Icon of coil - Machines are us(2004)

Icon of Coil

In 1997 Andy LaPlegua established the project Icon Of Coil, which was primarily a concept built around a logo, graphic design and music. Soon after the inception, the music soon turned out to be the most important part of the concept and LaPlegua invited Sebastian Komor, to work with him on the project as a live member after previously working with him. After just a couple of gigs and the release of IOCs first single, Shallow Nation, Seb became a full-time member. In late spring of 2000 at a gig in Uddevalla, Sweden, Christian Lund joined the band as a live-member and went on stage with Andy and Seb for the first time.


This album has some brilliant dance tracks and some beautiful more mellow tracks on it. Take Existance in progress is an amazing dark distorted and definitely danceable track and it makes me smile on the inside. Its one of my favourite tracks on this album because of the different synths, vocal style as well as the lyrics. My other personal favourite on this album is Wire trip, with is funky start it gave me goosebumps moreover I just wanted to get up and dance my socks off! For those that want to listen to it now click here.  Pursuit kicks in straight away building up and gives the feeling of a mad man's mental rantings or secret paranoid delusions but its been written in a very cleaver way and works really well.


Then there's the stunning charm of Sleep:less which is one of the mellow titles on this release. You can chill out and be absorbed by the synths lyrics and melody of this song. Faith:not important is slower tempo'd then the other songs but still relatively upbeat which is really enjoyable. Even though the chorus lyrics convey a darker message the melody is contradictory but it works really well.


There's just one track on this album im not entirely sure about and that's Release the frequency - afterwords. Its a strange track and gets a little tedious even when there are vocals added to it but its only a minor blip on the album.


Over all its a brilliant album, very enjoyable despite the awkward last track. I would definitely recommend this  one to new comers to the scene and veterans alike. Andy LaPlegua, Sebastian Komor and Christian Lund make a formidable team which makes for some fantastic listening.


4.5*


Track listing:

1. Comment v2.0
2. Remove- Replace
3. Consumer
4. Shelter
5. Mono Overload!
6. Existance In Progress
7. Faith:Not Important
8. Transfer Complete
9. Dead Enough For Life
10. WireTrip
11. Android
12. Sleep Less
13. Persuit
14. Release The Frequency - Afterwords

Infest 2010 day 3

Its Sunday…. After only getting back to the hotel that morning and 8:45am, due to going to some amazing afterparties, and only 2 hours kip before lunch and shower, I’m ready to start it all over again. Very sleep deprived by this point as since the Friday I’ve only had about 8 hours sleep -- if that!

Nachtmahr

Getting to the venue you could see the toll the copious drinking and parties are taking on people as they slowly fill in questionnaires about Infest and who’d they’d like to see next year for charity and to win some very awesome prizes.

As Paralox couldn’t play yesterday because the singer collapsed due to severe chest infection, they managed to make it today playing first; again they were another band I wasn’t overly bothered about seeing. Like the others though I thought id give them a chance seeing as I was there and, hey, I might have liked them… if they could sing. I know they were in hospital and the such for chest infection but the keyboard player couldn’t harmonize properly and she was singing flat. Don’t get me wrong, fair play to them for making it and playing, but they would have been better for our ears and the such if they were able to sing properly. Everyone showed their appreciation and support however for them being able to make it after the trip to hospital as well as flying over from Australia -- even if some weren’t as enthusiastic as others.

The next band, Concrete Lung, I had heard of but wasn’t sure if I particularly liked them or not; I was quick to discover they weren’t to my taste. ‘Noise’ is right. They looked enthusiastic about what they were doing which was good, using the stage space they had, and some people in the crowd clearly liked them -- but for me it sounded like someone was vomiting in a mic while playing the same 3 chords on guitar with distortion. If you like Pitchshifter there’s a good chance you’ll like these guys, but like I said not to my taste.

A very sleep deprived me with Jen parkin from Ayria

The next act how ever I LOVE! I patiently waited at the front while they set up. This act are known as the construction boys: It was only freaking Patenbrigade:Wolff! They were FANTASTIC!! in ‘true’ construction bloke style they were casually drinking cans on stage while making there sweet sweet sounds of an electronic construction symphony Beethoven would have been proud of. Being a big fan of theirs I had to record a video of the start of there performance!

