Formed in 1996 at Paris, France, Diapsiquir are avant-garde black metal with sick, psycho, twisted and intriguing textures, infusions of different musical genres from French chansons to rapcore and industrial, from dark-ambiental to displaced jazz. Considered “controversial french outlaw black metal band known for their decadent activities” and “never resting and fully absorbed in the savage, sexually violent, drug-laden nihilism of french subculture”, A.N.T.I., their third full-length album introduced us in a gloomy, but expressive, contorted and scary universe of sickness and filth. Leave your ridiculous hopes behind, salvation always comes too late. Read more Diapsiquir – A.N.T.I. (2011)
industrial
Marc Broude – Psychological Warfare (2011)
Reminds me of Ministry, Godflesh, Schnitt Acht, Bail and other contorted oddities from the industrial metal area of noise aggression, Marc Broude comes crushing. Marc Broude (born August 23, 1984) is an American cross-genre composer who started in the Chicago-based noise outfit Panicsville in 2005. He has collaborated with a diverse array of artists and groups including Cock E.S.P., Richard Ramirez and Lasse Marhaug. In 2010 Broude and Tim Lash formed Sick Spider. In 2009 Broude released Rites of Zen, a seventy-two minute dark ambient piece similar to projects like Lull and Lustmord. Working independently of major labels, Marc Broude primarily records for his own label, NoZen Records.
“Psychological Warfare” was originally released in 2006 as a 50 piece limited edition 7†which became out of print and unavailable, it was digitally remixed and re-released in May 2011. Two tracks, “Psychological Warfare” and “God Smacker”, 11:33 minutes containing pumping, grinding, twisted, extreme and noisy, quality industrial metal. Read more Marc Broude – Psychological Warfare (2011)
Alfa Matrix Re:Covered 2 A Tribute To Depeche Mode – 2CD (2011)
Founded in 2001, based in Brussels, the Belgian record label, Alfa Matrix, becomes a quality trademark and home of some bands as Front 242, Leæther Strip, Unter Null, Armageddon Dildos, Zombie Girl, Mind:state, Psy’Aviah, Adam X, Dunkelwerk, Trisomie 21 – to mention only a few.
As the official release note says: “Although the first volume of this Depeche Mode cover album received a more than successful echo from both indie and mainstream worlds, this project would have definitely remained a one-off project if some of our label bands had not insistently pressed us to launch a second volume.” Leaether Strip, Ayria, Kant Kino, Komor Kommando, I:Scintilla, Technoir, Helalyn Flowers, Plastic Noise Experience, Implant, Krystal System, Acylum, and other bands delivered some twisted and exciting covers of Depeche Mode and definitively this double CD (plus free EP) are an excellent trip and perfect follow up of the previous, two years earlier release. Read more Alfa Matrix Re:Covered 2 A Tribute To Depeche Mode – 2CD (2011)
Dope Stars Inc. – Ultrawired (2011)
Merge Sigue Sigue Sputnik with Marilyn Manson and you will heave a pretty clear notion of what Dope Stars Inc. sounds like. Following the tradition of 80s Glam Rock, with one ear directioned to Motley Crue and Guns N’ Roses and the other to Hanoi Rocks and HIM, introducing electronica and industrial resonances, Victor Love formed Dope Stars Inc. in late 2002, early 2003 in Rome, Italy. Following “//Neuromance” (2005), “Gigahearts” (2006) and “21st Century Slave” (2009), “Ultrawired”, the fourth studio album by Dope Stars Inc. released on May 30, 2011 it’s available as a free download on the band’s website and rely on fan contribution to cover recording costs, as well as they placed a doodle on the Pirate Bay homepage. Kind of showing up the middle finger to the music business, isn’t it? Read more Dope Stars Inc. – Ultrawired (2011)
Decree – Fateless (2011)
Leading us back to the dark and noisy sound of Godflesh, Decree deliver us “Fateless”, an expression of anger and kind of discomfort. Chris Peterson is probably best known for anyone that is familiar with industrial genre for stepping in to fill the void left in Front Line Assembly and Delerium every time Rhys Fulber leaves to concentrate on some other project and as well, Peterson is known as producer for acts such Noise Unit and Unit 187. But Decree have nothing to do with FLA or Delirium, Peterson with Decree going down on a darker, heavier path, exploring noisy and crushing sounds, mechanical cadence and dissonant layers are flow throughout the songs marked by cutting riffs and raw, filtered vocals. It’s quite unfriendly, but extremely intense. Read more Decree – Fateless (2011)
Anaal Nathrakh – Passion (2011)
