Cult American electro/industrial act MENTALLO & THE FIXER strikes back with another limited edition 3CD box release that will no doubt please all their fans! Like its title suggests, "Zothera" refers to the two Texan brother's (Gary and Dwayne Dassing) golden years period when they signed a multiple-album deal with Talla 2XLC's legendary German label Zoth Ommog.
This new box-release does not only hold fully remastered versions of the classic albums "Revelations 23" and "Where Angels Fear To Tread", but also the exclusive "Apocrypha" bonus disc, a unique retrospective album featuring 16 hidden old-school treasures (over 70 plus minutes) with a majority of previously unreleased remixes/versions! Highly emotional and complex, MENTALLO & THE FIXER's music is characterized by snarling distorted vocals, hard cutting sequencer rhythms and thunderous beats.
If the "Revelations 23" album laid the brutal electro-industrial foundations of MENTALLO & THE FIXER's huge discography with strong and aggressive hits like "Legion of Lepers", "Pulse Hemorrhage", or yet "Ancient Languages"; the "Where Angels Fear to Tread" 3rd album confirmed the band's raw power, dark intensity and multi-layered compositions' complexity with killer tracks like "Sacrilege", "Bring to a Boil" or "Afterglow".
"The remastering made such a huge difference. I'm so very pleased with the quality. It's amazing! It's like reliving a specific defined memory for me…", proudly says Gary Dassing about these 2 remastered albums.
MENTALLO & THE FIXER's past work always had some kind of Biblical connotation, so it's no surprise to see the bonus 3rd disc titled "Apocrypha", and that the "Zothera" box dark visual artwork concept is designed around the contradictory theme of guardian angels carrying savage weapons and the Bible's darkest parts... Let no one mislead you: MENTALLO & THE FIXER will deliver us from Evil!
A FREE bonus 18-track CD label compilation is included in the box: Sounds From The Matrix 015 featuring previously unreleased songs from most recent & forthcoming releases on the Alfa Matrix label!
Think Modern English, think early Clan Of Xymox, think The Exploding Boy....or click and think for yourself! They're superb, that's all we know!
It's with great pride and honour that Alfa Matrix inaugurates its new label "vinyl" division with a very very special conceptual release: "Thalys" by METROLAND...
Something that started as a crazy idea in a text message, got followed by a 6 second melody written while the band was on the road supporting 80's legend OMD, and eventually morphed into a unique multi-cultural adventure and fruitful collaboration with the renown international railway company itself: "Thalys", symbolised worldwide by its famous high-speed burgundy red trains...
You are fond of vintage keyboards, you got seduced last year by Belgium's METROLAND's successful "Mind The Gap" album and you have LP's by KRAFTWERK, TELEX and KOMPUTER in your music collection? Then, dear ladies and gentlemen, get seated for a new exciting sonic journey across Europe with METROLAND who bring us to the next level with their trademark sound made of carrying layers of melodic synths, robotic vocals and analogue drum machines.
This stand-alone "Thalys" 12" release marks the switch for METROLAND, from one dimension to another that will be opened and revealed in 2015 only... The "Thalys" tune perfectly fits this vinyl format with its extended structure in 2 consecutive non-stop mixed songs crowned by a splendid (and vinyl exclusive!!) remake on the second side by living legend producer/remixer PAUL KENDALL (best known for his current work with Alan Wilder (RECOIL/DEPECHE MODE) and his numerous remixes and productions for the legendary Mute Records). Additionally the B-side song "From Station To Station" was created from recycled parts of the "Thalys" original song to reach new destinations city after city...
The included CD edition of the "Thalys" EP features alternative versions of the songs including stunning remixes by JONTEKNIK and NORTHERN KIND.
We will also notice within this challenging travelling conceptual project, that although all the burgundy red trains are this time departing from METROLAND's homeland capital Brussels, the digital version of the "Thalys" EP gets released in 3 different language versions according to its final "download" destination, with a French version for the "Paris" edition, a German version for the "Düsseldorf" edition and a "London" edition in English for the rest of the world... Die-hard METROLAND collectors will nevertheless find their way around these territorial frontiers and embrace all 3 versions thanks to Alfa Matrix's official space-travelling Bandcamp machine alfamatrix.bandcamp.com.
This extraordinary sonic homage by the METROLAND duo to this successful 21st century piece of technology and means of transportation that is embodied by the Thalys burgundy red trains gets marketed by Alfa Matrix in a very limited edition of 333 copies in "vinyl+CD package" format. React fast and add this ultimate futuristic collaboration to your collection.
Picking up from where they left off with last year's much-loved Topshop EP, Brighton based duo, Teardrop Factory have returned with their debut album, Thrash In The Heart. The album falls into existence in a swirling haze of broken sleep, streams of consciousness and teen despondency.
Lead track, '3am Coke Dream' is the album's prelude; an indulgent lo-fi number that oozes with grit and scuzz, highlighting the entire creative journey and setting the tone for the record, literally and musically. Thrash In The Heart was made at home by the band and recorded in their bathroom, then mixed with Julian Tardo (Church Rd Studios / Bowlegs) and finally, mastered with MJ (Hookworms) at Suburban Home.
In the 5th edition of Chronographs monthly single releases, the band release "D.O.T.S"
Chronographs have embarked on a journey of releasing a new song every month for a year, in a bold move to mold their career around the current musical climate.
Guitarist Tom Ridley says:
“Since the album format was conceived, the way in which music is made, sold and consumed has completely changed. Businesses battle to stay in the public eye, but bands are commited to the peaks and troughs of awareness that come with the album cycle. The other problem with that system, is by the time the music is heard, it’s already out of date. By releasing music every month, we’re as relevant as we possibly can be – our audience is listening to what inspired us just a couple of weeks ago. That’s a really cool position to be in.”