Not soon after that song the lovely Antje Deickmann graced the stage as the ‘foreman’(or woman in this case) and performed ‘Voyage’, ‘Gestoffah’ and ‘Sun After Rain’ with them. Afterwards Mark Benniche sung a few songs with them which was very awesome. A combination of the construction lights, 2 of their albums guest singers, the background videos and images they put on a fantastic performance and I would happily go and see them again (even if i have to travel to Berlin).

Next up was Ayria, and I love them so it was a real treat for me to see them live, with guest keys player Guilliume from Memmaker who had performed Monday. Jen parking loved playing at Infest as everyone went crazy dancing and cheering, singing along to the songs with all their hearts content. Jen was jumping around on stage interacting with other band members and members of the crowd, and I can honestly say it was a privilege to see the Candian-born EBM queen live infront of me, and to meet her afterward!

I must admit I was a bit star struck (and oh so sleep deprived), but she was a very awesome lady, so well grounded and she definately appreciated her fans. And she said she liked the skirt i was wearing… Bonus!!

Thomas Rainer with my glow stick down his trousers

Nachtmahr I wasn’t overly worried about seeing, however I did catch the last few songs of their set and I’m really glad i did. I had listened to them before infest and wasn’t too sure about them, how ever seeing them they were really good! I was pleasantly surprised infact and now I love listening to them, so much so ive pre-ordered there newest album(review will be done when i get it)! They seem to have gotten the combo of harsh vocals with high energy ebm synths and beat just right. I also got to meet Thomas Rainer later on when he decided to shove my glow stick down his trousers.

The time had come for me to wiggle my way to the front again as Project Pitchfork were about to come on and boy was I excited! What a performance they put on! it was fantastic! I was snapping away with my camera dancing singing along. They were better live than they are on recordings and I was loving every minute of it. He even got on the step on barrier to interact with the crowd he was holding fans hands giving them what they wanted.

They were truely a privilege to see live, and even though they’re veterans of the scene they can still definately put on a performance with the best of them!

Project Pitchfork

Afterwards the DJs finished the night off with there sets and Ayria’s Jen Parkin, her drummer, Thomas Rainer and Peter Spilles of Project Pitchfork joined everyone in the partying (which is how I met Thomas Rainer and Peter Spilles). Jen’s drummer had obviously spotted I had an Ayria top on and by this point had had a few asked me what was on my top (making an excuse to stare, aha!), not long after a bit of banter Jen asked my for my glow sticks which I was more then happily to lend to them, at which point one of them got ‘Nachtmahr’d’ (see picture). One of my friends kindly managed to get a picture of me with Peter Spilles before my camera managed to die for good after all the video and photo taking that had happened over the course of the weekend.

Not long afterwards at around 1am how ever the fire alarm went off which everyone continued to dance to thinking it was all part of the music.. until the DJ stopped and everyone got ushered out. People however made there own EBM using their voices and continued to rave outside, partly to keep warm -- partly because they wanted to keep dancing. It was only afterwards we found out it had been set off by someone spraying hairspray in the toilets… The DJs picked up where they got interrupted however and the party continued until the venue closed and everyone headed their separate ways.

All in all it was an amazing weekend and I don’t think these reviews have done it justice given exactly how good it was. I would highly recommended anyone going even if you havent heard of all the bands, you meet some amazing people and some of the bands turn out to be pleasant surprises!

Me and Peter Spilles from Project Pitchfork

Infest 2010 day 2

memmaker

Day 2 of the festivities! I was looking forward to seeing Northern but I was rather disappointed due to the blandness of their performance. They weren’t bad at singing or anything like that but they just didn’t put on much of a show, they came on, done there set ‘n’ then buggered off again which, admittedly, left me feeling a bit disheartened; little did I know it was about to pick up and big time and with some style as Memmaker were to grace the stage after the DJ set courtesy provided for us by Brownie.

I hadn’t really heard much of these guys before I came to Infest however they were fantastic! The crowd was loving it, they got everyone dancing and best of all they looked like they loved being there! They were on stage stomping away, at one point they had guest star Jamie Blacker, from Electronic Substance Abuse who had previously performed at Infest in 2007, which was amazing. From then on things picked up rather rapidly(although Parralox had to be moved to the sunday due to the singer being taken to hospital for a massive chest infection and collapsing..!).

