It's been a while since I've done one of these but with the tsunami of releases recently as well as dozens of new artist or older discoveries popping up in my playlist and inboxes - Singling even a small amount of them in to individual articles is a task fit only for Sisyphus or a much larger team than just myself.
So I'm going to give new life to the 'On our sensors' article. This will present you with new releases, not just for the month they are written but possibly a bit further back than that if I've missed something noteworthy.
In that same spirit, if I have come across a great track or album that I have enjoyed that isn't a recent release, then I'll still write about those in the discovery section.
I'll also present my favourite three tracks of the month, be they new or old, it doesn't matter, I'll mention them because they're giving me dopamine gold!
I will try and post bandcamp players for the releases wherever possible/available as this is where bands prefer you buy their music usually.
Also worth remembering is that I don't just cover the electronic alternative scene exclusively, but Nordic and tribal folk music on occasion too as these two genres sand music tastes are so strongly intertwined in our scene. So there will be a few of those peppered throughout.
Some releases may not be included that you'd expect either because I plan on doing a full article for them in the near future;
(Next up will be the new Seraphim System album!)
Or I may have already covered them!
(Possibly other reasons) Have a scroll through the Reviews, News, and Interviews section of my site HERE to find out.
I hope you enjoy!
Recent releases
Albums:
3TEETH - EndEx
This is the album that has set 3TEETH far, far apart from the rest. The brutality of sound that lies within marches lockstep with a legion of deep and intelligent lyrical offerings and themes.
A personal favourite is 'Slum Planet' taking direct aim at politicians destroying the world for their own greed.
That's not all though, Lex not only pulls off the anger we have come to expect but the ability to convey complex emotion in the melodic track 'Drift' and their great cover of Tears for Fear's 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World'.
Revolver magazine interviewed Lex about the new album HERE
Analogue Blood - Control
This band release some of the most interesting tracks out there in terms of variety per album. There is industrial, there is melodic synths, drum and bass, industrial, punk, and my personal favourite from them - Industrial psy-trance. Check out the tracks 'Rise On The Eastern Slope Of Scarfell' for great psy-trance and 'Burn It Down' for some beautiful female vocals on this album!
Analogue Blood is a band from Darlington, in the north-east of England, officially made up of two members, Ian Hanratty (guitars, programming, synths) and Lee Teasdale (live drums).
Influenced by artists such as Pendulum, Empirion, Orbital, Chemical Brothers, and obviously The Prodigy, this band creates a very personal hybridization of electronic rock music. Here, thanks in part to the presence of heavy guitars, the aggressiveness and power of punk and metal find their place alongside enthralling and involving danceable rhythms, merging Analogue Blood's favourite genres and styles.
Choke Chain - Morality
The new album Mortality focuses on just that.. Death.
I Interviewed Mark at Infest where he briefly explained his thought process behind the album which you can find HERE
The album is bare to the bone giving pure old school EBM sound and harsh vocals of an artist deeply in pain.
A damn good release!
KANGA - Under Glass
The pitch perfect alternative pop melodies and upbeat feel good tracks on this new release from KANGA goes to show why people are so excited to see them at Resistanz 2024!
KANGA is a musician and producer from Los Angeles, CA. Widely considered one of the finest underground pop purveyors, KANGA fuses post-apocalyptic pop sensibilities with body-shaking rhythms and sinuous melodies.
Mechanical Vein - The Remixes You Can't Contain
Full to the brim with amazing artists taking a crack at bringing the sounds of Mechanical Vein's rap industrial to new heights.
I'm rolling out weekly remix releases for Mechanical Vein from Oct 6 - Nov 17, with a full deluxe LP dropping on Nov 17. - Keith
mind.in.a.box - Shades of Gray
One of the greatest conceptual story tellers in all of electronic music. mind.in.abox return again already having only just released the 16 track album 'Black and White' in august, this new Album adds 6 more to the melodic sagas of this unique artist.
MORIS BLAK - BURIAL + VOID (FINAL CUT)
Amalgamating MORIS BLAK's latest's releases in to one place with remixes to boot, FINAL CUT hits damn hard and is a must have for everyone's playlists
Pretty Addicted - We, the broken children of hell
An artist everybody knows and loves, Vicious returns with full fury and rage against oppression and judgement in this 18 (Yes, 18!) track album of dance floor fillers. Check out 'Child of the devil' and 'Fuck me whilst jesus watches' for some tasty beats!
