Tag Archives: industrial music

Gnaw Their Tongues – Genocidal Majesty

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When a band that formed in 2006 have already recorded ten full-length albums and so many EPs and splits that I can’t be bothered counting them, it’s fair to assume that they’ve (I know, it’s only one person, but you use a band-name you get called by a plural – science) nailed their sound down by now. With Metal/Noise pioneers Gnaw Their Tongues, however, it’s a bit more complicated than that – they’ve somehow managed to develop a style that is instantly recognisable but changes subtly across each album, to the extent that you’re never sure exactly what you’re going to get when a new one is announced, and how heavily it will lean towards their disparate sides.Continue reading →


The Faceless – In Becoming a Ghost

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A five-year gap between records and a litany of line-up changes would slow down the momentum of any band, but Michael Keene has always been driven to make The Faceless work, even if it means taking on the majority of musical roles on himself. However, with a new set of musicians backing him up, Keene hopes to push The Faceless back to the forefront of people’s minds with In Becoming A Ghost (Sumerian) and prove that, despite the trials and tribulations of the band’s history, his ambition for creating the most extravagant music possible can still lead to great things.Continue reading →


AFI Side Project Blaqk Audio Book Spring Tour Dates

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Blaqk Audio photo credit BOOSTI ghostcultmag

Blaqk Audio (sometimes stylized as BLAQK AUDIO) has booked a slew of spring tour dates to support their forthcoming April release of their new album Material (Blaqknoise/Kobalt). Direct support will come from Night Riots on all dates. Blaqk Audio features Davey Havok and Jade Puget from AFI.

Focusing solely on electronica and classic industrial sounds of acts such as Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, Ministry, Squarepusher, Nitzer Ebb, and Front 242, Davey Havok commented on Blaqk Audio:

“Blaqk Audio is pure electronica whereas AFI uses organic instruments. AFI has drums and bass and guitar and there’s none of that in Blaqk Audio.”

“Being huge music fans and fundamentally driven by music in a creative sense, BA is a wonderful outlet for our long-standing love of electronic music. Were it not for BA, I’d still be writing this type of music, even if it never saw the light of day.”

Blaqk Audio tour dates, with Night Riots:

May 04: House of Blues – San Diego, CA

May 05: Observatory – Santa Ana, CA

May 06: Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA

May 07: Ace of Spades- Sacramento, CA

May 10: Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR

May 11: Croc – Seattle, WA

May 13: In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT

May 14: Bluebird – Denver, CO

May 16: Turf Club – Saint Paul, MN

May 17: Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL

May 18: Mod Club – Toronto, ON

May 20: Sinclair – Cambridge, MA

May 21: U Street Music Hall -Washington, DC

May 22: Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY

 

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Shihad – FVEY

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With a stellar canon in their back pocket, Shihad are arguably New Zealand’s greatest rock export, with five number one albums in their home country and a slew of alternative rock anthems to rely on for their vaunted live performances. While FVEY has been available in the Southern Hemisphere, since August last year, 2015 sees it breaking through the surface in the northern half of our planet via a PledgeMusic campaign.

The first thing to note is that Jaz Coleman (Killing Joke) is once more at the production helm, turning in a crystal clear, juddering sound that particularly suits the heavier, clanking grooves of the opening tracks, of which ‘The Big Lie’ takes the most plaudits with powerful heaves of guitar mugging before Jon Toogood invites you to share in a great chorus. Elsewhere, Coleman adds touches of appropriate class as the adrenaline drains away to more mid-paced lurches as the album progresses, ‘The Great Divide’ in particular touched by the dark rock of Coleman’s day job.

Kicking out the jams with the rockers and a run of songs that are reminiscent of Filter at their loudest, the album turns more brooding as it progresses, while still maintaining sufficient energy to stop matters from tailing off before ‘Model Citizen’ convulses and spits to pick up the aggro, and ‘Wasted In The West’ has a neck-snap that builds to an understated, chorus over a barrel of guitar.

