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New Suicide Commando album out later this month

Posted in News with tags Aggrotech, Dark electro, Electro-industrial, Harsh EBM, Suicide Commando on 4th July 2022 by izaforestspirit

Good news for fans of Harsh EBM and industrial music. The new album from Belgian Harsh EBM artist Johan van Roy, better known as Suicide Commando. The long awaited follow up to ‘Forest of The Impaled’ will be entitled ‘Goddestructor’. This will be a double record with a 11 new songs and a bonus remix album featuring artists such as C-Lekktor and Assemblage 23.

You can check out the cover and track-listing below:

CD1
01 KILL ALL HUMANITY
02 I’D DIE FOR YOU (v2.0)
03 GOD OF DESTRUCTION
04 JESUS FREAK
05 STERBEHILFE (EUTHANASIA 2021)
06 DESTROYER OF WORLDS
07 LAND OF ROSES
08 BANG BANG BANG
09 SIN
11 BUNKERB!TCH (CENSORED)

CD2
01 God of destruction – Cryo remix
02 Sterbehilfe – Rob Dust remix
03 I’d die for you – Assemblage 23 remix
04 Jesus freak – Dead When I Found Her remix
05 Bang bang bang – C-lekktor remix
06 Bunkerb!tch – F U C K B O T remix
07 Jesus freak (die in agony)
08 Sterbehilfe – FGFC820 remix
09 Destroyer of worlds – Nano Infect remix
10 Kill all humanity – Tactical Sekt remix
11 I’d die for you – Elektro Terapi remix

‘Goddestructor’ will be released in a range of digital and physical formats on 22 July 2022 via Out of Line Records.

For more information visit:

https://suicidecommando.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/IIXIII

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Interview with Johan van Roy from Suicide Commando

Posted in Interview with tags Aggrotech, Harsh EBM, Industrial, Interview, Suicide Commando on 31st March 2022 by izaforestspirit

Iza had a chat with Belgian artist Johan van Roy from the Harsh EBM/ industrial band Suicide Commando about touring during the COVID 19 pandemic, live streams and his upcoming single and new album.

Here’s the full interview:

Last year you released a new single called ‘Trick or Treat’ and now there’s a new album in the works. Can you tell more a bit more about what can we expect from the new album?

Meanwhile the album is completely finished. Most of the songs were written during the pandemic and I think you can also hear it in the result, it sure did not become a “happy” album nor an easy listening album.
It still has the typical suicide commando ingredients but I also think this became the hardest suicide commando album to date, somehow you can feel the frustration of the last 2 years in the new songs. So it will be a bitter black album !

Suicide Commando’s music tends be very harsh sounding for EBM with lots of violent themes. Where does all violence come from?

I think we all have violence inside of us, it’s just a matter how to deal with aggression and violence, and for me my music is the perfect way to get rid of my aggression, my violent emotions … for me my music is also my therapy.
Furthermore we’re living in a world full of aggression and violence, just switch on the radio or the television and you get bombed with violence in the news, open the newspaper and you get confronted with violence … so my music is just a reflection of what we see or hear in every day life.

The pandemic has caused lots of distruptions with tours and shows being cancelled. Even the shows that weren’t cancelled went ahead with lots of restrictions. What are your thoughts on playing live shows under Covid 19 restrictions?

Well I considered it as a necessary evil. Of course it was really frustrating not being able to go on tour and have contact with our fans and audience. But on the other hand I’m happy we at least could do a few live shows, even those with a sitting audience. It was a weird feeling to play in front of a sitting audience, but I’m still happy we could do these few shows.
We now finally can start doing live shows again in more normal conditions, it’s still a bit strange as you notice people are still cautious and reluctant, and some people still prefer to stay safe at home, but slowly things will get back to normal … I hope !

Archive footage – Suicide Commando live at Electrowerkz, Slimelight London, UK in 2013.

Another thing that the pandemic has brought about was the rise in popularity of livestreams. Have you ever considered doing a Suicide Commando livestream?

We got a few requests to do such livestreams but in our constitution it was as get as impossible as we all live pretty far away from each other, and Torben (my live keyboarder) even lives in Germany, so coming together for such a livestream wasn’t even possible.

Has the Russian war with Ukraine had any influence on your new song Bang Bang Bang?