THE BEST PRETTY ADDICTED ALBUM SO FAR DROPS! NOT JUST THE BEST BECAUSE IT'S THE DARKEST! THE HEAVIEST! SATANIC! NOT JUST BECAUSE IT MAKES YOU WANT TO START A CIRCLE PIT IN A RAVE! NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S TAKEN ME 20 MONTHS AND 2 LIFETIMES TO WRITE (ALL DIY!) BUT BECAUSE IT'S THE START OF THE NEW PRETTY ADDICTED ERA!.. ..IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING FIRST DECADE BUT THIS ALBUM IS THE FIRST OF THE EVOLUTION OF PRETTY ADDICTED. I HOPE YOU'RE FUCKING HERE FOR IT BECAUSE MY LIFE STARTED THE SECOND I FINISHED THIS ALBUM AND IT'S ONLY HEAVY, DARK RAVES IN HELL FROM NOW ON!
Sextile - Push
Fancy some modular synth mash ups and some punk A.F vocals? Check out Sextile!
Since emerging in 2015, Sextile have been a party-provoking force on the LA underground, capable of kicking up a riot with the raw-edged squall of a synth or the sharp-elbowed jerk of a guitar.
Sextile are now ready to rage with a serotonin-boosting new album, a new group dynamic, faster BPMs, and an even wilder new direction. Recorded in Yucca Valley, Push bounces and bops at the fringes of hardcore dance music, with the hallmarks of drum & bass, gabber and trance illuminating the record like glow sticks at a ‘90s Fantazia rave.
“Contortion” introduces the album with shadowy vocals from Keehn and a ‘00s-ready twist of dirty electro bass, setting the tone for the dance-punk rave-up that unfolds across 11 attention-grabbing tracks. There’s plenty of historic teen angst and biting social commentary written into the album’s vivid tales and misadventures. Balancing storytelling with face-melting synths that turn the tune into an acid trance character study, “No Fun” is penned from the perspective of a teenager trying to flee their town.
A punk spirit underscores the album. The clue’s in the name with “Crassy Mel,” which partly serves as a high-energy dedication to ‘70s anarcho-punk legends Crass. The track’s head banging heft, vocal yelping, and Prodigy-shaped breakbeats accentuate the album’s over whelming sense of fun. Plus, the dreamy ambient wash at the end of the song is the ultimate palate-cleanser.
Push was inspired by the kind of pleasure-seeking music fans whose social calendar comprises both the punk show and the rave. Josh Wink, Iggy Pop, Goldie, and early XL Recording shave all been name checked as influences onPush, and the dance floor remains a constant presence. Repping their place of origin, “New York” brings these musical touchstones off the page, guiding the album like an acid-soaked lodestar with its grinning nod to “Higher State of Consciousness” and a whirly gig of music-box synths. There are still nods and “hellos” to the caustic post-punk of Sextile’s earlier work. Sextile haven’t relinquished their punk credentials, they’ve just given them a smiley-faced revamp.
Unitcode:Machine - Critical Fault
Mixing many genres within his unique style of industrial such as nu-metal, experimental sythpop, and electronic soothing melodies of emotional expression that create damn good songs to sing along to.
This is an album not only for the dancefloor, but to brood over with a strong drink on a cold autumn night.
unitcode:machine “Critical Fault” - Exploring the Depths of Emotion Through Sonic Alchemy
unitcode:machine crafts a paradoxical blend, fusing vibrant, energetic sound with brutally raw lyrics—a stylistic device that commands attention. In a recent interview, Eric Kristoffer the band's visionary takes us into the heart of this method, illuminating their enthralling album, "Critical Fault."
Behind the album's deceptive façade lies deliberate intention—where music pulses as a metaphorical heartbeat, and lyrics peel back layers of emotion in a revealing dance. This album chronicles an internal struggle for identity, capturing the artist's journey via resonant melodies and thought-provoking verses.
