Haunt Me‘s second album, Watch You Bleed, returns on a limited clear vinyl with red splatters through Young & Cold Records, out September 15. A digipak CD edition follows on August 7. The album originally arrived in February 2025.

“Watch You Bleed” contains 12 tracks, including “Bloodlust,” “Filthy,” “Their Hate Will Destroy Them,” “Red Room,” “Surrender To The Night,” the title track, “Bleed For Me,” “Inhale Exhale,” “Cemetery Rendezvous,” “Scream For Me,” “Devour” and “VHS Horror Night.” Haunt Me mixes darkwave, post-punk and electronic goth elements across the record, moving between late-night atmosphere and dancefloor-oriented tracks built around themes of desire, obsession and nocturnal escapism.

Haunt Me will tour Europe this fall in support of the release. Confirmed dates so far:

• 13 November – Hamburg, Germany – Markthalle Hamburg (Cold Hearted Festival)
• 14 November – Dresden, Germany – Alter Schlachthof (Cold Hearted Festival)
• 15 November – Poznan, Poland – Klub muzyczny “Pod Minoga”
• 16 November – Warsaw, Poland – VooDoo Club
• 18 November – Prague, Czech Republic – Subzero
• 19 November – Vienna, Austria – Club Weberknecht
• 25 November – London, United Kingdom – The Grace
• 29 November – Haarlem, Netherlands – Patronaat
• 1 December – Paris, France – Supersonic

More dates are expected to be announced.

About Haunt Me

Haunt Me is a darkwave and post-punk project blending goth-tinged electronic production with melodic songwriting. The band’s back catalog includes the album “This Sadness Never Ends” and the release “En Tu Cama (Come Now, Sleep),” alongside standalone tracks such as “Our Ghost,” “Lost Frequencies” and “Wish You Were Here.” “Watch You Bleed,” the project’s second album, arrived in February 2025 on Blood Moon Red vinyl before this new clear-with-red-splatters pressing and CD reissue through Young & Cold Records, which the band supports with a run of European tour dates in November and December.

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 soon is “Körperkommando”, the newest single from the German Augsburg-based EBM duo Bagger 258. The single is set to be released on June 28 and includes three remixes by Kreign, Tension Control, and Gamma Vortex.

This release will be available only in digital format through Bandcamp and on all major streaming platforms. The single was mixed by Daniel Hallhuber (Young & Cold Studio, Augsburg) and mastered by Stefan Poiss (Nicelabs, Vienna).

Nico von der Eisenmühle and Tim Schmelzer released their debut album “Ode an die Arbeit” on November 24, 2023. You can check that one out 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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By the end of 2023 I discovered the album “Ode An Die Arbeit” by German duo Bagger 258. This is a pure old-school EBM project driven by Nico von der Eisenmühle and Tim Schmelzer. Their self-released debut-album stands for a mature, well-crafted and professional EBM sound. “Ode An Die Arbeit” reached the first place from the famous DAC (Deutsche Alternative Charts) which for a self-released production is quite exceptional. But their work is exceptional and is for sure one of the best retro-EBM projects in quite a long time. I got in touch with Nico and Tim to introduce you to the sound universe of Bagger 258.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How did you come to set up Bagger 258? And what can you say about your music background and connection with Projekt 26? Is Projekt 26 still active by the way?

Nico: Starting from the ground up –Projekt 26 is still alive and kicking, but our singer Timo had to relocate, making it a bit tricky to keep the groove going. The good news? We’re sitting on lots of unreleased stuff, so let’s keep our eyes on the horizon and see where the road takes us.

Tim: We’ve always vibed with the whole harsh and hard EBM scene, but Projekt 26 was more than just that. We were on a mission to resurrect something no one seemed to be messing with anymore –that punchy, in-your-face Anhalt EBM. We spent a good chunk of the last decade trying to cook up tunes together, but nothing really clicked. Then, like magic, Bagger 258 waltzed in, felt damn good, and the songs practically wrote themselves.

Q: Bagger 258 is clearly dealing with old-school EBM. What means EBM to you and what do you try to achieve in your very own song writing and sound production?

Nico: Just like Tim mentioned, we wanted to make music that’s totally us and kinda missing from the scene. Bagger 258 nails it with simple, old-school bass lines but a killer, in-your-face sound. Getting that unmistakable ‘Bagger-sound’ is the key for us. We’ve got some song ideas that just didn’t click, so we ditched them. Bottom line: we’re after basslines that make you stomp, a brutal vibe, and tunes that stick with you.

Q: You last year (self)-released the debut album “Ode An Die Arbeit”. Can you share with us the highlights and main things you kept in mind from the writing and recording of the album?

Tim: We messed around quite a bit, experimenting until we stumbled upon something we liked. There were moments when new samples or playful lyrics had us cracking up, but for the most part, our gut feeling steered us in the right direction, shaping the final drafts of the album. Surprisingly, we drew inspiration from genres way beyond EBM; things like Rock, Metal, or Indie music sparked our creativity.

Q: You asked Daniel Hallhuber (founder of Young & Cold Records) for the mixing and Stefan Poiss (Mind.In.A.Box) for the mastering of the album. What has been their true input and impact on the final result of “Ode An Die Arbeit”? And would you also consider working with a producer?