The song “Bang Bang Bang” was written already some months ago, so the song itself has nothing to do with the current war in Ukraine. The song actually is about gun violence, but of course it also got a new dimension with the current war. But no matter what, the message is clear, guns kill !

Finally once this pandemic is over and all the restrictions have been lifted are there any countries which you would like to tour for the first time?

Tour for the first time won’t be an easy thing as we already played in so many different countries all over the world, but of course I still have some dream locations left, for example I’d love to tour Australia or Japan one day.

Suicide Commando’s new single ‘Bang Bang Bang!’ will be released on April 14 in digital download and limited edition MCD via Out of Line Records (Europe) and Metropolis Records (USA & rest of the world).

Meanwhile you can check out his new video for ‘Trick or Treat’:

For more details visit:

https://www.facebook.com/IIXIII

https://suicidecommando.bandcamp.com/

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Iza’s highlights of 2019

Posted in Editorial/Opinionated with tags Ad Inferna, Aggrotech, Black Metal, blackened heavy metal, Blutengel, Children of Bodom, Combichrist, Dark electro, Darkthrone, Darkwave, Doom metal, Eluveitie, Folk Metal, Goth n' Roll, Gothic rock, highlights, Hocico, Industrial metal, Mgła, Power Metal, Sabaton, Symphonic Black Metal, synth-pop, The 69 Eyes on 31st December 2019 by izaforestspirit

It’s that time of the year again. Time for my annual best of list or “highlights” as I prefer to call them. 2019 was a eventful year for alternative music. There was a lot of new material that caught my attention which made selecting a top 10 much more difficult than last year. After much deliberation I have narrowed it down to the following albums:

1. Eluveitie – Antegnatos
Genre: Folk Metal

2. Children of Bodom – Hexed
Genre: Melodic Death Metal/ Power Metal

3. The 69 Eyes – West End
Genre: Goth n’Roll/ Gothic Rock

4. Mgła – Age of Excuse
Genre: Black Metal

5. Combichrist – One Fire
Genre: Industrial Metal/Electro-Industrial

6. Hocico – Artificial Extiction
Genre: Electro- Industrial/ Aggrotech

7. Blutengel – Un:Gott
Genre: Synth-pop/Darkwave

8. Darkthrone – Old Star
Genre: Black Metal/Blackened Heavy Metal/Doom Metal

9. Sabaton – The Great War
Genre: Power Metal

10. Ad Inferna – Des Diables et Des Dieux
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal

Honorable mentions:
Aurelio Voltaire – She’s Glowing
Taken from the album What Are The Oddz?

God Module – Cross My Heart
Taken from the album The Unsound

Scandroid – The Writing’s On The Wall
Taken from the album The Light

The long-awaited new Rammstein album also came out this year. Sadly, despite a having handful of great songs including ‘Deutschland’, it was a little disappointing. I expected more from them after a decade of waiting.

Best live show of 2019
Metallica live in Hämeenlinna

Runners up, honorable mentions go to: Behemoth live in Tampere and Blutengel live at Hellsinki Industrial.

New discoveries for 2019
Raven Said, Priest and Cygnosic

Most anticipated releases for 2020
a new albums from Helloween and Vader
Mono Inc- The Book of Fire
Celldweller – Satellites

That’s all from me. Happy New Year Everyone!

Iza Raittila

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Rave The Reqviem and Combichrist live in Tampere

Posted in Gig, Live with tags Aggrotech, Combichrist, Industrial metal, Rave The Reqviem on 29th July 2019 by izaforestspirit

Rave The Reqviem, Combichrist
Klubi, Tampere, Finland
28th July 2019

Last night was one of the hottest days of the summer. Normally the only two places that I wish to be on days like this are at home with the air conditioning on or at the nearby lake. But Combchrist were playing a show in Tampere so I decided to go and see them. They are one of the bands, whom I’ve seen live a few times before but I still look forward to their performances. They usually put on a good show. This time the venue was the newly refurbished Klubi.

