Out today: BLACK SHEEP WALL - Songs for the Enamel Queen

Black Sheep Wall's new album, Songs for the Enamel Queen, is out today on Silent Pendulum Records.

Buy 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

"Let the punishment begin."
–Consequence of Sound

"SoCal doom unit Black Sheep Wall returns... with more melody and even more bitterness in tow. The melodies are disjointed and fragmented, and wouldn’t sound out of place on Hydra Head’s mid-2000s golden ages... Black Sheep Wall has an enigmatic touch that doesn’t involve cloaking themselves in secrecy. They offer just the right amount of confusion to make themselves a lot more interesting than many sludge and doom bands."
–SPIN

"With a decade of dynamic, experimental sludgecore behind them — as well as wild shows with like-minded riff warriors such as Converge and High on Fire — L.A.-area noise-makers Black Sheep Wall are set to return... The diverse LP veers between post-metal dirges, Slint-style spoken word, a trumpet-led waltz and more."
–Revolver

"Their most dynamic album yet... Where their previous albums have been all about pounding sludge, 'Enamel Queen' is a frantic mixture of tempos, harmonies, feedback and screams that feels like a genuine venting of their frustration and sidetracked ambition."
–The Pit

"As bone-crushingly heavy as it is psychedelic and melodic."
–BrooklynVegan

“Metal, hardcore, noise, post-rock, sad trumpet, sludge, soundscape dirges... It really is a journey, one unlike much else out there.”
–Invisible Oranges

"You missed this band whether you know it or not."
–Metal Injection

"[Songs for the Enamel Queen] finds the Californian sludge lords wading deeper into the surreal swamp."
–Decibel

"Arguably Black Sheep Wall's best record. So much has changed about this group, yet the core elements of their sound remain intact. Trading in slow plodding riffs for unorthodox melodies makes Songs for the Enamel Queen the most vulnerable and sonically dense album in the band's catalogue."
–Exclaim!

"Black Sheep Wall have emerged from their five year cocoon, sounding fresh and vital... Songs For The Enamel Queen is the sound of a band reborn, and easily one of the better (and adventurous) heavy releases you’re likely to hear all year."

–New Noise

"The band’s innovative drumming within sludge metal takes on near-mathy complication."
–Flood

"Songs for the Enamel Queen is the group’s first full-length in nearly five years and it’s a motherfucker, there’s just no other way to put. The album depicts a band and a mind on the edge, haunted by depression and addiction, and the 60-minute run time is nothing short of a harrowing journey."
–No Clean Singing

"For my money, this is 2021’s first must-listen."
–Everything Is Noise

"Seven tracks of devastating sludge, emotionally heavy post-metal, and earwrecking hardcore... It is a BEAST."
–Nine Circles

"Songs for the Enamel Queen is a milestone achievement for Black Sheep Wall and it appears as though this is the quintessential line-up, holding a bright future for the band ahead. Don’t miss what is sure to be one of the heaviest albums of the year, and a real triumph for the band."
–Sputnik Music

"Nearly one hour in length, Songs for the Enamel Queen is one intense journey, from start to finish... An experimental metal adventure."
–V13

"Songs For The Enamel Queen is an incredibly human record. It's an album that gets incredibly personal and showcases some of the darker sides of the human experience in an almost eager fashion. This is also a record that really sees Black Sheep Wall broadening their sonic pallet... Black Sheep Wall have gone above and beyond with this record."
–Two Guys Metal Reviews

"Bridging the pummeling nature of sludge with a dose of hardcore is Black Sheep Wall... Colossal breakdowns, melodic riffs, a blood-curling vocal performance by Brandon Gillichbauer and more."
–Heaviest of Art

CHAIN GANG GRAVE - "Backwards Reaction"

CHAIN GANG GRAVE: sewer-sludge-death-punks reveal music video for new single "Backward Reaction"

Chain Gang Grave has released the official music video for "Backwards Reaction," a track off its debut full-length, Cement Mind, out April 16th.