Nico: Let’s clear the air on this one: we had Gustav and Jonatan from Sturm Café, as our production advisors. And big shoutout to Daniel for weaving his magic in the mixing department. He sculpted the sounds and ideas just the way we wanted them. Major gratitude to him, and you bet we’re teaming up again.

Tim: Agreed. For mastering we were set on having Stefan as our engineer right from the get-go. His own projects are top-notch, and no matter the music vibes, his final mastering is always on point. The awesome back-and-forth communication, with him sending us options, helped us nail down the best results. Stefan, you’re stuck with us –round two is definitely happening!

Q: Did you get the opportunity to get signed to a label to release “Ode An Die Arbeit” or is it a deliberate choice to get active as D.I.Y. (do it yourself) project? Do you’ve further plans/perspectives about working with labels?

Nico: Honestly, starting from scratch was crucial for us. We craved the freedom to shape everything from the ground up, from the tunes to the artwork. The whole album, except for the mix and master, is our baby. We took things to the next level, turning our ideas into reality. Sure, it got challenging, like when we were in the trenches producing and cutting the music video for “Muskeln Und Maschinen”, but the whole experience was a wild ride, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

As for labels, we’ve kept it indie for now. We wanted our debut album to be a solo flight without any external pressure. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe down the road, Bagger 258 will be ready to team up with a label and start something epic. Let’s keep the door open for that possibility.

Q: I noticed “Ode An Die Arbeit” reached the first place of the famous D.A.C. right? This is quite unusual for self-released albums so what does it mean to you and what’s the impact of the D.A.C.? Can you also tell us what you’ve to do and manage (think about promotion, contacts etc…) to get selected for the D.A.C.?

Tim: This question hits the sweet spot. Landing in first place with our album is beyond thrilling, and we’re genuinely honored. Once the creative dust settled, Nico and I brainstormed how to unleash our music on the world. The immediate answer? A legit music video, of course. Surprisingly, it’s not a common move in the scene, probably because it’s a ton of work. But we were up for the challenge.

Nico: Absolutely. The video was a beast to tackle, but we knew it wasn’t the only card up our sleeve. Our solid connections in the music world, thanks to DJ gigs at ‘Melodrom’ and rubbing shoulders with awesome DJs like Clemens and Ric, played a crucial role. They, along with many others, helped us spread the Bagger 258 vibes far and wide.

Oh and not to forget: we do have quite a fanbase in Sweden, thanks to Gustav and Jonatan (Sturm Café) & Ronny (Radio Virus / Container 90).

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Supernova 1006 is a Russian formation hailing from Saint Petersburg. They already released several works by labels like Werkstatt Recordings, Young & Cold Records, Sirpien Records ao. The band went through several line-up changes and is now featuring core member Andrey Yukhovich and new member Sofia Merkulova. “Chains” was released in 2023 by Negative Gain.

Content: The album features 8 songs which are clearly inspired by different kinds of Pop music; definitely Electro-Pop like and still reminding me of 80s Wave-Pop productions while a few cuts are pretty ‘Dance’-like. A few passages have been empowered by guitar playing.

+ + + : Supernova 1006 deals with a very own interpretation of Electro-Pop music; kind of ‘free-style’ which works well at the few ‘harder’ cuts like “Alone” and “Die With Me”. “Ghostrunner” is another attention grabber for its boosting guitar riffs.

– – – : The first part of the work sounds a bit too ‘soft’ and ‘sweet’ while the best cuts are coming right after. I also regret that the work is only featuring 8 songs.

Conclusion: I can’t say this band is setting the world alight although “Chains” is a cool experience.

Best songs: “Die With Me”, “Alone”, “Ghostrunner”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/sn1006band

Label: www.negativegain.com / www.facebook.com/NegativeGain Read the news on ‘Chains’.

Listen to “Chains”:

About Supernova 1006

Supernova 1006 came to life in September 2014 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, through the collaboration of Andrey Yukhovich (guitar and vocals), Anton Korchevsky (bass and synthesizer), and Elena Polupan (drum machine and synthesizer). That year the band self-released the debut EP “Morphine”, the single “Mistakes”, and the full-length album “Bsides” on the Uncle Misha label.

Elena left the band in 2015 and was replaced by Lisa Dolgikh, and the group released its second LP, “Talons”, that year. Anton departed in 2016, and Supernova 1006 signed to Werkstatt Recordings, issuing the EP “Ministry” and the singles “Feel” and “We Are Free”. The album “Unique World” followed in 2017 on Werkstatt Recordings, Sierpien Records, Other Voices Records, and Orbita, released across CD, cassette, reel, and vinyl formats, with a later CD reissue on Gothic Music. The single “Dope For Human” appeared on 7-inch vinyl via Other Voices Records, followed by the LP “Blackout” on Sierpien Records, featuring contributions from Paradox Obscur and Kill Your Boyfriend.

