Demonwarp : Spreading the Flames : 7.5 out of 10
You ever just look at artwork and think, “Hell yeah, my thirteen year-old self would have thought this was the best piece of art he’s ever seen.”? Well that’s how I felt staring at the cover art for Demonwarp’s latest single Viral Empire. A heavy hitting industrial-bass crossover perfect for the dancefloor, wargaming, lifting weights, so on and so forth. You know the drill by now. This is probably getting added to my workout playlist. In fact, I did that just now. Kristof Bathory of Dawn of Ashes fame also provided the mastering on the single as well as an aggrotech-themed remix that ain’t too shabby.
Bestial Mouths : HISS : 8.5 out of 10
One of my most anticipated albums of the year is easily DEAD LINES; for those who’ve been following the site for some time, you’d know that I’m a sucker for anything that Bestial Mouths does. Some of my favorite industrial / darkwave blends of all time, and Lynette Cerezo’s vocals are absolutely top-tier. Leading up to the September 4th release date are a couple of singles in the pipeline, including the just-released HISS. A slow-crawling track with drums like heartbeats and riveting backing synths. I can guarantee that this is going to be one of my albums of the year. Grab a copy HERE
I Ya Toyah : Closer : 8.5 out of 10
Anyone who knows my personal tastes when it comes to music knows that I abhor most cover songs released into the world; I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times over. Most times I’d rather just listen to the original. So when I heard that I Ya Toyah was covering NIN’s Closer I was intrigued; she’s easily one of the frontrunners of the modern industrial movement and is a tremendous multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. And I daresay that she does NIN justice. Echoing the original’s somewhat minimalistic approach, I Ya Toyah gives cleaner vox whilst retaining a familiar attitude whilst maintaining an industrial grit. Great job. I’m surprised.
Gunship, Tyler Bates : REVOLUTION.EXT : 8.5 out of 10
I don’t really know what to add here; Gunship and Tyler Bates are some of the best producers within the electronic field doing whatever they wanna do. This time they come at us with a cinematically packed industrial-rock collaborative single and it’s phenomenal. A quick four-minute and some second adrenaline rush that deserves to be added to your daily playlist.
