PDF version - Ground Under Productions

Featuring the dancefloor hit
Black + Blue
[EP still available with remixes from Haujobb,
Lights of Euphoria + more]
Angel Theory - Re-possession
GUP CD 013
www.angeltheory.com
other releases:
GUP CD 011 Black + Blue EP
GUP CD 009 Fatal Condition
GUP CD 008 Transmission EP
Elegant + emotional electronics...
return with their 3rd,
best + most substantial
album Ascension
Resurrection Eve - Ascension
GUP CD 012
012
www.resurrectioneve.com
other releases:
GUP CD 004 Rapture
BM 007 Ancient Curse [deleted]
(world)
Ground Under Productions
www.gup.net.au
(europe)
Endless Records
www.endless-records.de
(g/a/s)
Al!ve
www.alive-ag.de
issue tenBmarBaprBmay
gary numan – 12
zeitgeist – 14
my chemical romance – 16
android lust – 18
dandelion wine – 19
david cronenberg – 20
collide – 22
opeth – 24
fields of the nephilim – 26
festival report
– big day out – 30
– distorted – 28
– cold meat industry – 32
– under the blue moon – 35
troma – 36
unter null – 38
iszoloscope – 38
ah cama-sotz – 39
dope stars inc. – 39
leæther strip – 40
crimes of the primary – 42
Reviews: film, computer games, comics,
books, music reviews – 44
Iggy Pop photographed by Angelica East
[email protected]
G
Editor: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Sub Editors: Michelle Smith, Penelope Goodes
Music Editor: Jarod Collard
Sales + Publicity: Kama C. Way
editorial
The time has come to say adieu—to you and you and you! FIEND
will keep kicking, but your faithful editor of the past ten issues
is venturing down a different path. In FIEND’s short but feisty
life span, we’ve covered a lot of widely varying aspects of dark
alternative culture, but the one constant has been our surprise
at just how diverse and interesting a bunch our readers are. The
anti-Ralphs, the anti-Cleos…trust us there are enough of you
out there to form a large and threatening army of Culturally
Unimpressed.
Through FIEND, I have been proud to document many of
the aspects that make our team the winning one. The FIEND
Magazine crew—the dedicated and gloriously motley gaggle that
they are—live the life: these are no subcultural fucking tourists.
Their hard work and passion will continue to fill these pages in
future issues, and I for one can’t wait to see what perverse take
on the car-crash of popular culture FIEND takes in the years to
come.
Over and out.
– Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
(Founding Editor, 2003–2006)
Design:
Alex Hammond
[[email protected]]
Charlie Kinross
[[email protected]]
Jasmin Tulk
[[email protected]]
Fiend Logo:
13am [[email protected]]
Contributors:
Jay Annabel, Alicia Campos, Michael Catley,
Ben Conant, Aowyne Davies, Brent Donaldson,
Justin Donnelly, Tessa Drysdale, Angelica East,
Ehlana Hakuli, Peter Hakuli, Amber Hastings,
Abby Helasdottir, Mark T Hewitt, James Lowry,
Christian McCrea, Matt O’Callaghan, Ben Parker,
Martyn Pedler, Emily Potter, Tavis Potts, Aimee
Sinclair, Adrian Stephens, Richard Stevenson,
Justin Tall, Jarrod Taylor, Nic Toupee, Tom
Wark, Montag Wegner, Kathryn Williams, Nat
Williams, David Witteveen, Michael Wolloghan.
FIEND is staffed by dedicated volunteers.
The editor thanks: Jarod; Sonia and Andrew;
Kama; Michelle; Teresa; all the designers,
writers, contributors and promo partners over
the years; JAn; All-weather Matte; Raibell,
Mum and Dad; Rolando Caputo; Peril Peter;
Christian; Penny Wife; Justin and Ruth; Kate
and Ben; and all the bands, artists, and friends
who’ve been involved.
Advertising:
John Joseph – Off Campus Promotions
www.oncampuspromotions.com.au
PO Box 1382 Collingwood VIC 3066
[email protected]
p: 03 94198044 m: 0414543634
f: 03 94198644
Giveaways + Competitions:
Entry is open to residents of Australia and New Zealand only (except
volunteers and immediate families of FIEND Magazine and GUP).
Only entries that comply with these terms will be eligible. The
judges decision is final and no correspondance will be entered into.
Prizes must be taken as offered and are not redeemable for cash. The
promoters is not responsible for lost or redirected mail. The promoter
is Ground Under Productions ABN: 80604940282
Privacy Information:
To enter, you accept that you must provide certain information to
FIEND magazine and its publisher Ground Under Productions. This
information will be used only as it pertains to your eligibility to
giveaways and other relevent promotions, and to gather information
_06
about FIEND readers for marketing purposes. Your specific
information will not be passed on to any other person or entity
outside of these areas. You can access the information that FIEND
holds about you by emailing [email protected]
FIEND Magazine is published by GROUND UNDER PRODUCTIONS
(ABN: 80604940282). Copyright 2006 GROUND UNDER
PRODUCTIONS. All rights reserved by Ground Under Productions. All
images are copyrighted to their respective owners. No part of this
magazine or associated website may be reproduced, in whole or in
part, by any means, electronic or mechanical (including
photocopying), without the prior written permission of the
publisher. All product specifications are correct at th time of printing
but are subject to change at the discretion of the distributor.
FIEND Magazine and Ground Under Productions assume no responsibility for the content of websites or other external material referenced, some of which may contain mature subject matter. FIEND is
not liable for any damages or injury resulting from: accessing, or the
inability to access these websites or material, or from any products
of services offered via these websites or material.
FIEND Magazine. ISSN: 1448-9295 ABN:
80604940282
11/60 Langridge St Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia
www.fiend-magazine.com
[email protected]
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W
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Clan of Xymox comes thundering into the modern
age with a digital-only download for the new single
‘Weak in My Knees’. The seven tracks that make up
the release are to serve as a bit of a sampler of the
group’s upcoming album to be released later this
year... Electric Six’s Señor Smoke may have been
released in Australia on Valentine’s Day last year,
but the US has only just got its first taste of the
album officially thanks to goth/industrial label
Metropolis. Is this a sign that the label is moving
in a ‘Danger! High Voltage!’ direction? Wait and
see... Rammstein has found itself in a somewhat
curious legal predicament. According to United Press
International, the convicted cannibal Armin Meiwes
(the inspiration for the Rammstein single ‘Mein Teil’)
has filed suit, claiming the song is about him and
that the band did not ask his permission... Ministry
has teamed up with Jello Biafra, Killing Joke’s
Paul Raven and Tommy Victor (ex-Danzig) for the
band’s new album, Rio Grande Blood, due out midyear. Joey Jordison (Slipknot) is set to play drums
for Al Jourgensen and co. when Ministry kicks off on a US tour to support the album... Psychobilly
legends Nekromantix are busy at work on the band’s new album, Nekroman. Troy and James are
planning on its release in late 2006, with a single due out at the end of our winter. Meanwhile,
Nekroman’s “other” band, HorrorPops (pictured) posted a message on its website about last year’s
Australian tour: “Australia was more than we dreamed for. Besides from hugging the shit out of
koalas and chasing down kangaroos, Australia is the rock ‘n roll country and if you play in a band
you should head down there immediately! We were a bit scared going there considering that we
had to fly everywhere and knowing about HorrorPops luck of engines catching fire. But hey, we
didn’t crash or emergency land even once! So we are going to risk our luck and hopefully hit the
Aussies soon again”... For the Old People: Brian Eno is recording music again with Roxy Music
(Young People translation: like the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack? If “yes”, then this is good news
for you!)... Announcements are starting to trickle through concerning the line-ups for some of the
big dark alternative festivals in Europe later this year. Leipzig once again plays host to Wave Gotik
Treffen, and this year features a breathtakingly eclectic selection thus far: Nitzer Ebb performs its
first reunion show since the group’s demise, and is joined by The Legendary Pink Dots, Heaven
17, Implant, Theatre of Tragedy and a musical version of a medieval script of Carmina Burana
performed by Corvus Corax! M’era Luna also features Nitzer Ebb, but the big drawcard there will be HorrorPops
a live performance by Front Line Assembly, who will be joined by FIEND favourites The Birthday
Massacre (pictured), In Strict Confidence, Funker Vogt and running gag, Blutengel. No word yet
on the English festivals—the line up for the April and October Whitby festivals and August’s Infest are yet
to be announced... Lisa Gerrard’s (Dead Can Dance, award-winning composer) house was threatened by the
bushfires in Gippsland, Victoria recently. Gerrard told The Age’s Adam Morton: “When a crisis comes that’s
when I know I’m an Australian. I’m not particularly patriotic or a nationalistic person but that’s the spirit of
this country”... Congratulations to Sydney bands Dazy Chain and The Process Void, and Perth’s Intrasonic
for teaming up with the Crash Frequency collective! The force to be reckoned with just got better... Fellow
“Crashers” Tankt join local lads IKON on the US label Static Sky (home of electro-industrial giants Mentallo
and the Fixer). Drinks all round!
Birthday Massacre
metal
The Eternal has made a film clip for the track ‘Everlasting’ from the band’s second album, Sleep of
Reason. You can download it online at www.the-eternal.com. The Eternal also hopes to make an
announcement about the release of its second album in the very near future. See pics of The Eternal
supporting HIM on the FIEND website www.fiend-magazine.com. Setting foot on Australian soil for the
first time in 2003, the mighty The Haunted (pictured) battered the Australian masses to a pulp with the
band’s trademark thrash riffs and unyielding rhythms. Now the European thrash kings return to Australia
in March with special guests Exodus. Sweden’s prog death metal masters Opeth are on their way back to
Australia in April with the band’s latest offering Ghost Reveries. Come join in a night of interwoven beauty,
melody, and aggression as Opeth casts its signature dark sounds across our land. For tour dates and ticket
info for these international acts visit www.ozmosh.com
The Haunted
07_
wait no longer
Placebo’s long awaited new album
Meds is by all accounts a return to
form after 2004’s somewhat awkward
(but high selling) Sleeping with
Ghosts. Ten years into the band’s
career, Placebo spent eight weeks
recording the album in London. “We
allowed space for the songwriting to
shine through rather than show up
how clever we were and how good
we’ve gotten at using the studio,”
says spunkmuppet vocalist Brian
Molko. “We were going for simplicity
rather than elaboration.” Does it
work? Either way, the album contains
a song called ‘Space Monkey’, so we’re
happy.
Innocent When You Dream, the
collected interviews of Tom Waits,
spans the 20 plus albums and 30
plus years of the King of the Drunken
Bohemians. But lads, don’t get your
hopes up—this is far from a selfhelp book. In the words of the man
himself: “I’ve never met anyone who
made it with a chick because they
owned a Tom Waits album. I’ve got
all three, and it’s never helped me”.
Editor Mac Montadon’s favourite Tom
Waits album is Small Change (1976).
Innocent When You Dream is out
through Allen and Unwin.
U
another dose
K www.placeboworld.co.uk
haunted
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NECROFANCY
GIVEAWAY!
Adelaide’s Necromancy darlinks have given FIEND two necroshirts to
creep out your folks and their folks. Tell FIEND giveaways what size you
need in regular or girly shape and support your local grave robbers.
Necromancy is held the last Saturday of every month at Enigma Bar,
173 Hindley Street, Adelaide. (See page 11 to enter)
K www.clubnecromancy.com
_08
Feeling a little creeped out? Check
out these places to see if there’s a
supernatural explanation to your
unrest; according to theshadowlands.
net, these are some of the most
haunted places in Australia. (The
FIEND office is ominously not on their
list, however. Sp00ky!)
to hell and
back again
Latest word in the malbowges is that
Melbourne’s Hell is back on 22 April
2006. Dante’s prose is pretty hard
going, but from what we’ve managed
to decipher “EBM, industrial, cyber,
and dance at Deep 11, 456 Queen
St Melbourne from 11 pm ‘til late,
with guest DJs to make you quake.”
For information and to receive spam
from Hell email “you-know-who” at
[email protected]
K www.bodymusicfromhell.com
New South Wales:
Bathurst’s Machatti Park
Maitland Jail
Queanbeyan’s Air Disaster Memorial
Queensland:
Brisbane Town Hall
Lutwyche Cemetery
Mossman Gorge
South Australia:
The old Norwood primary school
Kapunda Cemetery
Tasmania:
Richmond Bridge
Theatre Royal
Victoria:
Melbourne’s Princess Theatre
Victoria Markets
Western Australia:
The Old Fremantle Prison
Nannup’s Old Bakery
K www.theshadowlands.net
GIVEAWAY!
r.i.p
moustapha
akkad
Who, you ask? Akkad was the executive
producer of the Halloween films, and
without him the numerous sequels
that have brought Michael Myers back
to life in inexplicable ways time and
time again would not have been.
Born in Aleppo, Syria, Akkad died on
11 November last year from injuries
sustained in terrorist bombings in
Jordan. He was 75 years old.
the serpent’s
web
red stripe goes
faster
Anyone who is lucky enough to live
skulking distance from Sydney’s
Gallery Sepentine may think that
they have a monopoly on le chique
gothique, but, as with most things
these days, the cool kids have no
choice but to share with everyone
who has their claws in even the most
prehistoric internet connection and a
firm recollection of Dad’s credit card
number. FIEND’S fave orders from
the Gallery Serpentine website are
the corset bag (who wants to spend
a mountain of cash on a corset and
then have the cat swinging on it?!
Although they do look cute when the
do that), the filigree cross in ruby,
and best of all, the customisable
bone channels to go with an
underbust corset, so you can have a
black corset and add silver, red, or a
lewd pink, if you must. For Messrs.
the FIEND web order faves are the
slim line shirt in pinstripe and the
mourning coat in lush brocade. The
vaults of Dame Druscilla’s finishing
school taught these girls proper
manners; to say thanks for visiting
their website they’ll give you the
opportunity to win a $100 haul. See
the Gallery Serpentine ad this issue
for details.
LipServiceHeavyRedDemoniaRoute66
LiquorbrandLucky13DollDeluxe
AngeloriumDeuceCreepersSinnersInk
HellForLeatherEquinoxManicPanic
Beserk… Dizzy yet? Perth’s Red
Stripe Clothing has a giddying range
of smokin’ hot gear, whether you
want to play dolls or damned, and
get extra FIEND horns for being so
supportive of Australian designers.
Fortunately for those off the Perth
radar, Red Stripe is preparing to dive
into the data stream and go online.
Visit their website for a “boo” at
the huge range of shoes and a tease
of the brands above, and to sign
up to pounce when they throw the
switch on the web store. FIEND’s
“I’m feeling pov/ I’m feeling loaded”
picks are a standard spiked cuff by
Hell for Leather (you can never have
too many) and a pair of monster
shiny boots to make you taller than
your uncle Nev. Go browse at 8-10
Roe Street, Northbridge, WA or visit
K www.redstripeclothing.com
K www.galleryserpentine.com.au
C
GIVEAWAY!
RESURRECTION THEORY
The much anticipated new albums from Australian
favourites Angel Theory (Re-possession) and
Resurrection Eve (Ascension) are on non-stop
rotation in the FIEND office, and we’ve got five
of each to giveaway (if we don’t wear out all the
copies first!) courtesy of Ground Under Productions.
(See page 11 to enter) K www.angeltheory.com
K www.resurrection-eve.com
09_
GIVEAWAY!
free autumn
decadence
raw
GIVEAWAY!
wildloot!
The queens of the Wild West at
Wildilocks in Perth are feeling sorry
for the rest of the country, and think
a bottle of iridescent hair dye is
enough to make it all better. Well,
we’ll take your absurdly-intense,
only-stockist-in-Australia big-bottle
of hair dye, but don’t think this makes
us friends. Got it? Care of Wildilocks
FIEND has one atomic pink and one
blue mayhem bottle of hair dye to
give to the sulkiest reader. Tell us
which one you need to make it all go
away. Check out the colours at www.
wildilocks.com and at the new store
at Bases808, 808 Hay Street, Perth.
(See below to enter)
There is a high chance that if you’ve
seen a gorgeous piece of bat or spider
jewellery in Australia, it has been
made by the ever-distinguished and
savvy Gregory Bolton. Long a FIEND
favourite, Gregory spins a trove of
tasteful period jewellery with a dark
decadent edge. Close relatives of the
heralded Bat and Spider collections
are the exquisite Egyptian Revival
collection, the Rubber Collection,
Rose Collection, Filligree Collection,
and, for sheer jewel-encrusted
indulgence, FIEND favourite, the
Beyond Deluxe Collection. Have
a tiptoe around the crystal waist
cincher, and make sure you’ve got
someone to catch your swoon.
Gregory has been a dear, as always,
and given FIEND two bat chokers
and two bat bracelets to give away,
perfect peeking out from a coat or
shirt in blustery autumn. Find his
wares at your nearest peddler of
spooky jewels or visit his online
store for free shipping anywhere in
Australia. (See below to enter)
GIVEAWAY!
alchemy
gorgeous
k
Free jewellery! Yup. The generous
grimoire merchants at Le Cabinet
Des Curiosities want everyone to
know they are the spot to dig for
Alchemy Gothic jewellery, so they’ve
given FIEND a beautiful skull and
coffin necklace to give away. FIEND
giveaways are more popular than
ever, so zap, spam, or love-letter
us post haste. This gem is totally
suitable for misters, misters. (See
below to enter)
K http://stores.ebay.com.au/LeCabinet-des-Curiosities
mONSTER
HAUL!
HOW TO ENTER...
If any of the lush loot appeals to you, enter with your
name, postal address, and preferred creepy freebie.
By snail mail: FIEND Giveaways, 11/60 Langridge Street,
Collingwood, Vic 3066
By email: [email protected]
By SMS: 0400 569 895
K www.gregorybolton.com
holding a
grudge
Multiple entries for the same item will be used to line the bird cage: one
entry per item per hottie only, please, and that includes SMS. Entries
close 31/05/06. Winners announced 07/08/06 at www.fiend-magazine.
com. SMS/text messages charged at your standard pre-arranged rates.
FIEND Magazine receives no revenue for this message, and denies all
and any liability for fees incurred by your telecommunications carrier.
If you are unsure of your fee structure, FIEND requires that you submit
giveaway entries only via post or email. Privacy policy page 5.
Both Sarah Michelle Gellar and
director Takashi Shimizu have
signed up to make the American
sequel to The Grudge, based on
the Japanese sequel also directed
by Shimizu. Set for an October
2006 release in the US, fans are
hoping that the Australian release
won’t be too much further off.
But will it, like the first American
Grudge film, be better than the
original? Sceptics in the FIEND
office suggest it couldn’t be any
worse…
11_
_12
Gary Numan, a pivotal and founding figure of modern electronica, is on the phone talking about
his new vision, Jagged, the first release of new material in roughly six years.
Jagged is, up front, a tough and aggressive album in
the current nu-metal vein that he first tapped into in
1994 with his (mostly overlooked) turning-point album,
Sacrifice. Sacrifice represented a complete rebuilding of
Numan from the ground up. Yet it wasn’t until 1998 and
the release of the lauded Exile that the world rang to the
sound of nu-metal and the vast legions of Numanoids
returned from their exile in the wilderness.
Jagged is arguably the most intricate and dense album
since 1980’s iconic Telekon. Resplendent and dripping
with lush strings, soaring guitars and choral voices it
also offers multiple layers of rich tonality and endless
depth; a sonic landscape composed of massed minute
details laying in wait for anyone willing to take the time
to explore.
I asked, why such detail, why so much intricacy? “I love
industrial music and I think industrial music has always
had that element running through it. This use of noises
and little effects and little strange graunches and groans
and clicks, you use that as your production technique
instead of using conventional musical parts … The idea
of using noises and so on is something I’ve been into
almost since day one really … I would wander around the
streets with a little tape recorder and a microphone just
kicking things and banging things and wobbling things,
trying to record hundreds and hundreds of little noises to
build up as vast a library as I could of just noises and then
find ways of using those noises on the record. I think to
have your melody and your vocals and your guitars doing
their thing is all very valid and that’s obviously a core
part of the music, but to have all this other stuff going
on, this background of little noises and glitches and so
on, I just think that it makes a very interesting listening
experience really.”
With Jagged, for the first time in a very long time, Numan
has relinquished control of the sonic behemoth at his
command and let his long-time fan and friend Ade Fenton
take responsibility. How did this come about? “He’s been
a fan of mine for a long time … He’s also been a friend of
mine now for many, many years so he’s very aware of my
ambition and the sort of music that I’m into and where I
want to go. When I got him in to work on the album with
“In all of us there is this
potential to go one way
or the other depending on
what life throws at us. I
find that a very fascinating
experience.”
musicality, lyrically seeps from a desolate and dark
crevice in Numan’s brain. Is it cathartic to release
such demons upon the world or is it just your creative
vehicle? “A bit of both, to be truthful. Lyrically, Jagged
is pretty dark and there’s some fairly heavy things going
on in there with the subject matter and the lyrics, yet
there is a thread of my life that runs through all of it. A
lot of this album lyrically was created because I saw a
documentary on television … it was about a serial killer
and there was a traumatic experience that happened in
his life, which made him go that way. It just made me
think about my own life … it looks at the seedier side
or the more perverse things that I dabbled with over
the years and just that whole darker side of our lives as
we go through it. There is that thread running through
pretty much all the songs on Jagged. If I could describe
it this way, I open the door to the studio and it’s as if
I’ve opened a door to another side of my brain where
all this other stuff is sitting and lurking and waiting to
come out and I’m fascinated to see it in myself and to
write about it. In all of us there is this potential to go
one way or the other depending on what life throws at
us. I find that a very fascinating experience.”
me, he was already very familiar with where I wanted to
be and the problems that I was having … he just stepped
straight into the breach and he was an absolute waterfall
of ideas. It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Ade was a
revelation to me, to be honest. He’s never even produced
an album before … It was like watching a genius in the
making… It was an amazing thing! His impact on the
album has been very, very impressive.”
Even before its official release, Jagged is already being
heralded by the critics and vast armies of Numanoids,
me being one, as his greatest work to date. With its
imminent launch pending, Numan will begin a gruelling
year of live shows across Britain, Europe, and America
to assail the earth with his ashen vision for a nu-metal
landscape. Careful, this nu-metal is Jagged.
Jagged, despite its anthemic themes and soaring
www.numan.co.uk
– Michael Catley
13_
_14
Sydney’s Zeitgeist has become a familiar name to those who haunt live venues, dark alternative-friendly music
stores and the internet. With its dedicated fan-base consistently on the rise with each new release, Zeitgeist
has created its trademark sound from a hotchpotch of classic gothic metal, female ethereal and—gasp!—even
a little smidgen of electro now and then. FIEND chats to the rising stars.
FIEND: The term “gothic rock” is pretty expansive:
while some consider you guys metal, others find your
style much more in tune with a lot of the softer death
rock stuff coming out of Germany and places like
that. What does genre mean to Zeitgeist, in terms of
both your own sound and that of other bands, and in
reference to the music industry in general?
DRYNE: For me, unlike my fellow members, genres are
a must. I know that many bands are afraid of such a
thing and don’t want to “pigeonhole” themselves into a
category or genre but I personally have always felt that
genres were very important. As much as everyone hates
to admit it, labels and such are really a fact of life and
something we come across every day. However I don’t
think that we’ve been restricted by it.
MATT: To me, the gothic genre defines an image, what
we sing about and how we look: dark and mysterious,
black leather and eye make-up.
TRYST: Labels are getting harder and harder to place
these days. The sign that you are doing something right
is probably the fact that it isn’t biased to any one style or
genre. Then again it’s much harder for people to identify
with something when they can’t identify it first …
CINDEL: I … find that Zeitgeist has a wonderful
collection of songs which seem to have no boundaries
when it comes to genres. No one person likes to write
or play the same type of song every time—that would
be boring and uninspiring … I just play what I feel and
what I think sounds interesting.
FIEND: Zeitgeist is one of the only Australian bands
that falls under the “goth” banner that isn’t an
electro band …
DRYNE: We are not an electro band by any means and in
fact we have very little knowledge of all things electro.
This is one reason why we leave it up to the ones that
are in the know to do it for us via the remixes we have
made. I think it arises from the fact that traditionally
we are very much a band that is influenced from artists
that don’t necessarily have a lot to do with electronica.
However that’s not to say that we’re not interested and
we are slowly incorporating more electronic elements into
our sound.
MATT: I think that everyone in the band considers
themselves musicians before anything else. Therefore,
when it comes to recording or playing live, we want the
audience to hear us play rather than program. Any band
can pre-record stuff or use sequences to play along with.
To me, that kind of thing is just a notch above karaoke!
FIEND: Zeitgeist has been kicking around for a
bit now—is there in your opinion a supportive
community for you (and bands like you) in terms of
audience support and a network of other bands?