Supernova 1006 released a remix of the 1979 track “High Pressure Days” with The Units, followed by the single “Gold” and the EP “Critical Distance” in the summer of 2018. That year the band also contributed to a remix release of “New Kind Of Cross” with Buzz Kull and Liars. In 2019 the band joined Young & Cold Records for the experimental industrial album “Technical Support” on 12-inch vinyl, and in 2021 released the synth-punk album “History Of Supernova 1006” via Sierpien Records.

The band stepped back from live performances between 2021 and 2023. In summer 2023 Sofia Merkulova replaced Lisa Dolgikh, and Supernova 1006 announced the album “Chains”, released that October on Negative Gain Productions.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Bagger 258 is a German duo featuring members of the familiar EBM-band Projekt 26 – which released the album “Violets And Violence” in 2017 by EK Product. Bagger 258 released by the end of 2023 the debut album “Ode An Die Arbeit”. Notice by the way the album has been mixed by Daniel Hallhuber (involved with different projects and founder of Young & Cold Records) and mastered by Stefan Poiss (Mind.In.A.Box).

Content: The album is meant as an ode to the ‘pulsating rhythm of work’ but also to old-school EBM. The main sources of influences aren’t that different from their previous project but the global writing- and production process has been seriously boosted and improved. The songs are driven by solid bass lines, 4×4 kicks, metallic sound treatments and German ‘body’ vocals. Both last songs are remixes by Oldschool Union (who already did a remix on the Projekt 26-album) and Projekt 26.

+ + + : Bagger 258 doesn’t innovate but shares with us a mature, professional and fully accomplished production. This is top-notch EBM featuring all essential ingredients to get people into tough dancing. I especially enjoy the impressive, menacing, bass lines mixed with metallic percussion sounds and the few little extra noises and melodic sequences they’re adding on top of the work. Bagger 258 makes me think of an imaginary hybrid between Tyske Lüdder, Pouppéée Fabrikk and Orange Sector. The work features multiple outstanding songs. The album last year reached the highest place in the famous DAC which says enough about this band’s potential -and especially for a self-released album. I would be not surprised they’ll very soon get a label deal.

– – – : Some would say ‘nothing new’ but who cares; this is pure, authentic, old-school EBM.

Conclusion: There’s no doubt about it, Bagger 258 will be the next great big thing in EBM land.

Best songs: “Muskeln Und Maschinen”, “Stalhwerk, Jetzt!”, “Glück Auf”, “Geschafft!”, “Maschinentakt”, “Schlagwetter”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.facebook.com/bagger.258

About Bagger 258

Bagger 258 is a German EBM duo of Nico von der Eisenmühle and Tim Schmelzer, both also active in Projekt 26. The pair set up Bagger 258 after struggling for years to finish material together as Projekt 26, whose singer had relocated. “Ode An Die Arbeit” was released independently on 24 November 2023, mixed by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studio in Augsburg and mastered by Stefan Poiss at Nicelabs in Vienna. The self-released album reached number one in the Deutsche Alternative Charts. A single, “Körperkommando”, followed in 2024.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

The fine people at Audioglobe inform us of a new release that is out now via Young & Cold. Leeds-based band Deathtrippers have released their latest 2022 album, “Passion & Fire”, in a limited edition offering of 250 copies on black vinyl.

This record follows their 2017 debut EP “Unity of Light” and their 2018 single “Disintegrate / Hand In Hand”. The group, which emerged in 2015, is led by Sasha Raoul and has experienced several lineup changes since the start. The current formation includes Sasha on vocals and instruments, Rick on guitar, and Oli on bass and drum machine.

“Passion & Fire” is a collection of new tracks in a classic UK-style goth rock which is not really a surprise as they hail from Leeds, a city renowned for its gothic music scene in the 80s with bands like The March Violets, The Three Johns, Salvation, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, and The Sisters of Mercy. Deathtrippers continue this tradition while blending it with guitar wave influences from bands like Lowlife and Sad Lovers & Giants.

The band has been working on the new material throughout 2021 and recorded the material with legendary producer Choque Hussain. Choque Hussain, a British music producer and sound engineer, has worked with numerous alternative / gothic bands in the past including Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Mission, and Claytown Troupe, among others.

Listen to “Shadows & Whispers” from the album right 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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Minimal-Electro, Industrial-Dance.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Hailing from Portland (USA) Xibling already self-released several EP’s while a kind of ‘compilat”on’ saw the daylight last year -being released by Young & Cold Records. The duo now signed to Ant-Zen and released their first single/EP featuring four songs.

Content: Xibling stands for pure minimalism; Electro-vintage music mixed with fragmented female vocals. Some parts are into dark poetry. The last track is a cover version of the legendary “Warm Leatherette”.

+ + + : I like the sound and global approach of the duo. The sound has something anarchistic and yet is easily recognizable. It’s minimal-like but is still into a kind of Industrial-Dance approach. With the exception of “Warm Leatherette” all songs have something sensational and somewhat reminding me of S.I.N.A.

– – – : “Warm Leatherette” is for sure a great song to play live but is neither the best exposure of Xibling nor the best cover version of this great song.

Conclusion: Xibling is a name to keep in mind; sexy Industrial tunes to dance on!

Best songs: “Eyes Closed”, “Maladjusted”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Xibling

Label: www.ant-zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official

Listen to “Eyes Closed”:

About Xibling

Xibling is a synthpop and dark electro project from Portland, Oregon. Julian Thieme started it as a solo project in 2015; Moriah West joined as vocalist in early 2018, turning it into a duo.

