Album Review : Dark Retreat by Blank
by outsider on May.16, 2013, under Album Reviews
Artist: Blank
Album: Dark Retreat
Review by: Outsider (aka Adrian Onsen)
As their fourth release on Artoffact Records the Italian duo Blank release the album Dark Retreat. Davide (vocals) and Riccardo (keyboards) have released over an hour of music split into thirteen tracks that range in tempo and style from richly complex and layered ethereal soundscapes to beat driven EBM assaults.
Most tracks are melodic and yet retain a dark essence about them that makes for a memorable experience throughout the album.
While the majority of tracks employ Davide’s oral talents, the vocal exploration is rather limited in range on this album. This however is balanced by a couple of tracks featuring powerful female vocals (of Elena Alice Fossi from Kirlian Camera and Elenor Rayner from The Crystalline Effect) which serve to expand the tonal and vocal variety the album. Davides’s vocals are also clean, expressive and bold; a combination and makes for a consistent marker that threads through the entire album bringing it all together.
With each listen of the album I found myself drawn in more and more into the world of Blank as forged by their latest album Dark Retreat. This is a well thought out, well executed and great album from start to finish. Well worth picking up.
Buy Blank’s new album Dark Retreat at Storming The Base
News : Kinetik Festival 5.5 Update
by outsider on Jan.25, 2013, under News
First, as an announcement was made by JF yesterday that tickets are now available for purchase, run over and get your tickets. Thought there’s only 550 tickets available, the organizer (JF) has said that if it looks like they may sell out, he will move the show to a different venue that has more capacity.
The venue has also been announced. The festival will be held at Le Belmont this year.
The festival website is also up and running and has all the info you should need regarding the festival. (website)
I will certainly be attending the festival. Hope to see you all there as well!
Cutoff:Sky
by outsider on Jan.23, 2013, under Album Reviews
Artist: Cutoff:Sky
Album: From Hell
Review by: Outsider (aka Adrian Onsen)
Out of Moscow, Russia comes a relatively new techno industrial project called Cutoff:Sky that has recently put out their full length album called From Hell. And what an album! This album is a concoction of techno beats industrial elements that is sure to aggressively massage your ear drums to a climax of pleasure.
The first track I had heard from Cutoff:sky was Alcohol (I am drunk) from a compilation called “Mister S’s Hidden Corners of Mind” back in the early months of 2012. That track immediately stood out as a perfect dance floor hit and it was passed on to my DJ friend Edwin Somnambulist (of ISN Radio) who instantly took to spinning it at the local clubs for good reason. ISN Radio has also listed Cutoff:Sky‘s Intruders EP as one of it’s 20 best albums of 2012.
The high energy and pounding beats are perfectly suited for getting your moves on, and the infecting melodies will keep you whistling long after the clubs close. The album explores a lot of musical elements through out the 12 tracks but all have a dark velvety feel to them.
Currently the album is available from Bandcamp at a cost of ”name your price”. Grab it here and support this awesome artist.
And once you’ve bought the album, give them some love and like their Cutoff:Sky Facebook page.
Guest Post : Trent Reznor, How to Destroy Angels: Emotions Transmitted Online
by Guest Contributor on Jan.22, 2013, under Guest Posts
Electro-industrial group, How to Destroy Angels, are capturing alternative music listeners, and even random YouTube users with their infectious new music. If you’ve been searching for music around YouTube, especially of the rock genre, you would most probably be recommended to view one of their MVs, Ice Age or Keep It Together. You might just even recognize them as their song, Is Your Love Strong Enough, was part of the hit movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They have just put up a new video, The Loop Closes. The single is part of an 8-compilation EP entitled, An Omen EP, released November 2012. How to Destroy Angels is a group formed by Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor, his wife Mariqueen Maandig, Atticus Ross, and Rob Sheridan. The group is named after a 1984 Coil single of the same name. The genre they are in now might be for a choice audience but once you get to listen, you’ll surely be drawn in. (continue reading…)
News : Final Kinetik Festival 5.5 lineup announced
by outsider on Jan.18, 2013, under News
The full Kinetik Festival 5.5 lineup has been announced.
Aesthetic Perfection, Ayria, Cenotype, Decoded Feedback, Displacer, Dym, Encephalon, FGFC820, Fractured, Frontal Boundary, The Gothsicles, Iszoloscope, Life Cried, Myparasite, Nitro/Noise, Project Pitchfork, Project F, Suicide Commando, Terrorfakt and Tonikom have been announced. Twenty bands (instead of 35+ in past years) and the fact that the festival is only 4 days long (instead of 5 days long) and the fact that the venue is smaller is what the organizer Jean-François calls a “mini” festival.
And speaking of the venue, this years event will be held at a yet to be announced venue which is much smaller then in the past. Only about 550 tickets will be available for sale, so make sure you get yours as soon as they come on sale. The rumor is that each day’s ticket will be around $50 which is quite reasonable considering that will get you about 5 bands per night.
Even the lineup for each evening has been released. Hit up the Kineitk Festival Face Book event page for the details on each night’s lineup and latest news.
Behind the scenes with Michael Holloway of Dead When I Found Her
by outsider on Jan.16, 2013, under Spotlight
Dead When I Found Her is the project of Michael Arthur Holloway. The music project started some time ago when he turned 30 years old. Michael’s musical direction with the DWIFH project was very specific. He had been writing and recording music for a long time but was always restless; jumping from idea to idea. In his younger years he admitted to a lack discipline. He lacked the ability to commit to a project and see it through to the end.
“I had years during my twenties when the only music I worked on was guitar-based indie rock stuff. I had periods where my only musical output was scoring local short-films my friends made. My attention span always wandered.” Michael said.
After returning home from South America, he felt that a new leaf needed to be turned in his musical expression, and was ready to pursue one musical project and see it all the way through. He felt the discipline and the ability to organize his ambitions into something cohesive was there. And the musical choice for Michael was singular; it had to be an old-school industrial band. (continue reading…)
News : Kinetik Festival 5.5 pre-flyer v2
by outsider on Jan.14, 2013, under News
Wow, so far the announcements for this smaller Kientik Festival of 2013 have turned out to be amazing!
Suicide Commando (again), FGFC820, Projeck Pitchfork, Encephalon, Ayria, Cenotype, The Gothsicles and Nitronoise have been announced.
Keep your eyes peeled to the Kineitk Festival Face Book event page for updates!
News : Album Releases Updates working again and new site
by outsider on Jan.08, 2013, under News
For the past little while the daily New Album Releases have not been so daily and has been scant on releases.
That has now been fixed.
Later today (at the regular post time of 3pm EST) a list of nearly 30 releases since the beginning of 2013 will be posted, and then daily updates will follow.
In other news, I am working on a new website design which will make for consuming all the daily update data much simpler. Both the New Album Releases and the Podcasts updates will get their own widget on the site and will consolidate all the data in one spot.
You can view the work in progress site at http://beta.mechanicalnation.com
I would appreciate any feedback you may have as I shape the look and usability of the new site. Contact me at info@mechanicalnation.com
Thank you.
adrian.
