Benefits blast in ahead of another substantial UK / EU tour with the release of the first new material since their debut album, Nails.
‘Land of the Tyrants’ features additional vocals by Zera Tønin of Arch Femmesis.
It may be more overtly dancey than previous outings, hitting an almost trance groove, perhaps even a bit KLF, and the rage is more simmering than roaring in in terms of delivery, but lyrically… as explosive as ever, ‘Land of the Tyrants’ tells it like it is. The video is more overtly produced, but it’s dark and stark. It’s grim up north, right?
Tour dates:
05/10 HUDDERSFIELD Parish
06/10 LANCASTER Kanteena
07/10 GLASGOW The Hug and Pint
08/10 EDINBURGH Wee Red Bar
09/10 ABERDEEN Tunnels
10/10 STIRLING Tolbooth
11/10 MIDDLESBROUGH Play Brew
12/10 LIVERPOOL The Shipping Forecast
13/10 PRESTON The Ferret
17/10 ROTTERDAM Left of the Dial Festival
18/10 UTRECHT ACU
19/10 ROTTERDAM Left of the Dial Festival
20/10 OSTEND Cafe de Zwerver
22/10 SOUTHAMPTON The Joiners 23/10 BRIGHTON Hope and Ruin
Edinburgh-based post-metal band Codespeaker is set to release their second album, Scavenger, on November 8th via Ripcord Records. This new release marks a significant evolution in the band’s sound, building on the critical acclaim of their 2022 self-titled debut, which was praised as “a richly textured tapestry of modern post-metal mastery” by Distorted Sound Magazine.
Ahead of the album release, Codespeaker has premiered their latest single, ‘Verte’. Check it here:
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The band explains the theme behind the song: “’Verte’ looks at our notions of sacrifice. The difference in expectations of the powerless and the powerful. The justifications we give for valuing one human life over another. ‘Verte’ was written at a time when people were being asked to make incredible sacrifices and the nature of these double standards was shown in stark light. It is an attempt to stand in the shoes of those who are deemed acceptable collateral damage.”
Scavenger promises to expand on the heavy, atmospheric sound that Codespeaker is known for. Featuring thunderous drums and colossal guitars reminiscent of bands like Neurosis and Cult of Luna, the album offers a towering sonic experience that shifts between mammoth-sized riffs and intense vocals, while also embracing quieter, more introspective moments.
Reflecting on the writing process, the band shared: “Scavenger was an interesting album for us. With 3 of 5 members joining since our last album, we wanted to create something that felt like a new incarnation of Codespeaker while remaining true to our sound. It was challenging, but we’re proud of how it all came together.” They added: “While our self-titled album had a certain warmth and wonder about the human experience, Scavenger is more pointed and aggressive. It reflects the darkening sociopolitical landscape we were living through—there’s a sense of desperation and anger. The lyrics focus on power structures and those who suffer under them. It’s an ode to the powerless.”
2024 is the year of Pythies, the musical project of Parisienne grunge fan Lise.L. While the Internet age has enabled countless acts to leap from bedroom conception to releases in a matter of weeks, she’s been rather more measured in her approach, and having decided at the end of 2022 ‘to form a new musical project lead only by women, which included influences of the grunge culture of the 90s (L7, 7 Year Bitch, Babes in Toyland, Hole) and her taste for witchcraft’, debuting with an EP in May 2023, 2024 has seen the emergence of a couple of singles ahead of this EP release.
I will admit that I’m still coming to terms with this new model. In the 80s, 90s, and even 00s, you would either release a single or an EP. But digital has changed everything. Historically, whether it was a single or an EP, there would be physical formats, and a single or EP would both receive a release on 7” or 12” and a CD. Now, making a track available on Bandcamp ahead of the full EP’s release counts as a ‘single’, as does putting out a video for a song on YouTube.
Disillusion lands firmly on a personal level, then, because it’s hard not to feel disillusioned with the state of the industry, and, often, the state of music, period, and this EP’s five tracks articulate the sentiment with precision. But… acts like Pythies do bring hope, not to mention a real alternative to the mediocre, mass-produced, autotuned slop which dominates not only the charts but mainstream culture as a while.
There’s something wonderfully raw and exciting about this EP, blasting off with ‘Blondinette’, fast-fingered bassline that boasts some nifty runs racing hither and thither beneath a driving, gritty guitar, which does nothing fancy, but crunches hard, propelled by some energetic drumming and a fuckload of attitude.
The punning ‘I Pithie You’ is gentler and more melodic in the verses, but exploits the classic grunge quiet / loud dynamic with a ripping chorus. And did I mention attitude? Yeah, I know, but it needs emphasising: Pythies distils a blend of anger and nonchalance, while sonically they encapsulate the spirit of ’78 as much as ’92, and the title track positively roars.
Closing off with goth-punk tinged single cut ‘Toy’, Disillusion leaves you feeling exhilarated, excited: there’s nothing better than hearing a band channelling all the frustration, all the rage, all the angst into tight bursts of guitar-driven energy, and Pythies do it so, so well.
