THE WITCHCRAFT OF THE OPPRESSED

Now the winter months are advancing and we enter the pre-Halloween countdown this is the time when our collective subconscious turns to the darker forces of our imagination. October naturally evolves into a festival of the macabre, as witches' brooms, pumpkins, fangs, bats, candles and skeletons fill the streets and the stores. Although this is good, clean escapist fun it also however has a more sincere, celebratory meaning.

All Hallow's Eve has of course ancient pagan roots relating to the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the 'darker' half of the year; this has since developed into a quasi-Christian belief that the souls of the dead venture out into the skies on Halloween. In one sense we are communing with the spirits of the dead and, more importantly, celebrating the ghoulish and the supernatural. In Luciferian or Satanic narratives this almost becomes a kind of worship, celebrating the dark side of the self as externalised through the Halloween as a kind of Sabbath.

But is there something even more radical – even political – about such events? Witchcraft, that essence most inexplicably linked with the Halloween season, has essentially always been defined in opposition to the main political/religious narrative of the day – from pagan community leaders, medics and faith healers facing Roman militarisation to the thousands 'othered' by the witch hunts and the Inquisition, witchcraft has always been that which is defined in opposition. As Peter Grey writes in 'Apocalyptic Witchcraft': 'for the whole of recorded history witchcraft has been malefica, venefica, incest and murder. The next village, the next town, the next country, the old woman, the Jew, the leper, the Cathar, the Templar, the Ophite, the Bogomil...you will find the witch at the end of a pointed finger'. Witchcraft has in this way always been associated with the outcasts, the minorities, the Other – and specifically with those movements linked to the environment, women, and alternatives to authoritarian religious and state power.

Additionally with the underdog comes a struggle with those forces of oppression, and this where witchcraft becomes a weapon. After all, alchemy and mysticism are the secret weapons of all underdogs, outcasts and oppressed - it's the transformative process by which powers are increased and situations overturned. It's making assets from forces that your opponents do not possess. To take power from an objectively doomed position always requires a 'secret ingredient', or an 'X factor', or other means of switching the odds.

And then of course there's the mythical line back from modern dark alternative culture through the blues, the mythic Faustian pact in the Delta, and the attendant birth of resistance culture in rock & roll and its link to the Gothic - namely of the Devil and his alleged deal with the blues that placed the devil in rock music. And of course the particular 'occult' belief systems in the black South were themselves based on the resistance-beliefs of the slaves, and the 'othering' of black spiritualism as witchcraft. This is essentially an example of a spiritualism of the oppressed and it's cultural representations.

So when we celebrate Halloween or any other manifestation of 'dark' culture we are actually engaging in centuries' old patterns of resistance; resistance to mainstream culture, materialism, greed, environmental damage, and all forms of oppression. With this is mind, isn't there more we can do with that legacy? What are we doing to harness this culture, to weaponise it in the here & now?

Maybe it is time to articulate a new witchcraft of the oppressed.

OK, maybe later – but first, we have pumpkins to carve...

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Review: KMFDM – 'Rocks – Milestones Reloaded'

KMFDM 

'Rocks – Milestones Reloaded' 

EARMUSIC 

Over 30 years, nineteen full-length studio albums and, more singles than an online dating website, KMFDM are undeniably one of the industrial rock scene's constants. It's no surprise then that with a wealth of material such as this under their collective belts, that Kapt'n K and his crew would revisit some classics once again. The band are no stranger to compilation albums, having only released a substantial greatest hits a few years ago, as well as several remix collections. And while 'Rocks – Milestones Reloaded' is a combination of greatest hits and remix album, it is more than that. It's a celebration and manifesto that sees reworked classics sat alongside more recent cuts as though they were a new studio album.

Opening with the self-referencing 'KUNST' from their 2013 outing of the same name the album hits hard and fast before slinking into 'Animal Out', also from that album. Superbly remixed versions of 'Light' and 'Son Of A Gun' originally from 1993's 'Angst' and 1996's 'Xtort' respectively follow on in suitably respectful but refreshed ways. The set list hurtles back into recent history with 'Amnesia' from 'WTF?!' which flows very nicely from Chant's remix on the previous track.