DRYNE: It’s probably the internet that has probably
been most favourable to us and our contemporaries
in enabling people to be aware of bands that would
otherwise be largely ignored by traditional media. I still
think that clubs should be much more responsible for
supporting Australian music and to me it is nothing
things we were doing at the time of Lunar, our second
release. Lunar was an album in which each track really
stood out as being quite different from the other, where
each one had a real strong identity of its own and where
there was a greater degree of variation, stylistically,
between songs than perhaps what one would normally
expect. It is very different, in that respect, to Neurotic
and Latonic, our last studio album, one which I felt was
a lot more straightforward.
TRYST: A touch of “bash your head up against a wall until
it sounds good”-styled industrial has been incorporated
and you will hear this on Cindel’s ‘Victims of the Times’.
MEMBERS:
FIEND: What influences Zeitgeist, as individual
members, as songwriters, and as a group?
Dryne (guitar)
Pantha (vocals)
Cindel (keyboards and piano)
Tryst (bass and backing vocals)
Matt (drums and electric pads)
Troy (guitar)
CINDEL: I started playing piano when I was young and
so have been brought up playing classical but I also
love artists like Kate Bush, who incorporate their piano
skills into their songs in addition to playing with heavier
instruments ... If I could take the dark keyboard mixed
with heavy guitar sounds of black metal music and use
it with female-only vox, it would be a perfect world (not
really a fan of the growling vocal technique).
DISCOGRAPHY:
Prologue (1996)
Lunar (1998)
Entrap (Caught in Winter) (2000)
Neurotic and Latonic (2002)
Victims of the Zeitgeist (2004)
Horoscope (2005)
Love, Horror, Adult Themes (2006)
short of a national shame that so many good local
bands are ignored in favour of their safer European
counterparts. As I said in this very magazine in 2004,
one day clubs will find that the support of Australian
artists will become paramount to their existence—this
I still believe!
FIEND: Tell us about the latest release—how do you
think it varies from older material?
DRYNE: The new album, Love, Horror, Adult Themes, is
our seventh release to date and features a total of nine
tracks. This album is very much a return to the kind of
PANTHA: I constantly look for something or someone to
influence my artistic endeavours. Influences include new
ideas in melody and recording styles as well as historic ones.
I look at trends such as The Red Stripes’ and Schvendes’ (WA
band) interest in early US country music, to trends in UK
magazine NME, to old ’80s dance songs …
FIEND: Where to now? What’s on the cards?
TROY: We will continue to focus on Zeitgeist
merchandise and clothing apparel (which has proven
hugely successful) with a view to establishing a national
network of stockists across the country.
DRYNE: As this interview takes place, we are right
now in the midst of the national club launch for the
‘Horoscope’ single. ‘Horoscope’ has acted as a prelude
to Love, Horror, Adult Themes. … By the time this issue
hits the shelves the album will be out and we’ll be most
likely kicking off another national club launch in support
of it. There are plans for a second single to be lifted off
the album, which we will endeavour to get out in the
second half of the year. It’s going to be a busy time
from here on in!
Read the full transcript of this interview and Zeitgeist’s
2004 interview with FIEND at www.fiend-magazine.com
www.zeitgeistaustralia.com
15_
Emerging from New Jersey in the early 2000s, referencing Irvine Welsh and often compared to bands such as Thursday,
A.F.I. and The Used, My Chemical Romance has spent the last few years growing from a musical project between two
brothers and friends to one of the most popular new bands in the alternative scene. Nat Williams snuggles up.
My Chemical Romance began life as a collaboration
between Gerald Way and Matt Pelissier. Having known
each other since high school, they and the other
future band members kept in contact through years
and various musical projects. Dissatisfied with the
direction his life was taking, Way contacted Pelissier
and the two came together to write music. ‘Skylines
and Turnstiles’ was the result.
“I was doing animation in New York City, living in
my mother’s basement, and I was really starting to
question the direction of my life,” Way has said.
Revenge. Combining the emotional post-punk of the
band’s first album with high production values and
pop sensibilities, the album was created to appeal to
both the established fan base and also to a larger,
mainstream audience.
With the anthemic ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’ and
the ballad ‘Helena’, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge
manages to balance the commercial singles with tracks
reminiscent of the first album, such as ‘Thank
You for The Venom’ and ‘I
Never Told You
“So I called Matt, who’d been asking himself a lot
of the same questions. We decided we would
get together and play some music.”
values, including the funeral-themed ‘Helena’ and the
recently released video of ‘Ghost Of You’.
The band has been touring off the back of such success,
appearing on the ‘Taste Of Chaos’ tour and supporting
Green Day on its ‘American Idiot’ tour. This included
dates in Australia in late 2005, with Jimmy Eat World
as well, marking the first time My Chemical Romance
had played here. To accompany this extensive touring,
My Chemical Romance’s third release, a live CD and
DVD entitled Life on the Murder Scene, has been
slated for late March 2006.
Critically, the band has had
mixed reviews. Commercially,
My Chemical Romance has
penetrated the mainstream
market much better than
bands of a similar sound
or style, appealing both
to the average 14–20year-old MTV market
and the “Hot Topic”
teenagers.
However,
the band has received
criticism from the posthardcore scene and longtime fans, after the more
“pop-orientated” singles
and commercial production
of Three Cheers For Sweet
Revenge, and also due
to the apparent “goth”
categorisation that often
gets applied to bands such
as My Chemical Romance
and A.F.I.
The collaboration was a success for
Way and Pelissier, who then invited
Ray Toto, Frank Iero and Gerald’s
brother Mikey to form the then
nascent My Chemical Romance.
In 2002, the band recorded
its first album, I Brought
You My Bullets, You
Brought Me Your
Love, on Eyeball
Records. Musically
fast and energetic
post-punk, but with
dark and introspective
lyrics often referred to
as “emo” or “goth”,
the album garnered a
devoted local scene and
cited influences from The
Misfits to The Cure and The
Smiths. There have been
unavoidable
comparisons
to the band Thursday: both
hail from New Jersey, both
recorded for Eyeball records and
Thursday’s vocalist, Geoff Rickly,
produced I Brought You My Bullets,
You Brought Me Your Love.
“Ha
nd in
your icy b
lues,
mine, into
And then I’d say to you:
Gerald has said that the lyrics written
for the album were a great way to deal
‘We could take to the highway’…”
incidents of depression and illness in the
Way family. The music on I Brought You My
Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love ranges from the
energetic and confrontational ‘Honey, This Mirror Isn’t
Big Enough for the Two of Us’ and ‘Cubicles’ to the
introspective ‘Early Sunsets Over Monroeville’ and the
emotionally epic ‘Demolition Lovers’.
What I Did For A Living’.
With the support of a major label and the success of
‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’, which hit #4 on American
single charts, My Chemical Romance reached the “MTV
audience” and have been enjoying that success.
Touring combined with this album to cultivate a strong
local following and establish a name for My Chemical
Romance on the internet. Utilising the relatively new
community of MySpace, the band created a large cult
presence that was soon noticed by the major record
labels. In 2004, My Chemical Romance signed with
Warner and set about recording Three Cheers For Sweet
My Chemical Romance has also released a plethora of
music videos to accompany its releases. I Brought You
My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love brought videos
for the tracks ‘Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough for
the Two of Us’ and ‘Vampires Will Never Hurt You’. The
major label support of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge
made for music videos of higher quality and production
My Chemical Romance is
one a number of bands
that have attained a
large degree of their
popularity and fan base
from MySpace, a “blog”style network of personal
web pages. My Chemical
Romance has accumulated almost
half a million “friends” in its personal network, and
its signing to a major label is partially accredited to
this form of internet word of mouth.
And for the future? The band has been wrapping up
months of touring and preparing for its live CD/DVD
set. The band has also been quoted as indicating that
it’s preparing to go into the studio to begin recording
its third album. Having to record a follow-up to its
breakthrough album, this may prove the point at
which My Chemical Romance continues its success or
fades back into obscurity like so many other bands
like them.
“I’ll see your eyes, and in this pool of blood, I’ll meet
your eyes; I mean this forever”
17_
Conceived in the mid-‘90s to drag
people’s perplexing emotions
and not just their asses on to
the dancefloor, Shikhee’s intense
electro/industrial project Android
Lust is an aptly named combination
of unwavering drive and fleshy
reality. Moved by, but never
imitating, PJ Harvey, David Bowie,
NIN, pre-Process Skinny Puppy, and
even Pink Floyd, Shikhee has FIEND
firmly in her sniper-sights, and
she’s not going to miss. Kama C
Way takes the shot.
2004’s widely successful album The Dividing was
a rhythmic industrial meal, full of conviction and
excellently produced, and one of those that has you
saying, “oh no wait, this is my favourite track.” Shikhee
feels the new album Devour, Rise and Take Flight is better
still: “it’s my best work to date. I don’t have rigid preconceived notions of what the album should sound like
when I start the process. It evolves as I write, and starts
to take shape. Overall, I wanted this album to be more
direct lyrically, and sonically unrestrained. I also don’t
like to adhere to one particular feel throughout the
album. That gets tired for me. So you’ll find some variety
of moods on the album. Some people complain that it’s
too much variety, but you can’t please everyone.” No,
you can’t, and Shikhee’s instinctual obedience to her
own motivations is clear in her music and sets her apart
from many other female musicians who present a sultry
or cute image.
Android Lust is more primal and even a bit alien. “There’s
no point in working if it’s not honest,” Shikhee says. “I
do it for myself, and I write what needs to be released.
And if people like it, then it’s an added bonus. I can’t get
in the studio and create a groove or write lyrics if it’s not
going to make a difference to me. I tend to stay far away
from the traditional female image the industry likes to
push. It’s too easy to dress up a woman, or undress her,
and flaunt her sexually, thus diminishing her beyond
her flesh. And unfortunately a lot of women are all too
willing to bend over and accept this role because it’s
easy. But that kind of appeal doesn’t go far beyond your
crotch. And I don’t want to degrade my art like that. My
image is based on who I am, what my art is about, and
what appeals to me.
With such a momentum for honest art, it would be easy
to imagine Shikhee bucking the idea of music downloads
as opposed to the tangible experience of buying a CD
or even gracing a live gig (no, really? People still do
that?), but the mesh of technology and humanity seem
to prevail. “I am a believer in legal downloading. There’s
nothing quite like the instant gratification. But I do
hope that the physical media never goes away. Because
it’s always nice to hold the package in your hands and
turn the pages of a booklet to read the lyrics as you’re
hearing the songs. And of course the artwork that
accompanies the music says something about the music
and the artist. We love playing live. It’s a great feeling,
and it’s wonderful to meet fans all over and realise that
the art you create matters to some people. We plan to
tour a lot this year.
www.androidlust.com
“It’s too easy to dress up a woman, or undress her, and flaunt her sexually,
thus diminishing her beyond her flesh. “
_18
Melbourne-based duo Dandelion Wine may have had line-up shifts over the years, but core members Nicholas
and Naomi have kept the nectar flowing across Australia and Europe. On the eve of the release of the new album
An Inexact Science, Dandelion Wine’s signature Ye Olde Wall of Sound meets a darker and more aggressive style
encompassing their wide and varied tastes and inspirations. By Alexandra Nicholas.
Alexandra Nicholas: Tell us the Dandelion Wine story
thus far!
Dandelion Wine: Formed many moons ago in the late
‘90s as a four piece—we kind of thought we’d end up like
Lush or the Clouds or something, but it came out darker
than that and we started adding flute and dulcimer…
we got more instruments and more pedals and then less
members and more technology. We’ve had a couple of
independent releases here in Australia before we released
Light Streaming Down, which was distributed in Europe
and the US. We ended up touring Europe a couple of
times in 2002 and 2003 and getting to visit some of the
most amazing places around. Now we’re just itching to
go back! Strangely enough we’ve done a lot more gigs in
Europe than we have in other states of Australia so we
intend to rectify that this year.
AN: What precisely does “an inexact science” refer to?
DW: It’s one of those things that has a lot of layers to
it: it initially came up when talking about microphone
placement and music in general. Basically music is all
physics, but all the scientific knowledge in the world is
not going to create something of artistic value.
AN: You are now officially a duo?
DW: Well seeing as our last member (violinist Daniel
Stefanski) has moved to Botswana, yes—at least for the
“It’s been a long line of
Spinal Tap-esque exploding
drummers and the like
until we finally realised
that we basically are a duo!
Seems the universe has
been telling us that for a
while but we weren’t really
listening!”
foreseeable future. It’s been a long line of Spinal Tapesque exploding drummers and the like until we finally
realised that we basically are a duo! Seems the universe
has been telling us that for a while but we weren’t really
listening! It’s opened up the creative side a lot and, hell,
touring is much easier and cheaper now! I guess we were
always scared of it becoming a bit karaoke with just the
two of us but we’ve found a way to do it where we’re
still doing the bulk of things live and not just playing a
couple of incidental bits of a backing track.
AN: Europeans seem to have really picked up on you
guys. What is it about your sound that you think hits
that indigenous aspect of places like Eastern Europe?
DW: Good question! In part they seem to have an affinity
for less direct and straightforward styles of music there. I
guess they also relate to the medieval and folk elements
and instruments because there’s more of a tradition of
that over there. We’ve had people come up to us in clubs
in Poland and be a tad baffled as to how an Australian
band does music like this because we don’t have any
real history in that respect but maybe it stems from the
fact that Australia is a huge mix of almost every other
culture… we don’t know!
www.dandelionwine.com.au
19_
_20
g are awash with bodies
The films of David Cronenber
sforming— sometimes
mutating, changing, and tran
t, but always compelling,
dangerous, sometimes malevolen
side. Transformation has
exciting, and a touch on the ick
in almost every film he
been a recurring theme, evident
no surprise that Cronenberg
has made. So it should come as
sformation from being
himself has undergone a tran
or “Dave the Depraved”
known as the “King of Sleaze”
, unique, and interesting
to one of the most intelligent
Matt O’Callaghan.
filmmakers working today. By
Cronenberg’s name became familiar in the ‘70s with a series of low-budget horror films,
made thanks to generous tax shelter film financing offered by the Canadian government
to encourage local filmmakers. He fashioned three movies that demonstrated his own
sensibilities at the same time as appealing directly to the burgeoning home video
crowd, which was hungry for cutting edge bad-ass horror that could be watched
safely behind closed doors. The first two films made were his debut Shivers and the
follow-up Rabid. Both movies were about infectious diseases that turned their victims
into raging blood hungry psychopaths. Shivers particularly featured some still potent
scenes involving diseased people killing, raping, and feasting on their friends, family,
and neighbours. The Brood gave a glimpse of the filmmaker that was evolving. Made
during a time of personal tumult, Cronenberg turned the pain and misery of his own
divorce and custody battle into art. The movie itself is a direct answer to what he
perceived to be the horrible artifice of the Hollywood film Kramer vs. Kramer, which
reduced divorce to a fluffy romantic comedy. The Brood is clearly no romantic comedy,
featuring the first scene of Cronenberg’s that was ever censored: a sequence in which
a woman who can sire a legion of girls to do her murderous bidding holds, cleans, and
licks one of her newborns. The cut to his film hurt Cronenberg personally, and he has
enjoyed a combative relationship with censors ever since.
After The Brood, Cronenberg had established himself as a commercially successful
filmmaker—one with a unique vision who could turn in a cheap film, on time and
under budget, that would easily recoup costs and garner both audience and critical
acclaim. But the films only got weirder. Although somewhat lacking in some areas,
Scanners contained one of Cronenberg’s signature images: exploding heads. Videodrome
gave birth to the term “The New Flesh”, which pertained to the desires of the forcesthat-be to transform the human body into the next stage of evolution via the signals
and images found on and in televisions. Cronenberg characters’ psychological troubles
manifested physically. In every film the human body and mind was under attack.
People did not wage war with an enemy so much, as wage war with the enemy that
was inside them. Often the best a Cronenberg protagonist can hope for is to get back
to square one.
His next series of films (Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, M. Butterfly, and Crash) contained
the usual themes of biological change but no longer occurred within the horror genre.
The films are rigorously intellectual, possess a dry wit, and in each the protagonist
must endure some kind of personal transformation, both psychological and physical.
Cronenberg’s long and tiring battle with censors reached its apex when Crash was
banned in Britain. An adaptation of author JG Ballard’s cult novel, it documented
the sexual obsession a group of people have with car accidents and the resulting
wounds and scars the body acquires from them. Although not particularly graphic,
it has moments of genuine weirdness, most notably a scene in which James Spader
enjoys sexual congress with the wound in a woman’s leg. Despite (or because) of its
reputation, Crash was a success, and further contributed toward Cronenberg’s evolution
into a highbrow art house director of noted quality and intelligence, even if you had
to wade through the beastly insect/creature/addictive jism hijinks in his adaptation
of William Burroughs’ The Naked Lunch. Spider, another adaptation of a notoriously
difficult to adapt novel, was not a commercial hit, nor was eXistenZ, which had its
head-twisting narrative completely overshadowed by The Matrix.
His most recent film to hit Australian screens was an adaptation of the critically
acclaimed graphic novel A History of Violence. A serious minded film disguised as a
pulpy revenge thriller, A History of Violence is rich in iconography and full of broadly
drawn and archetypal characters, and attempts to depict the effect of violence on
everyday lives—what it does to every aspect of a person, their relationships, their
identity, even their sex life. It contains just enough gory little moments to remind
you that even though he is now a respected, influential, and critically admired
filmmaker, deep inside there is still the mad scientist of gore who ultimately can’t
help but add a little bit of goo to the proceedings. From low-budget schlock king
to Oscar nominated filmmaker, one time head of the Cannes film festival (where
he famously refused to acknowledge the quality of any of the American movies in
contention), and recipient of the Order of Canada and the Order of French Arts and
Letters, it’s a transformation that is every bit as fascinating as the ones he commits
to film, but with considerably less violence, goo, and bits falling off.
Offers to direct Hollywood films soon came flooding in. At one time or another, he
was offered Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, and The Return of the Jedi. Trying to find a
project where he could earn a decent paycheck that still dovetailed with his own
sensibilities, Cronenberg chose to adapt Stephen King’s book The Dead Zone. Flat and
relatively uninspired, it looked more like a TV movie than the passionate grotesqueries
Cronenberg had treated us to previously, and its relatively cool reception was clearly
something Cronenberg noticed. On that note, Cronenberg essentially ended the first
phase of his career and unexpectedly transformed into a mainstream filmmaker with
a bona-fide Hollywood hit, The Fly. An adaptation of the 1958 sci-fi film about a
man who accidentally swaps his head and hand for that of a housefly when a science
experiment goes horribly wrong, which was reconfigured to become an unbearably
tense film in which Jeff Goldblum’s scientist genetically absorbs the DNA of a fly that
gets caught in an experimental teleport machine he has invented.
another, he was
“At one time or
Beverly Hills
offered Top Gun,
of the Jedi.”
rn
tu
e
R
e
Th
d
an
,
Cop
21_
Appearing on the scene in 1998 with the self-released
The Crimson Trial, Collide has evolved as a partnership
musically and professionally. FIEND’s Tavis Potts talks
with kaRIN and Statik to discover the real meaning
behind the duo’s music.
_22
It has been a learning and organic partnership for Collide since 1998. With a new
live DVD and CD, and several successful albums released under the band’s own label
Noiseplus, life could not be any busier or more rewarding.
Statik: We’re both strong personalities, so we collide when we’re working too.
You know, like when mountain goats ram their heads together. That can be us. I
think by this point though, our horns have been ground down to little nubs.
kaRIN: Having our own label makes us push ourselves harder. Every success is
a direct result of our actions … it’s kind of thrilling in that sort of way. As far
as on the creative end, we have always done our own thing. I don’t think either
one of us could have ever worked with someone else telling us what to do. The
music industry wants you to make music to sell. We want to make art and that
is most important to us. If we did not believe in the music ourselves we would
not be happy with it.
This is the type of partnership that can make or break a band. Obviously in the
case of Collide it is the former situation, with a string of full-length albums, EPs,
remix albums, and a new live compilation recently released. The Live at the El Ray
DVD and accompanying Like the Hunted album was a particularly special experience
for Collide as it was the culmination of the desire to perform live for an audience,
something rare for the band.
Statik: Running our own label has helped because we are in charge of
everything. With most people on a label, you get some money up front, and
then the label decides on everything else—the artist is out of the loop. I’d
hate to be out of the loop. I like the loop.
I live in the loop.
kaRIN: We are both very loopy.
One of the ingredients in the success
of Collide is the nature of the musical
partnership between kaRIN and Statik.
It is the harnessing of these different
creative forces within the one band
that gives Collide a sense of technical
excellence overlaid with an emotional and
passionate edge.
kaRIN: For me it is 100 per cent organic. I
have to do it as I feel it. It’s like I can’t do
it any other way. If someone else tells me
what to do it only leads to frustration.
kaRIN: Yes, it was an extremely special show for us. We have played live so
rarely that each show so far has had great meaning for us. The DVD shoot
was only our ninth live show ever after being together as a band for over ten
years. We are primarily a studio band with only two members. We always knew
it would be a challenge for us to play live,
as we would need to have more people on
stage to help interpret our music. We got
asked so much about playing live, that we
decided that we needed to finally answer
the question for ourselves. It was great to
finally experience it; it feels like we climbed
a mountain.
“With most people on a label,
you get some money up front,
and then the label decides on
everything else—the artist is out
of the loop. I’d hate to be
out of the loop. I like the loop.
I live in the loop.”
Statik: For me it’s a bit more technical, which is probably why it works so well that
we don’t work the same way. The good thing about working with kaRIN is that she
doesn’t think like me … for that matter, she doesn’t think like a normal human
sometimes. It may be very apparent to me when I start a song what the chorus or
verse should be, and she’ll sing something completely opposite of what I would do. I
really have to keep an open mind and listen to see what really might sound better.
kaRIN: Collide represents the clashing together of the two of us who are very
opposite in our approach, as well as a clashing of our varied musical taste. We
have a style that takes any element that appeals to us and throws it into the mix.
This makes our music very hard to categorise and fit into a compartment. I like
that about it: it leaves us open to do whatever we feel like and then you never
really know what to expect, we don’t even know what to expect.
Statik: Probably just the fact that since we’re
actually playing most of what’s being heard
instead of just pressing play on a computer.
We were still so new at doing it. It was
always kind of just trying to make sure we
played everything properly, and that all of
the technical things were working. We had
six people on stage, so we were definitely a
living, breathing animal when we were playing.
The new Collide album is a work in progress, eagerly anticipated after the success
of Vortex and the energy shown on the Live at the El Ray. We are looking forward
to hearing it!
kaRIN: Slow but sure … it’s too soon to say. Something different … we try not to
bore ourselves, which is challenging.
Statik: We’ll be picking up the pace soon. We’ve been busy with a few details of
other things that we were putting off while finishing the DVD.
While an Australian tour is still a long way off, the success and sincerity of Collide
will ensure that the band receives a favourable welcome here. The DVD Live at the
El Ray and album Like the Hunted are both available from GUP.
www.collide.net
23_
P
rogressive death-metal act Opeth’s eighth full-length album was awaited with both fear and anticipation,
but in the short time since its release, Ghost Reveries has been overwhelmingly viewed as some of Opeth’s
strongest and most experimental work in recent years. While out on tour in the U.S., Justin Donnelly tracked
down guitarist Peter Lindgren in Detroit to discuss Opeth’s approach to making its latest album, the introduction of keyboardist Per Wiberg into the fold and the band’s upcoming tour of Australia.
First, however, I wanted to take a step back to
when the band first announced its decision
to sign with Roadrunner Records. Given the
label’s reputation for spearheading the nu-metal
movement through the late ’90s, more than a
few fans openly questioned or criticised Opeth’s
decision to go with the label and feared that
Ghost Reveries would somehow suffer as a result.
Needless to say, the ever-open-minded Opeth
members were less than happy with the closedmindedness of these fans.
“At first, it sort of pissed us off. I mean look at us.
We’ve been doing our own thing for fifteen years.
We weren’t going to sign with Roadrunner Records
_24
and suddenly turn into a nu-metal band, you know.
I think people are stupid when they believe that
a record label like Roadrunner Records can change
an old band like us. Roadrunner Records isn’t
going to tell us to have a rapper on the next
album. We don’t even have producers involved
when making music because we don’t trust
anyone. Most of the criticism has come from a
bunch of kids! (Laughs) In the end, we just gave
up caring what those people thought.”
Any lingering criticism for Opeth’s label change
was soon cast aside with the release of Ghost
Reveries; so much so that many are claiming the
album is one of Opeth’s best in years.
“The reviews have been awesome! It’s almost
so good that it’s embarrassing! (Laughs)
Fans seem to love the new album, and it’s
hard to disagree with them because we think
it’s really good too. The album is still
sort of new to us, but I think in a couple
of years Ghost Reveries is going to be
considered one of our best albums, if not the
best.”
There are several reasons why Ghost
Reveries stands out against Opeth’s last
two releases (2002’s Deliverance and 2003’s
Damnation), but if Lindgren were to nominate
one key factor, it would be preparation.
“We really took a different approach with Ghost Reveries.