The project self-released the “Ground Zero” and “Light Pollution” EPs in 2018, followed by the self-released “Yesbody” in 2019 and the limited CD EP “Maladjusted” in 2021. Young & Cold Records compiled those two releases as “Yesbody / Maladjusted” in 2022. Xibling then signed to Ant-Zen for the four-track EP “Auswahl”, released in September 2022.

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 Greek duo Paradox Obscur is driven by Toxic Razor and Kriistal Ann. In less than ten years they never stopped to take me by surprise. First there’s this sterile, Cold/Wave-Pop sound and next there’s the magic of Kriistal Ann’s unique timbre of voice. Great albums have been released on different labels like Peripheral Minimal, Young & Cold Records and now Metropolis Records. “Morphogenesis” sounds to me as their most accomplished piece of music although holding on the minimalism which makes this band that particular. I asked a few questions to both protagonists.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You released an impressive number of productions (albums & singles) since 2014. How would you analyze the evolution of the band, your way of working and the global production?

TR: All releases reflect a corresponding period for Paradox Obscur as we always try to take it one step further from previous works and delve into new things.

KA: I believe that it takes strong principles to survive in the music industry and to keep your dignity as an artist. The age of hyper-consumerism has turned art into an inferior product. An artist is forced to become a production machine in order to keep his work relevant and sustainable. This is how we often see the phenomenon of saturation, endless new musical imitations and productions that have nothing to do with music but image, publicity in social networks and the plastic ephemeral quality to which the system and by extension humanity has fallen.

Q: What makes the chemistry between both of you? And can you enter into details about your way of working together and the different stages to achieve an album?

TR: Working together is an exchange of ideas and thoughts when it comes to composing new material, it always depends on the nature of each track and what vibes we need to express, but eventually a tune shapes its form on its own and from there we follow.

KA: We are one of the lucky cases as our needs go hand in hand in a wider framework of creative expression. We broadcast on the same wavelength and each gives form to the other’s ideas.

Q: What did you try to express by the title of the new album “Morphogenesis”? It’s interesting to consider this title as a metaphor to your music and especially the way of composing music in real time. What is it all about?

KA: The choice of the title “Morphogenesis” was made due to its Greek root (from the Greek morphê shape and genesis creation, literally ‘the generation of form’).

In recent years we have been trying to use Greek words for our album titles, because we admire ancient philosophies and de-symbolisms. Essentially, the meaning of the title here is not so much based on common scientific terminology as on Morphogenetic Fields (which are invisible blueprints for the forms embodied in the material world) as we are all part of this system, exchanging information and experiences.

The songs step on the structure of successive phases where one takes elements from the other, but retains their own character as they reflect musically and lyrically the modern society which completely devalues the spiritual power as it goes to its complete robotization.

Q: I experienced “Morphogenesis” as your most elaborated album to date. How do you look back at the composing process? What have been the main challenges and difficulties plus the main points of satisfaction? And are there still aspects you would like to change/improve at the next work?

TR: “Morphogenesis” is the follow up to “Synθesis”-LP, a natural progression with an updated production, however, I don’t believe that the band’s sound is reflected 100% to any of our releases since we always want to try different things under the Paradox Obscur prism.

We are already working on some new material and we want to pursue with more groove in our compositions while maintain a more organic essence to the sound, underlined by eerie analog textures.

Q: Two months before the album you self-released the single “Intercourse” which I think is an essential production and still fully representative for the duo you are. Two great and exclusive songs but what make them different from the album? And what means this DIY (do it yourself) approach to you?

TR: “Intercourse” was composed after the “Morphogenesis”-recording sessions were finished and “Glow” wasn’t intended to be listed as a Paradox Obscur song, but after the warmth recommendation from Kriistal Ann we decided to include it as a B-Side.

DIY to us simply means that we can release whatever we feel to without any deadlines.

A reason also for working on these small EPs in between the albums is to explore new sounds and aesthetics and try different ways of orchestration.

KA: The economic and cultural hardship forces you to get used to doing almost everything alone. What is certain is that if you want to have your own recognizable and characteristic sound, you should be on top of your work constantly with the corresponding passion.

Q: I think you were looking forward to get back on stage again. How important are live shows to you and how do you transpose the ‘in real time’ writing process from the studio to the stage?

KA: The live performance is essentially the last process of productive creation from which a band receives its reward from the interaction with the audience. It is an important point that can lift you up or bring you head-on with the result of your project.

TR: Live shows differ a lot from the studio sessions where we can have all our gear at our disposal, while playing live it makes it harder to carry all the equipment we’d like to. In the studio things can be shinier though we prefer to add a bit of dirt from time to time, evoking a blaze of raw emotions which tend to fall next to our live performances.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Out via the Young & Cold label on May 6th are 3 black vinyl releases of two Bloodygrave & Die Lust albums (+ a combined release) to celebrate the band’s 10+ years of existance.

