Browsing Tag

industrial

The Drood protested the idiomatically sentimental in their post-industrial single, Psychic Institute

Posted on 22 April 2022

Denver Colorado’s most mindfully experimental duo, The Drood, have unleashed their latest single, Psychic Institute, which is a little dancier than the last time we heard the psychedelically inclined post-industrial mystics, but it more than hits the existential spot.

Lyrically, Psychic Institute derides the innate human tendency to sentimentalize everything while the vocals pay homage to one of The Drood’s main influences, Gary Numan and the glitchy, robotically hook-filled instrumentals ensure that your rhythmic pulses are well entwined with the cathartic furore.

Dark and dystopic music is one thing; bringing a sense of subversive spirituality to it that speaks to the soul is another thing entirely. I never thought that anyone would share the same visceral reaction to vapid sentimentality, but with the mindful scepticism and philosophised despair, the Drood is an intellectual cut above the rest.

We may not have seen Psychic Institute coming, but now that it is here, we’re endlessly gratified for the escapism it offers. If you aurally follow any artist through the impending apocalypse, make it the Drood.

Here’s what The Drood had to say on their latest release:

“We didn’t set out with the intention to write a dance song, but that’s what came out! Psychic Institute unintentionally evolved into an homage to the industrial music which shaped our musical proclivities. The lyrical message, if any, is a cautionary tale about the emptiness and transparency of foolish sentimentality.”

Check out the official music video for Psychic Institute via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Staytus drops ear-shaking new release to give you a swift shudder on, ‘Dreams from Hell’

Posted on 16 April 2022

With her edgy debut 13-track album ‘Disease of The Mind‘ due for release in Spring this year and slated to broaden our minds, Staytus cuts a massive hole through the fragile walls of her next-door neighbour on ‘Dreams from Hell‘.

25-year-old Scottsdale, Arizona local Sam Grundemann aka Staytus is an alternative industrial goth composer, trans gamer, songwriter, musician, vocalist, writer, audio engineer, and music producer.

”As an Avid Certified Pro Tools Operator of Music and Postproduction with college degrees in art, audio production and sound design, Staytus is a master at crafting soundscapes that are expansive, loud, and modern.” ~ Staytus

Passionately singing about hugely relevant topics such as bitter heartbreak, traumatic despair, lonely resentment, and reality slipping away in this whirlwind world that can suck away all of your goodness in a split second, Staytus unleashes something for the underground to claw into here. Her vocals are hauntingly raw and with meaning, on a self-produced beat that has your bleeding ears shaking in alarm.

‘Dreams from Hell‘ from Scottsdale, Arizona-based industrial goth artist and music producer/audio wizard Staytus, is a statement single from a famished young woman who has decided to be the navigator of her own destiny. Lacerating through all doubts with her determined mindset and a clear talent for the production side, this is a terrorizing track that you will either love or be afraid of. That is just the way that it was intended after all, from an artist who is only just beginning this new journey.

Hear this heavy new single on Spotify and check out her IG music page for more.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Warning Signal gave the hooks in their industrial alt-rock debut, Nightmare, razor-sharp teeth.

Posted on 7 April 2022

There’s nothing like a caustic cut of blackened industrial alt-rock to catharize the mind from the dystopic night terror that is modernity; that’s exactly what the Brighton-based trio, Warning Signal, delivered in their debut single, Nightmare.

The infectiously antagonist energy in the hooky indie vocals from Eva Sheldrake, which declare there’s no waking up now, paired with the gnarled guitars and harbingering percussion is by far one of the most exciting new additions on the airwaves this year.

If you could imagine what it would have sounded like if Powerman 5000 had a softer indie-pop edge, you’ll be able to get an idea of the explosive yet intimate alchemy in Nightmare. Naturally, we can’t wait to hear what follows. It is going to be incredibly sweet to watch the world wake up to Nightmare and the hits that will undoubtedly follow.

Nightmare is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Peach Giraffe has released the angst-rife industrial earworm of the year with ‘NUMB!’

Posted on 24 February 2022

NUMB! is the latest scuzzy industrial pop track from the caustically indulgent alternative artist, Peach Giraffe; it is a no-wave league ahead of the current garage punk trend and easily one of the most authentic alt-rock hits to have hit the airwaves so far in 2022

If any track has what it takes to unite fans of Fidlar, $uicideboy$, and Skinny Puppy, it is the angst-rife earworm, NUMB! The tumultuous triumph of a single succeeds in lyrically and sonically depicting the frenetic and fraught emotions that broil to the surface when a relationship delipidates. The clever touches to the production and the vocal FX stand as a testament to Peach Giraffe’s ingenuity. They have exactly what it takes to go viral. Watch this space.

NUMB! is now available to stream via Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast

AKMV-18 shows us what it sounds like when nature turns mechanical in his latest release, Chevalerie

Posted on 3 January 2022

‘Chevalerie’ is the latest dark and caustic electronic track that acts as a blackened sign of our times from the up and coming US artist and producer, AKMV-18. With visceral reminiscences to Celldweller, the pulsating beats thrash through the cavernous soundscape that embraces the darkest facets of our dystopic age.

The mechanical rhythms pierce through the comfortingly cold and hollow atmosphere of the track that bleeds an all too relatable melancholy while taking control of your rhythmic pulses through the psytrance nuances. Even the most pretentious cybergoth snobs would have a hard time picking holes in this entrancing hit which was just one of the seminal singles to feature on their latest EP.