The idea for the last couple of albums was to be fully
prepared and well rehearsed, but that really hasn’t
happened until it came time to make this album. We
really made sure this time that we had time to write
the songs, and have them all well rehearsed before
we went into the studio. That’s a big change from the
last couple of albums, because they were recorded in
a hurry. We would book a studio, start work and then
run out of time before we finished. We were seriously
lacking in sufficient time to do our best. We don’t
blame anyone for the lack of preparation we did for
past albums on anyone but ourselves! (Laughs) With
Ghost Reveries, we actually did rehearse, and have
everything prepared beforehand. We actually went
into the studio with everybody knowing the songs,
and knowing what they were doing. I think you can
hear it in the outcome. It’s made the album stand out
a little more, so I’m pretty happy that it turned out
this good.”
Although Wiberg has been a part of Opeth since
the ‘Damnation’ tour, Ghost Reveries marks the first
album he has recorded as an official member of the
band, with his presence definitely felt with a greater
Eastern/blues influence on the band’s trademark
sound.
“We definitely wanted Wiberg on the latest album
from day one. We wanted to incorporate his style of
playing into the music. Even though (guitarist/vocalist
Mikael) Åkerfeldt just about writes all the material
himself exclusively, everyone else participates, and
that includes Wiberg as well. He came up with plenty
of ideas for Ghost Reveries. I think that most metal
bands that have a keyboard player merely have them
playing walls of choirs or over-the-top solos. Wiberg
comes from the ’70s style of keyboard players, which
means he can actually play! (Laughs) We wanted
to use all these sounds he can come up with. So
that’s another big change that’s really heard within
our sound. We’re always going to try and break the
boundaries a little and push them a little more than
we did on previous albums.”
Turning to a subject more satisfying for Opeth, namely
touring: Lindgren and company are currently holed up
in Detroit midway through their current U.S. tour.
“We’ve been touring here in the U.S. for quite a while
now, and so far it’s been fine. We can’t wait to get back
to Australia though. We have a great following there,
and we’re excited to play our fans the new songs. If
Australia was a little closer to Europe, I would like to
move there. That’s how much I love Australia. Yes, it’s
cheesy to say that, but every time we all go there, we
always want to stay.”
– Justin Donnelly
Australian Tour 2006
April 20th – Perth, Capitol
April 21st – Adelaide, The Barton Theatre (all ages)
April 23rd – Melbourne, The Forum
April 24th – Melbourne, The Forum
April 25th – Sydney, Big Top At Luna Park (all ages)
April 27th – Brisbane, The Arena (all ages)
www.opeth.com K
25_
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_26
I
t is a testament to the popularity that Fields of the Nephilim
attained in the 1980s that in 2002 the band’s record label released
a “reunion” album called Fallen, when there had in fact been no new recordings
and Fallen comprised old demos and unreleased songs. After only three studio
albums—Dawnrazor (1986), The Nephilim (1988), Elizium (1990)—and one album from
Carl McCoy’s solo project The Nefilim (which veered toward industrial and death metal)
in 1996 (Zoon), fans were left wanting more. Unsurprisingly, the new direction of the
Nefilim was a disappointment to many followers, not only to those who liked their
goth rock but to the band’s wider alternative audience. Earlier singles such as
‘Blue Water’, ‘Psychonaut’ and ‘Moonchild’ not only rated highly on alternative
charts but made some impression on the mainstream pop charts, which
amusingly forced England’s Tops of the Pops to play the video for
the latter song (named after a novel written by Aleister Crowley)
complete with its occult imagery.
Mourning Sun then brings with it the weight of both longclutched hopes and unfulfilled expectations. Like Zoon, it is
the product of McCoy’s vision alone, with former band members
not involved and the identity of the actual musicians playing
on the album (whom he calls “ghost musicians” rather than
guest musicians) shrouded in mystery. Commenting on the
likely transience of even these artists, McCoy says that the
personnel involved in its creation are secondary to the music
itself: “It is the chemical reaction of the notes and chords
that create the choir. Individuals are important as long as
presence and passion come across in the music and human
performance has truly been captured.” Yet in the past, guest
musicians have had a substantial influence of upon the
band, with the sound of the more ethereal Elizium attributed
in the Nephilim’s own press release to the influence of Jon Carin,
tour keyboardist for Pink Floyd.
suggesting that there is “no comparison, only progression”.
McCoy purportedly produced Mourning Sun in a limited amount of time,
in isolation in his mobile recording studio “The Ice Cage”. The album has only
seven tracks, with one further bonus track on the first 25,000 copies, a cover version
of ‘In the Year 2525’ (originally recorded by Zager and Evans in 1969 and later covered
by Visage). Yet each is an epic, with the shortest track at almost six minutes and the
longest, the title track, at over ten minutes. For this reason, there is perhaps little scope
for listening to the songs on radio or in a club. Each song works with the next to create
a truly cohesive “sound”, accumulating meaning and feeling across the length
of the disc—a rarity in this age of iTunes single-download marketability.
McCoy declares that “every track has to be listened to in the context
of the album.”
“The lyrics of Mourning
Sun are the words of
today that give me a
glimpse of tomorrow.
The whole thing is about
looking forward as
opposed to dwelling in
the past.”
There is clearly an aversion to nostalgia in McCoy’s approach to Fields of
the Nephilim, and this urge to avoid being mired in history is also evident in
the themes of the new album. “The lyrics of Mourning Sun are the words of today
that give me a glimpse of tomorrow,” he says. “The whole thing is about looking forward
as opposed to dwelling in the past.” And by this McCoy also intends to discourage
the search for resemblances between the sound of earlier albums and Mourning Sun,
Showing such musical influences as the soundscapes that
accompanied horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(1974)—McCoy admiring their ability to “effect the mind
much more than music alone”—Mourning Sun is reminiscent
of a film score in its intensity, haunting incidental sounds
and driving, disturbing rhythms. The filmic qualities of
Fields of the Nephilim have also been historically borne out
in the band’s appearance with the famous duster jackets,
and McCoy’s “Dark Man” persona—a melange not only of
Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western imagery, but also of Jack
the Ripper, Baron Samedi (the loa, or spirit, of the dead in
Haitian voodoo) and the caped figure of the Norse god Odin.
“I just took whatever I wanted and constructed a complete
mismatch, drawing things from different time periods and
magical traditions,” McCoy says of his creation.
Fields of the Nephilim also gained a reputation for spectacular
sold-out performances, evidence of which remains on the live
album Earth Inferno (1991). Given the mystery of the new Fields
of the Nephilim populated by “ghosts”, the prospect of a tour more than
twenty years after the band’s beginnings in 1983 is all the more intriguing.
“Of course, we will be playing live,” McCoy promises, “and we’re looking forward to
being on stage again.” If we heed the mystical call he associates with Mourning Sun,
who knows what tomorrow will bring for McCoy, his ghostly band, and ourselves: “Let us
witness the reincarnation of the Sun. Let us gather in the fields of light.”
27_
Distorted Festival
10 December 2005 : Brown Alley, Melbourne
n0nplus
Diary
Distorted was all about the music,
with more bands than you could cram
on the back of a t-shirt, including
international acts that you would
never expect to see this far south, such
as Scorn, Converter, and Architect.
We were all buzzing as we tried to find our way into
Brown Alley in Melbourne.
The afternoon started off fairly low key as the festival
was clearly saving the big acts for last, but there
were some gems that made it worthwhile lounging
around the stage with a beer. Someone recommended
that I check out the Australian act n0nplus on the
Null Hypothesis
basis of the Gridlock t-shirt I was wearing. n0nplus’s
laid back, darkly brooding, and intense sounds that
melded together into beautifully lush rhythms stood
up to the comparison. Also a pleasant surprise was
Jetlag, the side project of Psyche, those masters of
‘80s electronic synthpop. Jetlag had a more analogue
electroclash feel and ended on the darkest, dirtiest
cover of Soft Cell’s ‘Martin’ that I’ve ever seen or
heard.
Between bands you could wander upstairs to pore
over the boxes of CDs for sale on the mezzanine floor
or venture up further stairs to chill out to the sounds
in the sun-drenched top bar. One disappointment was
the lack of information about who was playing when,
so I’m unable to tell you who I saw playing up there,
but it was great leaning back against the warm stone
walls and watching dancers drift under the skylight
and letting the music wash over you.
Downstairs, the setting sun streamed through the
stained glass windows showering Darrin Verhagen
with shards of light. His project, E.P.A., set the bar for
the rest of the bands. It built up slowly from almost
nothing, to a crescendo of rhythmic powernoise, and
then to a sonic firestorm of feedback over the course
of an hour. His music was enhanced by distorted faces
and hands reaching out of the darkness on the three
large screens above him. After a while it dawned
on me that all of the music was totally in sync with
the visuals, which made it all the more frightening.
The acts that followed paled in comparison with
Verhagen’s raw emotional poison.
The intensity of the night was turned up a notch with
Enduser’s intriguing blend of ragga and psychotic
breakcore. I swore I saw a white rabbit jumping
amongst the lasers to his tunes. Mono No Aware’s 60
minutes of total beat driven madness also engendered
a similar reaction from the audience. MNA wins the
Being a one man juggernaut
of insanity, the guy
behind MNA was a
bare-chested, sweating,
windup toy on...something,
and he got the dance floor
pumping.
Mono No Aware
_28
Jetlag/Psyche
Scorn
Daniel Myer
award for most mental, high energy performance of
Distorted. Being a one man juggernaut of insanity,
the guy behind MNA was a bare-chested, sweating,
windup toy on...something, and he got the dance
floor pumping.
There was an air of excitement as Daniel Myer took
the stage for Architect’s performance. At times his
music was minimal, sometimes aggressive, but always
crisply composed. The crowd went mad when Myer
announced that the rest of his set would be Haujobb
material and started into ‘Subsonic’. It was awesome
to hear ‘Eye Over You’ performed in the flesh!
From start to finish Converter whipped the crowd
into a frenzied state, with pure grinding, rhythmic
power that collapses buildings and makes you want
to move until your heart stops. There’s nothing like
being in a seething mass of people covered in sweat,
and floating away on feedback and distorted rhythms
and beats. By the end of the set, I was gasping for
breath and my skin felt like it was on fire.
Alas, we had to leave before Scorn performed, but those
who stayed swear that it was worth the wait— dark,
heavy sounds that seep into the mind and take you
to another place with an intensity that could almost
make you drown in the sound. It was perfect music to
wind down at the end of a great day. While it is cool
to hear music you like in a club, Distorted was an
amazing chance to see these acts in the flesh. Some
lucky individuals even got to meet the artists behind
their favourite music. A big heads up to the guys
behind Distorted for an amazing night.
Who played?
The Distorted line-up included:
Scorn
www.mickharris.net
Converter
www.ant-zen.com/converter
Architect/Haujobb
www.planetmyer.de
Black Lung
www.worldwentdown.com/imcc
E.P.A
home.mira.net/~dorobo/dorobo.html
Bring it on next year!
Mono No Aware
– Justin Tall
www.mononoaware.de
K www.distorted.com
Nonplus
Photos by Todd
www.frozenempiremedia.com/nonplus.htm
Jetlag (Psyche)
www.werocklikecrazy.com/jetlag
Enduser
www.sonicterror.net/enduser
Zen Paradox
http://themutagenserver.blogspot.com
Killjoy
www.painfreefoundsound.com
Maladroit
www.systemcorrupt.com
Cambion
Noistruct
http://boris.dmusic.com
Xian
Defused Fusion
www.defusedfusion.com.au
Mechanised Convulsions
http://mechcon.lost-records.com
n0nplus
www.frozenempiremedia.com/nonplus.htm
Delta of Venus
Null Hypothesis
Vespine
The Crystalline Effect
Converter
29_
THE BiG DAY OUT
January/February 2006 — Australia & New Zealand
Wolfmother and M.I.A. got the bronzed brigade
biting their bottom lips and dancing like
diseased strippers early on—which, despite
the horror of the image, is how we all move
to the music we love.
Franz Ferdinand
Diary
Melbourne: January 29
They’ve won. The idiots and the
advertisers have won. On Sunday 29
January, the community gathered at
the cliff’s edge once more to sing the
killing chant, but this year the part of
Sergeant Howie was played by Music,
rather than Edward Woodward.
Music: “I believe in the aural life eternal, as promised
to us by the great bands of history!”
The Big Day Out: “That is good, for believing what
you do, we confer upon you a rare gift these days—a
martyr’s death.”
There are always different echelons of attendees at
music festivals; entire geo-strata of subcultures rise
and shift with the appearance of different bands
on different stages. The large majority of Australian
_30
festivals are financed by a legion of largely musicdisinterested but beer-enthused bronzed punters
competing with a radial assortment of excited
teenagers, diehards, tryhards, subculture mavens,
music daytrippers, and the free list consisting of VIP
tent refugees, journalists, bands, and fanatic coke
addicts who somehow don’t fit into the first three
categories.
The move to Princes Park for this year provided
some advantages for attendees, especially in terms
of transport and space, but was accompanied by a
consensus that if the organisers wanted to make some
more money, then they perhaps should have found a
way to put some ATMs on site. Being a smaller crowd,
there was a more congenial atmosphere than in
recent years, with large groups of friends being able
to colonise patches of grass and assume their rightful
position—strewn across every thoroughfare the park
was offering.
The presence of sponsorship signage and corporate
promotion is sadly a growing part of the program
at the BDO, yet tucked away under a row of cypress
trees were a few tables of the usual socialist and
environmental suspects, snoozing away under
Henry Rollins
sombreros and discussing Billy Bragg. During the
day, models hired by Virgin Mobile were taking
photographs of punters and then giving them a card,
allowing them to download a picture of themselves
from the Virgin Mobile website. Which, for only three
dollars seems like a good deal, although as one young
girl asked the Virgin rep—“how is it different from me
taking a photo of myself with my cameraphone?” We
can forego any analysis of this phenomenon, along
with the inflated food and drink prices, as they were
in 2006 as they always were: the best reasons not to
go next year.
The music, as it seemed to be for the organisers, was
a secondary concern; a smattering of over-hyped but
crowd-pleasing acts such as Wolfmother and M.I.A.
got the bronzed brigade biting their bottom lips and
dancing like diseased strippers early on—which,
despite the horror of the image, is how we all move to
the music we love. As the clouds darkened, The Mars
Volta was as fractal, Cog as generic, Kings of Leon as
bone-dry boring as imagined. A special mention must
go to Mudvayne, being the only metal act on the lineup for a show famous for its spiky audiences; despite
the contrast, the band managed to inject less energy
Who played?
The BDO line-up included:
Iggy and the Stooges
www.iggypop.com
Franz Ferdinand
www.franzferdinand.co.uk
M.I.A
www.miauk.com
Too Many DJs
www.soulwax.co.uk
The White Stripes
www.whitestripes.com
The Mars Volta
www.themarsvolta.com
Iggy Pop
The White Stripes
into the event than a bald, sunburnt metalhead, who,
beer in hand, managed to express what many could
not quite become cognisant of.
“This fucken sucks!” he yelled at full volume, on
repeat, throughout the 45-minute set.
Franz Ferdinand finally managed to raise the bar by
undulating their haircuts through a set of polished
adver-rock that gleamed with a production that
sounded less like a nuanced live performance and
more like their discography than seemed possible.
All this limp and over-produced rock, in hindsight,
probably only gave Iggy and the Stooges more power.
The Lizard himself (60 next year) is far past the point
of knowing how to convert and hold an audience.
He exploded on to the stage, declaring with some
authority that he was going to fuck every single one
of us “in the asssssss”. Immediately following which,
benighted and berserk versions of ‘I Wanna Be Your
Dog’ and ‘TV Eye’ would be sent out to soothe the
pain.
The entire experience of the Big Day Out rested on
the singularity of the moments between chorus and
verse during the rest of the band’s maniac, life-giving
set. During these minute breaks in the advertisingdriven story of The Rock You Like, Iggy Pop threw
the mic stand into the crowd, launched himself
after it, viciously punching young girls in the front
row, to whom he bellowed “I’m gonna stab you!”
between lyrics. As the sun went down on both Iggy
and common sense, he brought up some fifty people
from the front area to kick out the proverbial jams. He
and the Stooges were completely alien, as ferocious
as ever—the youngsters were embarrassingly bopping
around in ironic Eisteddfod joy—“who is this
guy?”, one would ask. Not quite the change-thirsty
revolutionaries that gawked at Iggy 40 years ago
and decided to, in the common parlance, start some
shit. The resultant chaos was like watching Jeffrey
Dahmer—no, actually, Iggy Pop needs no analogy—
try to end his set with a Michael Jackson ‘Heal the
World’ finale of swaying, similarly clothed cherubs. He
hurried them offstage (read: pushed) and went back
into the crowd, alternately screaming the lines of the
last two songs—whatever they were—and for more
microphone-punching of the young.
The giant screen displayed not only Iggy, but hundreds
of text messages from attendees, scrolling at the top
Wolf Mother
of the screen like a news channel crafted specifically
to reduce hope. Messages such as “Royce takes it up
the bum-bum!!!”, “Bring back Wolfmother!!!” were
common, as were dozens of Chuck Norris jokes thanks
to our old friend, the internet meme. The effect was
distressing; what you were seeing with your own eyes,
the only real attempt to use music to free people that
day, was co-opted thoroughly and sold again back to
us in that moment of double vision. Thankfully, VideoIggy wasn’t having a bar of it and the centre couldn’t
hold him; cameramen frantic to find the screaming
ghoul stalking menacingly amidst the throng gave
the night an air of danger and collapse. The bald
metalhead, now satiated, stood silently with both
arms raised skyward in permanent rapture.
The Big Day Out, now looking for a new permanent
home, will be tested next year for a renewed focus on
musical variety and resistance to corporate interests
to maintain its good name.
– Christian McCrea
K www.bdo.com
Photos by Angelica East
31_
Cold Meat Industry
4-5 February 2006: The CORner, Melbourne
From the exquisitely precise production to the harrowingly effective
audio/visual dynamics...the only complaint—other than the severe
lack of performances Verhagen graces us with as Shinjuku/EPA— was
that being on so early made him an extremely hard act to follow.
Shinjuku Thief
Diary
Three Swedes walk into a pub...sounds
like a bad joke, but in reality it ended up
as one of those weekends you spend the
rest of your life smugly informing those
unfortunate acquaintances that missed it
that they did, indeed, miss out. You had to
be there, darling.
Saturday 4th February, 2006
Speaking of which, I missed the opening act,
Manticle. He assured me that in fact, I didn’t. Either
way, I have nothing to offer. Next up, however, was
Shinjuku Thief (Darrin Verhagen), who had plenty
to offer and gave it in spades. From the exquisitely
precise production to the harrowingly effective audio/
visual dynamics (most notable being the drowning
girl sequence), the only complaint—other than the
severe lack of performances Verhagen graces us with
as Shinjuku/EPA— was that being on so early made
him an extremely hard act to follow. And from what I
overheard (my virgin ears!), left a lot of the audience
hard as well.
A mix of the likes of Download and Neubauten later,
and Brighter Death Now (Roger Karmanik with Peter
Andersson) had the smokers flocking back from
the public bar and the distinctive sounds of CMI
set in. Perhaps I was still high from the Shinjuku
set, but BDN’s first set was rather prosaic. Droning
Brighter Death Now
_32
soundscapes were punctuated only by bass so intense
that the few people left unsatisfied by Verhagen were
soon dissatisfied no longer.
Picking up the pace somewhat was Bocksholm (Peter
Andersson and Peter Andersson—no, really) with bass
so astonishingly deep my breasts were jiggling when
stationary. I’ve found an entirely new level of praise
for live reviews. Gosh. As good as I’d hoped for, with
gritty atmospherics and meticulous sampling. Also
featured what seemed to be a self-parodying Saturday
Night Fever-esque dance routine from Lina.
Another mass exodus to the smoking section later,
and another mad dash back when raison d’être [Peter
Andersson] wove an enthralling set. Featuring bleak
minimalism with hypnotic structures, Andersson also
used some interesting instruments, such as violin
raison d’être
Iggy Pop
Deutsch Nepal
bows over strips of metal. Unfortunately, it went a
little over time and I had to bolt to work.
visuals were reminiscent of watching the Windows XP
screensaver.
Sunday 5th February, 2006
The piece de resistance musically for Sunday by far was
Deutsch Nepal. The other Peter Andersson (OK, fine.
Lina Baby Doll. Happy?) broke tradition by sitting in
front of the laptop atop a stool, and offered a slightly
more interactive set whilst swigging beer. Mesmerising
vocal chants overlaid at times an almost soporific,
but consistently sinister, industrial framework. The
carcinogen fanciers did their thing again, and were
treated to an impromptu Death in June performance
of what is an apparently freshly banned track.
While cementing my bad habit of turning up just
in time to miss the opening act, this time Isomer,
I managed to catch most of Frozen Faces (Peter
Andersson. No, the other one). Undeserving of
the hangover I presented stage-wards, the cleanly
produced industrial soundscapes proved soothing
(ditto the vodka), as did the comparatively smaller
audience size. Continuing their laptop leapfrog, the
other Peter Andersson’s other project (lost yet?)
Atomine Elektrine produced varied responses. While
actual CMI fans seemed pleased with the live direction
taken (not much of the feel of Elemental Severance
present, in my opinion), one punter remarked that the
For a grand finale we were treated to not only a far
better, harsher, and infinitely more aggressive Brighter
Death Now set, half of which was done in drag. Putting
the Baby Doll back into, or rather onto, Lina—as he
stroked his guitar like the udders his blonde milkmaid plaits were just begging for—was made only
more surreal by Andersson running around in knickers
humping his leg, and random crowd assaults. There
were even balloons.
The Family Friendly crew put on an exceptional
festival, and, aside from a few minor technical hiccups
here and there, the sound was great. I liked the Corner
Hotel and its no-smoking policy for a venue choice,
and the acts themselves have been too many years
coming. But they finally have, and if you missed it—
well, sucks to be you.
– Aowyne Davies
K www.coldmeat.se
Photos by Angelica East
Manticle
Who
played?
raison d’être - Brighter Death Now - Deutsch Nepal + side
projects of the above [http://www.coldmeat.se]
Shinjuku Thief [home.pacific.net.au/~dorobo/shinjuku]
Isomer [www.coldmeatinoz.com/isomer/index.html]
Manticle [www.coldmeatinoz.com/manticle/front.html]
Brighter Death Now
33_
DYLON
MACHINE
BLACK
DYE
YOUR
DEAD
THREADS
Under the blue moon
17 September 2005: Newtown, Sydney
Could Kill
Blue Swoon! Festival Looks
Diary
Somehow in the year between September 2004
and 2005, Sydney’s Under the Blue Moon festival
blossomed radically like one of those creepy overnight
flowers, from a well-promoted late night shopping
opportunity to a diligently planned festival, the first
of its kind in Australia. Engineered with a motherload
of patience and imagination by the spookier side
of small business owners (not least of which, a
particularly fabulous magazine that kicks butt on
all the others), club organisers, artists, musicians,
and active members of the dark alternative scene,
in cooperation with local council and venues, the
festival was packed with enough mischief to have you
delay and lose your way, and be out half the night!
Freaks and geeks found themselves on cemetery tours,
making gargoyles, ogling hotties on the catwalk at
the fashion parade, putting up booted toes to watch
free zombie flicks while rummaging through festival
show bags (theirs or someone else’s!), daring to
learn something in a workshop, winning suspicious
prizes, and let’s nae forget the shopping that left fair
merchants dizzy and haggard for weeks afterward.
Dead centre of the carousel of activities was the live
music, faithfully organised and out in full battle dress,
with String Theory, NOVAkILL, Angelspit, Mz Ann
Thropik, IKON, and ANGELTHEORY— everything from
well narky to good old goth-dulgence for the soldout shows. For anyone who had worn the right shoes
and was not too overburdened with goodies to move
further than the sushi bar, it was on to the double
club event at the Newtown RSL ‘til three am (anyone
who has never seen a corset and a poker machine
in the same room, prepare to bend your head). Like
most experiences, what made UtBM memorable were
the people: the very gratifying black and sassy clad
crowd who thronged outside the band venue and
were draped and peppered around the street. Sniff
hard enough and you could have caught a whiff of
Leipzig.
Undeniably the festival gave people under 18 the
shamefully rare opportunity to display thorough
creativity and enthusiasm, and the stake was driven
well home with style and an abundance of DIY hair,
costuming and makeup, and a commitment to as
many spooky activities as possible. The pot is
already being stirred for this year’s hoo-ha, planned
for Saturday 9 September, so start saving and get
your pointy boots or platforms polished up. Band
submissions are being taken by Post Mortem Records
([email protected], (02) 9565 1333), and
keep an eye on www.underthebluemoon.org.au for
updates on activities, accommodation, or getting
your hands dirty!