FVEY (or Five Eyes – a reference to an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and the UK) adds the nous and cynicism of a band with their heads and foil hats screwed on to the class and depth of seasoned professionals yet manages to avoid sterile songwriting, even though the album pacing could have been helped by one of the rockers appearing later down the order.

At this stage in their twenty-six year career, Shihad could release good albums in their sleep; their stomping intros, questioning verses and intelligent choruses could almost write themselves. Yet their renewed focus and vigour, aided by the cerebral touches of Coleman’s production, answer the question the band themselves pose in ‘Think You’re So Free’, where Toogood hollers “Do you think we’ll wake up?”

Shihad are wide awake, five eyes open, and back at the top of their game.

 

7.5/10

 

STEVE TOVEY


Primitive Race – Primitive Race

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Primitive Race is a supergroup consisting of, among others, Chris Kniker, Mark Thwaite, Graham Crabb, Erie Loch, Tommy Victor, Raymond Watts, Dave Ogilvie, Kourtney Klein, and Mark Brooks, and thus this self-titled album (Metropolis) consists of parts of very nearly every great Industrial band that there is or has been. Consequently, the album does not have one single sound, but bounces around between various forms of the Industrial style, from the bluesy sound of ‘Cage Rattler’ to the catchy rock riffs of ‘Taking Things Back’, to the dark recesses of gothic rock of ‘Below Zero’.

One of the songs that makes a good impression is ‘So Strange’. It is nicely electronic but happily industrial. The vocals are clean, but with a slightly constricted sound that is actually quite nice as an effect making the overall thing very catchy yet non-intrusive. ‘Cage Rattler’ is also very good, although the backing vocals are monotonous to the point of annoyance. The riffs are excellent, nice and bluesy, with good solos even, but the vocals are less impressive. The screaming at the end is the best vocal performance of the song.

‘Addict Now’, ‘Give Up The Ghost’, and ‘Taking Things Back’ are very different songs, but they are all solid and effective compositions. However, the best song on the album may well be ‘Below Zero’, with its incredible vocals and lovingly depressing style; reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails or Lacrimas Profundere, this is a very pleasing sound.

Not all is fun and games on this album, however. While ‘Acceptance of Reality’ has some good riffs, and enough variation to be interesting, the solo is abysmal – even for an eclectic solo there are rather few notes in the proper key. ‘Platinum Balls’ is rather boring, and ‘Follow the Leader’ is grating as the vocals are not mixed in to the music, but are layered over. The worst offender is ‘DJFH’, which has terribly annoying synths coupled with terribly bad vocals. There are just too many dropped or downright dissonant notes.

On the one hand it is great to have a lot of different styles, on the other hand, the album lacks cohesion. It bounces around from totally awesome to rather unpleasant, and with such an experienced bunch of musicians it really ought to be better.

 

6.0/10

 

LORRAINE LYSEN


Author And Punisher – Melk En Honig

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Okay, I’m going to do it… after six albums as Author & Punisher, everyone who’s remotely interested in how Tristan Shone makes his music already knows, and constantly bringing it up is starting to seem like an accusation of gimmickry. It’s time, I think, to get over the methods and focus on the music.

Which makes it extremely fortunate that there’s so much on Melk En Honing (Housecore) to talk about. “Industrial” is probably one of the least reliable genre labels in music, having been used to describe anything from Throbbing Gristle to Rob Zombie, but here it works as an adjective, describing the bleak mechanised quality of Shone’s distinctive, powerful Doom. The core of A&P’s sound is built around vast, mechanised drones overlaid with precise beats and machine sounds, but the intent behind the song-writing is recognisably Doom.

