What have we waited for this? More than five years after the brilliant second album 'Only Human Remains' of this Canadian Electro/Industrial-project, Mastermind Nick Gorman starts his long awaited comeback with this all new album entitled 'Beneath The Ashes'. And it starts, where 'Only Human Remains' has stopped. The opening track 'Beneath The Ashes' represents Nick's sense for perfect inserted synthesizer-pads, searching for their mutual, smooth path with the integrated acoustic guitar loops. That the last five years haven't left Mr. Gorman unaffected, well, that I had to learn with the next tracks. Especially 'You Are (The Voice Inside My Head)' with Nick's natural sounding voice and a nearly singing-along-the-parts-like chorus are turning this track dangerously near to the Synthpop-genre ' but thumbs up for this 'experiment', which turns to be out quite assessable. Not to forget to mention, that Nick relies again on the talent of some long-years' comrades like the brilliant spoken-word-artist Squid a.k.a. It-Clings ('Transcendental Rage For The Fundamentals'), or M@ of Encephalon ('Anesthetic'). Haunting Industrial-Metal guitar-loops are nowadays also an 'allowed' weapon to express some his tracks, 'Save Me' starts it, 'We Bare These Scars' highlights it. Finally 'Disengage' is again a witness specially dedicated to the more classic Dark Electro-audience. 'Beneath The Ashes' is definitely the more matured work of Nick Gorman compared to the predecessor, although this means, that Nick has intentionally developed a bit away from that haunting, classic Dark Electro-stuff, with which he has grown up. That isn't a negative point, because Nick proves to write more personal songs with better compositional skills. If it then turns out with tracks like 'You Are (The Voice Inside My Head)' to enter the bastion Synth-/Electropop, then I agree, since this helps Nick to be better recognized. Not to forget, that he has started nearly from scratch again, because most of the younger listeners are hardly able to remember an album released in 2005 due to our stress-driven life-times. Thumb up for this good and well-produced Electro-/Industrial album.

London-based Necro Deathmort consists of AJ Cookson and Matthew Rozeik, and 'Music of Bleak Origin' is apparently their sophomore release after 2009's 'This Beat Is Necrotronic'. I don't know about that record, but 'Music of Bleak Origin' sounds comparable to early Nick Bullen-era Scorn to a degree; heavy distorted guitar, some electronics and minimal drum beats at a rather slow pace. (At least that's how it began.) I wasn't really much intrigued with this album until the hypnotic 'Temple of Juno' (3rd track in) that despite its repetitive overkill of a clichéd riff has something extra going for it sonically. At 60 BPM it's a lumbering dinosaur of a track but one you don't want to stand in the way of. (Longest track on the album too, but you won't ever be bored with it.) It has a kind of psychedelic aura without sinking into the histrionics of that genre.

After the doom-metalish 'Uberlord' you get treated to 'For Your Own Good,' a hypnotically pulsating piece with whispered vocals that had me thinking of a modern day Suicide, until it changed into something a lot more substantial. While still linear in its fashion, it carried a good amount of depth and guts. 'Devastating Vector' sort of picks up where then end of the sequenced rhythm of 'For Your Own Good' left off, and the percussive programming has picked up the pace and complexity. This track has a remarkable similarity to some of the best things coming out of Tympanik Audio these days; a dark instrumental with industrialized percussion leading the way, interesting synth work and some good changes. Have to admit I was impressed. While not much happens melodically, there is still a lot going on sonically. 'Blizzard' too has its moments of brilliance, stomping like a behemoth through a wasteland of synth distortion until it simmers down into a hissing sea of cymbalic sibilance. 'The Heat Death of Everything' slows the BPM down to about 40 and is reminiscent of 'Cop' era Swans, without the M Gira rantings. Wailing distorted guitar abounds. Devastatingly abysmal, but not in a bad way; just sliding into the void. Closer track 'Moon' indulges in an eerie moaning ambience backed by a slow minimal beat. It's a fitting conclusion to 'Music of Bleak Origin,' fully well living up to the title.

Another remarkable thing about this release is its packaging. The sleeve folds out into a 14' x 28' poster with incredibly detailed sinister artwork by Dominic Hailstone. It is limited to 1,000 copies and is sure to become a collector's item. I don't recommend everything I review, but I'm recommending this.

Beautifully mastered and well produced, Pale Obsession's collaboration with industry icon Stephan Helleblad and Brian Gardener on their newest album, 'Made of Glass,' is a labor of love that was years in the making for the Luxemburg-based group. On the airwaves since 2006, the raw vocals and fast-paced instrumentals gives the industrial sound a great deal of energy.

The album has a well-balanced mix of aggressive, yet melancholy tracks; 'My end is coming,' 'Kiss the sky,' and 'Tomorrow must be more,' make one wish they were hearing them live, to see as well as hear the band's energy, while 'War (Instrumental),' shows what Pale Obsession (and especially Christian Krier on the keyboards) can do with a more complex melody. While the lyrics tend towards the predictable, the strength of the composition more than makes up for it - so If you're looking for a some solid club tracks to sing and stomp to, this can help you do both.

Born as Giovanni De Benedetto, Candida Kandinskij is his musical outfit since October 2010. Recently he released a three tracks demo which you can check at this page http://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/candida-kandinskij. Musically, Giovanni, blend catchy melodies, electronic parts with different layers of guitar distortions. I don't know why but listening to "Bloomed Hole" I thought of a mix of N.I.N. and TAD. Maybe it was for the controlled wall of sound of because of the way Candida Kandinskij use guitar feedbacks. In any case "Lipstick", "Bloomed Hole" and "19 (Lipstick remix)" are ready to be produced by someone who will enhance their potential (maybe by putting some power on the drum sounds) and then to be released by a label. Anyone out there?

Do you remember the double vinyl compilation released by Enfant Terrible back in 2006, well, initially that was intended to be a three records compilation instead of a double. At the end eleven tracks didn't make it and Trumpett released them on CDr later. This new compilation that Trumpett is releasing on early November and titled SYNTHIMENTAL LOVE SONGS, gathers seven tracks unreleased on vinyl plus "Twistin' On The Tombstones", "Air Zaire" and "Voices Of The Dead" have been alreay released on "Trumpett Sounds" and "Trumpett Days" compilations while "Symphoy Romant (J. Tesla Schnitt)" is a previously unpublished edit of the full lenght version that featured on the rare and mythical Reminiscent boxset. The compilation opens with "My Mother Sells Tupperware", a great pulsating minimal wave track based on monophonic waves, tiny melodies and a deep bass line. "Panzerfaust 60m", sounds mysterious and cinematic thanks to effected drum machine beats and synth throbbing sweeps. "Poison" is an early industrial wave gem with dissonant melodies and cold vocals. "Lauda Und Reutemann" sounds nostalgic but it has pulsating bass sounds and robotic beats. "Symphoy Romant (J. Tesla Schnitt)" to me is a band's classic as it has a melody that will stick in your head, experimental atmospheres and cool analog synth sounds. I'd like also to mention "Voices Of The Dead (Snap Schnitt)", a dark track with distant distorted vocals, slow beats, sonar sounds and a damn cool cold atmosphere. This reissue is limited to 320 copies, so be fast!