Kama C. Way
35_
Words by Mark T. Hewitt
I know you’ve seen them before, amidst the endless rows of Steven
King adaptations and Tremors sequels. I even know how your story
goes. There you were at Ma and Pa’s local video store and you say,
“Would you look at that, The Toxic Avenger. Now, there’s a movie I
could hire.” Why, the cover art alone is like nothing you’ve ever seen
before. You wonder, what lies inside? If you do nothing else for the
rest of your life, you must hire this video. You’re hooked. Taking the
decayed cover from the shelf you make your way to the counter. Fear
swells. Abruptly you stop, aligning yourself with an aisle marked
“old favourites”. “I can’t hire this,” you say to yourself. “What if it’s
pornographic? What if old man video store tells my mother? What
_36
if this hire goes on my permanent record, and I can’t get into the
university of my choice?” Frantic, you conceal the VHS in the Martin
Lawrence section, at ease that nobody will ever find it. Placing When
Harry Met Sally on the counter, you pay for your video and leave
the store. What have you done? Not only did you not hire perhaps
the coolest movie you’re ever likely to see, but also you’ve selfishly
stowed it away from the world forever. You curse yourself a coward
and spend the rest of your days wondering what could possibly be on
that tape, knowing full well it would far surpass any feeble fantasies.
But you can’t blame yourself; you did what you thought what was
right. You were wrong, but let’s not dwell on that. Let me tell you
what you misse
d out on and se
e if we can’t do
something abou
The Toxic Avenge
t it.
r (1984) was on
e of the first int
renegade film
ernational hits
studio Troma
from
(incidentally, on
independent film
e of America’s
studios). The fi
oldest
lm was heralde
plot and farcical
d
for
sex and violence
its outrageous
and skyrocketed
the most belov
to become one
ed cult films of
of
all time. Since
some of the mo
then, Troma ha
st fiendish actio
s created
n/adventure/hor
for Troma know
ror
/comedies aroun
s no single genr
d,
e and always giv
dollar. It provid
es you value for
es entertainmen
your
t for all those
crushing, circus
souls who prefer
freaks, and nake
head
d newscasters to
and inoffensive
sinking ocean lin
Rob Reiner come
ers
dies. Want stars?
film performance
Troma boasts ea
s from Academ
rly
y Award winning
Bob Thornton,
actors such as
Kevin Costner,
Billy
and Marisa Tome
Jackson— that
i;
why, even Samu
’s right, Jedi Ma
el L.
ster Mace Wind
Def by Temptatio
u—appeared in
n (1990); and
Troma’s
fi
lm
ma
and the quintes
ke
rs
Pe
te
r
Ja
ck
sential fan boy
son, Trey Parke
r,
Quentin Tarantin
Troma as early ins
o all cite the wo
pirations for their
rks of
res
pe
cti
ve careers.
Until now, fans
of Troma have be
en forced to se
Starbucks-like vid
arch in the shad
eo chains in ea
ows of
rnest hope of fi
might have relea
nding anything
sed in the last
Troma
decade. Well, for
there, the wait
all true believe
is over. The right
rs out
eous folk at Stom
a smorgasbord
p Visual have rel
of Troma titles
eased
of late. The follow
the latest titles
ing is a list of so
to hit out shore
me of
s on gloriously
revamped DVD.
Luther the Geek
(1990) is perhap
s one of Troma
but don’t dismi
’s less renowne
ss this one, as it
d films,
boasts all the ha
follows the heart
llmarks of a cla
felt tale of a yo
ssic. It
ung boy named
mad when he wi
Luther who is dri
tnesses a circus
ven
freak bite the he
Thirty years lat
ad off a live ch
er, armed with
icken.
his own razor-sh
sets out on a blo
arp
metal teeth, Lu
ody rampage th
ther
rough a rural Am
film if only beca
erican town. Se
use it harbours
e this
a terrifically gory
family can enjoy
ending that the
.
whole
Citizen Toxie: Th
e Toxic Avenge
r IV (2000) is
everything you
a perfect exam
want out of a
ple of
Troma film. Jump
dimensions, Toxie
ing between pa
is forced to go he
rallel
ad
-to-head with his
Noxie in a catacly
smic battle to sa
evil counterpart
ve his hometown
effects and as
of Tromaville. Te
much off-the-wa
rrific
ll humour as yo
Toxie is a great
u can handle,
instalment into
Citizen
th
e Toxic Avenge
DVD extras inc
r series and bo
luding three co
asts
mmentaries, de
length document
leted scenes, a
ary, and the op
featuretion to insert th
the original film
e deleted scenes
.
into
Around the same
time that she wa
s spending her
by David Hasse
days being chas
lhoff on a beac
ed
h in California,
Chosen One: Le
Carmen Electra
gend of the Rave
was The
n
(1
998). At times,
like a cable mo
this film plays
vie for the Playb
out
oy channel, but
in the face of th
the merging of
e apocalypse, tig
fantasy
ht-fitting bodysu
slow motion sex
its, and the occa
scene make this
sional
a film a guilty ple
Scraped together
asure.
from two disastro
us productions,
(2004) is Troma
Tales from the Cra
’s first foray int
pper
o digital filmma
feature of its sa
king and the ina
rdonic Dog Pile
ugural
95
do
ctrine. Make no
the most accomm
mistake, even for
odating Troma
fanatic this film
tough viewing,
makes for more
but what this ard
than
uous 90 minute
and interesting
s lacks in plot,
characterisation
story,
s (you know, all
the special featu
th
at
movie nonsense
res offered will
keep you intere
)
skipped forward
sted long after
to the credits.
you have
In addition to
the DVD includ
two commentary
es a “behind-th
tracks,
e-scenes” hoste
Lloyd Kaufman
d by Troma co
that explains th
-creator
e disastrous pro
insightful look
duction and ma
into the world of
kes for an
Troma.
Directed by Ka
ufman himself,
Te
rro
r Firmer (1999)
gem from the Tro
is yet another
ma vaults. The
plot follows the
budget film comp
terrorising of a
any as a cross-dre
lowssing, psychopa
production by
thic killer threa
killing off the
tens
crew. To explain
would most lik
th
e
ely drive me ma
story any furth
er
d, but rest assu
provides the vie
red, what lies
wer with everyth
within
ing hilarious, cra
addictive a Tro
zy, and compuls
ma fan could ho
ively
pe for. Once ag
with a plethora
ain, the DVD is
of extras, but wh
loaded
at separates th
may be the appe
is disc from all
arance of Trey Pa
others
rker and Matt St
hermaphroditic
one as the strug
couple.
gling
So, there you
have it, your ch
ance to set th
right what once
e record straig
was wronged. If
ht. Put
you’re tired of
productions of Dr
the glossy big
eamWorks and Je
budget
rry
Bruckheimer an
the carnality of
d relish in viewi
fake blood, ex
ng
ploding heads,
sidekicks covered
obese crime fi
in peanut butte
ghting
r, and not-so-inf
nudity, then as
requent moment
swiftly as your ho
s of
rse will carry yo
haste to your loc
u, make the gre
al DVD outlet an
atest of
d demand some
Troma.
K www.troma.com
37_
unter
null
It’s not often that a new artist emerges who
attracts notice instantly. With the cult favourite
EP Sick Fuck (or should I say Sick F*ck for those
with sensitive ears), lots of ground has already
been laid out for blood-splattered Erica Durnham,
aka Unter Null. Jarod Collard gets the bloody lowdown.
So … Sick Fuck, eh? “[It] was written more in
response to some people I had to deal with in my
life at the time. More or less just really rotten and
corrupt people,” Durnham says. So no wild Dallas
spurned lover type dramas? “Obviously, I wasn’t
too happy at that time … [but] it wasn’t written
about a lover that I was unhappy with.” Perhaps
we’ll hear that venom on the next album!
For me, the promotional shots of Durnham covered
in blood I found overtly sexual and visceral, yet
she does not wish to play on her sexuality. “Big
deal, I’m female,” she says. “I’d rather the quality
of my music speak for itself, not the fact that I’m
a girl. If people find angry lyrics and fake blood
attractive, then so be it.”
“I’m really happy with the album [The Failure
Epiphany] otherwise I wouldn’t have allowed its
release. My absolute favourite element, though,
was for me to be able to close that chapter in
my life; it was the final catharsis for me.” And
catharsis it has, in heavy EBM spades!
K www.myspace.com/unternull
iszoloscope
Justin Tall bangs noise with Iszoloscope
The music of Iszoloscope has been described as many
things since Yann Faussier and Francois Benard threw
down the DJ decks and started making their own music.
Benard has since left the project but Faussier continues
to expand his artistic repertoire.
Every Iszoloscope release sounds markedly different
from the last yet still retains a very specific feel.
Faussier shapes sounds by playing with synths or
samples without a specific direction, until he creates
something that triggers an emotional reaction. He then
builds a track around that specific sound (lately with
Native Instrument’s Reaktor 4), sometimes restarting
from scratch or even dropping the original sound
from the final mix.
Not only is Faussier’s approach to music organic, but he
has a similar attitude to the electronic industrial music
scene. He notices that trends will vary enormously, not
just in time, but also depending on where you are in
the world. “The only thing I can predict is that artists
will continue to do what they or their labels wants them
to do, while the audience will go to shows, and buy or
download whatever they like.” The more experienced he
becomes, the more he learns to respect everyone who
pitches in, no matter what their ideas are.
Iszoloscope sounds like a score for an avante garde film.
Faussier even thinks of his work as a soundtrack and has
collaborated with artists on several different projects
that span outside music, including scoring a short film
by Andrée Préfontaine, which was part of an art exhibit
in Canada. Faussier would definitely like to spend more
time working on other film scores in the future.
K www.iszoloscope.net
_38
ah cama sotz
Justin Tall gets heretical with Herman Klapholz
Ah Cama-Sotz combines western electronica and oriental mystical
tribal sounds with a dash of sensuality. The different musical
accents on each album make it difficult to pigeonhole Klapholz’s
musical style. The recent release The Way to Heresy explores
heresy vs. religion in structured format with a beginning, middle,
and an outro “just like a book”. Klapholz has always been
interested in history and mythology. However, recently he has
experimented with different kinds of tribal feelings that he was
able to blend with more “modern” influences.
The recent live album Ghost in the Shadow is perfect for
collectors who don’t have his older records. Klapholz actually
loves playing live because each audience changes the dynamics
of the performance. “Receiving positive input is an important
factor,” he says. With an awareness of the way in which one
musician on stage may not be very appealing to audiences,
whenever possible he invites friends like Empusae or Mimetic to
play with him. He also regards multimedia as a vital element for
his performance.
Throughout his career, Klapholz has maintained a reputation
for collaborating with artists with an extensive catalogue of
remixes and side projects. He feels remixing and collaborating
are two distinct experiences: “For the remix projects, it gives
you a different angle regarding sounds and mixing of one’s
material… Collaboration has another point of view to my
mind: it’s a different concept, different way of working…” But
he acknowledges that when it is done well it can be a very
satisfying experience.
The work of Ah Cama-Sotz is both complex and engaging,
requiring more than just a casual listen. Herman Klapholz
demands that you take time to immerse yourself in his music.
K www.iszoloscope.net
dope stars inc.
Michael Wolloghan persuades Victor Love to divulge
the secrets of Italy’s own Dope Stars Inc.
What’s in a name? A lot when it comes to the cyberpunk and gothic influenced Dope Stars Inc. “[It]
represent the three aspects of our music and attitude,”
says Love, when asked about the group’s moniker.
“‘Dope’ represents the addictive aspect of our music:
that is direct, catchy, and in-your-face. ‘Stars’ shows the
rock ‘n’ roll glam attitude of the band. And ‘Inc.’ stands
for the industrial corporative core.”
The band first hooked up to work on demo versions
in May 2003 in a dirty cellar beneath suburban Rome.
After garnering the attention of fans and praise from
the music press, Dope Stars Inc. signed with Trisol
records. “Then we started to record for our debut album
Neuromance working together with Thomas Rainer
(L’âme Immortelle) and John Fryer (Nine Inch Nails,
Lush, Cocteau Twins) as producers. In particular we tried
to play with sounds and effects to underline in each
song the various sides and influences included in our
sound.” During the recording of Neuromance the band
contacted other artists regarding remixing tracks for a
bonus CD. “We received such big feedback that we filled
the second disc with 15 remixes,” Love recalls.
With a recent opening act performance for Apoptygma
Berzerk, slots on European festivals such Wave Gotik
Treffen, and the track ‘Make A Star’ being featured on
the soundtrack of the horror movie Saw 2 (German
version) along with Marilyn Manson, Skinny Puppy, and
London After Midnight, we’re bound to hear more of
these industrial rockers in the future.
K www.dopestarsinc.com
39_
“Poor guy. Having
the FBI up his ass for
nine hours must have
been bad.”
_40
L
eæther Strip was instrumental in shaping
the European EBM sound, providing a slew
of hard dancefloor releases. While a teaser
EP, Carry Me, showed up five years ago, classic
album Self Inflicted (1997) was the last Leæther
Strip record we had … until now. Jarod Collard
tackles Claus Larsen on the interview floor.
How does one open an interview with Claus Larsen, other than by
saying, “Welcome back—how does it feel?” “It feels amazing …
I thought only a few of the old-school hardcore listeners would
remember me. That is telling me that I actually made a mark with
my earlier work.” He adds humorously: “That can make a shy boy
proud.”
And how proud exactly? “It made a grown man weep.”
“Being back at the keyboard really opened a floodgate of
inspiration. My mood was getting better with each day, and soon
the people around me noticed a change in me. The old Claus was
returning.”
It has been nine years since the last album, but Claus has
still managed to successfully invoke the nasty little spirit I
affectionately call “Leæther Strip” with success. “Even though it
has been years since Self Inflicted I feel that the new album is a
natural step from the old album. It still has the—some call it ‘oldschool’—Strip sound, I think … since the Carry Me EP I didn’t write
a note until the new album. It still felt like I never stopped, when
I could see that this would end up with more than one song.”
And the catalyst for that “one song”? “Seba from Alfa Matrix emailed me about a song for a compilation. I usually didn’t even
open my mail anymore but I guess I had one of the few good days,
and I opened it. I had a half-song on the PC that I could finish for
that compilation. I thought it would stop some of the rumours of
my death and shit.”
Speaking of which, there has been an almost constant stream of
rumours about Leæther Strip. “The last one I heard before my
‘return’ was that I got arrested and sat in a jail in America. I also
heard that I was killed in a car accident. It was also fun to see
when the MySpace site was put up to announce my comeback.
Everyone was sure it was some idiot teasing the people. Then I
posted a message myself and the reaction I got was amazing.”
And our sweet Claus got terrorism-famous after a man in America
was arrested for having written in his diary the name of LS’s current
dancefloor favourite, ‘Suicide Bomber’—at an airport! “Poor guy.
Having the FBI up his ass for nine hours must have been bad. With
the rights they got after 9/11, I’m too scared to imagine what they
put him through. I hope he doesn’t blame me, hehe.”
So let’s talk more about the new album, After the Devastation—a
chunky double album (and the limited edition includes a third
disc!). Why a double? “All the songs on that album brought me
back to ‘life’, both in a musical way and also in a mental way. So it
would be a sin for me to split those songs up. If I couldn’t get it
out this way all together I wouldn’t have released anything. So it’s
my fault and not the label’s. All the songs have a thread that goes
through them all and I didn’t want to break that.”
And that thread still holds true to the angry Leæther Strip,
covering current topics and ongoing themes while possibly being
more intensely personal than before. At the same time, the new
album is quite as hard-hitting as LS has been in the past. “Writing
those songs really helped me get over my anger. It’s still there but
the steam was let out. So the pressure is in the green area now. But
there’s a lot of new stuff that will piss me off, I’m sure.”
So welcome to the new, reborn Claus. “I still think I learn new
things with each song, about the composing and production. I
am still as hungry to learn as I was when I started out.” Which
brings me to mention the cult-favourite side project, Klute (now
Klutæ, to differentiate it from an unrelated drum-and-bass band),
full of tongue-in-cheek and foot-in-mouth disease (can that really
happen at the same time?). “The only reason I brought that pissant
punk back was ’cause I had a ton of requests from the friends on
MySpace. I tried making a few songs to see where it would go and
… an album was made. It was like opening a can of worms. So
it’s full of self-irony and humour. A must-have party album. After
getting all my anger out it was nice with a bit of spontaneous fun
and experiments. I didn’t blow up anything though, but it sure
sounds like it.”
So our dear old Leæther Strip is back, with a new outlook on life
and music. “Hope you like it. And thanks for having me back again.
I hope you guys will enjoy my stuff again.”
Thanks Claus—it’s good to have you back.
K www.myspace.com/leaetherstrip
K www.myspace.com/klutae
41_
Infection Days:
, and on the eve of
ce the release of Coma
sin
ars
ye
o
tw
en
be
It’s
d June 4, 2004
album The Truth (subtitle
w
ne
the
of
se
ea
rel
the
from Perth’s Crimes
e Story) Ellis Atherton
Tru
A
.
05
20
,
15
ril
Ap
–
about the reality
ND’s Alexandra Nicholas
FIE
ls
tel
ry
ma
Pri
the
of
d survival…
behind passion, art, an
“There is a certain amount of suffering in life that has to be endured for
art to truly
have longevity and meaning. When the suffering is over and one becom
es reflective
is when art’s ‘shades of grey’ rise to the fore, and become its most prized
asset.”
_42
the darlings of
have never been considered
and it’s been a EA: We
erst
think we ever
und
’t
I
So
don
I
as:
and
hol
e,
Nic
Alexandra
the the Perth music scen
and
m
albu
last
also has got
It
the
n
n.
p tow
bit of a journey betwee
will be. Perth is an indie-po
the Primary
of
es
Crim
.
well
as
?
e
ase
scen
rele
new
a healthy metal
e. The one
t
tha
thes
t
ney
ngs
jour
amo
a
re
it’s
choice,
doesn’t really fit in anywhe
Ellis Atherton: Given the
eighteen
the loyal support of
is
last
on
The
nt
n.
cou
ys
take
alwa
not
er
can
thing we
I would have rath
we do. We
darkest period in my life the people in this town who “get” what
months have been the
“special
our
this
to
nts
eful
ume
grat
ly
album doc
have always been extreme
without question. The new
lved in
invo
g
be.
bein
to
e
and
tinu
ly),
con
ical
people” and
period in my life (lyr
process for these songs
w for the WAMi festival
the creation and the writing
We kicked off with a sho
lly.
ona
pers
me
for
ting
fron
con
doing a series of shows
ly
eme
now
has been extr
re here in Perth, and are
whe
ents
mom
are
e
ther
new album. We are really
I will sit and listen, and
at home in support of the
, and hurt deep within,
iety
anx
tunes have translated
er,
new
ang
the
the
way
feel
I can
personal pleased with the
very
a
It’s
s.
tear
in
t to get to Melbourne
wai
ace
rise to the surf
in the live arena. We can’t
e torn my soul out with
We are really looking
g.
thin
our
do
to
album and I feel like I hav
and Sydney
ds.
my bare han
forward to it.
l now?
member of Crimes of the
feel about the old materia
It is a credit to every
t
of wha AN: How do you
t
ligh
in
ts,
exis
still
d
Primary that the ban
you listen to it much?
I owe a huge debt of Do
we have been through, and
tunes once in a while, as
we
4,
200
EA: I listen to a few of the
its solidarity. In
the Primary live shows,
gratitude to the band for
of
es
Crim
in Europe with Coma but a refresher for the
my
had some huge openings
fi
’t
a don nd their way into
them], simply because but Alpha and Com
not like I despise
It’s
we couldn’t capitalise [on
e.
mor
any
h
elf
muc
mys
too
CD player
down, and I found
a large
my mind decided to shut
the new album is (for me)
l ward after undergoing the old songs, but
pita
hos
k
rding
star
reco
a
d
in
ishe
up
mpl
ing
wak
g a more acco
on my fragile brain. The step towards bein
rding process that
reco
an emergency procedure
and
ing
writ
the
real
k
artist. I thin
but there was a very
e,
morphine was wonderful,
m is much more intricat
with once the drugs is behind the new albu
tend
con
ure
to
ss
ens
to
tine
n
emp
take
of
n
sense
e care has bee
ns, Crimes of the Primary and a great deal mor
king and prewould wear off. As musicia
had that everything we have done in trac
pe
Euro
in
s
ning
ope
the
but in saying
,
nce
cha
accepted the fact that
to
nothing
heads down and began production has left
of huge chances.
dissolved, and we put our
lot
a
take
gs
son
new
this, the
work on rebuilding.
to now? What
up the AN: What are you listening
sum
ld
cou
you
if
:
a musician?
as
AN: Art and life
and
son
inspires you, as a per
you say?
relationship, what would
are not afraid of
who
ple
by peo
fabrication without the EA: I am inspired
llow
hear.
sha
a
is
Art
EA:
how hard the truth is to
I couldn’t write about the truth, no matter
elf on this
mys
with
influence of life (or death).
est
hon
ally
experienced personally. I think being brut
something that I haven’t
rating experience, and has
suffering in life that album has been a libe
of
unt
t
amo
ain
cert
a
There is
on of songs an edge tha
ecti
coll
y
this
evit
n
really give
to truly have long
actually
not
I
had
e
has to be endured for art
icat
fabr
to
able
suffering is over and one I would not be
my life. It has set a
and meaning. When the
des of grey” lived through this period in
“sha
art’s
n
whe
is
ve
ecti
future recordings. I
for
becomes refl
er
writ
a
as
t.
me
standard for
its most prized asse
e about what lies
nsiv
rise to the fore, and become
rehe
app
am excited, and also
.
-up
line
ent
curr
AN: Tell us about the
ahead.
members of the live
the hard way?
EA: The remaining founding
AN: What did you learn
n)
erto
Ath
Ellis
dle,
Brin
n
Sea
ht,
Wrig
you give,
drew
band (An
ter how much of yourself
Taylor (drums) decided to EA: That no mat
you always
to
est
clos
have not changed. Brad
e
wer
t
ugh
him the absolute best in those who you tho
ally
move on, and we all wish
n you physically and emotion
t Gatter is the new man want more, and whe
Clin
s.
ose
cho
n the people
whe
time
whatever he
this
at
is
it
e
mor
the
can’t give any
Pete Rurak has been
behind the drum kit, and
show their true selves and
who you value the most
year and a half now.
a
r
ove
l
wel
for
t
aris
guit
bass
sucking leeches that they
d
bloo
the
as
d
ose
hip of Andrew and are exp
ners
part
g
ple know exactly who
itin
peo
gwr
son
You
ary
n.
The prim
g duties always have bee
itin
gwr
son
n
mai
the
.
from
myself is a shift
you are. Fuck you all to hell
nership has allowed the
es of the Primary?
on Coma. This new part
on
tly
can
ifi
AN: Where to now for Crim
open up sign
sound of the band to
a
to
some lost time. It amazes
n the overall sound
EA: Time now to pick up on
this record and has take
l.
leve
years since we released
king
two
ovo
n
t-pr
bee
ugh
tho
me that it has
deeper and much more
the
are based around live
with
s
e
e and intimat
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AB-NORMAL BEAUTY
Stendhal Syndrome meets a Coke ad? Ab-Normal Beauty (with its curiously hyphenated
title) is unrelenting, intelligent, and provides the perfect bookend to Dario Argento’s
rape-revenge classic. An almost blanket rejection of previous generic requirements, AbNormal Beauty sits somewhere in the graphically violent thriller category rather than
horror, providing the toe-curling shocks of films like Saw but without the overwhelming
dumbness. Oxide Pang apparently had the idea for this film—a frustrated artist who
becomes fascinated and ultimately only fulfilled creatively through the recording of
death—before his research lead him to discover artists such as Joel Peter Witkin. He
seemed surprised that this was already “a thing”. Don’t be fooled by the gratuitous
music-video-on-Quaaludes aesthetics: Pang shows a constant and distinct flair for
getting the otherwise “ungettable”. Shove Shimizu up your arse and bugger Nakata
while you are doing it. Pang combines insane degrees of cognitive agility with a
Cronulla-esque ability to portray the intensity and lunacy of a violent world. With
boobs. From Siren Visual Entertainment. – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
IMMORTEL
Immortel is first and foremost an enigmatic spectacle. It is a dreamlike
sci-fi fable of futuristic worlds, the melding of humans and technology,
and the existence of gods. It is Enki Bilal’s third film, but his first
attempt to film an adaptation of his writing. Realising that Immortel is
a tiny excerpt from a larger body of work is the key to enjoying this film,
being part one of his Nikopol trilogy (La Foire aux Immortels, La Femme
Piège and Froid Équateur). Immortel seems abstract—plot driven but not
particularly linear—but with Bilal’s background starting from ‘70s sci-fi
comic Metal Hurlant, this visual jerkiness is understandable. The plot
brings together the god Horus, Nikopol (rebellion leader just out of jail),
and a blue haired beautiful humanoid. There’s no big finale or resolution
but with two more films in the trilogy up his sleeve why should we
expect Bilel’s plot to unfold so quickly? Other reasons to watch: it is one
of the first films to be made entirely with CGI, with the human parts all
filmed in front of blue screen. Secondly, for music fans, Front 242 sideproject CodeR23 apparently showed clips from Immortel as visuals on its
recent US tour. – Nic Toupee
GUNSLINGER GIRL
Ah, anime. A vast world of varying qualities and
audiences— even the hardened critic would be in
a spot to stake a claim that the world-conquering
Japanese animation is not kinda cool. Gunslinger
Girl is far from original—call it Nikita (or, for
those who know the TV show, La Femme Nikita),
but the story worked so well in other formats
(and other languages, at that) that it seemed
like a fair bet that it would work with cute girls
with big hair and even bigger eyes. “They’ve been
given a second chance at life,” goes the tagline,
“but at what cost?” Aside from originality,
the price seems worth it—and hell, we’re all
postmodernism-friendly so we can deal with
even Tarantino degrees of “recontextualisation”.