Words like “bleak”, “suffocating” and “dehumanising” come easily to mind when listening to Melk En Honing – and they are certainly deserved – but those qualities are not what make Author & Punisher really special – it’s the surprising moments of hope that shine through. Extreme Metal has never had a shortage of bands who generate a hateful or negative atmosphere, but Shone finds himself in the rare group of artists such as Neurosis who infuse their music with genuine human emotion. Shone’s versatile vocals are a significant part of this, shifting from anguished howls and commanding barks to plaintive, weary clean singing as the music requires. There’s a human heart inside this cyborg, and it wants more than simply to crush.

Melk En Honing is perhaps likely to be one of the most quietly distinctive Metal albums of the year, simultaneously mechanised and surprisingly human, and is unmistakably the work of a man with a fiercely independent vision that extends far beyond his unorthodox methods and deep into the music itself.

 

8.0/10

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RICHIE HR


Former KMFDM Front Man Releases New Single

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En Esch, best known as the front man of industrial band KMFDM has launched his solo career. He has offered his new single ‘12345’, featuring Tim Skold on guitar (Marilyn Manson), for FREE download here. His new album SPÄNK! is due out next week from Distortion Productions.

 

 

Press Notes:

For Immediate Release

February 3rd 2015-Industrial music icon En Esch

Over the years, En Esch had been a part of many major super groups in the industrial genre including KMFDM, Pigface and his own band Slick Idiot. His larger than life persona has made his live performances a very memorable experience for fans worldwide. SPÄNK is the long awaited follow up to his previous solo record, Cheesy (1993). Esch enlisted the talents from different corners of electronic music for this album. Guest appearances by Tim Skold (KMFDM, Marilyn Manson, Skold), Guenter Schulz (Ex KMFDM, Slick Idiot), Jim Marcus (Die Warzau,Go Fight), More Machine Than Man, Trixy Reiss (Crystal Method) and many more give this album a varied and refreshing style. Spank! will be released on February 10th on Distortion Productions.

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Godflesh – A World Lit Only By Fire

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Throughout his career, Justin K. Broadrick has never been willing to compromise his artistic vision. From the beginning Godflesh laid the groundwork for everyone from Fear Factory to Isis, carving out harsh landscapes of metallic industrial noise steeped in the grim and filth of the Birmingham factories that surrounded them. Since the band’s hiatus from 2002 to 2010 Broadrick indulged his creative muse by lending his talents to ambient music (Final), Techno Animal (Hip Hop) and shoegazing post metal act Jesu.

A World Lit Only By Fire (Avalanche Records) is as bleak and apocalyptic as its title suggests. Swan song record Hymns may have used real drums and incorporated further melodies but this is the sound of Broadrick returning to the harrowing, coldness of old with just his old running mate G.C. Green and their trusty drum machine for company.

The crushing landscapes of Streetcleaner are recalled in the merciless dehumanised beats yet the harshness of the eight string guitar has taken this unforgiving creation an even blacker more disturbing feel.

While this approach will undoubtedly excite fans of the band’s early works this is no mere exercise in nostalgia. The use of eight string guitar has aided the development of the band’s penchant for dissonant minor key melodies strung out over visceral minimalist beats which drive the band’s point home perfectly.

The churning riffs of ‘Life Giver, Life Taker’ and ‘Carrion’ give whole new meaning to relentless nihilistic aggression harnessing the atmosphere of their earliest works while retaining a feel which is unmistakably contemporary.

No quarter is given through this punishing ten song assault. The brutal repetition and feeling of emptiness is embodied greatly on closer ‘Forgive Our Fathers’ where Broadrick alternates from drill sergeant brutal screams to wails of torment that echo true desperation in a way that is almost too close for comfort. 

The momentum never lags throughout this fearsome monolith feeling urgent and vital throughout. It may be their first full length in thirteen years but every fibre of the bands DNA has mutated into an even more virulent strain of post-Sabbath paranoia whose icy claws cannot be escaped.

