Single/Full Length Review: Spike Poilte and Sewage "A.I. Apocalypse" (Sewer Lid Music LLC) by Dave Wolff

Band: Spike Polite and Sewage

Location: New York City, New York

Country: USA

Genre: Punk

Single/full length: A.I. Apocalypse

Format: CD, digiral

Label: Sewer Lid Music LLC

Release date: December 31, 2025

These were my first thoughts while listening to “A.I. Apocalypse,” the latest single and full-length album by Spike Polite and Sewage. Throughout their career, they’ve maintained relevance by consistently writing and performing new material as an actual band, despite the rise of AI-generated music and the trend of digital shortcuts.

Recently, artists have been using AI not only to compose music but also to create entire punk and metal bands streamed online. There are even ongoing copyright disputes over AI-generated work. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish human musicians from computer-generated bands, a growing concern among artists worldwide. For example, just ask podcaster Rick Beato or visit his YouTube channel. If there was ever a need for a rock ’n’ roll revolution, AI-generated music is a compelling reason for one.

Sewage’s raw, authentic sound serves as a reminder of the importance of organic music, no percussion samples, autotune, or compression to thin the sound or mask nuance. “Real music, real time,” says Spike. Staying connected with New York City’s punk scene while reaching out to punk communities elsewhere, the band remains committed to challenging industry norms.

Spike has assembled a strong lineup for this single and the accompanying live tracks, most of which were written years ago and practiced countless times with various lineups. Known for calling for upheaval and renewal, these songs advocate replacing superficial music with the rebellious spirit that fuels both punk art and literature. This rebellious attitude has gained recognition through documentaries about punk culture.

Recorded at Brooklyn’s Lucky 13 Saloon in 2025, tracks like “Rock & Roll Revolution,” “Police Brutality,” “Subway Surfing,” “What Happened to the Punk Rock,” and “Punk Religion” are delivered with taut precision and energy, reflecting the spirit in which they were written. Newer songs like “Big O” and “Credit” sit naturally with the older ones, connecting with the fire dwelling in the soul of anyone who has been stirred by punk in their lives. The bond between New York and English punk has likewise strengthened through years of live practice, drawing more attention to their shared energy.

“Credit” exemplifies Sewage’s lyrical growth as much as their musicianship, offering a sharp critique of corporate greed, consumerism, and materialism. It emphasizes how the pressure to keep up with societal expectations leads to debt and job loss, illustrating the decline of American manufacturing and the increasing reliance on other countries. The song portrays this cycle as reducing the average consumer to an economic pawn of large corporations, highlighting the societal cost of unchecked capitalism.

As for the single/title song, AI and computer-generated music are one thing, but it addresses facial and voice recognition as surveillance tools and highlights how humans are losing their jobs to robots and AI, leading to rising unemployment and inflation that mostly benefit the upper classes. Consumerism and corporate greed are again central themes, with some subtle allusions to Orwell’s “1984.”

Metal and industrial bands have discussed the "cyborg military-industrial complex" that could result from mass surveillance and technological control as symbolism and metaphor; Sewage does so in a very literal sense, highlighting societal decay while managing to avoid sounding like conspiracy theorists. While I still like the older songs I mentioned and always will, it would be interesting to see if Sewage pushes the sociopolitical edge of their single further to see where it leads. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Spike Polite: Vocals

Lue Ann Librera: Backing vocals

Heide Miklitz: Bass

Jon Pannikar: Drums

Antonio Romano: Guitar, backing vocals

Randall Steffes: Mix editor

Track list:

1. Big O – live

2. Credit – live

3. Subway Surfing – live

4. Police Brutality – live

5. Florida – live

6. Rock & Roll Revolution – live

7. Facebook sUcks – live

8. What Happened To The Punk Rock? – live

9. Punk Religion – live

10. Pandemonium – live

11. A.I. Apocalypse

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Full Length Review: Harlott "Exsequiis" (Metal Blade) by Dave Wolff

Band: Harlott

Location: Melbourne

Country: Australia

Genre: Thrash metal

Full length: Exsequiis

Format: CD, digital, vinyl ("Coagulation" ASideBSide: EU – Limited to 500 copies)

Label: Metal Blade

Release date: September 11, 2026

Whenever I listen to Australian thrash, I feel the energy and liveliness you'd expect from bands like Bestial Warlust or Sadistik Execution. The Melbourne band Harlott embodies Australia’s self-sustaining thrash movement in every way, pouring everything into their upcoming album “Exsequiis:” the fast pace, potency, and independent spirit of thrash that changed the face of music in the eighties.