For unitcode:machine, music is an emotional conduit. Songwriting becomes catharsis, a channel to confront personal stories and share vulnerabilities. The album's tracks delve into poignant themes, reflecting an intimate wrestle with the self. Yet, this journey isn't about descent into darkness; it's about embracing vulnerabilities and understanding. Each song forms part of a broader story, symbolized by the visual embodiment of "Critical Fault.
In this symbolic abyss, "Critical Fault" signifies a divide—a visual analogy of the artist's past self on one side and the evolving self on the other. The observer becomes the storyteller, encapsulating the album's essence: a voyage of self-discovery and transformation. unitcode:machine is poised to mesmerize global audiences, beckoning them into a realm where innovation and emotion coalesce.
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Singles and EPs:
Antigen Shift - Where Is Your Rage
This Blade Runner-esque sounding psy-synth thriller is a deep dive inside one's mind.
A song based around an obvious question to ask ourselves right now.
Including an amazing remix by Leæther Strip!
Ashbury Heights - Ghosts Electric
This wonderful retro wave love ballad is a release fresh off of their last release of 'Tunguska'.
Auger - Before It Began
September saw the first release for Auger since the album Nighthawks back in April 2022.
Avalien - Parallaxis
Sounding like a cyberpunk films intense parkour chase scene, this release will make you move.
BARA HARI - Violence Rising
(Electronic Substance Abuse Remix)
For fans of EDM and the sinister, ESA helps turns a beautiful track in to a mind bending astral trip through the void.
Bjorth - Vidar
Somewhat more upbeat and faster paced than the usual Nordic folk formulae, this track has some impressive deep throat singing from Bjorth and some hauntingly graceful female vocals. Also worth mentioning is Bjorth other recent single release of the slower, more powerful 'The Binding Of Fenrir'.
Call Me Sleeper - MK-Ultra
Face ripping cyber techno blasts out a tremendously heavy stomp fest with MK-Ultra named after the following: 'Project MK-Ultra was an illegal human experimentation program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and intended to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used during interrogations to weaken people and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture.' - Wikipedia
BLACKBOOK - Haunted Love
My partner and I have been OBSSESED with BLACKBOOK and all their recent releases since discovering them at Resistanz 2023. Yet again they release a beautiful Synthpop offering that went straight to my main playlist!
Get ready to be spellbound by the haunting melodies of BLACKBOOK's new Halloween single called "Haunted Love." This spine-tingling track takes you on a ghostly journey through the depths of love's mysteries.
In the dimly lit corridors of love, where shadows hold secrets and whispers linger, BLACKBOOK crafts a spooky narrative that blurs the lines between the living and the departed. It's a love story that defies logic, steeped in mystery and darkness. This synthpop masterpiece beckons you into the heart of an otherworldly romance.
This Halloween, let BLACKBOOK's "Haunted Love" soundtrack your darkest fantasies. Embrace the supernatural, surrender to the wavy melodies, and allow yourself to be entranced by a love that knows no boundaries – not even those between the realms of the living and the departed.
Dan Narkosis - March of the CyberHive
Gothic Psy-Trance! I just can't get enough of it and Dan has produced something truly special with this track!
My hive, my tribe of people, this song is for you, a stompey dirty dancefloor track designed to make you groove, bop your head and energize your listening experience.
As the hive begins to move, join the ranks, bring others to the hive, let them be assimilated to our collective - Dan
Dark Matter Project - Lost Dimensions
A somewhat different offering to what E.V usually features, none the less this more EDM club vibe of the track track fits in nicely amongst the alternative scene. Well worth a listen!
Camden Town based producer - Dark Matter Project returns with his 2nd EP - Lost Dimensions. This release features Eva Menon doing vocal duties on Is Your Love?, from Camden based synth pop punk band - Flesh Tetris. Is Your Love? is also treated to a funky, deep and hypnotic remix from Berlin-based Producer - Solenoid. Test Case Scenario is an original techno cut with a bubbling bassline synth with disjointed notes laid over it to create a feeling of tension in the music. deColonise is another original new track that indicates how we should deColonise our work from colonialism. Close Your Eyes (2nd Remix) is a rework from the debut Lost Time EP and cut into a dancefloor destroyer.
Shane dB/Dark Matter Project has been evolving these tracks since the release of Lost Time in April, 2023 and indicates progression and improvement. These techno cuts are designed for the dancefloor.
