We Have A Ghost are from the US and this is their début.
The band play Electronica/Industrial-laced Rock. Think Nine Inch Nails/Mogwai/Ulver and you’re on the right lines.
Other points of reference include the little-known/remembered Electronic Rock band Vitro, who released an excellent album named Distort in 1999 of a similar style, as well as the fantastic experimental Paradise Lost album Host.
This is surprisingly complex music that weaves elaborate soundscapes around itself like a cloak of static and charged beats.
Atmosphere and tone are an important part of the We Have A Ghost sound, as well as fostering a futuristic sense of mystery.
A feeling of foreboding is hidden throughout this album. Sometimes it’s hidden underneath energetic sections and other times it’s right out there in the open.
This reminds me of the build-and-release style of Post-Rock/Metal if it had been given an Electronic/Industrial overhaul and the build/release sections were chopped up, warped and separately focused down into shorter songs.
Varied and expansive, this is a great listen, especially if you’re in the mood for something a bit different. The entire thing plays out like some form of soundtrack and the album is suitably cinematic in scope in this regard.
A slow builder that impresses on first listen but nonetheless really shows its charms after repeated spins; this album is a keeper.
This is the eighth album from Russian band Frozen Swarm.
The band play atmospheric Black Metal/Ambient.
They open with Syzygy which is a wonderfully composed piece of Dark Ambient that sounds straight out of a science fiction film and is a great piece of music.
The second track CE-4 starts in a similar vein until the addition of drums and light Black Metal-esque guitars add a gentle beat to the emerging aural tapestry.
Vocals are present, very much low-key and used like another instrument.
The Sci-Fi/cosmos-themed album is powerfully atmospheric with Black Metal, Electronica and quasi-Industrial sounds merging with a cinematic soundscape to create and involving and absorbing journey into deep space and beyond.
Blut Aus Nord are France’s premier Black Metal/Avant Garde/Industrial/Dark Metal kings, and this is their split with fellow French band P.H.O.B.O.S. who play Industrial Doom.
Each band contributes three songs, with Blut Aus Nord up first. Their songs are as impressive as you would imagine and follow their standard Dark Metal template of Blackened riffs, proficient drumming, atmospheric auras and semi-industrial feelings; like watching urban decay sped up and slowed down at the same time.
Warped and haunting melodies layer these three tracks and engage the listener fully. The first track De Librio Arbitrio is so involving that it’s almost startling to hear vocals in the latter part of the song.
These three songs are bleakly emotive Black Metal and it’s once more apparent why Blut Aus Nord are in a league of their own with very few bands even coming close to a similar style of any real quality. And even though the band are better known for their atmospheres than their riffs, they still know how to kick them out when they need to; listen to that grinding mid-paced riffing in Hùbris. Quality.
And on to the second half of the split; all three tracks by P.H.O.B.O.S. are 7:00 in length, which immediately made me take notice.
This is Dark Industrial Doom that may be different from Blut Aus Nord’s Black Metal but shares the same stylistic headspace. The tracks slither and wind their way around to a backdrop of pounding drums that sound like heavy items being dropped from great height.
If Blut Aus Nord were remixed and regurgitated by Godflesh then the result might not be too far from this. The three tracks pulse nicely with automated, mechanistic darkness and I’m quite happy that I’ve now encountered P.H.O.B.O.S.
This is a premium split that showcases the exceptional talents of both bands and at 40 minutes in length it’s a darn sight longer than most splits.
This is Experimental Black Metal with an Industrial feel. The sound is a very nice one; warm and deep but tinged with a rougher, almost creepy vibe that complements what the band is doing well.
The dark and menacing guitars combine piercing, angular riffs with fuller sounding sections to have a good mix of the both. They seem to creep around the songs with nary a care in the world.
Slouching, at ease; this is Black Metal that’s unhurried and almost free form in its composition in some respects, although everything is held together by the drums on one side and the electronics/effects on the other.
Vocally we have sub-audible mutterings that, like the guitars, only loosely follow what is going on with the rest of the track. Like the guitars though, this lends things a feeling of freedom to explore the surroundings while the aforementioned percussion and noises stop things from wandering off too far.
This is the sound of a band experimenting with Black Metal; exploring the ruins at the base of the genre, collecting what remains of past travellers and using them as a basis for reanimation and a new creation.
I don’t know what they will end up with eventually but I’m quite happy to spend time with them as they build it.
Coming from the US this is Black Metal Noise of the darkest and filthiest order.
This is so not for most people it’s almost funny. Even the majority of hardened Extreme Metal fans would balk at this.
This is a compilation of sorts – we get their 2004 album Noizemongers For Goatserpent, a remix/reinterpretation version of the same from 2010 and a whole host of smaller harder-to-find releases tacked on to the end. All in all there are 79 tracks and 2.5 hours of music. Yes, that’s right. Read it again. 2.5 hours of music. And it’s not easy listening music I can tell you.