Bloodygrave & Die Lust was born from the ashes of the Berlin gothpunkband Rotten Western Kulture (which broke up 2009). The solo-projects of Ben (Bloodygrave) and Frasco (Die Lust!) allied into the minimal-synthwave act Bloodygrave & Die Lust, using synthesizers and hardware gears.

The first re-release is “Minimal Times” which includes songs of the first two years (2008-2010) of the project, where minimal wave was the sound in the underground clubs. All songs on this LP have been re-mastered and 3 of the tracks are included in all new “2021 versions”.

Check out the Video for “Tscher-no-Bill”

Next is a “Best Of” which is a compilation of the later songs, with some exclusive, previously unreleased tracks.

Check out the Video for “Weisse Wände”

Finally there’s “Ein weiteres Jahr” which comes as a 2LP edition containing both of the above vinyls (“Minimal Times” & “Best of”) in one package.

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: Electro-Wave, Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital, Cassette.

Background/Info: “Voxiter” is an EP featuring three songs released during the last days of 2021 by the Greek duo Toxic Razor – Kriistal Ann aka Paradox Obscur. They’ve already released great works and collaborated with labels like Peripheral Minimal, Young & Cold Records and Metropolis.

Content: The title song is an instrumental one getting us back to the cold, sterile and retro-like Electro of the duo. Both next cuts are moving in a similar style with robotic vocals on top. The sound remains driven by an icy mood and is accentuated by melodic parts.

+ + + : I remain addicted to the Electro-Minimalism of this formation, which composes their music in real time and with hardware equipment. No tricks and sophisticated effects, but just a cold Electronic ‘purity’. I especially recommend listening to the last cut “Digital Law” for its extra melodic touch on top.

– – – : This EP experiments with robotic vocals while Paradox Obscur got us used to the enigmatic, cold and 80s like vocals of Kriistal Ann. That’s for sure an element I’m missing here.

Conclusion: “Voxiter” isn’t my favorite Paradox Obscur-production although it still has this very personal and magic sound.

Best songs: “Digital Law”, “Universe”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/paradoxobscur

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave, Dark-Wave, Dark-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl, Cassette.

Background/Info: The Italian duoLuca Bandini –
Alessandra Gismondi  is mainly known for their involvement with Shoegaze/Dream-Pop formation Schonwald, but they’re also active since 2014 in Shad Shadows. Their common love for obscure Electronics brought them to set up this band, which has now released their fourth album. The CD is available via Silver Veins while last year Young & Cold Records released a vinyl and Wave Tension Records a cassette. “Toxic Behaviours” is a somewhat conceptual work inspired by ‘the fundamental issue whether ritual is a necessary part of all societies. Ritual does not really exist in modern Western society but some rituals became as “Toxic Behaviours” in unexpected areas of the modern life’. 

Content: The songs are clearly evoking some retro Electro-Wave influences, but sometimes also a kind of electronic transposition of Shoegaze. The songs are diversified, but always recovered with vintage-like synths. It creates a dark and somewhat depressed atmosphere, which totally fits with the band’s passion for ‘obscure Electronic music’. Both protagonists, but mainly Luca, are singing, the production of the vocals having something misty, mysterious and sterile. The album features 10 songs plus 3 remixes (only for the digital and CD versions) by Andrea 20Hz, Curses and an “Alternative Version” of “Leader”.

+ + + : Shad Shadows has accomplished an interesting retro-styled and yet personal work. The misty sphere supporting the work makes me think of an Electronic version of Shoegaze, but it definitely will appeal to lovers of good-old Electro-Wave. The songs aren’t into complexity, but the simple power of retro-like sound treatments with excellent, cold strings on top. The ghost-like production of Luca Bandini’s vocals are fitting with the retro Electro style. Alessandra Gismondi is more active as backing vocalist, but her sweet ‘ice-queen’ way of singing remains a little extra. There are several cool songs, but “Fight The Dragon” definitely sounds like a masterpiece.

– – – : The remix of “Sad Bodies” by Andrea 20Hz sounds pretty cool and definitely ‘clubby’, but is quite different from the original edit.

Conclusion: After the great Shonwald album released last year, Luca Bandini –
Alessandra Gismondi found more great ideas to accomplish this intriguing and great new work by Shad shadows.

Best songs: “Fight The Dragon”, “Sad Bodies”, “Catch Fear”, “The Grace”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/shadshadowsmusic

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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Post-Punk/Darkwave artists Twin Tribes are back with a remix album. “Altars” is the follow-up to their sophomore album “Ceremony” and features a myriad of artists from the post-punk, darkwave scene remixing songs off Twin Tribes’ debut album “Shadows and Ceremony”.

Altars features remixes from She Past Away, Ash Code, Bootblacks, Wingtips and more and can be pore-ordered now.

“Altars” will be released April 9th through Negative Gain (North America), Manic Depression Records (France), and Young & Cold Records (Germany) on CD, Vinyl, and digitally.

Select remixes can be heard via the pre-order link.