Gunslinger Girl tells the story of the Social
Welfare Agency, which uses cybernetic implants
in terminal patients, turning them into balls-out
killing machines. Adolescent Henrietta awakens
as such a creature, and her handler José sets up
the other side to the familiar story: can Henrietta
win his affection? Can he control her? We may
know by now how this plays out, but Gunslinger
Girl is an eye-candy filled twist on the theme.
From Madman – Emily Potter.
GODZILLA – SON OF GODZILLA
Until now, I had never realised that there was a hole in my life that could only be filled by watching a rubbery, baby
Godzilla get smacked in the head with a rock thrown by a giant praying mantis. And this is only one of the strange
pleasures waiting in 1967’s Son of Godzilla. The recent re-release of the original Godzilla (not the American version where
Raymond Burr pops up to help explain away that kooky Japanese subtext) has lead to a new evaluation of the classic.
Underneath the rubber suit, it’s all pretty grim. Godzilla may be a national hero, but he destroys Tokyo as often as he
seems to protect it. He’s a big, scaly metaphor for science, the military, and mostly, the bomb. Where does that leave
the cute, tiny, if-Ewoks-were-lizards that is baby Godzilla? See him use his sleeping father’s tail as a skipping rope!
See him browbeaten into using his atomic breath for the first time! Aww. There’s also well-meaning scientists, a secret
weather experiment, a hot-shot investigative journalist, a mysterious island girl and…well…no one really cares about
the humans anyway. It’s all about the monsters. By the time the final battle between Godzilla and Kumonga the giant
spider rolls around, the humans are long gone. The more serious subtext is supplanted by this crazy fun: incidental music
like something out of the Brady Bunch and flat, theatrical sets in gorgeous ‘70s pastels. Even only minutes after the
movie ends, it already feels like some mostly forgotten nonsensical dream. It’s a matter of scale. Godzilla is just too big
to be constrained by genre, tone, politics, or human logic. Let alone any single movie: also just released is Godzilla Vs.
Ebirah, Lobster from Another Time! Who can resist? From Madman. – Martyn Pedler
_44
GOD TOLD ME QUIET DAYS
TO DO IT
IN CLICHY
FASTER PUSSYCAT!
KILL! KILL!
For those of you not yet a member of the Faster Pussycat cult
let me indoctrinate you. Tura Satana as Varla, Haji as Rosie, and
Lori Williams as Billie are three hot go-go girls with a wild streak
on the hunt for easy cash….driving hot vintage cars. Wearing
figure hugging outfits that accentuate tiny waists and trademark Russ Meyer
sanctioned top heavy action. Racing, fighting, terrorising the square youth of
America and, finally, KILL KILL KILLING! Filmed in black and white in 1965,
it has been lauded by feminists, film makers from John Waters to Quentin
Tarantino, and watchers worldwide. So much so that there are fan clubs
dedicated to the three pussycats, particularly the feisty gangleader Varla. This
film is essential viewing that might not change your life but it will change
your iconographical map of the last 30 years of cinema, not to mention
answer a lot of music-sample riddles! For those already in the know, this
DVD features some irresistible extras including commentary by Russ himself
(before he passed away) and the three Pussycats, plus interviews and original
trailers. Utterly recommended—purchase or peril coz this one goes up to 11!
From Madman. – Nic Toupee
I thought that the abdomen-withvagina motif was the exclusive terrain
of David Cronenberg, but Larry Cohen’s
1976 low-budget horror soon-to-berediscovered classic God Told Me To
Do It also contains such a wonderful
body-ick moment; two, in fact!
And that, actually, is just one of many
deliriously delicious demented delights
on display in this recently released,
soon to be rediscovered cult classic
DVD that almost defies description. But
here goes: Tony Lo plays one of those
hard boiled, no nonsense New York
cops that were so prolific in the ‘70s,
complete with the requisite character
building “baggage”— this time, a
serious case of Catholic guilt and God
addiction. The bewilderingly eccentric
narrative begins when a solitary sniper
standing atop a water tower randomly
picks off pedestrians on the New York
City streets below, and offers the
rationale “God told me to do it” seconds
before gracefully swan diving into the
pavement. Our intrepid detective then
goes about solving the case in a fashion
most peculiar for American movies:
he asks questions, follows leads, and
does a whole bunch of detective work
as opposed to shooting up the joint
until something gives. Very refreshing.
What he uncovers, I’m sorry to say,
is best left undisclosed within the
confines of a review. There are enough
twists and turns and plot aboutfaces in this one to make M. Night
Shyamalamadingdong crap his pants
and know the true feeling of shame.
There are more themes, plot devices,
and concepts going on in this film that
most film makers can cram into their
entire careers, everything from gritty
urban detective action, blaxploitation
happenings in seedy pool halls decorated
liberally with hoes, religious fever as
an infectious disease, gender bending
and, yes, even alien conspiracies. If
you, like me, find today’s modern horror
to be knee deep in flashy remakes and
Teen Soft Core Torturen porn, then this
is one slice of cinema that you will
want to scoff down with voracious zeal.
From Blue Underground Distribution.
– Matt O’Callaghan
Clichy or cliché? This film is uncut and
uncensored. It is a rediscovered print
following its seizure and disappearance
in 1970. It is an adaptation of a banned
novel by celebrated libertine Henry
Miller (of Tropic of Cancer fame). The
DVD jacket sports a promising comment
of condemnation from the Catholic
Bishops Board of Review. But if you
are expecting a triumph of liberation
cinema, think again. The plot (such as
it is) traces the pre-WW2 lifestyle of
a pair of charmless middle-aged down
and out bohemians and their incessant
romping with no shortage of vacant
nubile French ingénues. Although
mercifully shot in grainy black and
white, the story travels from one sex
scene to the next with any potential
for eroticism stripped by worse than
average acting (from a string of nonprofessional actors) and a general lack
of tact and suggestion. Miller’s style
is famously uncompromising, but this
mastery of the written word is no doubt
difficult to translate to film and, in any
event, offers limited shock value in the
current (and increasingly feminist) age.
The monochromatic photography and
a number of interesting experimental
filmic techniques (captions, jump
cuts) save the film from being utterly
appalling, but query whether enough is
salvaged to imbue Quiet Days in Clichy
with sufficient artistic merit to elevate it
from mere banal semi-soft pornography.
As for the country and western ditty
which pervades the film, you will either
love or hate it. An interview with the
singer (Joe McDonald) is included in the
extras, along with a featurette—‘Dirty
Books, Dirty Movies: Barney Rosset on
Henry Miller’. From Blue Underground.
– Alicia Campos
45_
BURST ANGEL:
DEATH’S ANGEL
Pretty dumb shooty anime vixens in a Tokyo gone mad. Again. And why not?!
– From Madman. Amber Hastings
REQUIEM FROM THE DARKNESS:
TURMOIL OF THE FLESH
Anime ghost stories, alright! This highly stylised mega-gothic horror animation
follows Momosuke Yamaoka, wannabe author (livejournal user name: momosuke_
yamaoka, we can assume) who travels around Japan with the intention of unveiling
his life’s work, ‘The 100 Stories’. Hooking up with the mystically scampy (and
kinda dumbly named) Mataichi the Tricker/Ongyo Master, Ogin the Puppeteer, and
Nagamimi the Bird Caller, Yamaoka and his motley crew propel the story line forward
with their simple task of “root(ing) out criminals and use various tricks to judge
karmic debts.” Or something. Who cares: this looks awesome; the sound is big; the
DVD quality is gobsmacking; and, most importantly, it contains some spectacular
demons. From Madman. – Adrian Stephens.
THE ORDEAL (CALVAIRE)
The Ordeal is what you end up with when you cross French
cinematography with Deliverance, Misery, and The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, complete with pig buggery.
Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas) is a small time singer heading south to
perform in a Christmas gala when his van breaks down. He is led to
Bartel Inn by Boris where the Inn owner, Bartel (Jackie Berroyer),
instantly establishes a connection with Marc on the basis that he’s
a comedian and a fellow performer. Marc is forced to stay at the Inn
for a few days while he waits for Bartel to repair his car. Bartel’s
obsessive need for companionship becomes increasingly evident as
he emotionally blackmails Marc to sing for him by revealing the story
of Gloria, his estranged wife who left him some years ago. The story
suddenly turns into a bizarre case of mistaken identity as Bartel burns
out Marc’s car, bludgeons him with the car’s battery, shaves his head
(for his own protection from the town folk), and ties him up, all the
while calling him “Gloria”. Just when we are led to believe Marc will be
saved in a shower of bullets, things get weirder.
The characters don’t really seem to show any signs of growth in the
film, which steers it away from the usual sterile Hollywood approach
to filmmaking. However, The Ordeal (or Calvaire in its native tongue)
reveals the darker nature of human characteristics and begs the
question … how far do we go for companionship? The lack of a female
presence in this small town indicates something of a feministic calibre,
yet the film’s brutal approach to sexual satisfaction reveals something
far more sinister. Disappointingly, the film contains some rather weak
Christian symbolism that lets it down. It also ends abruptly and in a
somewhat unsatisfying manner. This is Belgian born Fabrice du Welz’s
first feature film and is an impressive attempt. Filmed in Super 16,
the French trademark for beautiful cinematography and inventive
camera angles coupled with a dark and disturbing sense of humour
is definitely evident and makes this film interesting to watch and
disturbingly entertaining. – Kathryn Williams
GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE
Much anime suffers the criticism that story and dialogue are secondary to visual
trickery. However, 1995’s Ghost in the Shell is so mystical, so resolved, and so
influential, that even after a decade of technological developments it remains
a cornerstone of Japanese anime. It is to this high standard that the sequel
Innocence (now available in an English language format) is undoubtedly measured.
Innocence is set a few years following the events of the Ghost in the Shell, and sees
a return to a world where cities are inhabited by a spectrum of humans, cyborgs,
and purely robotic androids. “Humanity” is conferred to the extent that a physical
form is inhabited by a soul (or “ghost”). Section 9 is a special operation force
which investigates technology related crimes. The central investigation of the film
involves a cyborg construction corporation and the gynoids it creates—wayward
female sex dolls that kill their owners and themselves. With the protagonist of the
original film (Major Motoko Kusanagi) now disappeared, Innocence focuses on her
partner, Batou. The film continues the philosophical ponderings of its predecessor,
exploring the themes of information networks and human-machine technologies.
The script is packed with enough cryptic Confucianisms to warrant multiple viewings;
quotes can be traced to sources as diverse as Buddha, Confucius, Descartes, Milton,
and The Bible. Added to these references is the homage paid to surrealists Hans
Bellmer and Raymond Roussel. With the backing of heavyweights Studio Ghibli
and Production I.G., the 2 and 3D animation is not left wanting. Innocence
portrays an impressively dark cyberpunk world. A haunting soundtrack adds depth
to this mood. Ultimately, however, the absence of the compelling Major Motoko
Kusanagi is strongly felt and the philosophical musings are fragmented, weighty,
and wearisome. Nevertheless, fans (whilst having more satisfying recourse in the
manga) and science fiction lovers will find plenty to please. Innocence delivers
vastly more depth than the average anime. From Madman. – Alicia Campos
47_
SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS [Sony] Playstation 2
THE MOVIES
[Activision] PC DVD
Minimum Specifications: Pentium 3 800Mhz or Athlon XP 1500+, 256MB RAM,
2.4Gb of free HDD space, DX 32MB 100% 9.0c compliant 3D graphics accelerator
card, and 16bit sound card.
Prepare to waste your life away in front of your crappy monitor that you wish
was a 21” 3ms LCD monitor that cost you five grand, which you brought home
in your classic black ‘57 Chevy with a supercharged 351 under the silver flying
vampire bat ornamented hood. You are the modern day Bela Lugosi: living it
up as a cult movie star in your luxury home, buying up kooky statues and weird
furniture just because you can. Getting married to the most buxom blond co-star
you ever had and then getting divorced because you felt that brunettes were
more your thing. Demanding huge sums of money for the main role in the next
blockbuster film to support you addiction to the most expensive imported finely
cut cocaine from southern Peru. However, in The Movies your only addiction will
be to caffeine because you won’t want to go to sleep before you have sorted
out the drinking problem of one of your actors.
The Movies is about living your wildest dreams as the owner and creator of a
film studio and reaping piles of cash for making crappy B-grade films (and we
all know that at least 90 per cent of all Hollywood films are B-grade). You start
by building your studio from scratch, which includes the necessary buildings
for you to recruit actors, directors, extras, crew members, and script writers.
Then it’s just a matter of writing a script, building a set, and shooting the
movie. Once the movie is finished it goes into production and is released, and
then you begin to see the cash flowing in so you can build better sets and
facilities. This in itself has enough potential to create a compelling game to
keep you going for many hours, however The Movies involves much more than
this. You have to keep your stars happy (and drugs and alcohol free), maintain
the studio, research new film technology, and write better scripts to keep your
studio at the top of the box office. It’s a lot to handle and can get frustrating at
the awards ceremonies where you really get to see how shit you are doing. The
best feature of the game is being able to write your own scripts and see them
turn into crap films which you can view once they are finished and, God forbid,
embarrass yourself even further by sharing them online. This is a lifetime of
compelling management sim based gaming and hell of a lot of fun too. www.
themoviesgame.com – Peter Hakuli
Shadow of the Colossus is born from artistic vision. Spiritual sequel to the critically
acclaimed ICO, this game is not merely technically accomplished and playable,
but delivers a truly beautiful, unique interactive experience. It tells the story of a
young warrior who has journeyed to a forbidden land in search of sixteen legendary
giants. With only his loyal warhorse for company, he sets out to slay these noble
creatures, in the hope that doing so will bring his love back from the dead. A brief
opening sequence sees the hero enter an enormous temple and lay the body of a
beautiful girl on a stone altar. You then mount up, and ride forth into the vast
plains surrounding the structure. After a short gallop and a mountain climb, you
arrive at the feet of your first opponent. You can fire a few shots from your bow, but
it quickly becomes apparent that this will have no effect on the towering creature.
What’s required is for you to charge in and grab hold of the giant’s hairy fetlocks,
which leads to a heart-pounding climb up its torso while it shakes and tries to
throw you off. Directed by your sword’s guiding light, you soon locate its weak spot
at the back of its neck and send the first colossus crashing to the earth.
Shadow of the Colossus is comprised only of boss fights, and thereby dispenses
with game “filler” entirely. There are no waves of identikit minions to dispatch,
expanding skill-trees, or convoluted, forgettable plotlines. You come across no one
during your travels and the only character interaction is with your trusty steed. The
control scheme is simple and intuitive. The dialogue is minimal. What this leaves is
a focused, sublime gameplay experience, one which is emotionally engaging from
the opening scenes. The environments for you to explore are breathtaking with
mountains, cliffs, forests, deserts, and plains all bathed in gorgeous amber lighting
effects. These periods of quiet isolation stand in contrast with the desperate,
thrilling battles with the colossi, when the ground shakes and a bombastic score
swells from the speakers.
On a purely technical level, the game is extremely accomplished. The graphics
are stunning, light and particle effects abound, the sound is spot-on and the
controls are wonderfully responsive. With NTSC, progressive scan, and surround
sound all supported, the better your set-up, the more you will appreciate what is
on offer. Shadow of the Colossus is an amazingly polished, focused, and immersive
experience. More than a “must-play game of the year”, this is a call to arms for
those who believe interactive entertainment can be a compelling artistic medium.
– Tom Wark
Shadow of the Colossus is available now in a special edition digipack.
PRINCE OF PERSIA – THE TWO THRONES
[Ubisoft] PC, XBOX, PS2
Our prince has had a long, hard journey: through the emotional time twister that
was ‘Sands of Time’, and then as the acrobatic argonaut in ‘Warrior Within’, to the
trilogy triumphant that is ‘The Two Thrones’. You get a return to the story-telling
elements that were a favourite in ‘Sands of Time’, coupled with all the free-form
fighting of ‘Warrior Within’, and the new main feature called “speed kills”—in
which you sneak up on your enemy and with some visual cues devastatingly slash,
strangle, and maim your opponent without competition. So yeah, that’s fun. The
plot, while wrapping the ongoing story up, ends a bit too cleanly for my liking. For,
as fun as it is to play the “dark prince” jumping around and laying waste with your
super-cool daggertail, story-wise it is quite a let down, except for the ultra cool bit
at the end that is reminiscent of an old classic Prince of Persia game (not to spoil
too much). So that’s fun too, but the game does feel a touch short compared to
‘Warrior Within’. And with no big plot cliff-hangers, it seemed a waste to be playing
it on the PC when it’s obviously more of a console game. It was fun while it lasted,
but I don’t feel the need to go back. www.princeofpersiagame.com – Jarod Collard
49_
DURAN DURAN
Live in London 2005 (Deluxe Edition)
LACRIMOSA
As part of the ‘Revival’ tour, Duran Duran brought its show to Australia in 2004, and a year
later the London show at the almost absurdly high capacity Wembley Arena was recorded
in glorious totality for the sake of prosperity (and, one could argue, the desire to make a
few bucks from what already appears to be a well-oiled nostalgia cash cow). But cynicism
has little place here, even for a jaded FIEND writer— the sheer enthusiasm with which the
‘80s icons approach performance and the rapture with which it is gobbled up by the (mostly
female) masses expose “the fab five” as what they are: some guys that took a bunch of
drugs some years back and made some incredible pop music together who like hanging
out, having fun, and playing some tunes. The sleek and polished exoticism of the early
days may be replaced by Armani-clad forty-somethings playing to a big room full of mums,
but this DVD—from ‘Rio’ to ‘Girls on Film’ to ‘The Chauffeur’ and (my favourite) ‘Careless
Memories’—captures perfectly the upbeat glamour that Duran Duran represents, now as
much as it ever did. From Liberation Music. – Adrian Stephens
Musikkurzfilme [Hall of Sermon]
If you like Lacrimosa for the band’s
gothy gothy goth goth, you’ll drain
the last bloody drops of this DVD
(under the influence of lace and
hairspray, of course). If you’re not
familiar with Lacrimosa but find the
DVD a feast you’ll become an instant
fan of the band. Visually quite
competently edited and allowing
every indulgence from nipples,
pointy boots, and suspenders right
back to the graveyard and the
mental hospital, the video clips
vary while devotedly maintaining
their über-vamp style. Unlike studio
footage where you wonder why (or
indeed if) the band spend anything
at all on production, or find yourself
bursting a brain cell to find some
kind of story in the clip to justify
its existence, these clips accompany
and enrich the music, much like a
good live performance. Traditional
gothic woodcuts and drawings
themed for the band and the specific
tracks serve as bookends for the
eleven clips. The four “making-of”
clips are detailed and reveal some
of the effects and definitely the
hard work behind their production.
Musikkurzefilme shows a mature
commitment to detail in costuming,
actual ability to play music and sing,
artwork and design, and adherence
to a decadent aesthetic. Essentially,
if you’re even partly a believer,
this is an excellent ghost story.
– Kama C. Way
_50
INTO THE DARKNESS VOL. 3
[Nightclub Records]
I make no bones. I’m a fan of the Into the Darkness DVD series, partly because the
series was one of the first gothic/electronic compilation DVDs, which is great because
when you have to pony up even more dollars for a DVD than a CD, you feel smug
knowing it will feature something you’ll be excited to see. Also, the audio and visual
quality are strong, with lots of clear close-ups and different camera angles on and
off stage, and none of the common there’s-a-TV-on-in-the-next-room sound often
accompanying live footage. Of eleven clips from festivals around Europe (including
M’era Luna), highlights are the Birthday Massacre’s ‘Horrorshow’ (check out all the
umbrellas! An impressive mix of fandom and acclimatisation to lots of rain!), Fixmer/
McCarthy’s ‘Destroy’ which makes you want to roar and punch the air, and Deine
Lakaien’s ‘Reincarnation’ for pure old-school class (“there are no goths in heaven,
there are some goths on earth”). I’m sorry if you’re a fan or I’m missing something
but extra points go to Qntal for squeamish glam and pagan glory, and to Welle:
Erdball for being mesmerisingly odd and the only thing ever to induce flashbacks to
Dr Strangelove. As for the studio clips, it’s exciting to see things that are not usually
shown in Australia, but fortunately we like the music as the clips don’t bring much
to the tracks and clearly not all people who can make music can act and neither can
their friends. Most entertaining of the studio clips is Scream Silence’s ‘Creed’ with band
members “hung” like dead puppets still managing to twang an upright bass or go for
rock poses around their guitars. It’s uncanny but the best studio clip is Schelmish’s
‘Rabenballade’, an all-in swords/shields/maidens affair with an only slightly Monty
Python feel and a simple well-acted storyline. – Kama C. Way
SCOTT PILGRIM
Bryan Lee O’Malley
Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old. He plays bass in a garage rock band. He lives in a grotty oneroom flat with his gay friend. He’s sort of dating a high school girl. Then an Amazon.com
courier girl starts using his dreams as a hyperspace shortcut on her delivery routes, and Scott
falls for her. The only problem is: if he wants to go out with her, he has to fight her seven evil
ex-boyfriends in a series of epic Street Fighter-style battles. Released as a series of graphic
novels, the Scott Pilgrim comics are like indie rock meets Japanese video games. Like their
eponymous hero, they’re energetic, enthusiastic, kind of sweet, and a little bit stupid. Mostly,
though, they’re a lot of fun. Bryan Lee O’Malley’s art has a cartoony flair, and his dialogue has
a lot of life in it. Sure, sometimes the plot isn’t a clear as it could be, but this is a comic with
mountains of charm. www.scottpilgrim.com – David Witteveen
FLIGHT OF THE NIGHTHAWKS
(Book One of the ‘Darkwar’ saga)
Raymond Feist [Voyager]
The only thing the back of this book’s hard-cover sleeve says is
that it is “distressingly addictive”, and that sums it up pretty
well. I mean, once you get through the brilliant ‘Riftwar’ trilogy,
then the great ‘Serpentwar’ quartet, the slightly off-track but
still enjoyable ‘Conclave of Shadows’ trilogy, and then—if
you’re a big fan—the eleven other Midkemia (the world these
books are based in) books, and finally reach the first ‘Darkwar’
saga, the fourth in the series. So, after I take a breath, Flight
of the Nighthawks held more interest for me than the previous
saga. It is more engaged with the ongoing story and characters,
not being involved so much in any one personal journey, but
with the grand scheme of things (I don’t think I can explain
the devious Feistian exposition of ten books right here in this
review!), which is the part of these books that I really love.
While most of the elements of Flight of the Nighthawks seem
like they have been covered previously, I’m feeling good about
it heading somewhere grand. Nakor will show us the way!
– Jarod Collard
SEBASTIAN
Anne Bishop [Voyager]
Anne Bishop is an established and accomplished fantasy fiction
writer who already has two trilogies under her belt, being the
‘Black Jewels’ trilogy and the ‘Alainn’ trilogy, making this one—
the ‘Ephemera’ trilogy—three for three! Sebastian is the first
of this series and, not having read any prior novels by Bishop,
I’m unable to comment on whether it is typical of her style or
subject matter, but there’s certainly an original imagination
at work here. Sebastian, a human/incubus crossbreed, is the
central character of a strong core cast of characters, set in a
fictional landscape called Ephemera—not just a place but an
entire world connected not by seas or borders but by energy
bridges with the capacity to change in accordance with the
thoughts and hearts desires of its various inhabitants. Ephemera
is pierced by a previously contained dark force and Sebastian
and his cast of assistant characters are charged by destiny to
battle the dark and set things right using forces both practical
and mystical. The language is simple, at times perhaps even a
little too simple, and my only real complaint is that Bishop sets
her conceptual bar very high but the turn of phrase at a lower
denominator, making this novel very available but perhaps just
a little too digestible. As we know right from the start that
this is a trilogy it should be no surprise that the book is only
vaguely rounded off, leading straight into book two when it is
released. – Nic Toupee
ARKHAM HORROR
[Fantasy Flight Games]
Arkham Horror is a board game based on the Cthulhu Mythos stories of HP Lovecraft.
