Fla Vector + Tribal A.D. : Cvlt

Fla Vector ‎: R.E.D. [2013]

Artist: Fla Vector
Title: R.E.D.
Year: 2013   
Label: Synthematik /SNTK-DIG-31
Genre: Industrial, Rhythmic Noise, Breakcore
Quality: 192 kbps

01. Dobroe Utro 01:06
02. Zdravstvyj, Rodina! 06:32
03. Fabrika 03:24
04. Serp I Molot 03:49
05. U Stanka 04:04
06. Po Serebrianomy Zvenu 00:43
07. Machinist 04:12
08. Doska Pocheta 05:39
09. Demonstracyia 04:28
10. Molodezhi 00:53
11. Romans 03:57
12. RED 04:50
13. Galstuk 05:44
14. Krasnoye Znamia 05:05
15. Dobryi Vecher 00:40

Started in 2008 by Fla1 (keys, programming) and Xell (live vox & fx) as an experimental industrial/rhythmic noise act, Fla Vector have released two full-length albums both of which received overwhelmingly positive feedback worldwide.

After the release of the second album in 2009, the band went off the radar, but now they are back with a new album, RED. With RED the project marks some important changes, both in the line-up, introducing the new vocalist Proton, and in the music, blending new genres into its sound. Moreover, RED is a conceptual work devoted to the Soviet epoch that has left its mark on the lives and destinies of millions of people. This makes it quite a unique piece of industrial music art.

If you are a fan of Skinny Puppy, Chrysalide, The Progidy and the like, this is a release you do not want to miss.

LINK 

ESA : Themes of Carnal Empowerment Pt.3: Penance [2015]

Artist: ESA
Title: Themes of Carnal Empowerment Pt.3: Penance
Year: 2015   
Label: WTII Records ‎– 114
Genre: Industrial, Rhythmic Noise, Tribal, IDM
Quality: 320 kbps

01. Men Will Only Break Themselves (08:46)
02. Be Still and I Shall Tell You Why (07:12)
03. The Tempters Triumph (06:35)
04. Master, No Servant (06:37)
05. What the Devil Did (07:34)
06. My Church (08:19)
07. Threnody for You (04:53)
08. Penance (feat. Magenta S) (09:17)
09. Juju Yako (feat. Nemo Kami) (10:36)
10. Fenetre (feat. Nana Ama Frimpong) (08:13)

E.S.A. has become well known in the rhythmic noise/harsh industrial scene for his previous two dynamic entries in the "Themes" trilogy. Both Themes of Carnal Empowerment Pt. 2: Deceit and Themes Of Carnal Empowerment Pt. I : Lust received accolades and praise internationally, garnering the solo project of Jamie Blacker quite a cult following. Finally coming to a close, however, Blacker has put out what he considers the most definitive work of E.S.A. to date with "Themes of Carnal Empowerment Pt. 3: Penance".

Starting with 'Men Will Only Break Themselves', "Penance" moves through all the beats you can expect from E.S.A. but with improved and much more refined techniques and solid writing. Pounding rhythms will aurally destroy your ears and get you moving your feet, electronic warfare will make your eyes gush red, and Blacker's voice will sing you an anthem of pain and prosperity. It's quite lovely to get through this album from start to finish. 

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LINK

Die Krupps : Live Im Schatten Der Ringe [2016]

Artist: Die Krupps
Title:  Live Im Schatten Der Ringe 
Year: 2016  
Label:  AFM Records
Genre: EBM, Industrial
Quality: 320 kbps

 CD1
01. Intro (01:02)
02. Blick Zuruck Im Zorn (04:16)
03. Dawning Of Doom (04:16)
04. Risikofaktor (03:47)
05. Im Falschen Land (03:51)
06. Essenbeck (04:17)
07. Der Amboss (04:24)
08. The Machinist Of Joy (04:51)
09. Part Of The Machine (04:38)

CD2
01. Industrie-Madchen (04:15)
02. Schmutzfabrik (04:32)
03. Robo Sapien (05:34)
04. Metal Machine Music (05:11)
05. To The Hilt (04:50)
06. Nazis Auf Speed (05:33)
07. Fatherland (06:13)
08. Machineries Of Joy (06:21)
09. Crossfire (05:31)

Critics worldwide hail them alongside Kraftwerk and Einstürzende Neubauten as pioneers of Electronic and Industrial music, bands like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb called them their inspiration, and their musical ideas found their way into the sound of a wide spectrum of music, from Depeche Mode to the innovative pioneers of Detroit Techno. Over 30 years and many internationally successful albums, DIE KRUPPS have developed an unmistakable signature sound that is meant to stay. 