Enbilulugugal fuse the most twisted, mutated Black Metal with the harshest of Noise to create a perfect fusion of the two that’s nigh on unlistenable unless you’re in a certain mood or just want to punish yourself. This is the sound of nightmares made urban where the remorseless decay of society is mechanised and abused.
To judge a release such as this as good or bad is missing the point in some ways. It’s more of an experience, or even an endurance test, than any form of pleasurable listening as most people would recognise it.
Upon first playing this it took me a couple of minutes to acclimatise to what I was hearing and adjust myself internally to this new way of existing where I was being constantly buffeted by the capricious whims of noise terrorists via short, rusted aural jabs to the mind. They must have altered my brain chemistry somehow though because after a while I became inured to it all and started to find it strangely endearing.
When you exist in a perpetual state of torment is it common to miss it when it’s gone?
I very much doubt that you have the fortitude to survive this release intact. It is expressly designed to push people away so that only the worthy are left. For the vast majority of people this is simply not music and not worth the time to listen to. For the remaining few, this is Enbilulugugal.
In my recent review of Invertia’s second album Another Scheme for the Wicked, I wrote that it was intriguing, harsh and exciting; my viewpoint hasn’t changed. This is an interesting and novel band and they have released an album worthy of taking the time to get to know it. Questions were asked, and answers were given…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
We are an industrial metal band from the Northeast USA who write progressive oppressive music that you should be paying attention to because your rights are being deprived from you and will soon be taken away by those who oppress you.
Give us a bit of background to Invertia
When we met we knew it was something different from the metal crowd or other genres or if it would even work…that was the second week. And here we are in week…604…
What are your influences?
Its funny you ask. You can not put us into a box full of hashtags but we are entirely influenced by Sabbat, Hank III, Celtic Frost, Slayer, Black Sabbath, Bathory, and The Misfits.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
We don’t listen to music because we have been rehearsing for months. You tell us, has anything good come out?
What did you want to achieve with your new album?
We wrote and wrote and wrote and scratched and wrote more and scratched more and rewrote and ripped apart and scratched it all before we wrote this because we wanted to.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
We write about the exposure of the daily rhetoric of our culture to provoke thought and action. So long as it is not at any of our shows. We are trying to concentrate.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
Actually we have been writing this way for years but now we have added Kurt Gluck from Submerged & Ohm Resistance our record label to help us write which will change things up in who knows what way.
Tell us about the remixes – how do you think they relate to the originals?
That’s a good question. The artists chosen are some of the best in their genres and you get to see how another artist interprets the song & how their creativity comes out of them through the music that we wrote.
Are you happy with how it all turned out?
It is a fresh take. It’s exciting.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
We want to grow and expand our sound/style and expertise as much with our next album as we did with our first and second album.
Invertia are from the US and play Industrial Black Metal.
This is a release of two halves – the first five tracks are the album songs, and then the second five tracks are the album songs remixed. Side A and a Side B if you like, with Side B being longer than the first.
This is inventive and oppressive as only the best of Black Metal can be.
As extreme as this is they still know how to write songs. As warped and twisted as they are, and also know a good hook when they hear one.
The heavy effects, samples and noise conspire with the Black Metal core to create a claustrophobic and dense listening experience that coils around your brain and won’t let go until you have sworn blind fealty and obedience.
The tracks offer a bruising Industrial pounding with their blackened atmosphere, and there is a fair amount of variety on these tracks that it almost seems like different bands playing sometimes. It certainly seems like they have about five vocalists. Don’t mistake this as criticism though, this is a top release.
And all this is even before we get to Side B; the remixes.
I’m not normally a fan of remixes, as they are rarely done well, (in my experience). Here is an exception though as these reinterpretations of the originals feel like a continuance of the album and a further exploration into the dark psyche of the band, rather than being some novelty just tacked onto the end of a release, as is so often the case.
Intriguing, harsh and exciting; this is an album to keep returning to.
This is the début album by Italian atmospheric Doom band Buioingola.
The vocals sound like someone shouting into a bucket and are strangely effective for this. They are set to a backdrop of apocalyptic Doom that wells up with despair and loss to the point of overflow.
The darkly melodic guitars speak of a deep dissatisfaction with the way things are, while the generalised aura of suicidal fragility permeates everything. Even when the band play more up-tempo the atmosphere is still very much down-tempo. In this regard they are not dissimilar to Deinonychus with their all-pervading mood of misery.
The icy feel of the riffs seem to leech all life and energy out of the room as you’re listening to it, drawing you further into the web of negativity that the band conspire to propagate.
