Latest Reviews

Zaraza is a Canadian band that combines the industrial metal of Godflesh with death-doom. In theory, that would've been acceptable for my taste. Unfortunately, many parts drone on for so long, there's too much f***ing fuzz, and the overuse of samples are too much sh*t to handle. The two tracks I like and don't find disturbing are "Every Day is a Funeral" and "Necessary", the latter having great potential for doom fans. Everything else is just unnecessary sh*t, and that's enough deathly industrial metal for me today....

Favorites (only two tracks I like): "Every Day is a Funeral", "Necessary"

Now this is the death metal I prefer, when its blend has more emphasis on industrial instead of the blackened crust of Deathrite. See, I'm the kind of person who would like to explore at least one thing from different metal genres while I'm still alive and can hear well and even see well. Oh yeah, sight is also important so you know the name of the band and album you're listening to along with the cover art. But you can also close your eyes and focus on the music your ears would witness. The music can range from soothing white noise to thunderous heaviness, the way industrial death metal should.

I think I like Worldly Separation more than their other album Perspectives! Remember, Inner Thought was formed by guitarist Bobby Sadzak, formerly of thrash band Slaughter. At that time, Slaughter went under a name, Strappado. For Inner Thought, Sadzak was in charge of all the instruments, including guitars, keyboards, drum programming, and most of the bass. The only other member was vocalist Kelly Montico. The album was also dedicated to war victims around the world. Worldly Separation has more deathly might than Perspectives while still having that industrial atmosphere. I've mentioned that Perspectives is like a continuation of Fear Factory's Soul of a New Machine. Worldly Separation is like a continuation of Fear Factory's demo album Concrete, more deathly while still industrial, and at times reminding some of Morbid Angel.

The haunting intro "Madness" consists of church organ and prophetic spoken vocals. That may be more suitable for a black metal album or something. The title track reigns supreme with its mid-paced march, soon interrupted by a quick blast-beat/keyboard storm. Female singing by guest Andrea Skewes in "Drowning in Sorrow" alternates with the usual growls by Montico, making things sound more cryptic.

Although there's nothing totally bad about this album, "In Ourselves We Trust" has keys that pop up too quickly. Adding different aspects helps get lyrical messages across in "War", in which war sirens and spoken samples float behind the industrial rhythm. Bobby's wife Susan Sadzak provides a spoken narrative in the perspective of a person who lost her family at war, "My husband and two children have been killed in this war, now I am all alone." The band has done well in detailing the tragic consequences of war in that bleak track. Then there's the straight-up deathly "Diseased Infected Earth" with the only industrial thing being the beat.

"Forever Distant" continues that sound, giving their death metal side more atmosphere. It's slightly annoying but still cool. But if you really want the heaviest this album has to offer, "Disorder of Battles" has it all. The riffing speed goes on and off, and when it goes on, it's WAY on. The serene background keys never reduce the rampage. A different track from the rest is the closing track "Ethnic Cleansing", just drone death-doom until it speeds up a bit, sounding like My Dying Bride's debut from the previous year.

I would say Worldly Separation is a deathly work of art with splashes of industrial that almost cover the canvas. It stands slightly above Perspectives, and throughout these 35 minutes, you can really hear their talent and dedication!

Favorites: "Worldly Separation", "Drowning in Sorrow", "War", "Disorder of Battles"

Weapons of Mass Seduction is a massive two-disc cover album by Lord of the Lost, following the previous year's Blood & Glitter. Similarly to that album, different highlights are scattered throughout this one for a dark yet fun experience...

There are 22 cover tracks, 11 per disc, with the second one being part of a deluxe edition. Apparently, there's also super-deluxe edition with a 3rd disc with 10 cover songs, but the original artists for those songs in that disc are long before my time, so let's ignore that for now. For the two main discs, they spread through many different eras and genres, centered around the band's favorite tracks. And many of these songs are great choices!

"Shock to the System", originally by Billy Idol, is a solid start but not totally necessary. Then heading into some of the new songs, Sia's "Unstoppable" is given a total rock makeover. That makes me feel more unstoppable than the original! Next track "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat has been covered by many rock/metal bands, most notably Paradise Lost. This is closer to the original style, which I usually don't like when the original song isn't metal. However, the melancholy sounds absolutely right in the music. The Judas Priest hit "Turbo Lover" has also been covered, again showing the diversity of this release. It can match the energy of those British metal legends, even though vocalist Chris Harms can never reach the highs of Rob Halford. Ultravox's "Hymn" works well as a Lord of the Lost cover with its catchy chorus. The screaming bridge is a nice surprise. I might just like this more than Edguy's cover of that song! The cover of Michael Jackson's "Give in to Me" once again enhances the original by the King of Pop. They even have the guitar solo originally performed by Slash, unlike in Three Days Grace's cover.

The Bishop Briggs cover "River" is quite impressive, when everything including the catchy chorus is metalized. "Somewhere Only We Know" greatly improves the Keane original by making it more than just a piano ballad. I often get confused when I find out a band has covered "(I Just) Died In Your Arms". My Trivium-filled mind makes me think it's that song "Dying in Your Arms". But of course not, it's that Cutting Crew single. Still it's a perfect 80s throwback, with Chris Harms in a duet with Anica Russo, the band's Eurovision competitor. It's like Romeo and Juliet in more ways that one! "High" is a cover of a song by Zella Day, which I've never even heard before. It's a cool cover, and I don't wanna alter my opinion by checking out the original. Now, "House on a Hill"... Is that a Kamelot cover? I would love to hear that! Oh wait, it's a song by The Pretty Reckless. It's an OK track, though a little soft and having too much of the piano.

Disc 2 begins with the last track of Blood & Glitter, a cover of Roxette's "The Look", featuring Jasmin Wagner, also known as German popstar Blümchen. A perfect cover, and arguably this album's true standout! RIP Marie Fredriksson... "Ordinary Town" is another track in which I don't know the original song, performed by Celebrate the Nun. Not so good, but it's fine. "Cha Cha Cha" is a cover of a song by Kaarija that was originally for the Finnish Eurovision. I quite love that one! Lady Gaga's "Judas" is given a cover, and this may confuse some earlier fans who are familiar with the band's double album Judas. "Children of the Damned" is a special Iron Maiden cover, again turning a NWOBHM song into a more gothic track. "Wig in a Box" was originally from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The piano and vocals aren't that great, but it gets better when it's heavy.

And then we get another Lady Gaga cover, "Bad Romance", which I love more than that other one. "The Most Radical Thing to Do" by The Ark has good lyrics, although I never even heard of the original band before. "This Is the Life" takes an Amy Macdonald song and turns it into another catchy track. Pet Shop Boys' "It's a Sin" may be an overused pop song, but Lord of the Lost made it more epic, even more than Gamma Ray's cover! And finally we end with a beautiful cover of Duran Duran's "Ordinary World". Although they've really done that song justice, even with Chris Harms' bass-baritone vocal range (similar to my own), I still prefer Mechina's cover, which sadly isn't on Spotify.

All in all, Weapons of Mass Seduction is a versatile display of Lord of the Lost's influences, staying true to the sound of both worlds. This should be listened to by anyone who either likes or dislikes the originals. It shall really please any music fan....

Favorites: "Unstoppable", "Smalltown Boy", "Hymn", "River", "(I Just) Died In Your Arms", "The Look", "Cha Cha Cha", "Children of the Damned", "Bad Romance", "It's a Sin", "Ordinary World"

A surprisingly Gothic affair from the kings of Neue Deutsche Harte. While retaining the rhythmic four on floor patterns and simple anthemic structures, Rammstein integrate Gothic and epic atmospheres into their songs. The extra layers add more power, but also a smoothness that the expert production does a great job of layering. The atmospheric depth definitely help alleviate the weakness of how repetitive the songs and structures are in this style of music. Till’s vocals fit quite well with the Gothic sound as well, the natural gruffness sounding right at home.

There is a weakness the new style brings though. The glaring issue are that Rammstein are not an emotional or moody band. Gothic Metal excels at evoking emotion, but when the band isn’t doing that, the genre sounds rather hollow. The result here is Gothic-esque atmospherics being added, without any of the mood or emotion. So, it’s a nice smooth layer of music, but nothing else.

As with their previous albums, Rammstein kind of rely on the listeners enjoying rhythm and danceable tunes. They do a great job of creating simple yet dense songs with tons of finely tuned details under the beats. Yet, the instruments in the forefront, that being the guitars and drums, don’t do much. The riffs and leads are quite boring, and the drumming is basic and repetitive. The vocals are neat, but limited, having decent power, but not crafting any memorable melodies.

Good quality album for fans of this sound. But it has more flaws than an album of such reputation should.

Some of you might've heard this band from their industrialized cover of Celtic Frost's "Morbid Tales" for a tribute album. While the idea of industrial death metal with drum programming has been done before to less than desirable results at the time, Inner Thought has done it right in Perspectives...

Formed by guitarist Bobby Sadzak, Inner Thought takes some thrashy death metal from his previous work in Canadian band Slaughter and mixes it together with industrial metal for an interesting combo. The programmed drumming sounds so inhuman and works side-by-side with the electronic keyboards. The end result is what Fear Factory would sound like at that time, if that band didn't drop most of their death metal elements in Demanufacture. All in haunting steel!

"Words" is already the best start of the album, and I have no words to describe it. The next track "Sanctioned Situations" is filled with unpredictability in the riffing and the vocals. For the latter, there's some serene female singing by Mary Giordano, giving the heavy darkness some light. The main vocalist Dennis Balesdent has the ability to switch from deathly growls to blackened shrieks. With that and the melodeath leads, they've gotten a bit of that Gothenburg sound months before At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul. "Bed of Nails" starts off with a gothic synth intro then makes its way into a deathly blend of Circle of Dust and Grin-era Coroner.

"Tortured" is an effective highlight, almost as much as the similarly titled Sonic Violence track. Except it's heavier, more upbeat, and instead of the opening sample being Mozart's "Dies Irae", it's a seductive movie sample. "Observe" has some riffing similar to Zao without ever going as hardcore as that band.

The most f***ed up sh*t in the album is in "Autodogmatic". Dennis attempts to do some rapping at one part, and it really ruins the song for me. Rapping doesn't belong in these extreme albums! Perspectives would've been perfect without it. Luckily that mistake is brushed aside in "Rack of Lethargy". Fast thrashy riffing comes on before some more samples and fun keys. That's what early extreme industrial metal should be! The spooky synth title outro fades away nicely into darkness.

Perspectives is a solid example of death metal gone sci-fi, similar to early Fear Factory. I think Inner Thought has really emphasized the fear in that factory. Any metalhead should get a hold of this and explore what this album has to offer. Of course, you have that d*mn rapping part to blame for lessening the essentiality....

Favorites: "Words", "Sanctioned Situations", "Tortured", "Rack of Lethargy"

The most popular era of KMFDM began with their album Nihil and would carry on to their next album Xtort. At this point, they were really rising as the industrial rock pioneers they've been known to be. They also introduced some aspects to industrial music that were barely used in industrial back then such as fast punk-ish tempos. They would pave the way for other popular German industrial rock/metal bands such as Rammstein.

The songs in Xtort are as great as the ones in Nihil. It's a nice variety with some songs I find superb and others I find OK. And that's interesting because I usually prefer my industrial metal to have more of the metal...

"Power" begins with what sounds like a phone call before the instrumentation slowly builds up. It's an excellent start to this album and would make a great show starter. I enjoy the chorus that sounds like if they collaborated with the Muses from Disney's Hercules. "Apathy" has too much mud in the sound, though it gets clearer when they slow down. "Rules" has enjoyable vocals. Male/female vocal combos are not common in industrial metal, and that's something I enjoy in one of The Sphere's later bands, Mechina.

"Craze" has good vocals, but the instrumentation falls into the same muddy trap. "Dogma" starts off with strange alien synths before Nicole Blackman provides spoken vocals. In all honesty, that song might remind some more of Devo. "Inane" is INSANE!!! Sascha Konietzko performs his usual vocal distortion alongside rising chords, singing about the band themselves and their greatness. The country-ish guitars are also quite fun. Fantastic highlight! Next up, "Blame" has a nice midtempo intro of hardcore guitar melodies. The instrumentation stands out as well, even going far as to using brass horns!

"Son of a Gun" has more of that male vocal distortion. It's also used in the chorus while harmonized by the female singing. They really explore a lot in the synth department. "Ikons" continues the vocal distortion with some machine FX. "Wrath" is a strong way out. Everything's in great balance including the vocals and production. I enjoy the lyrics and synth breaks. Then it all ends with the last bit of strange synth noises. Finally, "Fairy" is an unusual hidden track with just piano and an eerie voice reading a fairytale.

For any KMFDM listeners out there, you don't wanna miss out on this great example of this sound. You can listen to the album while taking a night drive in your car. Beats and heaviness can sound quite good together....

Favorites: "Power", "Rules", "Inane", "Blame", "Wrath"

Released in 1998, ‘Hellbilly Deluxe’ is the debut solo album by Rob Zombie, taking his first steps into a solo career after the disbandment of his former group, White Zombie. With plenty of horror overtones and imagery, and a huge-sounding production, giving the music an incredibly big, beefy sound, it’s a high-octane adrenaline ride of industrial and groove metal.

Well, the first few songs, anyway.

The album starts off with some absolute bangers, such as ‘Superbeast’, ‘Demonoid Phenomenon’, ‘Living Dead Girl’, and of course, the dance floor filler, ‘Dragula’. These are all fantastic songs that combine heavy grooves and thumping beats, and Rob’s instantly recognisable gravelly vocals are great for getting the listener pumped up. Overall, he has a great sound and style going on here. But it’s not to last.

Sadly, I find that after those few tracks, the album gets quite repetitive. I struggle not to zone out, but it feels like I’m hearing the same song over and over. Even the vocals, both melodies and lyrics, start to feel quite samey in every song. It’s frustrating, because the album starts on such a high, but from the midway point, my interest just seems to vanish.

There are a few songs with weird vocal effects or some such tomfoolery, as well as some “interlude” songs, and none of these inspire me to pay closer attention. And it’s a shame, because I am a Rob Zombie fan, and while ‘Hellbilly Deluxe’ generally seems pretty well-received, I just can’t seem to enjoy it all the way through. Regardless, if the first few songs are anything to go by, Mr. Zombie’s solo career should be an exciting ride, and I look forward to checking out his next album!