First up was a Swedish industrial metal band Rave The Requiem. Ok, maybe calling them industrial metal is a bit too simple of a classification. Their style appears to be a weird mish-mash of dubstep, drum n’bass, industrial metal plus some elements of Gothic metal. Yes, it’s pretty confusing, especially with the two very different singers. I liked parts of the show but I couldn’t really get into their music. 2.5/5

Then it was time for the headliners. There has been a a few line-up changes since the last time that I saw Combichrist live three years ago. They have two new drummers. Front-man Andy LePlegua is and always will be what makes Combichrist special. He really knows how to agitate the crowd. It did not take long before everyone was dancing. It was great to hear some of their hit songs again including Get Your Body Beat, Blut Royale, Scarred, and What The Fuck is Wrong With You? along with songs from their latest album ’One Fire’. The only downside was that their set felt a bit short. I would have loved to hear more. 5/5

In summary, I had a great time and I’m glad I chose to go out in spite of the heat. Another great show by Combichrist.

Iza Raittila

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Iza’s Highlights of 2017 part 2: Industrial & other non-metal

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Aggrotech, Aurelio Voltaire, Blutengel, dark cabaret, dark wave, ebm, Grendel, Industrial, Scandroid, Suicide Commando, The Crüxshadows on 30th December 2017 by izaforestspirit

This year saw the return of some of my favorite industrial artists. I also made some new discoveries and I checked out some genres that I would have never thought that I would listen to. So here are my top 10 industrial and other non-metal albums of 2017:

1. Suicide Commando – Forest of the Impaled
Genre: Aggrotech/Harsh Industrial/Harsh EBM

2. Grendel – Age of the Disposable Body
Genre: Aggrotech/Harsh Industrial

Grendel - Age of the Disposable Body - 2CD

3. Blutengel – Leitbild
Genre: Synth-pop/Gothic EBM

4. Aurelio Voltaire – Heart-Shaped Wound
Genre: Dark Cabaret/Goth/Alternative Rock

5. The Crüxshadows – Astromythology
Genre: Dark Wave/EBM

Cover-Astromythology

6. Scandroid – Monochrome
Genre: Synth-wave

7. Centhron – Allvater
Genre: Aggrotech/Harsh Industrial

Image result for centhron allvater

8. Blue Stahli – Anti-Sleep Vol.4
Genre: Electro-rock/ Funk-rock/instrumental

Image result

9. Cephalgy – Gott Maschine Vaterland
Genre: EBM

Cephalgy - Gott Maschine Vaterland - CD

10. iVardensphere – Hesitation
Genre: Power noise/Tribal Industrial

One album that didn’t make my top 10 was Celldweller’s ‘Offworld’; a good effort but no match for his earlier work. I prefer his heavier, more metal-oriented albums.

Best Live Show
Nachtmahr live at Lumous Gothic Festival

Biggest New Discovery
Aurelio Voltaire

Most Anticipated Albums of 2018

New albums from God Module and FGFC820.

Happy New Year Everyone!

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Iza’s Highlights of 2016 (part 1: Industrial/EBM/darkwave)

Posted in Editorial/Opinionated, Misc. with tags Aggrotech, best of, Blutzukker, Combichrist, Dark ambient, Dark electro, Heimataerde, Industrial, Industrial rock, Lord of the Lost, Memmaker, My Own Sorrow, Nachtmahr, Scandroid on 30th December 2016 by izaforestspirit

2016 is almost over which means that it’s now time for my annual “Best of” or “Highlights” as I prefer to call them. This year’s edition will be in two parts – industrial and metal. I’m still working on my list of top ten metal albums so I’ve decided to list the industrial ones first. So here are my favorite industrial/EBM and electro releases of 2016:

1. Lord of the Lost – Empyrean
Genre: Industrial Rock/Dark Rock

Lord of the Lost is a new discovery for me. I’ve been ignoring them for years, thinking that they were some sort of glam rock band. Then this year I had the pleasure of seeing them live when they supported Combichrist and I was totally blown away by their performance. I ended up buying all their albums. They sound like a mixture of HIM and Deathstars. ‘Empyrean’ is their heaviest and most complex album to date. Stand-out tracks: ‘Drag Me to Hell’ and ‘In Silence’

2. Heimataerde – Aerdenbrand
Genre: Medieval Industrial/Aggrotech

The German brotherhood of dark electro Templar knights are back with a new album. Fans of their work will know what to expect from this one; atmospheric dark electro with a medieval tinge. It’s a delightful mix of creepy and catchy Aggrotech with both ballads and dancefloor hits. Favourite tracks: ‘Fühl die Zeit (featuring Joachim Witt)’ and the kids’ nursery rhyme -inspired ‘Hick Hack Hackelbeil’.