The phenomenal 'A Drug Against War' then powers into life – perhaps one of KMFDM's most perfect sonic statements it is close to the middle of the album as a centrepiece. 'Professional Killer' from the 'Hau Ruck' album and '(Still) Sucks' from 'Angst' appear in remixed form courtesy of Kapt'n K, with '(Still) Sucks' getting a brilliant makeover in particular. 'Free Your Hate' from 'Hau Ruck' immediately pulls the track list back into heavier territory, before the title track of 'Tohuvabohu' ups the electronic ante once more.

'WWIII' see's Kapt'n K take the reigns for another radical makeover, while Dope Stars Inc.'s Victor Love gives 'Krank' from 'WTF!?' a stomping club mix. The album is then finished off with remixes of 'Amnesia' and 'A Drug Against War' courtesy of Marco Trentacoste, both great mixes, but it would have been nice to get a couple of different tracks in there.

The production is of the quality you'd expect, or rather demand, of a veteran unit such as KMFDM. The reworked songs sit beautifully next to the newer cuts and everything sounds fresh, modern, and powerful.

This is a very strong selection of tracks, with a bit of a bias towards newer work, however if this were the blueprint for upcoming live shows you'd not be disappointed. The only real criticism is in including 'Amnesia' and 'A Drug Against War' twice when they could have made room for a couple of other milestone tracks. But the original's and remixes both hold their own really well, so it is a tough call.

This album is probably more likely to appeal to fans who are completionists, or as a primer for those new to the band. However, as a playlist it is fun, frantic, and shows off all of the band's different faces from across a good portion, if not necessarily all of their career.  

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Preview: Goth City Festival, 2016

11th - 26th November 2016
Leeds, UK

Taking place between Friday 11th and Saturday 26th November, Goth City Festival is a city-wide musical and cultural festival that celebrates the gothic and post-punk heritage of the city and of Yorkshire generally. Events will include, gigs, clubs, discussions, spoken word, acoustic and social events at more than six venues and feature more than 20 different bands and performers. 

"Leeds hasn't had a goth festival for several years, and with the scene in West Yorkshire undergoing such a renaissance with new acts and club nights springing up we thought the time was right that Leeds had it's own festival once again. The city and West Yorkshire generally are closing associated with the development of the scene and even today is a major site for goth culture, with the leading club night Carpe Noctum being the biggest goth night in the north. 

"However, we didn't want to copy the format of or compete with the UKs other goth festivals, so we have built a cooperative, community-minded cultural festival comprising a good balance of established and new acts as well as spoken word, acoustic, club, discussion and social events too. We feel this gives the festival a whole new dimension and gives Leeds the opportunity to be a platform for dark alternative culture once again.

"Also, and more vitally, we have prioritised key small venues and community sites for our events, eschewing corporate sponsorship and donating all proceeds to a local refugee charity. This is because we want to help rebuild the counter-cultural underground in Leeds and keep the festival true to the DIY/punk origins of the scene." 

Rather than being a sprawling, high-cost event crammed with the usual big names from the gothic rock scene and propped up with vast amounts of corporate sponsorship, Goth City Festival seeks to highlight and promote the new generation of goth and dark alternative artists in the region and to tap into the counter-cultural spirit of the scene and of the Leeds underground.

Headliners include legendary Leeds goth rock legends Salvation, who recently celebrated their 30^th anniversary, as well as the two bands that symbolise the next generation of Yorkshire gothic – Leeds' Zeitgeist Zero and Rhombus. Also appearing will be Rosie Garland (singer of seminal Leeds act The March Violets), Leeds' post-punk pioneers Expelaires, the Sisters of Murphy (the premier tribute to Eldritch & Co.), Leeds' rising stars of 'sister doom' Chambers, and many more. 

In keeping with the DIY and underground spirit of the event, the festival will be held at the best alternative venues across the city, including the co-operatively owned Wharf Chambers and renowned underground Leeds' venues such as the Fenton, Packhorse and Fox & Newt. It also feature Carpe Noctum, West Yorkshire's longest running goth clubnight and the largest event of it's kind in the north. 

All proceeds from Goth City Promotions events during this period will be donated to PAFRAS (Positive Action For Refugees and Asylum Seekers), a local charity for destitute refugees and asylum seekers.