Since watching the independent documentary series “Thrash or Fuck Off,” I can't find a down-under band that doesn’t meticulously channel technical efficiency, power, and endurance into every riff and progression. I have always sensed a strong determination among Australian thrash bands to gain global recognition and stand alongside their counterparts from Germany, Brazil, England, and the U.S.

Made and released in 2019, “Thrash or Fuck Off” highlights how committed the scene is to thriving on its terms, fueled by zeal and the musical roots shared with bands on our side of the Pacific Ocean (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Kiss, NWOBHM). This series is an extensive examination into a grassroots industry with the cutting edge vibe that spread from the U.K. to Germany and the States so long ago. It offers no apologies showing Australian thrash bands perceive their influences more profoundly than usual; taking the idea that nothing’s sacred from the garage to the stage.

As another example, Hobbs Angel of Death, originally a solo project and the first Australian band to make a name outside their borders, released a self-titled debut through Steamhammer that sold surprisingly well in Europe and gained some attention in the U.S. Though subsequent albums didn’t generate the same buzz, their debut still became a cult classic and something about their “virgin metal” suggested you can be as fast, heavy, proficient, coarse and explosive as you’re inspired to be and compete with the more prominent likes of Dark Angel, Sacrifice and Sadus.

Having released two EPs and four full-length albums since 2006, the Melbourne band Harlott takes that idea and accelerates it, so to speak. Set to be released in a month, “Exsequiis” not only recaptures thrash’s classic spirit but surpasses it in ways most retro-thrash or thrash revival bands haven’t yet touched. Their secret lies in eschewing terms like “retro” or “revivalist” and treating the genre’s true nature as if it never went out of vogue. For them it never did when it comes to the genre’s unruly, defiant spirit and classic punk’s attitude into their song structure, vocals and lyrics.

Already incisive and high-tensile on their early EPs and debut full-length “Origin,” they’ve sharpened their skills over the years, taking time to become faster, tighter, and to harness the density they captured in the studio, steering it toward greater dynamism and melodic invention.Patiently cultivating their identity across three albums from 2015 and 2020 and taking a six-year rest, they evolved into an unstoppable force of precision, crunch, and dissonance. Featuring varying meters, tempo shifts, inventive lead harmonies, occasional blast and scalding guitar solos, their sound is characterized by embittered vocal outbursts condemning societal polarization. Acerbic critiques of a world that is far from the ideals envisioned by the counter cultures of days gone by.

If Testament, Dark Angel, Kreator, and old Sepultura hold a special place in your darkened heart; if you have fond memories of singing along with hardcore bands when you and your friends were handed the mike in the front row; if pop punk feels too commercial for your taste; and if you miss a time when bands prioritized being cutting-edge, swift, shredding, and aggressive over having commercial appeal, Harlott is a prime example of the Australian industry and the genre as a whole. The boldness the band approached this album with produced an album confirming Australian thrash deserves to be recognized as a reputable foundation of high grade thrash bands. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Andrew Hudson: Guitar, vocals

Tom Richards: Bass, vocals

Leigh Bartley: Guitar

Glen Trayhern: Drums

Track list:

1. Incipiam

2. Void

3. Messiah Simplex

4. Trial By Liar

5. The God That Knows No Name

6. Kleptogenesis

7. A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits

8. The Joyful Stain

9. Endling

10. Vice Borne

11. Exsequiis

Full Length Review: Shannon Jae Ridout "The Magnolia Sessions" (Anti-Corp Music) by Dave Wolff

Artist: Shannon Jae Ridout

Country: USA

Genre: Country: bluegrass

Full Length: The Magnolia Sessions

Format: Digital

Label: Anti-Corp Music

Release date: September 4, 2026

A classically trained clarinetist from rural western Washington, Shannon Jae Ridout changed her world when she stumbled upon a pawn shop and found an old acoustic guitar for fifty dollars. She decided that learning to play it might be a better start for her musical career than solely relying on her classical training.

Soon after, she developed an interest in traditional folk ballads from European countries, songs that depicted violent crimes and horrific deaths. Her fascination with these old tales led her to figure out how to play them with the finger and chord patterns she picked up while learning this archaic instrument. Studying and memorizing these songs helped shape her musical voice as a solo folk, bluegrass, and country musician.