 

Bandmaster Jürgen Engler is a visionary musician who since decades strongly influences the German music scene. During the 80’s he founded DIE KRUPPS together with his congenial partner Ralf Dörpner (later PROPAGANDA) – who is also responsible for many of the lyrics since “Wahre Arbeit Wahrer Lohn” – and became the driving force of the Industrial and EBM scene. 2005 marked the 25th anniversary of DIE KRUPPS, which was reason enough for the 2 original Members Engler and Dörper to prove to the rest of the world that DIE KRUPPS are far from being dead. The reunited group played festivals and several headline tours across Europe in the following years and proved that their live shows are as energetic as ever. Since that comeback DIE KRUPPS released several products, amongst others the „Too Much History“-Collection and a two studio albums (2013 + 2015). 

 

In February 2014 Die Krupps started the 'THE MACHINISTS OF JOY'-TOUR 2014. 12 dates had been scheduled on which they presented their first studio album of the new millennium in sweat-inducing manner! Full speed ahead! Finally there is a DVD & BLU-RAY showing the band‘s overwhelming live appearance. Watch them headlining  the E-tropolis Festival in the sold out Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen (Germany) on February 22nd, 2014. 90 minutes live show, including songs from every creative period. On the right side of the stage the stoical-cool frowning guitarist Marcel Zürcher, Keyborader Dörper as usual acting in the background, Bradley Bills on the drums and Jürgen Engler, who seems not growing any older at all.

 

LINK

Nitzer Ebb : Industrial Complex (Limited Exclusive Edition) [2016]

Artist: Nitzer Ebb 
Title:  Industrial Complex     
Year: 2016  
Label: Emmo.biz
Genre: EBM, Industrial
Quality: 320 kbps/Joint-Stereo

CD 1
01. Promises (03:50)
02. Once You Say (03:41)
03. Never Known (03:59)
04. Going Away (04:11)
05. Hit You Back (04:20)
06. Payroll (02:57)
07. Down On Your Knees (03:53)
08. I Don’t Know You (03:12)
09. My Door Is Open (03:16)
10. I Am Undone (03:52)
11. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (02:57)
12. Traveling (03:13)

CD 2
01. I Am Undone (Alan Wilder Remix) (05:28)
02. Once You Say (Remix By Apoptygma Berzerk) (04:32)
03. Once You Say (MRDTC Version) (05:41)
04. Once You Say (Puremix By NZ) (04:43)
05. Once You Say (Rawmix By NZ) (03:49)
06. Once You Say (Neotek Remix) (04:18)
07. Once You Say (Angst Pop feat. Technomancer Remix) (04:41)
08. Once You Say (K-Bereit Remix) (04:37)
09. Once You Say (Vince Clarke Remix) (05:34)
10. Once You Say (Remix By Feindflug) (03:59)

It's usually hard to justify a comeback for any band and for a band that wasn't necessarily successful in the mainstream, but when they go through their past hurdles and make something so modern that doesn't betray their history is astounding. I'm mesmerized on Nitzer Ebb by the prospect of future releases, Industrial Complex was supposed to be an experiment or an classic-laden throwback, yet it's the best work we've seen by them and it oozes consistency and prowess.
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LINK

Hypnoskull : Immer Wieder Nein [2016]

Artist: Hypnoskull  
Title: Immer Wieder Nein  
Year: 2016  
Label: Ant Zen Germany/ACT 354 
Genre: Industrial, Rhythmic Noise
Quality: 320 kbps

1. Die 23 Augen Des Dr Hypno (4:05)
2. Immer Wieder Nein (6:14)
3. Black Db (3:31)
4. Die Angst/Findet Nicht Mehr Statt (6:08)
5. Phantomschmerz (7:10)
6. Soho/Die Nacht Findet Nicht Mehr Statt (4:45)
7. Who (2:58)
8. Krank Vor Wut (5:34)
9. Alles Schwarz (5:19)
10. Kleine Dunkle Vorahnung (3:26)
11. Niedergang (4:53)
12. Gegen VerfAhhrung (4:10)
13. Benares Song (2:25)
14. Seerauber Jenny (5:35)

sonic explorations into the rich tapestry of electronic music aside, resistance and challenge have always been hypnoskull's primary statements of purpose, and examining these themes in attendant texts and song lyrics has been, and always will be of the utmost importance to patrick stevens. this work. 'immer wieder nein', his ninth album on ant-zen, is no exception! presenting a highly explosive assemblage of aurally conveyed anger and thought-provoking impulses, a barrage of fierce and violent loops originating from harsh electronics and rhythmic noise backed up with distorted techno beats, this release moves the listener into a state of hypnosis, making them receptive to the lyrics of the closing three tracks. well-known german poet and playwright bertolt brecht inspired hypnoskull to make radical re-interpretations of his works 'gegen verführung' (against seducement), 'benares song' and 'seeräuber jenny' - lyrics about devastation, seeking bloody revenge, and opposition which haven't lost their relevance in the last hundred years. it is important to say 'no' time after time, again and again - join the chant: immer wieder nein!