The video captures the duo in its native habitat – a basement beneath Brooklyn. Stream it, here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzB4-CEWbwI

Gloriously raw and creepy, never predictable, Chain Gang Grave draws from a wide range of influences – its sewer-sludge-death-punk nods to Black Flag, Immolation, and a whole lot in between. The band has been kicking around NYC for much of the past decade, releasing EPs and making a fan out of Mike IX Williams of Eyehategod, among others.

Four years since its last release, Chain Gang Grave returns, reborn as a duo, consisting solely of founding members Andrew Lanza and Jason Markowitz. The lean new incarnation of CGG rips the gate right off its hinges with its first full-length, Cement Mind. Songs like "Backwards Reaction" are bursting with end-of-the-world urgency and melodies that subjugate the ears.

Lanza states: "The album is split between the political and the personal. Some songs address the failures of the government and how poisonous far-right politics and conspiracies are, from the ground up. Other songs are attempts at verbalizing thoughts and feelings about confronting and overcoming mental illness."

Cement Mind was recorded and mixed by Lanza and Markowitz at their home studio in Brooklyn, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Poison Idea, Dropdead, Ceremony).

More info:
https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2021/02/chain-gang-grave-cement-mind.html

BLACK SHEEP WALL + Invisible Oranges

BLACK SHEEP WALL: new album "Songs for the Enamel Queen" now streaming in its entirety

Los Angeles-area sludgecore beast Black Sheep Wall has revealed its new album, Songs for the Enamel Queen, in its entirety, one day ahead of its release on Silent Pendulum Records.

Stream the album, here:
https://www.invisibleoranges.com/black-sheep-wall-songs-for-the-enamel-queen/

Songs for the Enamel Queen is a harrowing trip through the depths; intense and unpredictable, from start to finish. As Invisible Oranges puts it, “Metal, hardcore, noise, post-rock, sad trumpet, sludge, soundscape dirges... It really is a journey, one unlike much else out there.” Atop the dazzling musicality, Black Sheep Wall frontman Brandon Gillichbauer bellows lyrics that are painfully candid, making this an album that cuts to the bone.

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

"With a decade of dynamic, experimental sludgecore behind them — as well as wild shows with like-minded riff warriors such as Converge and High on Fire — L.A.-area noise-makers Black Sheep Wall are set to return with their first album in five years... the diverse LP veers between post-metal dirges, Slint-style spoken word, a trumpet-led waltz and more."
–Revolver

"The melodies are disjointed and fragmented, and wouldn’t sound out of place on Hydra Head’s mid-2000s golden ages... Black Sheep Wall has an enigmatic touch that doesn’t involve cloaking themselves in secrecy. They offer just the right amount of confusion to make themselves a lot more interesting than many sludge and doom bands."
–SPIN

"As bone-crushingly heavy as it is psychedelic and melodic."
–BrooklynVegan

“Metal, hardcore, noise, post-rock, sad trumpet, sludge, soundscape dirges... It really is a journey, one unlike much else out there.”
–Invisible Oranges

"Their most dynamic album yet... Where their previous albums have been all about pounding sludge, Enamel Queen is a frantic mixture of tempos, harmonies, feedback and screams that feels like a genuine venting of their frustration and sidetracked ambition."
–The Pit

Photo by Alex Brown

Out today: CEVIN KEY - Resonance

Resonance, the fifth solo album by Skinny Puppy's cEvin Key, is out today on Artoffact Records.

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.

Resonance features Key's cinematic, industrial-techno soundscapes with guest vocals by Edward KaSpel (The Legendary Pink Dots), Chris Corner (IAMX), Otto von Schirach, and more.

Resonance is inspired in part by the true story of Xwayxway, an Indigenous village located in what is now Stanley Park in Key's hometown of Vancouver. Key says: "I am honoured to be able to do that work... to lift up Indigenous voices... to help highlight the colonial erasure."