For more information contact:

Joel @ Goth City Promotions

www.gothcity.co.uk

Full Schedule:

Friday 11th November - Goth City Festival: Launch Party

featuring Expelaires + Isolation Division

The Packhorse, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. Doors 8pm, entry £4. 

Saturday 12th November: It’s Goth Up North presents Carpe Noctum featuring Rhombus + Lesbian Bed Death + Caffeine Kill

The Lending Room, The Library Pub, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 7pm-late. 

Wednesday 16th November - Goth City Festival: Black Planet - Leeds Goth in Perspective. On the discussion panel will be: Rosie Garland (writer, performer and March Violets singer), John Keenan (Leeds alternative music promoter), Karl Spracklen (Professor of Leisure Studies, Leeds Beckett University) and Tim Synystyr (journalist and A Blogging Goth), chair: Joel Heyes (Goth City Promotions)

HEART Centre, Bennett Road, Headingley, Leeds. 7.30-9.3pm, tickets £4

Friday 18th November - Goth City Festival: Hot Goth Injection!

featuring Chambers, Deathtrippers, Kittinger Freefall

Bad Apples Rock Bar, Call Lane, Leeds. Doors 8pm. Free entry, collection for artists’ expenses.

Saturday 19th November - Goth City Festival: Occupy LS6! - The Goth City Otley Run. Social event. Various venues, Otley Road/Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 2pm start. Full details and schedule t.b.c. 

Saturday 19th November -The Sisters of Murphy

The Fenton, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 8pm-11pm. £4 entry. 

Sunday 20th November - Goth City Festival: Black Gold! - an alcohol-free social event. Wharf Chambers, Wharf Street, Leeds. 3pm-7pm. Further details t.b.c

Wednesday 23rd November - Goth City Festival: A Night of the Dark Arts featuring Rosie Garland, AMereKat, Alice Nicholls, Undead Poets Society and Nathan Ramsden

The Fox & Newt, Burley Street, Leeds. Doors 7.45pm, entry £4. 

Friday 25th & Saturday 26th November - Goth City Festival: The Main Event featuring Salvation, Zeitgeist Zero, Last July, Quasimodo, Berlyn Trilogy, Dawn of Elysium, The Hearse, The Lost Souls, The Black Riders Cult + DJs to be announced

Wharf Chambers, Wharf St, Leeds. Weekend tickets £20. 

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Review: Crisis Actor – 'Superstar'

CRISIS ACTOR 

'Superstar' 

SELF-RELEASED 

Crisis Actor sees the union of features legendary Snog frontman David Thrussell along with veteran edm producer Tony D’Oporto to create a fusion of old school ebm, industrial and trance with its cross-hairs aimed squarely at the dance floor. The duo's first offering 'Superstar' is a track that has dance appeal in spades. 

As solid blend of rhythmic dance beats and throbbing bass power the four-and-a-half minute long track with infectious fury. The dark gravely vocal performance is subtle and reminiscent of the 90's classics of the genre, while the lead melody is straight-forward and to the point. It has an undeniable old school charm that cant fail to get feet moving, while the band's political agenda, summed up perfectly by the George Orwell quote on their Bandcamp page “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act ”, will certainly get heads thinking as well. 

In terms of production it has a solid, no-frills kind of feel to it. Not strictly old school, but it cuts a lot of needless pomp and circuitry away in favour of the purity of the ebm core. But it still feels, fresh, modern, and most importantly... relevant. 

This is a somewhat unexpected move for both parties, but not an unwelcome one. This track will definitely pique many people's interest and it still holds a fair bit back, so who knows what else they have up their sleeves? But it will be interesting to find out.  

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Power to the People - The Social Revolution

Last Monday, I launched a crowdfunding campaign so as to be able to release my second album in the format I wish to release it as.

(I am releasing my 2nd album as a deck of playing cards. Learn more about it here, contribute if you can, and share if you please! Every little bit of help goes a long way for me -and thank you kindly). 

OK, now that that's out of the way, I can move forward with this editorial. 

I've mentioned before that as far as I'm concerned, with my 10 years of experience as an independent musician/artist/creatrix, I am more and more coming to the conclusion that a current revolution we are going through right now is one where the barriers between artists and the people who love them and want them to keep going are more and more falling through, bringing both sides closer than ever, creating thus this celebratory direct connection between them. It makes us artists be able to know who the ones who support us are, it makes us accessible to them, and it makes it easy to share in news, interests and conversation.