Well, sort of. Lovecraft wrote ponderous tales about scholars and bookworms being driven
slowly insane by incomprehensible alien gods. Arkham Horror is more two-fisted pulp
action: flappers and private eyes brawl with tentacled monsters as they try to stop an
ancient evil from awakening to destroy the town of Arkham. Players move around a map of
the town, collecting weapons, magic, and clues while gateways to alien dimensions open
at random, releasing monsters into the streets. For a simple concept, it’s a complicated
game—there are twenty-one different card decks, for example, and piles of little counters.
And the rulebook is badly laid out. But the artwork is great, and there’s plenty of flavour
text to reinforce the mood. It’s not exactly true to Lovecraft’s slow, creeping horror. But
there’s plenty of fun to be had in tackling shoggoths with a shotgun.
www.fantasyflightgames.com/arkhamhorror.html – David Witteveen
THE TINDER BOX
Minette Walters [Allen and Unwin]
If you thought Agatha Christie was class-conscious, prepare
to face the literary snob wedgie that is Minette Walters. Yes,
she may chain smoke and doesn’t wear tweed, but don’t be
mistaken: Ms Walters views the poor and uneducated with
precisely the same disdain and outright mistrust as her famous
predecessor. But bugger me with an updated copy of the Who’s
Who if—god damn it—her books are not utterly addictive,
slightly perverse, and totally engrossing little murder mysteries.
Dorset-based Walters frequently has her bestsellers made into
television mini-series (such as The Sculptress, The Echo, The
Scold’s Bridle), so if you miss reading this one its televisual
representation will no doubt do the book adequate justice.
– Amber Hastings
51_
THE HAND OF THE DEVIL
Dean Vincent Carter [Random House]
The Hand of the Devil is very much a first effort. As newcomer Dean Vincent Carter
dives headlong into this schlock horror/thriller tale, he seems determined not to
let clumsy storytelling or overwrought prose get in the way. Squarely aimed at
fifteen to eighteen year olds, the novel plays out like a late-night B-movie. All the
ingredients are here: an unfeasibly over-curious protagonist, an isolated locale and
an ancient, unfathomable evil—this time in the form of an immortal mosquito.
The book centers on a British journalist named Ashley Reeves, who is lured from
the London office of his tabloid paper by the promise of a great story. Reeves
sets out (alone, of course) to visit a remote island at the request of Reginald
Mather, a crackpot recluse who claims to be in possession of a fabulous insect.
Soon enough, Reeves is trapped on the island with nothing but a waterlogged
mobile phone, being hunted by a mass-murdering doctor and a deadly insect-god.
The Hand of the Devil plods along for its first half, as Carter offers up a dizzying
amount of background information concerning his barely plausible plot. It’s all very
straightforward, with seemingly supernatural elements being gradually revealed as
just that. Things do pick up during the final act, but largely due to the depiction
of gruesome acts of torture, which seem rather out of place in a novel for young
adults. Aside from these few pages of character pontification on the subject of
human suffering, the book delivers very little in the way of its promised “chills”.
The Hand of the Devil would certainly make an appropriately macabre gift for your
troubled, sulky younger cousin, but if you really care for the little tyke, track down
a copy of The Dunwich Horror instead. – Tom Wark
DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI:
PAINTER AND POET
Jan Marsh [Weidenfeld & Nicolson]
Fans of Pre-Raphaelite poet and painter and “Romantic Victorian revolutionary”
Rossetti couldn’t possibly ask for more in a biography, with Jan Marsh having
rightly earned the title of the foremost biographer in the area. Half-British, halfItalian, Rossetti was one of the major forces behind the Pre-Raphaelite movement,
and his beautiful and ethereal work was frequently tinged by a mystical eroticism
(sparked, Marsh suggests, by two of the most famous Pre-Raphaelite women—Jane
Morris and Lizzie Siddal, the latter of which died of a laudanum overdose). Rossetti
died as an almost total recluse, and Marsh follows his life as one of the most
fascinating and influential minds of the period right to the end in this beautifully
presented 600-plus page tome. – Emily Potter
HOW TO INSULT YOUR
HOSTS IN MANY LANGUAGES
Emma Burgess and David Salter [Allen and Unwin]
Described as “all the bits your language teachers left out”, this short but
precise book is effectively a user’s guide to getting your face punched in
around the globe. There’s no dallying with half-arsed offense here—phrases
are either blunt (“I hope you die” in French: “Vas crever”), crude (“titten”
is the German word for “tits”), or outright (but hysterically) impolite (“How
fascinating, I’ve never seen a country with so many peasants. Oh sorry, I
didn’t realise they’re your royal family” loosely in Italian: “Interessae. Ill
vostro paese ha molti contandini. O sono osservare la vostra famiglia reale?”)
Sadly, this phrase is not listed in Danish. For the promiscuous, don’t worry,
you haven’t been left out: the Spanish phrase “Gracias a ti, ahora me duele
cuando meo” translates roughly to “Thanks to you, it now hurts when I wee.”
The lonely planet may have just got lonelier, but there’s no argument from
this side of the fence: it also got heaps funnier! – Adrian Stephens
_52
THE LEFT HAND OF POWER
Brenden Kluver [Zeus Publications]
Try as I might, I couldn’t get much information on Brendan Kluver to back up
my immediate assumption that this is his first novel. Apologies to Brenden
if it’s a wrong turn, but The Left Hand of Power shows a combination of some
great genre-mashing ideas and heavy, perhaps a little overwritten, expression
that leads me to think Brendan is a scholar-turned-fiction-writer on his maiden
voyage. A combination of occult fantasy and Chandler-esque detective fiction,
it centres on veteran LA detective Dan Fields and his supernatural adversary
Lucifer Rising, whose evil yet mysterious deeds result in murder at a performance
at an LA casino. Dan is hired by the grieving widow to investigate the murder
and then begins the race against time as he discovers that Lucifer Rising
is actually an ancient Egyptian god incarnated who is trying to take over the
planet! Along the way we have romantic interests, fencing, satanic rituals, and
plenty of damsels in distress for good measure. It’s an entertaining tale that is
well-conceived, however Brenden’s turn of phrase and the intensely laboured
descriptions seem a little hesitant. Nevertheless, if dark gods vs. detectives with
fencing and damsels appeals to you, give it a read. – Nic Toupee
THE FLOODS: PLAYSCHOOL
Colin Thompson [Random House]
This book is about the wizard and witch school Quicklime College in Patagonia (the
Floods’ school), and is the second book in the series about this strange family.
My favorite part is when Orkward Warlock gets blown up into thousands of pieces.
Plus I like the gargles— gargles are like gargoyles except they make loud gargling
noises all the time.) The funniest thing about The Floods: Playschool is that there
is three hundred and sixty five of everything at Quicklime’s except for the doors
(there are only three hundred and sixty four of them) so somewhere there is a room
without a door, though no one has ever managed to find it. I also liked the game
Gristle Ball because Merlinmary threw the gristle ball (a ball of gristle embedded
with nails) so hard it hit all the goals and smashed the toilet. There’s a special
breeds class for children like Satanella (because she is a fox terrier), and their
teacher is a dog.
Warning: Don’t read this book unless you have read The Floods: Neighbours because
you get to meet all the characters in the first story.
– Ehlana Hakuli (8 years old)
GOTHIC VISION—THREE CENTURIES OF
HORROR, TERROR, AND FEAR
Dani Cavallaro [Continuum]
THE FILMS OF TIM BURTON
Alison McMahon [Continuum]
Tim Burton has had a curious relationship with the critical world—with work
spanning from blockbuster to children’s film, with a strong nod towards art
house somewhere along the way, few have attempted what Alison McMahon
does with this book: to closely analyse Burton’s key films (such as Beetlejuice,
Ed Wood, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Sleepy Hollow) in terms of how
they function as a body of work, as creative products, and in reference to the
broader film industry. Maybe a bit academic for the curious passer-by, but for
film students or hardcore Burton fans this book is insightful, perceptive, and
brings a new light to the work of one of the most delightful living American
directors. – Adrian Stephens.
If, as the internet so frequently
seems to illustrate, the literary
Gothic is increasingly blurred
and confused with that loaded
and distasteful concept of “goth
fiction”, Cavallaro’s book couldn’t
come at a better time to silence the
sceptics. Covering a vast range of
horror stories from the eighteenth
century to now, Gothic Vision looks
at the ideological implications of
the Gothic, focusing on constant
themes such as mental and bodily
deterioration, the supernatural,
and the monstrous. At the core of
the work is the notion that fear
is powerful trigger, a “ubiquitous
phenomenon”, and the experience
of terror can excite and suspend
at the same time. Fascinating.
– Adrian Stephens
53_
Rather drink cat pee q
Kind of soggy like cat food qq
Purr/hiss qqq
Mmmm good like catnip qqqq
Head explody brilliant fantastico! qqqqq
ANGEL THEORY
BLATHERSKITE
Re-possession [GUP] CD
Three Worlds [Self-release] CD
My rule of thumb with any local band
is that if it holds up against the
international stalwarts then you know
you’re on to something good. Angel
Theory is one of the few EBM bands
in Australia that can do just that and
Charles Fenech doesn’t fall short on
his sophomore release. Much of Repossession places me in a variety of
environments: sometimes a dark room
with the graceful melodies sliding over
me (e.g. ‘Possession’, ‘Come with Me’),
or sometimes on a big nasty club system
your pelvis can’t ignore (‘Black and Blue’,
‘I Feel Disease’, ‘Descendant’). In my
book, variety on an album is a very good
thing (and I’d argue it’s lacking more
and more these days), Re-possession is a
journey of ups and downs which Fenech
takes you on personally. Angel Theory has
an incredible knack for creating classic
EBM machine-sounding rhythms—add
in those insatiable hooks and sweeping
synth chords and you’re right there.
– Aimee Sinclair qqqq1/2
Blatherskite’s Three Worlds is one of
those dark releases that demands
commitment from the listener. Edgy,
vitriolic guitar riffs are complemented
by heavy bass and gritty drumming.
Blatherskite focuses heavily on texture
and provides some ingenious and
jaundiced tracks comparable with Tool.
The sinister prog-rock stylings lift
this band several notches above less
engaging local acts and assemble all the
elements for a promising future album.
www.blatherskite.com.au – Michael
Wolloghan qqq
ASIA NOVA
love like a veiled threat
[Eibon Records] CD
Asia Nova returns after the highly revered
debut Burning the Blue Skies Black with
another sprawling monolithic epic of an
album, sweeping through ethno-infused
ambient fields and on to wide plains of
bloated droning atmospheres. Simply
put, the sheer scope and depth displayed
is quite staggering, where flute/wind
instruments, tabla, percussion, and
female vocals (utilised as an instrument),
compliment the expansive tidal flows
of ambient treated guitar textures and
synth-led drones. Pushing well beyond
any mere dark ambient tag, the entire
atmosphere ascends into a spiralling
core of spirituality—but not the
Western world’s concept of spirituality,
rather that of the Asiatic world (as
reflected in the cover’s imagery). The
sheer breadth and textural scope of this
CD seems to be the direct result of the
musical contributions of five individuals,
meaning in the case of Asia Nova, five
heads are certainly better than one! As
massive and epic as this particular album
is, it is actually the first instalment of
a six-album series under the umbrella
title turning the black skies blue again,
which certainly begs the question of
what musical heights might be scaled
on subsequent instalments. Yet before
this is formally answered by the group,
this CD is absolutely fantastic place to
begin. www.radiantslab.com/asianova
– Richard Stevenson qqqq1/2
CHRISTIAN DEATH
Death Club 1981–1993
[Cleopatra] DCD
A CD and a DVD?! It’s Rozz-au-gogo, and to be honest it was going
to take a hell of a lot for me to
be disappointed with this release.
The man who once declared “God
forbid I end up going on a ‘Sound
and Vision’ tour like David Bowie”,
Christian Death’s frontman Rozz
Williams lived, and died, true to
his worth when he passed in April
1998. This release takes you back
to the heyday of arguably the most
important goth rock band of all
time. The video footage is the true
gem here— a whole live show (from
January 1990) and a TV performance
of ‘Romeo’s Distress’ and ‘Cavity
– First Communion’ remind us again
of exactly how precious the life (and
band) we lost was. www.cleorecs.
com – Amber Hastings qqqq
JOHNNY CASH
At Folsom Prison/At San
Quentin [Sony] DCD
The murkiness of these two recordings
came at the virtual peak of The Man
in Black’s popularity, and at a time
when his off-stage lifestyle was also
spiraling out of control (the recent film
Walk the Line with Joaquin Phoenix
explores this and other aspects of Cash’s
fascinating life). This two-CD set—both
live recordings of Cash playing in jails
to prisoners—brings both albums
together packaged for the first time in
Australia on CD. At San Quentin was
recorded in 1969, At Folsom Prison the
year before, and together the recordings
illustrate just how bleak and out of
control Cash’s world was at the time.
Key tracks on At San Quentin include
‘Darlin’, Companion’, and ‘A Boy Named
Sue’, while At Folsom Prison’s highlight
is easily the performance of ‘Folsom
Prison Blues’. A lot of listeners new to
Cash begin with tracks such as his cover
of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Hurt’—if you liked
that and want more, this release is the
perfect place to start. – Adrian Stephens
qqqq
CELEBRATION
Celebration [4AD] CD
Celebration’s vocalist Katrina Ford
makes PJ Harvey sound like a washed-up
has-been. Grunting, whining, moaning,
howling demented tunes, and sometimes
even sounding like she’s gasping for
fucking air. Ford’s powerful vocals add
depth to this somewhat unusual three
piece music group is amazing. The
first track on this new album, ‘War’, is
upbeat, but not so much so that you
want to bang your head against a wall
just to numb the happy vibes. It’s a
brilliant opener and sets the mood for
the majority of the album. Track seven
‘Ancient Animals’ immediately draws
you in with its slightly chamber-jazz/
Frankenstein oddity mixed in with dark
undertones; ultimately it spits you right
back out as soon as it hits the next track
‘Tonight’, which makes you want to
drink absinthe all night long and dance
around like a crazy motherfucker! Nearly
all of the songs begin with a melancholy
tone but become more upbeat and deep
as the album progresses. The drums and
keyboard sing sweetly and compliment
Ford’s vocals throughout the whole
album. Definitely a keeper! www.4ad.
com – Tessa Drysdale qqqqq
CESIUM_137
Intelligent Design [Metropolis] CD
It’s great to see (or hear) the return
of Cesium_137 with the new album
Intelligent Design. I’ve thoroughly
enjoyed the evolution and growth of
the band with its signature dark driving
beats and pop structures overlaying a
rich electro soundscape. Cesium has
come along way since 1998 and the
Advanced Decay album (with one of the
best dark electro songs ever produced,
‘Regrets’). The new album appears to
be more “user friendly” than the last,
Elemental (still a great album), and
reflects the growing confidence and
popularity of this band. The single
‘Hollow’ is destined to be a dancefloor
hit, but despite this Cesium has still
yet to penetrate the Australian market.
C’mon DJs, get behind them—it’s dance
floor perfection! www.cesium137.com
– Tavis Potts qqqq
CLAN OF XYMOX
Weak in My Knees
[Pandaimonium] CDS
Clan of Xymox returns with a fully packed
single from the band’s forthcoming
KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
_54
album, Breaking Point. This follows
on in the style set by the last album,
Farewell, with extremely danceable
synthlines and soaring gothic guitar
riffs overlaid with Ronny Moorings’
trademark dark and sensual vocals. The
single comes with remixes from The
Azoic, Dimitri, and Grendel, a new track
called ‘Calling You Out’ and two remixes
of the old classic, ‘Michelle’— one
version re-recorded and the other, a
gorgeous downbeat remix by Destroid.
Finally, there’s also a music video. This
is an absolute must-have for any Clan
fan who can’t wait for the album.www.
clanofxymox.com – Brent Donaldson
qqqqq
CONTROL
The Means to an End [Eibon Records] CD
The fifth official album for Control is
again a showcase of the belligerent
single mindedness of solo member
Thomas Garrison’s approach to the
power electronics genre—and by
belligerent I mean that as the best of
compliments. Whilst the basic formula
has not drastically altered, the fact
remains it is the aural dynamics and
crystalline production is what turns
Control’s style from good to great. To
describe the formula for the uninitiated:
Control presents an immensely raw
sonic aesthetic constructed through
droning loops, mechanised rhythmic
patterns, savage noise, and manically
screamed/ distortion obliterated vocals.
But far from being a chaotic mess, the
meticulously constructed compositions
any set of unsuspecting speakers that
dares play this too loud. Topically
Control has not altered its tactics
either, as evidenced through the track
titles: ‘Hatred of Humans’, ‘Line to the
Slaughter’, and ‘Wait to Die’. Given there
is a limit to how much power electronics
you can take in one sitting, cleverly
many of these album tracks commence
with relatively subtle droning textures
to lull the listener into a false sense of
security before quickly elevating into
an all out sonic maelstrom, unrelenting
in its sheer force and brutality. With
the steadfast focus that Control has
continued to display, a more than
suitable axiom would be: when it ain’t
broke don’t fix it. www.eibonrecords.
com – Richard Stevenson qqqq
DEATHSTARS
Termination Bliss [Nuclear Blast] CD
Termination Bliss heralds the triumphant
return of Deathstars. This album is
full of dark, accessible, and aggressive
industrial metal tunes. If you are looking
for contagious beats, gargantuan
guitars, and heavy synths, this release
is for you. Songs such as ‘Cyanide’,
‘Tongues’, and ‘Blitzkrieg’ highlight the
tough and aggressive attitude we have
come to expect from this Swedish band.
Lovers of Rammstein, Gothminister, and
Marilyn Manson will find this a generous
offering: this is an unholy affair, yet a
touch repetitive and a little over the
top. However, this album overall is more
confident and inspired than the last.
It’s more of the same but satisfying
nonetheless. www.deathstars.net –
Michael Wolloghan qqq
DECADENCE
Where Do Broken Hearts Go?
[Cold Meat Industry] CD
This new album from Decadence is filled
with honest lyrics, acoustic overtones,
stewed into a sort of melancholy bliss.
The first track on the album ‘Good
Boys Go to Heaven’ starts off rather
mournfully and dark but becomes lighter
as the song progresses. Track four ‘Cold
Winter Sun’ starts off acoustically with
the beautiful vocals of Eyphrosyne
Papamihalopoulou. Other tracks worth
listening to include ‘Farewell to the
Living’ and ‘Do Not Resist’. I found the
artwork on this particular album to be
erotic, dark, and sensual. The majority
of songs evoked strong emotions, but I
did find that as the album progressed it
became a little boring and songs began
to sound the same. Decadence has
definitely done better work. However,
if you’re a fan, then definitely add it
to your collection. www.coldmeat.se
– Tessa Drysdale qq1/2
DECODED FEEDBACK
Combustion [Metropolis] CD
Imagine Front Line Assembly with
Ogre from Skinny Puppy with a throat
disease on vocals and you pretty much
have Decoded Feedback. The opening
track ‘Combustion’ explodes in your
face with some hard beats and typically
industrial samples; it all moulds nicely
into some very interesting and pleasing
soundscapes. The highlights, unlike
the first track, are surprisingly the
slower, bleaker songs like ‘Monument’,
‘Supernova’, and the fabulous ‘Hyberia’.
The only flaw in this CD is that the faster
tracks tend to get a little repetitive and
boring; however, this is made up for by
the pure genius and diversity of the
rest. I could easily listen to ‘Hyberia’
on repeat for hours on end. www.
decodedfeedback.com – Peter Hakuli
qqqq
DIABLE AMOREUX
Ringstone Round [Independent] CD
Take a mix of Ween, Mr Floppy, goth
ambient, and Eyes-Wide-Shut imagery,
shake it all up, and you have something
approximating this bizarre little album.
It freaked me out enough over my
morning coffee, made me laugh (the
first track is called ‘Wizard of New
Zealand’!), gave me a headache, and
then started again. Certainly an art-rock
themed sonic experiment, comic laced
with sadness and despair, and an out
of tone falsetto singing voice combined
with sombre piano, strings, and dark
samples. Umm, yeah. Make what thou
will of this one. Part piss-take, part
serious—it’s a trip. www.geocities.com/
diableamoreux/ – Tavis Potts qqq
THE DOUBLE
Loose in the Air
[Matador/Remote Control] CD
Loose in the Air is the latest album
from Brooklyn-based four-piece The
Double, and is described as an “eerie,
paranoid album steeped in a hyperawareness of the impermanence of
things.” Although The Double cites
many avant garde influences, and is
obviously trying to break away from
mainstream music, there is little to
distinguish this band. Progressive rock
bands with microtonal art-guitar and
keyboards can either produce albums of
eloquence with hints of urban cool, or
they don’t. If this had the right tone
and sweeping sublime simplicity, it
would work. However, it lacks emotional
pull and there’s too much meandering
arty fluff. Maybe if you are searching
for an alternative to mainstream noise
music this release may elicit mild
interest, but it isn’t compelling enough.
www.thedoublethedouble.com – Michael
Wolloghan qq
kitty classic
DEPECHE MODE
Violator [Sire] CD
The turning point of the band’s career, Depeche Mode’s seventh studio
album Violator revealed a new-found sophistication. This is the album
on which songwriter Martin Gore refined his catchy pop simplicity, and
Alan Wilder’s production developed a new, hidden complexity giving the
band a more textured, evocative sound.
The album’s opening track ‘World in My Eyes’ heralds this new direction:
Dave Gahan sings “Let me take you on a trip ... /around the world and
back.” Synths sing in distorted response to his smooth baritone. Gore’s
signature keyboard riffs work in place of guitar breaks until the song’s
climax, when Gore’s falsetto harmonies give depth to Gahan’s voice.
This sets the scene for the rest of the album—aural layering growing
the sound.
‘Personal Jesus’ is the band’s defining moment. Notable for being the
first appearance of a guitar in a Depeche Mode song, ‘Personal Jesus’
drives at you — the featured guitar and drums still mediated by a synthpop sensibility. Wilder’s ornamentations do not overstep their mark,
providing the necessary backdrop to make this an instant classic. From
here the Depeche Mode guitar sound was born, and features heavily
throughout following albums.
‘Halo’ starts out hiding its hook, until it can’t possibly bear it anymore
and transforms into an elaborate symphony at its first chorus. A balance
between organic and electronic elements, this is the first hint of the
kind of gravitas that would be later demonstrated on Depeche Mode’s
follow-up to Violator, Songs of Faith and Devotion.
The Depeche Mode classic ‘Enjoy the Silence’ exemplifies one of the
consistently appealing aspects of Gore’s lyrics—his ability to take
utterly naive lines (“All I ever wanted/All I ever needed/Is here in my
arms”) and make us take them seriously. Sure it’s the very spectre of
those new romantic shackles that Depeche Mode has never been able
to shake, but its near-perfect construction demands you meet it on its
terms. That is the very essence of Violator—caught between two worlds
but so critically diligent that it transcends its awkward ancestry.
- Alex Hammond
Next issue: A divergence—PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Nine
Inch Nails—the secret history of 1990s producer extraordinaire, Flood.
55_
kitty rates the noise
EMPTY
Abandon All Hope
[Independent] CD EP
Formerly known as Tron, Empty has
independently released an online EP
called Abandon All Hope. This is a very
atmospheric piece of work that feels
like cool relaxing music to stick on
while recovering on a Sunday afternoon
after a huge weekend at the clubs. The
vocoder on the vocals works very well
with the band’s style of music, with
tastefully placed samples and guitar
tracks. One could easily place Empty on
the same level as a project like mind.
in.a.box. Empty is a very intelligent
outfit and is one of the best electronic
groups to come out of Australia, sharing
the company of the likes of Angel
Theory, Tankt, and Resurrection Eve.
www.emptyoffline.com – Peter Hakuli
qqqq
FILM SCHOOL
Self-Titled [Beggars Banquet] CD
Not to be fazed by the burgeoning
field of electronic music, the Beggars
Banquet team has continued to tirelessly
search the land for somewhat more
traditional formulas. The direct result
of such humanitarian campaigns is the
signing a fresh young band, offering a
familiar sound of a golden era. Fans of
the post-punk movement take heed, for
what lies beneath is an ample helping
of Cure crooning and song structures,
adding a dose of Joy Division for good
measure. Brimming with melancholy,
not without a few up-tempo moments
and often displaying a desperate nature.