LINK

Memmaker : Let There Be Lasers [2016]

Artist:Memmaker
Title:Let There Be Lasers
Year:2016
Label:Braincorp
Genre: Industrial, EBM, IDM
Quality:320 Kbps

01. Let There Be Lasers (Intro)
02. Doom Ray
03. Machine
04. Drop The Beat
05. Atomkrig (Dansk Jävlar!)
06. Manipulate
07. Sex With A Robot (Are You Gonna Do It?)
08. Race To Space (Feat. Detroit Diesel)
09. Sunstorm
10. Doom Ray (Remixed By Synapscape)

Memmaker’s 2008 debut How to Enlist in a Robot Uprising felt very necessary at the time of its release. Released just as industrial was emerging from the long shadow of aggrotech and entering a phase of artistic renewal, the collaboration between Iszoloscope’s Yann Faussurier and Guillaume Nadon hit the perfect balance of fun, clubbable bangers and off-kilter humour right as audiences seemed primed for it. Arriving some eight years later, Let There Be Lasers is cut from the same cloth as its predecessor, emphasizing dancefloor thrills to excellent effect. 

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LINK

Thorofon : Roots [2016]

Artist:Thorofon
Title:Roots
Year Of Release:2016
Label:Ant-Zen/ACT344
Genre:Industrial, EBM, Rhythmic Noise
Quality:320 kbps
Total Time:00:49:25

1. Your Masked God (5:06)
2. Cold Fever (4:36)
3. Mafia Murder Victim (4:23)
4. Frosty Smile (2:56)
5. Sick Mode (1:27)
6. Don't Wake Up (3:30)
7. Klean (3:01)
8. Nothing Remains (3:55)
9. Lsd Attack (2:12)
10. In Blood and Heels (3:01)
11. Anti Savak (5:12)
12. Roots (3:33)
13. Stone Against Head (6:33)

You cannot bring light to the world without being burned. We're burning for you!'

in 1996, Thorofon was launched and has grown to become one of the most remarkable projects in the German power noise/industrial movement, and with its 20th anniversary on the horizon, the time has come to present an exceptional celebratory release for the constant and faithful listeners all around the globe. 

The main components of 'Roots' are archival ones from the last two decades, featuring unreleased material and compilation tracks as well as technically updated reinterpretations of past sonic assaults, a fact which is hard to believe while listening to this monolithic release. It succeeds in turning the past into the present in a most astounding way.

'Roots' skillfully combines the brightness and wide palate of today's recording possibilities with the oppressive darkness of a bygone musical era including frozen surgical ambiance, unsettling canalized noise and distorted, straight rhythmic sequences. The ingredients of vintage industrial music, cold power electronics and menacing electronic body music coalesce in a most perfect way - a trademark Thorofon has been well-known for throughout the last two decades.
 

Far from being nostalgic Thorofon return to their roots - just to start over again. stay tuned!

LINK

Mono-Amine : Ordo Ab Chao [2016]

Artist:Mono-Amine
Title:Ordo Ab Chao
Year:2016
Label:Vendetta Music/VM0070
Genre:Industrial, Rhythmic Noise
Quality:320 kbps

01. The Predatory Elite                           03:02
02. Chaos by Its Definition                      06:25
03. The Future Must Not Be Blindly         06:35
04. Statism Is an Ideology                      06:36
05. Order out of Chaos (Album Mix)        07:09
06. Eleutheromania                               06:26
07. Question Authority                           06:24
08. I Will Lower the Standards of the      05:22
09. If You Are Not Running You Will Not  04:19
10. I Walk in the Shadow of Death          05:38
11. Polluting the Mainstream                  05:52
12. Taking Your Control Away                 04:49
13. Future Is a Concept (Ambient Mix)    04:22

With Ordo Ab Chao, Mono-Amine gives us an album that attacks with strong and continous rhythms in an hand to hand assault that has very few and well-conceived pauses, put only at the beginning and at the end of the album, but also an interesting chain of thoughts about politics. That of Joost isn’t the only case of rhythmic industrial music that talks about social problems through imperative tones (Winterkälte are masters in this practice), and this is the most fascinating element of the genre: a direct linkage between instrumental music characterized by strong rhythmic connotation and a message made of slogans and important statements. A work that doesn’t innovate, but that is particularly worthy of several listening sessions.