Stream the album and buy it, here:
https://brap.bandcamp.com/album/resonance

"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."
–Pitchfork

"In another universe, one where Kraftwerk birthed the world, [Resonance] was released as a classical record – put out, listened to, and performed for rooms full of blackcoats and starched white shirts in the rarified space of ballrooms and amphitheater mezzanines... It stands as an eloquent and listenable record – technically as good as it is stylistically."
–ReGen

"A wonderfully crafted album, made by one of industrial's legends... A sprawling, beautifully produced album that plays more like an abstract soundtrack than an outright conventional record... A juxtaposition of nature-meets-machinery in the most engaging way possible."
–Sputnik Music

CHAIN GANG GRAVE - Cement Mind

CHAIN GANG GRAVE returns with debut full-length album "Cement Mind"; new track streaming

"The untidy sounds coming from Chain Gang Grave are an assimilation of the band's name itself, a sum of its parts broken down to the frayed and sizzling circuitry. There's an unstable balance of lurching heaviness here, but far from typical or cliched... The band delivers dissonant rock structures with a jagged melody built underneath the smell of burning hair and thrift store perfume. These elements are placed on the coveted top shelf along with other valuable anti-trophies as a glaring warning, and a prize, to future cave dwelling primitives..."

–Mike IX Williams, Eyehategod

After some years of silence, Brooklyn band Chain Gang Grave returns with a surprise attack: its first full-length album, Cement Mind, coming April 16th.

Stream new track "Backwards Reaction," here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-xXCAEwjQg

Chain Gang Grave prowled the New York City underground for much of the '10s, purveying its own wildly creative and memorable sewer-stomp that lurked in the cracks between the more definable sounds of its contemporaries. Chain Gang Grave was essentially a hardcore band, but too complex to be neatly written off as such. Behind peals of acidic guitar, shouted vocals, and grimy production, its songs writhed and contorted into astonishing positions. The band birthed music as unpredictable as it was anthemic, expressing equal love for Black Flag, Rites of Spring, Immolation, and many deep cuts in between. On the strength of two EPs and a 7-inch, it made an outspoken fan out of Eyehategod frontman Mike IX Williams, among others.

Stereogum offered these words in 2015: "The band’s parade of horrors is seamless, regardless of the nearest point of stylistic reference... A melting pot of antisocial tendencies."

Four years since its last release, Chain Gang Grave returns, reborn as a duo, consisting solely of founding members Andrew Lanza and Jason Markowitz. Friends since high school, born and raised in South Brooklyn, Lanza and Markowitz were always the heart of the band; their musical telepathy is the force that drives the music down its circuitous paths.

The lean new incarnation of Chain Gang Grave rips the gate right off its hinges with Cement Mind. Songs like "Backwards Reaction," premiered today, are gloriously raw, bursting with end-of-the-world urgency and melodies that subjugate the ears. Out of squalls of feedback, Lanza's playing slithers from the desperate and hellbound, to the triumphant, and back again – one never knows where a Chain Gang Grave song is heading, but it is always the right place. Markowitz' drumming channels the styles of two dissimilar icons: Bill Stevenson's primal thump and Dave Lombardo's metallic hailstorms.

Lanza, now handling vocals in addition to guitar and bass, states: "The album is split between the political and the personal. Some songs address the failures of the government and how poisonous far-right politics and conspiracies are, from the ground up. Other songs are attempts at verbalizing thoughts and feelings about confronting and overcoming mental illness."

Cement Mind was recorded and mixed by Lanza and Markowitz at their home studio in Brooklyn, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Poison Idea, Dropdead, Ceremony). The artwork was created by Lanza.

Cement Mind marks the welcome return of one of NYC's most enthralling young bands. A true original, Chain Gang Grave continues marching to its own beat but may well find a new home in 2021 amongst fans of current favorites like Uniform and Portrayal of Guilt.