Tracklist

1. The River (Skeleton Hands Remix)
2. Tower of Glass (Geometric Visions Remix)
3. Dark Crystal (Luz Futuro Remix)
4. Fantasmas (Ash Code Remix)
5. Perdidos (Cult of Alia Remix)
6. Upir (NITE Remix)
7. Exilio (Wingtips Remix)
8. Shadows (Matte Blvck Remix)
9. Still in Still (Dave Parley Remix)
10. Portal to the Void (She Past Away Remix)
11. Avalon (Bootblacks Remix)
12. Talisman (Creux Lies Remix)

About Twin Tribes

Twin Tribes is a Dark Synth / Post Punk duo based in Brownsville, Texas. Formed by Luis Navarro (vocals, guitar, synth, drum machines) and Joel Niño, Jr. (bass, synth, vocals) in 2017.

The band gathers their influences from the period of the dark 80’s. Dark Wave, Post-Punk and Cold Wave are genres that the band summon using analog synthesizers and drum machines. Dark melodic sounds, lyrics of the undead, the occult and parallel universes are what conjure Twin Tribes.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Genre/Influences: Dark-wave, cold-wave, post-punk.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Dead Wax Records released the album “An Enigmatic Individual” in 2016. The album was originally released as vinyl format and now re-released by Young & Cold Records as a new vinyl edition plus CD featuring extra songs. This Cold Night is an American project hailing from Texas and driven by Chase Morledge. Several productions including albums have been self-released. 

Content: The influences and sound of this project totally matches with the approach of Young And Cold Records. This is pure post-punk music getting us back to the dark hours of 80s cold- and dark-wave music. Some parts –especially for the deep bass play, remind me of the obscure sphere recovering the songs of Joy Division. The bonus song “Each Other” perfectly emulates this dark 80s spirit and the joy division inspiration. The vocals have something sterile although a few cuts reveal a bit more emotion.

+ + + : This is another artist founding his main inspiration in the darkest corners of 80s cold/dark-wave music. The production has something unpolished and yet featuring a melodic touch on top. The original album features 10 songs, but I definitely prefer some of the bonus cuts. I already mentioned the Joy Division inspired “Each Other”, but “Lovers Don’t Wear Gold” is another attention grabber. From the original tracklist I have to mention the more emotional “Black Cathedral” and some of the debut songs like “Enigmatic Individual” and the more electro driven “Pain”.

– – – : The sound formula is somewhat repetitive revealing less diversity in the song writing, but I have to admit the bonus songs push this album to a higher level.

Conclusion: “An Enigmatic Individual” is a rather traditional 80s dark/cold-wave driven work, which will appeal for the true die-hard fans of the genre.

Best songs: “Each Other”, “Lovers Don’t Wear Gold”, “Black Cathedral”, “Enigmatic Individual”, “Pain”, “Gay Goth Machine”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.thiscoldnight.com

Label: https://youngandcold.de /

www.facebook.com/youngandcoldrecords

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

Internet is getting artists closer, giving birth to new bands. Before the new millennium it was nearly impossible to imagine a duo featuring the singer living in Germany and the musician living in Brazil. Wintry was the daylight thanks to the internet. Anne Goldacker (ex-Obsyre) and Alex Twin (3 Cold Men, Individual Industry, and still owner of Wave Records) joined hands together. They released a debut album “Atmosphere Around Us” in 2009 and struck back in 2017 with the single “Ausweg”. “Timeline” has been released as a collaboration between Wave Records and Young And Cold Records, but also got released in the US by Cleopatra Records. Their music reminds the golden years of 4AD and will appeal for lovers of X-Mal Deutschland, Cocteau Twins, Bauhaus and others. I got in touch with Anne and Alex. (Picture credits by Falk Scheuring).

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Wintry has been set up in the 90s as a solo-project and became a duo when Anne Goldacker joined in for the debut album “Atmosphere Around Us”. How did this meeting happened and what did Anne brought to Wintry expect her beautiful timbre of voice?

Anne: Alex and I met thanks to Bruno Kramm. Alex was looking for a singer and Bruno recommend me. The main part is my voice, the second part are the lyrics, which I write myself.

Q: The single “Ausweg” has been released in 2017, but it took you ten years to release a successor to the album “Atmopshere Around Us “. How do you explain this long absence and what motivated you to start again?

Anne: For me, music is an important part of my life. But first of all I have a demanding profession, which takes me lot of my attention. As a dentist you certainly need to get a balance and I found it in music. But time goes fast and it takes a little longer to finish an album.

Alex: I’m involved with many others projects, so I can write new music when there is some free time. But I also have to take care of the label and the e-shop. It’s not that easy when you’re doing this all alone while it takes much time.

Q: When did the writing of the new album “Timeline” started and what kind of album did you try to accomplish?

Anne: I don’t know exactly when. For me the work started with the musical basis from Alex. I got my ideas for singing when writing the lyrics. And the result is an album giving us satisfaction after a long period of creation.

Q: How did the writing-, recording- and production of the album happened? And how did it happened for the vocals as you don’t live in the same country? And what has been the real input of both guest artists?

Anne: In times of internet, the distance is no problem. I went to a friend‘s studio to record my vocals and send it to Brazil. Alex did the rest.

Alex: I compose the songs and send them to Anne. After getting back the vocals, I sent it all to our guest musicians, Franck from Opera Multi Steel on bass and Audret from Scarlet Leaves to play guitars. The final production has been done by Marclo Gallo (Pitch Yarn Of Matter), who’ s doing mixing, production and mastering for years now here in São Paulo.

