Blut Aus Nord are a black metal band, (among other things), from France. This is their twelfth album.
Blut Aus Nord are a well-known band with a well-known proclivity for experimentation and producing music that’s as unexpected/unpredictable as it is rich, dark, and textured. Continue reading
Killtek are a Norwegian metal band and this is their latest EP.
This is industrial-tinged metal with a good sound and plenty of professional delivery. Continue reading
This is the eighth album by Combichrist, a Norwegian/US industrial metal band.
Combichrist are one of those bands that I’ve been aware of since they came out, but I’ve always managed to unintentionally avoid listening to. As this is their eighth album I’m quite late to the Combichrist party, but I’m glad I’ve finally experienced their quite personable brand of industrial metal. Continue reading
Fetters are an industrial metal band and this is their debut release.
This is death industrial that firmly slants towards the industrial end of the spectrum. The music never lets up in its quest to spread utter darkness across the land. Continue reading
This is the second album from Polish industrial metal band Kontagion.
Kontagion play industrial-tinged cybermetal, taking influence from the earlier of strains of the Fear Factory virus, and morphing itself into an altogether darker and more feral breed via some early Slipknot/Mushroomhead influences and a touch of Godflesh, (of which there’s a cover version here of Crush My Soul).
This really does have a late 90s/early 00s feel Continue reading
Wolfpack 44 are an industrial black metal band from the US. This is their début album.
This is a side project between members of Kult of Azazel and The Electric Hellfire Club, featuring guests from such bands as The Electric Hellfire Club, (again), Demonic Christ, Dark Funeral and Coven.
The Scourge is an album with a lot going on, and the band manage to Continue reading
This is the second album from this Slovakian industrial death/doom band.
Now this is an interesting release.
0N0 combine the industrial, death metal and doom genres together, creating an album that has aspects of all weaved into its genes.
How to classify this? Well, extreme metal is the easy cop out, and as these things don’t ultimately matter that much, I suppose that will do. Industrial death/doom is more specific, of course, but there we are.
Think of the something like Continue reading
This is the début album from US industrial Metal band Surgical Meth Machine.
Headed up by none other than Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, this is 40 minutes of mostly speed and aggression, just the way we like it.
Kind of taking what Ministry did only ramping it up to the nth degree, this is the sound of an artist unburdened by expectations of past achievements and just plain going for it.
Die Krupps are from Germany and play EBM/Industrial Metal. This is their eighth album.
This is music that’s catchy and can carry a good beat. For easy and lazy points of reference think Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails.
The songs incorporate a wealth of electronic and Industrial elements into the tracks and these form the basis of the band’s sound; an electronic base with guitars built on top.
There are some good grooves on this release and the songs give the listener plenty of excuses to bounce along to the energetic music.
Die Krupps are a veteran band that have influenced a whole host of other groups and on V – Metal Music Machine they clearly know what they want to achieve and how to do it. These songs are written and performed by experienced hands and this comes out strongly in the music.
Most enjoyable – check out the latest from Die Krupps.
ART 238 are from France and play Industrial Extreme Metal. This is their latest EP.
Here we have three tracks lasting almost 22 minutes in total that showcase the band’s harsh blend of Industrial sounds and Death/Black Metal know-how.
Usually when bands attempt to merge these two genres the result is some half-hearted Death Metal with keyboards on top. ART 238 don’t fall into this trap, as the Extreme Metal they play is actually extreme, and the Industrial influences seem coded into the band’s make-up at the genetic level and then hybridised with cybernetics to create this fascinating beast.
ART 238 manage to merge ultra-brutal blast beats with more atmospheric Industrial workouts in a way that recalls Aborym if they had gone the Death Metal route rather than the Black Metal one.
Another thing I really like about this EP is that the songs take the time to explore their surroundings, like they’re genuinely trying to find the best fit for their various component parts. In a feat of ingenuity the band manage to work with both sides of their sound expertly and incorporate them into an Industrial Extreme Metal whole.
It’s a musical framework that not many bands try, as most that do usually sound weak, incoherent or like some 80’s synth parody. ART 238 sidestep all of this by going straight for the jugular with their creative brand of urban Metal.
For fans of and mixing influences from – Aborym, Mithras, Red Harvest, Axis of Perdition, Blut Aus Nord, Ministry, Dødheimsgard, Kekal, Invertia, etc.
Highly enjoyable and highly recommended. This is the sound of a mechanised apocalypse.
