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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!

Remain in Silence – …And The Soul Goes On

Posted in Review with tags Cold Wave, dark wave, goth rock on 22nd March 2016 by izaforestspirit

Remain in Silence
…And The Soul Goes On
Released 18th March 2016
Wave Wave/Dark Wave/Goth Rock
Released via M.I.G Music GmbH

‘…And The Soul Goes On’ is the long-awaited new album from the dark wave pioneers Remain in Silence. The band was originally formed back in the mid 1980s and they were amongst the first bands in the German dark wave scene.

My knowledge of dark wave is very limited. I’ve seen a handful of dark wave bands at Lumous Gothic Festival, but other than that my only experience with the genre are a few songs by The Cure along with the early albums by Lacrimosa, The Crüxshadows and Blutengel, which is often classed as synth-pop rather than dark wave. All of these have certain characteristics in common: the dark, Gothic atmosphere, melancholic tones and emotionally profound lyrics. Remain in Silence is no exception to this and they fit the genre description very well.

In many ways, if melancholic and melodic Goth music is your thing, then this is the album for you. While I have no problem with the gloomy atmosphere, I did have some issues with the slow pace of the songs. Let’s just say that I like my Goth music to be one of the three options: more dance/synth-pop -like (an example could be Blutengel), the catchy Goth rock variety akin to the likes of Two Witches or symphonic/orchestral Goth rock style of modern Lacrimosa. This album has only a handful moments like this, most notably the catchy, electro pop track Wrapped in Ice which is one of the few songs on here that I could actually dance to. Another one is the new edition of an old Remain in Silence classic, Hope in Fear in which the guitar tunes have a bizarrely pleasant and uplifting vibe to them despite the overall depressing tone of the vocals. Then finally there’s the eerie yet beautiful instrumental Endless Sea, which is the perfect track to end the album, summing up the dark atmosphere that was present throughout.

Technically speaking there is nothing really wrong with this album. It’s clearly well written and executed by highly experienced and skilled musicians. Yet despite this I struggled to get through it and really focus on the songs. Even for some who enjoys Gothic atmospheres and the odd bit of melancholic rock or electro, this was an album that was just too slow and ponderous for my liking.

3/5
Iza Raittila

Clan Of Xymox w/ Tracy Vandal – Porto, Portugal

Posted in Gig, Live with tags Clan Of Xymox, dark wave, Gothic rock, Hard Club, Muzik Is My Oyster, Porto, Sala 2, Tracy Vandal on 18th September 2015 by Pieni

Clan Of Xymox, Tracy Vandal
Hard Club (Sala 2), Porto (PT)
13th September 2015
Promoted by Muzik Is My Oyster

Last Sunday, Clan Of Xymox and Tracy Vandal offered some unforgettable moments to the couple of hundred goth lovers who headed out to Hard Club that night.

Tracy – who made sure of letting us know that Tracy Vandal was a band, not just her, while pointing towards Pedro and Miguel – proved that not only she has a wonderful voice but also a bright sense of humor; the contrast between that and the sad, dream-like sound of her music was simply brilliant. Complaining about the high-heels and the tight dress the boys made her wear (“they don’t let me dress as a boy, they don’t understand how hard it is”) and saying she was only goth when she sang were just some of the most amusing lines. Then when she got into the middle of the crowd, to slow-dance among the delighted crowd, and the dress didn’t allow her an easy climbing back on stage, she leaned towards a young boy, clearly seeking for help. But the kid was so startled he didn’t move. When the song was over and Tracy was able to put the mike down and use both hands to get up there, she addressed the boy saying that when a fat, Scottish old woman needs help and you’re not strong enough to do it, you call a stronger guy. Obviously, everybody laughed. After consulting with Miguel – which she did all the time, actually, claiming that the boys kept the setlist a secret from her –, she announced “Explosions” as the last song.

www.facebook.com/onthishill

Then Clan Of Xymox was everything one could expect from a dark wave / gothic rock band – seductive, emotional, gloomy here, vibrant there… At 54, Ronny Moorings can be proud of being able to cause such an effect on people with both old and new songs, after almost 35 years with this band. Although, of course, the classics had more history, brought up more memories, and were naturally welcomed with more enthusiasm. “Louise”, “A Day”, “Jasmine & Rose”, “Muscoviet Mosquito”… and yet so many others were left out. But at the same time, every single song was worth it – covers of “Venus” (Shocking Blue) and “Heroes” (David Bowie) included – the latter closing the show. There’s not much more I can say, as magic can hardly be put into words.