–––

Tracklist:
1) Cement Mind
2) Backwards Reaction
3) Strawberry Lye
4) Fever Dream
5) Money Cocoon
6) A Touch of Evil
7) Tinfoil Brain Leech
8) Psychic Commode
9) Denial Made Flesh/Painseeker

Lineup:

Andrew Lanza - guitar, bass, vocals

Jason Markowitz - drums

Discography:
When Your Friends Become Cops, 2014
Bury Them and Keep Quiet, 2015
We Fight Entropy/Suffer for Your Art, 2017

Cement Mind, 2021

–––

"The band’s parade of horrors is seamless, regardless of the nearest point of stylistic reference… A melting pot of antisocial tendencies..."
–Stereogum

"You can smell the hardcore oozing... in a discordant, noisy, anti-social, you know, FLIPPER, kind of way…  Come together, fall apart, reconvene and destroy.”
–Noisey

"With Chain Gang Grave, you get something that is punk, ugly and hemorrhaging noise... The hardcore version of a snakehandling sermon on the eve of judgment day.”
–Decibel

"Mixing sour and sweet might be done to death, but few do it as sharply as Chain Gang Grave."
–Invisible Oranges

"This duo blends Hardcore Punk, Death Rock, and Death Metal to manifest a sound that’s really 1 of 1. Chain Gang Grave is depraved AF."
–CVLT Nation
 

BLACK SHEEP WALL - "Human Shaped Hole"

BLACK SHEEP WALL: Revolver premieres "Human Shaped Hole" music video

"With a decade of dynamic, experimental sludgecore behind them — as well as wild shows with like-minded riff warriors such as Converge and High on Fire — L.A.-area noise-makers Black Sheep Wall are set to return with their first album in five year, Songs for the Enamel Queen. Due out February 26th on Silent Pendulum Records (you can pre-order it now), the diverse LP veers between post-metal dirges, Slint-style spoken word, a trumpet-led waltz and more."
–Revolver

"SoCal doom unit Black Sheep Wall returns after a six-year hiatus with their fourth record, Songs for the Enamel Queen, with more melody and even more bitterness in tow. The melodies are disjointed and fragmented, and wouldn’t sound out of place on Hydra Head’s mid-2000s golden ages... Black Sheep Wall has an enigmatic touch that doesn’t involve cloaking themselves in secrecy. They offer just the right amount of confusion to make themselves a lot more interesting than many sludge and doom bands."
–SPIN

"As bone-crushingly heavy as it is psychedelic and melodic."
–BrooklynVegan

Revolver Magazine has premiered the official music video for Black Sheep Wall's track, "Human Shaped Hole."

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.

The video is now streaming, here:

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/hear-black-sheep-walls-crushing-new-degenerate-anthem-human-shaped-hole

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

EST - "Those Eyes" video

“Get ready to be whisked away into a wispy, transcendental soundscape of emotion. San Diego’s gothy dream wave darlings EST have a new single, entitled Those Eyes. Their ethereal yet darkly-tinged poetic compositions embody ‘elements of truth, sorrow, existentialism, and the will to find a center in the chaos of the human experience.’”
— Post-Punk.com

Experience the “wispy, transcendental soundscape of emotion” that is the video for “Those Eyes,” via Post-Punk.com, here.

San Diego trio, EST, embodies elements of truth, sorrow, existentialism, and the will to find a center in the chaos of the human experience through wispy, poetic, darkly-tinged and dreamy compositions. Shaped in part by bands such as The Cure, Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, and Sunn 0)))), EST is comprised of Charlotte Noelle Miller, Christopher Ryan Braciszewski, and John Christopher Harris II-- plant scientists who absorb the dark and healing frequencies of nature to create a medium for communication. Described by publication Week in Pop as having a “sensibility that evokes the essences of throwback imprint institutions from classic 4AD, Creation Records, Sarah Records, Cherry Red, One Little Indian, vintage Flying Nun, retro Rough Trade and countless more,” the band takes on an experimental approach with varying degrees of shoegaze, darkwave, and goth influences that transmit philosophical beliefs rooted in feminism and post-modern feminist ideals. As for the acronym, the name holds many meanings-- a reference to Erhard Seminar Training via the allusion towards “Electronic Social Transformation.” Their sound combines this emotional manifesto with the language of technology to enhance the experience of what it means to be a participant in our ever-changing social scope of inner-self and outer exploration.

