Browsing Tag

Industrial Rock

Darkwave danced with opium den chic in CHIRAL’s debut single and music video, I BRING CHAOS

Posted on 12 February 2024

Darkwave slipped into opium den chic in CHIRAL’s debut single and music video, I BRING CHAOS. After an opulently tribalistic intro which sees rhythms snake and shimmer with maximum seductive effect, CHIRAL starts to exhibit the shadow side of the Sunset Strip with their sleazy guitars and harbingering hard rock vox – but that is only the start of the ensnaring experimentalism with I BRING CHAOS, which more than lives up to its titular proclamation.

If it’s been a while since you locked sonic horns with a truly authentic darkwave band, the Irish conduits of alchemic fervour are the ultimate avant-garde antidote to the mundanity that has started to infiltrate and oversaturate the alternative music scene.

After founding in 2023, the fourpiece immediately surpassed their wide-spanning set of influences, which includes Therapy?, Faith No More, Deftones, and Tool. If I BRING CHAOS is a taste of what is to come, I already know I’m going to want to devour the broodingly carnivalesque glamour in the rest of their forthcoming discography.

Stream the official music video for I BRING CHAOS which premiered on January 26th on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cali’s sardonic sons El Greasy delivered industrialised synth rock debauchery in their debut, Bad Night for Leather

Posted on 3 November 2023
El Greasy

The Oakland, California melodramatic prodigies, El Greasy, greased up synth-rock to a debauched degree in their debut single and music video, Bad Night for Leather.

After feeling the synergy over Zoom during the lockdowns, the duo laid down seven soon-to-be seminal singles with engineer Ben Hirschfield at Nu-Tone Studios; Bad Night for Leather is the first dripping of their sardonically industrialised sound which obliterated the alt-rock mould.

So much more than the sum of their stoner rock influences, El Greasy’s big, brash, and bold energy lent itself effortlessly well to the narrative weaved through the superlative track which unfurls snarls towards protagonists who believe that superficial modifications will have untold benefits on the pitifulness of their unself-aware existence.

It is easy to see El Greasy riffing their way into the blackened hearts of everyone who takes their alt-rock with adrenalized shots of big-beat electronica and heavy doses of lyrical intellectualism, which elucidates phenomena that your average song crafter wouldn’t dare to work into their concepts. They’re a razor-sharp cut above the rest with their ability to put your speakers to the test while stretching your imagination with their tensile wit.

El Greasy said

“Bad Night for Leather portrays the experience of loneliness and self-acceptance during a night out in the big city.  Inspired by a night of heavy drinking in Berlin, the protagonist retells the story of the night he was kicked out of a bar and stumbled by a pawn shop with a cool leather jacket in the window. By wearing the jacket, he thinks he’ll get into any bar or nightclub but is soundly rejected again and again by surreally large bouncers and the terrorizing “eye” of CCTV cameras.

The character laments that “I let myself get to me” and accepts that it was a “Bad Night for Leather.” The main idea is a character doing something over the top to gain the approval of others when there is no guarantee of this occurring.”

–

If you can’t get enough of Bad Night for Leather, you won’t have long to wait for the drop of their antithesis of a Christmas single, Jesus Fucking Christ, which is set to rain blasphemy onto the airwaves in December 2023.

The single and official music video for Bad Night for Leather will drop on November 3rd; stream it on YouTube.

Head to El Greasy’s official website, Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with future releases and antics.

 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The teeth of synth rock sharpened to the tune of Ghostfeeder’s latest single, Rearview

Posted on 11 August 2023
Ghostfeeder

The latest monolith of a hook-filled single, Rearview, from the alt-electronica trailblazer Ghostfeeder, stepped out from the shadows of 80s synthpop and glam rock to show its sharp teeth and even sharper hooks.

With the frenzied-with-distortion guitars around Ghostfeeder’s signature vintage synth textures and under the poppy vocals that leave the hooks in IAMX and Highly Suspect tracks sounding blunt, Rearview is a viscerally exhilarant release; especially if you allow the depth of the lyricism to submerge you deeper into the evocative momentum. Anyone who can find resonance in the reprise ‘stuck in rewind’ in the context of being paralysed when it comes to letting go of the past will get galvanizingly more than they’ve bargained for when they hit play.

After sharing stages with goth royalty, including KMFDM, Powerman 5000, and Cold Cave, it is more than about time that Ghostfeeder stepped into the headliner limelight. To bolster the honed songwriting, Rearview was mixed by the Grammy Award-nominated and platinum-selling artist and producer Amir Derakh (Orgy, Dead by Sunrise, Julien-K) and mastered by Mike Marsh (The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Depeche Mode). The track reaches the pinnacle of cyber goth ear candy.

Stream Rearview on all major platforms from the 11th of August via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Forget Black Mirror, delve into the darkwave dystopia of Dr Void and the Skinjob’s latest single, Android’s and Polaroid’s

Posted on 21 July 2023

Darkwave and post-punk caustically collide in the latest single, Android’s and Polaroid’s, from the irreplicable powerhouse, Dr Void and the Skinjob’s.

