Echostream are a NJ-based kick ass electro-industrial band with three Japanese members (two of which female) and a line up comprised of two drummers (electric and acoustic), a keyboard player who loves to break Oxygen 8s on stage, a Japanese guitar player and a Japanese female lead singer with a beautiful ethereal voice. Their second full length CD "The Duality of Courage" just came out recently and features ten tracks of intense well-produced electronica that goes from being grand and majestic ("Static") to minimalistic and myserious ("Hole"; parts of "You Know"), with all the stages in between. It is obvious from the distant and reverberated piano parts that NIN is a great influence here, but Echostream's sound is more complex and a lot less raw, especially when compared to the last few of Reznor's records. What also sets them apart is the fact that instead of screaming into a mic and processing the outcome, Echostream went the opposite route: there's airy soft female vocal melodies by Ryoko that sit on top of a sophisticated bed of beats and layers synth sounds by Tony Grund. That is not to say that Echostream is a stranger to the unleashing of violent guitar-driven sonic attacks. Tomo certainly does have that up his sleeve ("Rip You Down"; "Contagious") but he also contributes to the darker ambiance of the mellower tunes with gently processed sounds and riffs in the background.
Released at the same time of the full length album, the single "Dragon" features (besides the title-track, obviously) two different versions of "Static" and a version of "Jane" which is not present on the album.
I've been wanting to see them live for a while and you should keep an eye out as well. Check out their online stores too, where you can get competitively priced CDs and merchandise.

Since their come back, Portion Control have been active on a regular basis releasing one new release a year. After last year's CD "Onion Jack IV", this year we have SLUG, a massive album containing 17 new tracks. What has changed from the latest releases? Well, since the first three tracks we can notice a varied palette of atmospheres which span from the early classic P.C. electronics with the characteristic Piavani vocals, to their latest thick pc based sound processing passing also through dub intuitions (do you remember early Marc Stewart & The Maffia?) and ambient industrial atmospheres. The two Portion Control members did a sum of all their experiences to create an album that will please many fans of the genre. Rhythm is again a key element of their music and "Heavyweight" is a new manifesto with its treated vocals and punching tempo. Their electronic experimentation with atmospheres is still present thanks to short tracks like "T4" and also melody surfaces on tracks like "Depth charge" enriching and refining the wall of sound erected. The album is available from the band directly and also the five CDs archive set is available again.

Australian duo Angelspit are very talented and committed: how else would you call a band that relocates to Berlin for one year just so they can make sure they play every possible venue and festival of what once used to be EBM's epicenter (and obviously still has a big electronic scene)? Before that they had already toured the US with Cruxshadows as well as opened in Australia and New Zeland for some of the greatest electro-industrial bands on earth (KMFDM, Frontline Assembly, Front 242 etc).
It seems natural that given these kind of efforts going into the live side of things, you can expect kick ass recordings from their time in the studio. Heavy and pounding beats, mighty supporting bass lines, scorching saw-tooth waveforms, brutal zaps, chemically infectious vocals (treated but not just distorted the old way). These sonic industrial cyberpunk attacks remind me Skinny Puppy's latest record and come with the amazing frantic chopped up production that you can find on breakcore/IDM records that Hive records would put out or on great records like Moldover's full length debut.
This is electro-industrial music at its best: this is probably what the new EBM is or should be now.

Here we are at a new chapter, the eighth, of the SCONTRUM ACT series. As for the old chapters, we have three bands presenting three new tracks and this time we have March Of Heroes, Phragments and Across The Rubicon joining their forces to present nine tracks in balance from powerful percussions, orchestrations and martial samples. The CD opens with March Of Heroes. The French project presents three parts of "Stalingrad... our last hope", a cinematic trilogy where strings and percussions paint a dramatic scenario and where Russian sampled vocals enhance the sense of pain. Phragments present three tracks which differ from their latest album released on The Eastern Front as "Utopia", "Eruption" and "Tragedy" are less dark ambient sounding and based more on orchestration and a sense of suspension/tension. See for example the effect created by the dissonance of the strings on "Eruption" coupled with the light industrial noises. Across The Rubicon (the band born from the Rukkanor/Cold Fusion collaboration) present three linked tracks: "A soldier", "Survivors" and "A ghost". On the first one they have Troy Southgate (H.E.R.R. and Seelenlicht) performing one of his spoken words and on the second track we have Karol Skrzypiec of IV LAB at voice and grand piano. The tracks have a melancholic touch and create a convincing atmosphere where melody and powerful drums are the main elements. This is one of the SCONTRUM ACT chapters that convinced me most.

OMNE ENSIS IMPERA is the latest Arditi album. The duo worked at this CD with Kamrat Nordvargr, of Mz.412 and Toroidh fame, who mastered it and created some background sounds on "Profound truths" and " the closing "Endkampf". Listening to the nine tracks of the album the first thing that got my attention is the whole atmosphere which is sounding less explosive and more balanced. The characteristic choruses and the martial percussions are always present but the overall mood is more based on the tension created than on the power of the sound. Sound, which on this release is less lo-fi oriented, thing that enhance a lot the listening experience. On the booklet there's a phrase which explain better the aim of the project: "we sing the praise of war. Not for the way it makes people die, but for the way it makes people come alive". This phrase reconnect their music to the futuristic concept of war seen as a form of art more than a will to revive nazi ideals. Anyway, Arditi on OMNE ENSIS IMPERA succeeded into creating a good album, their best so far. Next to be released are two editions of this album: limited 500 copies edition gatefold 12" vinyl and 100 copies collector edition boxset. Check the Equilibrium Music website for the updates...