Sorrowful guitar melodies, distorted noise Industrial effects, Post-Metal meanderings and some Hardcore/Crust bravado all added to a Doom core and an all-encompassing air of gloom mean that this is a heartfelt journey into someone’s bleakest nightmare.
Apparently Buioingola means “darkness in my throat”. Sounds about right to me.
Our Last Enemy have recently released their latest album Pariah, in all its Industrial Metal glory. I got to grill Matt Heywood and Oliver Fogwell from the band about the album and what makes them march to the pulsing, Industrial beat.
For those who are unfamiliar with you – introduce yourself!
We’re Our Last Enemy and we’re from Sydney, Australia. We play a type of Industrial Metal. We like the listener to decide what it is exactly. We are: Oli – Vocals Bizz – Guitar Jeff – Keys Matt – Bass Zot – Drums
How did you form?
The band was formed in late 2006 in Sydney, by Oli, Jeff and myself (Matt), and we were introduced by a mutual friend after our previous bands had disbanded.
Bizz joined the band in 2010 after leaving his previous band Genitorturers and re-locating to Sydney and was also introduced by mutual friends.
Zot joined the band in 2013 and had originally played in a band with Oli before Our Last Enemy. It’s all in the family here down under! There’s a lot of history and experience between the members having played in various bands for many years.
What are your influences?
We all have different a varied styles of music that we listen to individually, with the common thread being metal, electronic music and just plain weird shit!
In terms of what influences us, I guess we influence each other when someone brings in an idea for a song and what that idea makes the rest of us feel or think.
What are you listening to at the moment that you want to recommend?
Well I know all 5 of us love the new-ish ‘Bring Me The Horizon’ album, I know they’re very “scene” and popular at the moment – But that album is fucking brilliant! So we would recommend that album for people who can look past their “scenester” audience.
I’m also listening to Phil Anselmo’s new album – Walk Through Exits Only – Its great! It’s a no bullshit album that doesn’t pull any punches and doesn’t try to be one form of heavy music or fit into some sub-genre! Phil is still one of the best frontmen in the world!
Why did you decided to incorporate Industrial and atmospheric parts into your songs, rather than just sticking to the more “traditional” instruments?
That’s a good question – probably because anything traditional bores the living fuck out of us! All 5 of us would rather punch ourselves repeatedly in the testicles than listen to an entire album of like…U2 or Coldplay or something like that.
But I guess it’s because we all love different styles of music even some “traditional” style of rock music… some.
So there was never really a moment where we decided to incorporate industrial or atmospheric parts into our songs it’s just what we do.
Are you happy with how the album came out?
Yeah, very happy… Having Christian (Olde Wolbers – ex Fear Factory) on board as producer was great, it was a great learning curve for us and it was great to have his experience in the studio.
We tried to give the listener as much value as possible, choosing our favourite songs and also adding the remixes from Mortiis, Angel (Dope) and Travis (Divine Hersey) who we thought did a great job.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
There is a central theme to the album on a character we call ‘Pariah’ who causes/follows/is a witness to anything devastating in our world, whether it’s the past, present or future. He doesn’t die, he doesn’t live. He’s is neither the devil nor god, he is just devastation. Or a very unlucky soul.
What is your aim with Our Last Enemy – what do you want to achieve?
Our answer would be the same as any honest band or artist, without getting into a particular agenda – we want to get our music out to as many people as possible, pushing our particular style of art as far as we can, which we hope will lead to a strong career so we can continue to make music.
What does the future hold for Our Last Enemy?
Well, our album drops on March 11th 2014 all over North America through Eclipse Records. We will be doing a North American tour soon, which we can’t elaborate on anymore at the moment and in the meantime we’re writing our second album. We like to stay busy.
German band Gloom Warfare play a form of Industrial Doom/Death that takes the blueprint laid down by old Godflesh and Pitchshifter and uses it to build their own world.
This is a slow-burning, gradual-destruction kind of album, where the tracks move inexorably towards their ultimate conclusion. The nihilistic atmosphere builds as the songs do.
The mood radiated by each track is the kind where you just need to fall into a bit of a semi-trance-like state and soak up the vibes of the album. Long distance journeys or getting a large tattoo; something you can almost zone-out to.
The onwards martial march of the songs is an almost-unbearable constant. Initially when listening to this I wasn’t too impressed, but slowly the relentless driving force that powers this 61 minute album gets under the skin and worms its way into your brain. If you give it the time to saturate your senses then Post Apocalyptical Downfall has lots to offer; this is not an instant album and not one for light listening.
I would prefer a slightly more even sound, with a bit more emphasis given to the clarity of the guitars, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
If you’re in a particular kind of mood then this is a really good album. With a few tweaks to the sound the next one could be great.
We Have A Ghost are from the US and this is their début.
Wonderbox Metal 