Industrial Metal

EMQ’s With Lotus Thrones

EMQ’s With Lotus Thrones

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview with USA based one man Post-punk/ Industrial project, Lotus Thrones. Huge thanks to main man, Heath Rave, for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My name is Heath Rave. I play almost everything on my recordings (drums, guitars, synth, vocals) outside of the frequent saxaphone additions by Bruce Lamont (Yakuza, Bloodiest) and the occasional guest. Like a lot of newer projects, this one started during the pandemic. I had been away from music for quite some time due to mental health and I finally reached a place where I could make music again. I started learning how to record with help of a ton of great friends and connections and here we are at album 2!

How did you come up with your band name?

I’ve always been drawn to southeast Asian philosophy and found their deities incredibly beautiful, fascinating and powerful. Many sit upon a lotus throne when being presented in artistic forms and the two words together invoke the power of the delicate.

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

I’m currently located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Everything up down the East Coast is incredible and there’s a vibrant scene of multifaceted music artists from hardcore, to hip-hop, industrial and death and black metal.

What is your latest release?

The Heretic Souvenir – album.

Who have been your greatest influences?

Hands down for this project Killing Joke, Justin Broadrick from Godflesh / Jesu, Ministry and Trent Reznor / Nine Inch Nails. For me they define what is experimental and boundary pushing with no fear of stepping into any sounds they see fit.

What first got you into music?

My older sister and I cut our teeth on 80’s thrash and glam metal along with some new wave stuff. Skateboarding introduced me to punk rock in 80’s as well. We loved everything from Slayer to The Cure to The Misfits to Motley Crue. It was all fun and a little naughtier back then.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

I would love to work with Chris Connelly of Revolting Cocks /M inistry or the rapper Backxwash. It would be a dream to work with Youth from Killing Joke and the ultimate would have to be Peter Gabriel.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Roadburn. The most all-encompassing and quality fest on the planet. Its highly curated and not overblown, and I would see a ton of friends.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I’ve never received a weird gift from a fan. The greatest gift I every received was Toby Verhines messaging me about my music and discovering an incredible artist that helped make the vision happen for the new record.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

Whatever is good to you is good and you owe no one explanation of your feelings and tastes in art. Please purchase the vinyl!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

David Bowie.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

These days, I really enjoy the fact that with technology I can create whenever I have time and however I see fit. I have so many sounds and ideas in my mind and there are no limits now. I try not to hate, there are things that are frustrating for sure, they are the same things make modern society difficult like social media and promotion. Adaptation is the key to survival and do want my music to be available to those who would enjoy it.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Monetary compensation for streaming.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Peter Gabriel – 3 (Melt)

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

See, are we speaking science or preference? Because at the end of the day, the sonic quality of the Compact Disc is scientifically proven to be the best sounding format regardless of feelings, taste and societal expectations. I have them all though. I love my records, I love that I still have CD’s in my car. Tapes are cool to look at and downloads and streaming keep the soundtrack flowing all day.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

We’ve only played a few now as I’ve just gotten a live band together so they’ve all been special and learning experiences.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

I’m also a tattoo artist and a father so I’m usually doing a lot!

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Jaz Coleman, Crispin Glover, David Lynch, Chuck D, Sun Ra.

What’s next for the band?

Getting this record out and some shows this year. I’m currently finishing up recording record 3 as well as a couple EP’s and an ambient project I’ve been working on. Tons of stuff.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

https://lotusthrones.bandcamp.com/album/the-heretic-souvenir
IG: @lotusthrones
FB https://www.facebook.com/lotusthrones/

Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?

A Bap. Admittedly I had help as my friend from Yorkshire who lives in New Jersey stopped by today.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Buy the record if you have a record player and thank you for all your support!

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Dunwich Dreams – Rise Of The Seventh Sun

Dunwich Dreams – Rise Of The Seventh Sun
Self-Released
Release Date: 10/03/23
Running Time: 34:24
Review by Dark Juan
4/10

Once more into the breach, dear friends – this review is the result of another one of Simon “Sounds Up Your Street And They Have Been Bothering Me For Ages” Black’s lucky dips (to be fair, a mixture of Metal and Electronics is generally what pleases the lugholes of your favourite ersatz Metal hack), where the good team of Ever Metal get assigned a record that has been sent to us by the bands themselves, as opposed to a PR company or label, in an effort to connect you good readers to the true underground. There have been some absolute gems that we have discovered since we have been doing it and some that are… strictly average, let’s say, because I am wary of battering down someone’s art and passion simply because I haven’t enjoyed it. Unless they have been total arseholes, anyway. Everyone could be more like Nicholas Golden of GLDN, who was gracious when I wasn’t massively a fan of his record, out of which a mutual respect and a kind of friendship has grown, where we now support each other’s work passionately because he’s a good egg and a fine musician who had had a slight misstep.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again – I am a music CRITIC and therefore I am not going to think everything is wonderful and I am not at Ever Metal to tell you everything I hear is amazing because a) it isn’t, and b) I am not here to blow smoke up the arses of bands, because if I do then I am doing you readers a disservice (especially when your record-buying budgets are somewhat constrained after the calamities of the past couple of years). With that in mind, today’s platter is by Alberquerque, New Mexico-based Dunwich Dreams, who were formed in 2015, “Rise Of The Seventh Sun” being their second full-length release. They write music based upon their love of horror literature.

I’m going to be honest here – this is a very raw release. The guitar sound is pure Line 6 Spider (as in very… artificial sounding) and the drums curiously far down the mix for a record that combines Metal and Electronic music. Normally the drums are at the forefront providing a percussive drive and they are just a noisy backdrop to the music of Dunwich Dreams. I can see what the band are trying to achieve with their arrangements and their attempts to fuse Metal and Electronics, but it is all just way too disjointed. The guitar work is far too spasmodic and lacks flow and clarity, especially on ‘Coded For Contention’ (where the guitarist is struggling to keep time in places) and the sequenced bass the band are using is simply horrible, being all clanky and clunky. It is obviously artificial, but I am not sure whether the band intended it that way. The electronics are much better but there is far too much reliance on “Pretty Hate Machine” era bloops and squelches – however this could be due to limited equipment rather than any great deficit the band themselves have. The vocals are also not to the taste of this Hellpriest – a scratchy, Manson-esque growl is all well and good and to the credit of Rosary Leyba, but his clean vocals are lacking, and he struggles with them.

‘The Somnambulist’ is a good enough tune and moves along at just the right pace for a good, solid mosh and also ‘Vengance’s Folly” (sic – I’m fairly sure that’s a misprint in the blurb) is a pretty good KMFDM analogue that would have benefited greatly from a different vocalist. The Industrial Rock of this song needs a Lucia Cifarelli singing on it rather than Rosary’s proto-death growl. And the guitarist is out of time on the song again when he’s chugging.

I am not thrilled by Dunwich Dreams, and you all know that I will always try to find positives in what I listen to. There is much promise here – the melding of Metal and Industrial and Electronic has the potential to be jaw-droppingly good, but the ambition of the band appears to be outstripping abilities but I really do feel that Dunwich Dreams would benefit from a better guitarist (this is coming from a guy who left his last band because he was too shit a guitar player!) and to rein in the ambition and concentrate on writing solid songs before striking out in search of expansive new vistas.

Oh, and ‘Violent Sticky Sex’ was a massive disappointment, being more of a plodding dirge when it could have been a stomping sex-a-thon just right for courting Metal couples. I think Dark Juan will stick to ‘Closer’ by NIN when on the path of seduction…

To draw this review to a conclusion then: This album is a raw, unfinished thing that could have done with another few weeks being rehearsed before going into the studio and it being re-produced by someone who knows what they are doing as it sounds like it was recorded in one take in someone’s basement. The guitar sound is deeply unpleasant, the bass twangy, the drumming less audible than it should be and the electronics overpowering. I am not sure what Dunwich Dreams are trying to say with their music.

The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System doesn’t get many duds nowadays and it just increases the disappointment when it does. Dunwich Dreams are not one for the annals of Dark Juan’s music collection and therefore are awarded 4/10. There’s oodles of promise, but there’s a metric fuckton of work ahead for Dunwich Dreams to do to realise it. British bruisers Spectral Darkwave do it so much better…

TRACKLISTING:
01. The Black Wings Of War
02. Onward to Ragnarok
03. Rise Of The Seventh Sun
04. A Darkness Hungers
05. Coded For Contention
06. The Somnambulist
07. Vengance’s Folly
08. Violent Sticky Sex
09. The Serpent’s Flight

LINE-UP:
Rosary Leyba – Vocals / Electronics
Jordan MacDonald – Guitar
David Harris – Drums

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dark Juan and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Atrocious Filth – OVV

Atrocious Filth – OVV
Moans Music / Fabryka Halasu
Release Date: 24/02/23
Running Time: 33:22
Review by Dark Juan
10/10

There is a dinosaur sized, half-finished turkey’s head and neck on the seat next to me. It stares directly into what is left of my soul with it’s dead, wide-open white glass eyes and I’m sure the creepy fucking thing keeps moving in my peripheral vision, inching ever closer to your faithful correspondent as he bashes at this keyboard with increasing fear and a slowly growing panic. I am not safe in this house. All the creepy as fuck things Mrs Dark Juan keeps making are going to one day go on the march in search of their twisted creator and not remain safely in the places that have bought them and made their homes. I am in danger. The velociraptor-sized bird’s head has lurched a perceptible inch or two closer and I swear the fucking thing is threatening me…

Welcome to a normal day in Crow Cottage. I am ignoring the turkey sculpture and its nefarious plans for me and instead listening to Atrocious Filth from Poland. When I requested Atrocious Filth, editor emeritus Simon “The Archbishop Of Banterbury” Black had a giggle at Dark Juan’s expense and claimed, “Well, that’s all you write anyway, innit?”

The above sentence might have been paraphrased, as Simon is a man of cut-glass English diction and Received Pronunciation. He’s also not wrong. Girls’ finishing schools are currently on the alert, and every convent in a thirty-mile radius.

Atrocious Filth were originally formed in 1991 with ex-members of Vader in there, but then went off to do other things, and then got back together in 2016, and this “OVV” album represents only the third recorded release from these worthy Polish heavyweights.

The band combine the uncompromising heaviness and weighty sound of early “Industrial” era Pitch Shifter, the sub-zero, icy coldness of Godflesh and the dissonance and humanity of Murder Inc and Killing Joke. These, as regular readers will know about Dark Juan and his absolute lack of musical taste or discretion, are all Very Good Things, because Dark Juan’s primary musical love (besides the Sisters Of Mercy) is Industrial, in all its forms from EBM and futurepop through to barely listenable noise (hello, brb>voicecoil and Omnibadger!)

Atrocious Filth are a superb bunch of musicians – ‘D’ (the song titles are all letters) shows this off to advantage as the band seamlessly combine Djent, Jazz and Industrial into a horrible to behold new shape and then just start TWISTING the poor music until it snaps in half. It takes you through a maelstrom of harsh dissonance that punishes the senses and only lets up after four and a half minutes of aural torture. There is so much more to Atrocious Filth than mere power and a bit of mastery of their instruments, though. ‘A’ wafts and wefts over swooping atmospherics, a subdued martial drumbeat and almost choral vocals, as a simple, chiming guitar line slowly creeps in and the vocalist groans and cries out, clearly in pain until the band all kick in in a very Nine Inch Nails-esque slow burn of growing, glowering menace patiently building up to bloodlust-sating murderousness – and then, distortion. Building horror threatens to overwhelm the listener whereupon everything calms back down to the martial drumbeat at the start of the song as the desire to murder is sated.

‘O’ is different again, with the counterbeat playing and unsettling time signatures reminding this correspondent of an Industrial Meshuggah. In fact, this sense of unease and unfamiliarity is what sets “OVV” apart from many Industrial releases. Yes, it is unrelenting, uncompromising and heavier than the entire 80s Soviet men’s and women’s weightlifting teams combined and noisier than a room full of Wärtsilä marine diesels, but the music of Atrocious Filth has this curious, organic quality permeating it – like the unsettling movement beneath the skins of carcasses when they are being consumed by bacteria and maggots. Atrocious Filth are the soundtrack to industrial slaughterhouses where humans are the meat being butchered – where skinned and eviscerated men and women hang on meathooks on an ever-moving, endless production line and dark-eyed, silent, pasty children are locked in veal crates, unable to move or turn round, soiled with their own filth and occasionally fed the ground down, pelleted remains of the ones that didn’t grow to a profitable age… It is the sound of the vermin scurrying across the blood soaked floors carrying off the bits of meat that were missed and the disturbing undulation of the offal and the skin and offcuts in the rusted steel bins that are going to the stinking waste piles outside…

As you can see, Atrocious Filth has got Dark Juan’s imagination wound up to an insane and somewhat bloodsoaked degree. Well done, gentlemen. I love music that makes me see things inside my head – I also love music that is blessed with a total lack of compromise and is inventive as fuck and this is where Atrocious Filth really score. Their music is avant-garde and interesting, rather than just jackhammer bludgeoning and if I can dare say it, there is subtlety and layers upon layers to discover on “OVV”. I’ve listened to it three times back-to-back to the point of Mrs Dark Juan retiring to the bedroom in disgust while Dark Juan sits unspeaking and transfixed. Industrial is really not her thing. At least she’s taken that fucking turkey’s head with her…

“OVV” is a nearly perfect album, sound-wise – the production and mix of the music is absolutely on the money here. It allows the bass and guitar to stretch themselves to hearing-threatening levels yet they remain tightly controlled so the percussive assault of the drums and the underlying predation of the synths and electronics can also shine through. No one thing overwhelms the other, which on a record this sonically dense is a pretty staggering achievement.

If you are a fan of Industrial music on the heavier, more metallic side then Dark Juan INSTRUCTS you to obtain this record. Atrocious Filth’s inventive, unusual and fucking brilliant take on Industrial needs to be heard and the word passed on as fast as possible. Kocham ten zespół!

The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System (Opatentowany system oceny rozprysków krwi Dark Juan dla naszych polskich przyjaciół) awards Atrocious Filth the full beans – 10/10 for an Industrial album of singular uniqueness and crushing heaviness, which will be hailed as a classic in a few years. I think it is now.

TRACKLISTING:
01. F
02. N
03. L
04. T
05. D
06. A
07. O

LINE-UP for “OVV”:
Andrzej Choromanski – Guitar
Leszek Rakowski – Bass
Tomasz Bardega – Vocals
Gerard Niemczyk – Drums
Agnieszka Polubinska – Cello in “L”
Tony Kinsky – Vocals on “T” & “O”
Bartlomiej Kuzniak – Textures

LINKS:

EMQ’s With The Last Bear Ender

EMQ’s With The Last Bear Ender

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Netherlands Industrial Metal solo project, The Last Bear Ender. Huge thanks to Main Man Wilrik for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Hi, my name is Wilrik, also known as The Last Bear Ender. Two years ago, I started this project as a means to express all my creative ideas that didn’t fit my other musical projects and bands. I bought an 8-string guitar and started jamming. The first track was as it came together with the guitar. The first track and single was born ‘The Last Bear Ender’.

How did you come up with your band name?

Everything has already been done. Asking Alexandria. Between The Buried and Me. Oceans Ate Alaska. You can’t really be original anymore, so it would seem. I was catching up with the Nickelodeon show The Last Airbender. I switched some letters around and so The Last Bear Ender was born. I liked it and it got stuck. People seem to like it too, plus bears are awesome!

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

I’m from The Netherlands. You know, the capital of Amsterdam 😉 We are best known from Within Temptation and Epica I think. Textures is my personal favourite actually. An awesome Progressive Metal band. They don’t exist anymore, but they were great, and the genre wasn’t as big as it is right now.

When I was younger, we had a pretty active Metal scene. We still do, but it’s a little harder nowadays, because of all the bands that are out there. Forming a band has never been easier in this digital age. It’s great to be honest. So many people can finally be creative and get followers and listeners. It’s also a bit more competitive. But, for each genre there is a listener. Try to avoid the saturated ones I would say.

What is your latest release?

“Never Say No To Panda”, featuring Post Descent on vocals, was released on December 23^rd. It got added to a Spotify Editorial playlist and got quite a few streams in a short time, which is really nice! My next release is a deathcore track called ‘Maneater’, featuring Anna Pest on vocals. It’s really brutal and fierce. If you like Humanity’s Last Breath, Veil of Maya and Vildhjarta this release is for you!

Who have been your greatest influences?

Dino Cazares from Fear Factory and Mick Gordon from the Doom Eternal OST.

What first got you into music?

The Mortal Kombat movie and its soundtrack. Especially the track ‘Zero Signal’ by Fear Factory really spoke to me. It’s still my favourite track to this day. I even did a cover of that song with The Last Bear Ender, featuring Anna Hel from Conflict.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

I would love to work on a track or two with Andromida, but he only collaborates with vocalists unfortunately. Fractalize is another artist I would love to work with. He’s real busy though. That, and Dino Cazares and Mick Gordon off course he he he!

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Wow… Not sure actually. The Last Bear Ender is not a live act. I would love to do one big show with my metalcore band The Punisher though. Something close at home would be nice ha ha ha!

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I got two shirts sent to my home address and still to this day I have no clue who I got it from.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

THANKS! Without any of you The Last Bear Ender could not exist. Keep listening, keep spreading the word, stay awesome!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Dimebag Darrell

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

Getting positive feedback from your fans and supporters on your work. It’s the best thing in the world. Don’t underestimate the power you as a fan have! Let the artists you like know that you enjoy their work. It really keeps them going. Keeping up with all social medial on the other hand really is a day job on its own, and that’s the biggest downside. It’s needed for exposure, but it’s a hassle and a chore.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Let artists earn more from their streams. It’s a really tough job and a steep hill to climb to get paid from Spotify and other platforms.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

“Demanufacture” by Fear Factory, without a doubt. It’s a classic, set the bar, defined Industrial Metal and influenced tons of modern bands with their machine gun riffs.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

Downloads. Come on, it’s 2023. Cassettes and CD’s are dead, but Vinyl has a nice comeback and I get that. I would like to have some vinyl of my full-length albums, but it’s quite expensive to produce.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

At a super small venue. We were kinda bummed out when we arrived, but the show was sold out and all people went berserk during our set. It was a memorable night!

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

I’m a computer engineer teacher, so yeah, that ha ha ha!

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

My wife, son, mom and my two best friend. I’m no fanboy, I like good company.

What’s next for the band?

I just got added to a Spotify Editorial playlist. Hopefully ‘Maneater’ will also please the Spotify curator gods. By the end of this month, I hear weather or not my track ‘Kumakaze’ won the Cyberpunk 2077 GrowlFM contest. So, I hope that 2023 will kick off with a blast!

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

All of the below links are active and relevant:

https://thelastbearender.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thelastbearender
https://www.instagram.com/thelastbearender/
https://thelastbearender.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@TheLastBearEnder
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1XiP8X4U0vsAVcbK2fkSZl?si=UvDYm1GYQRaB4fLpzDdrQg

Say what now? LOL!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thanks for this interview. This is really helpful for smaller artists like me. Keep fighting the good fight kind people of Ever Metal! ROAR!

Antimozdebeast – Vision

Antimozdebeast – Vision
Self-Released
Release Date: 13/01/2023
Running Time: 58:00
Review by Wallace Magri
8/10

Antimozdebeast is a Florida based one-man-band created by Gabriel Palacio, that, according to the press release, delivers in the new album “Vision” “(…) a dynamic selection of tracks from Antimozdebeast’s discography that showcase the project’s distinctive experimental edge”.

I wasn’t aware of Antimozdebeast previous albums, but I checked them out on Spotify, just to get familiar to their musical proposal. The songs are basically Harsh Industrial with Techno interventions, creating programmed sound layers to which overlap distorted vocals, which screams experimental poetries full of rage and ‘back to basics industrial musical conception’.

I would say that “Vision” isn’t recommended for those who want to get in touch with Harsh Industrial for the very first time, as it’s required for the listener of the album some previous knowledge from bands like Nine Inch Nails and Skinny Puppy to realize the song’s intention: chaotic ambience, unpredictable directions for each song, dissonant guitar phrases here and there and Mayhem-like vocals, with feracious electro-bass that gets the songs close to Extreme Metal patterns, from a peculiar perspective.

Listening to “Vision” for several times compromised my hearing aid, but, after a while, the ambience of the album got me to a hypnotic state of mind and… that is when the chaos starts to make sense for my ears. ‘Untitled’, for instance, is an Electro trip combining Harsh Industrial patterns, with piano passages and psychedelic techno programming and synths.

‘Melodies of the Mad’ gets close to Avant Garde Black Metal, with distorted guitar riffs, subtly substituted by electronic elements, maintaining the tempo of the music intact. That is basically that kind of songs that causes strangeness to listeners, from the opening track ‘Masquerade of Death’ until the last electro musical experimentation on “ICRI”.

Maybe 12 songs are a bit too much for that kind of experimentalism, but it’d worth a listen, if you want to get your brains collapsed in the process. Now that you are warned, it’s up to you to push play and listen to “Vision”.

TRACKLISTING:
01. Masquerade of Death
02. Rebirth of Sin
03. Portrait of Apocalypse
04. Shadows Upon The earth
05. Contours of Her Body
06. Sky Unfurled
07. Untitled (Instrumentals)
08. Maladies of The Mad
09. Sins of the Muse
10. Blood Note
11. ICRI

LINE-UP:
Gabriel Palacio – all instruments, programming, synths and vocals

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Wallace Magri and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Gothminister – Pandemonium

Gothminister – Pandemonium
AFM Records
Release Date: 21.10.22
Running Time: 33:42
Review by Dark Juan
9/10

As I maintain my watch over the horrors of the world outside, I sometimes ruminate about the lives of the people who wander past the window of Dark Juan Terrace. I sometimes find it incredible to think that those (to me, I’m sure their families and significant others love them very much) unimportant collections of cells have lives as richly varied and complex as my own. Anyway, I was surprised to discover that there actually is a word for it – this noun is “Sonder”, and it is apparently a particular and peculiar kind of sorrow. You are all aware that I am a sufferer of mental health issues that compromise my ability to see others as people and make my mixing with others quite troublesome and difficult to cope with, which is why I tend to restrict myself and remain indoors. Granted, sometimes I wish I could be more outgoing and social, but it is something I have come to terms with a long time ago and it no longer gives me the same sadness. I have everything I need, and I am content. I have Mrs Dark Juan until she gets bored of me or gets an improved offer, employment, a home and all the music I can shake a forest of sticks at, and some good friends in the Ever-Metal.com team and the music world at large and I am well-fed and watered and safe and in no danger of dying of COVID anytime soon thanks to vaccinations, which means I should be pretty fucking grateful really…

One thing I am very grateful for is Gothminister, of whom I have been a fan since 2003’s “Gothic Electronic Anthems”, and their spasmodic and batshit insane mix of Electronic Body Music, Industrial, Goth and Metal is still just as mouthwatering now as it was then. The title track of this new offering, “Pandemonium” is as gloriously out to lunch as anything that Gothminister have ever released, as the band gleefully twist and break joints and change articulations and sew music into horrific new shapes and then spray it with glitter paint and send it off to terrify the neighbours. It is a dangerously sparking, jerky, spasmodic thing that is overloading on every single influence it can drag into its capacious, stainless-steel toothed maw.

Utilising a method of song-writing that appears to be forcibly artificially inseminating Deathstars with the seed of Static-X, Funker Vogt, Ministry, Suicide Commando and Type O Negative and then training the resultant offspring to perform in a perverse, skin-tight PVC-clad circus of horrors, Gothminister occupy a very niche…. niche in music. The man himself, Gothminister (Bjørn Alexander Brem) is in possession of a remarkable set of pipes that can encompass Hard Rock pathos, Metal aggression, bass crooning designed specifically to relieve goth girls of their underwear in short order and furious roaring, leaving the slightly confused listener just which persona is going to make an appearance next.

The music is just as unusual – shiny American style polished Industrial Metal is violently mated with Gothic choirs, squealing guitars, binkly-twonk keyboards, rampaging Electronic lines, overtly sexual crooning and the fucking kitchen sink and the entire contents of the pantry and the whole thing is an over-produced, gloriously pompous and overblown epic that somehow just WORKS and is utterly and absolutely insane despite the fact it should be a slimy, shuddering, many-tentacled thing that needs to be shot to be put out of its painful, misshapen misery.

‘Run Faster’ chucks the entire record on its head after I have written the above, however, and what with the band previously busily bludgeoning what’s left of your synapses with hypergothic electronic based anthems, this song offers a speedy, stripped back deathride, with some finger-flaying riffing and only a bit of overcooked pomposity in the middle eight and break, otherwise only using a bit of stabby Terror EBM keyboard in the background, and this streamlined song only goes to underline just what kind of moodily-lit vampire-obsessed underworld Gothminister normally inhabits. Contrast this with the likes of ‘This Is Your Darkness’ with its underpinning of Gothic Futurepop Electronica and a mid-paced, downtuned guitar riff that successfully melds Metal and EBM without being as utterly, all-consumingly batshit as the first half of the album, which really does have to be heard to be fucking believed as it really does defy all description.

I have been seated here for a good twenty minutes, in absolute silence, trying to come up with ways to describe the indescribable madness that is a Gothminister album. Purists will fucking hate the band, as they don’t easily sit in any one camp. However, if you are intrepid and willing to let yourself be sucked into lushly produced, blood slick hellmouths masquerading as records, then you might well be impressed and beguiled, if not enchanted at the splattered, crimson splendour of it all. A Gothminister album is an experience not unlike being torn to pieces by a bunch of Cenobites who appreciate aesthetics – they might be industriously flaying the skin from your face while you scream, but then they will stop and regard some kind of exquisite stone scrollwork and pause in what they are doing and discuss the quality of the craftsmanship with you, before sighing in appreciation of the work and returning to vigorously vivisecting your visage.

Production-wise, this record hits all the right notes. If you like extremely over-produced, highly polished music. Everything site perfectly in the mix, including the voice of Gothminister himself, which is unsurprisingly quite forward in the mix but not to the detriment of everything else, like, say, the absolute arse clenching horror that is a Warrior Soul production job that is all Kory fucking Clarke and very little else. There are the odd bits of arrangement that jar a little, and the drums sound totally artificial although there is a human drummer called Chris Dead (possibly not his real name) credited on the record. The guitars are pin sharp, and their tone is produced to within an inch of its life and then a bit more just to make sure, but this is all part of the aesthetic. It has to have a kind of artificial quality for it all to work – a kind of surreal, manufactured, Industrial black netherworld where demons are fused with battle machines and hell is an endless line of humans heading for the meat grinder, looked down upon from a gloriously appointed, luxurious, dark-panelled office where the overseer wants for nothing, where delicious viands are piled carelessly upon a groaning trestle table and rich, claret wine is there for the quaffing…

I’m running away with myself again, aren’t I? Let me drag myself back to reality and get the Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System (det patenterte Dark Juan-systemet for blodsprut) to score this motherfucker, eh? 9/10 for another brilliantly executed mindfuck from the Gothminister and his minions.

TRACKLISTING:
01. Abgrund (Abyss)
02. Pandemonium
03. Demons
04. Star
05. Sinister
06. Kingdoms Rise
07. Bloodride
08. Norge
09. Run Faster
10. This Is Your Darkness
11. Mastodon

LINE-UP:
Bjørn Alexander Brem (“Gothminister”) – Vocals
Eirik “Blodøks” Øien – Bass
Glenn “Icarus” Nilsen – Guitars
Ketil “Turbo Natas” Eggum – Guitars
Christian Svendsen (“Chris Dead”) – Drums

LINKS:

Anti-Clone – Human EP

Anti-Clone – Human EP
Self-Released
Release Date: 16/09/22
Running Time: 17:22
Review by Dark Juan
8/10

Good afternoon – I am still pet sitting and suffering from concussion, yet I continue to bring you Very Good Things from my bed of pain and suffering as Mrs Dark Juan creates some new and terrifying creatures in the kitchen. As I currently can’t see straight due to a blow to the head I gave myself, it has been decreed that I should not move much. As I am due to wrangle recalcitrant young gentlemen tomorrow, I disagreed and got what can only be described as a rather unpleasant telling off and instructed to remain on the sofa or my ankles will be “Miseryed”. Having remembered just what happens in that story, my arse hit the sofa faster than a hot dog disappears down a fat bastard’s throat and here I remain, at least more compos mentis that I was yesterday after twatting my own cranium, and therefore I have taken it upon myself to have a listen to a young British band and their latest release – these being Anti-Clone and the record is called “Human”, being a five track EP recorded in Manchester.

On the first play, the listener is grabbed by a rather huge production, with big, BIG guitars, a bottom end with more bottom end than a room full of cloned Gemma Collinses having all been at the dessert trolley and destructive, fucking loud drums. The sound is absolutely fucking colossal, lads, lasses and all other genders. The whole record is played with considerable verve and energy as well. There’s a clear sense of purpose running through the performances of the entire band and a rather needle sharp, cruel focus throughout each song. I’ll attempt to be brief, this time, rather than waxing lyrical as I do normally. Mainly because my head is fucking pounding right now but that’s just cranial trauma…

The record opens with ‘Human’ and it is a song about the horror of being human, how we all lie to each other and how entire populations can be deceived by their leaders, especially in wartime. It is a satisfyingly bludgeoning opener as well, vituperative and venomous with a chorus that would not be out of place in a Mudvayne (in their make-up and Math Metal years) or Powerman 5000 song. This is followed by ‘Punish Me’, and this rather masochistic song is about being unable to walk away from toxic or damaging situations in life. However, it does espouse the fact that sometimes the only thing to do is let go. Musically we delve into the realms of Emo, with a huge chorus that young boys with swoopy Adolf Hitler haircuts and more eyeliner than their stripy-trousered girlfriends will absolutely go gaga for, complete with mosh-worthy Korn-lite breakdown in the middle.

And so it continues – Math Metal meets Emo meets the kind of 90’s Alternative Metal of prime PM5K, Rob Zombie and Human Waste Project with added Korn and Adema for that bit of Nu-Metal bite. It’s actually a really intoxicating mix that works splendidly with the vocals of Peter “CLΩNE” Moore, a man who can ape the baritone of Marilyn Manson (‘End Of The World’ – loving the middle eight of this song though!) just as readily as the impassioned howl of Chino Moreno and the guttural roar of Jonathan Davis. This latter is eminently displayed on the closing song on the EP, a cover of batshit insane Icelandic murder pixie Björk’s ‘Army Of Me’. It’s a Nu-Metal classic twenty years too late, but it’s still fucking brilliant.

And that more or less sums up the sound of the EP. Anti-Clone wear their influences openly and honestly on their collective sleeves and the band and the record are all the better for it. There’s no pretending that they are trying to play something innovative and new (unlike GLDN, see my review on them and see just why it pissed me off) but what they do play, they do fucking WELL. And although these are new compositions, they manage to offer a warm sense of familiarity and of being in on the joke.

So if you are the kind of person who loves Powerman 5000, Korn, Human Waste Project and Mudvayne, Team Satan 666 ice hockey shirts and having make-up that has you looking like a melted panda, Anti-Clone have you splendidly covered. If you don’t, well, you’ve backed a loser here, but the sheer exuberance of the performance should win over a fan or two and as far as purchasing goes, it’s a bloody good British Metal record and worth a punt for anyone, even if it is faintly derivative along the way. I have heard megabucks bands with miles shittier songs and production jobs than this. I want to hear more Anti-Clone and I want it now!

The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards Anti-Clone 8/10 for a fine EP that successfully manages to hark back to sounds that were popular in the near-past but drags them into the 21^st century. Marks are deducted for the release being an EP (not long enough) and for them skirting a little bit too close to Nu-Metal now and again. Otherwise, though, crushing and satisfyingly meaty.

TRACKLISTING:
01. Human
02. Punish Me
03. End Of The World
04. Spiteful
05. Army Of Me

LINE-UP:
Peter “CLΩNE” Moore – Vocals
William “26” Richardson – Guitar
Pat “KAKES” Godin – Bass
Drew “ALPHA” Moore – Drums

LINKS:

GLDN – First Blood EP

GLDN – First Blood EP
Self-Released
Release Date: 22/07/22
Running Time: 15:52
Review by Dark Juan
5/10

Well, today has been a right day of ups and downs, and it’s only 12:48 at the time of me settling to write some stuff that literally one person in Somalia reads. I will not be sated and will keep doing this until the mighty Ever-Metal.com juggernaut has conquered North Korea and the righteous power of metal topples the Kim dynasty and Juche communism is brought to an end, and the victory parades will celebrate the day a better world was won. Yes, that was a VNV Nation lyric I managed to shoehorn into a metal record review. Anyway, since I have got home from wrangling young gentlemen, I have had to take to task a fucking gammon dickhead for having a bash at my friend Sarah as she has an Eastern European surname, discovered that the biggest joke I have ever heard or seen is my current bank balance, had to warn a teenager about the dangers of sending unsolicited dick pics and the fact it will be all over social media in a day or two, and when the inevitable fallout happens it will be HIS OWN FAULT, and have had to make coffee in an effort to stimulate my poorly abused brain cells into some spasmodic form of life in order to provide you with concise and precise information about the Brooklyn, NY based GLDN and their latest EP, “First Blood”.

GLDN are the brainchild of one Nicholas Golden, who appears to be another of those really irritating bastards who can play everything and sing as well, and “First Blood” is the debut record from him. The blurb states that GLDN is, “An unnerving and rage filled world [of GLDN] where boundaries are pushed and your comfort is NOT paramount! Daring and transgressive, GLDN cannot be contained, nor put into a single musical category – with elements of industrial, metal, and crust punk with passionate and furious vocals.”

This is all well and good, but GLDN’s world actually appears to be tinkly-bwomp NIN-esque squelches with a Marilyn Manson aping baritone and a very similar sounding scratchy howl. It is neither daring nor transgressive. Daring and transgressive would be recording heavy metal records with hurdy-gurdies, and getting Katy Perry and one of these drill stars who wear sunglasses over balaclavas, and look fucking ridiculous, think they are dangerous when really they are a spotty teenager from rural Buckinghamshire with arms and legs like pipecleaners, and basically fuck about near a hired Lamborghini in their videos, which all seem to be filmed on the same street in Tower Hamlets [without actually touching it because just out of shot is an aggressive and angry owner with a baseball bat who has warned the youths to not touch it] while rapping about how shit their life has been and how they are scared they are going to get stabbed, and calling it Drill Metal and expecting the leather and denim and New Rock clad hordes to accept it without question.

Pardon me. I have digressed. Indeed, a number of the songs being offered on “First Blood” sound like “Antichrist Superstar” era Brian Warner bumping uglies with “The Downward Spiral” version of Trent Reznor.

Let us dwell upon that mental image for a moment or two.

Horrifying, isn’t it? Or possibly one for the wank bank, depending on your point of view.

The sound of GLDN is somewhat enhanced by some tasty, buzzing guitar, but too often this is cut up and the loud-quiet-loud dynamic sometimes wrecks some promising brutality by slowing everything down, so Nicholas can do his best Trent Reznor crooning over a bit of dissonant piano, or electronic wooshing. There’s no boundaries being pushed here. This EP sounds like the year 1996.

Opening offering ‘Gravedigger’ kicks off with an electronic beat and bassline before metallic guitar cuts in for 12 beats and the faux-emotional crooning starts, extremely reminiscent of the delivery of Filter’s Richard Patrick, and the chorus sounds like it could have been written by Deftones. The middle of the song has some throat mangling howling a la the God Of Fuck. In fact, the whole song sounds like “Title Of Record” era Filter. Not a bad influence to have, but it borders on copyism.

This continues on the title track. Pure Marilyn Manson, but a mix of Spooky Kids era Mazza and “Antichrist Superstar” including a lyric that could have been written by the man himself – “They always look so pretty when they’re on their knees.” It’s all overblown and perverse sexuality, wild gyrating, demented roaring, sequenced, layered and multi-tracked guitars and not very much substance. ‘Ripe’ is more of the same – dissonance, baritone rumbling, a simple bassline, lyrics about hypocrisy and lots of downtuned guitar and roaring on the chorus, before going to a swooping, gothic-tinged middle eight on the synth, and then a heavily-produced solo that’s just a load of drawn out notes rather than fretboard gymnastics that segues neatly back into the chorus. So far, so still Mazza Manson.

‘(harmful if swallowed)’ (sic) is a bit more interesting, with a piano playing a wrong note deliberately that increases the sense of menace in the music nicely, but it’s just a bridging piece, and that makes me fucking furious because the music and that harsh, dissonant piano could have been turned into something magnificent, and it has just been wasted.

‘This Must Be The Place’ is just a slightly more electronic Marilyn Manson song. I know I keep coming back to him, but this is the overwhelming influence I hear. This particular song would not sound out of place on “Antichrist Superstar”, even the chorus sounds like it belongs on the title track of that august record and would fit the song quite seamlessly. I’m struggling to contain my disappointment here. Normally I would launch into some horrible bullshit and be mean to Nicholas, but I have become acutely aware lately that I am trashing the art of creators and they pour their heart and soul into it. All I do is tell them that they are either a) very good at it, b) average, c) rubbish or d) Warrior Soul. Mainly because I am a faile… RETIRED musician who was REALLY shit at playing music and if you can’t do it you write about it instead. Unless you’re EM’s Rory. He can do both, the annoying knobjockey.

DISCLAIMER: Rory isn’t an annoying knobjockey. He is a fine gentleman. Rob Sutton is, though! Wink, wink…

Last offering on this six-tracker is ‘Parasite’ and it is far and away the best song on the EP, where he leaves Mazza alone for a bit and combines an aggressive, angry howl with a creepy clean voice, punchy, speedy drumming, and full on metal guitar with extra fizz and fuzz, lushly produced and brimming with a life all its own.

The EP does benefit from a decent production, with no one thing overpowering the other, but it has a curiously lifeless and flat quality that is difficult to describe, and although GLDN promise much in their press release, claiming elements of metal, industrial and crust punk, all I have heard is mainstream 1990s gothic industrial metal that the emo teens of the day would have gone fucking gaga over, that instead offers this grizzled old metal bastard a curiously warm and nostalgic feeling, rather than slavering excitement. It’s all a bit uninspiring, to be honest. I haven’t even got my old baggy Menace jeans out to relive the 1990s vibe.

The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System is disappointed. It was expecting something visceral, wild and incendiary and instead got the spavined love child of Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson.

Which brings us back around neatly to that mental image we shared before.

You’re welcome.

5/10.

TRACKLISTING:
01. Gravedigger
02. First Blood
03. Ripe
04. (harmful if swallowed) – This is not me having some kind of seizure and losing command of English. This is how it is written. It is making my internal grammar Nazi fucking FURIOUS!
05. This Must Be The Place
06. Parasite

LINE-UP:
Nicholas Golden – Everything

LINKS:

Priest – Body Machine

Priest – Body Machine
Cleopatra Records
Release Date: 15/07/22
Running Time: 35:03
Review by Rick Eaglestone
7/10

Floating away from their past musical endeavours, Ghost alumni Priest look to create an entirely new entity with their album “Body Machine”.

Immediately the album grabs your attention, with synth laden ‘A Signal in the Noise’, which is followed up by a track that wouldn’t be out of place on an And One album, ‘Ghost Writer’. It’s sprinkled with splashes of the 80’s and yes, vocally, there are some similarities in places to the bands past projects, but it’s quite catchy. My highlight track comes in the form ‘Hell Awaits’. No, it is not a Slayer cover, although if it were done in this style I absolutely would not object in the slightest! But I digress, great beat and nice sampling throughout. Top tune!

The album continues much in the same direction. ‘Phantom Pain’ could easily be viewed upon as some kind of VNV nation, and I found myself already lining up similar albums to spin after listening to this one, before the band decided to break out their inner Trent Reznor with ‘Blacklisted’!

80’s vibes return with ‘Perfect Body Machine’, which is perfectly aligned with the following track ‘Techno Girl’, giving the album another dynamic. But then normal service is resumed with ‘Crystalline Lace’.

The final two tracks, ‘Nightcrawler’ and ‘Keep on Burning’, finish the album off neatly, whilst still maintaining the aesthetic that has run through the course of this release.

It’s not what I had expected going into this, but I am leaving pleasantly surprised.

‘A Signal In the Noise’ Official Music Video

TRACKLISTING:
01. A Signal in the Noise
02. Ghost Writer
03. Hell Awaits
04. Phantom Pain
05. Blacklisted
06. Perfect Body Machine
07. Techno Girl
08. Crystalline Lace
09. Nightcrawler
10. Keep on Burning

LINE-UP:
Mercury – Vocals
Salt – Keyboards
Sulphur – Keyboards/Programming

LINKS:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rick Eaglestone and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

EMQ’s with PROCESSOR

EMQ’s with PROCESSOR

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Swedish Industrial Metal/ Rock project, Processor. Huge thanks to main man Johan Isaksson for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

My name is Johan Isaksson and I am the one called Processor. I produce Industrial Metal and Indie Rock music both to my artist name and for others. I’m really a keyboard dude, but I distort everything I touch so that’s how it became Rock/Metal.

How did you come up with your band name?

You might think that the band name comes from a Processor in a computer but that’s not the story. I saw a wood processor harvesting forest and I thought that would be a cool name, so the absolute first pictures of Processor was taken with logs. (lost now). After that it was just Processor (and I know that it is not google friendly) 😉

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

I’m from middle Sweden, and some bands that are close by where I live are The Hives, Millencolin, and Truckfighters.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

Who have been your greatest influences?

Radiohead/Ennio Morricone

What first got you into music?

Movies I guess. “Escape from New York”. John Carpenter made a great movie score that just made me want me to do the same.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?

Health or Mick Gordon

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

100 Swedish kronor back in 1998 in an envelope with the message “send me some music to this address”. It was before the Internet and really nobody knew I existed. Really odd but I burned down some music for the dude and posted it.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

You only have one life – do what you feel and you will not regret it!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Freddie Wadling

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

Being creative is the most enjoyable thing to be.

The thing I hate is that I have a daytime job, so I can’t put that extra effort to do the best mix in the world.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

The royalties should go up so a decent studio dude like me can make a living.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

“OK Computer” by Radiohead

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?

Downloads is the best for getting the right foldback for the music.
CDs are naturally equal but messy, I think.
Vinyl is a way of life not quality… vinyl is like an efx band compression on the mix – not natural but I get that people like it.
Cassettes that’s just too much band compression and bad noise.
I prefer Downloads or streams 😊

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

A poet. Or something creative

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Peter Gabriel, Ossy Osbourne, Dave Ghan, John Carpenter and Mick Gordon

What’s next for the band?

New music coming up July 14

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/modestybeastandprocessor/stand

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063518838328

Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Biscuit for sure!!!

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you for having me!

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.