With synth lines dark and reverberant enough they could have been stolen from an 80s horror OST and drum fills frenetic enough they leave the senses in a tailspin, the Glasgow-hailing three-piece surpass their influences from She Past Away, Gary Numan, The Damned, and Clan of Xymox by creating electrifying installations of sonic frenzy paired with dystopic lyrical themes.

Android’s and Polaroid’s follows a similar tale to the TV series Humans by depicting the story of an over-used sex droid that is seduced by freedom and wants to taste human morality after being subjugated to the worst facets of the human condition. It seems that Charlie Brooker isn’t the only one with a talent for portraying dystopic narratives that aren’t too far from the realm of possibility.

Android’s and Polaroid’s is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fallsurge left us on the ‘Tripwire’ of his industrial-rock-meets-post-punk hit

Posted on 26 June 2023
Tripwire by FALLSURGE

After beating the skins for Swervedriver and 5:30, Jez Hindmarsh formed his post-punk meets electronic rock project, Fallsurge. Post-punk has had its fair share of angsty icons, but they’re deathly pale when put in comparison to Fallsurge, especially after the release of Tripwire.

With hints of Celldweller and Skinny Puppy in the production and PJ Harvey’s Down By the Water in the rancorous atmosphere against the protestive post-punk snarls, Fallsurge is one of the most inventive alt-electronica acts since Prodigy.

And yeah, that should probably go down as blasphemy, but the caustic industrial cuts in Tripwire against the cold chaotic sonic whirlpooling guitars, laid down by the LA-based guitarist, Dave Dupuis, created a pioneering cocktail of viscerally vitriolic alchemy. We’re officially stoked to hear what follows.

Stream and purchase Tripwire via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ride the electromagnetic waves in Us or Aliens’ latest industrial pop-rock call into the void, Black Hole

Posted on 22 May 2023

Giving us all the dark industrial rock energy of Celldweller and Zeromancer, with a few sharp pop hooks for impaling measure, Us or Aliens’ latest cry into the void, Black Hole, is an existential tour de force.

While the hollow find it hard to find fulfilment in a disenfranchising reality where ennui is as escapable as the cosmic phenomenon which became the metaphorical focus of the single, the pensive will more than get their resonant fill from Black Hole.

Us or Aliens is the solo project from Shawn Kirkpatrick, who has been writing, composing, recording and producing for himself and other artists for the past two decades. In his impressive by any measure career, he has performed in over 500 venues and found the time to become an accomplished guitar teacher and TV composer.

Delve into Black Hole by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Alt-90s Cinematically Lives and Breathes Through Agent Envy’s Grungy Industrial Rock Single, No Friend

Posted on 9 December 2022

San Diego artist and producer Agent Envy is fresh from the release of her sultrily fierce single, No Friend, which cinematically amalgamates trip-hop, industrial rock, grunge and metal. Under the wide-spanning influence of acts including NIN, Tool, Massive Attack and Deftones, Agent Envy found her own striking sonic aesthetic that is nothing short of iconic in itself.

Any fans of Warpaint and Wolf Alice will want to sink their teeth into this demurely powerful protest against life’s prolific protagonists who guise their usury entitlement as friendship to take what they can, and guilt trip you when they’ve bled you dry of your empathy but still haven’t quite had their fill.

“No Friend is about finally saying, “enough is enough,” and captures the triumph and catharsis of setting a boundary. The track explores a powerful side of my vocal range not previously featured in my earlier songs, along with the deep, sultry vocals that my audience is familiar with.”

No Friend will be available to stream and purchase on all major platforms from December 9th. Catch in on Spotify & YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

Spotlight Feature: Chris Luke has made a soulfully interstellar return to the airwaves with his industrial cosmic rock track, Love’s Big Machine

Posted on 20 March 2022

After getting sync deals in shows, such as Beverley Hills 90210 and McKenna, and contributing to the OST in the 2021 film, The Girl Who Believes in Miracles, Chris Luke has released his first original single in two decades, Love’s Big Machine.

After a snarling industrial rock intro that establishes the Nine Inch Nails influence right off the bat, Love’s Big Machine starts to veer into a vibey euphonic hit that crosses timelines with its psych-pop nuances, classic rock structure and rock opera styling. It’s as spacey as Bowie, as upraising as a Christian & Gospel release, and thanks to the sporadic industrial touches, it’s as visceral as the similarly titled Pretty Hate Machine.

The Cleveland Ohio-hailing artist has definitively mastered the art of allowing pure expressive soul to resonate as infectiously catchy anthemic energy. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Love’s Big Machine pulses with raw energy and heart. Both cacophonous and subdued, the lyrics celebrate the endless tumble of life and love, exploring themes of connection and isolation, with love as the driving force at the center. Part soundscape, part alt-rock-epic, Love’s Big Machine blends beauty and chaos in a unique, radio-friendly rock anthem.”

You can check out Love’s Big Machine for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Keep up to news with Chris Luke’s latest releases via Facebook and Instagram.

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