Deep Red - The Are Of Lust
Like a darker, more haunting Eurythmics, 'The Art Of Lust' is a dance macabre of thrilling fear and beauty.
Welcome to our newest creation, "The Art Of Lust. Partially inspired by the movie “Eyes Wide Shut” directed by Stanley Kubrick. This movie features a lot of recurring themes that have inspired our musical direction. Mystery, secret societies and of course….lust. A remixed version (Love= Death Remix) will be released on November 17th, 2023.
Freaky Mind - Get Undressed
Aggrotech, violence, and remixes. What more to be said?
GUNSHIP - DooM Dance
(feat. Carpenter Brut, Gavin Rossdale)
DooM Dance, is a majestic feel good track. Throwing in nostalgia, power riffs, catchy vocals, and the most satisfying keyboard synths this side of reality! Also just released by Gunship is the single 'Send Me An Angel'.
HEALTH - Ashamed
Emotional lyrics amongst mid tempo stomps of weighted poignancy. HEALTH never seem to disappoint.
Jazmin Bean - Terrified
A more relaxed offering from Jazmin than the shock factor and unexpected rock twist tracks they are known for, this offers a deeper, more personal and melodic offering. Thoroughly enjoyable.
J:dead - Harbour
Future pop doesn't come much better than J:dead and the corrupted Human League style vocals of Jay Taylor once again prove that he is destined to be a big fucking name sooner rather than later!
j:dead returns with their new single Harbour, taken from their upcoming EP ROOTS (released 1 st December via Infacted Records). This newest anthem is a symphony of powerful vocals, atop a backdrop of driving synths and crushed melodies, and is accompanied by 2 remixes from Aesthetic Perfection and genCAB.
Harbour depicts the characters who make up who we are – displayed in the frantic embodiment of the music video. Introspective and chaotic, Harbour is another dark electronic anthem from j:dead.
Kill Shelter - Damage
The first single released before the main album in December, this is a trad-Goth piece of Gold.
Ahead of the forthcoming Limited Edition 5th Anniversary release of Damage, Kill Shelter has launched an official video for
In Decay [ V ] featuring Antipole & Delphine Coma. The new version of the popular fan and DJ favourite, is taken from the Damage [ V ] CD which features new versions and remastered tracks encased in hexagonal deluxe soft touch packaging with gold foil hot stamping.
The original debut CD release was launched in November 2018 to critical acclaim. Released again on underground label Unknown Pleasures Records, Damage [ V ] features vocal contributions and collaborations from a host of global underground artists including; Hante. (FR), Buzz Kull (AUS), Delphine Coma (US), Antipole (NOR), undertheskin (PL), Killjoi (US), The Shyness of Strangers (CA), Iamtheshadow (PT), Ultrviolence (CA), New Haunts (UK) and Bragolin (NL). The album was remastered by Pete Burns at The Shelter (UK).
“All the tracks on Damage [ V ] are themed around the physical and psychological hurt that we cause to ourselves, others and the world around us. The themes are dark, dystopian, melancholic, introspective and disturbing.
We never had an official video for In Decay at the time so getting to work with Antipole and Delphine Coma again was a real pleasure. It was also a strong reminder of why I started Kill Shelter in the first place. It was an unexpectedly emotional and cathartic journey for me.” - Pete Burns, Kill Shelter
Lord Of The Lost - One Last Song
This slow and meaningful tracks truly asks the question we all face with mortality.. What if this is the last time?
Pixel Grip - Bet You Do
A pumping and jumping dance track to please the ears of any club lover whether they like it soft or hard.
Chicago Club-Pop. Rita Lukea, Tyler Ommen, and Jonathon Freund make a statement with their mechanical beats, eccentric vocals, and slick production.
Priest - Burning Love
This pumping release of retro wave cyber induced nightmare paints the picture of an action scene brawling it's way through the doors of your mind.
Ratio Strain - Liminal
What you think is a great track gets turned the F up to 11 at 1.30 to one of the darkest rhymical techno tracks of the year!
Vanessa has created an intense and soul-core mining set of beats with 'Liminal'.
Just in time for the spooky season I give to you Liminal. This is the start of something sinister. Enjoy the sensation.