3. Combichrist – This is Where Death Begins
Genre: Industrial Rock/Aggrotech

This album was not the easiest one to get into. Fans of Combichrist’s older songs will be shocked to discover just how guitar-driven this band has become. The previous album ‘We Love You’ was just a taster of what’s to come. The industrial and harsh electro elements are still present, but guitars are making inroads and they are here to stay. Combichrist is now an industrial rock band. As soon as you accept that you might actually start to enjoy this album. I did. Favourite songs: ‘Exit Eternity’, ‘My Life My Rules and ‘Skullcrusher’.

4. Memmaker – Let There Be Lasers
Genre – Power Noise/Rhythmic Noise

Eight years is a long time to wait for an album and that’s how long it’s been since Memmaker released their debut ‘How to Enlist a Robot Uprising’. Luckily the follow-up ‘Let The Be Lasers’ was worth the wait. The Canadian power noise band have essentially picked up from where they left off. So if you like power noise and songs about space travel and robots is your thing, then this is the album for you. Best tracks: ‘Doom Ray’, ‘Manipulate’ and ‘Race to Space (feat. Detroit Diesel)’.

5. Nachtmahr – Kampfbereit
Genre: Techno Industrial/Aggrotech

Nachtmahr are a bit controversial band within the industrial scene. Their music has always had a militaristic theme which has led to allegations of fascism. They sure like to harbour a fetish for women in uniform but I never quite got the fascist or misogynistic connections. I personally I like their music and I try not to think too much about their imagery. This year was the first time that I chose not to buy a physical copy of their new album. I have enough coffee-table books and these days I mostly listen to their music at the gym. So I bought the digital version instead. It’s great treadmill/cross trainer music. Best tracks: ‘Kampbereit’, ‘Tempus Fugit’ and ‘Burning Bridges’.

6. Scandroid – Scandroid
Genre: Synthwave

Scandroid is a side-project of the American musician Klayton (Celldweller, Circle of Dust). It was originally a two-man project featuring Klayton and Nick Pittsinger (Varien) who took on the identities of “Red” and “Raven” in the futuristic cyberpunk world of Neo-Tokyo, where the Scandroid story takes place. “Raven” left the project in 2014 which means Scandroid is now a solo project with “Red” as the main character. The music is a mixture of ’80s -style synth-pop/synthwave with a sci-fi tinge. The album tells a story so it’s difficult to pick out any specific individual tracks, but personally I’m very fond of ‘Aphelion’, ‘Empty Streets’ and ‘Neo-Tokyo’.

7. Terrolokaust – Dissensions
Genre: Industrial Rock/Aggrotech/Dark Electro

This year I finally got to see this Spanish harsh electro duo live at Resistanz Festival. That was a good show which served as my introduction to the band. They are similar to Combichrist in a sense as their style has changed from Aggrotech towards a more industrial rock sound. Their latest opus ‘Dissensions’ contains a mixture of both styles. There is something here for fans of either genre – whether it’s dance tracks like ‘Pursuit of Ruin’ or guitar driven industrial rock song such as ‘A Masochist’s Tale’.

8.Ost+Front
Genre: Neue-Deutsche-Härte

I have to be honest here in that I have mixed feelings about this album and Ost+Front in general. They give the impression of being essentially a Rammstein-clone, adapting not only the music and vocal style but also the themes and the imagery of their world-famous countrymen. Despite this I decided to include their new album on this list because of a few tracks that stood out – the sombre and profound ballad ‘Sternenkinder’ and ‘Bruderherz’. ‘Fiesta de sexo’ also deserves a mention due to guest appearance of Erk Aicrag (Hocico).

9. My Own Sorrow – The Entity
Genre: Dark Electro/Occult Ambient

‘The Entity’ is the latest album from the Swedish dark electro artist My Own Sorrow. His music is primarily instrumental, atmospheric dark electro with strong themes of horror and occultism. All the songs have an eerie feel to them. It’s like listening soundtrack to a horror movie. Best tracks ‘Succubus’ and ‘Rats In The Walls’.