Social media and social platforms have been doing this for us for over 15 years now, and as trying as they can sometimes be, there are definitely more perks to them than fallacies. One thing they've definitely brought about is Power to the People.

Indeed, social media, overall, does allow you to choose which kind of news you get and how you get them. It also allows you to be able to react, respond, and spread the word about said-news, no matter what kind of news it is. This, primarily, is what us independent artists live for. 

We need the Power given to the People.

And we need the People to Use their Power. 

I am a keen observer, in anything I do, beyond all. I observe, silent, and I wait, and I ponder, analytical and critical. In launching the campaign, and observing the actions and reactions of the people, I came to the following conclusions:

1- Art does matter to people 

Which is very good. Crucially good. 

For as long as Art will matter to people, Art will be made, and shared, and experienced. And as long as this circle keeps circling, humanity will remain Human.

2- People will help you, no matter what 

Because when people hold something dear to their hearts, it matters to them to be able to help in as many ways as they can. A $10.00 contribution is as valuable as a $250.00 contribution. If a person has only $10 to donate, and they choose to donate it, then this contribution means the world to me. They had $10 to spare, and they chose to invest it in the realisation of my project. I'm good with that.

And those who have nothing to spare (in this economy!) will share. 

People are, generally, selective about what they post -for what they post is a reflection of who they are, or a tiny part of it, anyway. Whoever chose to share the link to my campaign on their public profiles anywhere basically fully endorses Alex Robshaw and her wild playing cards-album project. I'm good with that. 

3- Have the Guts to Do Things

A very widespread observation, and somewhat of a cliché, but clichés are clichés for a reason. If you don't have the guts to do anything with your life, then you won't do anything with your life. Turn dreams into realities. Take risks. Don't be afraid of things like money, or judgement, ignorance, rejection or failure. When you close your eyes, if you pay attention, you will see a Light inside you. Take interest in this Light. Pay attention. It will give you all the answers you need. Then, all you gotta do is Not Be Scared -of falling in love, of trying something new, or in my particular situation, of bringing a project to life, and coming to terms with it, and asking for help to bring it forth.

(I confess here that I spent the better part of the 24hrs prior to the release of the campaign contemplating my entire life choices, wondering if I was going to make even 5$ with the campaign and if I shouldn't just utterly pull the plug on my artist self. I let the thoughts happen, I observed them coming and going, and I remembered afterwards that as there was nothing else I wanted to do with my life, I might as well press GO LIVE on the campaign button.) 

It takes a lot of energy to Not Be Scared of things, and Have Guts to do them. 

Again, as far as I'm concerned, I do believe it's still better to use the energy than to lose it. 

In all, if there's any revolution we can be proud of right now, it's the social media revolution. Now, I am very much aware that there are many people who've spent the better part of the past 15 years examining social media and platforms, analysing them and observing their general and specific effects on human behaviour -which is not the purpose of this editorial. I am an independent artist, writing from her own point of view on a specific situation directly affecting the outcome of a project of mine resulting from a beautiful reaction of people, in concert with a demonstration of their use of their own power, on social media and platforms. 

I am not waiting for funding from record labels that would most likely fund my project were I to change everything about it, nor am I spending countless hours (and energy) gathering the necessary documentation and writing the required texts to submit my project to the government in the hopes of obtaining a grant which I may or may not get. 

No.

I am using my time and energy to directly connect with the people who care about what I do, and who are happy to see Alex Robshaw evolve. And this goes as well any independent artist. If there's one marvellous way for creators to join forces with those who want to experience the outcome of their creativity, it's through social media, and social platforms. 

For it is the XXIst century, and people have, and hold, Power.    

    

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Review: Adoration Destroyed – 'Ritual Damage'

ADORATION DESTROYED 

'Ritual Damage' 

CLEOPATRA RECORDS 

The dark and sensual electronic pop act Adoration Destroyed return on the heels of their 'carnal Dirge' single with 'Ritual Damage', a full-length release that blends modern edm influences with hints of synthpop, darkwave, industrial, and classic ebm. Spearheaded by Erik Gustafson of 16 Volt fame, the band are quickly and quite rightly making a name for themselves. But will the album live up to the hype?