Ratio Strain is the brain child of W.A.S.T.E drummer Vanessa Saw. Vanessa is a one woman powerhouse of industrial noise who aims to put women at the forefront of industrial. Ratio Strain is unapologetic, aggressive with moody samples.
MATT HART - DEEP DOWN CITY
The nightmare future of MATT's mind are brought in to full focus again with his powerful and aggressive style of forcing a story and image deep in to your mind with some of the most brutal - door kicking - vocals around.
Honour, pride and sacrifice. This is the way of the DEEP DOWN CITY. A city built by the outlaws for the outlaws. The dig down continues but now humanity has a new home - 6000 levels below. Drawing inspiration from anime, cyberpunk, industrial punk and synthwave; DEEP DOWN CITY is a heavy electro stomper designed for live shows and the club.
Robots In Love - Gossip In Your Head
A chilled and easy listen that massages the mind
Combining live drums, bass and guitar with electronic sounds, Robots in Love have the ability to infuse intense emotion into their tracks, entwining gorgeous melodies with deep grooves.
"an aural reverie with celestial vocal harmonies that dance amidst melancholic beats. The percussion, reminiscent of Massive Attack’s pulsating dark electro canvas, is coupled with melancholic darkwave guitar strains, which altogether craft a sound that’s both haunting and captivating. It’s as if the track offers a floating sanctuary, a place of solace after weathering a mental tempest." - Post-Punk.com
Sirus - Axioms
Keeva's vocals are stunning with this slow and gentle, even peaceful take on alternative electronics.
For fans of the softer, almost synthwave side of SIRUS, “Axioms” places the female vocals front and center, recalling the band’s breakout hit “Neon Dominion”.
Simon Carter - Technofiles Vol.3
At this rate I'm just going to have to accept that Simon has become the undisputed king of Techno that very few - if any can match. Don't take my word for it, go listen and brace your jaw for the truly satisfying dark beat FILTH!
The 'Technofiles Vol.3' is a collection of the most experimental techno tracks to date. Whilst they are all spectacularly weird and wonderful they also once again remain raw and unadulterated Techno with pure musical drive and enthusiasm emanating from each and every single beat.
All tracks are DJ friendly, you'll find no short radio edits for improved algorithm exposure here!
Suicide Commando - Face of Death
We all know the line from Joker to Bale's Batman about someone's last moments when 'the knife goes in' and S.C have turned that quote in to a powerful track with all of the usual aggrotech grandiosity that we love him for.
VOIDXWITCH - Ecstasy in Darkness
A new artist dropping in to my inbox. VOIDXWITCH is difficult to quantify. There are a lot of styles on offer in this EP. From one moment I am reminded of SKYND, the next Cradle Of Filth, the next Jazmin Bean, and then Emilie Autumn. There's a lot here to enjoy and I really like all of it. Check it out!
Also available alongside their CD..
CVRSEBREAKER is a zine of additional lore behind the autobiographical content of the EP, consisting of stylized imagery taken from nocturnal photo shoots done during the project’s creation, and fragments of relevant text written within that same timeframe (as well as some angsty old journal extracts by yours truly). together these pieces will tell a story.
to break a curse you must enter the underworld in search of the truth. this is my story of battling through the darkness to recover pieces of me that survived, and laying to rest the ones that didn’t. this is the emotional, transformational undercurrent of what this EP has meant to me in each stage of its creation.
24-page black and white A5 zine printed on purple paper.
Discoveries
ANGELHEX - Above the Vaulted Sky + Blade + Garden of magic
ANGELHEX has 9 releases on Bandcamp with very little information available, even their Facebook is only one picture. However I present three tracks to you as this artist is an incredible listen.
Firstly I will talk about 'Above the Vaulted Sky'..
This is a slow and emotional track like a gothic lo-fi version of Marina and the Diamonds, or Lana Del Rey.. It is deep, ominous, and chilling.
The track ends with the classic line.. 'Listen to them, children of the night. What music they make..' -Dracula
Now 'Blade' this has one of creepiest openings to a track, as it chills the spine before the artist rips right in to some fire rap that is performed in such a way that you can't help but enjoy it. The creepier, more demonic sounding voice that closes it out makes you realise just how bitterly short this sweet track is.
