US gothic/industrial band BATAVIA proudly announces the release of their newest EP, Quite Mean Spirited.

The EP is an exploration of malevolence and what drives the human soul to inflict indignities upon their fellow beings. The video for the first single made its premiere on ReGen Magazine on August 27th.

QuiteMeanSpirited

For fans of: 16 VOLT, THE SMITHS & SKINNY PUPPY

Q U I T E M E A N S P I R I T E D

The recording took place in our home studio in Jacksonville FL, with marathon recording and writing sessions spanning several weeks.

The title song delves into justification of inflicting vitriol through the veil of tribalism by means of a bleak, brooding goth-rock drone. To break the morose subject matter, track 2 is a jaunty cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain's 'Upside Down', delivered in industrial metal fashion.

Tracks 3 and 4, 'Ab Initio' and 'Finis', are two parts of a whole. Based on the true story of a woman in 1930s Soviet Russia who was taken from her home and sent across the sea to an island prison. Shortly after her arrival, she was assaulted by the guardsman. When she turned to her fellow prisoners for help, they instead tied her to a tree and cannibalized her. 'An Initio' is based on a sailor song that was adopted by the Red Army during this time. 'Finis' is a dreary, gothic orchestral illustration of the terror and despair this woman must have experienced.

Track 5, 'The Absinthian', paints a picture of the malice in the individual. There are no questions to be asked, but a cavalier affidavit told from the perspective of unrepentant malevolence; a representation of the evil that lives in each and every one of us at its purest form in the form of a man.

Track 6 closes the EP with a remix of the title track, provided by Leæther Strip.

www.facebook.com/officialbatavia

A CERTAIN RATIO are back with a new album, ACR Loco. Revitalised by their most successful tour in over two decades, the band returned to the studio to record their first album in 12 years - due for release on Mute on 25 September 2020.

ACR Loco was recorded by the core line up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and Donald Johnson with contributions from the ACR live line up - Tony Quigley on sax, Denise Johnson adds vocals and Matt Steele provides keyboards. Additional guests include Sink Ya Teeth’s Maria Uzor and Gemma Cullingford, Gabe Gurnsey (Factory Floor) and Manchester luminaries Mike Joyce and Eric Random.

“This album is a culmination of everything we've ever done,” explains Kerr. The album distils the different directions and styles that have run throughout the band’s career - one that began in the late 70's with Factory Records first ever 7” release. “Digging into the past for the boxset [ACR:BOX was released in 2019 on Mute] must have rubbed off on us and influenced the current album,” says Moscrop. “I think it helped spark up our imagination. It allowed us to work in some of the past as we move forward into the future.”

Keen on the joys of collaboration and sharing, it makes sense that adding the ACR touch to other artists via a series of reworks led to their latest album taking shape. Recent reworks of tracks for the likes of Barry Adamson, The Charlatans and Maps saw the band return to the studio to unpick those original tracks. “The reworks were crucial,” says Donald Johnson. “They got us back in the studio and forced a union and a bond. They allowed us to start getting a groove again.” Kerr mirrors this. “We love doing the reworks because it's just us doing our thing,” he says. “The three of us jamming is really the basis of it all. Once you get that groove there’s no stopping us.”

www.acrmcr.com

Today it’s been exactly 33 years since electro-industrial band The Klinik released their second full album Plague (Antler 065 - Release date: 25.09.1987). Originally released as a gatefold vinyl it was re-released again by Antler Records as a bonus CD with the release of the 1991 Time (Antler 5040) album.
Plague, with menacing sounds and engaging songs, can be seen as one of the darkest albums released by the band. Marc Verhaeghen’s uncompromising and unpredictable programming, sampling and synth manipulation revoke apocalyptic visions while the typical, sometimes hissing, sometimes shouting, vocals of Dirk Ivens complete the dark atmosphere perfectly.

Plague (Tracklist)

A1 World Domination
A2 Murder
A3 No Time To Win
A4 Outside
B1 End Of The Line
B2 Pictures
B3 Into Deep Water
B4 Plague

DISCOGS

Today it’s been exactly 28 years since Nine Inch Nails released its first EP Broken (September 22, 1992). The EP was produced by frontman Trent Reznor and Flood and entirely consists of new material. The synth-pop style from the band's 1989 debut album Pretty Hate Machine was replaced by a heavier sound that would act as a precursor to their second album The Downward Spiral (1994). One of the reasons for this drastic change in sound and style being TVT Records, who had signed the band, pressuring Trent Reznor to record a similar synth-pop album as follow-up after the success of the previous Pretty Hate Machine album. As a reaction to this attempt to interfere with his artistic and creative freedom Reznor secretly started recording with Flood under various monikers to prevent TVT Records from confiscating and releasing their recordings.
In the end, a deal was reached with Interscope Records to release future Nine Inch Nails releases.

The accompanying short movie Broken, filmed and directed by Peter Christopherson (Trobbing Gristle / Coil / …) and based on a scenario by Trent Reznor, was never officially released due to its extreme graphic content but was leaked as a bootleg which became heavily traded amongst fans.

Although the videos were widely censored from television airplay, the song Wish made the band win the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance (1993) while their Woodstock '94 performance of Happiness in Slavery won the same award at the 38th Grammy Awards (1996).

Broken peaked at the seventh rank on the US billboard 200 chart.
The original release of Broken was limited to 250.000 copies and included two bonus tracks on a separate 3" CD including a cover version of Physical, a song originally by Adam Ant, and Suck which Reznor had co-written with all-star industrial band Pigface.

A remix EP titled Fixed (with blue cover) was released late 1992.

Broken (EP)

1. Pionion
2. Wish
3. Last
4. Help me I Am In Hell
5. Happiness In Slavery
6. Gave Up

3" CD tracklist (Bonus)
1. Physical
2. Suck

DISCOGS

Earlier this month NIN performed the Broken EP in its entirety on their Cold and Black and Infinite North America 2018 Tour (see video below).

Today, „Dein herz, meine gier/Bunkerb!tch" has been released as a club single limited on 999 pieces along with a new video clip. „Bunkerb!tch" is a completely new track in the tradition of the big Suicide Commando dancefloor massacres. Fitting in just perfectly is the second new track „Belief" which is completely nocturnal and in the style of „Mindstrip".

Watch the SUICIDE COMMANDO IIXIII lyric video "Dein herz, meine gier" below!

It is time to pay tribute to the deeds of a legend. Just before the release of the rerecorded Hellelektro classic „Mindstrip" that took the pioneer position in Hard Electro for Suicide Commando, there will be an edgy club single featuring four highlights of the band: The club hit „Dein herz, meine gier" taken of the „Love Breeds suicide"-EP got a full remake, and as well did the „Mindstrip" album track „Blood In The Face", giving an appetizer to what is to expect on „Mindstrip Redux" – the classics got an affectionate makeover connecting the early 2000 atmosphere with nowadays technical possibilities. You can order the limited single from here.

Tracklist:

1. Dein herz, meine gier (REanimate 2020)
2. Blood in face (first aid mix)
3. Bunkerb!tch
4. Belief

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