Thankfully, yes it does. The band have intelligently mixed catchy and dance friendly tracks with left-field flair to create a bass-heavy and rhythmically pleasing core to the album that will undoubtedly find favour in the club scene, but also lends itself to more intimate listening experiences.

Songs such as 'Here To Bleed', 'Torn Apart', 'Carnal Dirge', 'Last', and 'In Elegant Decay' are slow, methodical, sexy and powerful as they combine steady beats, deep bass, catchy melodies, and emotive vocals to create a dark but very approachable backbone. While the likes of 'Never Mine', 'Nothing Left', and 'Both Of Me' kick things up just a bit for a heavier dose of the band's intentions.

The biggest pleasure has to be the cover of Marilyn Manson's 'Coma White', a song that has been given a few overhauls by alternative electronic bands, but Adoration Destroyed comfortably make it their own.

The two remixes courtesy of 16 Volt, and Mr. Kitty add a little extra to the proceedings with 16 Volt's remix of 'Here To Bleed' seeing a rather cool stripped-back blend of edm and techno. While Mr. Kitty gives 'In Elegant Decay' a very nice and futuristic synthpop overhaul.

The production is excellent, with a modern but slightly retro-tinged flavour running throughout. But the songs, despite not varying greatly in pace, maintain a steady and methodical resolve that grabs your attention and doesn't let go until the very end.

This is a very promising album that hints a great things from Adoration Destroyed. There are points where the temptation would have been to add some variation in tempo would have injected something a little different. But the album doesn't actually need that, and the band have instead focussed on song-craft and honing their sound into a strong one, which definitely shines through here. Hopefully we'll see more releases from the band sooner rather than later.  

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Book Review: Isis Sousa & Ove Neshaug – 'Valencia Noir: The Beautiful, The Fantastic, and The Grotesque Of Valencia, Spain'

ISIS SOUSA & OVE NESHAUG

'Valencia Noir: The Beautiful, The Fantastic, and The Grotesque Of Valencia, Spain'

TRAGIC BOOKS

Following on from their beautiful photographic studies of the Norwegian countryside in 'No Escapes Vol. 1 – Melancholic Beauty In Norwegian Landscapes', Isis Sousa and Ove Neshaug turn their lenses to the Spanish city of Valencia. More specifically it's rich and abundant aesthetics of bats, beasts, grotesques, and mythological beings carved into the stones of the ancient metropolis.

The book is a photographic essay that not only records the sights, but also delves into the history of some of the city's architecture, statues, and churches. But it is the photography that is the star of the show. The black and white images, high in contrast due to the Iberian sun, not only capture the climate, but switch between documentary and abstract styles depending on the subject. For instance the view form the bottom of a spiral staircase takes on an otherworldly look as it winds its way up into the distance, while the walls of The Quart Towers stand solemnly against the modern streets. And because they are captured in grainy monochrome, they have a timeless sense to them that looks like they could have been taken now or fifty years ago.

The most delightful part of the book though has to be toward the end with the photographs of the General Cemetery of Valencia, with it's large and ornate monuments in a range of artistic styles depicting everything from bats and angels, to scenes of the day of judgement marking the graves of the dead. It is a sight that easily rivals the celebrated cemeteries of the rest of old Europe. For this alone a flight to Valencia looks with the price of the ticket.

It is a lovely book full of beautiful examples of Spanish gothic art that will undoubtedly stir the imagination of anyone who opens it. The heavily photographic nature means that this is a very quick and easy read. The text are essentially footnotes to add context to the pictures, and with 160+ images, they are brief and to the point. The book on the whole is nicely designed with subtle ornate flourishes added tot he pages to drive home the gothic subject mater within.

Some of the image quality does vary in places but with Sousa and Neshaug listing a phone camera in their equipment list at the beginning of the book, this is to be expected. However a few blurred edges does not detract from the beauty of the subject, and in fact it only adds to that sense of timelessness referred to earlier with a more analogue than digital look to them.

For those interested in gothic art and architecture, this is a very nice and easy book to pick up. The emphasis is all on the photography and the city easily speaks for itself. Spain and it's hot weather may not be the first choice for the gothically inclined who enjoy city breaks, however this book may make you think twice about your next holiday destination.  

