Darkwave duo Sever The Servants have just unleashed their debut full-length, self-titled album on the Produkt 42 label.
The album's themes are generally apocalyptical with some political and social commentary. From the "right wing hivemind" theme of the title track to the things that slowly kill us day to day, each of the album's six tracks represent the freedom to explore with a complete lack of care towards staying in a "box".
A song like "Get In The Grave" serves as a sonic memento mori while "Haunt Me" was spawned from folk tales of sirens and banshees. "Cruel World" is lamenting the near-purgatorial state of existence in a world riddled with flaws while nearly embracing those very same flaws.
Synths wail and weep alongside of the vocals. The album is also rich with experiments in distorted instrumentation and textures, menacing sounds and dirty drums.
Sever The Servants is available on CD and on a all digital platforms including Bandcamp NOW!
Canadian industrial band, Di Auger has just dropped their new single; an angry diatribe titled "In The Twilight Of Nothing".
The song is extremely political lyrically and was entirely written and composed during the midst of the intense Covid lockdowns in Toronto, Canada – some of the strictest in the world.
Di Auger states: "What “triggered” my writing was the announcement that it was “illegal” to dance in bars/clubs just prior to when they finally shut them all down. "This was the complete subjugation of a population to an extreme and it culminated for me in that simple diatribe. I was angry, frustrated and not at all alone, something needed to be said."
"In The Twilight Of Nothing" is available on all digital platforms including Bandcamp.
"Dystopia" is the first LP from Boxes of Blow.
There are many themes in it, the anxiety to find a solution to human problematic situations.
Sometimes this anguish becomes a huge inaccessible “wall”, a boundary that we cannot cross, nor see beyond.
Many metaphorical meanings, such as “black rain” that can symbolise any catastrophe internal to our existence or external to nature and the environment in which we live.
Love, and how exasperating it is and rather hopeless.
Yet, in all its elusiveness, love pushes us to stretch our limits, therefore becoming a necessary force.
A force to reach beyond despite knowing that falling is almost certain, that’s why it is “the most noble” yet “the longest lost hope”.
All this is expressed through the dreamy, atmospheric and electric sounds of the album.
Usually after the first initial slow, simple theme there is a completion, fullness, abundance of instruments and sounds.”
Once and for all... A new release by The Operating Tracks on Progress Productions
The Operating Tracks started in the autumn of 2014. On a foundation of energy from the era when machines seriously made their debut into music. When DAF and The Normal were revolutionary and when we, for the first time, heard about Orwell's future theme. In late 2015 and early 2016 the band released their only official songs: “Testify” that featured Rein before her breakthrough in 2016 and the EP “Colliding Bodies” with main track “Daniel” as well as “The Collider” and “Human Blood”.
After that everything went quiet. Carl Nilsson moved forward with Lucifer´s Aid and released a number of very hard electronic albums. Carolina Lindahl re-appeared in 2020 with the new project The Brides of the Black Room. Andreas Jismark, who stayed in the shadows 2014-2016 but still was a part of the band, has since managed and worked with acts like Rein and The Lovers of Valdaro.
In late 2018 The Operating Tracks were special guests to Nitzer Ebb in their first show in Stockholm to which they invited some special guests. That would have been the end of it. But as things turned out the band reconnected in 2021 due to a question from Progress Productions if it would be interesting to release “Testify” and “Daniel” as a 12” vinyl. As the parts of The Operating Tracks began to look at this possible release it seemed more interesting to work with some other old songs as well.
“1000 Ways to Die” and “1001” were two songs that the band recorded in early versions and played at the first live shows (with Youth Code in Stockholm) back in 2014. With two brand new versions of these the 12” turned into an album.
After that things moved forward quickly which also meant some brand new songwriting with some brand new guests vocals on the record: Emma Anitchka from the duo The Guilt and the secretive Ghostheart.
This month, 39 years ago, Nitzer Ebb recorded their first demo Basic Pain Procedure!
This month, 39 years ago, British EBM/Industrial act Nitzer Ebb recorded their first eight songs which were featured on the A-side of their first ever release/demo tape Basic Pain Procedure (August 1983). On the B-side they put a live recording of a concert in Chelmsford from 9th December the same year. Initially it was meant to attract the attention from record labels but the tape was also sold at their live concerts. Two years later they would meet producer, Phil Harding, who produced their 1985 debut single ‘Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works?’ and helped them set up their own label, Power Of Voice Communications.
Besides ‘Crane’, which was re-recorded and placed on the B-side of their first 12”, and the song ‘Home’, which was re-worked into K.I.A. for the 1988 Belief album, it seemed all other tracks where archived, never to be heard again...
Luckily, for NEB fans around the globe, Basic Pain Procedure was officially re-released in it’s entirety, to celebrate it’s 30th anniversary, on CD, USB and tape in June 2013. The vinyl re-issue version however, only features the eight original studio recordings and thus not the live 1983 performance.
Basic Pain Procedure - Tracklist
A1 Faded Smiles
A2 Tradition
A3 The Home
A4 Star
A5 The Passage
A6 The Book
A7 Crane
A8 Trust Ran In Colours
B1 Tradition
B2 The Home
B3 Star
B4 The Book
B5 Crane
B6 Violent Playground
B7 A Whiter Shade Of Pale
B8 Smear Body
Check out the unique live footage of the song Crane performed in the early 80s...
