Belgian industrial band CONTROVERSIAL have just dropped the visualizer for their song "Violence." The track appears on CONTROVERSIAL's most recent Cleopatra Records release, Second Genesis.
The song "Violence" is based on a documentary from the 1990s about human violence.
As far as motivation is concerned, CONTROVERSIAL deals with the darker side of humanity. Violence is of course up there and we refer also to war as the culmination of violence. We do it from the position of a spectator outside of humanity.
"There's aesthetic/sound inspirations like for instance using social commentary samples (like Ministry). These are mainly represented by songs on social and political themes. There are also themes that evoke an emotional reaction like anger, frustration and hate. Then there are "streams of consciousness" songs, where we don't really have a concrete theme, but we open ourselves up to what comes naturally while we mentally associate with certain feelings and themes.
Lastly, since we are a "left hand path" band, themes of that philosophy are to be found in our lyrics, like the importance of the ego and the emancipation of the "self". - Bart - (CONTROVERSIAL)
For fans of: SKREW & MINISTRY
Industrial band FLEISCHKRIEG have unleashed their new video for the single "Reach." The song features fellow goth/industrial artist NUDA and will appear on the forthcoming album Herzblut, due out in October, 2021.
"Our understanding of the larger ecology of mind and matter is inadequate to fully address what’s really happening in our reality. As more people wake up, the more I think people will be harassed. I feel like that’s what I experience. I think we humans have a lot to learn about what’s really going on in the greater scheme of things."
For fans of: RAMMSTEIN, LORD OF THE LOST & DEPECHE MODE
The album Herzblut as a whole is about how we’re always fighting a war of some kind for both our physical, mental and emotional survival.
There are a lot more layers to this struggle than most realize. Every day is a “fleshkrieg” (flesh war) if you think about it. Something or someone is always trying to steal our natural resources of mind, body, and spirit. I hope the album inspires people to know they’re not alone in this battle. And that the search for the truth should be ever-present in their lives.
Dark Electro/Industrial Band NORMORIA Addresses Struggles And Division With New Video
Swedish/American dark electro band NORMORIA have unveiled their new video "Land Of The Rich", from their latest EP Voyage.
"Land Of The Rich" is the new music video taken from our latest EP, Voyage, and it highlights how incredibly divided the US currently is. While the rich keep getting richer and most Americans are struggling to get by in a country in distress. Booming vocals, punkish guitars and intense bass are part of what makes this track one of this dark electro Industrial bands most energetic and in-your-face songs!"
For Fans Of: Dark Electro/Industrial, Industrial Rock
On this day, 38 years ago, The Cure performed ‘The Walk’ on Top Of The Pops!
On this day, 38 years ago, The Cure performed their single ‘The Walk’ on BBC's Top Of The Pops (July 22nd 1983). Initially released as a stand-alone single in July 1983, it almost immediately became the title track of a six-track 12” EP.
The song became The Cure's biggest UK hit to this point, peaking at #12, and their first entry into the UK top 20.
At the time of recording The Cure was briefly reduced to the two founding members Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst following the departure of bassist Simon Gallup following the end of the band's previous tour in support of the album Pornography (1982).
Created using relatively new electronic equipment, the Oberheim OB-8 synthesizer and DMX drum machine, the genesis and recording of the track - though not the release date - predates New Order’s Blue Monday. Similarities between the tracks are likely the result of experimentation with similar equipment.
This ‘just out of the box’ experimentation is best illustrated by listening to the opening of ‘The Walk’. The synth note that gives the track its distinctive discordant feel was the result of a stubborn piece of keyboard programming the band found impossible to remove.
The Walk
I called you after midnight
Then ran until I burst
I passed the howling woman
And stood outside your door
We walked around the lake
And woke up in the rain
And everyone turned over
Troubled in their dreams again
Visiting time is over
And so we walk away
And both play dead then cry out loud
Why we always cry this way?
I kissed you in the water
And made your dry lips sing
I saw you look
Like a Japanese baby
In an instant I remembered everything, everything, everything
I called you after midnight
Then ran until my heart burst
I passed the howling woman
And stood outside your door
I kissed you in the water
And made your dry lips sing
I saw you look
Like a Japanese baby
In an instant I remembered everything, everything, everything
Take me for a walk
Take me for a walk
Let's go in the water
Take me for a walk
Songwriters: Robert James Smith / Laurence Andrew Tolhurst
© Universal Music
Today, exactly 41 years ago, Joy Division released their second and final studio album, Closer.
Today, exactly 41 years ago, Joy Division released their second and final studio album, Closer. It was released on 18 July 1980 on the renowned UK label Factory Records exactly two months after the tragic suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis (18 May 1980). Today, Closer is still considered as one of the major releases of the New-Wave and Post-Punk era.
The songs on Closer were drawn from two distinct periods. The earlier guitar-driven compositions like Atrocity Exhibition, A Means to an End, Colony, Passover and 24 Hours were written during the latter half of 1979. The other songs like Isolation, Decades, The Eternal and Heart and Soul were written in early 1980 and included more prominent use of electronics and synthesizers.
Regarding the album's lyrical content, Bernard Sumner recollected: "We'd go to rehearsals and sit around and talk about really banal things. We'd do that until we couldn't talk about banal things any more, then we'd pick up our instruments and record into a little cassette player. We didn't talk about the music or the lyrics very much. We never analyzed it”. Bernard also remembers Ian Curtis saying he was feeling strange because “he felt like all his words were writing themselves. He also said that he had this terrible claustrophobic feeling that he was in a whirlpool and being pulled down, drowning."
Closer was recorded between 18–30 March 1980 at Britannia Row Studios in London. It was produced by Martin Hannett. His production has been highly praised by the music press. However, as with their debut album, both Hook and Sumner were unhappy with Hannett's work. Peter Hook later complained that the track "Atrocity Exhibition" was mixed on one of his days off and when he heard the final product was disappointed that the abrasiveness of his guitar part had been laden with effects and toned down. He wrote; "I was like, head in hands, oh fucking hell, it's happening again. Unknown Pleasures number two... Martin [Hannett] had melted the guitar with his Marshall Time Waster. Made it sound like somebody strangling a cat, and to my mind, absolutely killed the song. I was so annoyed with him and went in and gave him a piece of my mind but he just turned around and told me to fuck off."
The album cover was designed by Martyn Atkins and Peter Saville, with a photograph of a Italian tomb on the sleeve. Designer Peter Saville commented that he, upon learning of singer Ian Curtis's suicide, expressed immediate concern over the album's design as it depicted a funeral theme, remarking "we've got a tomb on the cover of the album!"
Closer as a 12” vinyl album reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. The Album was also chosen as Album of The Year by NME and is still placed highly in various top 10 lists like Best Album of the 80s (Slant Magazine, Pitchfork Magazine, Q magazine, …) and number two on Sonic Seducers “10 key Goth albums”. It got 10/10 review scores by Akk Music, NME, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone album guide, Select, Spin Alternative Record Guide, Uncut and the Encyclopedia of Popular Music
By 1982, the album had sold over 250,000 copies worldwide.
Shortly after this release the remaining members chose New Order as their new and future band name.
Closer
Side A
1. Atrocity Exhibition
2. Isolation
3. Passover
4. Colony
5. A Means to an End
Side B
6. Heart and Soul
7. Twenty Four Hours
8. The Eternal
9. Decades
All songs written by Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner.
