Menahem Golan, a veteran Israeli filmmaker who produced some of the biggest action movies of the 1980s, has died in Tel Aviv. He was 85.

Throughout his long career, Golan produced more than 200 movies and directed a fourth of them. Among his hits were "The Delta Force," starring Chuck Norris, and the "Death Wish" sequels starring Charles Bronson. He also produced films starring Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The Israeli-born Golan was a pilot and bombardier in Israel's War of Independence in 1948 and got an Oscar nomination for his film "Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt."

Along with his cousin and partner Yoram Globus, he established The Cannon Group production company, running it for a decade.

Golan, who died Friday, is survived by his wife and three children.

Kapitel is the debut recording from the Russian, Swedish, but Copenhagen based Mischa Pavlovski, with a previous history in Posh Isolation punk and metal bands, his solo debut offers a very diffferent take on sound although in equally dark territory. Kapitel is a monolithic piece of minimal, ambient techno and it is quite beyond grasp how this could be someones debut, with an incredible ear for composition and timing it offers four tracks, each track leading on to the next with heavy bass pulsing, distant desolated melodies, paranoid ambient soundscapes, with an underlying steady kick binding it all together.

With a running time of almost 40 minutes it still manages to keep its listener captivated from when the first kick enters to the moment the last synth runs out.

Drugs, anxiety, club lights turning off one by one, dreams experienced awake, rather than sleeping.

Posh Isolation 127

Youth Code’s upcoming release, A Place To Stand, is an expression of rage that could only come from Los Angeles. Perfectly capturing the frustration and claustrophobia of the early 80s LA hardcore scene but re-appropriating that aggression and melding it to the strict, pounding electronics of classic industrial. Recorded by Josh Eustis (Nine Inch Nails, Telefon Tel Aviv, Sons of Magdalene), Side A of A Place to Stand features four new Youth Code tracks that showcase an the band exploring an evolved sense of melodic synth work and more varied tempos than anything they have released to date. From the pure adrenal rush of opening track, “Consumed By Guilt” and the Wax Trax-esque dance floor anthem “To Burn Your World” to the lush synthscape melodies of “For I Am Cursed” You can hear Ryan George and Sara Taylor perfectly balancing respect for their elders whilst creating something that’s uniquely their own. Rounding out the Youth Code originals on Side A, “A Litany (A Place To Stand)” figuratively stands out, as it is a spoken-word diatribe on society that encapsulates the feeling of the entire record.

Side B of A Place to Stand collects four remixes of earlier Youth Code tracks, from artists as diverse as Corrections House’s Sanford Parker, Sub Pop signed avant rap crew Clipping., industrial / EBM mainstays God Module & the dark and minimal techno mastermind, Silent Servant.

What makes A Place to Stand exceptional is Youth Code’s ability to coax raw, organic emotion out of cold, primitive synths. A trait that stems from the band’s peculiar genesis.

Born in 2012 out of a Los Angeles bedroom, Youth Code is the creation of Sara Taylor and Ryan George. The band made their spontaneous live debut at LA-based record store Vacation Vinyl's employee showcase. Word of the incendiary live performance quickly spread and was followed by release of the well-circulated, coveted, Demonstrational Cassette which saw the band hone their semi-improvised initial set into something altogether more muscular and lean.

Soon after, Youth Code was invited to release a limited edition 7 inch single with the legendary Genesis P-Orridge's label, Angry Love Productions. The single quickly sold out and saw the band receive praise from industrial heavyweights including Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly. Shortly after the single’s release, the band signed on with label DAIS Records to release their 2013 self-titled full length, which was met with widespread critical praise. 

In 2013, Youth Code brought their brand of Industrial to audiences all over the US on supporting gigs with AFI, Nothing, The Body, Suicide Commando and a stint at SXSW that had Tucson Weekly call Youth Code the, "Best Surprise of the Festival". Regarding the SXSW performance, The LA Times added, "The band [Youth Code] is a perfect balance of muscular synth drums, white-noise analog pulses and singer Sara Taylor's defiant shrieks. It's harsh stuff, but never less than riveting to watch, and a perfect rebuttal to a festival that looks ever more like a [sic] A-list party than a place to truly hear something new. Thank God Youth Code was there to fix that at the end." 

With the release of A Place To Stand and an opening slot on The Alliance Tour with Industrial legends Skinny Puppy and VNV Nation, Youth Code are ready to take their place as the torchbearers for a new wave of Industrial Music. 

The slightly laconic undertone with which an unknown female voice greets us on the French Industrial hopefuls’ new album is telling. It insinuates both boredom of and confidence in that which is going to engage the unsuspecting listener’s ears during the following 55 minutes. „Personal Revolution“, the third album by the French group, whose powerful performances at Maschinenfest or Terminus Festival in Canada made them an insider’s tip amongst uncompromising Electro fans, does not belie expectations. „Personal Revolution“ is an electronic treat par excellence, which practically assaults the listener from out of nowhere, capturing him with energy, crispness and surprising club affinity while staying heavy throughout. It cheerfully changes between Industrial, Dance, EBM and aggressive electronic composition, dodging categorisation and breaking down set barriers many others have put up for themselves – because what the intro provides us with in terms of content about the seemingly exhausted 21st century could be applied to the last decade of dark electronic music just as well: „It‘s totally fucked up“, and those who want to clean up the mess may kindly do so alone.

Whoever endeavours a sweeping blow like this in both musical and social terms must have a lot up their sleeves, and these French have indeed: They do not care about which path they follow, whether their stunning club hits are celebrated as such or simply enjoyed due to their heaviness, if their confident lyrics inspire hope for a better society with more responsibilities for the individual or that people might just let the cleansing sonic thunderstorm wash through their ears : „Personal Revolution“ works on so many different levels. It stands for a new generation of heavy electronic music, blowing away the long since festering reek like a breath of fresh air. The vocals, which do not conceal their French origin, are delivered by brothers Syco and Arco Trauma, who released their debut by themselves via their own label Audio Trauma. Electronic on-stage support comes from DJ, remixer and graphic designer Yoann Amnesy. The sophomore album „Don’t Be Scared, It’s About Life“ already aroused the interest of Dependent and brought the duo a licence deal in the US, although many observers considered its thoroughgoingness as too hefty. Now with the new album, they find the golden mean because it is more song-oriented and mature but still energetic enough to vault them into a higher league. „Personal Revolution“ should thus rank among the strongest Electro albums in 2014 and plainly make Chrysalide one of the hopefuls in electronic music.

Sometimes you wonder if some movies deserve a sequel. Are you waiting for this one?

Fox Searchlight’s Golden Globe-nominated 2012 sleeper hit gets a sequel in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which returns central stars Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Maggie Smith, and Dev Patel. Richard Gere joins the cast this go-around for director John Madden, who helms again from a script by Ol Parker. Plot finds the Marigold Hotel denizens navigating life and love as new guests arrive to find only one room available. The film will hit theaters March 6