LINK

Stratvm Terror : Pariah Demise [2005]

1    Croton                       5:14
2    Transcent Vexation     5:02
3    Thong                        7:43
4    Shattered Skins          4:50
5    Death Of A Mother      5:52
6    Human Afflictions        4:48
7    Germinal Torture        3:23
8    Skullbreeding             9:53
9    Pulp Extortion            8:01
10    Infidelity                  2:46
11    Pvlppit                     3:40
12    Saphead                  6:12
13    Why Oral Zebras      4:39
14    Sleeping                  2:17
15    Pvlp                         3:51

Long time sold out album and first released in 1996, now Pariah Demise, the very first CD album by Stratvm Terror, has been re-mastered with additional extra material from the Germinal Chamber tape out on the same time on OEC and now deleted, plus one previously unreleased bonus track from 1996. Discover this nice killer plate of pulsing and beating, cold and doom power industrial electronics served in complete new, fresh and haunting artwork. Jewel-box with nice skull/deadly artwork....

 
LINK

Theologian : Finding Comfort In Overwhelming Negativity [2012]

1     Fighting For Nothing                                        11:19
2     All I See Is You                                                11:11
3     Finding Comfort In Overwhelming Negativity     15:08
4     In The Moral Leper Colony                               14:40

I've been listening to the album on repeat for a couple hours now, and it's fair to say that my expectations have been greatly exceeded. This album is everything I was expecting and more. Much more. It can be difficult to do anything in the field of dark ambient that sounds particularly new or groundbreaking, but Finding Comfort in Overwhelming Negativity is like nothing I've ever heard before. It is as bleak and dark as anything I've heard, but what separates it from the pack is the emotion that Leech has obviously put into this record. One can only manipulate and warp synths and electronics in so many ways, but Theologian has managed to put so much of himself into this record that I have a hard time listening to it without being physically and emotionally moved in various ways. The hard-edged synths on the first track, "Fighting For Nothing" provide that almost monolithic death industrial vibe that fans of Navicon Torture Technologies will recognize, and as you're dragged through the dense, repetitive power electronics of this record, you get the feeling on numerous occasions that perhaps the record is not as much of a downer as the title would indicate. But time and again that suspicion is proven wrong, as you are inevitably dragged through the depths of resentment, hatred, despair, and finally, hopelessness.


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LINK

V/A : Industrial Frequencies Vol. 01 [1998]

01. Sonar - Shotgun Radio
02. Winterkälte - El Nino
03. P.A.L. - Metrum V1.2
04. Schachtanlage Gegenort - Eisenschwamm
05. Esplendor Geometrico - Hemen Nago
06. Imminent Starvation - Lost Highway 45
07. Monolith - The Shape Shifter
08. Noisex - Rotation (2000 RPM)
09. Hypnoskull - Give It To Me
10. Memorandum - New Primitivism
11. Substanz T - Chew-Z (Dive Remix)
12. Ah Cama-Sotz - Deo Gratias
13. M.S.B. - Slow Martian Beat
14. Bakterielle Infektion - Schienenstrang
15. Tumor - Stahldepression

LINK

UPDATED LINKS | June 19, 2016

Updates on some classic Industrial music releases:

• Winterkälte : First Album [1994]
• Winterkälte : Structures Of Destruction [1997]   
• Winterkälte : Drum ' N ' Noise [1999]
• Winterkälte : Disturbance [2004]
• W.A.S.T.E. : Violent Delights [2007]
• W.A.S.T.E. : A Silent Mantra Of Rage (2 x CD) [2009]
• W.A.S.T.E. : Liquor Drugs And Hate (EP) [2011]

 Enjoy!

A Rather Brief History of Industrial Music

"To escape the horror, bury yourself in it."
-Genet



In the mid to late 1970s a new musical movement, known as punk, emerged in the United States and England, quickly spreading to other countries. The history of Punk itself can, and has, filled volumes, and my purpose is not to recount or critique it here. For our purposes, Punk is significant for ONE reason: It blew the lid off established musical forms and opened the door for a resurgence of innovation.

The number of genres and sub genres that look to punk as musical forefathers is vast. Post-Punk, Hard Rock, Goth, Death Rock, Industrial, EBM, Indie Rock, Emo, Grunge, Metal, Future Pop, Power Noise, etc... all owe a greater or lesser debt to the accomplishments of a rather small number of people banging their fists against the mainstream for a couple of years in the 1970s.