Q: Wintry is often linked to some bands from the legendary 4AD roster. What did this label mean to you and what do you consider as the real sources of inspiration?

Alex: I think the main bands active in the dark scene and dealing with post-punk, dark-wave, ethereal and related genres are influenced by the 4AD era. These bands were the pioneers of dark music.

Things are a bit different today. Bands no longer  compose music like 4AD artists did. We have these bands in mind, but there also is the influence from ‘new’ bands. We must move ahead and listen more to new music than only to the ‘old ones’, at least that’s how it works for me. Actually I listen much more to new stuff than old work. Wave Records get many demos every week and trust me, I have heard numerous great new bands since 2010.

Q: “Timeline” has been of course released on your own label, Wave Records, but still here in Europe on Young & Cold Records and in the US on Cleopatra. Why releasing an album on three labels when we all know the CD format no longer sell? What are the further plans for Wintry?

Alex: After I had finished the Wintry master, I got a message from A&R from Cleopatra, and he asked me about some bands I released. So I sent him the new Wintry and we got a deal for North America exclusively. Young & Cold Records are partners for selling recrods via the e-shop, but Wintry also has 70% of the tracks in German, so we just found a deal for the vinyl release exclusively for Europe. The CD edit features bonus tracks and Wave Records sell it worldwide.

About the CD sales, I can tell you this format is still  selling, but not like in the 90s. But we have many customers only buying CD editions. Of course vinyl is growing the last years, but the main people at least in Brazil just buy CD’s. I think releasing 3 different formats is a good way to reach all kind of customers.

The plans for Wintry are to compose more tracks next year so a new album will be probably released for 2021/2022.

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

Masquerade is a Finnish band hailing from Helsinki set up in 2012. They released the debut album “Ritual” in 2016 on Danse Macabre. They also released a few EP’s and finally released their second opus entitled “Where Nobody Can Hear You Scream”. The album was self-released in 2018 and released on CD in 2019 by the Russian label Sierpien Records till the German label Young & Cold Records gave it a new CD-edit this year. The work is also available as vinyl format. “Where Nobody Can Hear You Scream” sounds as a real revelation; not that much in the post-punk and cold-wave influences, but in the global writing- and production of the songs. If you don’t know yet Masquerade, this interview with their singer ‘Suzi Sabotage’ will hopefully incite you to discover this great band. (Picture credit by Vivian Tanner).

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Masquerade is already active since 2012. How would you analyze the evolution/changes from your first songs till today? And do you see main differences between both albums you released?

Suzi:I guess they have become more straightforward. There was a fair amount of experimentation in the beginning, but on our second album we went for that bleak, dissonant post-punk sound that I’m very fond of.

Q: Masquerade is an interesting band name, which I naturally link to people hiding behind masks to dissimulate their real faces. So is the image of a band –and of your own band, still a kind of masquerade? What’s the importance of the image?

Suzi:I don’t know where and I came across the sentence ‘We hide our faces to reveal our true selves’, but it has stuck in my mind and is kind of what our name is about. Sometimes masks and heavy makeup bring out your true nature and personality.

Q: “Where Nobody Can Hear You Scream” was originally self-released in 2018 –and later on re-released by Sierpien Records (Russia; 2019) and Young & Cold Records (Germany; 2020) in different formats. How do you look back at the writing/recording of the album? Are there things you would achieve a different way today?

Suzi:We had written, recorded, and pre-mixed most of the album already in 2017, actually. But as perfectionist as I am, I decided to re-record almost all of my vocals in 2018, then Jacques and I final-mixed and mastered it. I’m glad I didn’t rush the process because it ended up sounding much better as a result.

Q: I experience your work as a great homage to the legendary 80s decade of cold-wave and post-punk. The 80s remain something magic and still inspiring for young bands. So according to you what makes the magic of this decade and do you feel also close to other music periods? 

Suzi: It might be foolish of me to idealize a decade that I didn’t even get to experience, but one can’t deny that people of the post-punk movement were a lot more physically present and active then than now. The existence of the Internet has grown the movement in numbers, for sure, but it has also made us more passive and fixated on the music of the past rather than that of the present.

Q: You guys are still involved with Virgin in Veil. I’m always fascinated how artists can switch between different projects. Considering aspects such as spirit, song writing, lyrical themes, global production… what are the main- and most significant differences between both bands?

Suzi:Virgin In Veil and Masquerade are as different from each other as vodka and wine. Already in the vocals you can hear the most obvious difference –I sing in Masquerade, whereas Jacques is the vocalist of Virgin In Veil, and our vocal styles are worlds apart from each other. Also, Virgin In Veil is pure, straightforward death-rock whereas Masquerade has a lot of classic post-punk experimentation in its music.

We also have a new neoclassical dark-wave band with Jacques called Wild Roses Of Winter which I think is very different from the rest of our projects.

Q: I noticed at your Facebook page you guys are clearly engaged against racism! What’s your perception about this terrible subject and do you think there’s a way that can help to make things change? Can music have a real impact?