 

The band’s upcoming EP, “Electronic Social Transformation," will be out April 3rd, 2021. EST plug their hearts into the matrix on this 3 song follow-up to their early quarantine EP, “The Everies,” providing the Dreamgaze/Gothwave soundscape that only these ethereal vampires could sing from within the depressed computer. Both EPs will be available for preorder on one limited clear 10” vinyl pressing, available only at their bandcamp, here.

EST Instagram

Bandcamp

SoundCloud

Spotify

KANGA - "Moscow" video

KANGA: Post-Punk.com premieres "Moscow" music video

The official music video for KANGA's song "Moscow" is streaming now.

The video is "a short story celebrating love and the inevitable pain and loss that comes with it," in KANGA's own words.

Based in Los Angeles, KANGA's dark, danceable pop is marked by her commanding, ethereal vocals, and an undercurrent of industrial elements. Post-Punk.com describes her as "a unique fixture on the scene, fusing post-apocalyptic pop sensibilities with body-shaking rhythms and sinuous melodies. A little Kylie Minogue here, a little Skinny Puppy there, her dynamic mix of production, songwriting, vocal melodies, and synth create a lush, highly-danceable tapestry."

Stream the "Moscow" video, here:

https://post-punk.com/dark-electronic-music-artist-kanga-weaves-a-romantic-daydream-between-two-lovers-in-moscow/

"Moscow" appears on KANGA's forthcoming sophomore album, You and I Will Never Die, out March 26th on Artoffact Records. Written and performed entirely by KANGA, it was mixed by Justin McGrath (Nine Inch Nails) and Brett Romnes (Brand New), and mastered by Nick Townsend (Dr. Dre, Garbage).

Pre-order the album, here:

https://kanga.bandcamp.com/

You and I Will Never Die follows KANGA's much acclaimed, self-titled, debut album, released in 2016. KANGA has toured the US, UK and Europe with Gary Numan, The Black Queen (Greg Puciato of Dillinger Escape Plan) and more. In addition to making her own music, KANGA is a producer and remixer whose credits include Dalmation (Kristina Esfandiari of King Woman), 3TEETH, clipping., Danny Blu and more. She also composes for film, notably assisting horror composer Joseph Bishara on scores for the Insidious and Conjuring films.

Photo by Michael Mendoza

KAUAN - Ice Fleet

KAUAN: Artoffact Records to release Russian post-metal visionaries' eighth album "Ice Fleet"; new track streaming

Artoffact Records announces the April 9th release of Ice Fleet, the spectacular new album by Russian post-metal visionaries Kauan.

Stream new track "Raivo" and pre-order the album, here:
https://kauan.bandcamp.com/album/ice-fleet

Opening with the haunting sounds of a creaking ship, Ice Fleet is based on the true story of an unidentified fleet discovered in 1930 in northernmost Russia, completely frozen under the permafrost with crew and passengers' bodies grotesquely preserved.

To tell the tale of this unsolved mystery, Kauan has composed an epic seven-song concept album built upon frigid atmospheres, post-rock melancholy, synth-laden rapture and metallic triumph. Sparse vocals, sung in Finnish, range from the pensive to the blackened to the operatic.

A full immersion, Ice Fleet is the pinnacle of this great band's career thus far.  Supremely evocative, the music puts the listener right there amidst the ice. Flowing from delicate lulls to walls of sound, the album unfolds perfectly – a masterwork of pacing and dynamics.

To accompany the music and enhance the experience, the band has created a 40-page tabletop role-playing game, available now for pre-order along with the LP, CD, and other merch.

–––

Kauan mastermind Anton Belov began making music in 2005 as a teenager in his home of Chelyabinsk, nearly 1,000 miles east of Moscow. His early work was inspired by the landscapes of the region – the Ural Mountains and vast plains. Seeking a language that would be undecipherable to most people (and honoring some of his favorite metal bands), he chose to write lyrics in Finnish and he named his project with the Finnish word "Kauan," meaning "for a long time." By the age of 16, he had written Kauan’s debut LP, Lumikuuro, establishing his unique ability to combine crushing metal and quiet introspection in seamless ways.

