Hexennacht, the latest offering from New York’s Hanzel Und Gretyl is the true sound of damnation. Choirs straight from Carl Orff’s worst nightmare, stabbing strings and heavy guitars fill the album with a rich yet uneasy sound: this music cuts straight to your soul then subverts it. Echos (intentional or not) of Deathstars, KMFDM, Laibach, Lord Of The Lost and even Rammstein bounce around the album without overwhelming it: Hanzel Und Gretyl have their…
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DROWND “Drownd” – album review
UK/LA industrial rockers DROWND have kept us all wanting more ever since emerging this past spring with their EPs Sick Like You and Stay Away, the latter of which includes remixes by their Armalyte Records peers, The Joy Thieves and Seething Akira. Frontman/bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Joe Crudgington has taken everything we love about industrial rock and packed it to exploding point in this delightfully heavy debut album. It starts out innocently enough with “Lost”…
Read MoreIAMWARFACE “Year of the Dragon” – album review
My ears first heard IAMWARFACE several years back now whilst listening to Chris Watt’s ‘In the Moog’ NCCR radio show. Chris is a big supporter to many artists and hosts a regular show every Wednesday night. One week it is a retro show, the following week it’s a show supporting new artists. On this particular occasion when I heard IAMWARFACE I thought I was listening to the retro show, because the song ‘Say My…
Read MoreDie Krupps “Vision 2020 Vision” – album review
There’s a Little Englander myth about not being able to find a poolside sun-lounger on holiday because the Germans have bagged them all previously, by placing their towels on top. You may have heard it. It’s not a conspiracy though. No. Things are a little delicate in Europe just now. And Die Krupps, a band going since 1980, is very much aware of this, indeed, always have been, and never so much as now with the new album,…
Read MorePeer Lebrecht talks about Golden Apes – interview
Golden Apes is a German rock band from Berlin, founded in 1998 by Peer Lebrecht (vocals), Christian Lebrecht (bass) and Eric Bahrs (guitar). In 2001, drummer Nestor de Valley became a member of the Golden Apes and the result of the band’s now stronger and more intense sound was very dark. Live keyboarder Sven Wolff became a permanent member in 2003. In late 2008 drummer Nestor de Valley was replaced by Joe Finck. A…
Read MoreMorgan King Interview
Morgan King is a Grammy award winning, English singer, writer, record producer and photographer. Morgan’s musical career began in 1979 as drummer for Manchester band Illustration. His musical direction changed considerably with the advent of house music in the late 1980s. He had a varied musical career up until 1994/1995, when he took a break from the music scene. In 2003 Morgan resurfaced to co-write Trybe’s “Sarah Said” with Fragma. In 2007 he opened his Accidental Music label so he could…
Read MoreThe Dark Magic Of Black Needle Noise: Conversations With Singers Betty X and Anjela Piccard
The past few months have been relentlessly productive for legendary dark alternative producer John Fryer’s band Black Needle Noise. On the heels of their World Tour Of Hollywood this past fall, came the vinyl release of the long-awaited Lost In Reflections, the launch of the Black Needle Noise website, and now an upcoming album of cover songs called These Mortal Covers. The album contains a collection of songs that have been in development for…
Read MoreCult With No Name “Mediaburn” – album review
I keep discovering new music and it’s funny that my discovery of this group this week coincides with ‘Cult With No Name’ getting airplay on Chris Watt’s ‘In the Moog’ radio show and that he recently had them in the studio. They have such a wonderful, warm sound. The album ‘Mediaburn’ has just come out at the right time. Who wouldn’t want to listen to this fireside favourite when winter closes in? I briefly…
Read MoreSoft Riot “When Push Comes To Shove” – album review
After his outstanding 2018 album The Outsider In The Mirrors, Soft Riot has surprised us with another brilliant release. When Push Comes To Shove is the seventh studio album by the Glasgow based Canadian artist JJD, who goes by the stage name of Soft Riot. Jack continues the tradition of writing synth-pop danceable songs that aren’t necessarily as poppy as one would imagine. There’s more to his vision of synth-pop; it comes with a…
Read MoreThorsten Quaeschning “The Seaside Stage Session” & “The Munich Session” – review
Ever since seeing Thorsten Quaeschning’s solo performance in Berlin, January 2019 it was amazing to see what the man could do separately from Tangerine Dream or Picture Palace Music. Paul Frick was there too, performing a solo & also joining Thorsten & Hoshiko for a jam. Thorsten literally blew us away that night. I’m still waiting patiently to see if this music was recorded, saved safely and it will have a possible release in…
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