The Russian cyber/industrial metal scene has spawned a few cool bands like Illidiance. A more lesser-known band, Conflиct practically revives the groove-fueled industrial metal of mid-90s Fear Factory. I'm familiar with the vocals of Anna Hel from her guest appearances with Mechina, so let's find out if she has that strength in this album....

Conflиct has diverse maturity in their songwriting. The blend of industrial and groove is quite fresh and is different from how other bands do it. I enjoy Anna Hel's growls here, filled with emotion and passion. However, her cleans rely a little too much on autotune and almost come out as unnatural. I'm glad her contributions with Mechina involve just her growls. The riffing is often djenty, though they sometimes soften in the background to let the vocals shine.

"Circular Transition" displays that sound right away. The catchy heavy-melodic blend is similar to other bands like Amaranthe and Raintime. Anna Hel can perform her deep barks and softer singing quite well here. The djenty riffing doesn't cease in "Low Frequency Addicted". Then "Impulse Control Disorder" continues the brutality while having melodic sections that are like a more futuristic Trail of Tears. Next track "Mechanism of Life" is a true winning highlight. It sounds nicely like a sequel to the title track of Mechina's "The Assembly of Tyrants", along with having a Xerath-esque blend of symphonics and groove elements. I also love the anthemic chorus.

"Rebuild the Parasite" is another killer banger. Ambient electronic interlude "Lost Signal" is quite fascinating. It's a nice under 3-minute dystopian audio experience. "Red Line" has catchy melody alongside the industrial heaviness of late Red Harvest. "Half Man, Half Machine" has more of the djenty machinery. Keep in mind though that there's more of the industrial side of the sound to balance things out.

"Infinite Travel" is more deathly than the rest, similar to both Obscura and Omnium Gatherum, though there's still the usual melodic chorus. "The Elements of a New Era" is a perfect exploration through the more progressive side of the industrial/groove metal sound, and the vocals are better here. "Invisible Thread" has the most of the band's Fear Factory influences, maybe even Voivod, along with some deathly ideas from Becoming the Archetype and early Bleed from Within. The 14-minute ambient "Transformation" never really does much, but it's still good at some points. Some editions have a bonus track that is a wicked cover of the unreleased Fear Factory track "Ammunition".

It's actually quite cool how much of a master Anna Hel is at covering Fear Factory songs. She has also covered "New Breed" and "Zero Signal", the latter with The Last Bear Ender. Anyway, Conflиct have their cinematic djent-ish industrial groove metal sound going on that intrigues me. For those wanting more of the heavier side of Sybreed but with a female vocalist, I would recommend this offering. And I'm up to hearing more of Anna Hel's vocals. Well, mostly her growls....

Favorites: "Circular Transition", "Mechanism of Life", "Rebuild the Parasite", "Half Man, Half Machine", "The Elements of a New Era", "Invisible Thread"

Sonic Violence made a near-perfect industrial metal classic in their 1990 album Jagd. Then their second, and so far final, album Transfixion, released two years later, was a drop to electro-industrial. I'm sure many industrial metal fans were thinking, "What the f***ing h*ll just happened!?"

There are still a few good points to note about Transfixion. While there isn't any metal or guitars, they can maintain the heavy bleakness of Jagd with their other instruments. Here we have more of the monolithic drumming, massive bass, melodic synths, and mechanical vocals. Of all these, I think I like the vocals the most, as well as some of the lyrics. They sound simple yet professionally written...

We start off with the mesmerizing "Asphyxia", which starts off strong at first, but as those 10 minutes go by, it gradually becomes weak and monotonous. The samples and synths are just too off-putting. Attempts at experimentation like some brief trumpet to start "Mind Field" end up killing the momentum. One track I really like is "Factory" with some of the best lyrics, "On your knees, you must pray, confess your sins, confess your lies". Those robotic vocals appear after the intro filled with windy synths, bass riffing, and a background movie sample. The sludgy crushing groove I can tolerate. This goes on before ending with different synths and samples.

I can't stand the sample that kicks off "Torment", though the punky riffing it leads to is d*mn fascinating. I also don't get why the robotic vocals had to sound so goofy. See, this is one of those tracks that's half-enjoyable half-atrocious. And while the synths still don't sound appealing, at least we still have the mechanical beats. A more confusing track is "J.F.R.O.", this one having a cool beat yet instead of metal guitars that would make this sound like Godflesh, more of those f***ing techno synths ruin it all. One track that works well is "Drill" with synths and choirs flowing well in synergy. The synths may get repetitive towards the end, but the rest is as good as it gets. "Malice" is just hard to take seriously, right from the intro. "Catalepsy (remix)" has some industrial experimentation not too far off from Voivod's Phobos, but it's not that great either.

I don't know how to sum up Transfixion further. This blend of mechanical bass and unwanted synths only has some strength in a couple tracks. I would love this more if there were actual metal guitars throughout, less emphasis on synths, and none of those sh*tty samples. I would recommend this to electro-industrial fans and no one else.....

Favorites (only two songs I like): "Factory", "Drill"

One of the albums that marked a defining landmark in industrial metal is Godflesh's Streetcleaner. The torch would be shared with other different bands of this genre and era. While they don't the reach the same glory as Streetcleaner, the debut album by Sonic Violence comes close. The band releases two albums, including this one, and 3 EPs before disappearing for nearly 3 decades. Jagd is a bleak heavy continuation of Godflesh's sound in Streetcleaner, albeit by a much lesser-known band.

Guitars are the key, and so are the d*mn destructive drums! They're often slow and sludgy with not much speed. All just repetitive yet mighty rhythms. The guitars are pretty much rhythmic all the way through. There aren't any harmonics that are as slashing as the cover art (see what I mean!?). Those riff chords have an apocalyptic vibe and perfectly fit well with the bass and drums. As a result, the tone is filled with menacing power. Honestly, I love old-school industrial metal when it has that mechanical rage going on, unlike the more dance-y sh*t from some bands. You can't give the machine any impact to make it stop. The impact that happens is what the machine gives you.

A peaceful synth intro in "Saturation" plays before the bleak industrial riffing crashes in and crushes anything its path. Another track "Crystalization" has wild punky speed to spice things up a bit. "Blasphemer" continues that style sounding more active. However, I question its position in the tracklisting. The fast and slow songs should alternate between one another rather one category back to back and the other the same. Maybe if they fixed that problem, they would've been more popular than they've already been.

Next track "Tortured (Dub)" is quite an effective one. It starts with a sample of Mozart's "Dies Irae". Then we have devastating on-off guitar riffing in mechanical greatness. You can also hear some lovely synths later on. The harsh vocals fit greatly with the lyrics. Next track "Adrenalin" has a slow steady pace. "Ritual" is a loud puncher with simple yet intriguing lyrics, "For devotion, read mental abuse, to bind together, the love prostitutes". Next track "Symptom" is short and less varied, but it doesn't need to have a lot to sound awesome, especially in the final climax.

The final 3 tracks originally came from the Sacrifice to Strength EP recorded the previous year, starting with "Force". Sometimes you don't have to go as thrashy as God Forbid or The Haunted to sound metal, you can just things slow. "Manic" has some of the mechanical industrial metal Fear Factory would have a few years later. "Glory" shines with its industrial metal glory.

Sonic Violence has created an album of bleak heaviness that isn't as perfect as Streetcleaner but still amazing. This is for anyone into Godflesh and old-school industrial metal. Jagd might just be my favorite industrial metal album from 1990 or earlier that isn't Godflesh. A true recommendation!

Favorites: "Saturation", "Tortured (Dub)", "Ritual", "Symptom", "Glory"

I'm no stranger to instrumental progressive metal. I've listened to bands and artists like Liquid Tension Experiment, Animals as Leaders, Plini, and Scale the Summit. The question is, what is the earliest progressive metal band to be solely instrumental? This might be debatable, but Kong might just be the king! Actually they mix the genre with industrial metal, though that's beside the point.

Their 1990 debut Mute Poet Vocalizer came out at a time when instrumental progressive metal was barely a thing, much less progressive industrial metal. While the album became d*mn elusive after all its copies were bought, well, thank greatness for YouTube and Spotify! Anyway, barely anything disappoints me in this offering.

"Hok" is a great start, with everything set up by the groovy audible bass by Mark Drillich. "Fair" has a fairly mellow pace. It's another great track, but nothing too special worth noting. "P.R.O.K.O.V." has cool riffing by guitar duo Aldo Sprenger and Dirk de Vries. While some might consider the circus audio sample odd, it helps make that track one of my favorites here. "7/8" is all about the 7/8 time signature.

"200 Max" takes things to more quadrophonic levels, making it another unique highlight. "Cramp" is the longest track but also the weakest. It's still good though, and the album's rating isn't affected. "Quiet!" is so unique with different layers, exemplifying the band's progressive side.

"2:14" is another progressive instrumental that sounds good but not the best. "Cows" is another true highlight. There's barely anything anyone in metal had ever tried before from the strange guitar to the effective keyboards and great bass. An intense instrumental that should be remembered! The CD edition has two bonus track, starting with "Base", slow while gradually heavy. "Hop" really hops around for an ending track, with some fun drumming by Rob Smits.

Mute Poet Vocalizer might just be an early pioneering album of both instrumental progressive metal and progressive industrial metal. It's so unique and sounds fresh for an early 90s albums. Go get it, Infinite/Sphere members!

Favorites: "Hok", "P.R.O.K.O.V.", "200 Max", "Quiet!", "Cows", "Hop"

Neue Deutsche Härte has always been a hit-and-miss for me, with more misses than hits. Stahlhammer is one of those bands in that league that sound so weird and dirty, and not in the way I like. To be honest, Wiener Blut is pretty much a f***ing joke of an album, heavy relying on humor with not much of the destructive seriousness metal should have. You might understand it more if you can translate the German into English. And the length is sh*tloads long, with 17 tracks in over an hour!

"Bruderkrieg", the first full song, isn't too bad, having massive guitar fury. There are two covers, starting with the horrid "Boom Boom-Shake the Room", one of the most sh*tty covers I've heard. On the other hand, their cover of MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" is the total opposite, being the best track here fitting in the "metalizing covers" category.

I don't have much else to say, other than very well the worst album in this troublesome subgenre of NDH. Let's f***ing boogie.... NOT!

Favorites (only tracks I even slightly like): "Bruderkrieg", "Can't Touch This"

I first got into Pitchshifter when I heard the song ‘Genius’ on the soundtrack to ‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’ way back in the late 90’s. I loved that song back then, and very quickly got into albums like ‘Deviant’, ‘PSI’ and ‘www.pitchshifter.com’. I enjoyed their energetic industrial style and their rebellious attitude, and these were very impressionable on a young, teenage me.

But then it came time to delve into their back catalogue and check out their debut album, and… what the hell happened here?!

Gone is the industrial energy and rebellious anthems, and in their place, is some sludgy, grimy, death metal nonsense. Not that I really have anything against sludge or death metal for the record, but I just find this album plods along at a very slow, very dull, and very repetitive rate. The incoherent vocals, indistinguishable guitar riffs and mechanical drum machines do nothing for me.

And I tried. I really did. I had this on my playlist for a little while and gave it multiple listens, but absolutely nothing is sticking. I just find myself constantly bored and wanting to listen to any one of the bands later releases, which I know they’ll go on to release some true industrial gems. So with that said, this will retire to the CD shelf, most likely to never be played again, but kept because my collector OCD dictates that it needs to stay with the rest of my Pitchshifter collection.

Skrew, the band led by Adam Grossman, took a decade off from their career, reforming in 2009 and having a new album released 5 years later. The temporary split-up was due to lack of label support as a result of poor attention for this album Angel Seed XXIII. And I can understand that...

There are some things in this album that have skrewed with fans (pun somewhat intended). The earlier guitar attack is reduced, adding a bit more industrial in the industrial metal. And while the earlier riffing is still around, it has slowed down from the earlier thrash. It sounds a little closer to groove metal or, dare I say, nu metal. So there aren't as many sharps as there are dulls in the guitarwork.

Opening the album is the bumpy groove track "Open Up". Then we have the dark sludgy "Sea Man". It rolls through reminding some of Soulstorm, with nothing monotonous compared to some of the other tracks. Things get more dynamic in the loud "Seventh Eye".

It leads to the next track "King of the Hole" which tries to make some harmonic aggression but ends up becoming a poor Pantera rip-off. The band's ravaging side is toned down for the industrial ballad "Porcelain". Balancing things out again by galloping through dynamics is "Kosmo's Seed". Then we have more of the slow sludge in "Sputnik", great for a motorcycle ride in the night.

The KMFDM EDM usage in "Angel Suck" is a little too much. I'm annoyed by the machinery used in "Horsey (Man)" in their attempt to sound like Godflesh. "Slip" is a slip into an acoustic sound that sounds too f***ing dull for me. After some silence and a couple outtakes, "Helter Skelter" begins. A kick-A industrial metal cover of a Beatles classic!

Angel Seed XXIII was, similarly to a Metallica song from the same year that uses the same drop D-flat tuning as the majority of this album, a BAD SEED for many listeners. After the band's decade-long split, they would return 5 years after reforming with Universal Immolation, an album that shows a more deathly sound while maintaining the industrial roots. But for now, Angel Seed XXIII is a bittersweet taste of their industrial metal sound gone less thrashy. A decent album, yet not a total winner....

Favorites: "Sea Man", "Seventh Eye", "Kosmo's Seed", "Sputnik", "Helter Skelter"

It's strange how sometimes even the weirdest, most vulgar industrial metal releases end up being so intriguing to me. I guess since I was able to explore Genitorturers' discography and the Nine Inch Nails EP that was made one of the most obscene short films in the 90s, I have no trouble checking out Bile's second album Teknowh*re.

Bile has known how to go all extreme and experimental with their brand of industrial metal. As with Nine Inch Nails, they are brave enough to stand up against the man and push the boundaries of industrial rock/metal, musically and lyrically. Bile can put all their strength and talent into the meat of the guitars, creating a simple formula that might make some question whether or not it's unique, but they add in some kinks to make a fresher style...