Over eight albums, Belov and his collaborators, now based in Tallinn, Estonia, have carved a special path through the underground. 2015 saw the release of Sorni Nai, arguably Kauan’s most ambitious work up to that point, chronicling the Dyatlov Pass Incident, an expedition of nine doomed hikers who mysteriously died in a blizzard in the Ural Mountains. The album received extensive critical acclaim, including this high praise from Stereogum: "Kauan blend elements of folk and metal better than perhaps any other band today, clouding doom in a lush and weary atmosphere... The band captures a sad sense of loss — not maudlin but nostalgic." 2017's Kaiho saw Kauan step away from its metal origins in favor of atmospheric rock, featuring lyrics written by the great Finnish folk singer Marja Mattlar. In 2021, Kauan has returned with a new label, Toronto-based Artoffact Records, to release the band’s most ambitious album to date: Ice Fleet. 

Tracklist:
1) Enne
2) Taistelu
3) Maanpako
4) Kutsu
5) Raivo
6) Ote
7) Hauta

Lineup:

Anton Belov - guitar, vocals

Alina Belova - keyboards, vocals

Alexander Vynogradoff - bass

Anatoly Gavrylov - viola

Anton Skrynnik - drums

Discography:

Lumikuuro (2007, BadMoodMan Music)

Tietäjän Laulu (2008, BadMoodMan Music)

Aava Tuulen Maa (2009, BadMoodMan Music)

Kuu.. (2011, Avantgarde Music)

Pirut (2013, Blood Music)

Sorni Nai (2015, Blood Music)

Kaiho (2017, kauanmusic)

Ice Fleet (2021, Artoffact Records)

Photo of Anton Belov, by Alina Belova

Out today: PLOHO - Phantom Feelings

Ploho's new album Phantom Feelings is out today on Artoffact Records.

The trio hails from Novosibirsk, Siberia and plays cold, melancholy rock with vocals in their native Russian, inspired by the late Soviet era of the 1980s and by post-punk legends like Joy Division.

Stream the album and buy, here:

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

More info:

http://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2020/10/ploho-phantom-feelings.html

"Album of the Day... The Siberia-based band offer nine dark dance tracks that conjure spectral images of dive-y spaces filled with people who like their club music served with a good dose of melancholy.”

–Bandcamp Daily

"Album of the Month... Nine warm yet melancholic tracks evoking the best of 80s synth, post-punk, and darkwave."
–Post-Punk

"A wistful tune of jangled guitar-work and low-end rumble... It’s a colder wave of sounds fit for a band hailing from the southwestern section of Siberia off the banks of the Ob River."
–Vanyaland

"Cold post-punk influenced by groups such as Kino and Joy Division."
–Scene Point Blank

"Anthemic hooks paired with ironically detached vocals sung in Russian. And while being a dance floor friendly bop, the song is imbued with the sort of nostalgia and melancholy that makes it sound as though it could have been released during 4AD Records‘ heyday."
–Joy of Violent Movement

Photo by Artur Mamleev

CEVIN KEY - "Tomahawk"

CEVIN KEY: Skinny Puppy founder releases "Tomahawk" single from upcoming solo album "Resonance"

cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy) has released "Tomahawk" 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.

Resonance sees Key enlist the help of an array of guest musicians, from Edward KaSpel (The Legendary Pink Dots) to Chris Corner (IAMX). Newest single "Tomahawk" is an industrial-laced techno joyride, featuring composer and sound designer Traz Damji, a longtime collaborator of Key's.

Stream "Tomahawk," here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/250bEYDVSRNv60UcCrEAMj

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."

Resonance 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. Key says: "I am honoured to be able to do that work... to lift up Indigenous voices... to help highlight the colonial erasure."

TRACE AMOUNT + Body Stuff

TRACE AMOUNT: Body Stuff backs industrial phenom on new track "Concrete Catacomb"

NYC industrial artist Trace Amount's newest single "Concrete Catacomb" is out now. 

The track features a guest appearance by Body Stuff.

Stream the song, here:

https://traceamountnyc.bandcamp.com/album/concrete-catacomb

Trace Amount's monotone vocals and harsh industrial dance pulse provides the track's foundation; Body Stuff's Ryan Jones adds angelic guitars and Body Stuff's Curran Reynolds sings a few impassioned lines toward the song's end.

