HEAVY TEMPLE celebrate today’s release of their sophomore full-length Garden of Heathens with the launch of an official video single for the track ‘Extreme Indifference to Life’.
HEAVY TEMPLE comment: “This album is just as much a projection into the future of the band as it is a reflection of past personal experience”, singer and bass player High Priestess Nighthawk writes. “It’s about realizing my power, but I also hope that people hearing this will be able to find their own. We were able to create something truly beautiful out of a lot of strife, and ultimately what I took from the creation of Garden of Heathens is that nothing matters and everything matters. We’re all what we’ve been waiting for. We just need to believe it. I’ve been doing this for over a decade and it feels like I’m just getting started.”
Garden of Heathens is out today, on Friday, April 12, 2024 and streaming in full on all relevant platforms. Check the video clip for ‘Extreme Indifference to Life’ here:
Decline and Fall, a new Dark Wave project from Portugal formed by Armando Teixeira, Hugo Santos and Ricardo S. Amorim, today share a new track off their forthcoming debut EP Gloom, which is set to be released on May 3rd via Bleak Recordings.
Armando Teixeira has a long and multifaceted career and is considered one of the pioneers of EBM and Industrial in Portugal, through projects such as Ik Mux, which began in 1986, and Bizarra Locomotiva, which he founded in 1993 and remained the main creative force until he left a decade later. With a vast and award-winning body of work as a composer, whether in Boris Ex-Machina, Knok Knok, Da Weasel, Bullet or Balla, which has been the artistic incarnation he has nurtured for the longest time, he also has a prolific career as a record producer.
Ricardo S. Amorim is the author of the books Culto Eléctrico and Wolves Who Were Men-The History of Moonspell, and met Armando Teixeira in 2015 for an article about Bestiário, the second full-length by Bizarra Locomotiva, released in 1998. When they met again years later, in conversations about music and records that influenced them, Armando Teixeira’s desire to return to his roots was awakened, composing in a way that brought to the surface what would be his primary influences, from post-punk to new wave, through industrial, but with a necessarily more evolved experience and artistic maturity, as well as access to completely different tools from those he had when he started out in the 80s, and a technical and theoretical knowledge that has never stopped growing.
Wanting to surround himself with people who shared this vision, Hugo Santos, from Process of Guilt, which, over the last 20 years, has explored heaviness and rhythmic intensity, punishingly repetitive and cathartic, as a privileged form of expression. Common tastes and influences are discovered, records are shared that have influenced all three or that are new discoveries for one or the other, inspiration grows and the seed that gives rise to Decline and Fall germinates.
"They’ve called us anarchists, criminals, foreign meddlers, lunatics, dispossessed, relativists, utilitarians, egoists, passion maximizers, ascetics, negators of everything. Clearly, the "Thou" experiment is never going to appeal to audiences who demand that art rigorously enforce a coherent and righteous worldview. And yet, are we not ourselves constrained by our own rigid morality? In those quiet moments of deep contemplation, when the bargains and concessions are thoroughly examined, when we yield before the Judging Eye–what is the summation of our choices? If the unspoiled self beyond the immensity of time were given voice, what pronouncements would be made? What would such an internal audit yield? What undeniable character would be revealed?
This record is for the radicals, the crackpots, the exiles who have escaped the wasteland of capitulation. This record is for the militants and zealots refusing to surrender to comforts, to practicalities, to thirty pieces of silver. And this record is most especially for the weaklings and malingerers, burdened by capricious indulgence, hunched by the deep wounds of compromise, shuffling in limp approximation, desperately reaching back towards integrity and conviction." – Thou
Thou has always been a force of raw energy and unapologetic dissent, defying easy categorisation and challenging listeners to confront the complexities of existence. Their forthcoming album, Umbilical, is their firmest nod to the raw intensity of obscure ’90s DIY hardcore punk. It’s a record filled with mosh-ready riffs, heavy breakdowns and scathing vocals. The band’s aesthetic and political impulses have always been punk and like anyone embroiled in the subculture Thou have been exploring what it means to exist within and without a rigid morality. That exploration takes thematic centre on Umbilical and their self-assessment is as harsh as that of the world around them.