According to Michael Everson’s transcription, Anaal Nathrakh means “serpent’s breath” and the name comes from Merlin’s Charm of Making in John Boorman’s 1981 film “Excalibur”. The British extreme metal band was formed in 1999 and they fuse black metal, grindcore, death metal and industrial music. “Passion” is their eight studio album and the new collection of ten songs are lead us through the same dark, contorted world made of forged guitars, raw vocals, crushing tempos and extreme noises, but Anaal Nathrakh managed to bring into this extreme butchery interesting harmonies and melodies, inspired colors and shady sounds. Read more Anaal Nathrakh – Passion (2011)
Necro Facility – Wintermute (2011)
Swedish newcomers Necro Facility deliver another intense and intelligently built trip into the EBM taste-like dark electro music where Industrial-strength beats, heavy synths and twisted sounds which reminds me once again of the Front 242 standard and contemporary club music collide into a glowing, pumping construction made of intensity and musicality simultaneously. Oscar Holter – music and Henrik Bäckström – lyrics and vocals made another “Swedish quality” product, European roots and Canadian sounds of the industrial/EBM scene are merged smoothly into an exciting and colorful material released through Progress Productions. Read more Necro Facility – Wintermute (2011)
16Volt – Beating Dead Horses (2011)
I stumbled into a handful of incredible industrial bands at the beginning of the 90s thanks to Cleopatra Records and two of their compilations, collections of cover songs, I guess it was an AC/DC tribute and another one with The Cure songs. Later I had listen also some nice Smashing Pumpkins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, New Order, The Sisters of Mercy, Pink Floyd, Guns N’ Roses, Dead Can Dance and Skinny Puppy tribute/cover albums. Well, through that records I discovered bands such 16Volt, Razed in Black, Spahn Ranch, Sheep on Drugs, Electric Hellfire Club and so on.
16Volt reminded me of Ministry and it’s the project created by Eric Powell and Mike Peoples in 1988 and “Beating Dead Horses” is the eight studio album of the band. There is still few reminiscences of the Ministry sound like EBM/industrial sound, but 16Volt developed their own sound and unique approach. “Beating Dead Horses” is actually an absolutely beautiful album. Read more 16Volt – Beating Dead Horses (2011)
KMFDM – WTF?! (2011)
It’s been two years since the release of “Blitz” and KMFDM are back now with their seventeenth studio album released yesterday, on April 26. It’s true, meanwhile KMFDM released two compilation albums, “Würst” and “Greatest Shit”. Since Tim Sköld (formerly of Shotgun Messiah) left in 2003 to join Marilyn Manson (he left Manson in 2008 and formed Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult alongside Hank von Helvete), he still had contributed to KMFDM – “Skold vs. KMFDM” released in 2009, completed entirely over the Internet – and since Sascha Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli moved to Hamburg, Germany, it will be the first release entirely without any contribution from Tim. Steve White and Jules Hodgson played guitars and Andy Selway the drums, completing the curent line-up of the band. “What the Fuck?!” still remains fresh, pulsing, intense and exciting. KMFDM is one of the few of this genre of Industrial Metal and Rock/EBM blending which avoiding successfully to repeat them self and becoming boring. Read more KMFDM – WTF?! (2011)
Caustic – The Golden Vagina of Fame and Profit (2011)
Matt Fanale is a funny guy. Not often you will find sense of humor in music – it seems that is all gone with Zappa…. – and rarely in “serious” genre as noise for example, you’ll find guys with appetite for some fun. Caustic was created in 2002 by Madison, Wisconsin’s Matt Fanale and just like “Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails,†Matt Fanale is Caustic. I stumbled into Caustic in 2009 by his album “This is Jizzcore” and I was positively surprised. Well, not everybody laugh while listening at „Hitler Ruined That Moustache For Everyoneâ€, „Redneck Pussyhouseâ€,â€This Track Will Get Skipped A Lotâ€, „I Gave the Blind Boy My Eyes (But Stole His Tongue)”, but humor – just like everything else – after all is a matter of taste. Sometimes Matt get into the area of Noise and Powernoise, this incursions sometimes are quite above my understanding and digestion capacity, but Matt mainly make constructions of classic EBM/IDM with deep resonances of the 80’s American Industrial scene and he make mainly pulsing, groovy themes which are really enjoyable. Read more Caustic – The Golden Vagina of Fame and Profit (2011)