10. Blutzukker – The Ultimate Collection
Genre: Dark Electro

Blutzukker is the dark electro project of the German artist Ben Blutzukker. He is currently involved in two projects; a heavy metal band under the name of Ben Blutzukker, who released an EP last year and the aforementioned dark electro act Blutzukker. What we have here isn’t really a new release but rather a collection of all Blutzukker’s works including some rarities and unreleased demos. So if you like dark electro, horror themes with a touch of humour then I would strongly recommend this. Best tracks ‘Fright Club’, ‘Queen of the Nite’, ‘The Vampire Strikes Back’.

Biggest new discovery: Lord of the Lost
Best live show: it’s a tie between Combichrist live in Tampere and Memmaker at Club Infektio, Helsinki
Most Anticipated albums of 2016:
Marilyn Manson – Say10
Blutengel – Leitbild
New albums by Suicide Commando and Grendel

Stay tuned for the metal edition, coming soon!

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Lumous Gothic Festival 2016

Posted in Festival, Live with tags Aesthetic Perfection, Aggrotech, ebm, goth rock, Harsh Electro, Industrial, Lumous Gothic Festival, neo-folk, Shiv-R, Two Wiches on 17th July 2016 by izaforestspirit

Shiv-R, Two Witches, Aesthetic Perfection

Klubi, Tampere, Finland

15–16th July

For the past few years, Finland’s biggest Gothic event – Lumous Gothic Festival – has been one of the highlights of my summer. There was some rumours going around that last year’s 15th anniversary edition was going to be the last one. Luckily that was not the case. Not only is Lumous still running, they actually sold out the Saturday’s show. This year the music on offer was a mixture of EBM, Harsh Electro/Aggrotech, Goth Rock and neo-folk.

Friday

First up was the futuristic-styled EBM duo Blastromen. These two really looked like extras from one of the Tron movies, thanks to their luminous “space robot” suits. They played some catchy EBM enhanced with robotic vocals and plenty of flashing lights. The flashing lights were a bit too much for my little camera to handle but I enjoyed the performance. 3/5

Goth rock is one of the most popular genres at the festival. I’ve seen a number of good Goth rock bands at Lumous and Canis Lupus was no exception. Unlike some goth bands who tend to overdo the melancholic and gloomy atmosphere, these guys actually looked like they were enjoying themselves. Their vocals and overall style reminded me of Sisters of Mercy. 4/5

The night’s headlining act, the Australian Harsh Electro band Shiv-R was the main band that I came to see. I’ve only discovered them recently so I was keen to see what they are like live. Their show was very energetic, filled with lots of creepy imagery projected from the screens and lots of very catchy dark electro tunes. I was dancing pretty much throughout the show. 5/5

Saturday

Every year Lumous Gothic Festival features at least one “wild card” – a band or solo artist who sounds or sometimes looks dramatically different from all the others. This year that “wild card” was the British neo-folk artist Naevus. This was a special “solo set” featuring just the band’s singer on acoustic guitar. Whilst I can fully acknowledge that Mr. Lloyd James has a good voice and he is a talented guitar player, this type of music is simply not my style. 3.5/5

Local favourites, the renowned Finnish goth rock band Two Witches are big part of the local Goth scene and they are heavily involved with the festival. Last night was the official release party for the brand new live album ‘Voodoo Wytches -Live. I’ve seen them live before but each show is a little different… This time they played at a venue packed full of cheering fans at a sold.out show. Their set consisted primarily of old songs including several classics such as ‘Vampire Empire’, ‘The Dark Angels of Sin’, ‘The Omen’ and ‘Burn The Witch’. It was really good to see them live again. There’s not that many Goth rock bands that I enjoy but Two Witches is definitely one of them. 5/5

Whilst I’m not a massive of their latest work, I have to admit that American electro- industrial Aggrotech band Aesthetic Perfection are always entertaining to watch live. I’m a big fan of the first three albums so I was really happy when they played most of the hits from that era including: ‘Spit It Out’, The Great Depression’, ‘Inhuman’ and ‘The Ones’. ‘Antibody’ wasn’t bad either but I’m not super keen on their mellow ballads. 4.5/5

So there you have it. Another great weekend at Lumous Gothic Festival. Two Witches is always fun to watch live, Aesthetic Perfection put on another great show, Shiv-R was a new discovery and my favourite performance of the festival.