'Garden of Magic' is their most listened to on Spotify by a mile (Blade 23k+, Garden of Magic 402k+) and I can see why..
This is something utterly different from the rest; It is operatic tragedy, soul-crushingly sad in melody and form, each instrumental note is master crafted to pierce at the weak points of your emotions and heart strings. Vocals themselves are sounding like violin strings, and most powerfully of all is the unexpected muffled screams of torment that come from out of nowhere, truly showcasing the pain in the human condition of tragedy.
This is by far one of the best 'classical' style pieces of music that I have every heard, and I am not afraid to say that it caught me so off guard - so profoundly, that it made me weep.
Bravo ANGELHEX, Bravo.
HAEX - Aethyr Abyss Void
Although this album is mostly dark metal industrial, the track 'Bloodtoll' is what makes this album stand out, 'Bloodtoll is an offering of dark techno STOMP goodness that I've listened to many times since first hearing it recently.
VÉVAKI - Fórnspeki
Released in October 2022, this album caught my attention when Spotify discovery hit me with 'Jötnablót' instantly stirring the fires inside of me of my Nordic pagan faith. It is rare to have a band that stands out in folk that compares to the likes of Heilung, Wardruna, or Danheim. Yet this album does just that.. There are soothing vocals and instruments the like of which Einar of Wardruna wields, as well as deep throat singing, heavenly female vocals, and sweeping soundscapes of epic proportion.
This entire album is a must listen for those who follow such music.
Originally a solo project by singer and multi-instrumentalist Will Hunter, VÉVAKI is a folk band which draws from Nordic heathenism and animistic traditions. Myth, ritual and a connection with the natural world inform VÉVAKI’s music, which is both contemporary in sound and wide-ranging in instrumentation.
Debut album ‘Edda’ came in 2020 when VÉVAKI was a still a solo project, although Sigurboði Grétarsson and Florian Baudrain made contributions. Taking a collection of Old Norse poetry – the Poetic Edda – as its source material, ‘Edda’ breaths new life into these stories through its musical journey, at once beautiful and hypnotically heady.
VÉVAKI’s second album, ‘Fórnspeki’, finds the band expanding upon their sound while staying true to their folk roots and traditions. Sigurboði Grétarsson has joined VÉVAKI as a full-time member, as has Gísli Gunnarsson and Hrafnhildur Inga Guðjónsdóttir. The new material is, says Will, broader and more mature sounding.
“VÉVAKI is very much based in our modern heathen tradition,” Will notes. “Sigurboði and I had been playing music for a while and we have used music as part of our personal spiritual practise. We had worked on some songs together but they were very much personal. Then we had a jam session in this cave in Iceland and afterwards we tried to record a song. I asked if Sigurboði would feature on it and he said yes, thankfully. Then I went home and used my home recording equipment to do a song which we sent to Danheim (Danish folk musician) and he put me on his online record label. And that’s how
VÉVAKI started. We did a full album from there. Sigurboði featured heavily on it, even though he wasn’t in the band in any official capacity. But he did lots of drums and vocals and stuff like that.”
VÉVAKI employ various stringed instruments and percussion throughout their music, its dynamics buoyed by the complementary vocal styles of Will, Sigurboði and Hrafnhildur and the cinematic soundscapes sculpted by Gísli Gunnarsson. This comes to the fore on ‘Fórnspeki’.
“We decided to go a bit bigger,” says Will. “We started working on the second album and we brought in Gísli, and the sound has changed quite a bit, I think. It’s much more mature now. In my opinion, Gísli is the glue that holds us together. He comes from a modern classical background. And Hrafnhildur was an obvious choice, to add an important female dynamic. Her voice has a healing quality to it, I think, and that’s a big thing with the new album.”
Ritual and spiritual practises provide a structure to ‘Fórnspeki’. “Our practice is very animistic,” says Will. “But you don’t have to be a super spiritual person to feel some sort of connection to nature. And we just hope that whoever is listening finds that our music brings some sort of connection for them.