Hot on the sweaty trotters of Red Room, released in May, the Lord of Lard, Raymond Watts has managed to mine fresh truffles for a whole new EP ahead of embarking on an extensive tour of the US, which so happens to take its name from the first track on said EP, ‘Heroin for the Damned’. The fact that this isn’t a set of remixes
The title alone is glorious, and you can almost feel the relish with which Watts conjured up the phrase, wicked, perverse, dark, and equally ostentatious and grand, evoking an image within the realms of The Last Supper but with an S&M slant as the participants dine on an orgy of gore… or something. When it comes to relishing the richness of language and delighting in deliciously devilish wordplay and alliteration, sifting through PIG’s catalogue for titles and lyrics (there’s a suitably extravagant book containing all of them just out) provides abundant evidence that Watts really gets kicks from it.
It’s also clear he is absolutely loving the whole self-styled industrial rock-god posturing, hamming it up in leather and mesh, and simply the whole music-making thing, perhaps more than at any point in his career. Instead of being awkward about self-promotion, he’s fully embracing its absurdity, and in a genre that’s largely dominated by serious, angry people, PIG stand out as being rather less po-faced, and altogether more fun than your average industrial act. I’m not sure I’ve seen Al Jourgensen or Trent Reznor posting pics on Facebook hugging their pooches.
That doesn’t mean that the music is any less serious. Watts and his various collaborators really know how to bring a crunching riff and a stonking beat, and, occasionally, having taken early cues from the legendary JG Thirlwell, spin in some bombastic strings and grand orchestral strikes. And Feast of Agony is dark, heavy, intense, and marks a strong return to the more experimental 90s work following a pursuit of an altogether glammier sound of late.
‘Heroin for the Damned’ – the opium of the people for the 21st Century, perhaps – starts low, slow, and sinister, Watts’ vocal a croak amidst a dank electronic swamp before a steady riff, laden with grit, grinds in, rubbing hard against a lowdown pulsating synth groove. It’s a bit NIN circa The Downward Spiral, but equally it’s quintessentially 90s PIG, and lands a monster chorus that combines the raging roar of Sinsation and the grainy grooves of Praise the Lard with gushing gospel grandeur – something that really dominates the final track, the Jim Davies remix of ‘Baptise, Bless, Bleed.’ Piano and bold orchestral sweeps meld with stark synths and crunching guitars on ‘Fallout’, before Watts comes on like Bowie on the slow-paced anthemic ‘Comedown’, while the verses of ‘Hand of Mercy’ owe more to Prince.
It’s a PIG release and therefore it’s a pure [serial killer] thriller, alright – but even within the now-expansive catalogue, Feast of Agony is a strong entry.
Greek black metal collective Eldingar is excited to announce the release of their second album, Lysistrata, due out on November 1st via Vinyl Store. Following the success of their 2021 debut Maenads, the band’s latest effort builds on their intense and philosophical approach to music.
The band shared their thoughts on the track: “’ODE’ is a hymn to the enduring pain and the human struggle to assimilate grief, often finding it difficult to express sorrow through tears. The lyrics touch on the emotional states that can lead people to despair, and in some cases, to suicide. Psychological dead ends, a timeless affliction, plague humanity and ultimately bring destruction—both in our era and throughout history.”
Lysistrata delves into themes of the dissolution of armies and the rejection of power, while exploring emotional liberation from submission. Eldingar’s music combines anti-war sentiments and reverence for nature, drawing inspiration from ancient Greek philosophy and weaving them into their sound.
Divide and Dissolve sign to Bella Union and share the brand new single "Monolithic" as their North American tour dates commence. A new album is expected in 2025.
Monolithic is a prayer for systems of liberation, freedom, Indigenous sovereignty, and for a Black future. This song is hope for the seemingly impossible and for things that have never been seen or experienced in many lifetimes. Where no memories have been created. – Takiaya Reed
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Divide and Dissolve’s music is an acknowledgement of the dispossession that occurs due to colonial violence, it honours ancestors, opposes white supremacy and calls for indigenous sovereignty.
Takiaya Reed’s dense sound is overwhelmingly heavy; a dissonant pounding of percussion, guitars, piano, synths and saxophone, interwoven with passages of orchestral beauty that give a feeling of respite.
Divide and Dissolve have released four full-length albums to date; Basic (2017, DERO), Abomination (2018, DERO), Gas Lit (2021, Invada) – which was hailed Mary Anne Hobbs’ Album of the Year, and was complimented by the Gas Lit remix EP, including reworkings by Moor Mother, Chelsea Wolfe and Bearcat. Most recently the band released Systemic (2023, Invada), and plan to follow up with their Bella Union debut in 2025.
Catch Divide and Dissolve supporting Systemic for the final time this year across North America – dates below.
British desert rockers PSYCHLONA turn out to be sly cool cats that invite you to a chill ride on their ‘Magic Carpet’. This is also the title of their latest video single taken from the forthcoming new full-length Warped Vision, which is scheduled for release on September 27, 2024.
