Die Wilde Jagd – Uhrwald Orange

It’s like the love child of Dead Can Dance and industrial music. It’s a krautrock thing and a psychedelic rock thing. And it is amazing. I’ve been listening to this record almost continuously for a while now and it just enchants me. It’s hypnotic and atmospheric and opens up a magical world of its own.

Blanck Mass – Calm With Horses (Original Score)

Another one of those soundtracks that get me to watch a movie. Otherwise I’d probably pass on another film starring Barry Keoghan. But the music is another hit home by Benjamin John Power, he has never let me down so far. Tense, dark, full of stress, from ambient to pumping industrial electronics. I can hear those pictures of unease and emptiness, then running and fighting, I want to see that editing that’s based on these rhythms and sounds. I’d love to play it too, if this was a game soundtrack.

Harmed – From Day One

Ranging between metalcore, melodic hardcore, and mathcore. It’s like a little boy brother of Meshuggah who is still listening to some Slipknot and post-hardcore emo stuff. This album is acutally from 2017, I just came across this now because of a new single (Metacortex), which is way more all-out industrial infused metal, but both their earlier and new songs are fantastic. I wonder, which will be the future direction once a new record is out.

Phase Fatale – Scanning Backwards

It sounds like a classic industrial-EBM album from many years ago getting a remaster in 2020 with a techno heart. Sounds like an abandoned factory, heavy beats, greasy and steamy noises, distorted synths, slow marching rhythms. It is something not new but refreshing to hear. This could only possibly come from Berlin, has a cosy home at Ostgut Ton.

Schramm – Nuklear Fetish

Not an innovator but a pretty good industrial electro-metal record, like in the footsteps of Rammstein but more on the party industrial side of things. I listened to a whole bunch of new releases from the industrial and EBM domains, I wanted to highlight some great surprises, but there were not much to mention at all. This one however is easily one that I am happy to relisten.

Rammstein – untitled

Another totally unexpected turn in 2019. I was never a Rammstein fan per se but always liked many of their songs. Now this album comes and I’m just blown away. There are a lot of stuff in my listening queue right now but just cannot let this one go and I’m listening to it on repeat. Also deepens my strange feeling that I’m coming to like German as a language. On another note, Puppe is super dark gem of creation. It reminds me of hearing Korn’s Daddy for the first time and thinking omfg.

Belief Defect – Decadent Yet Depraved

Wow, this is intense, surprising, deep, a journey. Apocalyptic bass heavy rhythmic noise with an industrial feel to it. Bites with sharp teeth and consumes with acid. And this is a debut album, taking off at Raster – not bad, not bad. Reminds me of when Diamond Version was new.