Browsing Tag

Industrial Metal

n1ne8zero transcended the mundanity of the ordinary with their industrial debut, ruminate_illuminate

With harsh NIN-esque snares amidst the industrialised techno progressions that slither through the augmented production, the debut single, ruminate_illuminate, from n1ne8zero is a cacophonous juggernaut of an earworm which pays ode to industrial pioneers while modernising the genre and sealing its fate in the modern music landscape.

The biomechanical beats, tension-fraught builds, explosively euphoric breaks and deliciously distorted guitars all pull together to deliver a mind-mashing instrumental track that transcends the mundanity of the ordinary and stands as a testament to n1ne8zero’s ability as a boundary and convention obliterating innovator.

Setting their debut release apart, ruminate_illuminate comes with an immersive cerebral touch through the intricacies in the labyrinth of instrumental layers and the way the transcendent elements juxtapose the visceral chaos offered to alleviate the listener from the external chaos that permeates our perceptions and worlds. We can’t wait to hear what lingers in n1ne8zero’s pipeline after this phenomenally strong debut.

ruminate_illuminate was officially released on February 16th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KURO unveiled their electro-metal manifesto on how to bring down the alt-right with ‘Wake Up and Choose Violence’

As calls to socially progressive arms go, they don’t come much more compelling than KURO’s latest single, Wake Up and Choose Violence. With the harsh industrial metal instrumentals amplifying the lyrical volition that unravels as a manifesto of poetic vengeance, the sonically jugernautical Glasgow outfit reached the pinnacle of the punk ethos.

The blast beats hammer down as heavily as we should be coming down on the alt-right provocateurs who revel in the contempt they breed and their subsequent notoriety as the synthesis of the heavily distorted guitars and synth lines visualise the disorientating dystopic dissonance of our depressing modern epoch.

By pointing out how we fought for rights only to neglect them when it matters the most, the adrenalizing razor-sharp rap metal vocals cogently foreshadow a further descent into extremism, marginalisation, and prejudice unless we follow the titular command. Resistance isn’t futile; it is fundamental.

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KURO Said:

“Wake Up and Choose Violence is a reactionary track written in response to the sheer amount of audacious counter-reformative movements and laws placed by right-wing identifying groups. In simpler terms, we’re sick of our right to protest being taken away, the lack of racism being tackled, bills for trans and queer rights being blocked and the growth of far-right ideologies being accepted.

It is about standing up to all that, finding your viewpoint and sticking to it, and standing up for those who don’t have a voice. The music video exhibits this in which we included people from many walks of life and gave them a platform to express their viewpoints and show why it’s time for a progressive change.”

Stream the official music video for Wake Up and Choose Violence on YouTube, add the track to your Spotify playlists, or purchase the single on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BackIVBlood – Cuts: Cowboys from Cwmbran

The recently forged South Wales metal three-piece, BackIVBlood, is laceratingly sharp in their debut single, Cuts. With elements of Pantera, Drowning Pool and Static X all legible in the adrenalized off-kilter ride through their progressive furore, it’s impossible not to get sucked into their grungy alt-metal antagonistically cathartic antics.

The caustically sharp vocals rail across the consistently evolving instrumentals that lustfully flirt with nu-metal in the rhythm section, stylise the ferocity with dynamic hard rock guitar licks and add nuanced layers of industrial metal to the fresh production, which unravels as an amalgam you’ve never tested the capacity of your neck with before.

Based on this exceptionally promising debut alone, the juggernautical powerhouse can count on me to be at the front row on their future tour dates.

Listen to Cuts on Spotify and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London Alt-Metal duo Glytsh unfurl their fury in an interview with A&R Factory

Following the release of their latest scathing stormer of a single, SAV@GE, A&R Factory caught up with the Swiss guitarist, Hella Sin, & the French singer, Luna Blake, from the London-based Alt-Metal duo Glytsh to discuss the motivation behind the momentous hit and their plans to encourage inclusivity in the music industry.

Your latest single, SAV@GE, is a massive hit of vindication for anyone that has ever voiced a valid opinion only to be dismissed as hysterical and too emotional. Was there a particular facet of misogynistic culture that inspired your new release?

