Siamgda - Oppression

2015-11-10 (News)

On his second album 'Oppression', Marc Fischer a.k.a. Siamgda continues to tread the path that began with 'Tremors': a unique and captivating mixture of acoustic ethnic sounds and electronic soundscapes ranging from ambient to noise, with the emphasis on looped tribal percussion. On ‘Oppression’ this German artist generates a wide scale of moods between trance, unease and wariness. dense, repetitive textures and even borrowed elements from the characteristic krautrock rhythm 'Motorik' carry the catchy musical motifs based on native sounds recorded in India and Nepal, and all this is then enriched with subtle changes which become clear after repeated, intensive listening. This release connects industrial roughness with beat-structured hypnosis, riveting drumming with tailor-made samples and lo-fi production elements with an intoxicating live feel.

Haujobb - Blendwerk

2015-11-09 (News)

To put it bluntly, Daniel Myer and Dejan Samardzic are angry. What about is anyone's guess, maybe a relationship gone sour, maybe an entire life, but the feeling is palpable throughout ‘Blendwerk', which might be because of this the band's strongest album to date. You feel it in the elastic synthlines, which never get bouncy; they are always repulsing you, not quite incorporating you in their rhythm. And you feel it in the lyrics, the swearing, the puzzling sense that Myer has been hurt; the sad and almost desperate way that he screams 'just go' on the album's opening track. Even in the lyrical delivery, which for most of ‘Blendwerk' veers towards deadpan spoken word, there is a stoic sense that Haujobb has transcended their own role as future-faring industrialists, and - somehow - become human, all too human. Although ‘Blendwerk' is Haujobb's eighth studio album in 22 years, it is only the second in the last decade. Its cold production, daring introspection, and bare naked emotion might be a clue as to why, and it will take you on an inward journey that is both troubling and unexpected.

Distel - Zand

2015-11-09 (News)

The second full length album by the remarkable Dutch project is a striking follow up album to 'Puur' displays once again Distel's outstanding skills, fusing sound treatments, songwriting and emotional intensity with the ability to generate a coherent, monolithic opus reaped from a wide range of sources. 'Zand' is a collection of songs expressing autumnal, funereal moods through subdued atmospheres carried by subliminal beats, phantasmal electronics, processed guitars and gloomy, sometimes mildly distorted vocals. Particular levels of discomfort are never exceeded, never the less they are audible and linked with layers of tension and intensity. Four exclusively recorded tracks, a cover version of a song by the legendary project Suicide and six remixes made for Keluar, Acclimate v.1, Ghost Actor, Black Egg, Veil Of Light and Michael Idehall add up to a harmonious and perfectly coordinated set executed in Distel's very own style oscillating between ritualistic soundscapes, vintage industrial music and cold-/darkwave. An album that leaves space for adventure, fun and some strange moments.

Lingouf - Ouvre Au Noir

2015-11-08 (News)

With 'Ouvre Au Noir' which is already Lingouf's eighth full length release in seven years, the multitalented Frenchman Vincent Ingouf presents his' aggressive and danceable side. Mid-tempo hardcore techno and industrial interlock into one mercilessly pounding barrage while the typical playful melody lines that this project is well-known for are still clearly audible. Instead of the excessive use of sampling which appeared on previous releases, this opus' emphasis is set squarely on on sung vocals, the lyrics of which are displayed in a beautifully designed 12-page booklet. 'Ouvre Au Noir' - a brutal, intense, pulsing vortex of straightforward digital beats, harsh sequenced distortion and processed voices, intended to make you move, and to make you listen.

Kommando - Skull Snake

2015-11-07 (News)

Dan Courtman a.k.a. Kommando chose to get into the detail, the aspects of the snake as the subject for his' sixth release, 'Snake Skull': its biblical meaning, its skin, its venom, and also the places of horror, torture and even death that european legends and fairy tales labeled snake pits. Kommando's musical trademark right from the start has been to find footholds that belie the confrontational nature of the power electronics genre by pairing subtlety and diversification with aggression and rabidness. Death industrial, power electronics and dark ambient are symbiotically combined in a mesmeric and ritualistic way and produce dark, gloomy atmospheres delivered with intent and dedication. Brick walls of slow-pace kick drums and immersive loops build a solid foundation for heavy synth lines, noxious waves of distortion and well-thought-out vocal processing. Claiming and accessible, rhythmic and seething at the same time, 'Snake Skull' is an oftenly static genre's enrichment, advisable to broad-minded listeners an increased awareness of past, present, and future.

Lacrimosa - Hoffnung

2015-11-06 (News)

The all new Studio-Album (the first since 2012's ‘Revolution') for the 25 th Anniversary!10 tracks, 60 minutes, Jewel-Box edition with 28 (!) pages booklet After celebrating their anniversary in front of over 3,000 people in September, where the band already played two songs from the new album, and now Lacrimosa bring it under the name "Hoffnung" ("hope"). The most ambitious work of the creator of Gothic Metal and co-founder of the Symphonic Metal genre was recorded with an Orchestra of more than 60 musicians during the period of an entire year. To achieve this – unlike other bands – Tilo Wolff (singer and composer of Lacrimosa) did not rely on an external arranger for Orchestras but draws responsible for the entire scores for the orchestra recordings himself. And the result speaks for itself: Never before Lacrimosa inflamed such a storm of brutal guitar riffs, driving drums and bombastic kettle drums in perfect harmony with powerful trombones and heartbreaking strings. So it's not a surprise that one of the musicians said during the recordings: "This is like Pirates of the Caribbean goes Metal"!