8/10

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ROSS BAKER


Godflesh Announce New Full-Length Album, Set UK Tour This Fall

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The worst kept, non-secret of the heavy music world this year was that Godflesh was going to release a new album in 2014, their first in 13 years. A World Lit Only By Fire is coming out on the bands own Avalanche Recordings label on October 6th. This highly anticipated album marks the full on collaborative return of industrial/post-metal pioneers Justin Broadrick and GC Green. The band plans a lot of touring behind this release, the first dates of which will be in the UK this December.

 

You can hear the preposterously heavy debut track ‘New Dark Ages’ on the Godflesh Soundcloud page:

 

 

 

On the strength of the powerful Decline and Fall EP, the fan base of the pioneers of several forms of music were offering us just a glimpse of what was to come on this new album from the sound of New Dark Ages. From our review of the Decline and Fall EP, Ghost Cult Magazine Senior Editor Ross Baker wrote: 

“Visceral, focussed and harrowing the eerie harmonies compliment the driving rhythms and wounded vocals. As bleak as anything the band has ever recorded with scant regard for any musical evolution other than their own, ‘Decline And Fall’ is a more than worthy taster for any upcoming full length for which expectations have now been raised even higher!”

 

 

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A World Lit Only By Fire Track List

1. New Dark Ages
2. Deadend
3. Shut Me Down
4. Life Giver Life Taker
5. Obeyed
6. Curse Us All
7. Carrion
8. Imperator
9. Towers of Emptiness
10. Forgive Our Fathers

 

A World Lit Only By Fire December Uk Tour Dates

 

Tue 09.12.14 The Haunt Brighton
Wed 10.12.14 Garage London
Thu 11.12.14 Rescue Rooms Nottingham
Fri 12.12.14 Sound Control Manchester
Sat 13.12.14 Art School Glasgow

 

 

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Godflesh – Loop: The Cockpit, Leeds, United Kingdom

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Justin Broadrick has always been a mover and shaker. Active in underground music with many projects from the Drum ‘N’ Bass assault of Techno Animal to Final’s ambient elect-drone, the Birmingham musician is a key underground figure whose influence can be felt from Fear Factory to Isis. Reforming in 2009 having played a smattering of shows but little more Broadrick has finally birthed a new four song EP from his most famous musical endeavour with the promise of more to come. Before the Brummie industrial icon can dish out the punishment it’s time for Alt rockers Loop to woo the audience with their droning riffs and throbbing bass. The venue is just over half full as but the band still receives a positive reaction with many shaking their bodies in time to the rhythm. Relying heavily on repetition you found yourself swaying in time to the soothing molasses of feedback. Hypnotic and alluring this trance inducing spectacle is fine for a kick off but nothing prepares you for the harrowing sounds of urban decay that follows.

The stark contrast between the terrifyingly bleak and nihilist sounds of Godflesh from Loop’s warm psyche could be felt by all in attendance. Justin Broadrick’s scowls intensely while thrashing at his guitar and bellowing like a wounded animal. The hour and ten minutes over which Godflesh inflict their scathing assault upon the bewildered crowd is as claustrophobic as is it compelling. The catacombs of The Cockpit cater for Godflesh’s Molotov cocktail of neurosis over grim industrial sounds.

 

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New number ‘Ringer’ is dished out early and gratefully received by a crowd many of whom probably felt they would never hear a new Godflesh track. Material from the newly released Decline and Fall EP is foul and depraved, harking back to their early material without being an exercise in hopeless nostalgia. ‘Like Rats’ and the bruising ‘Christbait Rising’ are dispatched with frightening efficiency sounding as vicious and life affirming as ever. Crushingly devoid of humanity save for Broadrick’s anguished tones, no intensity has been lost in the thirteen year absence between recorded works.

 

Godflesh Set List:

New Dark Ages

Ringer

Like Rats

Christbait Rising

Streetcleaner

Spite

Mothra

Monotremata

Bigot

Crush My Soul

 

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ROSS BAKER