Luna: As a woman you have to face misogynistic behaviours everywhere from an early age. Like a curse from the womb that begins with IT’S A GIRL!

In my case I’ve experienced misogyny within my family, friends, at school, from strangers and in the music scene. Misogyny is the closest cousin to racism, it’s a vicious, underlying disease rooted in education and society. Not only men are to blame, but many women are also conditioned to think this way. Most of the time it expresses itself in the most sneaky and passive way dressed as an advice, a joke, or a compliment.

Hella: As a female guitar player, one of the questions that comes up the most is sexism in the scene. What I always reply is that it’s not really a music industry issue specifically, but more like a recurring issue in any male-dominated field. Our music is mostly inspired by our personal lives and experiences, so writing an angry song about the frustration of navigating the music industry as women is something that comes quite naturally to us, as we’ve both been professional musicians for many years and have a book worth of stories. Although it is important to talk about them, I sometimes feel focusing on them too much instead of the music makes the problem even bigger. I see myself more as a musician in music than a female in music, but I understand the reality is what it is!

It is clear you are intent on making your legacy more than just a music discography; where does that drive come from? 

Luna: Music has played a big part in my education therefore my first motive was purely for the love of it. I’ve realised quickly that I had to fight for it and earn the respect I deserved as a musician and not only as a female musician. I’ve never been scared of voicing my opinions, but I did feel not taken seriously and diminished many times as if my point of view had no value. If anything, it made me stronger, it has fueled my fire and has given me a good reason to scream louder!

Hella: For me, it comes from the fact that I have put limitations on myself when I didn’t have to. This is on a musical level but also in my personal life. If there’s one thing I want more than anything is inspire people to go for what they really want, no matter how much self-doubt you feel. I put off writing my own music for a long time because I didn’t think I was capable of creating my own project from scratch. And now, even at a very early stage, the fulfillment I am feeling when working on this band really improves my life on a daily basis and pushes me to keep going.

In a time when wokeism’ is a trending buzzword to dismiss social justice, and political chaos is driving liberal-minded people who dont align with the ideals’ of a conservative society further towards apathy, how does it feel to be a force against it?

Luna: Our first motive was and still is to write good music for everyone. I won’t describe Glytsh as political but for the reasons we’ve mentioned above, the need to fight for our place as women in music has become very intertwined with the creative process. We are trying to maintain a balance as we’d like to be seen first as musicians who also happen to have a great message to deliver instead of a political party that voices its great conviction through music.

Hella: To be honest, I don’t think we have an intentional political message in our music. I get why people think we do, but this is not something I can really answer as I’m just trying to come up with great music and inspire people to go for what they want in life and stand for themselves.

In addition to speaking for the marginalized through your music, youre also striving to make your future shows more inclusive for members of the LGBTQ+ community; can you tell us about your plans? 

Luna: Our main goal is for people to recognise themselves in our music, whether it’s for the sound, the message, or the image. I also want young girls and women to feel empowered when they listen to Glytsh and finally book this boxing class or guitar lesson they’ve been dreaming of taking.

Men are more than welcome too in our adventure. Fortunately many of them have been really supportive and respectful, seeing us as peers. We’ve been working with truly kind and talented ones, and it creates a great balance and dynamic. We’d like our gigs to be a safe space, where everyone can be themselves regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, background, and ethnicity.

Hella: The best way to fight for something is to lead by example in my opinion, rather than shouting aggressively about it. As a member of the community myself, I try as much as possible to be a voice in the scene and hopefully show our fans they can be themselves at our show without any fear or concern.

In your view, what are the biggest barriers for marginalised communities in the music industry, and beyond your efforts for inclusivity, what changes would you like to see implemented?