Today Thou share their seething lead single and album centrepiece, “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” of which the band tell is “A throwaway mantra scraped from the necrotic skin of syndicated television. A lugubrious nod to our favourite commode-crooning diva, one of her most diabolically terse lines. With the sweet, sultry whispers of a legendary New Orleans faerie. This might be as close as we’ll get to a positive, youth crew anthem. ‘This song has nothing original or of value. It’s a steady beat for dancing feet. You got what you wanted, now say the words…’”
Listen to “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” here:
Thou Live Dates:
Apr 13: New Orleans, LA – Palestine Benefit at Fred Hampton Free Store May 04: Providence, RI – AS220 Jul 28: New Orleans, LA – The Broadside (w/ The Body + Dis Fig and Nail Club) Sep 13-15: Richmond, VA – Persistent Vision Fest Aug 14: The Zoo – Brisbane, AU * Aug 15: Mary’s Underground – Sydney, AU * Aug 16: The Baso – Canberra, AU * Aug 17: Stay Gold – Melbourne, AU * Aug 18: Crown & Anchor – Adelaide, AU * Aug 23: Rolling Stone – Christchurch, NZ * Aug 24: Meow – Wellington, NZ * Aug 25: Galatos – Auckland, NZ *
EYE – the new band from Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard (MWWB) singer-songwriter/musician Jessica Ball – recently announced the arrival of their eagerly awaited debut album, Dark Light set for release on 26th April via New Heavy Sounds (Shooting Daggers, MWWB, Blacklab).
Dark Light is an intensely atmospheric fusion of emotionally charged songcraft and inspired sonic energy. The clue is in the album’s paradoxical title. Chilling and even bleak melodies with arrangements daringly and deliberately stripped down and minimal. Revealing a kinship with sonic bed-fellows Mazzy Star, Chelsea Wolfe or even Portishead, which can be heard on first single ‘In Your Night’. Jessica comments,
“Our first release ‘In Your Night’ represents Eye musically, conceptually and lyrically and I’m proud for this to be the first song that everyone hears from us… Light and dark, night and day, quiet and loud is the running theme throughout this song and album as a whole. Whether you’re up close to a song, or listening to the album as a whole, these themes will be ever present throughout. We’re playing around with these two extremes sonically and what these represent emotionally and mentally. I feel that nothing takes you on a journey more effectively than a good build up, or something happening unexpectedly, much like real life. We are just the eye that witnesses it all.”
Amidst Wardruna’s songwriting hibernation, the group resurface to offer a taste of their next album with the single release and music video for the song ‘Hertan’ on 5th April.
About the new single Einar comments: “’Hertan’ is the proto-Scandinavian word for ‘heart’ and that is exactly what we explore in this in this song and film. The duality of the heart with the rhythm, flow and pulse we can see, hear, and feel in nature and in all forms of life – and the more abstract idea of the heart, The rudder on the ship of emotions, our decisions, and our true desires.”
Once again, Wardruna teamed up with Finnish director and photographer Tuukka Koski for the video production of Hertan. Koski has previously directed Wardruna´s videos for ‘Raido’, ‘Voluspá’, and ‘Grá’. This time, the production mainly took place during some freezing nights in northern Finland at the island of Hailouto.
“It is always a true pleasure to create art with Tuukka and his colleagues at Breakfast Helsinki! His experience and eye for detail as well as the ability to always conjure up next-level material, is very inspiring to be part of. Three days, three locations, no sleep but a lot of heart. This is how it went down. Hope you will enjoy the result!” – Einar Selvi
Having written music since she was a kitten, Speculum Bunny enjoys blending words and sound to provoke, enthral and mystify her audience. Inspired by the depraved nature of love in all of its majestic forms, her childhood, masochism and devotion. Challenging mainstream narratives on motherhood and women’s expression she blends noise, synths, voices and field recordings. She pushes her her edges.
Featuring five tracks – three of which were recorded live at Radiophrenia, Sluagh is Speculum’s first release since Liminal Fluff in October of last year.
Combining abstract sounds and elongated wavering drones with murky noise and disturbing sound as backdrops to uncomfortable spoken word pieces, Sluagh is by no means easy to categorise, and it’s not the easiest of listens either – and that’s precisely why we’re recommending it.