Over the next decade, she hitched rides and traveled across the country to build a grassroots reputation, without an agent or a professional band backing her. She seemed to find her calling on her own steam, pursuing it through any means possible, whether busking on the street or performing on any stage she stumbled upon.

After meeting her future husband, she recorded her debut solo album “Unwritten Scripts,” and a year later, she and Nicholas Ridout recorded “Bottle and Chain” with SourMash Melodies. Their momentum grew quickly as they formed the Spitshine Street Band and released “A Bottle, a Gun & a Troubled Mind.” Following Ridout’s passing, SourMash Melodies recorded an EP as The Teardrop Trio, and Shannon released her second solo album “Strung Up Sorrow” before taking a ten-year hiatus.

It was that long before she returned to the stage and unveiled “Two Busted Boots And A Broken Heart,” released last April through Anti-Corp Records. Shannon’s nomadic excursion across America, along with the rewards and tragedies she faced while building her reputation and working with other musicians, inevitably seep into the songs she recorded for “The Magnolia Sessions.”

After agreeing to collaborate with Dan Emery, who had envisioned a project with her since he began the series, she arranged recording sessions with the traditional setting chosen by Emery: a magnolia tree near the mastering studios for Anti-Corp and Black Matter. Surrounded by nature, contending with rain and natural night sounds, Shannon found the environment eerie but appreciated how her surroundings offered her space to breathe and reflect on her set.

In tune with the dark night surrounding her, this set features songs from her discography that evoke a sense of isolation and world weariness, particularly “Leavin’ Me” and “He’d Seen Some Things.” The latter reflects sadness as Shannon sings about someone she knew who had perhaps experienced too much of life. Yet, her wanderlust and hunger for adventure that called her far from home resonate through the finger and chord patterns she built on.

Some moments are slightly brighter, as “Two Sappy Fools” and “Mississippi Please” look back with the curiosity and hopefulness that stayed with her through her own experiences. Shannon’s centered presence allows her to project her voice and guitar notes into the night, blending with the cicadas, crickets, and katydids as if they’re part of the environment.

Disclosing all the ups and downs of her life with frank honesty, her hopes and fears, her certainty and uncertainty about the future, confident and vulnerable, with nothing sugarcoated or whitewashed, Shannon delivers with a professionalism that most likely came from the classical training of her youth. –Dave Wolff

Track list:

1. Leavin’ Me

2. Let There Be No Trouble

3. Two Sappy Fools

4. He’d Seen Some Things

5. Mississippi Please

6. Unwritten Scripts

7. It Ain’t Right

8. Highways Of Scotchbroom

9. Low As Low

Full Length Review: Encasement "Encasement" (Hypaethral Records, I, Voidhanger Records) by Dave Wolff

Project: Encasement

Location: Toronto

Country: Canada

Genre: Experimental black metal

Full length: Encasement

Format: CD (I, Voidhanger Records), LP (Hypaethral Records), digital

Label: Hypaethral Records, I, Voidhanger Records

Release date: September 4, 2026

Guitarist and instrumentalist James Thompson founded Encasement to incorporate his ideas into a fusion of black and death metal. His goal was to experiment with new sounds and explore new directions within an ever-expanding field. The more he searched and wrote, the more he discovered that his songs had a personal and mournful quality. These compositions moved from themes of grief, reflection, and release to expressing buried emotions. He found a connection between his songwriting and poems he had written several years earlier.

This connection became evident when he composed “Exodus,” the opening track of his self-titled debut album. The piece displayed a distinctive tone upon its completion and served as the launching point for the subsequent tracks. The initial material Thompson gathered was composed with an open, unrestrained impulse, consisting of sudden improvisational bursts. When arranged into songs, these bursts manifested as disjointed night terrors—states of mind that could only be accurately expressed through raw atmosphere and an emphasis on their disconnected, incoherent nature.

Seeing what he had formulated by happenstance, Thompson began to write with a clearer sense of purpose. He channelled his grief and reflection through more structured means, delving deeper into himself to uncover what had been buried beneath the surface. The disjointed songs evolved into pieces with longer, more drawn-out sections that expressed his inner discoveries. Mostly rooted in avant-garde black metal, his music also bears noticeable shades of shoegaze and old-school death metal.

Thompson’s brief creative bursts are characterized by eccentric note arrangements and sections that extend beyond typical measure lengths. These shifts often happen unexpectedly, guiding listeners through a labyrinth of random passages that seem to lead nowhere or circle back on themselves. By pushing his abilities as a musician and songwriter, Thompson adds a sense of subjective vertigo, incorporating outlandish touches into his avant-garde, shoegaze-inspired improvisations.