Sigurboði adds, “‘Fórnspeki’ was composed around this concept of the ritual and of the performance. There will be a performance and ritual on stage, because that’s how the songs are imagined. And some of the songs came from rituals that we’ve done or have spawned from the rituals. For example, the song ‘Dísablót’ is based around a ritual that we would do. It’s got lots of chants in there that we would do and we hope that other people might be inspired. On this new album we have a lot of original lyrics. But it’s both based in the myth and the practice. It’s not all about the gods but also about the worship and the ritual.”
VÉVAKI is a fluid and resourceful project, employing traditional and contemporary instrumentation of various origins.
“We’re not going for historical accuracy,” points out Sigurboði. “We’re not married to the idea that it has to be a Nordic instrument. We’re not Vikings. We’re not the Shamans, or the Priests. We are the practitioners, the regular folk making the offerings.”
Adds Will, “We are trying to step away from that whole Viking thing. There are modern songs for modern beliefs. We put a lot of emphasis on that.”
TOAL - Ritus Ex Silenti
September 2020 saw the release of this album but once again I was grabbed by a random discovery shuffle to the song 'magic'. The reason? Well you know the love we all had for trance classics such as 'Castles In The Sky?' Well.. Make trance Goth and you have TOAL, or at least you do with 'Magic' and some other tracks but there's a lot of influences here, from synthpop, to industrial, and of course the experimental. With pristine vocals and melodies, this is one worth a listen!
My top 3 tracks this month:
Heilung - Anoana
(Live at the Hammersmith Apollo) January 14th 2023.
My love for Heilung is beyond anything I could ever explain, I am who I am today because of them, the new faith they gave me, my life of which they saved, and the new way of seeing everything in the world around me.
Long before 'Anoana' was released I truly felt changed on every level.
Since it's release, I have watched the official video for Anoana hundreds of times, in various states of emotion, mind, and circumstance and found a million personal meanings in the images, emotions, and lyrics there in..
In my live review of this London show I wrote in great detail about the background and importance of Heilung HERE and here is an excerpt of it for 'Anoana'..
'For 'Anoana', as soon as Maria sat down, the stage was engulfed in the lighting of intricate carvings and motifs. For those unaware, as the gentleman who had let us squeeze in and loves this song was unaware.. The lyrice are taken from carvings in 'Hracteates'. These gold coins and amulets from northern Europe are from prosperous and peaceful times where the Romans paid the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples gold in return for peace.
This gold was used to make protection charms, to help fulfil wishes, and grant divination. None of these carvings have been translated, the only word known amongst those sung is 'Landawariar' (Warrior of the land, guardian of nature) The thought of the mighty Romans cowering to the sons and daughters of Odin.. Well, it is beautiful to think of such long durations of peace for the old ways.'
Only now, after the release of this live performance just days ago do I finally feel that I understand the meaning not just behind the imagery in the official video before it but in as to WHY they are singing these unknown words. Now more artists in Heilung give voice to the ritual and these lyrics, and to the growing love of animism and the Gods..
Heilung call themselves 'Amplified History' or sometimes 'living History' and now I can feel it. 'Anoana' is a ritual to bring to life the very emotion, the very peace and tranquillity of truly BEING at peace, safe, and at one with nature and the Gods for the hundreds of years that those written on trinkets personified! During 'Anoana' you are time travelled to that time, to that promised land of man completely at one with nature.
A man I met in remission of cancer at that concert was there because 'Anoana' was the first Heilung song he ever heard by Heilung and it called to him so much that he accredits Heilung's music to being the main driving force behind his healing (Of which, Heilung translates to)
Heilung are bringing a spiritual awakening to the world, and it brings tears to my eyes every time I let myself truly listen to them.
Encephalon - Emulations
You know when lyrics hit on a level you find deeply provoking and relatable, even profoundly poetic, and they just seem to stick out amongst all the other songs for a time, and on such a level that another person may not understand or feel - An experience uniquely.. yours... ?
Yea.. That..
Taken from the 2022 album Echoes, don't let me explain how it sounds, JSUT LISTEN.
3TEETH - Slum Planet
Possibly the best anti-capitalist song of all time. This rip raw metal fest pokes hard at the satire of politicians destroying the planet for their own ends. The sign off from president X of 'Thank you for your donation' after a political ranted speech about using up world resources for gain is absolutely perfect and a horrifying picture of the nightmare future that is already here - pretty much.
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