This next band made the day, possibly weekend for me band-wise. Even 

though I hadn’t heard of them before and didn’t really know what to expect,

 I shimmied my way to the front and prepared myself for Agonize, and 

what turned out to be a performance of epic proportions. Tails had come 

onstage in ripped clothing covered in blood claiming he had been attacked 

by zombies… I could bombard you guys with alot of pictures but I’ll

 just post a few of their set so you get the jist of their performance, and 

that it certainly was!

Frontman Chris came on looking pretty normal but little did I know what 

was underneath the coat! As they were going through the first song half 

way through he whipped the jacket open to reveal a strap on of which 

he ‘pleasured’. After a couple of minutes the inevitable but unexpected 

cum shot happened and he sprayed it all over the crowd -- in hindsight 

I’m glad I was off center, as I dodged by inches! After the song he went 

Agonoise

off stage to takes it all off and such, 

and comes out back on. Unbeknown 

to the crowd -- or at least those that 

didnt know much about these guys

 -- there was A LOT of blood to come 

starting from this point onwards. In their 

second a song, he starts punching himself

 in the head and blood splatters 

everywhere, followed by even more 

when they go into a song called ‘Bángbáng Goodbye’. Though I was 

relaxing into the show, slowly gathering an idea that there would be blood, 

I sorely underestimated how much…Afterwards Chris wanders off stage 

and grabs a kitchen knife ready to play Femme Fatale. During the song he 

is yet again hitting himself, but this time with the handle of the kitchen knife; 

understandably his face is getting covered in more and more blood and the 

stage -- craftily covered in carpet -- is getting blood splattered all over it.

As the set moves on they move onto a song called Sacrifice… which is 

where some of the real blood works happen! Half way through the song,

 in the chorus Chris is waving the kitchen knife about and puts it to his wrist 

then takes it away again and waves it around some more, third time he does

 it he slits his wrist and blood squirts everywhere to then be aimed and sprayed 

all over the crowd -  at which point I got blood sprayed all up my arm, my face, 

some how on my skirt and boots (there was a barrier in the way?) and on the 

top I was wearing. (Heres a link to the video of it happening)

There was more to come… oh so much more. During the next song -- still 

with the knife waving about -- he continued, only this time the blood works 

were to be far far more dramatic. Half way through the song he cut his throat 

and blood was gushing everywhere all over him and running all down him and 

soaking the stage floor. To end their set they performed a cover of Don’t You 

Want Me -- after unzipping and having a fiddle to pull his hand out covered 

in white and it running down the front of his trousers.Next up were [x]-Rx, 

who i was really looking froward to seeing. They also put on a brilliant show 

like Memmaker stomping away on stage, singing, getting the crowd into it -- 

and to top it all they played some of my favourite songs by them. Needless to 

say I didn’t stop dancing all through their set and for the rest of the night. I also 

experienced some of the after-parties that were hosted in halls that night which 

was a brilliant way to meet loads of people there.

Infest 2010 - day 1(typed in sept)

OK, so maybe Bradford student union isn’t the place you’d think of when it comes to festivals; to most people download, Leeds/Reading, Bestival and things like that come into peoples minds. However it plays host to Infest, the UK’s only alternative electronic music festival, although without camping facilities is a fantastic festival to experience with the option to stay in halls (which hold fantastic after party opportunities!) or in nearby hotels.

Mandro1d

After a 6 hour drive from Southampton area we finally reach our destination get changed and head for the venue after a couple of cheeky drinks at the local Wetherspoons. At 7pm on Friday the venue opens and as you can imagine it gets very busy very quickly in the small sports bar to facilitate people before the main party kicks off wearing some fantastic outfits and hair pieces, playing games of pool with friends and having drinks.

8pm and the main doors open with DJ Nice 

Andy getting lovely tired travelers in the mood

 for some stomping goodness while the first

 local band, Mandro1d are preparing 

themselves to kick off the festival with a bang! 

After a 45 minute dj set while everyone filters 

through into the main hall one of the people helping to host  this fantastic festival 

‘Tails’ comes out on stage wrapped up in newspaper in front of an unknown crowd. 