Atlanta-based darkwave band, Now After Nothing recently unveiled their latest single, ‘Sick Fix (Spatial Remix)’. The song is a remix of last year’s debut single, ‘Sick Fix’ by Now After Nothing’s own Matt Spatial who wanted to give fans something new while the band wraps production on their debut EP set for release this summer.
Spatial says, “I wanted to put something different out so I lined up another artist to do a remix of ‘Sick Fix’. I never intended to remix ‘Sick Fix’ myself, The ‘Sick Fix (Spatial Remix)’ just kind of happened. When the remix was done, I loved it so much that I began to incorporate elements of it into the live version of the song.”
The lyrics to “Sick Fix" and the remix are about dealing with ‘toxicity’ and the very real struggle to stay away or detach from the things we know are harmful to us: the family member that treats everyone poorly or the narcissistic partner for example.
The track is also about the attachment to social media or the commercial media that spews false narratives to instil fear. Deep down we might know that continuing to engage in these things/situations is unhealthy. Yet, like the proverbial ‘car crash’, we can’t seem to turn away. Over time maybe it becomes so all-consuming that it might feel similar to addiction. It’s a ‘sick fix’ that we begin to subconsciously crave.”
Seattle’s ‘turbowave’ pioneers, DUAL ANALOG just unveiled their new single, ‘Slave’. The song challenges perceptions and takes listeners on a journey through the complexities of desire and intimacy.
At first glance, "Slave" may seem to explore themes of S&M, but as with all things DUAL ANALOG, there’s more than meets the eye. The lyrics, cloaked in provocative imagery, actually delve into the realm of dissatisfaction and disappointment in sexual encounters, turning the traditional narrative on its head.
“We wanted to play with perceptions of sex and challenge our audience to think beyond the surface,” says vocalist Chip Roberts. “The S&M angle is like a lure, drawing listeners in, but once they dive deeper, they’ll discover the true essence of the song.”
With its pulsating beats, hypnotic melodies, and raw, emotive vocals, ‘Slave’ captures the essence of frustration and longing, painting a vivid picture of the complexities of human relationships. As with their previous releases, DUAL ANALOG delivers a sonic experience that transcends genres, blending elements of post-industrial, Neue Deutsche Härte, and aggrotech to create a sound that is uniquely their own.
SUMAC the Northwest-based trio consisting of guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook, and drummer Nick Yacyshyn have announced their new album The Healer, out on June 21st on 2xLP/CD and DL. Alongside the album’s announcement, the trio have shared the single ‘Yellow Dawn,’ an epic that churns meditative organ by Faith Coloccia into a glacial stomp that the band obliterates into swirls of airtight riffing and untethered, intoxicating improvisations.
On The Healer, recorded and mixed by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Thrice, Great Falls, Autopsy), SUMAC deepens its multi-faceted exploration into the parallel experiences of creation and destruction. Over the course of 4 tracks in 76 minutes, SUMAC presents a sequence of shifting movements which undergo a constant process of expansion, contraction, corruption and regrowth.
This musical methodology reflects the thematic nature of the record – narratives of experiential wounding as gateways to empowerment and evolution, both individual and collective. The group’s interpolation of melody, drone, improvisation, and complex riffing becomes a transmogrifying act embodying the depth of human experience. In its highest aspiration it mirrors our ability to endure mortal and spiritual challenges, through which we may emerge with an increased capacity for understanding, empathy, love of self and others. Dismal though the subterranean pits of The Healer may at first appear, from them can be felt the unwavering determination to embrace life, acknowledge interdependence, and honour the gift of existence.
Aggro-punk band, MALICE MACHINE has finally unleashed their long-awaited new single, ‘Hyena’. The track will appear on the forthcoming full-length album, Act Of Self Destruction.
‘Hyena’ is about the forces and the decision makers that create chaos in the world and ultimately burn us all. It’s a message based on imagery and driven by bass and drums that’s expressed in the typical MALICE MACHIKNE fashion of unfiltered angst… At it’s core, ‘Hyena’ is a statement of anger about life, society and its leaders.
It’s pure late 80s technoindustrial, KMFDM, Ministry circa Twitch, Skrew,Wax Trax!
Aural Aggravation 