Helen Money, aka Alison Chesley, is a cellist who has worked with some pretty heavy hitters in the alternative/underground scenes including Jarboe, Bob Mould, Steve Albini, and Neurosis. In addition to these, she has also released music as part of the band Verbow and as a composer for film, theatre, and dance.
James Kent, based in Paris, has released several records since 2012 under the name Perturbator. His music under this moniker can be loosely defined as synthwave but, in reality, Perturbator’s evades such straightforward categorisation. Incorporating elements of early synth-based music, as well techno, gothic rock, ambient music, and metal, Perturbator has been compared to Kraftwerk, John Carpenter, and Nine Inch Nails, amongst many others.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has officially announced its 2020 inductees: The Doobie Brothers, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G., T. Rex and Whitney Houston will all join the class of 2020. They will be inducted on May 2 at a ceremony at Cleveland’s Public Hall. Surprisingly metal favorites Judas Priest, and fan-favorite Soundgarden which includes late frontman Chris Cornell, The Dave Matthews Band and Pat Benetar did not get enough votes to be elected. Other deserving artists on the ballot and not earning election include Thin Lizzy, Motörhead, Kraftwerk, MC5, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, and Todd Rundgren. Continue reading
Heavy Metal legends Judas Priest has just shared a new video touting their nomination fo the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Packed with their greatest songs and a ton of facts about the bands’ fifty-year card-career makes the case for the band rightly deserving the honor. Not only is “The Priest” one of the longest-running original heavy metal bands ever, elected to multiple Halls of Fame by press and fans, but also as relevant as ever with their 2018 album Firepower (Epic Records). They will celebrate their anniversary as a band next year with the 50 Years of Heavy Metal tour, headline dates, opening for Ozzy Osbourne, and headlining festivals such as Wacken Open Air. The band is nominated for the hall along with other rock and metal icons Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Motörhead (both on the ballot for the first time), Nine Inch Nails, Thin Lizzy, Todd Rundgren, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, as well as stiff competition from Pop, Rock and Rap icons such as possible entrants Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Dave Matthews Band, The Doobie Brothers, the Notorious B.I.G., Pat Benatar, T-Rex, and the iconic singer (and likely lock to get in) Whitney Houston. Judas Priest is doing solidly in the early fan voting (fifth behind DMB, Pat Benatar, The Doobies, and Soundgarden), but the fan vote barely counts in the end and is a symbolic gesture.Continue reading
Ghost Cult had the opportunity to visit RCA Records’ headquarters in New York City to take part in an exclusive Tool listening event for press for Fear Inoculum, releasing on August 30th. We appreciate being counted among the major media in attendance and getting to experience this highly anticipated new album. Although this is not a full review (check back next week), this contains our initial thoughts on Tool album number six. Continue reading
With a penchant for wistful, stirring music, Parisian post-Rockers Lost In Kiev encapsulate euphoria and Industrial melancholy. Given this, third album Persona (Pelagic Records) has added import as a practical soundtrack to the recent devastation of their home city’s finest cultural landmark, as well as being the score for their accompanying film. Despite the opening title track’s initial sequences carrying more than a hint of Jean-Michel Jarre, that stark metallic synth adds a sinister element: while the inclusion of rampaging, howling leads in tandem with Yoann Vermuelen‘s metronomic drums gives a resonating power.Continue reading
Sólveig Matthildur, synth legend for Icelandic Darkwave pioneers Kælan Mikla, is a troubadour of the keys. Winning accolade upon award for her debut solo album Unexplained Miseries & the Acceptance of Sorrow (Self-Released), second full-length Constantly In Love (Artoffact Records) aims to build on that emotional heart with an added sense of frost-bitten drama, an ill-fated love story articulating emotion from both protagonists.Continue reading
The annual Rock N Roll Hall of Fame nominations are here and there are few surprises in the list. Def Leppard, Rage Against The Machine, The MC5, Radiohead, Stevie Nicks, The Cure, Devo, Janet Jackson, Kraftwerk, Ll Cool J, Roxy Music, Todd Rundgren, John Prine, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, and The Zombies are all nominated. The top vote-getters will be announced in December and inducted March 29, 2019 at a ceremony at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center. HBO will broadcast the event later next year. To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to released in 1993 or earlier. A voting pool of more than 1,000 artists, historians, journalists and members of the music industry will select the new class, and fans all vote. The HoF notoriously makes questionable omissions from the voting process with a seemingly inherent bias against hard rock and heavy metal with bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kiss never getting in. Motorhead, Slayer, Pantera, Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, the New York Dolls, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Ice-T, Hole, Faith No More, Soundgarden, Primus, Smashing Pumpkins and Alice In Chains. are among the artists who are eligible, but not included. Metallica will likely be the only band that started out in thrash metal to ever get in at the present.Continue reading
The legendary Kraftwerk brought their 3D experience to The Wang Theatre in Boston. Since their last studio album was released in 2003 this tour was not in support of a new musical work, but a retrospective set that spanned what they have released in the last 40 or so years.
With the crowd in their seats and the supplied 3D paper glasses securely affixed to their faces, the show started promptly at 8pm and wouldn’t be complete for a little over 2 hours. Now if you were expecting some high-end effects akin to a blockbuster movie, you would have been sorely mistaken; but quality of the effects made complete sense if you consider the band, their history and what they write about. Everything was cold and angular with a touch of humor and felt like it was created in a scientific laboratory rather than some big modern visual effects studio. That’s what made it work. As fun as they were, some of it was difficult to focus on and the effort needed to force my eye balls into submission was proving to be too much towards the end.
Even so, I can’t imagine the show without the effects. Some might say it detracts from the musicians, but they are notoriously reclusive, even using robots for official photo shoots in the past, and really don’t physically do more on stage than tap a foot here and there. I don’t think putting more emphasis on them as individuals would really do much for anyone. For a Kraftwerk show it really is just about the music and the visuals. Their music is still as vibrant and relevant today as it was when they first formed in 1970, arguably creating an entirely new genre of music as well as influencing countless musicians around the world. Kraftwerk in 3D was definitely something not to miss. I am glad I didn’t.
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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY HILLARIE JASON