The purpose of this document is not to explain all of them, or even to explain the rise and fall of different bands, labels, individuals, and scenes within Industrial Music in depth. For that I will refer you to the rather good Wikipedia article on this topic. Here I am only providing a rough outline to convey the basics of what different phases the genre has passed through, from its origins, to its current parodic death throws.


This transformation can be appreciated by focusing on five distinct periods of development.


I) The First Wave of Industrial Music
II) Electronica + Sampling & The Golden Age of Industrial
III) Evolution + The Aggro-EBM of the late 1990s
IV) The Wilderness
V) Parodic Phase

I The First Wave of Industrial Music

 

 

Industrial has traditionally be characterized as a percussion-intensive genre. This is generally true, however it has been as much focused on simple audio experimentation as it has been with the aesthetic of people banging on things. Take Throbbing Gristle - one of the first "industrial" bands. Using effected guitar and bass, primitive synthesizers, tape loops, and random additional instruments, they created very strange sound-collages that did not generally fit into the traditional "song" structure. If Richard Wright of Pink Floyd was one of the first to use synthesizers as an integral part of pop music in the 1970s, Throbbing Gristle, and their peers in this time (Bands such as Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, Monte Cazazza, Einstürzende Neubauten) were still trying to use - anything and everything - to push and break the limits of what we consider "music".

How about replacing an electric guitar with a Jack Hammer? How about using bits of pipe, scrap metal, and oil drums, instead of traditional drum sets? What better way to reflect (or encourage?) the decay of late industrial society than by appropriating the actual material, and organic sounds, of this society? Punk had thrown open the doors for intelligent people to think about fashion, music and art in different ways... but for all its rage and fury punk has also remained one of the most musically conservative of all genres, hardly ever deviated from the traditional "rock" instrument line up. Industrial people were too creative and adventurous to limit themselves to this.

 

In the early days, synthesizers were A LOT more expensive than they are today. As a result, few people could afford them. There were no computers and MIDI Controllers to set up in one's bed room and "mess around" on. Furthermore, Digital Samplers were not readily available until the early 80's and even by then they were in short supply, very expensive, and had very limited memory and sampling rates. If, instead of a traditional "snare" drum, you wanted the sound of metal on concrete, or metal on metal, you had to actually get those real objects and carry them to a show and bang on them then. As a result, live performances of "industrial" bands in the 70s and 80s were generally more interesting than those of "industrial" bands today.

 

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Industrial Music Blog about the Best Industrial Music, Industrial Music Online, Industrial Music Bands, Industrial Music History

Industrial Music Blog about the Best Industrial Music, Industrial Music Online, Industrial Music Bands, Industrial Music History ....

Theologian vs Ancient Methods : La Saignee [2016]

01     Death Elemental    (Theologian)           13:33
02     A German Love     (Ancient Methods)     6:02
03     Built On Scars       (Ancient Methods)     5:55

metaphysik brings Ancient Methods and Theologian together into one sphere, with the intention to juxtapose their energy and aesthetic elements alike. As both commenced as strangers and worked separately, the split has developed, gravitating naturally towards the themes of love and death.

The split release comes in a screen printed sleeve. Each copy is hand numbered up to 400. A special blood print is reserved for the first 100 copies and only available through metaphysik.

LINK 

Steel Hook Prostheses ‎: Exploring The Outer Lesion II [2015]

1 Gumma                                      4:16
2 Black Locust Spawn                     4:00
3 Drogheada                                  4:53
4 Acantha                                      5:16
5 Children's Ward                           4:29
6 Holding Feet To The Fire               5:36
7 Venous Malformation                   1:07
8 Crooked Spine And Withered Arm 5:32
9 Famine                                       9:01
10 Logs                                         3:40
11 Fire Demon                               4:52
12 Strontium-90                             5:34

LINK

Weltschmerz : The Norwood Scale [2016]

ARTIST.... Weltschmerz

TITLE....... The Norwood Scale

STYLE...... Experimental, Rhythmic Noise, Industrial

LABEL...... Ant-Zen

QUALITY..... 320 kbps/Joint-Stereo

COUNTRY... Netherlands

1. Dht (6:13)
2. Anagen (7:45)
3. Catagen (6:06)
4. Shock Follicle (5:35)
5. Blocking the Conversion (5:19)
6. Regulating the Growth (4:34)
7. Manipulating the Activity (5:42)
8. Less Is More (5:16)
9. Telogen (5:28)
10. Harsh Reality (4:48)


WELTSCHMERZ is a newly established music project by joost gransjean, the mastermind behind mono-amine. as a basis for this new endeavour, joost has used a feeling of melancholy towards humanity as a race for not reaching their full potential, a feeling of longing for a better world which will never come. human decay and its consequences also became an important topic for this project's first album whose title 'the norwood scale' comes from the corresponding set of images depicting the different stages of male pattern hair loss.