The "Intro is just a hodgepodge of noise and audio samples, as are many instrumental industrial metal tracks. It's actually quite mesmerizing! The title track bursts in with noise-ridden guitars, drums, and vocals, all done by Krztoff as he shouts the title. A great starter attack! "Weather Control" is more experimental with synth distortion. It has that KMFDM vibe suitable for dance-clubs. We have a nice structure in "No One I Call Friend", sounding raw, fresh, and emotional in this sonic soundscape. "Habitual Sphere" really brings on the catchiness, combining dance beats with thrashy guitars. When it pauses for Krztoff's verses, it builds back up and continues rolling.

"Compound Pressure" is one of my favorite songs in this album, and it happens to be the one with the filthiest lyrics ("I got a big fat c*ck and shot her face, swallowed my spunk with no disgrace", "I'm the lowest motherf***er now that is true, but I f***ed your woman to get back at you"). The crushing mid-paced guitars and drums booming through make it a true highlight. It's the Lindemann "Golden Shower" of this album! "Interstate Hate Song" cranks up the metal with the thrashy riffing and percussion, and even a bit of soloing. The vocal distortion might remind some of Skinny Puppy though. "Green Day" is not a tribute to that famous pop punk band, instead just being a short minute-long interlude-ish track with lyrics relating to drug usage, "Help me take my medicine, so the pain will go away, I'm all f***ed up on valium, I can't move my lips to say..." "No I Don't Know" has more of heavy riffing, intense shouts, and pummeling drums, in a way similar to some Fear Factory song remixes.

"Suckers" is another actual interlude, having some static noise and soft choral vocals. "Lowest Form" is just filled with fuzzy industrial feedback while having some metal melody and vocals. Then we have the ambitious highlight 17-minute 4-part suite "You Can't Love This". "Pt. 1" has some repeated somewhat indecipherable audio samples, though I recognize the line "I don't f*** sl*ts, I j*rk off on ’em." "Pt. 2" has the band's usual mid-paced sound with thick guitars and bass. "Pt. 3" is a dark ambient piece that you can find from Burzum or the DOOM soundtrack. "Pt. 4" has the last bit of distorted chaos with a repeated yell of "I hate you, you f***ing c*nt!" "Solitude is Bliss" is a 10-minute track of industrial sounds leading into metal complexity and slight lyrics. That can very well put Bile in the same industrial metal league as Ministry and Killing Joke.

I would enjoy this more if a few tracks weren't too industrial and/or vulgar, but Teknowh*re is still a solid album. I would recommend it to anyone who's up for something industrial and, at the same time, metal as f***....

Favorites: "Teknowh*re", "No One I Call Friend", "Habitual Sphere", "Compound Pressure", "Interstate Hate Song", "No I Don't Know", "You Can't Love This" (Pt. 2 and Pt. 4)

Christian metal is quite common yet a bit of an oddball in some metal genres. Daren "Klank" Diolosa and his Circle of Dust touring bandmate Klayton were part of the Christian music industry, though Klayton left the industry behind and Klank's views were on the extreme side...

Debates on his Christianity aside, Klank has impressed listeners with his debut Still Suffering. If Christian death metal was something once considered an oxymoron, Christian industrial metal was something barely heard of besides early Circle of Dust. There are more metallic guitars than there are techno beats, so why this isn't in Metal Archives is beyond me. It's a great heavy sound.

"Time" is the perfect start to treat you with what to expect in the album. "Downside" is also amazing, though it can't beat the previous song's reign. "Burning" is quite dark and heavy for a song by a Christian band, but it's another fist-pumper.

"Scarified" starts off heavy in the guitars and drum programming. If you strain your neck headbanging along, it's all worth it. What makes it a highlight is the amount of audio samples that are common in this album and other industrial metal releases. "Deceived" is slower with emotion ("The world will be a better place without you"). "Animosity" is another gem with its blend of metal and techno. Any fan of this kind of sound should love that. "Fall" is worth singing/shouting along to, "SEE! ME!! FALL!!!" It continues this heavy/catchy blend, never letting me down.

"Disease" can almost be an early example of proto-cyber metal, with its more computer-techno sound and cool vocal effects. "Leave" is not a track you would ever want to leave early. "Woodensoul" is a solid ending track with a bit of softness here and there. Well, it doesn't end the album entirely. After that, we have a vocal outtake that sounds kinda weird going from whispering to screaming.

What I enjoy in industrial metal is when lots of guitars are used, not just the techno side. I'm glad to hear more of this album after only hearing song from it a few year prior in one of the Sphere playlists. Cool Christian industrial metal for any listener, whether you're Christian or not....

Favorites: "Time", "Downside", "Scarified", "Animosity", "Disease"

I believe to have reviewed this EP a couple years back and wasn't into it that much. But now that my taste in industrial metal is expanding further and further, I enjoy it much more now! At this point, I'm already familiar with dozens of Sphere bands and I like a few songs by White Zombie and KMFDM. And now here I am, making a better revisit of this collaborative EP between those two bands...

KMFDM contributed some remixes of two singles from White Zombie's La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One. The remixes are included in this EP along with their original album versions. This is probably the earliest KMFDM has gone metal and the earliest White Zombie has gone industrial.

From that first riff, you know it's the original version of "Thunder Kiss '65". Great track, though the mixing is a bit cold. The "Swinging Lovers Mix" is different from the original version's metallic sound, including the intro and outro. Throughout the song, synths appear more than the guitars just come out as more of an afterthought. Next up, "The Remix That Wouldn't Die Mix" is longer and has more creativity, which makes me prefer it over the previous remix.

The next original track "Black Sunshine" is so spooky while still sounding cold in the mix. However, the "Indestructible 'Sock It To Me' Psycho-Head Mix" totally beats the original by throwing in raw aggression in the guitars and vocals. In the middle of the track, the drums switch to a dance beat before going back to groove-ish double kicks.

All in all, Nightcrawlers is a great EP that might be good for dance club parties with friends. Maybe a little weird for that, but just as long as everyone's OK. The remixes really depart from the originals with the "Thunder Kiss '65" remixes sounding more suitable for the club and the "Black Sunshine" remix actually being heavier and edgier. Cheesy while still the good kind of cheese. Worth it for any Rob Zombie fan to add to their collection....

Favorites: "Thunder Kiss '65" (original), "Thunder Kiss '65" (The Remix That Wouldn't Die Mix), "Black Sunshine" (Indestructible "Sock It to Me" Psycho-Head Mix)

A band's sophomore album is sometimes a home-run or a foul. Some fans want more improvement, while others don't want drastic experimentation. Since their debut Edge of the Obscure was released 6 years before this album, they must've really been trying to find that right balance.

Among the Amorphous continues the tech-death-infused melodic cyber metal sound of their debut, this time it's more progressive. The conceptual tale from the debut is still going, here in a different world. The artwork and music videos greatly capture that concept. If you're up for some apocalyptic future kaiju battles that is kinda like Godzilla vs. Kong gone Star Wars, or weird assemblies of those monsters, you don't wanna miss this saga!

The opening track "Spiral into Existence" sets the dark tone as synths and vocals spike through the metal instrumentation. "Deceptive Signal" is a true highlight, underrated otherworldly djenty cyber metal for those who want similar music to Mnemic. The brutal verses go well with the epic chorus. Another battle-ready standout is "Sins of the Mechanical". Although Sybreed, Mnemic, and Raunchy haven't released an actual album in years, The Interbeing has made up for that and gotten fans of those earlier bands f***ing mind-blown. There's even some atmospheric meat here! "Borderline Human" has more of the industrial or Circle of Dust and the hardcore progressiveness of Erra.

"Purge the Deviant" has heavy riffing and a slightly longer track length than any of the band's other tracks, both perfect for a sci-fi battle. "Cellular Synergy" is an atmospheric interlude with female spoken vocals. "Enigmatic Circuits" has some electronic melody that can also be found in The Word Alive.

Then we have the impressive "Pinnacle of the Strain". The great screaming vocals fit the song well in amazing goodness. Truly this is Meshuggah-inspired cyber metal! With the album nearing its end, we have the industrial "Sum of Singularity", borrowing some drums and synths from Crossfaith. It has definitely foreshadowed the sound of their next album Icon of the Hopeless, and a great way to end this one. Well, after the apocalyptic title outro.

When I write my own books, I see it as a labor of love; taking a couple or so years to complete a book but it is all worth it. That must be what The Interbeing was going for when they worked on Among the Amorphous in a slow steady pace. And it's worth keeping fans around, old and new!

Favorites: "Deceptive Signal", "Sins of the Mechanical", "Purge the Deviant", "Pinnacle of the Strain", "Sum of Singularity"

As we all know, Northern Europe has pretty much the biggest amount of metal bands in any subregion. Denmark doesn't have as many popular metal bands as in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, but I enjoy some notable bands from the country including Mercenary and Mnemic. What if you can combine the sounds of those two bands to make tech-ish melodeath/cyber metal? Enter the Interbeing, whose killer talent is highly displayed in their perfect debut Edge of the Obscure!

You can also hear from this band some aspects from neighboring country Sweden, with the djenty riffing of Meshuggah and the catchy melodies of Soilwork. And how about some industrial synths all the way from America made fresh by Fear Factory?

Let's get it all started with the atmospheric intro "Elusive Atmosphere", building up in slight techno. Then the powerful "Pulse Within the Paradox" hits with b*lls-out rhythms to begin this rollercoaster ride. "Tongue of the Soiled" sounds a bit mangled at first and I was going to drop the album's rating a half-star down from perfection, but the kick-A groove decimates that mess into oblivion. I also enjoy the cleans that add to the cyber melody. "Face Deletion" is one of the f***ing best songs from this band. Enough said!

"Fields of Grey" is another awesome track, with more of the band's Mnemic/Fear Factory influences. "Shadow Drift" may be challenging to some, but the djenty pace is all worth it. The mind-blowing "Swallowing White Light" peaks high with more of those Fear Factory vocals.

Some spoken female vocals can be heard "In the Transcendence" which is a groove-filled (mostly) instrumental. "Celestial Flames" has more of that heavy brilliance. The bridge and chorus has djenty groove worth headbanging to if you're a fan of Periphery and Meshuggah. "Rhesus Artificial" is one more technical highlight without having to go all-out Periphery crazy. The instrumentation is once again well-composed. Atmospheric keyboards and guitars echo through the outro "Ledge of Oblivion".

The remixes are a bit odd, and this review is based on the standard edition without them. Edge of the Obscure shows that the band can wear their influences like a battle jacket. Something that sounds amongst the best really should've made it big!

Favorites: "Pulse Within the Paradox", "Face Deletion", "Fields of Grey", "Swallowing White Light", "Celestial Flames", "Rhesus Artificial"

If their EP, Version 4.5: The Dark Chapter, can be considered the All That Remains "Forever Cold" EP of Cypecore, Make Me Real is their Antifragile. It is their comeback album after the passing of their founding bassist Chris Heckel. They chose not to replace him to respect his memory. And besides that EP, they have performed some live shows with a few other members making their exit and entrance. I'm still trying to get a little more used to the band's sound though...

Make Me Real is less deathly than their earlier works. Here we have more melodic choruses and stronger cleans for more of an industrial groove metal sound similar to Mnemic. Most of the new songs pack quite a punch, so if you're expecting some freshness in their new material, you've come to the right place.

Traditionally for Cypecore, the album starts with an "Intro", this one nice and short. "Neoteric Gods" kicks off the technical action hard. This is deathly djenty industrial/groove metal at its best! It impresses me with its background synths and its dark yet anthemic chorus. I love it, and I'm sure Cypecore fans would too. "Pinnacle of Creation" keeps up that strength as a more groove-ish standout. Synths pop up more in "Doomsday Parade".

I don't know why they chose a ballad as the album's title track. I mean it's not too bad, but lacks some strength. Next track "King of Rats" is worse. Too much electronic sh*t in that one. The more deathly groove highlights return with "Fragments".

Hammering in further is "I'll Be Back" (Terminator, is that you?), an industrial banger suitable for the dark reality of humanity. "Patient Zero" is the closest throwback to their earlier melodeath sound while adding in a nice amount of electronics for good measure. Traditionally for Cypecore, the album ends with an "Outro", but the issue is, it's a 3-minutes long, a little too long for an electronic instrumental.

I would've loved the album much more if not for the 3 tracks in the middle along with the outro being so long. Still, Make Me Real is quite good. It's a nice comeback 6 years after The Alliance, and I might just be up to checking out more of their earlier deathly material....

Favorites: "Neoteric Gods", "Pinnacle of Creation", "Fragments", "I'll Be Back", "Patient Zero"

Is time travel real? While it isn't in the era we are in, Cypecore knows how to create that illusion with their "2123 Tour". Honestly, one of the reasons I don't go to live shows is the fear of experiencing a future that seems so real yet coming home embarrassed that it isn't. And this is a band that have started nearly two decades ago...

Cypecore have released 5 albums that follow a futuristic sci-fi conceptual saga, a similar aspect to Mechina. A year before their new fifth album Make Me Real, the band hinted at their new direction with this EP, Version 4.5: The Dark Chapter. The "4.5" part is quite clever, since the band wanted to give their fans something new after a 5-year gap that may have been caused by the tragic loss of the unreplaceable bassist Chris Heckel. Consider this Cypecore's own All That Remains "Forever Cold" EP, if you will.

Blasting off is "Chosen Chaos" which is one of the coolest song titles ever chosen. The EP doesn't follow the usual "Intro"/"Outro" aspect, so it has only a short amount of time for you to actually prepare for the chaos. The blasts and guitarwork strike through with their might. The vocals help make the song sound like melodeath-ish metalcore gone Disturbed. "Rise" is a nice display of a cleaner, more industrial sound. The guitar and bass shine instead of the previous track's drum blasts. Slight points off for the electronic overdose, but it's still good. "Spirals" has great harmonies that fit well with the screamed vocals. I also love the cleans and the bridge in the second half.

"Liquid Fire" is a strange track that's still OK. It's more nu metal-ish with some rapped vocals, closer to Korn and Limp Bizkit. Nonetheless, the usual madness is still going on at full force. Then we have "Rise (Death Version)", a version of "Rise" in which the vocals are screamed and the drums blast through. The sound here, along with most of the other tracks, is closer to metalcore than melodeath, which I can greatly accept. I love this heavier version more!