This being his first of many costumes 

to come over the following weekend, I wasn’t sure whether or not Mandro1d 

were going to be any good after hearing them on MySpace and not being 

overly impressed. This being a year not too be taken TOO seriously on the 

other hand I stuck with it and thought “seeing as I’m here I might as well see

 what they’re like…”.Actually seeing them however was completely different

 – all of a sudden their whole image and sound came together as a joke band

Heimstatt Yippostash

 and it worked rather well. With songs like ‘Burnt Out Car’ which takes a 

cheeky jab at chavvy antics of stealing cars. Another fun song of theirs is 

‘Count To Evil’, with its Sesame Street-gone-wrong feel, it’s definitely a 

fun track to sing along to! This band were a surprisingly good way to kick 

start the festivities getting everyone in a brilliant mood after a good laugh and 

a bit of a dance even though it was rather cheesy – having said that though, I 

probably wouldn’t go and see JUST them.

After another delightful DJ set from Nice Andy where more people are starting

to dance, at 9:45 Heimstatt Yipotash grace the stage. They had teamed together 

after 2 solo careers to form an experimental combo that cant really be pinned 

down to just one genre of music, but 

personally I found them to be using too many

 samples for my liking and didn’t look like they 

were enjoying themselves as much as Mandro1d 

had. They did succeed on getting people dancing 

but that could have been to the student priced 

drinks… although I will admit they had me 

dancing too, I wouldn't have chosen to listen 

to them outside of the festival but after hearing so many great things about them 

I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed when I actually saw them.

Unfortunately in my drunken state I missed actually seeing De/Vision but from 

what I heard of them they were really good live and I’ve seen photos that my 

friends have taken and they looked like they were loving it, which I really enjoy 

when bands play live – and they certainly got the crowd going.I was going to 

catch the last part of their set but it was so crowded I couldn't get to the main 

bit! I would definitely pay to see them again though which is certainly a good 

sign! After De/Vision, Nice Andy came back on; by this point the dance floor 

is filled with people stomping away, everyone’s chatting to everyone which is fantastic! 

But on that note I have to say DJ JuDas stole the show DJ wise finishing the night off 

with everyone wanting more – the Saturday couldn't come quick enough!

Code 64 - Storm(2003)

Code 64 was formed 2000 in Lysekil located on the westcoast of Sweden by the three teenagers Christian Espeland, Hasse Mattsson and Henrik Piehl. In 2003 they were signed by the small Norwegian label Angel productions. The work of their debut Storm were in progress and was finished later the same year. Their debut album quickly sold out and Code 64 started to build a steady ground and a fan base. How ever the line up has now changed to: Christian Espeland, Hasse Mattsson, Bjørn Marius Borg.

There are a couple of danceable tracks on this album like Exit. It is also one of my favourite tracks on this album and made me smile while I was listening to it. Its memorable and catchy which is what makes this track so so good. Combined with the beautiful synths you cant really go wrong. In your arms has different synths which are still stunning, the same can be said for the lyrics. The use of the different sounds used throughout this song make it thoroughly enjoyable. There's only really one song that i am not sure about and that's Save you, although again danceable some of the cadences and chords used come across as being a bit awkward, having said that though it has a good strong beat. The original version of Reaktor is noticeably different to the angel mix as that it has a faster tempo and you could also dance quite easily to it and it works really well after hearing the remix earlier in the album. On then angel mix I really like the effects used on the vocals and its chilled out but still has an up beat attitude. both versions are great and the lyrics are gorgeous.

The other 6 tracks on this release are mellow and relaxed. Notably Dawn, as a sense of optimism rises through the song, even if tinged with a hint of negativity. The line of 'you will get stronger' reinforces the sense of optimism and as reassurance. This is a brilliant pick me up song for when you feel like things are starting to get a bit much as it also beautifully written. Another of my favourite numbers on this album is Finding me which stirs up romantic feelings of grand gestures and notions yet also is able to make you feel reflective at the same time on the high points of your life whether it be with friends family or your partner. 

Over all this album is refined, delicate and alluring with the cleaver use of different synths in every track as well as radiant lyrics. Theres songs that are bound to make you smile, humble and maybe even shed a tear at there sheer beauty and some brilliant danceable tracks in there for good measure. Its a must have.