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Review: Pain – 'Coming Home'

PAIN

'Coming Home'

NUCLEAR BLAST

The eights full-length studio album from Hypocrisy maestro Peter Tägtgren under the Pain moniker drops a year on from his controversial collaborative effort with Rammstein's Till Lindemann and a full five years since the last Pain effort 'You Only Live Twice'. The new album, 'Coming Home' may be the result of a long path, but the Lindemann project must have been a good release for Tägtgren and he has returned perhaps bigger and better than ever.

Rather than sticking to the usual tried and tested Pain formula, Tägtgren flips things around a little throughout the album. Alternative metal, electronics and more overt orchestral elements converge in typically bombastic way. The opener 'Designed To Piss You Off' has a distinctive country rock flavour to its riff around which is a great incendiary chorus, but a more subtle display of power. This serves to heighten the effect of the next track 'Call Me' which is a brilliantly over the top blending of electronic and symphonic permeating a strong and identifiable Pain style core of thrashing industrial metal guitars. 'A Wannabe' then flips things around again with it's acoustic guitar lead set to electronic beats that gives way to a symphonic metal backbone.

The album has plenty of heavy metal meat to get your teeth stuck into with tracks such as 'Pain In The Ass', 'Black Night Satellite', 'Final Crusade', and 'Natural Born Idiot' that will appeal to fans of pains headbanging side. While the likes of 'Coming Home', 'Absinthe-Rising Phoenix', and 'Starseed' continue that more experimental flavour with more alternative rock elements coming to the fore.

The production is as strong as always, with Clemens “Ardekˮ Wijers of Carach Angren adding some finishing touches to add an extra dimension to Tägtgren's already strong work. The end result is an album that feels diverse, bombastic, and brimming with a manic creativity that is barely contained.

Peter Tägtgren's CV speaks for itself, and it is great to see that nearly 20 years on since Pain's eponymous début he can still pull something new and different out of the bag. 'Coming Home' is a huge sounding album, subtle in places, but with an uncompromisingly heavy backbone that will not only appeal to long-time fans but also certainly hook some newbs as well. People may be waiting with baited breath to see what moves Lindemann pulls next, but in the hear and now, Pain is flexing its own might.  

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Review: Master Boot Record – 'FIXMBR' / 'C​:​\​>EDIT AUTOEXEC​.​BAT' / 'C​:​\​>EDIT CONFIG​.​SYS'

MASTER BOOT RECORD

'FIXMBR' / 'C​:​\​>EDIT AUTOEXEC​.​BAT' / 'C​:​\​>EDIT CONFIG​.​SYS'

SELF-RELEASED

From the mind of Dope Stars Inc. main man and all-round cyberpunk producer extraordinaire Victor Love, comes a new project in the form of Master Boot Record, a project that delves headlong into synthwave/chiptune instrumentals and blends them with synthesised metal and symphonic orchestration. In typical fashion Love has imbued the project with a conceptual life of it's own with the associated web pages describing it thus:

“I am a 486DX-33Mhz-64mb processing avant-garde chiptune, synthesized heavy metal & classical symphonic music”

Love digs deeper into the cyber in cyberpunk, taking the idea of the sentient machine and blending occult symbols and MS Dos and creating a fitting sound track. It is about as perfecta  marriage of sound and aesthetic as you could hope for. 

'FIXMBR' see's Love explore the chiptune leads and sets them against dark throbbing bass lines and augments them with hard, slow chipped guitars. The result is like the soundtrack to an early 80s dystopian sci-fi horror evoking neo-tokyo in ruins as cybernetic monstrosities controlled by a computer gone mad patrol the streets.

Each track leads from the other nicely with the slow methodical pace of the opening three songs giving way to a more up-beat style with '+1DEhex' and the most overtly metal '+1FEhex' for some variety. But on the whole the album feels almost like chapters to a bigger piece, almost in the classical sense of movements within a symphony.

'C​:​\​>EDIT AUTOEXEC​.​BAT' continues down a similar route however with a more progressive metal flavour running throughout. Songs such as '@ECHO OFF', 'PROMPT $p$g', 'SET PATH=C:\METAL', 'SET PATH=C:\METAL' and 'SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330' sound as brilliant as the are unrepentantly geeky.

