Industrial electro-punk, eclectic as it should be. This vibe and zest brings me joy, makes me smile. I’d love to see this band live.
Fat Dog – WOOF.
The Black Dog – Other, Like Me
These guys are churning out new albums like a factory, and what’s socking is that none of these records feel like coming from a conveyor belt. This one’s on the darker side, introvert slow to mid tempo techno, some fine IDM noises, some industrial touch, some nice synths. It’s very well crafted electronic music.
The Cassandra Complex – Sex & Death
The other day I got this instant hook on The Cassandra Complex, which I’ve never heard before. That naive early ’90s industrial electronic rock nostalgia on this record and Cyberpunx stole my heart. Now, listening to these two records again after a week I don’t find them that much appealing, so not sure what it is, could be a mood swing in play. But The War Against Sleep is a definitive hymn, there’s no question about that.
Soft Crash – Your Last Everything
Industrial and EBM with some techno and trance. Some cyberpunk soundtrack, some party scene score.
Noise Unit – Cheeba City Blues
I wasn’t aware that Noise Unit was a Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber project. But I’ve been listening to this album as casual daily backdrop for months. It’s nothing too outstanding or new to be honest, but it combines many of the things that I just like to hear in the industrial electronic music spectrum, which is not so surprising given Leeb and Fulber. It also has this musical diversity (like dub reverbs with a strong modern bass line and EBM-like vocals in one track), which always gives me some cyberpunk feeling (the “beyond globalization” kind where everything goes in the multicultural blender).
Asteria – Faderhead
EBM and futurepop from cyberpunk atmospheres to the dancefloor.
Assemblage 23 – Mourn
Just that EBM slash futurepop that I would expect from an Assemblage 23 album. The Deluxe Edition’s remixes added pretty much nothing to the experience, so that basic set of ten tracks are fine as they are.
Rob Zombie – The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy
As good as any Rob Zombie record, it just delivers. Perhaps more musical than the usual, ranging a bunch of genres from the default industrial metal through hard rock and heavy metal to funk and even country, and having melodies that may be beyond what one would expect from this guy.
Planetdamage – Relapse Protocol
Industrial electronics and beyond that goes through a wide range of styles from EBM through breaks to psytrance. It is like an amazing soundtrack to a cyberpunk videogame that I’d love to play. I’m sure Planetdamage would like to imagine people walking through neon-infused city nights while listening to it, but it’s a perfect companion for pushing work, too. The only downside is the vocal, which on the full length gets somewhat tedious because of it’s monotone sound, but since the Bandcamp release has the instrumental version included that’s what I have on replay.
Rabbit Junk – Xenospheres
It’s industrial metal with a heavy electronic drag. And most of all, even though it’s presented as a neo-noir cyberpunk aesthetic, I still feel a positive vibe in there. It’s not like one of those doomed self-deprecating whiners who suck all your willingness to live but this one rather pushes you to go go go and if there’s something in your way just crush through it. It has energy and fun.