WELTSCHMERZ sonically is about the power that basic rhythmic music can have, a power that is beyond language - slow, moving and massive in its minimalism and strength of tone and flow. 'the norwood scale' features ten highly energetic tracks of repetitive concise beats and precisely positioned pad strikes underlaying hypnotic ambient noisescapes. continual loops referring to technoid, experimental and industrial origins generate an irresistible undertow activating both body and mind.

with his first opus WELTSCHMERZ presents a perfectly executed work of mesmeric minimalism mixed with power and force. diagnose yourself using the norwood scale!

LINK

W.A.S.T.E. : Warlord Mentality [2014] | FLAC

01. Are We Just Animals
02. You Are Your Own Beast
03. Warlord Mentality
04. As The Empty Hours Go By
05. Gone Away (Feat. Jamie Blacker Of ESA)
06. Destroy What Destroys You
07. Deadface (Vuxnut Redux)
08. No More Feelings
09. Caveman
10. Kill Something
11. We Carry These Things Inside Of Us
12. Scream All You Want


The subject of power noise (or rhythmic noise) can be a tricky one today. Classic releases by the likes of P·A·L and Converter became classics by virtue of their uncompromising opposition to the melodic and tempered motifs which had been a part of post-industrial music for the previous fifteen years, while retaining focus on the beat. Do, say, Blast Furnace or Human Dislocation hold up purely because of their literal compositions, or does context make up part of their appeal? Either way, some seventeen years after the “power noise movement” was sweeping rec.music.industrial, acts like San Diego’s W.A.S.T.E. (themselves now ten years into the game) are still finding plenty of inspiration in the original template of granite-scraping textures and lock-step beats.

On their fifth LP by my count (with a handful of lengthy EPs the exact tally of W.A.S.T.E.’s formats can get fuzzy), the band integrates a bit more ambiance and squelchy programming between the static and crunch, which I’m just fine with: Warlord Mentality works best when it builds tension and drama from subtler washes and atmospherics. On the title track, an ambiguous looped sample is reiterated until it ceases to be thought of as a human voice and instead becomes part of the overall composition itself: half rhythmic, half melodic. Spots like these and the drums of “As The Empty Hours Go By” are proof that there’s plenty rewarding work to be done in this vein.

On the flip side, some of Warlord Mentality‘s more traditionally aggressive pieces can be a bit rote. The revamp of “Deadface” never really overcomes its stock stun-kick intro, and themes and samples dealing with torture and sexual depravity just don’t carry the same shock in 2014 that they did when TG founded the Gary Gilmore Memorial Society. Sure, acts like Manufactura and Navicon Torture Technologies carried that element forward into power noise and related subgenres, but much like the unrelenting assault of the power noise sound itself, diminishing returns can be a problem.

Summarizing my mixed feelings about Warlord Mentality is, of all things, a cover of The Offspring’s “Gone Away” featuring the croon of none other than ESA’s Jamie Blacker. The fact that a pop-punk cover is likely to cause more of a stir on a current industrial record than samples of purported torture speaks to the bind acts like W.A.S.T.E. find themselves in, and yet this is a strangely compelling take on a song I’d have been happy to consign to the dustbin along with innumerable others I associate with 90s summer-job radio. Again, it comes back to context: after so many years of blunt force power noise trauma, the melody of Blacker’s wounded baritone and harmonic synths is thrown into sharp relief. Not since Dismantled’s “Straight Up” has a cover by an industrial act benefited so much from its distance from an extant discography. A swerve like like might peeve some W.A.S.T.E. die-hards or be taken as a troll-job, but maybe in noting this I’m answering my own question regarding the currency of this sound in 2014. Like the earliest form of EBM before it, we can now speak of “traditional” power noise done by newer acts paying homage to the masters by reinscribing a classic formula. By that metric, Warlord Mentality fits the bill.