PSYCHLONA comment: “At the beginning, ‘Magic Carpet’ was a jazzy guitar piece that Martin brought along to rehearsal one day”, singer and guitarist Phil Heay tells on behalf of the band. “The riff sounded so cool and upbeat that we brought it down with some dark lyrics, and we also gave it some welly with a mega-riff in the second half. This one should get the pit going – then it’ll be goodnight from us.”
Watch the video here:
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PSYCHLONA live 28 SEP 2024 London (UK) The Black Heart (Release Show)
PSYCHLONA European Tour supporting GREENLEAF & SLOMOSA 01 OCT 2024 Berlin (DE) Lido 02 OCT 2024 Hamburg (DE) Gruenspan 03 OCT 2024 Köln (DE) Club Volta 04 OCT 2024 Bielefeld (DE) Forum 05 OCT 2024 Leeuwarde (NL) Into the Void 06 OCT 2024 Pratteln (CH) Up In Smoke 07 OCT 2024 Innsbruck (AT) PMK 09 OCT 2024 Wien (AT) Arena 10 OCT 2024 Zagreb (HR) Vintage Industrial Bar 11 OCT 2024 Graz (AT) PPC 12 OCT 2024 München (DE) Keep It Low 14 OCT 2024 Leipzig (DE) Werk2 (changed new date)
Beauty In Chaos, the evolving revolving worldwide aural entity, presents the closing track on their Dancing With Angels album – their fourth record to date, recently released via 33.3 Music Collective.
Introduced by a vibrant video, filmed and directed by Fernando Cordero / Industrialism Films, ‘Made of Rain’ features the brooding baritone of Ashton Nyte of legacy goth rock outfit The Awakening, who will also release their twelfth album in mid-October.
“It is no coincidence that we chose a release date of September 10th, as it is six years to the day that we introduced Beauty In Chaos to the world with ‘Storm’, which also featured Ashton. It is a true blessing to have Ashton back for our fifth song together. As we have come to expect from BIC, this new video is visually and conceptionally very different from the latest BIC single ‘Holy Ground’,” says Michael Ciravolo.
Ashton Nyte adds, “I am delighted with how the ‘Made Of Rain’ video came out. I think Industrialism Films have captured the sense of isolation and the desire for connection I was writing about. The dreamlike quality of the video reflects the inner struggle beautifully.”
Beauty In Chaos formed in 2018 by guitarist Michael Ciravolo (formerly of Human Drama and Gene Loves Jezebel and current President of Schecter Guitars) with Grammy-nominated producer Michael Rozon (Ministry, Jarboe, Wayne Hussey, The Melvins).
‘Never Sever’ is the third single from Norwegian band Mayflower Madame’s eagerly awaited album Insight, set to release on November 1st.
While their previous singles, ‘A Foretold Ecstasy’ and ‘Paint It All in Blue’ refined their signature blend of post-punk, shoegaze and psychedelia, this new track reveals the band’s more direct and energetic side. Their sound is still spun with alluring dark textures but is now profoundly interwoven with rays of light and a bittersweet melancholy.
Additionally, the track introduces a touch of rock‘n’roll swagger in the verses seamlessly merging with dream-pop elements in the choruses, making ‘Never Sever’ one of their most accessible songs to date. Lyrically, the song captures a nostalgic feeling of being unable to reclaim—or unwilling to let go of—a haunting past.
Watch the video for ‘Never Sever’ here:
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Mayflower Madame have announced they will be returning to the UK and Europe for a tour this Autumn.
FULL DATES (with ticket links):
Sat 5 October – Return To The Batcave Festival – Wroclaw, Poland – Tickets
This Friday, BERRIES return with a second glimpse into their self-titled new album, in the shape of new single ‘Balance’.
A tempered and touching acoustic lullaby by the trio, it marks something of a handbrake turn from the sound and fury of previous single, ‘Watching Wax’.
“Let’s balance out time like we said we would” coos vocalist Holly Carter, atop a single laden with silky guitar lines, hushed harmonies, and a pin-drop atmosphere. Urging us to find that time to sit back and enjoy the moment, BERRIES say of the track: “’Balance’ talks of those promises we make ourselves. Filling our time with things we want to do, not just need to do. It’s quite easy to get caught up in busy schedules, rushing around with busy brains but this song reminds us to stop and take it all in.”
Unlike anything else the band have released previously, it arrives as a tantalising new insight into their highly anticipated second album: BERRIES, which is due for release on 18th October via the Xtra Mile Recordings label.
As its eponymous title makes clear, ‘BERRIES’, is the sound of a band determined to make a statement with their second full-length outing. While the band have never shied away from brutally honest admissions or difficult subject matters like struggles with mental health, BERRIES finds them weaponising them into a set of fearlessly assertive tracks that seize strength from darkness. As BERRIES explain:
“This album is about battling intrusive thoughts and finding contentment in your day, however big or small those moments are. It’s a journey to finding your own space and being comfortable in it. We haven’t held back with this album – it’s raw, honest, and a true reflection of BERRIES.”
Aural Aggravation 