Iza Raittila

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Resistanz Festival 2016

Posted in Festival, Live with tags Aggrotech, ebm, Godflesh, Grendel, Industrial, Industrial metal, iVardensphere, Power noise, Tribal industrial on 4th April 2016 by izaforestspirit

Grendel, iVardensphere, Godflesh
The Corporation, Sheffield, The United Kingdom
Saturday 26th March 2016

Resistanz was one of those festivals that I’ve wanted to return to. I’ve been there once before; in 2011 which was the very first time that it was held and one of the few times that it didn’t sell out. Since then the dates have been moved to the Easter weekend, which meant that it usually clashed with a family gathering making it impossible for me to attend. This year was an exception, I just happened to be in the U.K. that weekend and within easily commutable distance of the city where it was being held.

I missed the first band, Neonsol. The next band was a local band Randolf & Mortimer, who played a mixture of EBM, techno, punk and early Ministry -style industrial rock. It was catchy at times and definitely a good way to start to the night. 3/5

Terrolokaust were one of the main bands that I was looking forward to. They’re essentially a Harsh Electro / Aggrotech band, similar to the likes of Combichrist but the vocal style is different from most of the bands of that genre. They played some tracks from their upcoming album along with older tracks plus a few covers including their take on The Prodigy’s ‘Spitfire’. I had only heard a handful of tracks by them before the gig so most of the stuff they played was unfamiliar. I enjoyed the show so much that I bought two of their albums afterwards. 4/5

Next up was the British EBM band Cyferdyne. They played some catchy and mostly dancefloor-friendly electro. It was fun to dance to and some of my friends also really enjoyed it. Personally I preferred Terrolokaust to them. 3.5/5

Grendel was the main band that I came to see. I’ve been a fan of their music for years and I’ve missed several opportunities to see them live. So, needless to say that I was really looking forward to their show. And they didn’t disappoint. They had two guitarists with them on stage along with the usual industrial synths and JD’s harsh electro vocals. They played all the hit songs including: ‘Chemicals & Circuitry’, ‘Timewave Zero’, ‘Hate This’ along with some older material including one of my favorites ‘Pax Psychosis’ and two new tracks from the upcoming EP ‘The Age of the Disposable Body’. I had a great time dancing and singing along to all the songs. This was my favorite performance of the whole night. 5/5

I had no idea what to expect from iVardensphere. I assumed them to be an experimental industrial noise band, which is the type of stuff that tends to give me a headache. I was initially reluctant to see their show. Then one of my friends convinced me to give them a try, saying that their style was more power noise mixed with some tribal music influences. I have a much better experience with power and rhythmic noise bands such as SAM, X-RX and Memmaker. This sub-genre tends to sound good live, so I decided to give iVardensphere a try. What I heard turned out to be a lot better than I expected. Their music is a fascinating mix of techno, industrial and power noise along with some tribal music. They even did a cover of Sepultura’s ‘Roots Bloody Roots’. Their performance was very energetic, great to dance to and the additional tribal elements made the songs sound all the more intriguing. 4/5

Now, I like my metal and I like my industrial music. I also like some industrial metal so in theory Godflesh should have been right up my alley. The thing is, they seemed a little out of place at Resistanz Festival being the only metal band there. They also happened to be the headlining act, playing after a very catchy power noise band whose fans packed the venue. It’s not that I hated Godflesh’s performance; it was decent-sounding industrial metal but not as memorable as some of other industrial metal bands I’ve seen in the past such as Ministry. 3/5

I spent the rest of the night dancing and hanging around with friends, some of whom I haven’t seen in years. Overall this was an intense, exhausting but also really fun way to spend Easter Saturday. I finally got to see Grendel live, Terrolokaust were really good and I discovered the delights of iVardensphere. It’s really a shame that this was the last Resistanz Festival. I’m so glad that I got to attend it, even if it was just for one day after such a long break.