LINK 

 

The Vomit Arsonist : Only Red [2015]

1     Choice                      7:24
2     Only Red                   6:42
3     Nothing Matters         4:55
4     It Just Is                   6:33
5     I'm Not Fine              5:13
6     No One Can Help You 5:52
7     Unwelcome Peace      3:55
8     GW(RDX)                  8:00

It certainly colours within the lines of a death industrial opus, but it does so with an artistic flourish that’s missing from many such releases. There is only one term to describe what’s going on here, and it’s dark; dark like the muck at the bottom of a swamp, dark like the cancerous grease on a coal miner’s face, dark like the landscape after a forest fire. No hopeful shaft of light penetrates the sulfurous clouds for even a moment of the album’s eight tracks. The tracks seem to form a terse narrative of a mind going through the depths of depression. There is a thematic continuity between titles like ‘Nothing Matters’, ‘I’m Not Fine’ (my personal favourite track), and ‘No One Can Help You’

A fog of discordant drones, sometimes swelling to a near-orchestral crescendo, binds the album together in a sinister soundtrack that will be music to the ears of fans of Megaptera, Negru Voda, Steel Hook Prostheses, and IRM (particularly the classic Oedipus Dethroned). It has that same balance of menace and majesty at its core, overlaid with groans, creaks, rattles and anguished howls like a recording from Hell’s plumbing system. Rhythms roil from the abyss with the plodding metre of forced labour. It’s not something that breaks new ground, but I really appreciate the effort that’s been taken to get an effective range of sound, and to mix them in such a way that everything has a space in the final product. Special thanks from me for not boosting the vocals too high in the mix, which is a pet peeve of mine, even though a lot of people aren’t bothered by it.

This is the sort of release that feels right at home on Malignant Records, America’s long-standing purveyor of where-happiness-goes-to-die ambient and industrial, sliding deftly down the razor blade that separates explosive walls of sound and subterranean murk. Solid.

LINK

Worms Of The Earth : Sitra Achra [2015]

Malkuth - The World Dissolves And Reveals Sitra Achra     9:04
Gamaliel - Corrupted Sanctuary Of Fire                            5:47
Gnarled Roots Suspend The Ruined Temple                      7:45
Path Of Samekh                                                             3:43
Thagirion - Mired In A River Of Drowned Bodies                8:26
Path Of Zamradiel                                                           3:34
Satariel - Field Of Apocryphal Monuments                         7:55
Excising The Last Vestiges Of Ahamkara                           6:11
[CLOSING]                                                                     0:36

I ’m not quite sure of where to place Worms Of The Earth’s recent releases in terms of dark ambient history. Yes, Dan Barrett’s last few releases have been a far cry from the band’s early power noise sound, and he’s been using the Venal Flesh side-project to keep a hand in a more aggressive style while exploring tribal industrial and dark ambient under his main moniker with albums like Anāgāmi and Azal’ucel. But as new release Sitra Achra shows, Worms Of The Earth eschew most of the more common formal approaches to dark ambient composition, or, to be blunt, long and slowly shifting or developing tracks. Check the first couple minutes of opening track “Malkuth” for an example: we quickly cycle between plucked strings, industrial gates sliding shut, snippets of mezzo-soprano voice too brief to fully catch, breathy samples, and slithering pads. Any of these component parts might appear in dark ambient as we conventionally use the term, but having them all bloom and circle about within a mix so rapidly produces a uniquely psychedelic effect. In Slaughter Natives might be the handiest comparison to make, but even on slower and more grinding tracks like “Thagirion” Barrett seems to be striking upon a florid mix of sound design and composition all his own, capable of casting the mind off in a myriad of directions distinct from even those Swedish legends. With the previous two WotE releases Barrett successfully experimented with finding a new voice and spirit for the project, but in consolidating that journey with Sitra Achra he has legitimately established himself as a producer in the broader dark music fields (leaving aside specific sub-genres) who simply cannot be overlooked.

LINK

Analfabetism ‎: Av Hjord Är Du Kommen [2015]

1     Hundår                     5:43
2     Den Vägen Vandra     7:56
3     Illdåd                        6:15
4     På Dina Bara Knän     6:51
5     Träldom                    5:42
6     I Vredens Tid             6:05
7     Under Hjorden           7:14

Fredrik Djurfelt’s been in the industrial game for a while; even though it’s only the second release under his Analfabetism project, Av Hjord är du Kommen feels very much like a consolidation of his work as Knös and Instans, the noisier and more experimental counters to his more immediate (though no less abrasive) work in Severe Illusion. Av Hjord är du Kommen makes minor adjustments to Djurfelt’s template of power electronics and dark ambient-inflected industrial, imbuing Analfabetism with a touch more direction and purpose without forsaking its dedication to noise.

