut album for the duo consisting of Dan Barrett (aka rhythmic noise act Worms Of The Earth) and DJ/model VanityKills.

You can preview the album in full below and get it on CD/2CD or as HQ audio download via Bandcamp and other download stores.

“Worshiping At The Altar Of Artifice” is also available as a deluxe carton box edition with a bonus 10-track CD holding 5 exclusive songs plus 5 alternative remixed versions. You can order this 2CD set right here.

Check out their previously released “Sacrament To The Scalpel” EP:

Here’s the previously released “Emulgent disfigurement” 2-track single:

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.

side-line.com