All in all, this EP sounds quite cool in the highlights, and I think they should've kept just the heavier version of "Rise" instead of the clean version that's still good. Version 4.5: The Dark Chapter might not be their best work, yet it can get you geared up for their next album. Time travel may not be real, but this dark futuristic music is....

Favorites: "Chosen Chaos", "Spirals", "Rise (Death Version)"

I swear I've heard this album before, but it's not on my log for some reason.  That Kind of annoys me, so I'm fixing that right now.  I know I did at some point, because I remember thinking to myself, "this album is certainly not metal enough to be industrial metal."  I didn't get that with the other Ministry albums; I all tagged the properly.  And after listening to it, I still feel that way.  I can't really vote on that, though, so forget the hall for now.

So the album seems to almost be more punk than metal, and its repetition is both aesthetically appealing to a punk fan like me, but also a bit disappointing concerning the other electro-industrial bands at the time who focused more on composition, like Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly.  I was pretty happy when the more psychedelic route was taken on Golden Dawn, but I felt the twist came a little late.  But I can really get behind that proud independent power.  Instead of focusing on dancing, it's basically pumping you up to the max.  And while melody can sometimes DRASTICALLY suffer for this, the shouted vocals and raw abrasion can still satisfy.  I gotta say, I love that mutant army vocal effect on You Know What You Are.

I like my industrial music with a little more melody, but this certainly sufficed otherwise.  Hardcore punk attitude, great vocal effects and some good noisy production make this an improvement over Twitch.

So, it appears that this is Mechina's debut album, released in 2005, a year after the band formed. I understand that they later went down a more symphonic path with their industrial sound, but here they have gone for straight-up classic Nineties-era Fear Factory worship. The riffs are decent with a meaty guitar tone FF fans will feel comfortably at home with, although I don't think Mechina's riffs have the same high memorability factor as the LA legends achieved on their best material. Where they do score well though is when they use synths to add an additional, thin layer to their sound, such as during "Afterimage" or on the title track. "War Fog", which connects the two tracks, is a short, synth-driven interlude which is also quite evocative and further illustrates the band's nascent atmosphere-building prowess. Vocalist David Holch also has a creditable crack at reproducing Burton C. Bell's growling bark as the main vocal, but where he comes unstuck is with the complementary clean vocals which, in all honesty, sound terrible, as if he can't carry a tune at all. They are so bad that I can't believe no one advised the band to re-record them or get a guest in to help out.

Ultimately, for me, this is an enjoyable enough slab of Fear Factory worship, irreparably tainted by very poor clean vocals, that I am unlikely to turn to in the future unless the FF back catalogue suddenly disappears from the face of the Earth.

Since 1999, the Project Hate MCMXCIX (formed in my birth year and having its roman numerals in their name) is known for their Swedish death metal sound spiced up with industrial/symphonic elements that have been prominent since the mid-2000s. The project founded by guitarist/bassist Lord K Philipson and vocalist Jörgen Sandström had recently abandoned the more typical song lengths for an aspect that has covered their 2010s albums and beyond; 6 tracks with an average 13 minutes each, almost hitting the 80-minute CD limit. Death Ritual Covenant is a more industrial example of that technique...

Basically their symphonic-infused death metal sound, similar to 2000s Septicflesh, is given a more progressive and industrial treatment. Adding in bits of flamenco and EDM shows that experimental alt-metal bands like Dog Fashion Disco and Twelve Foot Ninja aren't the only bands who can do that. The deathly grandeur is strong within the mechanical riffing and bass by Philipson and the harsh growls by Sandström.

The opening title track provides a great example of that brutal riffing, with the main melody sticking around at the right times from start to finish. Storming on is "The Eating of the Impure Young", a 15-minute death metal epic, apart from adding in some strange dubstep in the middle. Strange but quite welcome!

"Legions" seems to take on the dramatic deathcore of Whitechapel and Winds of Plague but without much of the "core". There are also some guest vocals by Darkane vocalist Lawrence Mackrory. Deathly power shines in "Through Fire There is Cleansing" with more of Philipson's guitar weaponry. Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth also guest appears in this track, along with track 2 and this next track...

"Inferno" is shorter than the other tracks in the album, with a length of 10 and a half minutes ago. It's like the progressive death metal of the first two Extol albums with pieces of Amaranthe and Dir En Grey. "Solemn" is the epic finale, having the melancholic melodeath of Omnium Gatherum while still covered in electro-industrial beauty.

Making an album filled with long epics can be risky, especially when they had to add so many ideas and make sure the 80-minute CD limit isn't surpassed. However, it has mostly paid off, as the charm is never lost. Death Ritual Covenant is a solid album up for an adventure of adventures. It might get a little tiring, but you just gotta appreciate this band's determination to explore with barely any limits....

Favorites: "The Eating of the Impure Young", "Through Fire There is Cleansing", "Solemn"

Sydney industrial metal duo Deathless are an act that I've had on my radar for many years but had never gotten around to exploring until now. My main reason for wanting to check them out is fairly simple really. I used to frequent legendary Sydney metal store Utopia Records for many years & one of the two band members Damian Bennett (16-17/Khost) used to work there so I came into contact with him on a regular basis. I'm not sure why I didn't commit to exploring Damian's band at the time but I certainly always intended to. Perhaps it's just the fact that you don't see Deathless' name floating around all that much that caused the extreme delay as I can't say that I was regularly reminded of my omission. The other thing that's intriguing about Deathless though is that they don't have a guitarist in their lineup with the band being comprised of just two bass guitarists (both of who handle the vocal duties at various stages) & a drum machine which is a rare but interesting configuration. Those sort of setups can go one of two ways & I wasn't too sure which direction I'd see Deathless going so this month seemed like a good opportunity to finally answer that age-old question.

Deathless is the brain-child of Bennett & close friend David Quinn of Adelaide noise rock band King Snake Roost. The duo may have first started in Sydney, Australia but Deathless has become somewhat of an international act given that they spent some time in England & are now based in Switzerland. It would be on one of those trips to the UK that Deathless would record their debut album "Anhedonia" which was put to tape in collaboration with co-producer Lee Rumble at Von's Studio in London in July 1992. Rumble wasn't anyone special in terms of metal at the time but the resulting production job is serviceable enough for an early industrial metal act. There's no doubt that the lack of any sort of melodic instrumental component can be fairly grating upon first listen though & I have to admit that I found the album to feel a little flat early on. Industrial metal can be quite cold at the best of times but Deathless take that to a fairly extreme level given the obvious lack of any brightness or melody in their sound to give you some light at the end of the tunnel. Subsequent listens saw me becoming used to the sound of the album though & I'm pleased to say that it opened up progressively more with each revisit.

"Anhedonia" is quite a lengthy release for a debut with the nine tracks running for a fairly substantial 52 minutes. All of those tracks are given ample time to get their message across & there are a couple of examples where two songs run into each other which makes the tracklisting a little difficult to follow, particularly given that the listing on the back of the album isn't reflective of the actual CD track numbers. I managed to figure it out after a couple of listens but it was initially a bit confusing. The record is book-ended by two pieces ("God in the Political Asylum" & "In Heaven") that sit further into the traditional industrial or post-industrial space & I really enjoy both of those inclusions as they have a dark & brooding atmosphere that I totally dig which leaves them sitting as two of the three highlights for me. The other is the excellent industrial rock/metal hybrid piece "In Unmet Chambers Slain I" which snuck up on me over time after initially being one of those that went over my head due to its inherent coldness. There are admittedly a couple of songs that didn't enjoy the same privilege & remained fairly inaccessible for me throughout the whole exercise though with "Sun Turns Through Ash" & "Under the Wood" being a bit of a struggle but generally I found the album to be pretty enjoyable & there was some additional interest added for me in the inclusion of a cover version of Trouble's wonderful "Victim of the Insane" from the American doom metal masters' classic self-titled debut album from 1984, a piece that I regard as being one of my favourite doom tracks of all time.

While I definitely got more into "Anhedonia" more with each listen, I did eventually find that its appeal was capped a bit by the lack of any real melodic hooks. Unlike English industrial metal godfathers Godflesh (who would seem to be the most obvious source of inspiration for Deathless), these Aussies don't even have higher register feedback or noise at their disposal so everything can sound a little bleak (which is perhaps the point thinking about it now). The two bass guitars are used in an interesting way & don't tend to get each other's road while the drum machine sounds completely artificial which I'd imagine was always the intent. Neither of the two band members sport much in the way of vocal talent but then when has that ever stopped an industrial metal artist from having a crack (see the afore-mentioned Godlfesh for a prime example)? The incorporation of a doomier sound during the back end of the tracklisting was interesting but had mixed results with the Trouble cover version working nicely & the previously-mentioned "Under the Wood" falling flat. The rockier moments that appear through the middle of the album suffer from the same sort of inconsistency with "Sun Turns Through Ash" failing to meet the same heights of "In Unmet Chambers Slain I".

Look, there's no doubt that "Anhedonia" won't be for everyone & if you're one of those people that's too impatient to give a record a few spins before casting judgement then I'd hazard to suggest that this won't be your sort of album but I have to admit that do kinda dig it, perhaps not enough to see me returning to it in the future though. I may let my interest get the better of me & see what Deathless' later releases with Godlfesh's Justin Broadrick sound like at some point as he's always been an amazingly captivating & consistent producer but, until then, I'll have to be satisfied with my experiences with "Anhedonia" which is probably Australia's first genuine industrial metal release.

For fans of Godflesh, Bloodstar & Pitchshifter.

In 2013, one year after this release came out, Sybreed vocalist Benjamin Nominet call it quits before they were supposed to tour with Soilwork. The band had to cancel the tour, and instead of trying to find a new vocalist, they gave up and disbanded. An unfortunate end to this leading band of industrial/cyber metal...

Sybreed was formed in 2003 in Switzerland, a country in Europe surrounded by other countries like Germany, France, and Italy, and sharing the same languages as those countries. This band blends industrial metal with elements of other styles including the groove metal of Devildriver, the djent of Meshuggah, and even a dash of black metal. Their 4th album God is an Automaton is one last trip through this experimental cyber dimension.

Drum roll please, literally, for "Posthuman Manifesto", with a slow buildup into a great riff groove. It is then twisted into the usual blend of drums, synths, and clean/unclean vocals. There's also a clean bridge to get you geared up for the clean final chorus. And if that first song doesn't refresh you enough, "No Wisdom Brings Solace" certainly will, starting with the usual groove-ish industrial metal. Electronics and distorted cleans soar through the verses. Any open-minded listener can appreciate this bridge between industrial and groove. The album starts really hitting highlight status in "The Line of Least Resistance". Holy f***, this cyber metal sound is just too good not to listen! "Red Nova Ignition" has more of that groove-ish industrial metal and the additional of electronics and singing. The riffs, blasts, and time signature changes rule in that one!

The well-composed title track includes colorful soloing. Guitar solos were rare for the band up to that point. The intro and the midsection of "Hightech Versus Lowlife" sound so brutal as part of the cyber/industrial metal greatness. "Downfall Inc." does not have the variation I expect from this band. It's quite a drop in quality compared to the previous track, and the weakest one they've ever done. Disposing of some of that weakness is the catchy mainstream-ish "Challenger", which is heavier while throwing in some keyboards, a balance mastered in Antares. Nominet's vocals sound the best here, with somber cleans going well with his raging growls. So unique!

"A Radiant Daybreak" starts with sludge-ish groove in the riffing and blazing drumming. The mix of heavy riffing and clean singing really adds to the originality. "Into the Blackest Light" is another heavy banger going f***ing hard especially in the midsection breakdown. The 10-minute finale "Destruction and Bliss" is the best track here. It starts djenty as heavy rhythms fill the atmosphere. The best part is the kick-A solo by Travis Montgomery of Threat Signal. The perfect farewell from Sybreed!

One other minor issue to note for this album is the lack of audible bass. Brushing that aside, this revolutionary band made their last attack. They've recently returned with a Slave Design remaster and a new track, but if they can make more than just that, and return to performing live, that's what the cyber metal realm really needs.....

Favorites: "The Line of Least Resistance", "Red Nova Ignition", "Hightech Versus Lowlife", "Challenger", "Into the Blackest Light", "Destruction and Bliss"

Sybreed has proven their worth in the heavily underrated cyber/industrial metal scene with their perfect one-two punch of Slave Design and Antares. Despite staying in the underground, they've had some of the more popular industrial/metal people working with them, such as Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork) on drums in Antares, and Rhys Fulber (Fear Factory, Front Line Assembly) producing this album, The Pulse of Awakening!

With Fulber on board, Sybreed has maintained their sound while taking it to different horizons. And it seems like a lot of the Fear Factory influence is showing here, maybe even a bit of the djent of Meshuggah. Also the album title was inspired by Ergo Proxy.

We get the first taste of their usual sound in this album with "Nomenklatura", which is quite an amazing track to start with. Though not as much as "A.E.O.N." with incredible cyber-industrial metal genius talent! The synth-ambience really adds some that cyber effect. "Doomsday Party" is quite fun. Not as fun as that DragonForce track from 15 years later, but here, Sybreed have their own way of channeling 80s pop with its catchy chorus while staying metal. This more lively sound was first hinted in Antares, and it sounds like the coldness of Slave Design has been left behind. One track that I consider almost out of shape is "Human Black Box". As great as it is, the vocal distortion is a little too much and mechanical in an attempt to use a vocoder similar to Cynic.

Then there's the good "Killjoy", though far from great. After that, I'm reminded how excellent this album is with the aggressive violent "I Am Ultraviolence", with an explosion of heaviness to make up for those previous two slightly out-of-place tracks. The extreme strength of Strapping Young Lad being added here makes a lot more sense. The chaos is broken up by "Electronegative". The metal riffing over synth pulses should please anyone who likes industrial/cyber metal. For the next track, "In the Cold Light", who knew a depressive power ballad can fit so f***ing well in this genre? It's suitable for suffering in the despair of the bleak pandemic. The heavy final minute is so beautiful.

The more extreme influences shine again in "Lucifer Effect". It gets close to symphonic black metal, to remind some of Dimmu Borgir and Shade Empire. I love their cover of "Love Like Blood" by Killing Joke from that band's early new-wave era, with its cold feeling. The emotion can be expressed through the instrumentation more than the original vocals. The synth sounds mixed with booming guitars can blow you away more than Nine Inch Nails would ever. I like when covers stick to their band's usual style instead of just blindly following the original artist's footsteps, that's kind of the whole point of covers, I think... Props to this band for greatly standing by that rule! "Meridian A.D." has some great guitar grooves and vocals in the chorus. A bonus track before the finale is "Flesh Doll for Sale", which I like for its In Flames-ish sound. The 9-minute closing epic aspects continues in "From Zero to Nothing", sounding a bit like Tiamat's Skeleton Skeletron. In many editions, it ends with 10 minutes of ambience that I can do without.

It took a couple years for several of Sybreed's songs to grow on me, ever since I first discovered them via their Killing Joke cover, and after that, The Pulse of Awakening grew instantly to greatness. Still it can't beat the perfect starting duo. With all that, I'm prepared to take on their next album, their final one before their split. Awaken the machine!

Favorites: "A.E.O.N.", "Doomsday Party", "I Am Ultraviolence", "In the Cold Light", "Lucifer Effect", "Love Like Blood", "Flesh Doll for Sale"

Can you feel the emotion that comes from not just someone but something? Even the art that comes from music made by a band, as well as a successful film. It's essential for anyone with artistic and creative ability to give their work the emotion it needs, and there's a lot of it in this impressive work of art!

Sybreed is a groove-ish industrial/cyber metal band from Switzerland, formed out of the ashes of Rain (those last 6 words can make a good song title). They're so underrated yet painfully overlooked, staying strong for 4 albums until their unfortunate split-up. Antares is their second album, and it's as incredible as their debut Slave Design. It took a couple years for several Sybreed songs to stick in my mind, and when they did recently, albums like this one had left an remarkable impact in my ongoing metal journey.

The starting track "Emma-0" has beats and synths rising from the distorted background before unleashing sinister guitar riffing. Vocalist Benjamin Nominét screams his heart out against life struggles mutilating and hurting him. Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren stops by to deliver some powerful drumming, shining in the progressive "Ego Bypass Generator". I love the amazing "Revive My Wounds". The beat here is so d*mn good. "Isolate" is an epic ballad-ish track to tone down some of the relentless chaos of the other tracks. A bit isolated, while still awesome!

Then we have more of the flaming blasts in the dynamic "Dynamic". Then "Neurodrive" rolls through excellent guitar rhythms and some of the best vocals by Benjamin. That might have leave a huge influential mark on Neurotech, and is one of my favorite tracks here. "Ex-Inferis" is a two-minute interlude that would fit well in a video game. Well now that I think about it, a Sybreed song ending up on the radio or a movie/video game soundtrack would be interesting. Think HALO or Red Alert.

"Permafrost" has more of the riffing soaring through. The vocals end up sounding more spoken in "Orbital" which nicely adds some variation to Benjamin's distorted vocals as he continues to sing about a dark future. "Twelve Megatons Gravity" is a prime example of aggressive deathly electro-industrial metal. It is one of the most rage-filled songs I've heard in the genre that barely any other bands can reach. The closing track "Ethernity" is a polar opposite of that, an ethereal tranquil 9-minute epic. A couple bonus tracks are around in different editions, including the more technological "Technocracy" and the more in-line-with-their-usual-material "Plasmaterial".

Whether or not you're into modern industrial/cyber metal, you can't go your entire lifetime without hearing this legendary offering. It's a shame that not a lot of music listeners have come across such a masterpiece. This underrated band needs more well-deserved attention, d*mn it!

Favorites: "Emma-0", "Revive My Wounds", "Isolate", "Neurodrive", "Twelve Megatons Gravity", "Ethernity", "Plasmaterial"

Turmion Kätilöt is an amazing yet strange band of Finnish industrial metal. The lineup consists of talented members with funny stage names; vocalists MC Raaka Pee and Shag-U, guitarist Bobby Undertaker, bassist Master Bates, keyboardist RunQ, and drummer DQ. The lyrics can cover everything from sci-fi to beautiful girls. And the band have been on a roll throughout their tenure that has already reached 20 years! Yet I didn't get turned on by their music until last year.

Standing by in the category of bands that should've been accepted in the Metal Archives but aren't, their disco-fueled industrial metal sound shall please both club dancers and metalheads. Reset brings us back to the Spellgoth era in terms of the quality, not reaching the perfection of the albums afterwards, but still better than Perstechnique.

"Yksi Jumalista" (One of the Gods) begins with an Egyptian-sounding EDM intro before the hammering riffing. The vocals dance around the keyboards and guitars. The chorus maintains both the EDM vibe and that riff. The song is quite a fun bouncer, even with the strange lyrics. "Päästä Irti" (Get Loose) starts off almost deathly, and then it's time to dance again. The catchy energy can really kick things up a notch. D*mn, this can get the metal/dance crowd smiling. The metal guitars fit perfectly with them beats! "Pulssi" (Pulse) sounds a little closer to Mushroomhead at times, but the guitar solo brings it closer to Beast in Black, especially when it's that band's guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen who's performing it. "Sina 2.0" (You 2.0) heads into the electronic side of the band, with some guest vocals by Netta Turunen, daughter of MC Raaka Pee.

"Musta Piste" (Black Dot) brings back the perfect glory of the rest of the Shag-U era, specifically Universal Satan. Same with "Trauma", which has violent bursts of industrial metal to infect the EDM vibes. "Otava" (Big Dipper) once again has a bit of Mushroomhead, while also throwing some Fear Factory, Waltari, and even in the 8-bit synths of HORSE the Band, to make a unique combo. "Se Mitä Et Näe" (What You Don't See) has another brilliant sound from the start, with dark electronic synths that plague the industrial metal sound (in a great way), complete with a Rammstein-ish anthemic chorus. Not much disco, but the heavy riffing and electronics are in great balance.

"Once Dead" is OK, but not that interesting. Ditto with "Puuttuva Naula" (The Missing Nail), which is a little too poppy. It's the weakest song here, though not enough to be a stinker. Following this is "Schlachter" (Butcher), a wonderful remix of the debut's "Teurastaja", featuring Chris Harms of Lord of the Lost. I might just love it more than the original! Finally, we have the 8-minute "Reset 7 (Not to Be Continued)", which has nice dance-y industrial metal, but the Babymetal-like J-pop moments are a bit too much.

Wait a minute... "NOT to Be Continued"?! Is this awesome band going to end after this?!? I sure hope not! Reset has a lot of the band's catchy energy, apart from a couple odd but still good tracks towards the end. The band shall stay alive and continue making even the most serious headbanger dance and smile!

Favorites: "Päästä Irti", "Pulssi", "Musta Piste", "Otava", "Se Mitä Et Näe", "Schlachter"

By the middle of the 1990's, Chicago industrial metallers had become very much a stable inclusion in my life. From the time that I first discovered them through their 1989 breakthrough fourth album "The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste", I'd been captivated by their exciting high-tech world of future-thinking music for the coming robot apocalypse, but once Ben discovered them then things started to escalate as we explored each important release from their back catalogue together. 1988's "The Land of Rape and Honey" was very popular in our household during the first part of that decade but it was the trio of "The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste", their 1990 live album "In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (Live)" & the incredible career-defining 1992 fifth album "ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ [Psalm 69]" that really took things to the top rung of the metal spectrum. "ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ [Psalm 69]" had quite simply changed our worlds so there was huge anticipation around the release of their follow-up during the first half of the decade. Unfortunately though, the four-year gap between albums saw my attention veering off further into extreme metal territory &, by the time 1996's "Filth Pig" finally saw the light of day, my enthusiasm had waned a touch. Ben would purchase the album on CD & it would be some months before I actually got around to hearing it as I was no longer living at home. By the time I did, I'd already had the chance to hear & read a little bit about "Filth Pig" which was generally thought to be a step down for Ministry so it's hard to say whether that left me with any internal biases or not but the album did seem to me to be a little disappointing when compared to the three that came before it. I still quite liked it but it didn't get many replays after those first few listens & I haven't returned to it since so my memory of what it contains was a little hazy going into this week's revisit. Thankfully though, I've been rewarded for the faith I've kept in band leader Al Jourgensen because "Filth Pig" is a very solid record in its own right, if not the classic that so many people would have been hoping for.

It probably would have been very easy for Ministry to pump out "Psalm 69 Part II" & continue their rise up the ranks of the commercial metal ladder but "Filth Pig" is an altogether different kettle of fish. It's a much darker, less immediate & far less accessible record than people were expecting with some major creative differences to previous works which in many ways reflect the mentality of Jourgensen at that particular point in time. There are very few up-tempo moments on "Filth Pig" & you won't find many goth club anthems like "NWO", "Just One Fix" or "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" either. Instead we get a slower, druggier & more introspective record with much less of a reliance on electronics & samples. The use of dissonance in the guitar work often borrows from genres like sludge metal & noise rock & you'll struggle to identify anything that touches on the thrash-inspired riffs of "Psalm 69". In fact, this is a much less riff-based record in general. Jourgensen's signature heavily-effected gurgly vocals are still there & are a feature of the album but his lyrics reek of someone that's in quite a lot of pain, who holds a fairly negative view of the world & who is struggling with their own infamy to an extent. The brief touches of tongue-in-cheek humour & a fair chunk of the brightness & excitement had been sucked out of Ministry, at least from a surface level, so "Filth Pig" requires a deeper investigation if you're to uncover its value which can be found in the fact that this is indeed some dark & heavy shit at times.

The tracklisting kicks off in very strong fashion with the first two tracks (industrial metal opener "Reload" & the slower sludge metal dirge that is the title track) both being very solid indeed. In fact, I'd suggest that the title track is a genuine Ministry classic that sits comfortably alongside the band's best work but things drop off a touch for the remainder of the A side. "Lava" & "Useless" are both pretty decent but I really struggle with "Crumbs" which has a very loose song structure & sounds completely underdone. Things pick up significantly for the start of the B side with a string of three excellent pieces in a row, ending with the brilliant industrial metal anthem "The Fall" which is the other clear highlight of the album for me. As with the A side though, things descend back to a merely acceptable level for the closure of the album with the last two rockier tracks (including the popular cover version of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay") failing to meet the same sort of standard as the more captivating first part of each side. When viewed holistically, the stronger material clearly outweighs the less essential stuff but I do think that the tracklisting could have been evened out a bit to ensure a more even spread of the better songs rather than bulking out the start of each side with the back end feeling a little less vital.

I've noticed that "Filth Pig" seems to be tagged as an industrial sludge metal record on some competitors websites & I can kinda see where they're coming from but that's not entirely accurate as the sludge component isn't regular enough to warrant a primary tag. Despite the fact that this is a less electronically reliant record than we'd come to expect from Ministry over the years, "Filth Pig" is still first & foremost an industrial metal release with the sludge & industrial rock components playing more of a supporting role. It's a very good one too & it's made me reassess my position on its merits. While it may not compete with the classic trio of releases I mentioned previously & is undeniably a step down from the lofty heights that Ministry were playing during their peak creative period from 1989-1992, I do think that "Filth Pig" should still be regarded as an essential release for those with a penchant for their particular brand of heavy music. Yes, it's probably the least impressive thing they'd done since their early synth pop & EBM records of the mid-80's but that's not to say that it's won't still be a quality inclusion in your collection that offers a point of difference from Ministry's previous work. I don't believe I've heard anything Ministry have released since this record (at least not the full releases anyway) but I'm led to believe that there's not a lot of meat on them bones so I'd suggest that this gives "Filth Pig" even more value for fans who may be desperately trying to revisit the band's heyday. This is a largely overlooked & mildly underrated release in the band's back catalogue that deserves a little more attention in 2024 than it generally receives so I'd encourage you to check it out.

For fans of White Zombie, Prong & Godflesh.

Ministry have made it big in pioneering the American side of industrial metal, with their 3 albums from 1988 to 1992 being commercially successful. With their 1996 album Filth Pig, the band's sound became darker and heavier than before, almost reaching sludge territory. According to founder Al Jourgensen, people hated the album. They wanted the humor and electronics of Psalm 69, but the album doesn't have much of those. I still like the heaviness though.

Darkness is often what I look for when I want to take a break from the brighter reality. And sometimes, darkness can be a bit intimidating. It can also have a bit of humor, from the literally meat-headed young American politician in the album cover. A whole lot you can find in the dark...

"Reload" is a short violent introductory song practically picking up where Psalm 69 left off. I was hoping for that kind of excitement in the title track, but it goes for a little too long and has almost given me brain damage. "Lava" is equally as long as the previous track, but it flows well in the riffs and vocals, almost like a march to a Southern battle. "Crumbs" is OK, but crumby in some places.

"Useless" fits well with its name, being far too weird for its own good. "Dead Guy" has awesome lyrics and nice groove. "Game Show" is the long 8-minute epic of this album. I wouldn't say it's bad in any way, but it's still a little weird and not something I would listen to on the daily.

"The Fall" seems to fall in quality but can stand back up for some time. Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" has been given the cover treatment here. It has a more alternative edge, a bit like Killing Joke at that time. No wonder it easily became a radio single! Really cool psychedelia there. Finally, "Brick Windows" brings back some earlier experimentation. Fantastic lyrics in this one!

Other things to mention about Filth Pig include the solid production and instrumentation. Those help keep the general quality stable, even in the lower half. There's nothing with switching gears to a heavier sound. A lot of us here are up for something like that. I just think a few of the songs in the album could've had better execution....

Favorites: "Reload", "Lava", "Dead Guy", "Lay Lady Lay", "Brick Windows"

I’ve never been a fan of Godflesh’s style of repetitive and simple Sludge Metal focusing on textures, nor was I very much on board for their overly rhythmic and still simple Industrial Metal. The issue is, none of the instruments are ever doing enough. Drums are slow, simple, and often play the same beat an entire song. Guitars scarcely compose something that could be considered a riff, usually opting to add fuzzy heaviness without much direction. Vocals always a bit too monotonous and occupying an unflattering middle ground between aggressive and lethargic. Industrial sound effects were, once more, too repetitive and too few to have much impact on the music.