The album feels somewhat more fully formed than 'FIXMBR' and more identifiable as metal in its construction and is somewhat more accessible and varied than its predecessor as well. It's almost as if this one, rather than writing chiptune in the style of metal, is more like metal tracks converted to chiptune.

The last of the three releases, 'C​:​\​>EDIT CONFIG​.​SYS', Opens almost with an air of Dope Stars Inc. about it with it's more playful and punky construction on tracks such as 'DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS', 'FILES=666 ', and 'BUFFERS=1770'. While the likes of 'DEVICE=EMM386.EXE' and 'DOS=HIGH, UMB' tap into the previous albums more progressive flavours.

In terms of production this is pretty solid for synthwave/chiptune. Perhaps it is more of the fact that this is taking metal as its basis first and foremost and adhering to that level of orchestration and quality despite the retro analogue construction. Love as usual manages to keep things, no matter how experimental, still somewhat accessible.

Victor Love is on a mission to throw as many curve-balls at the world as he can, and he is doing that exceptionally well at the moment. Between his main concerns and solo side project, he is quickly creating discographies for a raft of new and interesting projects. And this one is quite rewarding, especially if you know MS DOS code and can decode the story thread that runs between each album. There is another album available for pre-order in the form of 'C​:​\​>CHKDSK /F' with currently one track available to hear so there is still a lot more to come from this interesting project.  

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Editorial: September, 2016

Hello everyone!

The dark period of silence is officially over and Intravenous Magazine is in it's new home in the city of Lincoln. If you regularly send us promos through the post I will be in touch regarding the change of address this week.

Now that all of that stress is out of the way I can officially declare the submission period for the next compilation album officially open. As you can see above, the artwork is done, all we need now is your music. I will be emailing certain bands and labels this week, however if you feel like you have a kick0-ass track that you want to see included, drop us a line to intravenousmagazine@gmail.com and we will let you know the details of what we need and when we will need it by.

As an added incentive, the new compilation, and all the old ones from 1^st January, will be converted to a pay what you will model with all of the proceeds going to a blood cancer charity. We haven't decided on which one yet but we will be contacting them this month as well.

The previous three releases have been very popular so far and are still available to download for free if you haven't already.

If you're a band and considering donating a track and are wondering what's in it for you? First of all it is free – there is no cover charge to be on the compilation as it is a download and we're giving it away for free! We make sure every release comes with an A4 PDF brochure containing band biographies as well as relevant hyperlinks that will take people straight to your web pages. We're happy to feature new blood as well as established acts and all submissions will be considered based on their individual merit rather than whether they are well known or not. So far we have featured a range of acts covering a wide variety of genres including Attrition, Be My Enemy, Aeon Sable, Ultraviolence, Noir, Three Winters, Grypt, Petrol Bastard, ѦPѺLLYѺN'S ▼ISѦGE, Ca†hedra, Human Traffic plus many more bands.

Sound good? So what will we need?

First of all, we'll need your track as a WAV file. We're ideally looking for something exclusive or new – it could be in the form of an unreleased song, demo, a remix, or live track etc. We'll then need a 200 word biography, your links and written permission to use the track and that's it!

General submissions will be open from September with a cut-off date to get the tracks and info to us by the end of November. Advanced copies of the compilation will go out to all contributors around Christmas, and we will also make copies available to radio shows/podcasters interested in plugging the release, with the general release being made available through out bandcamp for 1^st January 2017.

That's just about where we are right now. If you have been trying to contact us regarding reviews and are waiting on a response, we can only extend our apologies, but moving is a stressful time and unfortunately it has taken a couple of weeks longer than initially anticipated. However, we will be trying to catch up with everything over the next few weeks, but please continue to be patient.

Finally, if you haven't already got them, go get our three download compilations from our bandcamp – so much free music! What the hell are you waiting for?!

And as always make sure you have these links in your favourites:

http://www.intravenousmag.co.uk

http://ivmagzine.tumblr.com/

https://twitter.com/IntravenousMag

http://www.facebook.com/IVMagazine

(You may have noticed if you followed us on TSU that the site is now dead - we will be removing our links to it in due course...)

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