Iza Raittila

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Iza’s Highlights of 2013

Posted in Live, Misc. with tags Agathodaimon, Aggrotech, Behemoth, Black Metal, Children of Bodom, Chthonic, Combichrist, Industrial, Kampfar, Psyclon Nine, Suicide Commando, Vader on 30th December 2013 by izaforestspirit

It’s been one hell of a busy year in the world of alternative music. Lots of great new releases, memorable shows and festivals. I’ve decided to write a short summary of some of the highlights of 2013. Here are some of the albums that caught my attention this year:

1. Chthonic – Bú Tik
Genre: Melodic Black Metal/ Oriental Metal

This is easily my favourite metal album of 2013. ‘Bú Tik’ brings together the aggression of black and death metal with the melodic oriental sounds of the erhu for that unique mix that only Chthonic are renowned for. The results of this combination are both complex and beautiful in their design. Best tracks: ‘Supreme Pain For a Tyrant’, ‘Sail into The Sunset’s Fire’ and Defenders of Bú Tik Palace’.

2. Suicide Commando – When Evil Speaks
Genre: Industrial/ Aggrotech/ Harsh Electro

I’ve been a fan of Suicide Commando for a number of years now. ‘When Evil Speaks’ is the long-awaited follow-up to ‘Implements of Hell’. Based around the overall subject of hate and evil in today’s society; the album features dark and sinister lyrical themes, old-school EBM tunes and Aggrotech dance-floor hits. Best tracks: ‘My Blasphemy’, ‘Unterwelt’ and ‘Monster’.

3. Children of Bodom – Halo of Blood
Genre: Melodic Death/Power Metal

I’ve been of a fan of this band since my early teens, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to review their latest album. Aside from the odd surprise such as the ballad ‘Dead Man’s Hand On You’, ‘Halo of Blood’ features the signature Bodom sound and is without a shadow of doubt their strongest release in years. Best tracks: ‘Transference’ , ‘Bodom Blue Moon’ and ‘Dead Man’s Hand On You’.

4. Psyclon Nine – [Order of the Shadow : Act I]
Genre: Aggrotech/ Industrial Metal

This band is not an easy one to categorise into a specific genre. Some industrial and EBM fans dismiss their style by saying that their black metal influences are too strong to earn them a place in the industrial scene. Not that I give a damn since that’s precisely why I like them. ‘Order of The Shadow…” is their harshest and most aggressive release to date. After 10 tracks of intense, adrenaline fueled, blackened industrial, I was shocked to hear the sombre ballads at the end. Best tracks: ‘Shadows Unveiled’ , ‘Use Once and Destroy’ and ‘The Saint and The Valentine’.

5. Agathodaimon – In Darkness
Genre: Melodic Black Metal/ Symphonic Black Metal

This album marks a departure from the gothic metal days of its predecessor ‘Phoenix’ and a return their older, melodic black metal sound depicted in earlier releases such as ‘Chapter III’ and ‘Higher Art of Rebellion’. Whilst not quite reaching the greatness of ‘Chapter III’ (an album which holds a special place in my heart); ‘In Darkness’ is definitely a step in the right direction, offering a mixture of agression and melancholic melodies. Best tracks: ‘In Darkness (We Shall be Reborn), ‘I’ve Risen’ and ‘Favourite Sin’.

Best Live Shows of 2013

1. Sabaton live at Sauna Open Air, Tampere, Finland.

2. Children of Bodom live at Sauna Open Air, Tampere, Finland.

3. Chthonic live at Klubi, Tampere, Finland.

4. Suicide Commando live in London, the U.K.

5. Heimataerde live at KOMA festival, Oslo, Norway.

Best New Discovery of 2013: ErilaZ

This Finnish band caught my attention during their performance at this year’s Lumous festival in Tampere, Finland. What do they sound like? Imagine a mixture of Fear Factory, Front Line Assembly with the combined lyrical themes of Amon Amarth. Impossible, you say? Go on, I dare you to give them a try!

To finish off I’d like to list some of the releases that I’m looking forward to in 2014:

Most Anticipated Albums of 2014:

1. Behemoth – The Satanist
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Release Date: 3rd February 2014

2. Vader – TIBI ET IGNI “For You (and only You) and Fire
Genre: Death Metal
Release Date: Spring 2014

3. Kampfar – Djevelmakt
Genre: Pagan Black Metal

Release Date: 27th January, 2014

4. Combichrist – We Love You
Genre: Industrial/ Aggrotech
Release Date: 15th March 2014

5. Nachtmahr – Feindbild
Genre: Industrial/ Aggrotech
Release Date: 14th February 2014

That’s all for now. Happy New Year!

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