Similar to the creation of his earliest material, Thompson imparts a sense of immediacy with an introduction that is both fleeting and darkly atmospheric, as heard in tracks like "Inertia." He also explores irregular transitions, shifting from rigid, crunching riffs to dissonant and melodic passages. His music moves seamlessly from thrash-flavored death metal to prog-infused black metal, with sounds ranging from falling rain to furious tremolo picking. Vocally, he alternates between guttural and high-pitched styles depending on which section fits best.

During the recording, mixing, and mastering processes, Thompson paid close attention to incorporating orchestral and classical theatrics inspired by controversial Russian composers Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev, as well as French impressionist Maurice Ravel. He aimed to infuse some of their essence into his work. This influence appeared late in his writing process and often intensified the passionate moods he sought to evoke, particularly in songs like “The Pillory” and “Absolution.”

"Encasement" is a raw, unfiltered vision crafted by Thompson. It holds together seemingly fragmented thoughts, creating a cohesive experience in its own way. The album presents ongoing nightmares, offering a way to confront them in the safest manner possible. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

James Thompson: Vocals, all instruments

Track list:

1. Inertia

2. Exodus

3. Apparitions

4. The Pillory

5. Absolution

6. Fragmentation

Full Length Review: The Dread Crew of Oddwood "Lawful Evil" (Independent) by Dave Wolff

Band: The Dread Crew of Oddwood

Location: Los Angeles, California

Country: USA

Genre: Metal, folk

Full length: Lawful Evil

Format: Digital

Label: Independent

Release date: March 25, 2016

Although “Lawful Evil” was released a decade ago, I’m mentioning it now because The Dread Crew of Oddwood is planning a tour to celebrate its ten-year anniversary. The grassroots tour in October and December will be their first headlining run since their 2016 tour promoting the album. The stops include Dingbatz in New Jersey, Reggie’s in Chicago, and the iconic Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles. The band is bringing the tour to locations they haven’t played before and will dedicate more time to “Lawful Evil,” incorporating “more stage antics” into their live set.

The Dread Crew of Oddwood’s first lineup occurred in 2008 when they met at San Diego Comic-Con of all places. It consisted of the only people who attended a fan meeting for the Sega Genesis game “Ecco the Dolphin,” organized by Wolfbeard O’Brady, the band’s founder and frontman. By a twist of fate or a lucky coincidence, everyone who showed up turned out to be musicians. They started working together, their shared vision quickly gained momentum, and within a year, they released their debut album “Reign the Helm,” which is said to have sparked a new era in metal-based music.

Performing at subsequent Comic Cons helped elevate them from a local fan group to a touring band, leading to appearances at Wacken Winter Nights, 70,000 Tons of Metal, and Heidenfest, among other major metal fests. While Celtic metal and folk metal have proven successful for In Extremo, Eluveitie, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, and Finntroll, this band elevated the genre by inventively leveraging their name, blending metal’s raw energy with Celtic and European folk influences, and weaving tales of piracy, mystery, and myth into their songs. They raised the bar for innovation, approaching their folk pirate metal with greater velocity, keenness, and fervor than similar bands that were around for longer.

Like their three previous albums and their latest “Rust and Glory,” “Lawful Evil” can somewhat fit the “not metal” category, mostly because it wasn’t recorded with loud, distorted guitars and howling solos. Even so, The Dread Crew of Oddwood took an awareness of metal’s potency, drive, and stamina into the studio with them, pouring into the recording sessions the confidence of a band poised to connect with listeners from the stage. The subgenre they’re creating in this way, christened “heavy mahogany,” rings like something they put a lot of thought into.

Despite the absence of volume and distortion, “Lawful Evil” has the sufficient dynamism of an energetic metal album, driven by the conviction of the most fervent band. While the term “heavy mahogany” doesn’t sound typical, it does suit the fast-paced acoustic instruments and frenetic percussion that thrusts the material forward without pausing for a single moment. With a stripped-down backdrop of mandolin, accordion, strings, bouzouki, ukulele, and upright bass, the band invites you on a journey of drinking songs and tales of the high seas, gritty and intense, with bravado, dark camaraderie and occasional gallows humor.