4.5*s

Track list:

1. Resistance
2. Without You
3. System Failure
4. Reaktor[Angel mix]
5. Dawn
6. Finding Me
7. In Your Arms
8. Save You
9. Exit
10. Protection
11. Reaktor[Original]

Funker Vogt - Blutzoll(2010)

 Founded in 1995 by Gerrit Thomas and Jens Kastel and have now proudly been on the scene for over a decade. Based in Germany these guys hit the scene like a storm and soon became one of the big names. Originally starting out as a side project, its huge success soon meant it became the main focus for Gerrit. Now released on Metropolis, Blutzoll is there 11th album released to date.

The start of Arizing Hero is melodic to start off with and then the album kicks off. It tells a story and paints images of a medieval battle scene when victory has been achieved then the fall of a king when he returns home. Half way through it gets tinged with a sense of optimism for the character in the story which made my body tingle with goosebumps. This feel is carried on into the next track which has a very dark murky feel to it. Genozide would make a brilliant 'theme' song for and evil king in a medieval or fantasy film like LotR perhaps for Sauron when the orcs are building in the fires and pulling the trees down for more resources. keeping with the film soundtrack feel, Fire And Forget i can imagine being used in a post apocalyptic or zombie/vampire film for example Underworld. It would even work really well in a futuristic war game like Halo for example and thats why I really like this song.

Then there's the very danceable tracks on the album such as The State Within which has an eerie feel to it but it works really well especially with the contrast between the synths and the lyrics but is catchy like 'Hold my ground'. Also Krieger and Black Waters would be brilliant for a club night and would get people dancing a lot and very hard, I know I would. Blood Thirst is a very catchy song and even though not quite as danceable is still a very good track on the album.

Robots is a bit of a strange track on this album as it got a kind of Patenbrigade:wolff style to it but lacking something which im not sure about but having said that I still quite like this song on the album, its different to the rest. Terroristen is a piece of music with a classical touch from the brass parts used but mixed with guitars and synth, which were used effectively at the start of the track.

The 2 mellow tracks of the album have been written really well and effectively. My Inner Most even though its mellow has a dark feel to it and the female vocals used contrast really well with the normal vocals we hear from these guys, finished off with a beautiful piano touch at the end of the track. Then to finish the album off we have a reprise of Arising Hero Forgiven which is a more chilled out version then the one we hear at the beginning of the album how ever it does sound a bit too familiar and think they could have done more with it. Having said that though each song sounds different and the album tells a story with the imagery used in the lyrics, which makes it not bad album and it worked well.

4*s

TrackList:

1. Arising Hero
2. Genozide
3. The State Within
4. Fire And Forget
5. Robots
6. Hold My Ground
7. Terroristen
8. Krieger
9. My Inner Most
10. Blood Thirst
11. Black Waters
12. Arising Hero Forgiven

Sinistry halloween special 2010

Portsmouth, V-bar, 9pm. Unfortunately theres very little people at the start for Corrosion's set, even though less dirty then what were used to, it was still an awesome set was just a shame there wasn't anyone to appreciate it. Despite a few settings problems he carried on anyway to provide a very good set. Next to take the reigns were Tom Cusden and Jennarate, luckily for them more people had arrived and continuing to arrive during there set so people were dancing. They put on a brilliant set and people seemed to be really enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was getting better by the minute and i met some awesome new people. Some of the people had amazing costumes on in the spirit of Halloween which was brilliant to see. Also there was a mix of people of hardcore dancer's to goths and cyber goths which was refreshing to see. Giving us audio extacy next was Kohl and Philly. They got people going and played some awesome songs to keep us on our feet dancing the night away. Keeping the party going was Jester and Steinbeck, by this point my feet were killing from all the dancing and i was getting quite drunk so admittedly its a little hazy.


All in all it was a brilliant night out and i met some lovely people had a laugh and danced ALOT! and i would def go to the next closest one again=]


Sets:
9-10 - Corrosion
10-11 - Jennarate vs Tom Cusden
11-12 - Kohl vs Philly
12-1 - Jester vs Steinbeck
1-2 - D4rk/Skullf*cker