Chevalerie is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Newborn Stranger: Austin’s Alex Wilson desires that cheeky company on ‘Young Lust’

Posted on 30 November 2021
Is There Anybody Out There? by Alex Wilson

Taken off his highly-ambitious and awe-inspiring 26-track album called ‘Is There Anybody Out There?‘, Alex Wilson is quite outstanding on his brand new single about trying to find that special woman to be romantic with on ‘Young Lust‘.

Alex Wilson is an Austin, Texas-based industrial funk/rock bassist, songwriter, and music producer who makes that raw type of music creation that has you listening twice.

”Alex (Wilky) Wilson brings a variety of influences from Peter Gabriel to Pink Floyd to Daft Punk to Metallica to Prince.” ~ Alex Wilson

Alex Wilson unquestionably has an impressively trimmed beard. He shapes through this track like an old pro too as no shaving cream is required, with a rugged display of guitar playing that will have you buying this man a drink from the bar.

‘Young Lust‘ from the Austin, Texas-based industrial funk/rock bassist, songwriter, and music producer Alex Wilson, shows us his music love potion that is rather enticing on the ears and has you wondering if that girl came around last night. His bass-bending skills are rather superhero-like – and there is much to admire – about an artist who just lets it rip and leaves it all on the line. This is that old school feel that the world needs more of in its overly-sensitive veins.

Hear this fresh new single on Bandcamp and see more news on the IG music channel.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Pan!c Pete delivers absorbing discord in his latest industrial hip hop track, Metallic Taste.

Posted on 4 November 2021

Any fans of Bob Vylan and Saul Williams will want to cut their teeth on Pan!c Pete’s electro-industrial hip hop sonic palette through his latest instrumental mix, Metallic Taste.

With gothy darkwave synth-carved melodies bringing bright polyphonic texture to the harsh and caustic bass lines and solid rattle of glitchy beats, Metallic Taste is an energetically dystopic track like no other. You’re left hooked right the way through the indulgently caustic single; it’s impossible not to be left absorbed by the discord in the fiery release.

We can’t wait to hear what Pan!c Pete serves up from the deep end of the south next.

Metallic Taste is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LA alt-electronica artist and producer Romy has unleashed her pitch-black industrial pop track, Penance.

Posted on 26 October 2021
Romy

Romy’s latest single, Penance, is enough to make Peaches sound tame. Against the industrial Nine Inch Nails-inspired beats, her sultry, fierce vocals spill enough magnetism to rival Shirley Manson while she roars through the lyrics that lament the dankness of society while making the unignorable request for the world to be gentle amidst the chaos.

The Australian LA-based artist and producer has exactly what it takes to dominate the mainstream and the grimy underground of alt-electronica. Any fans of Skinny Puppy, Grendel and Faderhead will be won over by the caustic beats. When it comes to the hooky pop elements, no one will be immune to their draw.

Check out Romy on SoundCloud, Instagram and her official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KURO has dropped the antipathic industrial hit of the year with ‘Lividity’.

Posted on 10 October 2021

After a bass-dripping slam of an intro, KURO’s latest single, Lividity, asserts its volatility early in the mix before unravelling around poppy industrial hooks and serpentine antipathic vocals. If you’ve been mourning the downfall of Jimmy Urine recently, you’ll find just as much salacious charisma here.

It has been a while since I’ve had my finger on the pulse in the industrial scene, it took the incandescent talent of KURO to draw me back in with their monolithically fierce guitars and the earworm potential in the magnetically antagonistic vocals. Not only is it an instant hit at surface level, but Lividity also serves a deeper purpose. In their own words. here is how Lividity transpired:

“I wrote Lividity in an attempt to capture the discomfort, rage, and volatility felt by ethnic minorities during the tumultuous events of the BLM riots sparked in the wake of 2020’s events as well as the StopAsianHate movement- which was exacerbated by the racial division sadly spurred on by pandemic.
These traumatic happenings seemed to create a black hole of negativity and distrust in society that enabled many in positions of power to engage in horrific behaviour with little consequence at the expense of the vulnerable. The video highlights this. I and we, as a band, wanted to highlight this, raise awareness for it, and hopefully push to make a positive change that could contribute to the ending of these problems. However, to really do so, we all need to come together, and time will tell with that.”

Industrial music and gripping lyricism don’t often go hand in hand; instead of offering a series of thoughtless reprises with the aid of a rhyming dictionary, KURO digs deep into the macabre to exhibit the veracity of contempt behind this instantly infectious harsh electro-rock hit. Frankly, we’re obsessed.

Lividity is the first single to be released from their upcoming EP, Death by Aesthetic, due for release in October 2021. KURO are also set to join the industrial icon, Grendel, on tour. Tickets are available for purchase via Bandcamp.

Connect with Kuro on Facebook & Instagram.

Stream the official video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alien Al and the Juperoids welcome you to the future of dystopic pop with their standout single, Alice.

Posted on 21 September 2021

After a successful debut with their single, Probe, the electronic space rock outfit Alien Al and the Juperoids, fronted by actor and singer Alyx Nazir, have released their ground-breaking self-titled debut album.

The perfect introduction to their conceptual, expressionist style is the pop track, Alice, which starts with the same arresting atmosphere of existential sci-fi films that welcome you into cold dystopic futures. Through the eerie progressions, the single picks up some more archetypal pop tendencies along the way before a frenetic rock outro. In the strangest and most beautiful way, Alien Al and the Juperoids prove the value and warmth of music in our embittered world through Alice.

The debut album from Alien Al is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast