BLACK SHEEP WALL - "New Measures of Failure"

BLACK SHEEP WALL: sludgecore kings release 13-minute "New Measures of Failure" track from upcoming new album "Songs for the Enamel Queen"

Stream new Black Sheep Wall track, "New Measures of Failure," here:
https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2021/01/21/black-sheep-wall-new-measures-of-failure-stream/

The song appears on the Los Angeles-area band's beastly new album, Songs for the Enamel Queen – its first new music in five years, out February 26th on Silent Pendulum Records.

According to vocalist Brandon Gillichbauer, the song describes "the cathartic release that comes from the desire and acceptance of being loathed by someone who once loved you.”

“‘New Measures of Failure' finds the Californian sludge lords wading deeper into the surreal swamp," says Decibel. Black Sheep Wall's colossally heavy brand of hypno-dirge can be traced to bands like Neurosis and Isis, but the band brings a sense of savagery beyond what most peers in that genre possess. Nasty riffs surge like tidal waves, propelled by octopus drumming and raw, wrathful vocals. Over 60 minutes of music, Songs for the Enamel Queen is full of surprises — Slint-style spoken words, a trumpet waltz, and more — but the intensity never wavers.

Pre-order the album, here:
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-the-enamel-queen

More info, here:
http://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2020/12/black-sheep-wall-songs-for-enamel-queen.html

Photo by Alex Brown

CEVIN KEY - "Anger Is an Acid" (ft. IAMX)

CEVIN KEY: Skinny Puppy founder teams with IAMX on new single "Anger Is an Acid" from upcoming solo album "Resonance"

cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy) has released "Anger Is An Acid," the new single from his upcoming solo album, Resonance.

Resonance, Key's fifth solo album, will be released February 19th on Artoffact Records. "This album may be my most personal," says Key.

On "Anger Is an Acid," Sneaker Pimps founder Chris Corner, also known as IAMX, lends his stunning vocals. Key states: "I wrote the basis of the song about 2 years ago and sent it to Chris on a whim. He held onto it for about 18 months and then one day surprised me with it. When I listened I was really blown away."

Stream "Anger Is an Acid," here:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3zhhlp6RiiBzaliHAgXXKw

Pre-order the album, here: 

https://brap.bandcamp.com/album/resonance

As co-founder of Skinny Puppy, cEvin Key is renowned worldwide for his contributions to industrial music. Through Skinny Puppy, solo work, and numerous other projects, Key has dozens of releases to his name, spanning almost 40 years, and bears a reputation as one of the leaders who has shaped the genre.

A 2019 Pitchfork article on industrial music states: "Vancouver’s Skinny Puppy are the germinal group of 1980s industrial music, a revolutionary band that pushed the limits of their voices, bodies, and instruments in ways that are still fruitful 40 years later. Their sound came from two gems of 1970s UK underground, new wave synth pop and industrial experimentalism, and offered forth a string of jagged, lo-fi groovy singles that dominated alternative ’80s dance floors. Skinny Puppy also delivered to the masses two iconic musician/performers, cEvin Key and Nivek Ogre, whose powerful, shocking stage shows would define industrial of the decade."

The album is inspired in part by the true story of Xwayxway, a largely forgotten Indigenous village located in what is now Stanley Park in Key's hometown of Vancouver. 

In addition to IAMX, the album includes guests such as Edward KaSpel (The Legendary Pink Dots), Otto von Schirach, and Tuvan throat singer Soriah. With such voices adding color, the album cruises through cinematic, industrial-techno soundscapes of Key's creation, ranging from the cold and ominous, to the soaring and ecstatic.

PLOHO - "Танцы в темноте" (Dancing in the Dark)

PLOHO: Russian post-punks release new single "Dancing in the Dark" from upcoming Artoffact Records full-length

From the frozen realm of Siberia, Russian post-punks Ploho have released new single "Танцы в темноте" (translated to English as "Dancing in the Dark)," from their upcoming new album, Phantom Feelings.

Phantom Feelings will see a February 5th release via Artoffact Records, home to Bootblacks, ACTORS, Kælan Mikla, and more of today's most vital post-punk bands from around the world.

Stream the new single, and pre-order the album, here:

https://plohoband.bandcamp.com/album/--8

Ploho frontman Victor Uzhakov describes "Dancing in the Dark": "A song about the last party, where in the dance you forgot everything you should have forgotten long ago. But you were afraid, you didn't want to do it, still keeping your feelings. You probably realized by now that the mood of the album is an attempt to start a new life, to part with the boring past."

Based in Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia, where the average temperature in January clocks in at two degrees Fahrenheit, Ploho is one of the most prominent purveyors of a “new wave of Russian music,” reflecting its homeland by way of a cold, wistful style of rock. Wielding melancholy guitars, minimalist beats, and deadpan Russian vocals, Ploho draws inspiration from the aesthetic and sounds of the late Soviet era of the 1980s, just before the collapse. The band's bleak rock references Russian bands of that time period, such as Kino, as well as post-punk royalty like Joy Division.

Formed in 2013, the trio has emerged as a household name in its native Russia, and has slowly built up a dedicated fanbase in Europe and abroad. To date, Ploho has recorded four albums and several EPs, as well as more than 10 singles, which they supported by touring more than 40 cities in Europe, several times. The band has appeared at prominent festivals including Боль in Russia, Kalabalik in Sweden, and Platforma in Lithuania. In 2019, they teamed up with Belarusian band Molchat Doma (Sacred Bones Records) to collaborate on a song titled "Along the Edge of the Island."

Photo by Artur Mamleev