There’s absolutely no disguising the
band’s influences in this candid selftitled snapshot; LA’s Film School bares
all for the camera in a delightfully
engrossing manner. The five lads at Film
School graduate with honours. www.
filmschoolmusic.com – Jarrod Taylor
qqq
GALERIE SCHALLSCHUTZ
Montauk Project
[Tesco Organisation] CD
Montauk Project’s inspiration is drawn
from the covert electromagnetic mind/
time control experiments allegedly
undertaken during the 1970s and 1980s
at a disused Air Force radar base located
(you guessed it) in Montauk, Long
Island, New York. Galerie Schallschutz
delves deep into such subject matter
and, although there are few audible
sound bites or dialogue samples to
reinforce such themes, the sinister toned
experimental electronic atmospheres
are an effective audio counterpoint
to suggest that the album itself forms
the soundtrack of such experiments
being carried out. Equally important
to thematic content are the further
allegations that the Montauk facility
is still being utilised for: “research and
experimentation into interdimensional
technology, quantum and particle
_56
physics, black hole simulation, super
powerful electrical and electromagnetic
fields, weather control, psychtronics
(interfacing mind and machine),
particle beam technology (HAARP
transmissions), and electronic and drug
based mind control.” By extending
beyond typical characteristics that might
be coined as dark ambience, where this
album consolidates its strengths is via
the unusual juxtaposition of waves of
sound, digitised drones, glitched static,
mechanical rhythms, and fragmented
electronics. Similarly with less focus on
presenting sound as individual tracks,
the album flows together as a collective
whole, forging through one track to the
next, bridging segments of bristling
tension through to calmer respite. Whilst
such topical inspiration could have
quite easily come off as being somewhat
clichéd, Galerie Schallschutz has
effectively tackled it to commendable
result.
www.galerieschallschutz.de
– Richard Stevenson qqqq
HEADSCAN
Pattern Recognition [Artoffact] CD
After launching its debut on Artoffact
records in 2001, Headscan re-emerged
with a second LP in the dying days of
2005 on Alfa-Matrix. It would appear
no coincidence that the futuristic,
dancefloor driven music, containing
elements of techno and trance, was
picked up by the European label, known
affectionately by insiders as “the Matrix”.
The two men (Claude Charnier and
Christian Poerleau) behind this perfect
balance of dark electro have spent
the last three years aiming to expose
a musical movement that entwines
man’s soul to machine. Headscan
effectively projects us to a tangible
destination of cybernetic symptoms
and human intuitions, conveyed with
a pulsing beat, analogue infusions,
and a brooding cinematic background.
Stated simply, Pattern Recognition is a
masterpiece, genuinely addictive, and
undeniably absorbing. Get yourself
connected to “the matrix” magic of
Headscan today. Jarrod Taylor – www.
headscan.ca qqqqq
INERTIA
Decade of Machines
[Cleopatra] DCD
One has to pity Inertia, for this double
disc best-of serves only to underscore
its members’ status as underwhelming
EBM journeymen and women. Sure,
the group has been around for over a
decade now, and sure, Gary Numan may
have once mentioned Inertia in passing,
but is there anyone who really considers
themselves a rabid Inertia fan? The
songs are competent but unremarkable,
and the only spark of recognition comes
when you realise that a particular song is
familiar because it was some anonymoussounding inclusion on a compilation
you’ve heard before. Ultimately it’s a sad
indictment when the most memorable
track on disc one is Inertia’s cover of
the Broadway hit ‘Shakalaka Baby’. The
second disc contains remixes from the
likes of Funker Vogt, Das Ich, Psyche,
Swarf, Noisex, and other luminaries, but
the unremarkable nature of the source
material leads to equally unremarkable
results. www.inertia.gs
– Abby Helasdottir qq
INITIAL PRAYER
The Last Men in Europe
[Corrosive Growth Industries] CD
Initial Prayer is a two man project that
creates a refreshingly rudimentary kind
of dark experimental rock. The opening
track ‘White Waters’ is a tumultuous piece
of atmosphere produced with rasping
guitars, like a Descendants of Cain intro,
while ‘All Hope Fails’ introduces stilted
rhythms that recur in ‘We Serve’ and ‘The
Longest Journey’. ‘In Defence’ is more
conventional and recalls the Sisterhood
or Gangwar, and the ambience surfaces
again in ‘Prelude’, the synthesised
‘Beyond Good and Evil’, and the gentle
piano of ‘Fourth Law’. Initial Prayer’s
approach is in the spirit of Mothburner
or Leviathan in that it refuses to be
limited by traditional approaches to
genre. www.corrosivegrowthindustries.
com – James Lowry
JANOSCH MOLDAU
Redeemer
[Janosch Moldau Records] CD
Christian electro-pop at its finest. The
media release doesn’t quite reveal the
intent, but after the track listing, the
lyrics, the cross on the inside cover …
well … it’s kind of obvious. Janosch
in an interview says, “I do not really
believe in the church, nor do I attend
church services anymore. But faith plays
an important role in my life.” Well that’s
what they also say at Hillsong and at the
local Kingdom Hall, Janosch. An album
that has song titles such as ‘Baptized’,
‘My Father’, ‘Redeemer’, and ‘Real
Christianity’, and lyrics that are infused
with Christian messages is a Christian
themed album no matter how you spin
it. Okay, so I’m being harsh. But I really
don’t appreciate being marketed one
thing and then listening to another.
It is what it is. I cannot and will not
separate the music from the underlying
message. www.janoschmoldau.com
– Tavis Potts minus qqqqq
KLUTAE
Sinners [Alfa Matrix] CD EP
“We are sinners and we will all burn
in hell.” Fuck yeah! The new Klutae
(previously Klute, side project of
Leæther Strip) EP has party-music-fromcheese-hell written all over it. It’s not a
huge stretch from the much forgotten,
yet loveable experimental EBM/Metal
crossover of ‘Tequila Slama’—the tongue
is in the same cheek. It’s hard, fast,
loud, and obnoxious, with its heavy
electronics and guitars having the
best of fun—the crazy kind! Just take
the innocuous track (for example) that
starts with the female sample of “gay
stereotypes” which leads into a kicking
rhythm and a cheesy chorus that screams
“I’m a fat faggot in a leather jacket” and
I don’t think I can possibly give you a
clearer picture of just how cool and old
school this shit is. www.myspace.com/
klutae – Jarod Collard qqqq
LEAETHER STRIP
After the Devastation
[Alfa Matrix] CD
Oh, there you are Claus Larson!
Welcome back! Wondering where you
were. After the Devastation could have
been a (typical Leaetherstrip) political
metaphor but is more likely a (typical
Leaetherstrip) personal one. After a
hiatus in the wilderness, Claus has
released a double CD of new material
and has a foot in both keeping an old
well-tested sound and a new exploratory
side. Listening to both CDs certainly
reveals a tension between the two sides.
‘Shame of a Nation’ and ‘Slam’ show
the hard industrial electro edge and
sound that made Larson a household
industrial name, while the new sounds
of ‘A Boy’ and ‘Homophobia’ reveal a
personal and intelligent song writer.
After the Devastation is a brilliant and
engaging new release and one that is
faithful to its roots but brave enough
to do something different. Enjoy.
www.myspace.com/leaetherstrip
– Tavis Potts qqq1/2
M87
Noctilucent Threnody
[Supernal] CD
Founded by Welsh guitarist-composer
Huw Davies, M87 releases are, believe
it or not, composed entirely on
Huw’s extensive guitar collection. An
experienced musician, Davies spent a
lot of time experimenting with how he
could translate his expertise to purely
ambient electronica. The results are a
real testament to “experimentation”.
I was dumbfounded that guitars
could be used to make this stuff,
Godflesh notwithstanding! Inspired
by astrophysics and related subjects,
Noctilucent Threnody is an aural attempt
to capture the energy cycle of an “Event
Horizon” (e.g. “a black hole—my phrase
du jour). The sonics are minimal and
change slowly: delicate, deep-space
washes of ethereal sound-waves that
encompass seven lengthy pieces. The
aim of the project was to produce
music suitable for documentaries
on interstellar phenomena, and in
that sense it has succeeded, but
apart from background music, or
headphone listening on nitrous oxide,
there’s not much else to this release.
www.supernalmusic.com
– Ben Conant qqq1/2
SNOG
Crash Crash [Psy-Harmonics] CDS
With a recent “best of” under the hood, and a penchant for spaghetti western ballads, I was
pleasantly surprised by SNOG’s new electro take with ‘Crash Crash’. Truly in league with the
cheekiest anti-establishment back catalogue the assault is a refreshing fun sound and cartoon
image. With big bass line, crisp beats, and vocals that you just know are giving you that
priceless Wayne Newton-esque smile, this old SNOG fan is well pleased. The fun doesn’t just
stop on the single track, with b-sides ‘Turn On Your Brain Baby’ and ‘King of Hate’ (I could have
sworn this was a Johnny Cash cover!), which make this single a very rewarding lead up to the
forthcoming album SNOG_vs. The Faecal Juggernaut of Mass Culture. The title track remixes tend
not to add much more to the original (well, maybe a bit more cheese!) but let’s all lighten up a
little as we celebrate how crap the establishment is. – Jarod Collard qqqq
N0NPLUS
THE PROTAGONIST
Keep Me Here
[Frozen Empire Media] CDEP
Songs of Experience
[Cold Meat Industry] CD
This 6 track EP from new Australian
act n0nplus follows on from the selfreleased Still EP. This act supported
Iszoloscope when he recently played
in Sydney, and listening to this (yeah,
I missed the gig) it’s easy to see why.
There’s something really special about
this disc. It’s noisy and disturbed, yet
simultaneously eerily calm: a bit like
Izsoloscope, in a sense. Each track
melds perfectly into the next—take any
single track away and it ceases to be
as powerful. ‘Existingwish’ is brilliant in
its simplicity. There’s almost nothing to
it, but sometimes almost nothing can be
breathtakingly powerful. There’s really
nothing here to pack a dancefloor—the
beats are probably a bit too “cut up”
and disjointed for that. ‘Of the In
Visible’ would go closest, but there’s
certainly plenty of food for thought
in these sounds. And I seriously mean
that. This is music to absorb, to digest,
to think about, to let roll around inside
your skull for days. I am really regretting
not going to the Distorted festival. Do
it again! And when’s the next gig? www.
frozenempiremedia.com/nonplus.htm
– Jay Annabel qqqq
Since releasing his first album as The
Protagonist, A Rebours in 1998, Magnus
Sundstrom has been busy with his
own label, Fin de Siècle Media, which
has released material by Shinjuku
Thief and Negru Voda, among others.
Sundstrom has also remixed work by
L’ame Imortelle and Statemachine,
and devoted time to his industrial
side-project Des Esseintes. 2005 saw
Sundstrom turn his attention back to
the neo-classical, with two releases
from The Protagonist; the Interim EP,
and the latest, Songs of Experience. The
latter is a collection of material heavily
inspired by some of the great English
and French poets. Like Silent Love of
Death’s album The Poet’s Senses, Songs
of Experience draws material from the
works of Blake (album title and ‘The
Sick Rose’ which also appears on the
CMI sampler Flowers Made of Snow),
Shakespeare (‘Strife’ features excerpts
from Romeo and Juliet read by Thomas
Pettersson of Ordo Rosario Equilibrio),
Baudelaire (his ‘La Fin De La Journee’
is recited by Marjorie Stievenart in the
original French), and Donne (‘Sermon’).
‘Hesperia’ and ‘Spirits of the Dead’ have
previously appeared on compilations,
while ‘Strife’ and a version of ‘La Fin
De La Journee’ can be found on the
Interim EP. Much of the older material
has been reworked and, with the new
songs, creates a cohesive album, darker
than the debut, full of commanding
percussion, which is both majestic and
ominous. http://protagonist.coldmeat.
se/ – James Lowry
NUN
Hope [Substream] Digital CD single
Polish band Nun’s latest single ‘Hope’
is a nondescript female-fronted eurosynthpop track that is indistinguishable
from any other dance track played
on commercial radio stations. The
single comes with a remix and three
other tracks that have appeared on
earlier compilations. Well produced,
but lacking any real depth, this is for
people who like their music nice, pretty,
and safe; for anyone else, there really
is no Hope. Is there anything here
to make the ‘Hope’ single stand out
from the rest of the pack? No, there’s
Nun. www.nunelectro.com – Brent
Donaldson q
RESURRECTION EVE
Ascension [GUP] CD
Elegant is always the word that best
describes Resurrection Eve for me.
Complex sound and dynamics that
sonically range across the electronic
spectrum while still holding a strict
song structure and with perfect
operatic vocals. Ascension continues
exactly where previous album Rapture
left off, and is meant to be taken in
the context of a continuation of that
release rather than as a new landmark
album. Ascension never gets dull,
with such openly emotional lyrics and
subtle electronics. One listen takes you
through Life, Love, Death, Despair, and,
finally, Hope (which, coincidentally are
also song titles). Every time I listen, I
pull out different songs that I want to
highlight. In the end I just have to say
it’s an excellent third album, and even
more special when I play it back to back
with Rapture in one sitting.
– Aimee Sinclair qqqq1/2
ROTERSAND
Dare to Live [Dependent] CD EP
This one took me a while. I absolutely
love the Rotersand albums (Truth is
Fanatic and Welcome to Goodbye) and
had big expectations for this EP, but
initially I was disappointed—luckily
for me I persevered. It was actually the
super catchy, yet kitsch sound of ‘Drop
Your Edukation’ that finally sold me and
put the whole shebang into perspective.
After that, turning the album’s ballads
(‘By the Waters’ and ‘Almost Wasted’)
into dancefloor hits didn’t seem like a
bad idea, and adding extra dynamics
to the established dancefloor hits
worked even better. So I dare you—dare
to live—and buy Rotersand. www.
rotersand.net – Jarod Collard qqq
SEPHIROTH
Draconian Poetry
[Cold Meat Industry] CD
After Sephiroth’s debut Cathedron in
1999, Ulf Soderberg’s next chapter has
finally arrived and continues his style.
Soderberg uses lush orchestral passages
and thundering tribal percussion to lead
the listener into a dark ancient world.
There has always been a dreamlike,
brooding quality to Soderberg’s
works, and this is no exception. While
Draconian Poetry is both beautiful and
compelling, I would, however, have
liked to have seen more of a musical
progression given that there is a six
year gap between this and Cathedron.
http://sephiroth.coldmeat.se
– Justin Tall qqqq
SPETSNAZ
Totalitär [Out of Line] CD
The Swedish EBM duo of Stefan Nilsson
and Pontus Stalberg has always been
quick to distance itself from the
“futurepop” appellation, producing
instead
militaristic,
dancefloor
maschinen musik. Openly citing Nitzer
Ebb, Front 242, and Die Krupps as major
influences, the musical aesthetic present
in Spetsnaz is the hallmark of the original
Electronic Body Music sound. The drumpatterns are pounding, almost physically
abusive; masculine vocals yell defiance
past dry and stripped-back electronics.
With each track as much a statement
as a song, Spetsnaz communicates
more with a kind of purism than mere
emulation. ‘Autonomy’ and ‘You’ present
themselves as the strongest of Totalitär’s
13 songs. In a constructive sense, the
production is simple, but definitely raw.
Like punk, and the early days of EBM,
musical statements tended to be simpler,
relying on honesty and a well-defined
stance over elegance in production. If
I have any criticisms, it would be that
Spetsnaz is moving ahead largely on the
wave of one idea. I would encourage
the duo to break a few moulds. Check
the lupine samples on ‘Reign of Wolves’,
though there is certainly evidence of
originality. I would love to see some
hands up for remixes: Jonathann Cast?
David Caretta? Flood? Good work from
this pair—I look forward to hearing
its potential unfold. www.spetsnaz.se
– Ben Conant qqq1/2
STERIL
400 Years of Electronic Music
[Artoffact] CD
I tried, peoples, I really tried. I listened
to this around the house. I listened to it
in the car. I even took it to the gym. But
I just couldn’t get into it. It sounds to
me like Steril has shoved a ton of EBM
and industrial clichés into a blender,
shuffled them around randomly, added
a few guest vocalists, and released
whatever old crap came out the other
end. I’m aware this is a kind of “best
of”, but even so, there is no continuity
whatsoever, no sense that
K
K
K
K
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KKK
57_
K
kitty rates the noise
fast, and in-your-face, and … it’s a
rap. This is where it threw me—how
could they do rap and pull it of so
well? The only other time I have ever
been pleased with a rap was Front Line
Assembly’s ‘Victim of a Criminal’. You get
your standard CD single inclusions such
as original version of ‘Stand Up’ along
with an extended version and a remix.
Stromkern also seems to be trying to
revive the idea of the b-side because
‘Can’t Believe’ only seems to appear
on this single, and it’s a pretty decent
track too. Maybe they will release a bsides and rarities album at some stage?
www.stromkern.com – Peter Hakuli
qqqq1/2
SWITCHBLADE
SYMPHONY
SUICIDE COMMANDO
Bind, Torture, Kill [Dependent] CD
The quiet unassuming Belgian is back to kick some (insert expletives)
arse! It bangs; it clangs, squeals, and screams. EBM heavyweight Johan
Van Roy is my personal favourite cathartic teddy bear and from the
first song ‘Bind, Torture, Kill’ there’s added intensity above that of the
previous (excellent) album Axis of Evil. From the high energy tracks of
‘Meschenfresser’ and ‘Godsend’, to the frantic ‘Massaker’ and (not so)
subtle EBM roots of ‘F*** You Bitch’, you get it all. We’re not talking new
themes, or groundbreaking new music, just more distorted electronics
that your mother tried to warn you about at its best and most evil.
Sure to mash up dancefloors and angst ridden teenage boys’ rooms
everywhere! www.suicidecommando.be – Jarod Collard qqqq1/2
one is listening to a coherent body of
work. The rather unmistakable voice of
X Marks the Pedwalk’s genius Sevren NiArb features on ‘No Remission’—this is
the highlight of the disc, solely because
it sounds like an old XMTP track from
the glory days of the mid-‘90s. Musically,
‘Egoist’ sounds like a dull rehash of the
worst of Funker Vogt (with a different
vocalist), and then Steril throws in a big
distorted guitar riff. Sorry, but yawn.
And I simply cannot find the words to
describe ‘Temper’. Oh, wait, yes I can—
total shite. I mean, this is even worse
than Cesium137. This is unsalvageable.
www.ewetel.net/~manfred.tasler/
mainus.htm – Jay Annabel q (for the
XMTP rip-off track).
STORMFAGEL
Den Nalkande Stormen
[Cold Meat Industry] CD
Imagine, if you will, a wolf stalking a
fair maiden through a darkened forest:
that’s the feeling that one gets when
listening to the latest effort by Andreas
Neidhardt. Eva Mag would make a
good maiden, except she cannot sing
in tune. The album begins predictably
enough with a standard neo-folk ballad
and progresses through the obligatory
militant pieces at an uninspiring pace,
like Blood Axis without the ambition.
The violins, woodwinds, and horns create
some nice moments, but Stormfagel just
falls short of the mark. www.stormfagel.
com – Justin Tall qq1/2
_58
STREAM OF PASSION
Embrace the Storm [SPK] CD
After Dutch guitarist, composer, and
producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen had
finished his highly successful Ayreon
rock opera ‘The Human Equation’ last
year, he wanted to do two things:
showcase the many talents of Mexican
singer Marcela Bovio, and form a band
for the first time in 10 years. The result
is Stream of Passion and the album
Embrace the Storm. Marcela, who also
wrote the lyrics, sings her themes
of madness, love, and the loss of
innocence in Spanish and English. Her
voice seamlessly intertwines with the
diverse musical elements of the songs.
‘The Human Equation’ is progressive
rock which alternates dark, heavy tracks
with lighter, more delicate songs. The
mostly deep and heavy bass lines and
Brian May like guitar solos are balanced
with almost jazzy ambience of the
piano and evocative violin interludes.
The music is powerful, sweeping, and
beautiful all at once. Anyone who is
into atmospheric gothic metal bands
with powerful female vocals will enjoy
this debut album by Stream of Passion.
www.streamofpassion.com
– Montag Wegner qqq
STROMKERN
Stand Up [Dependent] CD Single
‘Stand Up’ is the first single to be
released from Stromkern’s new album
Light it Up. It immediately grabs you
and shakes you around; it’s hard, it’s
Serpentine Gallery (Deluxe Edition)
[Cleopatra] DCD
One of the great goth releases of the
1990s, Serpentine Gallery made the
crossover from club dance floor to
lounge room almost seamlessly—I
am sure I heard this CD at just as
many parties as I did glary nights out.
‘Dollhouse’ and ‘Gutter Glitter’ made the
stunning Tina and Susan dark household
names, providing anthems for graveyard
trash ragdolls and jaded old scene
has-beens alike to frock and roll to.
This beautifully repackaged digipack is
joined by a second bonus disc of extra
material, including the video for ‘Clown’
and a radio interview. If this is an old
favourite, this upgrade is well worth
your effort. If you’ve somehow missed
these guys, you are in for a rare treat.
www.cleorecs.com – Amber Hastings
qqqq1/2
THE SYNTHETIC
DREAM FOUNDATION
Tendrils of Pretty [Mythic] CD
Self-described as a “multimedia surrealist
artist” TSDF is essentially a solo project
with neo-classical tendencies; the only
outside assistance spills from the lips
of angels. Some voices are recognisable,
for example, Summer Bowman (Machine
in the Garden) is heard on ‘Auf Dem
See’, while others are from sources
untapped. The music floats gracefully
from electronic to melancholic synth
work into a piano interlude, eventually
travelling full circle. What begins as a
dance floor assault is deconstructed
into an entirely different habitat that
has gracefully rebuilt itself. A cerebral
journey of sounds charted by haunting
female voices that often transcend the
electronic rhythms they appear amongst,
arousing a bleak fantasy of disembodied
beauty lost in a utopia gone wrong.
Marking a particular highlight of this
disc is an impossible task; from start to
finish Tendrils of Pretty belongs as one.
www.tsdf.net – Jarrod Taylor qqqq
SYSTEM OF A DOWN
Hypnotise [Columbia] CD
This is why we can’t have nice things.
www.systemofadown.com
– Christian McCrea
TACTILE
Bipolar Explorer [Else Product] CD
Originally scheduled to be issued on Coil’s
Eskaton imprint, the eventual release of
this album from John Everall’s Tactile
comes close to a year after the death of
Jhonn Balance, to whom it is dedicated.
It is hard, if admittedly lazy, not to draw
comparisons between Tactile and the
more sonically esoteric moments of Coil,
with the album’s exploration of pure
sound manipulation echoing Coil’s Black
Light District experiments. Electronic
pulses and tones comprise much of
ten tracks, very varying, though rare,
degrees of musicality. The use of entirely
analogue devices and recording gives
the material a rough immediacy which
contrasts with the clinical digitalism
of other artists mining a similar vein.
In the end, what is produced here is
not ground-breaking, but is still an
engaging investigation of sound. www.
geocities.com/jahsev/tactpage.html
– Abby Helasdottir qqq
TERRORITMO
Premonitions [Hau Ruk] CD
Premonitions is the fourth release for
Terroritmo and forms a conceptual
release, focusing on, firstly, the
realities perceived between sleeping
and awakened states, and, secondly,
interpretations of the symbolism inherit
within various dreams. Interestingly,
the sleeve notes indicate that some
portions of tracks were recorded
immediately after waking in an attempt
to capture the essence of the preceding
dream, whilst others were recorded in
the small hours in an endeavour to move
close to a sleep induced state. Armed
with an extensive list of instruments
(traditional, home made, and found
objects) Terroritmo sets about achieving
its aims, with the resultant musical
explorations presenting quite old school
ritualistic experimental atmospheres.
Dissonant percussive rhythms, tribal
beats, hazy electronic whines, and
chanted vocals all congregate in loose
semi-improvisational patterns. On one
hand the more subtle tracks work rather
well in appropriating the lucidity of
nightmarish dreamscapes, whilst the
heavier percussive pieces alternately
move towards a tribal industrial
sphere. Across eight tracks and a 62
minute passage of time, Terroritmo has
created an interesting album, certainly
commendable, but unfortunately not
essential listening. www.terroritmo.com
– Richard Stevenson qqq
UNTER NULL
The Failure Epiphany
[Alfa-Matrix] CD
There can be no better recent example
of successful industrial marketing
than Unter Null, with this debut
album preceded by two well-received
compilation tracks and lots of hype
(and bloody promo photos) touting
Erica Dunham as a female Suicide
Commando. So is the furore deserved?
All press kit hyperbole aside, The Failure
Epiphany is a richly textured and varied
album, with more space and atmosphere
than much of what emerges from the
unabashed scions of Johan Van Roy.
And it is this that separates it from
its contemporaries, placing the usual
distorted kick/snare, post-trance leads,
and whisper/growl vocals in a more
considered and musical context. With
that said, though, it is the dancefloor
tracks that grab the attention, with the
already established ‘Sick Fuck’ and the
title track both standing out with their
hyperactive synth leads and solid drum
lines. http://unternull.biohazardmusic.
com – Abby Helasdottir qqqq
people with bad eye makeup. Don’t let
those bozos tell you you’re the next
Evanescence. You have every potential
to live up to the legacy of stadium rock
and inject some energy into what is
essentially a dying art, and I’ll come see
you guys play live if you promise to not
bring your press agent.
You have to get a new logo. I can
whip one up if you like. You’ve also
proudly proclaimed that you toured
with Nickelback. Please don’t. All the
best with getting stupidly famous and
appearing on an action movie soundtrack
on a million dollar contract.