Luna: Standards! that in my opinion are completely dated and defined by people who should either retire or accept changes. Like with Black Lives Matter, so many big brands have started promoting their products with more black people than they’ve ever done, same with movies which is a true evolution. Everyone deserves to be able to relate and identify themselves to something or someone they like, that they are part of the society like everyone else. Now saying that, I wonder where the line is between the hypocrisy  and the real desire to change. When you know that around the meeting table only white people were having this conversation about how to save their image and don’t discuss how to make a real change from the inside by hiring more people of colour for key roles too. Same with the music industry, giving power to the marginalised communities in the music industry would be a huge progress.

Your timely new single dropped at the same time as the ISM report, which declared sexual harassment and racism endemic in the music industry, with 66% of professional musicians experiencing discrimination, a substantial increase from a previous 2018 report. Can you tell us about your own experiences and observations? 

Luna: The music industry is mainly a white male owned business and the metal scene is too. I’ve been to metal gigs with and seen black musicians being called terrible names in the crowd or a black female singer being judged on the type of music ‘she should be singing’ instead of being in a metal band… this makes me cringe!

Sexual harassment is way too familiar, even more with social media. Some guys still think you breath and exist for their enjoyment and have no shame voicing their sexual needs or making sexual comments to you.

 Hella: First, there isn’t much I can say about racism as this is not something I’ve personally experienced. Having heard some of my friends’ stories it is very clear there’s a massive issue in the metal scene for sure, and coming from a family with different roots, this is an important topic for me, but I don’t want to pretend like I understand it fully because I don’t. However, sexual harassment is something I am very familiar with, but again I see it more as a universal issue rather than just a music industry issue. I am trying to not focus on it and again, dedicate myself to be the best band we can be and show we don’t need a separate category such as “female-fronted bands” for our music.

 Off the back of your own success and protective resilience, if you could give one piece of advice to women or members of marginalized communities looking to get into the music industry, what would it be?

Luna: Do what you love, defend your convictions, surround yourself with people that matter and don’t give up!

Hella: Honestly, don’t focus on it. If you have a desire to make music and all you can think about is riffs and melodies, don’t wait until you find the perfect role model. I know it sounds weird, but you don’t need to look up to anyone if you can’t find anyone who you can relate to. Instead, become a role model!

Watch the official music video for SAV@GE on YouTube, or add it to your Spotify playlists.

Follow Glytsh on Facebook & Instagram. 

GLYTSH took control of the UK metal scene with their dark vehement aesthetic in Hard(core) Memory

After boldly covering NIN’s most seductive single for their debut and creating a triumphant hit out of it by unveiling the demure holes that were left unfilled, the London-based metal-inclined duo, GLYTSH, have released their sophomore single, Hard(core) Memory.

Hard(core) Memory is Reznor served with Peaches (hold the cream) paired with the fierce provocative metal aesthetic of In This Moment. Reminiscences aside, their projection of autonomy through infectiously unfuckwithable attitude is nothing short of hypnotic around the bite of the industrial beats, scuzzy grungy drums and feral guitars. It stays on the right side of lascivious, while teasingly toeing the line, unapologetically proving that assertive feminine energy has never been about getting dicks hard.

Considering that Hard(core) vindicated me more than Bikini Kill’s I Like Fucking, it’s safe to say the French vocalist, Jennifer Diehl and Swiss guitarist, Claire Genoud, are a fair way along in their mission in reminding us that the Riot Grrrl ethos didn’t end with the dawn of the new millennium.

The official video for Hard(core) Memory premiered on June 1st. Check it out via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bruce Mack – Ugly Head: Dystopic Industrial Be-Bop

Funk rock meets industrial metal in the latest single to be released by New York native Bruce Mack. It wouldn’t be out of place on the Judgement Night soundtrack. With his signature be-bop style paired with co-producer Michael Cox’s guitars that resonate like siren calls, it is impossible not to be consumed by the gritty track that gives the same vibe of preachers in apocalypse films.

‘Ugly Head’ is truly dystopic. Which sadly means that it perfectly captures the state of 2021. It lyrically attacks the odious souls that bitter our polarised society with affirming lyrics such as, “there are beasts on both sides”.

You can check out Ugly Head, which features on the Black Rock Coalition’s new compilation album, Rock n’ Roll Reparations by visiting blackrockcoalition.org. Or by checking out Bruce Mack via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast