Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Stochastic Resonance come through correct with their sixth instalment of the series, this time bringing together the talents of Akamoi, Ynaktera, Cosmonauta, Mariano, Ghostphace and Scual for a proper stirring of the senses on this noisy, drone-laden beat of an EP. Akamoi starts with furious swells on morphing feedback soundscapes, while Ynaktera goes for a pixelated sample workout recalling Pan's Jar Moff. Mariano's "Mysterious Ways" sets the dance tempo, amalgamating a twisted, slightly off beat pattern with bleeps and stabs and "Rome Boredom" by Ghostphace is another special moment - quick, psychotic synths fall into an absolutely terrifying ocean of distortion and satanic noise infusions. What a blinder!

Review: Terence Fixmer and Douglas McCarthy are what you would class as big dawgs in the house and techno game. The two have been present and very much in the frontline since the turn of the millennium, but their collaborative project under the Fixmer/McCarthy banner has been more of a recent conception. They've released plenty of effective dance material for Fixmer's own Planet Rouge imprint so, it was time to branch out, and what better way to do that then release an EP for Adam X's gnarly Sonic Groove? The label's been a staple of the NYC techno diet since the 90s, and it really is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down as it reaches its 30 year birthday. There's two cuts to the electrifying "Chemicals" tune, a first version with the vocals intact, and a second instrumental cut; the base of the tune is high-powered techno with a bubbling electro bass line, and a malevolent flurry of punked-out vocalism. "Wrong Planet" is a stranger sort of beast, a tune that lurks in the depths of the techno underbelly, but that has no problems in launching continuous arial threats in the form of sinister screams and spectral melodies. Enter if you dare...

Review: Entro Senestre's BANK label is back this time with a couple of the scene's favourite analogue noise merchants: local sonic terrorist Nick Klein (Primitive Languages/Alter) and Brussels mutant EBM pusher Maoupa Mazzocchetti (PRR! PRR!/Mannequin) with a collaboration that is as rusty and grungy as you could certainly imagine. On the A side, the untitled first offering is a snapshot of slow burning proto techno in reductionist yet gutsy fashion, the tom drums in this one are fierce. On the B side we've got the (probably inadvertently) early Steve Bicknell sounding untitled cut with pummels away in loopy and hypnotic fashion and it's all about the squealing monosynth lead which really packs a punch.

Review: Gravers kicks off with a strong various artists release that sets out is electro stall in fine fashion. Kovyazin D opens up with the rugged and hard hitting electro-techno of 'Modularity' (feat Alexandr) with its stomping drums and frazzled synths. There is plenty of gothic energy to the slapping machismo of the acid laced'Proven Witch Psalm' from Antoni Maiovvi, then Millimetric offers up 'Espace' with a spiralling synth line and more caustic drums. Anton Levdikov closes down with 'Vardi' and a dark, driving bassline. This is a high impact EP for those who like it tough.

Review: M Parent's penchant for texture is laid bare on this searing and arresting new EP for Zement. It opens with 'Gravel Pit' which sounds like an audio diary from a car-wrecking plant. Twisted metal, fizzing battery acid, and crushed glass all feature over a distorted baseline and broken rhythm. Those same scuzzy sounds define the rest of the EP from the acid-laced 'Ideal Future' to the coruscated funk of 'Acid Thirst' via the caustic intensity of closer Climb These Walls'. An impressively unique offering that very much has its own singularly sound palette.

Review: Maahrt is the debut self titled EP from a mysterious producer about whom we know nothing.His new 12" opens up with an eerie bit of slow motion and cosmic techno with tortured pads. 'Clag' is another twisted mix of sinewy electronics and broken beats for dark back rooms, while 'Noma' then picks up the pace with a more weighted bottom end dragging its heels through an industrial wasteland. 'Noma' (A Strange Wedding remix) is more ready for club deployment thanks to its chugging groove and a final Odopt remix layer sin more melody, rickety drums and cosmic energy.

Review: Italy's shadowy Mace has been spraying eerie techno all over the workshop for the last two years, and his releases on both Further Records and Attic Music have landed him a place on Violetshaped Veleno Viola label - translated into English as Purple Poison...we're in. "Stronger Than Education" is glitchier than his previous releases, a groove barely held together by wonky shades of gargling acid and ultra distorted percussion slithering; and "Sarakin" truly heads down the EBM route with its harsh sonics and hissing drums. On the B-side, "Scenario C" is more angelic, a little more uplifting, but still entrenched in Mace's melancholic euphoria. Dark, odd, broken, and just the way we like it. Tip!

Review: Bedouin Records enlist Thomas Feriero for some new music from his current industrial period. The former tech house man doesn't shun his roots altogether, laying down functional grooves but haunted by darker and noisier textures and tones. "Onto Duat" is clunking and intense, "Take Nothing With You" is lit up by serrated synths and oversized hi hats tethered to monstrous break beats, while "Change Your Mind" is a sludgy, paranoid cut for marching crowds. "Riot Patrol" is the best of the lot, with slow motion heaviness and a real sense of dystopian atmospherics locking you to the floor.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Seven Years of Delirium was originally released as a whopping 40-track digital album celebrating seven years of Berlin's Liber Null imprint, with artists such as Ontal, Repitch, Monica Hits the Ground, and Celldod featuring on the credits. Subsequently, some of those tunes have made their way to vinyl, with this logically titled outing the second instalment in the staggered wax releases.

And what an instalment it is. Efforts like 'Bodyshocks' by Alessandro Adriani define dark groove, delivering an effortlessly infectious, punch-packed dose of futurism built around a simple keyboard riff, with effects layered over to create something that feels much fuller than it is. Impossible to resist, elsewhere expect equally devastating cuts, from the sledgehammer heaviness of 'Springer' to the industrial fronted, discordant melodies of 'Fault & Failure'. Simply put, this is techno for proper heads.

Review: The 140+ BPM revolution race with scarcely a look in the rear view mirror. Malaizy here dropping two tracks that show just how wild and weird stuff can get in this part of the dance music spectrum. 'Burgercome' itself has hints electroclash, juke, ghetto tech, footwork, and EBM, without fully committing itself to any of those things by way of a DIY punk on speed in a Parisian warehouse party vibe.

Over on the flip, 'Stuck' is an entirely different beast altogether, which probably isn't that surprising considering the unique and particularly niche nature of the opening tune. Rather than setting a break neck pace, instead we descend into a staccato amalgamation of white noise, distorted drums and inaudible human murmurings.

Review: In what's being described as a year of rebirth for Peder Mannerfelt, the Swedish synth specialist has put his previous work as half of Roll The Dice and his housier inclinations under the The Subliminal Kid alias to one side to focus on a new avant garde solo career. This trajectory is geared toward complex sound design and sophisticated synthesis and ahead of the Lines Describing Circles album for Digitalis Recordings, Mannerfelt has created his own platform called Peder Mannerfelt Produktion. The debut release, titled simply EP1, sees the Swede experiment with sonics in a manner that will appeal to fans of Mike Parker, Emptyset and Donato Dozzy, and Raster-Noton's blips and glitches.

Review: 2014 is treating Peder Mannerfelt very well so far, with a critically acclaimed third Roll The Dice LP completed with Malcolm Pardon complemented by his own development as a solo producer that's manifested itself in a debut LP for Digitalis and the launch of an eponymous record label. With plans afoot to release on Sendai's Archives Interieures label, Mannerfelt's second release on his Produktions label arrives and adds more shape to this most compelling of producers. Some five tracks deep PM002 delves further into the world of humming signal paths and discombobulated synth patterns with emphasis toward sound-sculpture over traditional rhythmic groove.

Review: All things considered, it's been a pretty big year for Peder Mannerfelt. First he releases on Glasgow's Numbers imprint, and then Will Bankhead and Joy Orbison's Hinge Finger label - what could he possibly come up with next!? Well, the dude is back on his own, self-titled record imprint with an unsurprisingly loose set of dance tracks, starting with the near-beatless ambient waves of "Joan @ The Rave", and followed by the beat-heavy techno punch "Public Images". "Request Line" kicks the B-side off with a wonky bit of leftfield dance experimentation, spear-headed by an aptly bizarre set of bass tones, allowing "Blog Kept A Growing" to ties this wonderful EP off yet more frivolity, manifested by a stop-start power electronic rhythm. Much needed - go grab it.

Review: First surfacing on Legowelt's Strange Life back in 2004, Rotterdam's Ian Martin has brought his own brand of dark ambient and unsettling electronics to a stellar clutch of labels that includes Further, Bunker and Drvg Cvltre's New York Haunted. Of these, it is the Bunker/Panzerkreuz crew that Martin has become most readily associated with, perhaps due to the fact label and artist reside in the Netherlands. Wright Seer finds Martin back on Panzerkreuz for his first release of 2016 and features five more untitled tracks of subtle drone-electro hybrids that sound all the more mind-bending with each successive listen.

Review: Mauopa Mazzochetti makes crusty, lo-fi analogue techno in the vein of Container and has seen him release previously on Unknown Precept and now he's inaugurating promising Belgian imprint PRR! PRR! On the first side of this techno 7", the modular sensibilities of "O Horror Na" warble away in a guttural fashion backed up by thumping tom drums. "Mona" meanwhile is more uptempo with its overdriven kick drum tearing through the speaker while accompanying woodblocks and loop on aggressively. "Black Humor" on the B side is another slobbering affair with a dark reverberated melody flatting on top of a sick acidic baseline and rusty analogue drum patterns. Finally "Limbo Line" goes out all guns blazing in a hardened minimal synth style; bleeping, zapping and hissing all over the shop.

Review: Not necessarily the album title everyone needs in the winter, let alone the winter of a particularly difficult 2020, but given the overall feeling of Moljebka Pvlse's powerful two-track release the cold and unapologetic name makes perfect sense. The whole thing is dense with dark moodiness, packing intent and a sense of the unsettling into every second.

Talk about tension, opening with 'In Love & Death' there's more than a sense of subtle dread to the organ refrains and murmured, muffled vocal chants. The pressure builds over the course of the arrangement, finally subsiding to leave us on the sparse chords of 'You Are Alone', a piece that slowly develops from those initial disorienting but delicate chords into something much more sinister. An incredibly powerful trip from the Swedish master-experimenters.

Review: After three years of putting out quality industrial techno, we still don't quite know the name behind the Monica Hits The Ground moniker; we have our suspicions, but the two EPs that came out via the Horizontal Ground label are still yet to be claimed by someone. No matter; we love the MHTG sound, and we think the young and foreboding Veleno Viola label - translated from Italian as 'purple poison' - is the perfect home for it. The Backwoods Preacher is made up of five disturbing slices of distorted power electronics starting with the unsettling noises of "3:55", which fall into an echoing pool of sonics at "4:32", and which start to take some sort of techno shape through "4:19". On the flip, "6:18" heads back to the doghouse thanks to a cold, ear-shattering cacophony of noises; a sonic climax that reaches its peak with the grainy, molecular beats of "5:21". A chilling and brooding experience. Not for the faint-hearted...

Review: INDUSTRIAL/DRONE/NOISE: Having had some time out of the releasing game, Mordant Music return to extol the virtues of exploratory electronics that exist in a thoroughly darkened corner of your psyche. "Post MorteM" actually steps into action on a whisper of a 4/4 thud, while atonal ripples, scrapes and a fantastically out-of-place drum roll slowly stalk an imaginary prey. It's impulsive and overtly obtuse music, but within the wily sound design there's an occasional melodic phrase the struggles to free itself of the shackles of noise. Just as it teases your ears it disappears again into the monochrome. "ModeM" is less structured, collating low-end tones and rumbles before a climax of arrhythmic blasts of white noise start rapid-firing across the mix.

Review: Worldwide Heavy Industries Vol.1 is the latest wax drop from Flux Musical Art and Brutal Forms and it makes for an immersive trip deep into industrial soundscapes and futuristic themes. Dominik Muller's intricate 'Too Many Posers' soon sucks you in followed by Ryuji Takeuchi's dynamic 'In Your Mind' with its unusual rhythmic innovation. On the B-side, 6SISS and Hypnoskull's intense 'Losss' gets super raw with an industrial edge, while Low Order's 'Taste My Venom' explores darker experimental territory. Skumring's atmospheric 'Corpse-Ridden' closes the album with a mood as dark as you would expect given the title.

Review: Vessel and Ossia's charmingly DIY concern FuckPunk has seemed hell bent on freaking out the listener in an irreverent fashion wherever possible with their releases to date, dabbling in rancid Sleng Teng versions, obscure gabba covers of Abba and championing the cause of stoned wordsmith Chester Giles. Their latest effort encapsulates this FuckPunk ethos perfectly, coaxing Bristol musician Matt Loveridge of Beak fame into a three track journey of self-styled "omniphonic bliss-torrent, radge noise, broked-up electrics, hymnal dirge fer 'eye-a-the-storm' kinda allelujah." Featuring track titles that last as long as the productions, the snappily titled ^ __ ^ will go down as one of the most unique slabs of sonics released in 2015.

Review: Confessions is a new 7" label courtesy of ever-surprising London based label Blackest Ever Black, who take their enthusiasm for industrial techno and scorched post-punk and apply it to the 7" template. With appearances from techno hero Regis, cult underground artist Vatican Shadow, and post-punk outfit Black Rain in BEB's short lifespan, noise legend Pete Swanson's appearance on the first 7" is yet another indication of the respect the label is gaining among the underground noise, industrial and techno community. His track, "Positive", is a searing piece of dread which is perhaps even less accessible than his recent Man With Potential album on Type, while Moin's "Elsie" is an example of typically scorched industrial post-punk in the spirit of Tropic of Cancer. Strictly limited to 300, the intricate artwork is complemented by a dinked 7" with vintage stylings.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Contort Yourself has once again gathered the best and boldest from past and present for its fourth EP. To begin with we have the grimacing visage of Volition Immanent, an intense live act made up of Parrish Smith and Mark Van de Maat (Knekelhuis). Behind rawkish distortion, splintered beats and acrid bars screams a boiled anger; a track spitting on the divides of punk and electronics. Nastiness is taken up a notch as noise ne'er-do-wells Zombies Under Stress take over. Static is bent and doubled across thick chords and collapsed clap in the 1986 "Maan Zal Zijn" before the raw and raging battery of "In Onze Tijd." L.I.E.S. regular Svengalisghost grapples with "Maan Zal Zijn, channelling the original's rage into a mechanical monster. The 12" is bookended with bite as Mark Forshaw (Tabernacle/Berceuse Heroique) closes with the tortured and torrential thump of "Submission." A callous, caustic and fervently cruel EP.

Review: KUMP's second multi-artist extravaganza - the Lyon-based label's first such exercise for two years -brings together tracks from a quintet of eccentric experimentalists. Clanking, horror-inspired creepiness is provided from the start via Jon The Baptist's lolloping "Hear No Evil", while those looking for some chugging, mid-tempo dancefloor sleaze should make a beeline for Maahrt's "Davardage". Elsewhere, Stove's "Chief of Nine Sisters" is an industrialist's take on tropical music with a suitably pagan twist, and Yssue and Yaws' contributions both sound like contemporary re-inventions of Nitzer Ebb style electronic body music (albeit with a touch more inherent looseness).

Review: Les Disques Crepuscule debuts a brand new and exciting project here that involves a collaboration between Julie Campbell (aka LoneLady), Stephen Mallinder (Wrangler, Cabaret Voltaire) and Benge (Wrangler, John Foxx). Their first limited edition release Clinker is about experimenting with layers fo different guitars and rhythms to mimic a sequencer. The result is a strong collection of standout tracks from 'Camouflage' to 'Condition Collapsing.Says Mel of the process, "I'd forgotten how liberating it is to play bass guitar on something, ripping up live percussion onto the sound of machines."

Review: As Editions Mego continue to ladle the fertile broth of Musique Concrete for forgotten gems, this selection provides an interesting spread of artists, with the approaches of five different experimentalists in the field of sonic research winding up mutually beneficial. Juxtaposing the forlorn and otherworldly collages of sound helps give these pieces a little context, with the differences between them providing a great entry point for undeniably obtuse listening. Edgardo Canton's "I Palpiti" is an especially enticing romp through the inner workings of a sixties science fiction laboratory, while Mireille Chamass Kyrou's "Etude 1" features pops and clicks so close in the mix that it'll send shivers down your spine.

Review: After releases on offshoot labels The Stone Tapes and DROOGS, British producer Tom Cooper aka Karim Maas returns and is no stranger to UVB-76 Music either, on which he presents his long-play third release titled Godless, in collaboration with Stave. A collection of greyscale and experimental cuts on the more jagged and angular fringes of techno are forcefully executed on this one. From the brooding industrial breaks of "Loop 002", to cerebral four-to-the-floor pummellers such as 'DAT', through to Regis-like broken beat body bashers like 'Project1' and the heaving dronescape of the title track - this one is heavy duty so handle with caution!

Review: Long-serving noise merchant Robert Hampson brings his Main project to Editions Mego for the first time, making a beeline for ambient industrial textures sculpted with oppressive found sound content. There's a predilection towards dynamic swells of static on this long player, with at least three of the four studies reaching for protracted buzzing and drawn out scraping over anything snappy enough to discern as an audible shape. The fourth piece however explores a richer palette of sound, with the drones of instruments nestled in amongst varying layers of insect interference. It's an immersive sound world that sports a refined design indicative of the experience Hampson has in this field.

Review: Through his various releases on Internasjonal, Buzzin' Fly and Mirau, Neil "Mano Le Tough" Mannion has done enough to suggest that he has a great album in him. Even his most dancefloor-centric deep house cuts, such as the much played "Stories", come complete with emotion-rich melodies and bags of heady atmosphere. It's these two characteristics that shine through most on Changing Days, his long-mooted debut album for Permanent Vacation. Largely downbeat in mood and tempo, it bristles with atmosphere and inventiveness, weighing in somewhere between teary-eyed deep house and glacial electronica. As debut albums go, it's pretty darn good.

Review: Returning with his redemption attempt follow up to 2020's We Are Chaos, industrial metal shock-rock provocateur Marilyn Manson seeks to skirt the numerous controversies and accusations accrued in the last few years with his most potent musical statement in decades. Signing with Nuclear Blast and enlisting the likes of Chelsea Wolfe collaborator/producer Tyler Bates to helm the project, his 12th full-length One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 (indicating that more is sure to follow), offers up some of the heaviest and introspective material of his career to date, with cuts such as 'Nod If You Understand' harking back to the unhinged angst of Antichrist Superstar, whereas 'As Sick As The Secrets Within' breathes with the same mercurial synth-gloom as the strongest moments on Mechanical Animals. A cynical attempt to regain fan adoration, or the sound of a tortured artist finally coming to terms with his own demons and attempting to rediscover former glory and prowess, the interpretation is entirely your own to consider.

Review: Argentinian crowds are probably the most exciting to play to in the world. And Marilyn Manson at this time had just released his Trent Reznor-produced masterpiece LP Antichrist Superstar and was at the peak of his game, so to say a ticket to this show at the Velez Sarsfield stadium in Buenos Aires was hot property is an understatement. This is about as good as heavy metal rock n' roll gets and not many will come close to the thrills that a 90s Marilyn Manson show brought. The setlist is monumental, with singles from Antichrist Superstar such as industrial metal banger 'The Beautiful People' and 'Tourniquet', which sounds like the blueprint to the nu-metal boom that was to come, among the highlights. Unusually for a live album, it's taut, with the track list limited to 11 songs, but this is for good reason. In a moment of Spinal Tap-esque horror, shortly after the final track you hear on the album, the band's drummer Ginger Fish received an electric shock whilst playing and the show ended abruptly. Putting his body on the line like that to deliver this blistering set is an heroic deed and it's a fantastic consolation to have this show fossilised onto vinyl.

Review: The somewhat surprising return and attempt at redemption from the industrial metal shock-rocker Marilyn Manson has been a bold pill to swallow, with the once iconic provocateur seeking to avoid the many allegations and numerous controversies he has garnered over the last decade. Attending rehab and becoming fully sober over the past few years has seen dramatic weight loss, a notably more lowkey public demeanour and a newly signed record deal with Nuclear Blast (having been dropped by Loma Vista not long after 2020's We Are Chaos) turn a few heads, simultaneously cautious and curious as to the authenticity of this humble arc. With lawsuits recently thrown out, the court of public opinion appears to be the only form of due process that shall occur, leaving it to individual listeners to make up their mind as to the merit of the artist as a person. As to the art itself, One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 is the 12th album to adorn the name Marilyn Manson, and it's his best since 2000's Holy Wood. Tapping Chelsea Wolfe collaborator/producer Tyler Bates to oversee the entire project has helped to create a generational bridge between how out of sync Manson himself had become with his own artistic strengths and audience desire, and Bates' insider knowledge as a younger fan first, collaborator second. Together they rediscover the core industrialist menace, gothic romanticism and hedonistic nihilism that kept listeners hooked after the initial shock of aesthetic would cease, but for the first time in decades, it feels earnest and earned rather than forced. Boasting Antichrist Superstar style buzzsaw synths and chug-heavy breakdowns on cuts such as 'Nod If You Understand', while the self-deprecating admission of using drugs to hide behind monstrous flaws on the gloomy balladry of 'As Sick As The Secrets Within' harks back to the most fragile moments of Mechanical Albums. Be it a cynical cashgrab or attempt to regain fan adoration, or the genuine musings of a tortured artist finally learning to face his own demons head on, there's simply no denying that this is Manson at his most potent, intimate and focused, begging the question of how different of a career trajectory and latter day output might we have had if the man had learned to look inward long before hitting the bottom.

Review: Overgrown emo upstart and kid-scaring gothic weirdo Marilyn Manson was at the peak of his powers back in the mid-nineties. That is when he put out one of his most well-known albums, 1996's Antichrist Superstar, which is an unapologetically industrial mash of rock, electronic, goth, heavy metal and post punk. The ever outrageous American Manson - real name Brian, lol - is in visceral form, screaming in guttural fashion from the bottom of his lungs across most tunes while big walls of gauzy guitar and plenty of demonic wordplay bash you over the head. The artwork is decent, too.

Review: Since the release of his David Bowie homage album We Are Chaos in 2020, goth/shock rock industrial metal provocateur Marilyn Manson has been subject to many a controversy and accusation that we won't go into here. Whatever apparently is happening behind the scenes, his perceived "cancellation" hasn't lasted very long, as he now returns with his 12th album One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 (largely indicating that this isn't planned as a one-off comeback). Newly signed to Nuclear Blast and with Chelsea Wolfe alumni and film score composer Tyler Bates handling production duties, the material showcases Manson at his most synth-heavy, new wave-inspired and electro-goth to date, while ample room is still allowed for metallic, industrial bangers. In some regards, it's the most potent musical backdrop the unknowable figure has utilised in some decades as he attempts to rebuild his brand, aesthetic and aura with a new legion of collaborators who just might help him pull it off and finally find redemption. Sonically speaking, that is.

Review: Marilyn Manson is back with another of his famously bold and provocative new albums, One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1. Mansn has always been known for pushing boundaries - as well as buttons - and comes through again here with a dark and gripping collection of tracks that blend his usual tropes of industrial rock, haunting melodies and raw, intense vocals that come from deep down inside and ooze with menace. This album explores themes of power, corruption and rebellion, all wrapped in Manson's signature mix of shock value and unusual expression. It adds up to a journey into a twisted, dystopian world filled with layers of atmospheric sounds and unsettling lyrics so is perfect for fans of Manson's uniquely confrontational style.

Review: Returning with his first full-length since 2020's David Bowie-indebted We Are Chaos, while more notably marking the industrial metal goth icon's return to the spotlight following a series of troubling allegations that seemingly appear to now hang in limbo, One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 shall serve as the 12th full-length studio endeavour from Marilyn Manson. Co-produced with frequent Chelsea Wolfe collaborator and film scorer Tyler Bates, the material boasts some of the most synth-laden, new wave winking and direct metallic rock bangers the mercurial yet questionable figure has dropped in almost two decades, making for a sonic victory lap of sorts as Manson attempts to rebuild his brand and aesthetic.

Review: JS Aurelius and Nick Nappa's Marshstepper project steps out of its more familiar Ascetic House imprint and lands on Regis and Silent Servant's Downwards America stable - a division of the Downwards industry reserved for more experimental, electro-acoustic and punked-out electronics. The EP starts out with the sunken drones and metallic twists of "Everything Is Sorrow", morphs its way into a bloodbath of distorted, wavy electric guitar riffs on "Survival" and "Confronted With Life", the latter being strictly of the industrial variety. "On An Animals Soul Turned Against Itself" is the more macabre of the lot thanks to its eerie vocals, while "In Pure Linen & Placed In A New Tomb" heads into a total atmosphere of doom and dread. Top class chillers from one of industrial's best contemporary outlets.

Review: Italian-born, Berlin-based. These details alone are enough to mark Velvet May out as a product of location. Italy has long-been obsessed with a distorted futurism, musically at least, with a slew of hugely respected noise pioneers calling the country home, particularly in northern areas around Torino. Meanwhile, Germany's capital is all about those dystopian aesthetics and technophile attitude. Fusing together industrial, rock, and electronic in a visceral, mechanical, human-trapped-in-machine amalgamation of sound, the grit of production lines meets the unbridled raw energy of punk, the sex droid seduction of electroclash steaming headfirst into the forward momentum of techno. It's angry, frustrated, perhaps even desperate, voices calling out from behind wires and controllers. Yet, in other moments ('Haven of Thrill', for example) it's positively life-affirming and, dare it be said, owes something to the euphoria of rave.

Review: Downwards' latest release shines a light on Melbourne's famed experimental music scene by bringing together tracks from two of the city's most interesting artists. On side A there's a chance to savour all four tracks from Bonnie Mercer's previously cassette-only release Old Moon, New Moon, with the experienced artist combining elements of desert rock (fractured, discombobulated, fuzz-toned guitar textures) with droning tones, reverb-laden samples and gentle washes of ambient colour. Over on the flip YLP - the duo of Joshua Wells and Harry Schwind- take over, delivering a suite of suitably cosmic tracks heavily influenced by Spacemen 3, Suicide and Sun City Girls.

Review: Considered by many to be the most influential noise artist of all time, anything Merzbow - AKA Tokyo born Dadaist and surrealist Masami Akita - carries significant weight with particular communities. And it's those heads this very special package is aimed squarely at; the folk who will want to know the artist himself was responsible for splitting the 74-minutes of sound here into four distinct parts.

It's certainly a full-on and uncompromising place, filled with distortions, reverberations and angry, demanding harshness. Suggestions of rhythm, nods to beats, and discordant half (quarter?) harmonies come in and out of earshot, weapons attacking the listener from all directions. The final result is a disorientating and rousing assault on the senses, like moving a full blown sonic installation from gallery into your front room.

Review: Hospital Productions founder Dominick Fenrow considers Merzbow's Noisembryo to be the "holy grail of the entire '90s noise movement". It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that he's managed to persuade the elusive Japanese experimentalist to let him reissue the hard-to-find, previously CD-only album on vinyl. It's naturally extreme stuff, even by Merzbow's standards, with discordant, high speed loops, saturated bass, occasional drums and his own voice (mutilated by various effects pedals) combining to create aural collages that are not so much embryonic as wild and intense. Fans will note that the album also includes a similarly rare bonus cut, "Travelling", which has previously never appeared on vinyl before.

Review: This extended triple vinyl edition of Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets revives Merzbow's groundbreaking second vinyl release from 1986 in an all-new and special package. Widely regarded as one of the Japanese master's finest albums, this is its first-ever reissue on vinyl and the first release featuring the original recordings. The 1986 RRRec edition was a remix by the label, whereas this version presents the original tracks but also it includes bonus material from the same era to offer a definitive and immersive look at Merzbow's early work. Noise and experimental music fans, do not sniff at this one.

Review: Rabih Beaini's Morphine imprint has undergone something of a renaissance in the past year to become one of contemporary techno's most vital labels thanks to the recent material from Hieroglyphic Being, Container, Upperground Orchestra and Philadelphia duo Metasplice, whose two EPs for the label have provided some of the most alien sounding techno to emerge in recent years. Their debut album Infratracts appeared with no prior fanfare; it's as exciting a journey into the duo's uniquely desolate sound world as you could imagine; combining skull-shattering rhythms with brain-warping textures, the whole thing recalls a seasick version of Container's noise techno being transmitted via SETI's long-range radio telescope. Essential wares for lovers of adventurous electronics...