Suzi:In my opinion, if you have any influence or audience whatsoever, you should use it for good and take a clear stance against injustice. Music has always had an impact on the surrounding world, so it can very well act as a catalyst for social change. From the very beginning, Masquerade has had a political component to it –we’ve had many politically charged lyrics, used antifascist symbols on our album covers and at our shows, and collected money for various causes, the most recent of them being Black Lives Matter. I’ve never been shy to use my voice to spread awareness about injustices, and I hope it has made a difference.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro, dark-wave.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Psihokratija was originally set up in the late 80s in Yugoslavia (today Serbia). After several changes in the line-up and a split, the project got reactivated. Core members Gorjan Krstić and Zoran Petrović are still on board and joined hands together with Young & Cold Music to unleash this new opus.

Content: You’ll rapidly recognize the 80s spirit running through the work. This is synch music carried by danceable rhythms. The songs are achieved with melody lines, but some songs are still boosted by aggressive sequences. The first part (A side) of the album sounds more hesitant compared to the second part (B side). There you’ll hear harder cuts with an explicit 80s touch. Some of the first songs are more into emotional passages. The vocals are all sung in English getting the work more accessible.

+ + + : The sensible/emotional side of the work sounds fine, but especially with the melody line on top from “Mercyful Dreamer”. I however prefer the final part of the album and the songs “Stormy Days” and “Rob Your Mind”. Both songs are clearly inspired by 80s electro-wave music, but they also have feature an extra kicking aspect the other songs don’t have. Both songs are well-crafted revealing a truly potential.

– – – : This album reveals some great ideas and cool songs, but some songs are missing the little details to speak about a fully successful opus. Especially the first part could be more convincing. 

Conclusion: Psihokratija totally fits with the approach and music taste of Young And Cold Records, but “Eight Wanderings Of The Soul” is not exactly what I would call the referential album of the label.

Best songs: “Stormy Days”, “Rob Your Mind”, “Mercyful Dreamer”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Psihokratija-190237157674443

Label: https://youngandcold.de /

www.facebook.com/youngandcoldrecords

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

Post-punk/darkwave artists Twin Tribes have announced the release of their new album “Ceremony”. The album follows up on their debut “Shadows”.

Twin Tribes is based in Brownsville, Texas and was formed by the duo Luis Navarro (vocals, guitar, synth, drum machines) and Joel Niño, Jr. (bass, synth, vocals) in 2017. Twin Tribes has spent a majority of the past year touring the United States and playing with such artists as She Past Away, Actors, Kaelan Mikla, Ash Code and many more.

“Ceremony” will be released December 13th on Negative Gain (North America), Manic Depression Records (France), and Young & Cold Records (Germany). Their newest song “The River” can be heard below. Read the review of ‘Ceremony’.

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 now is a brand new video for the synth duo Paradox Obscur: “Afterlife Effect”. On this track the duo is again using real hardware synthesizers and drum machines setting them apart from many other synth based projects.

You can watch the video below:

Paradox Obscur were formed in January 2014 by Toxic Razor and Kriistal Ann in order to step into a more minimal direction than their previous projects. Their debut album was published by Peripheral Minimal (UK) in June 2014 and was followed by the 4-track “Noir” EP in the same year.

A second album entitled “Anacrusis” was released in November 2015 again on Peripheral Minimal, with the band recording the “Atrapos” EP and self-releasing it in July 2016.

The band is currently signed with Young & Cold Records (DE) and has released a new third album entitled “Artifact”.

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

In 2016, The Arch released the album “Fates” on Trisol and Dark tunes. The album release was followed by gigs at festivals like M’era Luna, Wfest, Young & Cold festival in Augsburg and shows in Paris, London and Cologne.

That live experience seemed to have been very fruitful for the band:

“We didn’t stop making music”. We had so many ideas and songs that we wanted to make a successor for Fates.”

In december 2018 The Arch will release a new album with 12 new songs but each song will be released separately throughout the year, one per month and this on itunes/spotify, something producer John Fryer has been doing before as you might know.

Here’s what the band says about this (adopted) approach:

“Each song is a world on its own: a different story, atmosphere and sound. We want to have another approach than the usual, when a band goes into the studio with a amount of songs, and finished them as a whole, with a same global sound. In a way, we start an album without being an album. And also not knowing how it will sound at the end. That makes it a whole different approach. And it makes us curious. It’s like an adventure.”

Note that the 12 songs will also be inspired by the month the band is releasing it.

“Winter will be different than Autumn. Maybe darker. Maybe warmer. We don’t know. Every song gets a special artwork and sleeve so they all look like singles. We are also working on video material to release with every track.”

The first song to be released is “Blood Crystals” and was written after reading “The Girl Who Played with Fire”, the second novel in the Millennium series by the Swedish writer, Stieg Larsson. Says the band:

“At the end Lisbeth Salander is buried alive. When you are listening to our song, you got to imagine what is happening, when you’re buried alive yourself and you suddenly realize it.”

“Blood Crystals” will be released tomorrow.

In further news, here are some confirmed concert dates for the next months.

• 09/02/2018 – Matrix Bochum (DE)
• 23/02/2018 – Magasin 4 Brussels (BE)
• 12/10/2018 – Autumn Moon Festival (DE)
• More tbc

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