Interviewed by Berlin-based blog The Brvtalist, Trace Amount mastermind Brandon Gallagher says: "'Concrete Catacomb' is a bit of a 'fuck you' anthem to all of the people who left New York... This track is intense but at the same time it's meant to celebrate all of the things that make this place great, and real ones know that. Curran (Body Stuff) is one of my longest friends/connections from New York, so to have him on the track means a lot to me."

Trace Amount's latest releases include the Endless Render EP, produced by Uniform's Ben Greenberg, and the Under the Skin EP, a collab with Pig Destroyer's Blake Harrison.

Body Stuff's latest EP, Body Stuff 3, was described in the pages of The Wire as "Damned/Misfits/Cult-style goth punk, Replacements-ish doomed romanticism and dissolute synth-assisted stadium rock, abetted by a drum machine whose brutally basic patterns echo the mechanical pound of Big Black, Godflesh and early Sisters of Mercy."

Artwork by Dog Bites Back

PLOHO + Post-Punk

PLOHO: Russian trio premieres new Artoffact Records album "Phantom Feelings" via Post-Punk.com 

One day in advance of the release of Ploho's Phantom Feelings, Post-Punk.com presents a premiere of the entire album.

Stream Phantom Feelings, here:
https://post-punk.com/album-of-the-month-listen-to-russian-post-punk-trio-plohos-phantom-feelings/

Buy the album, here:

https://plohoband.bandcamp.com/

Based in Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia, 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 ten singles, and has toured Europe extensively. In 2019, they teamed up with celebrated Sacred Bones Records band Molchat Doma to collaborate on a song titled "Along the Edge of the Island." Post-Punk.com featured the two bands in this recent article about the Soviet-inspired scene of today: https://post-punk.com/russian-post-punk/

A string of evocative music videos has also helped convey Ploho's distinct vision, including this one which has racked up almost 450,000 views: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-QwaA1NzAA

As one of the newest signings to Artoffact Records, Ploho joins a roster already stacked with exciting artists from around the globe, exploring different facets of post-punk: Iceland's Kælan Mikla, Lithuania's Solo Ansamblis, and Canada's ACTORS, to name just three.

"Driven forth by droning keys, racing guitars, and swift bassline... Evoking the introspective feelings captured by The Cure circa 1980-1981."
–Post-Punk

"The Siberia-based band offer nine dark dance tracks that conjure spectral images of dive-y spaces filled with people who like their club music served with a good dose of melancholy."
–Bandcamp Daily

"A wistful tune of jangled guitar-work and low-end rumble... It’s a colder wave of sounds fit for a band hailing from the southwestern section of Siberia off the banks of the Ob River."
–Vanyaland

"Cold post-punk influenced by groups such as Kino and Joy Division."
–Scene Point Blank

"Anthemic hooks paired with ironically detached vocals sung in Russian. And while being a dance floor friendly bop, the song is imbued with the sort of nostalgia and melancholy that makes it sound as though it could have been released during 4AD Records‘ heyday."
–Joy of Violent Movement

Photo by Artur Mamleev

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The concept of Cult and Culture began as a short segment created by Justin Pearson, an internationally known musician, record label owner (Three One G Records), author, and actor. He is best known as bassist/vocalist for bands such as Dead Cross, The Locust, and Retox. Justin has come to know and work with a broad spectrum of captivating personalities and brilliant minds, many of which are key figures in the realm of popular culture and cult followings alike. John Waters was one of the first people interviewed for the project- an icon of both cult and culture. Other guests include a broad scope of musicians, producers, authors, and anyone passionate about what they do. In its infancy, segments were shorter, 10-20 minutes, and would be recorded while on tour. Since then, Pearson has collaborated with producer and musician Luke Henshaw (Planet B, Sonido de la Frontera) to build the idea into a proper podcast. The focus is not intended to be solely on people in any one realm, and because guests are friends and family, the conversations are frank, informal, well-informed and genuine.

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