Well, one of those things changed on Us and Them. The band adopted a very significant Drum and Bass influence for this album. Because of this, the rhythm section picked up a ton in intensity and complexity on many of the tracks. Sure, it’s still repetitive as all hell, but a faster paced, energetic and powerful beat backing their miserable tracks does wonders for entertainment. It’s all machines, but their previous drummers did everything in their power to sound like soulless robots anyway, so that’s no loss.

The unfortunate thing is, none of the other weaknesses were alleviated. Guitars are incredibly boring and minimal. The bass actually has some really cool moments, which is awesome! It finds itself playing lead more often than not, which just does more to highlight the rhythm section as the ultimate strength to this album. As cool as the rhythm section is here, it can’t offset the other incredibly boring aspects of the album. The band has incorporated more Industrial sound effects here, and this is a blessing and a curse: at best, the minimalistic songs gain some much-needed layers of density and intrigue; at worst, an incredibly annoying sound clip will repeat 30 times over, doing everything it can to ruin the song for you.

Special mention to the final tracks “The Internal” and “Live to Lose,” which show them building atmosphere and mood to great effect. Closer in sound to the Cold World EP material, which was the band at my absolute favorite. These songs are awesome and appeal to my tastes so much more. When the band builds atmosphere in addition to their trademark texture and rhythm, it elevates their music exponentially. Unfortunately, they rarely ever do this, and texture by itself proves something that will never appeal to me.

My cyber metal journey is full of surprises. Either they turn out well or they don't. With a more melodic, futuristic sound than industrial metal, how tempting can it be for a Sphere member like me? Quite a lot, thanks to killer albums like this one...

Taking on a hardcore-ish melodeath/cyber metal path, The Interbeing have existed for nearly two decades and has made an interesting light in the practically unknown cyber realm. Album #3, Icon of the Hopeless shows us what modern metal is like, complete with electronic atmosphere. And it's so fresh, keeping you aware of the future brought upon us. Whether good or bad, you have to be prepared for what lies ahead.

The intro "Revive" has that futuristic industrial vibe as the story begins in a dystopia of withering humanity. "Perplexion" kick-starts the heaviness like an upgrade from Fear Factory and Mnemic in the riffing while making room for the epic melodic chorus. Often the riffing takes a turn from industrial metal to leaning close to metalcore, which actually opens up more outer dimensions in the music-verse. The aggressive "Black Halo" has more of the metalcore-ish riffing, sounding like it's taken from both the early 2010s and 2020s era of Architects and Bring Me the Horizon. "Lies of Descent" gets you hooked with melodic sections and massive breakdowns to light up a retro skyline.

"Synthetic Bloodline" is filled with vicious perfection. "Lifeless Decoy" is packed with unpredictable heaviness. "Ruin" crashes through with more of the pulverizing verses and emotional choruses.

Single "Depressor" combines polyrhythms with synths the way Fear Factory can, though the chorus is a little lousy. "Eternal Eclipse" branches out a lot more, heading into a bit of progressive groove metal that will take you through space and back. Once we reach the title outro, you know this exciting journey is about to end. The intense ambience rises and then quickly fades out, leaving you wondering what's next for the band.

Well-focused without repetition, The Interbeing has given each song many different twists so none are highly alike. I don't know if anyone had ever predicted decades ago how futuristic metal would end up becoming, but if something like this dynamic album was their prediction, they f***ing nailed it. And here's to a more epic future of metal....

Favorites: "Perplexion", "Black Halo", "Synthetic Bloodline", "Ruin", "Eternal Eclipse"

The title of this EP and its title track reference the suicide of R. Budd Dwyer during a live press conference. He pulled out a gun from a manila envelope, and when people tried to stop him, he shouted "Don't, don't, don't, this will hurt someone!" and shot himself dead. Needless to say, that tragic event would later be depicted in the cover art of 1994 vinyl re-release of Neurosis' Pain of Mind and the original edition of CKY Volume 1.

Those samples aside, this EP is not really worth it. Most of the tracks have poor structure and rely too much on samples. The only good track is the radio edit of "The Machine" from its eponymous 1993 album, though obviously I still prefer the 8-minute original. Generally I'm only checking out this EP to complete my Dead World journey, and this is exactly how I wanted to end that journey, but there's nothing else left. Never before had I rated an industrial metal release this low, but that's all this f***ing sh*tter can get. At least the band had done their sound much better in their full albums....

Favorites (only song I even slightly like): "The Machine" (radio edit)

By 1995, Ben & I could count ourselves as being pretty big fans of Swiss black metallers Samael. We were both well across all three of Samael's albums to the time, all of which I consider to be essential listening for the black metal afficionado. I'd also gone so far as to secure myself dubbed copies of a couple of the band's early demo tapes through the tape trading scene in 1987's "Into the Infernal Storm of Evil" & 1988's "Medieval Prophecy", neither of which l'd say added much to my life if I'm being honest. But the point I'm trying to make is that there was a level of anticipation for Samael's next release after they'd improved on each & every recording to the time with 1994's "Ceremony of Opposites" third album being the finest work of the band's career still to this day. Coming off the back of such a successful effort, Ben & I went into 1995's stop-gap "Rebellion" E.P. with great confidence in the Swiss four-piece's ability to create a compelling musical soundscape so, when Ben brought home a CD copy of the brand-new E.P., we wasted no time in blasting it loudly from his bedroom stereo. Strangely though, I haven't given "Rebellion" much attention over the many years since which is a little bit telling. I wasn't able to remember exactly why though so I thought it was about time I gave it another crack.

"Rebellion" fits very much into your classic E.P. model as it's clearly a collection of disparate pieces that didn't fit into the full-length album concept. You get one brand new metal number in the title track, a couple of re-recordings of early works (see "After the Sepulture" & "Into the Pentagram"), a cover version of Alice Cooper's "I Love the Dead" & a few instrumental electro-industrial pieces, two of which are essentially the same with the exception of some German lyrics having been placed over the top of one. So, if you're looking for a cohesive & singular creative vision then you might want to look elsewhere. But what "Rebellion" does do successfully is create a transitional stepping-stone between the dark black metal of Samael's first three albums & their more industrially focused later material. It's here that you can first start to see Samael embracing the electronic component of the sound they're known for today although it's fair to say that it was still used a little more subtly which leaves the sound the band are pushing here in somewhat of a limbo between the two genres, not really feeling like either. It's mainly the use of spacey synthesizers that draws "Rebellion" into industrial metal territory although they're not over the top with a much greater emphasis being placed on that element for 1996's "Passage" album which pushed all the way out into fully-fledged symphonic metal territory.

The production job on "Rebellion" is thick & chunky & gives the material real clout, the riffs possessing a weight that comes more from the industrial metal side than the black metal one. The opening title track is the one that benefits the most from it with its groovy mid-paced riffage making it by far the most significant piece on the record. In fact, it's a little strange that it wasn't considered for inclusion on Samael's upcoming full-length albums to be honest as it's easily good enough & wouldn't have sounded out of place. The two re-recordings happen to be of my favourite tracks from each of Samael's first two albums which was a pleasant surprise but the reality is that neither can compete with the dark atmosphere of the originals, despite the heavier production techniques employed. I certainly enjoy both songs (particularly "After the Sepulture" which competes with "Rebellion" for the highlight of the E.P.) but neither added a lot to my life either to be fair. The rest of the E.P. feels more like filler than anything else in my opinion. I quite enjoy both versions of the six-minute electro-industrial piece "Static Journey" but can't see much reason for including both given that they're so similar to each other. Admittedly they do sound a little dated given the basic synthesized rhythms that have been employed. The three-minute outro piece utilizes the same creative platform but is unfortunately not as successful & I find it to be a little disappointing, as is the Alice Cooper cover version which feels more like a fairly accessible take on gothic metal than anything else & leaves me feeling like pressing the skip button a lot of the time although I've never been a skipper & likely never will be.

So, I feel that "Rebellion" was mildly successful in its quest to showcase a new sound that Samael would explore further across the remainder of their recording career but I would hardly say that it's essential listening for fans of the band. It's a professionally put together package & sounds bright & vibrant but I don't think it contains the depth that I enjoyed with Samael's first three albums.

For fans of Rotting Christ, The Kovenant & Moonspell.

As I continue my revisiting journey of Samael, we're heading down to a special EP. Rebellion marks the end of the band's black metal era and the start of their ongoing industrial metal era. Here we have two new tracks, two re-recorded tracks, and two instrumentals, one of the instrumentals having its own German vocal edition as a hidden track. Sure a few traces of their black metal era remains, such as those two re-recordings and the last bit of D-flat tuning, but mostly, a new industrial era has opened up...

So how has the sound turned out? Pretty great! Lots of catchy and heavy riffs. And the style really does live up to the fact that it's the bridge between Ceremony of Opposites and Passage. A few of these anthems I enjoyed a few years ago, and I still enjoy them today!

Case in point, the title track is a song useful for conquering doubtful situations in war and rebellion. "I know how little is the value of that which has a price." Then "After the Sepulture" is a more industrial remake of the best song of Blood Ritual and perhaps their black metal era, but I prefer the crushing original more. With evil slow riffing and vicious vocals by Vorph, it's a destructive highlight.

I have a problem with the Alice Cooper cover "I Love the Dead". It would've been great, but Vorph's attempt at singing it makes it a stinker. Don't worry, everything else is better. Well, not entirely better, "Static Journey" is a mediocre instrumental that's a little overlong.

Oh, when I say two re-recordings, I meant in the CD edition; a rare re-recording of "To Our Martyrs" appears in the cassette edition, and it rules! For the "Into the Pentagram" remake, I love it more than the original! The guitars and beats are greatly paced. Excellent! Then comes the untitled outro, a strange electro-techno instrumental slightly better than "Static Journey". Speaking of "Static Journey", that's the track that has its German vocal hidden track after 4 minutes of silence. A little better, JUST a little.

I would certainly recommend Rebellion to any fan of Samael and blackened industrial metal, though mostly for the awesome title track and re-recordings. The average instrumentals are better experienced by fans of electro-industrial. And that Alice Cooper cover? NAH....

Favorites: "Rebellion", "After the Sepulture", "To Our Martyrs", "Into the Pentagram"

‘Skills in Pills’ in the 2015 debut album of Lindemann, the self-titled project of Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann. Teaming up with Peter Tägtgren of the band Pain, this album feels like a heavier, more keyboard-driven and overall more ridiculous version of the aforementioned Rammstein.

The most noticeable element on ‘Skills…’ is, not only the outrageously ludicrous lyrics, but the fact that Lindemann is singing in English. Something he only did a brief few times with his main band. But the lyrics… oh my! Clearly Lindemann was somewhat filtered in his main project, because here, it’s like anything goes. Literally, there are no filters here. From drugs to abortion, and sexual fetishes involving obesity to being urinated on, absolutely nothing is off-limits.

The thing is though, I like it. It’s ridiculous and shouldn’t work, but it does. Lindemann can pull this kind of thing off, and with some incredibly heavy and ballsy music backing him, it just kind of works for him. And the musical side, all covered by Tägtgren, is incredible. Heavy and atmospheric, with some proper pumping and energetic performances, it suits the lyrics and baritone voice of his partner in crime perfectly.

With highlights including the pounding ‘Fish On’, ‘Ladyboy’ and ‘Cowboy’, the disgustingly offensive ‘Fat’, ‘Praise Abort’ and ‘Golden Shower’, or the hauntingly beautiful ‘Home Sweet Home’, this album is a flurry of utter nonsense, but well-written and down-right brilliant nonsense. Obviously this won’t appeal to everyone, but if you enjoy Rammstein and aren’t easily squeamish or offended, then this is most certainly an album worth checking out!

With industrial metal being one of the least listened to sub-genres for me, this month’s feature release risked passing me by like most others often do. Two things drew me to Revelator in the end. Firstly, the strange looking album artwork. Secondly, Daniel’s high praise for the band (borne out in his excellent review). Now, clearly, I have no reference point for Revelator in terms of a comparison to other The Amenta releases and as such, I can judge it solely on its merits as a standalone release. After several listens, I am not totally sold on it still but that is not to say that this about to open into a negative review, more that I have a lot learn still about this record.

Since my first listen through to the album, I have been unable to get Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise by Emperor out of my head. The cleaner vocals remind me so much of that record that I had to play it again to make sure I was not making it up. Stylistically, two different sub-genres, yet (having listened through the Emperor album in piecing this review together), some definite comparators beyond even the vocals. Revelator is an explosive album. One of those that is seemingly written with eruptions of power that blast through more tempered sections. Add this sense of density in terms of the layers to each record and my early comparison holds some firm standings.

Given I have an odd affiliation with that Emperor album, I have found that my enjoyment of Revelator has grown very easily. The progressive elements to the Australians 2021 release help the record play as almost a macabre celebration of metal music when you get the occasional bit of death metal thrown in for good measure and even some ambient work to boot. I do need more time with the more post-metal moments and do find the flow of the album interrupted by this.

However, The Amenta are clearly talented guys and the musicianship here is top notch. This is not very industrial sounding to me (saying that as an already declared irregular listener to this sub-genre) and has a lot more depth to it than I first expected, clearly therefore having been written by some mature artists. I find it theatrical and challenging at the same time as being a record that can appeal to my more primitive metal needs very easily. It is a solid discovery that has helped me rediscover an old favourite also.

For those that haven't been paying attention, I've been pushing underground Australian industrial death metal artist The Amenta pretty hard on the Metal Academy website since our initial inception back in 2019 & don't plan to give up on that task any time soon. Why, you may ask? Well, to put it simply, this Sydney-based outfit has not only been my favourite hometown band for that entire period but are also one of the most incredible examples of an undiscovered gem you'll find in the entire global metal marketplace. In fact, I'm continually astounded at just how underappreciated some of their releases are & I don't think that my long-time relationship with the band has anything to do with me taking that position either. I've been aware of this lot since they began life as local black metallers Crucible of Agony back in 1997, mainly due to the fact that they contained an associate of mine in Lord Kaos/Stone Wings front man Jamie Marsh who I played alongside in Sydney doom/death exponents Elysium at around that time. Fast forward through to 2021 though & you'll find that The Amenta had a completely different look & feel to them. Their style had evolved from black metal to a Morbid Angel-inspired death metal sound before slowly taking on more & more industrial metal elements, each album representing a different stage in their evolution & achieving a very different character to the last. Each of their first three full-length albums were nothing short of classic & I don't say that from a purely patriotic or nostalgic viewpoint either. 2004's "Occasus", 2008's "n0n" & 2013's "Flesh Is Heir" sit amongst my favourite extreme metal releases of all time with only the elite of the elite achieving higher echilons of metal glory. The long gap between releases may well have contributed to the quality of each release but would also seem to have been out of necessity given that the band became more of a national entity over time with the various band members sometimes residing in different states & playing in multiple other metal bands of significance. 2021's "Revelator" fourth album would end the biggest drought in The Amenta's recording career to date though & subsequently drew an enormous amount of anticipation from diehard fans like myself who have been attending the band's blistering live shows for so many years.