Sincerely,
–The World
PS – The fact you look like Alexei Sayle in
a wheelchair? Hot. Your drummer looks
like Joan Jett’s angry sister? Hot. Lose
the press-release game and kick out the
jams already. www.thewhiteroommusic.
com.au
VIGILANTE
ZEITGEIST
The Heroes’ Code [Black Rain] CD
Horoscope [Self Release] CDEP
Chile’s Vigilante has created a CD that
feels almost like you are listening to
a mash of Funker Vogt with Pantera.
The band’s influences are clearly in the
vein of Feindflug and Die Krupps, with
chunky metal guitars, hard industrial
beats, and electronic grooves. The stand
out track is ‘One Good Reason’, which
is also featured on the CD as a video
that proves how hairy these guys really
are. This track could easily become a
dancefloor filler, due to its fast pace
and hard beat—it’s also pretty catchy.
Tracks such as ‘Still Alive’, ‘Survive’,
and ‘Humanity’ all elaborate on the
same formula of doom and gloom
accompanied by hard electronics and
guitar chunkyness. Given time, Vigilante
has the potential to become something
great. A solid and impressive first
release. www.blackrain.de
– Peter Hakuli qqq1/2
Sydney’s Zeitgeist may be ten years
old but this release (that leads up to
the band’s next full-length album,
Love, Horror, Adult Themes) has just
the right level of freshness and kick to
make you really sit up and listen. The
opening track is the album version of
‘Horoscope’, a dark and sensual guitar
anthem with just enough of the band’s
slightly mystical edge to give it an
exotic flavour. The smooth, almost
ethereal female vocals are seamlessly
re-adapted into the six remixes of the
track that make up the bulk of the CD.
While some remixes are relatively bogstandard electro dance fodder, others
open the original track up to a whole
new mode of perception. Something for
everyone here, be you a fan of electro
or rock (or, of course, both): a perfect
sampler which promises to be a sign
of where this band will go in the next
ten years. www.zeitgeistaustralia.com
– Adrian Stephens qqqq
THE WHITE ROOM
Enemies Closer [Roadrunner] CD
Dear Mr The White Room and friends at
Roadrunner,
Fire whoever writes your press material.
Your music is genuinely leagues ahead
of lengthy tales of some punk exboyfriend who wrote some email to you,
and links to bloody MySpace pages.
There is absolutely no reason why a
band that sounds as tightly produced
and potent as you guys needs to have
such shit-poor cover art and bad press
writing getting in the way of a forceful
rock presence. I gave away my copy of
the last Queens of the Stone Age album,
but I’m keeping this four-track sampler
of your forthcoming album, which I’m
told you’ll call 11th Hour.
So perhaps this is how you are. I beg
of you, stop using MySpace to “spread
the word” because, as many bands are
finding out, it’s not a modern way of
gaining a fan-base, it’s a quagmire of
VARIOUS
A Goth Electro Tribute to Depeche
Mode [Cleopatra] CD
Which, of course, begs the question:
isn’t Depeche Mode itself an electro goth
tribute to Depeche Mode? Of course it
is, but there are a few good reasons why
this release isn’t quite totally redundant.
First and foremost is the simple fact that
Depeche Mode writes really dark freaking
music, and the selection of tracks on this
album—‘Stripped’, ‘Lie to Me’, and ‘In
Your Room’ are just random examples—
illustrate this perfectly. The real surprise
of this CD, however, is the success of the
girlier interpretations. Shiny Toy Guns’
female voxed ‘Stripped’ is supercute
in a dark, pornographic way, and Tina
Root (ex-Switchblade Symphony) gives
an old school goth edge to ‘Never Let
Me Down Again’, given a curious twist
by her simultaneously innocent but
kinda wicked voice. Other highlights:
Pseudocider’s brilliant ‘But Not Tonight’
(my favourite Depeche song), and
Freezepop’s electroclashy ‘Photographic’.
Lowlights: Soil and Eclipse, Talla 2XLC.
Points to Implant and Orphans of
Infamy for trying. Final word: Razed in
Black—fuck off and die. www.cleorecs.
com – Alexandra Nicholas qqq
VARIOUS
Cryonica Tanz Vol. 4
[Cryonica Music] DCD
Cryonica Tans is dubbed “an electro/
industrial compilation” and, without
fighting
about
definitions,
this
release is organised loosely into two
categories over two CDs. Perhaps this
is oversimplifying, but CD two made
me want to shake the china off the
shelves and CD one made me feel like
I was dusting it piece by piece. The CDrone-Defect mix of Unter Null’s ‘Sick
Fuck’ is the best I’ve heard of this track
and Interface’s ‘Age of Computers’ is a
nice synth-pop anthem, but apart from
these the end of each track grudgingly
arrived and I was still waiting for
something to happen. By contrast,
CD two reminded me that I hadn’t hit
the dance floor in forever, with both
broody choruses and music to go to
war by, the exceptions being O.V.N.I
and Ayria, who perhaps belong more
in the china-dusting category. Overall
the highlight tracks were from Militant
Cheerleaders on the Move, Monochrome,
Spiritual Reality, Mind:State, and
Knifeladder. Worth buying? Yes, if you
like dancefloor electro/industrial you’ll
easily find ten tracks on here that
are worth owning. www.cryonica.com
– Kama C. Way qqq
VARIOUS
Septic VI [Dependent] CD
Usually when a compilation series starts
to hit double digits (or, in this case,
double Roman numerals) you should
start worrying, but Septic has always
been unique. Not a collection to only
focus on the huge bands, every Septic
compilation never fails, giving huge
kudos and highlighting new acts like
no other series can. Comprised almost
entirely of exclusive tracks or remixes,
you’ll find yourself racing out for the
albums linked to every song and then
still coming back to your sweet old
Septic mumma. Big heads-up goes to
the exclusive new Covenant ‘The Men
(Remix)’, which won’t leave my brain
cells alone. The rest of this compilation
is all fresh, original, exciting, and varied:
Juno Reactor, mind.in.a.box (a personal
favourite!), Flesh Field, Seabound,
Stromkern, Dismantled, Pride and Fall,
Klangstabil, Edge of Dawn, Insekt,
Schwefelgelb, Fractured, Encephalon,
and Controlled Collapse. This CD is
quality and quantity. www.dependent.de
– Jarod Collard qqqq1/2
The World’s Greatest ‘80s
Tribute to Madonna
[Tributized] CD
If A Flock of Seagulls covering
‘This Used to be My Playground’
is your idea of a good time,
then by all means, go ahead.
All I envisage is Bill Paxton’s
character from A League of Their
Own with a blond pompadour
playing a keytar, and there’s
little space between that image
and the urge to kill. Music for
those people who think irony is
two things from their cultural
past rutting in the corner,
instead of just capitalism taking
the aggregate odds that we’ll
buy something with a name we
recognise. With my breathless
rant over, there are actually some
rich covers on this Viking-like
raid of the intellectual property
of everybody’s favourite famed
Jewish mystic and star of the
Hollywood smash Swept Away.
Bigod 20’s dismantling of ‘Like
a Prayer’ is dumb enough to
make it danceable again, Dead
or Alive do the impossible and
improve on ‘Why’s it so Hard’,
while Switchblade Symphony’s
absurdly dry take on ‘Lucky
Star’ is memorable. Cleopatra’s
imprint Tributized has put out
dozens of goth and rock tribute
albums, ranging from luminaries
Hoobastank, Godsmack, Cheap
Trick, and Styx to the Yeah
Yeah Yeahs and Prince. The
mildly brilliant tribute to Prince
was notable for containing
impressive versions of all the
important hallmarks of his career
with the exception of ‘Pussy
Control’, but here, Madonna’s
catalogue is skewed to avoid
both the often-covered but
never improved-upon ‘Frozen’
and the cheerfully manic ‘La
Isla Bonita’. www.cleorecs.com
– Christian McCrea
59_
Scanning Darkly
label profile: kommando 6
Picture this: A small electro night
in Augsburg, somewhere in Bavaria,
in a town smaller than Canberra.
Running from 1996-2000, a series of
electro parties “Electric Nacht” were
hosted by K6 founder Brigitte (Beta
Evers), and headlined those who were
to become K6’s key artists: Dystronic,
Slick Rogers, Tecroc, Der Unsichtbare
and Greg Gravity. Other artists gracing
the centre labels of K6 include Manasyt
(Detroit),Ra- X (Holland),and Alexander
Norinh
from,
yep—Melbourne.
Eventually, the night was wrapped up
when label matters began to take priority.
K6 producers have done outside works,
too: Tecroc has released on Anthony
Rother’s Datapunk label, Beta has
an EP on Holland’s infamous Creme
Organisation. The new Beta Evers 12”
single “Eruption” is out, their 20th
release, along with a split single, Der
Unsichtbare and C.Kent, “Echtzeitreise”.
And an interesting tidbit: Kommando
6 takes its name from the comic-hero
of the same name, a shadowy figure
fighting a guerilla war against multinational companies, and written
by Beta herself. Think about it.
Unfortunately, it’s no longer in print...
And their mission, after they chose to
accept it? As put by K6 themselves,
“To give our small local electro scene a
platform to present itself. Our message
was “...Here is a
place which is
not very known
in Germany like
the
“cult-city”
Berlin
(just
for
instance),
but
here
is
something going
on for years”.
I asked Brigitte
what makes K6
so unique in the
electro scene. She
says, “We want to
go a step foward
and don’t want to re-produce known
styles and sounds. Record distributors
have difficulties with our music. Often
we are told stuff like: “Your music isn’t
real electro, and isn’t real ‘80s electro”.
It is progressive electro—hard to define
and therefore difficult to promote to
people who have a straight taste”. Their
releases do cut some of the definitive
electro sounds, but forget disco or
euro synth pop. It’s all raw and dark,
suggestive of the dystopian, and
the (perhaps deliberately?) isolated.
_60
Thoughtful and lyrical, but jamming
with a dark, spooky energy that
few hallowed European labels have
managed (or desired) to hold onto. But
there is something else occurring here.
Releases such as the Black Spider Clan’s
“Underworlds” has vocals I haven’t heard
the likes of since the Batcave, threaded
through sampled drumkits. The deep,
booming voice of Tecroc’s “Brainiac”
EP heralds futuristic battles for survival
somewhere in deep space. 303’s
occasionally make welcome and twisted
appearances. Electro-driven releases
harken to way-out zombie films,
monolithic
and
post-apocalyptic
wastelands,
wrecked
spaceships.
Add a few evil robots, too.
It fits. Brigitte comments “Kommando
6 always tried to feature electromusic, which doesn’t fit into straight
categories. Not that we don’t like
“typical” electro, but for our label we are
more interested in releasing something
which is a “melting-pot” of various
styles or a crossover between the ‘80s
and the 2K, instead of licensing/rereleasing stuff from the ‘80s (what more
and more labels in Europe do lately)”.
Hard to define, difficult for those who
need obvious maps of the terrain. K6
don’t push ideals in the form of fashion,
with the rampant lifestyle and marketing
jargon that often seems to shout over
the top of what is and was primarily a
“music” scene
(if a reminder
there need be).
It just is. It’s
there,
dark,
beautiful,
and
moody.
Sometimes
v i o l e n t ,
sometimes
playful, many
times
both.
P e r s o n a l
statements from
kindred spirits to
fewer and fewer
in a time when “Electro” is a marketing
handle for clubs filling up with Paris
Hilton wannabees, ‘80s fashion-kiddies,
and obvious, polite blueprints of a less
approachable, often terse, and always
shadowy music wave...Tourists beware...
Kommando 6 vinyl www.kommando6.
de is available through Slap Records
www.slaprecords.net
TOP 10 SONGS
1. Apoptygma Berzerk - In this Together [Single / Gun]
2. Rotersand - Exterminate Annihilate Destroy [Single / Dependent]
3. Blutengel - The Oxidising Angel [The Oxidising Angel / Metropolis]
4. Mesh - Crash [Single / Königskinder Schallplatten]
5. Assemblage 23 - Let The Wind Erase Me [Single / Metropolis]
6. Dreamside, The - Open Your Eyes [Spin Moon Magic / Dancing Ferret]
7. VNV Nation - Chrome [Matter + Form / Metropolis]
8. Deine Lakaien - Over + Done [Single / Chrome]
9. Suicide Commando - Godsend [Extended / Dependent]
10. Leæther Strip - Suicide Bombers [Extended / Alfa Matrix]
TOP 10 ALBUMS
1. Rotersand - Welcome to Goodbye [Dependent]
2. Combichrist - Everybody Hates You [Metropolis]
3. Apoptygma Berzerk - You And Me Against The World [Gun]
4. Blutengel - The Oxidising Angel [Metropolis]
5. Neuroticfish - Gelb [Dancing Ferret]
6. God Module - Viscera [Metropolis]
7. Mesh - We Collide [Königskinder Schallplatten]
8. Assemblage 23 - Storm [Metropolis]
9. Pride and Fall - Elements of Silence [Dependent]
10. Hocico - Wrack + Ruin [Metropolis]
The Australasian Darkwave Charts [ADC] is based upon playlists of
DJs from radio and nightclubs all over Australasia (including New
Zealand and Southeast Asia). The ADC is an unbiased third party
chart that collects and reports the received data. ALL music played
in the sources are valid, mostly staying within the electronic gothic,
industrial and darkwave genres. This chart is collated purely for the
promotional purposes of the Darkwave scene(s) in Australasia. The
ADC is proudly sponsored by GROUND UNDER PRODUCTIONS www.gup.
net.au and FIEND Magazine www.fiend-magazine.com
AKERCOCKE
Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone [Earache] CD
For me to enjoy a metal album, it has to move beyond Cookie Monster vocals and
shredding guitars, and I like this new effort by British goat throwers Akercocke. The
death metal growls and shrieks of earlier albums are tempered with an artistic vision
and melodic power that borders on ‘70s prog rock. Opeth-style clean vocals and Middle
Eastern flavours spice up the brew. Words That Go Unspoken is a sweeping artistic endeavour
that the more open-minded of you will love, while others will write it off as being pretentious.
Personally I think it’s a winner. www.akercocke.com – Justin Tall qqqq
CIRCLE OF DEAD
CHILDREN
Zero Comfort Margin
[Earache/Willowtip] MCD
The fifth release from this Pittsburgh
four-piece sees CODC continue
its grinding, savage sound from
2003’s Human Harvest. This MCD is
an uncompromising slab of loose,
politically charged grindcore that
batters you into submission from the
first track. Shunning the technical
approach of the band’s peers, CODC
instead provides a more primitive sound
with sludgy guitars, blasting drums,
and some of the most putrid vocals
ever recorded in order to hammer home
the point over fifteen tracks (breaking
only for electronic interludes and some
killer samples). There is however one
flaw, and unfortunately, it’s a large
one: The production is awful. With
muffled sounds and different mix levels
for certain tracks, it does lose a lot of
its potential power. But in saying that,
if an album can overcome such a flaw
and still come out on top, it’s a show
of true talent, as CODC has shown with
this release. www.circleofdeadchildren.
net – Ben Parker qqqq
DARK AGES
Twilight of Europe [Supernal] CD
Formed in 2004, Dark Ages is the
ambient project of Roman Saenko, lead
singer and founder of Ukrainian black
metal band Hate Forest. The 11-track
CD is a malefic sojourn into the dark
side of Middle Ages Europe, exploring
themes encapsulated in titles such as
‘Dungeons’, ‘Rise and Fall of Empires’,
and ‘Breath of the Black Plague’.
Generally, when black metal artists grab
hold of electronics equipment, the result
is something akin to a band of Hobbits
lost in spider-infested woods (not
that there’s anything wrong with that!).
However, if the truth be told, Twilight
of Europe feels incomplete. The pieces
lack variation, and don’t stray very
far from simple two-three note loops.
For what it’s worth, it could work in
snippet form, as incidental music for
film for example, but the tracks really
do not stand out by themselves. I
liked the premise: the aesthetic of
the release is certainly brooding and
driven by a worthy ideal. I would
listen avidly to future releases for
signs of development and complexity
in what really is a great concept, but
for now, it sounds a little contrived
and fails to follow through its ideas
and designs. www.supernalmusic.com
– Ben Conant qqq
EPHEL DUATH
Pain Necessary to Know
[Earache] CD
An interesting album indeed. These
Italians have always challenged the
conformity of music and here they
take a large leap yet again. Essentially
a mixture of soft jazz with bursts of
extremity, Ephel Duath has cancelled the
notion of the main hook riff and chosen
to explore the freedom of contemporary
music, with funky, Bungle-esque bass
lines, minimal vocals, and songs that
interlink very well. As an album that
does not conform to straightforward
listening, it could easily be written
off as being too twitchy, random,
and unfocused, yet herein lays the
challenge. Multiple listenings provide
a unique and unsettled landscape with
surprises at every turn, enveloping you
in an entire album rather than individual
tracks.
Shapeless,
entertainingly
disorientating, and definitely worth
a good listen. www.ephelduath.net
– Ben Parker qqq
MISTRESS
Self-titled/ II: The Chronovisor
[Earache] CD
Earache has re-released these two
albums by Brit boys Mistress, who
have made somewhat of a name
for themselves for being somewhat
unclassifiable. Which is absolutely not
true; Mistress simply doesn’t adhere
to a style in the sense that metal fans
can compartmentalise in their (very
doomy) iPods. The raw aggression of
this sort of sludgy riff-driven metal is
rarely interesting, but both of these
releases combine hostility with its
classic mixer, stupidity, and more
than make the grade. There is enough
volatility and energy in most of their
shorter songs to warrant a toast of your
favoured (metallic) libation. Singer
Dave Cunt is the one and the same who
fronts Anaal Nathrakh, perhaps the
only metal band dedicated to the films
of John Boorman. There seems to be
a comedic streak that’s left unresolved
in Mistress; the band recently appeared
on British game show Never Mind the
Buzzcocks with a choirboy and the
abortionistically unfunny Bill Bailey
(from Black Books, the comedy series
for lobotomy patients before we had
Little Britain), which is a deep black
mark against its name. In the positive
column, a song called ‘Wanker Colony’
and plenty of good classic death/black
covers. To quote the denizens of the
long-missed Sounds of the Apocalypse
on 3CR: “This band has more chops
than a barbie at an abattoir.” Either
album fulfils that all-important subtext
of much metal; it’s good music to beat
non-metallers up to. Allegedly. www.
earache.com – Christian McCrea
MORNING
Hour of Joy [Black Lotus] CD
The Netherlands: a fucking depressing
place, but there’s still no call for this
sort of thing. Given that this chickup-front-brothers-at-the-back gawth
rock outfit is pretty young, we could
forgive the fact that the band seems
to be unaware of its heritage and
chalk up this album to being signed
too quickly. Except Morning has been
belting out this “Diet Evanescence”
for about six years. There are some
passable moments, such as the choice
of Queen’s ‘The Show Must Go On’ as
a cover, until you listen to it. Freddie
Mercury’s ghost was planning revenge
on the Netherlands until he realised
how redundant it would be. This is the
sonic equivalent of deviantART, which
coincidentally, is where you’ll find the
band’s fans. www.black-lotus-recs.com
– Christian McCrea
61_
_62
“The last thing you expect from someone coming
to kill you is a smile on their face” – David Lloyd
By Adrian Stephens
As tempting as it may be to Big Up V for Vendetta
for its post-September 11 terrorism “alert
(but not alarmed)” nous, the original graphic
novel by Alan Moore (From Hell, The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen) and David Lloyd was
a true product of the Eighties. But that decade
was hardly a stranger to the “T” word, as those
who recall Silke Bischoff as more than just a
band name will no doubt attest. The graphic
novel was, according to Lloyd, a topical concern.
“Our attitude towards Margaret Thatcher’s ultraconservative government was one of the driving
forces behind the fascist British police state we
created in Vendetta,” he says. “The destruction
of this system was V’s primary reason for
existence.”
At the core of V for Vendetta, of course, is a
message that is more broadly applicable. “The
principal message of the original is that every
individual has the right to be an individual, and
the right—and duty—to resist being forced
into conformism,” Lloyd explains. “V resists by
directly attacking government installations and
murdering the regime’s supporters. So it’s not just
a story about a battle against an evil tyranny, but
a story about terrorism and whether terrorism
can ever be justified—and that’s something we
have to try to understand if we’re ever to solve
the problem of it in the real world.”
Directed by first-timer James McTeigue but written
and produced by Andy and Larry “Matrix trilogy”
Wachowski, the original script did not deviate
(as many have felt other Moore film adaptations
have) too dramatically from the initial work.
But the final product, McTeigue points out, is
ultimately quite different from this devoutly loyal
first script. “Their original version was a really
good adaptation, but it was almost a blow-forblow retelling of the graphic novel. We thought
it would be good to move the story forward in
time, setting the flashback portion in the 1990s
and projecting the present-day timeline into the
future around 2020.” He adds, “The graphic novel
is quite sprawling and has a lot of characters …
Some of those characters had to be amalgamated
or taken out, but all the while we made sure we
were adhering to the themes and integrity of the
graphic novel.” Lloyd, at least, doesn’t mind; “It
always felt like an idea that could be transposed
to other forms of media. In any of my work, the
only expectation and desire is that the spirit and
key elements are retained and the same essential
message is captured.”
While the female protagonist of the film,
Evey Hammond (played by Natalie Portman,
hornbagged up with a shaved head and almost
making up for the whole Star Wars travesty), has
had numerous alterations to her character, diehards can relax: V himself is still central, still
overwhelming and still slightly unhinged. “In
the film, V is described as an idea rather than a
person,” Portman says. “One of the reasons he is
so invincible is because you can kill a man, but
an idea can’t be killed. So V represents truth,
resistance and individualism. But his vengeance
taints his political idealism.”
Hugo Weaving, who plays the title role, adds,
“V wants to continue what Guy Fawkes and the
plotters of 5 November weren’t able to do …
He wants to blow up the Houses of Parliament
because he believes, as they believed, that they
have become a symbol of tyranny.” He continues,
“He’s a very complex and ambiguous man …
He’s been imprisoned and tortured, mentally
and physically abused. And that has created
this vengeful angel, if you like. He’s an assassin,
but also a very cultured and educated man who
believes strongly in individual freedom.”
Ultimately, it is Fawkes himself who lies at the
centre of this tale. An English soldier, Fawkes
led the infamous failed Gunpowder Plot in 1605
which attempted to not only assassinate King
James I of England, but to blow up the entire
House of Lords and wipe out both houses of
parliament, which were meeting for a joint
session. The plan never came to fruition and
Fawkes was tortured and executed for attempted
murder and treason. The fifth of November is still
celebrated with fireworks throughout the United
Kingdom and even in some parts of Australia
today to commemorate Fawkes’ capture. “Guy
Fawkes was a kind of early anarchist,” Lloyd says.
“He seemed to be the perfect inspiration for V.”
Fawkes’ influence on the film is not only
apparent in the story but in the film’s unique
look. McTeigue’s goal was for V to be a sort of
“cross between the actual Guy Fawkes character
and a gunslinger”, and the famous Guy Fawkes
mask gives the look of Weaving’s character its
impact. “Guy Fawkes masks have a kind of eerie
look because of their smile,” says Lloyd. “It
makes the character look bizarre and threatening
at the same time—the last thing you expect from
someone coming to kill you is a smile on their
face.” Starring in a film but not being seen could
bother the ego of some rising starlets perhaps,
but for Weaving it was an acting challenge. “You
need to convey a lot through voice, but there are
also small, fluid movements you can use that help
give the mask a life it might not otherwise have
had”, he says. “It was also a question of trying
to work out what the mask says in different light
and with various shadings.”
A British/German co-production, V for Vendetta
was predominantly shot just outside of Berlin,
with key scenes filmed at the legendary Babelsberg
Studios (where another dystopian science
fiction film, Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic Metropolis,
was also shot). The film’s climactic outdoor
sequence through Westminster, however, was
shot on location—word has it that 14 different
government departments had to be negotiated
with over nine months to get permission to
access the famous location. “We tried to create
a London that is very recognisable, yet frozen
by having become this totalitarian state,” says
production designer Owen Paterson. “England
has become quite soulless”.
www.vforvendetta.com
63_
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Logo in your choice of red,
silver or glow-in-the-dark.
Dimensions 33cm x 33cm.
9cm wide. Adjustable
shoulder strap. Carry handle.
Large front flap with velcro
fastener and an internal
pocket.
$34
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65_
GARY NUMAN JAGGED
Jagged is one of the darkest and most electronic
albums of Numan’s career, re-wiring the
apocalyptic synth pop of Down In The Park into
something equally unique and powerful.
‘Put simply, if you’re a fan of the bands he’s influenced,
you’ll love what Numan is doing now.’ Kerrang.
LACUNA COIL ARE READY TO UNVEIL THEIR HOTLY ANTICIPATED RELEASE
KARMACODE
“ARTIST TO WATCH. ETHEREAL, ENTRANCING AND HAUNTING,
THIS IS TIMELY YET TIMELESS MUSIC.” ROLLING STONE (USA)
INSTORES APRIL 3RD
MIXED BY RONALD PRENT (RAMMSTEIN, H.I.M.)