Review: Giving you a time portal back to the glory days of rap metal on a major label tip, Methods Of Mayhem was the moment legendary Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee took a break from glam metal to get down with the kids and serve up a fierce slab for the bros to mosh to. The guest line up is no joke, taking in Snoop Dogg, Fred Durst, George Clinton, Lil' Kim, Mixmaster Mike, Kid Rock and U God from Wu Tang Clan. Truthfully, it's aged well compared to a lot of the rap metal of the era, capturing a genuine hip hop swagger which more than stands up to the guitars, with production that reaches to sampling and synthesis as much as crushing riffage. It may not be the smartest creative expression out there, but neither is it trying to be. The main thing is that it kicks raw ass, which it absolutely does.

Review: With the recent news that industrial legends Ministry would call it quits following one final full-length set for release in 2026, mastermind Al Jourgensen first aims to right some of his own projects' self-perceived wrongs on The Squirrely Years Revisited. As it wouldn't be until 1986's sophomore effort Twitch and 1988's legendary follow up The Land Of Rape & Honey that their abrasive style would truly take shape, their Depeche Mode-indebted synth-pop leaning debut LP With Sympathy is all but forgotten, even eschewed from live setlists by this point in their career. Initially bowing to label pressure to aim for more accessible songwriting as well as being pushed to sing with a more "English" cadence, this revisited collection largely consists of material originally featured on With Sympathy, along with re-recordings of the 1985 single '(Every Day Is) Halloween', and rarities such as 'Same Old Madness' and 'I'll Do Anything For You', with the intent, clarified by Jourgensen in an official statement as - "Since I hated my early stuff for decades, I decided to take ownership of it and do it right."

Review: Ministry have always enjoyed playing with album titles - 1989's The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste being one of the best examples. They've also evolved from a synth pop outfit at the turn of that decade into one of the pre-eminent industrial rock and metal bands of the following ten years, a process that helps them stand out among a scene that became increasingly saturated as time progressed.

Never by-numbers, then, and always looking to experiment with effects, samples, and structure, on stage their reputation for being uncompromisingly Ministry precedes them, and here's at least some form of proof. Sphinctour (lol) is an 11 track album containing recordings from various live shows across the globe, each of which invokes the atmosphere and gargantuan power of the outfit in question, with the only real problem being the fact you probably weren't there to see these shows happen.

Review: "A record that sounds like dystopia", painting "a bleak portrait of an America that is on the brink of implosion" wrote one critic after first hearing AmeriKKKant, the 14th studio album by the mighty Ministry. If this is your first encounter with the record, it should take exactly two tracks to understand what said scribe - penning prose for The Spill Magazine - was getting at. There's anger, trouble, rage, frustration, disillusionment and a rallying war cry to stand up and stop the decline of Western civilisation at the hands of populists and fundamentalists running through every bar of every track. More so, this is also about standing tall and representing what constitutes an LP. Far more than a vessel for singles, AmeriKKKant is long form expression in the truest sense. Not necessarily a journey into industrial metal and sample-oriented experimental rock, but a manifesto for what they can represent.

Review: Newly discovered, vintage live recordings from one of the greatest industrial bands of all time,
Ministry's Ultimate Rarest Trax! 1981-1986 is an offer that will be impossible to turn down for many fans, while newcomers will find this an eye-opening introduction to a band many people have either misunderstood or failed to explore because of misconceptions. Often categorised as metal, those expecting the overblown or frenzied will be surprised here. Instead, this collection of raw demos, concert takes, and alternative mixes showcases the dexterity and vision of the group. At times closer to post-punk and New Wave than anything else, the work is as technically outstanding as it is musically brave, at various points nodding to greats like The Cure, Taking Heads, and ACR, to name but three. You get the point.

Review: Big stadium sized synth wave stuff, those who are scared to tread anywhere near EDM and trance should be warned Minuit Machine are partial to a massive breakdown or two, or at least that's true of the original 'Don't Run From The Fire'. But none of that should be taken to mean there's anything distasteful here. It's actually very well-conceived stuff. Movie theme meets dance floor potential.
Not least on 'Lovers of the Night', which could easily be an anthem from a 2022 Lost Boys remake. Eerie, engaging, broken, trippy, and slightly sinister stuff that doesn't give up. Remix wise, things veer from the punchy uptempo big room techno-esque Rein version on the title number, to the more darkly hypnotic and - once you attune to the background harmony - quietly uplifting PARALLX take on 'Lovers of the Night', which take things close to Gatecrasher in 1999 at around 7AM territory.