2013's "Flesh is Heir" record was a game-changer for me personally. It took all of the various elements that made up The Amenta sound & presented them in a fashion that saw my face being completely melted off & boy did I enjoy it. It would go on to be my Album of the Year & see me shouting its praises from the rooftops online too. The gap to the band's next album left me feeling a little bemused though & when it finally arrived I didn't quite know what to expect. By this time The Amenta had a very different look to the one that recorded a couple of crude black metal demos under their previous moniker back in the late 1990's with only guitarist Erik Miehs remaining from the Crucible of Agony days. Thankfully though, The Amenta had maintained the same lineup that devastated me with "Flesh is Heir" which certainly put them in good stead to achieve similar heights. From the promo shots released at the time, it seemed that the band had opted to push a slightly different image to before which shouldn't really have been a surprise as The Amenta had traditionally put a lot of time & effort into making the visual part of their live performances a unique experience rather than a simple reenactment of their albums. I wasn't sure if that would translate into a drastic change of musical direction or not but any fears I may have harbored were very quickly put to rest by another stunning piece of work.

"Revelator" is a wonderfully produced record that perfectly highlights The Amenta's strengths & talents. The music unceremoniously dives out of the speakers & violently grabs the listener around the throat, although on this occasion the song-writing tends to be more measured in how regularly it tightens its grip. "Revelator" once again sees The Amenta evolving on past glories, this time relying less on death metal savagery & more on the industrial side of their sound. The obvious Godflesh influence that was so apparent on "Flesh is Heir" is nowhere near as relevant this time though with the band taking you to places that you're unlikely to have trodden in the past. You see, "Revelator" is a much more moody & introspective record than we'd heard from The Amenta thus far & it draws from a wider range of influences too. There's a progressive edge to their approach that requires a little more patience but sees them challenging the listener on a more cerebral level too. This is a more mature The Amenta & one that's not afraid the show a little vulnerability rather than simply savaging their audience into a pulp. My ears pick up the influence of a disparate range artists from Mr. Bungle (particularly their deeper & more psychedelic material) to Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad & even a little of that twisted Arcturus sound. Don't get me wrong, "Revelator" can still thrash you to within an inch of your life but it can also lead you into some pretty dark places that will have you peering out of your eye sockets from deeper & deeper within yourself.

The tracklisting begins in the most violent fashion possible with brutal opener "An Epoch Ellipsis" (my personal favourite) being one of the finest examples of industrial death metal you're ever likely to hear. It doesn't really prepare you for the twists & turns you'll face across the remaining eight songs though as the stylist direction changes up regularly, never allowing the listener to become complacent yet still feeling cohesive throughout. The brilliant "Silent Twin" sees The Amenta experimenting with a sound that's more commonly heard on post-metal releases while "Wonderlost" dips its toes into dark ambience to great effect. Apart from "Psoriastasis", the remainder of the album sees The Amenta veering away from pure death metal but losing none of their menace. Legendary drummer Dave Haley's (Abramelin/Psycroptic/Consummation/Ruins/Werewolves/Blood Duster/Pestilence) undeniable talents behind the drum kit are brought to the forefront by a relentless machinegun double kick drum sound that sees him achieving ridiculous tempos with ultimate precision while his blast beats showcase a level of power & control that few can match. Charismatic front man Cain Cressall (Malignant Monster) not only spits out his lyrics with his trademark blackened snarl but also makes a wonderful fist of some very capable clean singing that will no doubt remind you of the impeccable metal royalty that is Mike Patton. I really love this element of the album actually & feel that it's one of the key ingredients in giving "Revelator" its own identity.

From what I can see online, "Revelator" doesn't seem to have received the accolades that some of The Amenta's previous records have & I find that a little hard to understand as this is yet another mind-blowing effort from the band. Perhaps it's simply a reflection of a modern society where young people tend not to give their music as much time as old-schoolers like myself who weren't gifted with music at the click of a button during our formative years. Make no bones about it, "Revelator" is a far less immediate record than The Amenta's earlier works & requires a little commitment to fully understand but that's not a criticism in any way. In fact, it's more of a compliment than anything as those sort of releases tend to benefit from a longer lasting appeal than those that waste little time in exposing their full wares. While I readily admit that it may not top The Amenta's first three classic albums, "Revelator" has once again seen me left dazzled by the sheer class of this wonderful Aussie metal icon, this time with a renewed commitment to creativity.

For fans of The Project Hate MCMXCIX, Red Harvest & Strapping Young Lad.

Many different artists and bands each have a massive boost of popularity in different ways. For this band Lord of the Lost (originally just called Lord, but the name had to be changed due to other bands like the Australian power metal band LORD, or Lordi, or The Lords), it was a couple things; 1. They were special guests for Iron Maiden's Legacy of the Beast tour. 2. Their performance in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. What was lost in the underground is now found more globally!

Blood & Glitter was released between those two events, much earlier than anticipated, at the end of 2022. It was a slightly late Christmas present for all the band's supportive fans. Gothic industrial metal has never sounded as pleasantly poppy as these tunes....

The title track is the band's song representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, though it could've been done better. "Leave Your Hate in the Comments" is a big "f*** you" to those who can plague the internet with negativity from the privacy of their home. I'm amazed by how brilliant this is, having the "take no sh*t" attitude the rest of the album would have. There's more of that in the aptly titled "Absolute Attitude". It's quite gentle and would work well for any 80s movie. And we have a lot more in "The Future of a Past Life", blending in that 80s sound with some growling by Marcus Bischoff of Heaven Shall Burn. So catchy while heavy enough to make even classic metalheads grin. "No Respect for Disrespect" has the retro synth-metal of Beast in Black.

"Reset the Preset" features Combichrist vocalist Andy LaPlegua, with music suitable for both the dancefloor and the moshpit. "Destruction Manual" continues the catchy industrial dance metal. "Dead End" is another highlight that's pretty much next-gen KMFDM. The ballad-ish "Leaving the Planet Earth" is the exact opposite of a love song.

Bring keyboards up front is "Forever Lost" that's almost a more electronic Moonspell. Taking on "Save Our Souls" with lovely strings is Subway to Sally violinist Ally Storch. The "important" "One Last Song" is a beautiful way to say farewell, having a bit of the recent poppy side of Avantasia in the mix. There's actually one more track here, a cover of Roxette's "The Look", featuring Jasmin Wagner, also known as German popstar Blümchen. A perfect cover, and arguably this album's true standout! RIP Marie Fredriksson

Vocalist Chris Harms believes in the long run when it comes to an album's value, "F*** the charts, playlist pitches and 1,000 pointless reviews in advance." I'm quite pleasantly surprised by how well Blood & Glitter turned out even though I'm late by a year and a half. Metal continues its modern expansion with great catchy results....

Favorites: "Leave Your Hate in the Comments", "The Future of a Past Life", "Reset the Preset", "Dead End", "Forever Lost", "One Last Song", "The Look"

A punishing force in industrial rock/metal, Killing Joke kept their comeback going since their 2003 self-titled album and 25th anniversary DVD XXV Gathering with another album. The self-titled album was more metallic than their earlier works and had Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) as the drummer, stirring up brilliant energy. However, fans of the band's mid-80s material wanted more of what they used to have, and vocalist Jaz Coleman wasn't highly satisfied with how that album turned out. He was determined to find the right balance in their next offering...

Fast forward to the recording of Hosannas From the Basements of Hell. The sessions took place in Studio Faust, a studio in an ancient building in Prague, specifically in its deepest darkest basement, aptly named Hell. The band can battle Satan's demon horde, feast on their remains, and reign in the cavernous darkness. The album was recorded using vintage equipment from the time of the band's debut release Turn to Red, giving Hosannas the massive intensity Killing Joke fans want.

"Lift up your spirits!" Coleman shouts to begin "This Tribal Antidote", gathering around "celebrants in a state of merriment", i.e. fans of the band, as we hear the guitars slay. The title track shows Coleman taking on the perspective of one of those fans, even referencing this very band performing, "I walk down the stairs and Killing Joke waits for me". The music and lyrics sound f***ing supernatural in "Invocation". I definitely like the beat. You get to hear some of Paul Raven's last audible bass with the band before his passing the next year, RIP. There's some ominous cello to go along with the strings. It would've been cooler if the beat was more synchronized, but it's still OK.

"Implosion" has the relentless drum-work of Benny Calvert, alongside the guitar riffing of Geordie Walker (also RIP), the vocal melodies of Coleman, and the booming bass of Raven. The out-of-this-world "Majestic" has majestic guitar force. One of the two long epics, "Walking With Gods" has some riffing to remind some of the band's early 80s era.

The other epic, the nearly 10-minute "The Lightbringer" builds a bridge towards the mid-80s. That can be considered a highlight, though the ultimate highlight goes to this next track... "Judas Goat" leads you to the darkest depth of Hell with more technical drumming, guitar rhythms, and singing almost like a mantra. Then you're teleported back home in "Gratitude" as Coleman sincerely thanks you and the gatherers for that journey, "A toast for the man who loves every hour of every day."

Although Hosannas hasn't reached as much success as the 2003 self-titled album, it shows the band having more creative freedom. Almost every track ranges from 5 to 10 minutes, similarly to ZP Theart-era DragonForce albums. The band has tighter focus here than in previous albums. You know who to thank for this music....

Favorites: "Hosannas From the Basements of Hell", "Invocation", "Majestic", "The Lightbringer", "Judas Goat"

Over the course of the past 10 years before this review, Fange has released 7 albums and 3 EPs, almost every one of which has a one-word title that starts with the letter P. Their music is best described as industrial sludge metal, sometimes heading into other genres like death-doom or crust-core. Basically a blend of some of the heaviest, most crushing metal genres around. And with this album of two 15-minute tracks, the sound has become more climatic, though also much less accessible.

I can almost consider this a more deathly and doomy Godflesh! Something similar to Godflesh is the amount of noise mixed in with the guitars, and the use of a drum machine instead of a human drummer. With all that and the underground production, what's more to add in this dark journey?

"Tombé Pour La France" (Fallen for France) is the first of the two epics, and it starts off sounding so crushing. Then things slow down for melodic riffing and hardcore shouting. They can do that without losing their crushing atmosphere, proven by the riffing becoming more industrial. The composition is so brutal and emotional, and sometimes the melody can bring their sound closer to post-sludge.

"Les Vergers De La Désolation" (The Orchards of Desolation) is the second epic, sounding more post-rock-ish, while maintaining a lot of the industrial effects. Lots of moods, melody, and textures... They can add in a slight bit of accessibility while staying in the underground.

All in all, Pantocrator is a dark mature release in which industrial and sludge collide alongside pieces of other genres to make something so diverse. Fange knows how to push the limits as much as the more popular post-sludge bands could. Although both epics stand equally between those two genres, fans of the post-sludge of Sumac might dig the first one more, and fans of the industrial noise of The Body might dig the second one more. Whichever epic you prefer, you know how harsh industrial sludge can get!

Favorites: Both, though I like "Les Vergers De La Désolation" slightly more

Two years after the release of Corrections House's debut Last City Zero, the group consisting of Scott Kelly (ex-Neurosis), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Sanford Parker (ex-Minsk) and Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod) continue pushing their dystopian industrial noise-metal to different levels. With Parker's beats, Kelly's riffing, Lamont's sax, and Williams' sick vocals, Know How to Carry a Whip maintains the greatness of the band's debut with more cohesive structures. This allows the dark despair to strike a bit more deeply...

An industrial backbone is constructed for the metal body. The mechanical music fits well for the moody concepts. The torch is often carried from one hand to another like a relay race, and when it glows, it's a darkened flame.

"Crossing My One Good Finger" has a tribal-ish beat to go with the mechanism, kicking off the dystopian industrial metal. We also have the slow crawling "Superglued Tooth" with the post-sludge riffing of Neurosis. Some background effects are added to the ritual, leading up to a closing dark dance-ish vibe. Those effects bleed into "White Man's Gonna Lose" with some perfect apocalyptic twists from the distorted sax. A true electro-industrial metal standout!

"Hopeless Moronic" is more bizarre with electronic sweeps while having some heavy groove. The lyrics seem pessimistic there. We escape into the acoustic darkness of "Visions Divide" in which even something soft can sound intense. "The Hall of Cost" is also dark but with a more chaotic attack, heading into misanthropic depths.

Switching around the structure is "When Push Comes to Shank" with moments of synth dissonance. The sax even has some emotion! Though the different twists cause the structure to be a bit unstable. "I Was Never Good at Meth" has greater structural sense when making these switches, albeit a lot more ambient. The closing track "Burn the Witness" has more of the tribal effect. The guitars are more solid and audible than most other songs here. The band have really outdone themselves by the end of it all.

If the band's debut Last City Zero was the album that showed the band what they are, Know How to Carry a Whip follows it up with another confirmation. As a result, their bleak devouring sound has made another round. Likely the final one sadly, considering the situation involving Scott Kelly....

Favorites: "Superglued Tooth", "White Man's Gonna Lose", "The Hall of Cost", "I Was Never Good at Meth", "Burn the Witness"

When I was listening to Gothminister's grand masterpiece Pandemonium, little did I know, they actually had a part 2 in the works. A few singles started coming out just a year after the release of Pandemonium, and one of them got the band into Eurovision 2024. Gothminister wasn't the only gothic industrial metal band to participate in Eurovision, with Lord of the Lost coming in last year with the title track for their own album Blood & Glitter.