If there’s one thing all Djurfelt’s work shares, it’s a resistance to cheap shock or sheer volume as a substitute for more subtle means of disquieting listeners. “Den vägen vandra” could almost be mistaken for a pure dark ambient track were it not for the full range of grinding feedback and violently tremoring frequencies which adorn its minimal rhythmic portions. The piece takes a simple, almost reverential pulse of static and processed strings as its guideline, but rather than ever letting it stand on its own sends a rattling cascade of chirps and klaxons clattering in syncopation with that foundation, sounding like a rainstick from the depths of hell.

That sense of textural and rhythmic (if not melodic) harmony guides much of the record. Compared with the previous, self-titled Analfabetism LP, Av Hjord är du Kommen is a more fully integrated listen. Rather that setting up a swarm of crackles, percussion and feedback zig-zagging against each other, Djurfelt’s aligning the static, croaks, and clanks in a more harmonious pattern, producing a more fatalistic than chaotic vibe. There was always a sanguine sense of intelligibility to Analfabatism‘s structures despite the fractured surface; the landscape of Av Hjord är du Kommen‘s textures are just being brought into alignment with that deeper, churning inevitability.

But at the end of the day, we’re still dealing with industrial noise. Uncompromising, indifferent, abrasive: whatever you want to call it, one knows it when one hears it, and Djurfelt knows how to deliver. Never showy, never reactionary, the grim engines of discord Djurfelt has harnessed churn onward on Av Hjord är du Kommen, spurned only by their own inevitability.


LINK

Lights Of Euphoria : Traumatized [2016]

ARTIST.... Lights Of Euphoria
TITLE....... Traumatized
STYLE...... EBM, Industrial, Synthpop
LABEL...... Infacted Recordings
QUALITY..... 320 kbps/Joint-Stereo
COUNTRY... Germany


01. Hallo Hallo
02. Waiting
03. Book Of Lies
04. Blood On The Floor
05. Schwarze Sonne
06. The Saint
07. Questions
08. Erase & Rewind
09. Under My Spell
10. Emptyness
11. True Life (Resurrection)
12. Schwarze Sonne (Ani Nutz Rmx)
13. Stripped (Feat. Soman)

The German/Danish cooperation Lights of Euphoria with singer Jimmy Machon and musician/ producer Torben Schmidt (owner of Infacted Recordings) return with their seventh studio album! The band has teamed up with a new band member Thomas Gaarn, who joins the band in studio and live on stage as well. Traumatized features 13 new songs and is by far their strongest album to date! It comes with a wide spectrum of songs from mid tempo to pure club sound and beyond… Lyrics wise the singer has covered a lot of his experiences, feelings and emotions of the past years to make this album a very personal one. Check out songs such as “Hallo Hallo,” “Book of Lies,” Blood on the Floor” or “Under My Spell.” A must have for all electronic lovers!

LINK

Iszoloscope : False Vacuum [2016] | FLAC

Artist:    Iszoloscope
Title of Album:    False Vacuum
Genre:    Industrial, Rhythmic Noise
Year of Release:    2016
Quality:  FLAC
Country: Canada


01    Awe Gratitude Rapture    
02    Chronophage    
03    Spectral Inverter    
04    Experimenting With Truth (Solve)   
05    Faint Negative Charge   
06    Vacuum Metastability   
07    Relevance Outside Logic    
08    Absolute And Eternal Moral Nighttime   
09    Experimenting With Truth (Coagula)

 Since the beginning, a distinguishing feature of Iszoloscope has been the addition of intelligent and unexpected details to the basic ingredients that industrial music is known for. For the seventh album False Vacuum, Yann Faussurier raises the bar in a most astounding way.

 Within these nine tracks Iszoloscope is establishing ties between a myriad of different styles ranging from solemn orchestral constructs and rich dark ambient soundscapes to sequenced hard-hitting technoid industrial rhythms and fast remorseless drum and bass beat structures. Mighty pulsating sub basses and loony melodic curls, hypnotic percussion and carefully placed bursts of electronics evoke highly energetic atmospheres of power and tension that resonate inside the listener's mind.

 Accompanied by many personal changes it took Iszolocsope nearly four years to complete this opus, and after taking a deep view everyone will agree it was worth waiting for.

LINK

De/Vision : 13 [2016]

ARTIST.... De/Vision

TITLE....... 13

STYLE......  Synthpop

LABEL....... Popgefahr Records

QUALITY..... 320 kbps/Joint-Stereo

COUNTRY... Germany

01. Who Am I (5:47)
02. Essence (4:59)
03. Starchild (4:53)
04. Where Is The Light? (5:06)
05. Synchronize (4:38)
06. Prisoner (5:18)
07. Read Your Mind (5:35)
08. Their World (4:42)
09. I’m Your Son (4:18)
10. The Firing Line (6:54)

LINK