Darkwave and synth have been seeing a push in popularity thanks to the hugely successful Netflix series, Stranger Things. The television show which is set in the eighties opening theme has acted as a gateway into synthwave with more and more people checking out the dark and ominous blend of electronic sound.
As shitty as the political climate can be, the one silver lining you can rely on is that it’s going to inspire artists and musicians young and old to create some remarkable work. After a long slumber the boys in R.A.M.B.O. woke up to a world of alternative facts, conspiracy theories run amok, Boris Johnson and tales of “rigged” elections. All that kind of nonsense is the stuff that stimulates folks to create albums like Defy Extinction (Relapse Records).
The “final” movie in the Halloween film series has been released in theaters, and trust us, it rules! Our return to Haddonfield, Illinois and Michael Myers brough us this awesome movie by Blumhouse Studios, directed by David Gordon Green and produced by John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Green, and Danny McBride among others, the soundtrack has several bangers on it. In addition to the classic Halloween theme song and a score by Carpenter and his son Cody and Daniel Davies tracks include “Halloween” by Dead Kennedys, Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult, and “Burn It Down” by Boy Harsher.
Not even a year on from their last EP, Boston Manor is back with their fourth full-length album, Datura (Sharptone Records). Over the past five years, the band has made a name for themselves by upping the ante with each release. Anticipation is high for Datura to see what the quintet can create next, with news of the band delving deeper into concept albums for the release, this is raised even further.
Horror and death metal is just as much comfort food for me as peanut butter and jelly is for others. It just goes so well together, that it’s impossible not to do the brutal combination. Heads For The Dead have crept back out from their catacombs to deliver their blood and a venom-soaked third full-length album, The Great Conjuration (Transcending Obscurity).Continue reading
Forest Nocturne (Southern Lord) is the debut full-length LP from The Lord, a solo project of the ever-prolific Greg Anderson, perhaps best known for his work with Sunn O))). The press release uses words like “pictorial” and “cinematic”, and mentions the influence of film composers such as John Carpenter and Bernard Hermann. Continue reading
Best known as the brainchild behind Egyptian obsessives Nile, vocalist, lyricist, and multi-instrumentalist Karl Sanders returns to more atmospheric, ambient territories with his latest solo album Saurian Apocalypse (Napalm Records). For the third entry in his ongoing Saurian saga, Sanders tells the story of the fictional Dr. Eduardo Lucciani, one of a handful of survivors of a man-made apocalypse who slowly loses his mind after discovering the secrets of his reptilian masters. Continue reading
One of the more leftfield collaborations of 2022 so far, see’s French electro maestro Perturbator (aka James Kent) purveyor of heavily eighties-influenced dark-wave join forces with Johannes Persson, vocalist/guitarist and principle songwriter for Swedish post-metal innovators Cult Of Luna. The collaboration first bared fruit early in 2020 as Holland’s Roadburn Festival, the legendary celebration of heavy and experimental music offered Perturbator and Johannes the opportunity to collaborate with a specially commissioned live performance.
After some serious consideration, I’ve decided that the sounds featured on I Klatus’ Targeted (Dead Sage) would totally make sense in a David Lynch film. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a compliment of the highest regard. Lynch made his bones in the film industry by following his own non-linear muse and at many times incorporating rad sounds into his work (see the Lost Highway soundtrack). I Klatus doesn’t mind taking some strange left turns and certainly isn’t interested in traditional songcraft.
Originally planned for release last year, the fourth album from Welsh progressive doomsters MWWB (formerly known as Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard) had to be delayed after guitarist Paul Michael ‘Dave’ Davies suffered an almost life-ending Covid-related stroke from which he is still recovering. Recorded before his illness, The Harvest (New Heavy Sounds) finally sees the light of day but due to lockdown restrictions in place at the time, the Wrexham five-piece was reduced in size for the recording, the band losing guitarist Wes Leon, and bringing in Black Moth drummer Dom McReady to fill in for regular sticksman James ‘Carrat’ Carrington.Continue reading