And now, the Pandemonium story grows, with Pandemonium II: The Battle of the Underworlds! Bjorn Alexander Brem, Eirik Oien, Glenn Nilsen, Ketil Eggum, and Christian Svendsen are back onboard with this sequel that's worth the short one and a half year wait.

Opening with uplifting ethereal strings is the title track that becomes a true anthem of war, as the guitar/keyboard majesty is accompanied by the vocals of Bjorn and a female vocalist (Sandra Jensen?) to add to the theatricality. An epic beginning! Continuing the assault is "We Live Another Day" in which negative-sounding music battles against motivational lyrics as the drums pound hard. "Creepy Shadows" has heaviness creeping out the atmosphere while having a dance-happy chorus. "One Dark Happy Nation" continues the perfect contrast that shall work well live. Catchy melodies and simple rhythms collide with each other that sounds quite dark but at the same time happy. That kind of blend is so unique in many ways!

The angsty "I am the Devil" is another solid highlight in which the riffs march along. "The Procession" is an interlude that would fit well in a sci-fi horror film. "I Will Drink Your Blood" has explosive energy and more prominent symphonics. "Aftermath" is one more horror-filled interlude with the synth-strings of their earlier albums.

After that, "Tonight" has more violent atmosphere while still remaining a singalong composition. Keyboards are more noticeable in "We are the Heroes" while the other members have their heavy fire. "Monostereo Creature" has some more of that fury, though the music is mostly mystical. "We Come Alive" is the catchy final track, and the song the band performed in Eurovision. You'll definitely wanna sing along to this!

Mysterious keyboards and riffs and motivating lyrics make you remember Gothminister's place in the gothic industrial metal scene. Those compositions might just enhance the band's live shows, and anyone listening to them can experience this journey through the Underworlds!

Favorites: "Battle of the Underworlds", "One Dark Happy Nation", "I am the Devil", "I Will Drink Your Blood", "We are the Heroes", "We Come Alive"

The quality of cover albums depends on whether the covers follow the good technique (metalizing the songs with their own sound) or the bad technique (sticking firmly to the song's original sound with no changes). There is also the idea of following the song's original sound but it's almost exactly the same style as the band covering it, like the first half of Eighteen Visions' 1996 (another cover album following a comeback album).

So how does The Amenta's Plague of Locus strike me? Well they certainly knew how to give the songs they've covered a stylistic transformation. Of the 10 songs in this release, only two of them are original compositions.

The first original track is the eerie "Intro". Then "Sono l'Antichristo" follows. They've taken a song by avant-garde musician Diamanda Galás and turn it into a chaotic storm of synths, guitars, and drums blasting through. Their take on Killing Joke's "Asteroid" is actually more destructive than the original, becoming a truly p*ssed-off banger. "Angry Chair", originally by Alice in Chains, is given a f***ing darker treatment, sounding angrier than that chair. The deep grooves and clean singing are pulled off easily.

The title track is the second original track, this one being a full song. The brutality hits hard with heavy riffs, synths, and vocals, growing harder as the song progresses. Exploring the experimental noise of Wolf Eyes is a cover of their song "A Million Years". Then they pay tribute to fellow Sydney metal band Lord Kaos in "Crystal Lakes".

"Rise" shows The Amenta crawling through the sludge of the song's original band Halo. The somber "Totem" is another tribute to a Sydney black metal band, Nazxul, once again blasting through blackened chaos. Finally, "Black God" is an amazing cover of a My Dying Bride song to close off this cover album. Though it would be great if they could cover one of the heavier My Dying Bride songs.

You can consider any of these tracks a journey within a journey, as the covers end up stranger or heavier than the original versions, just the way I like them. Still I look forward to more of The Amenta's original music when the time comes....

Favorites: "Asteroid", "Angry Chair", "Plague of Locus", "Rise", "Black God"

The Body has a naked sound of brutal electronic drone noise that needs to be covered. Uniform has their own sound outfit of industrial noise/metal. Put a Uniform on The Body and see what happens. Well, their first collaboration is a drone metal album called Mental Wounds Not Healing. I might check out that one later, but for now, let's head into their second collaboration, the more industrial Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back!

I love heavy and catchy this offering is, in which sludgy beats are melded together with pop rhythms. The groove just stomps right through in great power. If this is what industrial metal sounds like mixed with synth-pop, we might have an interesting future of music in our hands.

Right from the start, "Gallows in Heaven" marches in with distorted beats. I love the punk-ish vocal delivery of Michael Berdan that fits well with the brutal noise from the guitars and bass. "Not Good Enough" is everything I want from this intense sound and more. It is a mighty monolith with post-punk-ish riffing. "Vacancy" has the drum machinery of late 80s Ministry leading into insanely catchy chords. Once again, the vocals by Berdan are something to love for the mighty aggression.

"Patron Saint of Regret" has the experimental noise sound left behind recently by Controlled Bleeding, structured by more of the punk-ish shouts of Berdan along with hip-hop beats. "Penance" is another interesting blend of industrial noise and synthpop with great production that can massage the brains of the strong and damage the brains of the weak. This kind of sound really is quite underrated. Though it would be greater if there were less of Chip King's screams that sound like a rooster being tortured. "All This Bleeding" has some more of the best post-punk riffing as waves of bass drum programming slice through.

"Day of Atonement" has that hip-hop pace again with heavier riffing and vocal effects to induce some chills. "Waiting for the End of the World" has some electronic ambience backed up by a different voice that's sinister all the same. The end that you're waiting for hasn't arrived yet until one final track... "Contempt" is pretty much the soundtrack to the final moments of Earth before total destruction with the massive sludgy riffing and percussion of Godflesh and 90s Ministry. It can't end more brutally than this!

I'm a little surprised by how much I love this collab. Industrial noise-metal had never sounded this amazing before. This would've been perfect, but what's blocking out the remaining half-star is Chip King "tortured rooster" screams. They're not bad, but they could've been improved. Still this is the kind of style with the potential to stun the Earth!

Favorites: "Not Good Enough", "Vacancy", "Penance", "All This Bleeding", "Contempt"

Originality sometimes spawns from ONE MAN... Tristan Shone has his one-man project Author & Punisher in which he is both them musician and engineer. He even has his own instruments made by himself! Cohesive music is formulated from Tristan's machine beasts of Hell.

I wouldn't say Beastland is the best industrial noise/metal album I've heard, but it's a d*mn excellent unique offering. It's not just adding 8-bit beeps and screams to the sounds of apocalypse. I'm talking about greatness that can be heard from the instruments Tristan created using his hands and tools. The writing and atmosphere are quite memorable, considering its vibe of bleakness and disarray.

Noise overpowers the music in the dark opening track "Pharmacide". The more electrifying "Nihil Strength" has some great emotion. The instrumentation in "Ode to Bedlam" is heavier and more disturbing, reach beyond industrial boundaries.

"The Speaker is Systematically Blown" drags you back and forth until you're in a daze. The melodic "Nazarene" sounds quite cool, but it ends abruptly. A bit disappointing, and the album would've been perfect if that didn't happen and instead went on for another minute. "Apparition" combines the melody of the previous track with more of the earlier heavy noise, and that's the kind of blend I like.

Then we come into two 6-minute epics, starting with "Night Terror" which has a lot of what the album has so far. It's only surpassed by the other epic, the closing title track, which ends it all in beastly destruction.

So the abrupt ending of one of the songs is the only truly fatal mistake. Tell that to those who think industrial noise/metal can cause headaches and brain aneurysms. Well sure it's not pleasant for many people, but it is for me. You need to have lots of experience with extreme genres from both industrial and metal to appreciate this outstanding writing. If you can survive sitting through this entire album that is practically noise pollution if played without headphones, then congrats. You have conquered the beast!

Favorites: "Nihil Strength", "Ode to Bedlam", "Apparition", "Beastland"

Shortly before Rammstein's hiatus, vocalist Till Lindemann invited Pain/Hypocrisy mastermind Peter Tagtgren to one of their concerts in Sweden. They previously met in the year 2000. After doing one of two songs, Tagtgren felt like making an entire album. The band wasn't originally going to be named after Lindemann, but every other band name they thought of was already in use. Still I think of this band as kind of Lindemann's solo project, and that includes his solo album Zunge.

Lindemann and Tagtgren make one h*ll of a storytelling duo. Tagtgren also handles all the music, though it would've been cool to hear some contributions from Rammstein members. Skills in Pills is one of the only Lindemann-led albums to be in English instead of German, making the themes of pills, drugs, booze, and sex more... well, naked.

The former 3 lyrical themes are covered the most in the interesting opening title highlight. The lyrics in "Ladyboy" has more deadpan delivery while having a bit of humor, "Dressed for fun, no romance. Two in one, I'll take my chance." And again in "Fat" which can shock the easily offended and get anyone with a sense of humor laughing, "Your flappy butthole, a soggy cave. I put in my parts, and let them bathe."

"Fish On" takes on a Devo-like style in a hot story of mermaid sex. Heading down into the earlier sounds of Rammstein, "Children of the Sun" seems fresh out of the Reise Reise sessions. "Home Sweet Home" goes further down into the Mutter era as an orchestral power ballad with lyrics not too far off from the fairytale that is the music video for the ultimate Rammstein classic "Sonne". Stomping through is "Cowboy", relatable to those dreaming of being a cowboy getting his chicks on Route 66(6). The song itself is a true highlight sounding close to Turmion Katilot.

The ultimate highlight goes to "Golden Shower". The lyrics are so ridiculous and potentially offensive, and yet I'm so intrigued, "Golden shower, let it fly, from your pretty c*nt!" "C*nt, c*nt, your pretty c*nt!" Absolutely Rammstein! Whispers and bells creep in on "Yukon". Even a song like "Praise Abort" can take on a controversial topic without causing a storm of conservative protesters. "That's My Heart" is a bonus track in the special edition with orchestration and additional vocals by Clemens Wijers of Carach Angren.

Skills in Pills is a pretty good start for Lindemann's duo with Tagtgren that made the wait for Rammstein's next album worth it for fans of the band. The duo have really added some kinky kinks to the sound Lindemann does best. Fun for the family, while not really being family-friendly....

Favorites: "Skills in Pills", "Fat", "Children of the Sun", "Cowboy", "Golden Shower"

Ooh, look at that! Another sludgy industrial metal supergroup. This one consists of members from bands Neurosis, Eyehategod, Minsk, and Yakuza. They were active for 8 years and two albums until splitting up in 2020. I'm guessing the split is related to guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly getting fired from Neurosis for abusing his family, which didn't come to light until 2022. Anyway, their debut Last City Zero doesn't reach the perfection of Greymachine, but it still reaches a solid level of greatness...

You can practically hear what the members have in store from their respective bands including apocalyptic heaviness and nihilistic themes. The industrial side of the sound stems from the guitar distortion, drum programming, and keyboard usage.

Opening the album is "Serve or Survive" with some ambient drone. Kelly's gloomy vocals definitely throw back to Neurosis, before main vocalist Mike Williams starts shouting through the heavy doomy industrial metal music. "Bullets and Graves" is a shorter industrial track that sounds like Neurosis and Skinny Puppy collaborated with each other in the year 1990. "Party Leg and Three Fingers" has more of that apocalyptic vibe.

Taking on a different while still dark sound, "Run Through the Night" is more of a folk-ish tune. "Dirt Poor and Mentally Ill" has chanting vocals while still making room for Williams' rage. Soon the lyrics become more poetic, especially in the spoken bridge.

"Hallows of the Stream" has mysterious jazz that would fit well for a crime noir film. The more poetic lyrics continue on in the title track, albeit in a spoken story over quiet guitar strums. Prophets and madmen seem to be the main theme there along with human suffering. The most unforgiving music and lyrics come straight with the closing "Drapes Hung by Jesus". An ambient intro leads into industrial metal that gradually becomes heavier, plus some eerie sax, before the last bit of lyrical poetry at the end.

Last City Zero allows you experience destruction and withering hope pleasantly from the comfort of your home. The experimentation blended with steel-strong heaviness is not something you would find in every supergroup. It fits well for a world reduced to ruin by climate change and carbon footprints....

Favorites: "Serve of Survive", "Party Leg and Three Fingers", "Dirt Poor and Mentally Ill", "Drapes Hung by Jesus"

What would happen if Godflesh's Justin Broadrick and Isis' Aaron Turner collaborate in a different experimental project? You get pretty much the best of both worlds in the perfect sole album by Greymachine, Disconnected!

Despite the project's short-lived existence, a lot of interest has spawned from it, thanks to the members' other bands like the aforementioned Godflesh and Isis, and Jesu (pronounced "yay-zoo", like when you're taking your kids to the zoo and they're like "YAY, ZOO!!!"). Disconnected is all about the journey of sound as the band takes you through music that's heavier and more pummeling than anything the band members have done before.

Different layers of instrumentation cover "Wolf at the Door", a song that really lurks like a wolf, including brutal bass, pummeling percussion, and vicious vocals in the background. The strange catchy "Vultures Descend" has more danceable industrial metal. Almost like a popstar zombie apocalypse, which is an odd analysis when talking about a song so heavy and bleak. We have some electronic fuzz in "When Attention Just Isn’t Enough" that evolved into merciless droning. This may very well be the pleasant soundtrack to a slow painful death experienced via electric chair.

I would be surprised if the rhythms in "Wasted" don't make you want to drum along. "We Are All F***ing Liars" is f***ing brutal in the guitar rhythms and vicious vocals. There's also a demo version that appears in the Japanese edition as a bonus track. Storming through is the dissonant aura of "Just Breathing" with hypnotic bass rhythms followed by warped guitar sounds to infect your mind.

"Sweatshop" is the best track for me here. It's like Godflesh but slower and more mesmerizing! The rhythms and feedback never cease to amaze me. Final track "Easy Pickings" is basically some small sections assimilated into one for a fulfilling experience.

The day I start listening to Disconnected is a day my ears will never forget. Greymachine has blown me away with nothing but bleak destruction. Disconnected is one of the heaviest albums I've heard in the Fallen side of metal. While it's certainly not for the inexperienced, fans of industrial/drone metal should not miss out on this. This is the perfect pinnacle of slow-crawling noise to make your ears bleed and then get them healed!

Favorites: "Wolf at the Door", "When Attention Just Isn’t Enough", "We Are All F***ing Liars", "Sweatshop"