If the energy channeled into their songs had been recorded with electric guitars and bass the effect would be near devastating. Whether capturing the fierce loyalty of a pirate crew with a commanding and threatening tone, boldly celebrating the crew’s loyalty and fierce spirit, painting pictures of being lost at sea, lured by sinister voices, or crash landing on uncharted islands and meeting bizarre creatures, The Dread Crew of Oddwood delivers listeners to a bygone era—the age of pirate ships raiding Aegean and Mediterranean vessels for goods, cargo, or hostages, inviting anyone who listens to them or sees them live to accompany them on their adventures. Encouraging participation, they make you part of the high-seas escapades of pirates raiding vessels or encountering otherworldly creatures. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Wolfbeard O'Brady: Vocals, accordion, flute, harpsichord, guitar

Smithy Crow: Bass, violin, vocals

Stark Cordwain: Bouzouki, tin whistle, horn, vocals

Legendary Pirate King Eric "The" Brown: Drums, percussion, vocals

Deckard Cordwain: Mandolin, tenor banjo, vocals

Riven Rahl: Toy Piano, piano, organ, vocals

Track list:

1. Join The Ranks

2. Side Quest

3. Heavy Mahogany

4. Sulfur

5. Siren's Song

6. Expedition on Heavy Submarine

7. Humours of Oddwood Isle

8. Raise Your Pints

9. Sand Lobster

10. Whalin' Rumbo

11. Trollwhack

12. The Gleeman

13. Storm Riders

14. Dead Man's Medley

Full Length Review: Ænigmatum "FInfinitude’s Passage" (20 Buck Spin) by Dave Wolff

Band: Ænigmatum

Location: Portland, Oregon

Country: USA

Genre: Progressive death/black metal

Full length: Infinitude’s Passage

Format: Digital, CD, LP

Label: 20 Buck Spin

Release date: July 31, 2026 (digital), September 4, 2026 (CD, LP)

From what I’ve read about them, Ænigmatum instantly engenders admiration for their abilities as composers and instrumentalists, and this awe grows the more you listen. On two demos and three albums they’ve plunged head first into determining how much eccentricity they can bring to their foundations in death and black metal, and they always manage to find a new eccentricity, keeping cohesion through their technical capacity.

The technical ability displayed on “Infinitude’s Passage” is the groundwork for hyperactive weaves and corkscrews that even the drums are part of, rather than just supporting the guitars and bass. The term “forward thinking” has come up a few times when reviewers described this album, and it’s also been described as being far removed from what extreme music sounded in the 1990s.

“Infinitude’s Passage” builds toward an unleashing of sound and fury with a spontaneity in direction that’s close to impossible to guess at. Something about this unconstraint had a certain magnetism to it, an attraction that compelled me to open the door between my perception and the band’s improvisational license. Upon doing so I understood the compliments Ænigmatum got for their songwriting, as I was engrossed, almost submerged, in their presentation.

The band’s writing is unconstrained and fiercely independent of any rules of how death metal and black metal should be written. The band’s flow between multiple changes doesn’t thrust you with abrupt hooks but guides you gently through a casual, impromptu process, as if the material was crafted in the studio with subtlety and ease. It’s as if they were aware of how much was being woven into each track and aimed to make the songwriting process smooth and digestible, rather than overwhelming.

There are harsh sections throughout, with the bass and drums consistently hitting hard and the rhythm guitars cross over death and black metal to anchor the songs. The opening strains of "Pitiless Mechanism" establish strong connections to traditional death and black metal, a point Ænigmatum reaffirms in each of the following tracks. While the bass progressions emphasize certain notes when needed, they also incorporate deviations that expand the range of the songs without drawing too much attention or overshadowing the other instruments.

The rhythm guitars complement these variable bass patterns with irregular deviations of their own, and the drums swing between solid beats and fills that decorate the interaction between the bass and rhythm guitar. As the stage setting for the songs, these instruments communicate with each other, pushing the material closer to prog than you would have anticipated from extreme metal.

The lead guitars do the most work to widen the spectrum of sound, with bulky riffs reminiscent of melodic death metal bands like Amon Amarth, dissonant riffs akin to Voivod, black metal chords, atmospheric layers, outlandish note progressions, and harmonies overlapping by two or three layers. The vocals are mostly consistent, but they can sometimes deviate into spoken word sections or other moods to fit different parts of a song.

The noninvasive techniques the band uses to hold all this together are what give "Infinitude’s Passage" its memorability, allowing you to remember one or more of these tracks after it ends. Somber guitars and horn instruments were added to the closing title track, possibly as a hint of the sounds and instruments that may be part of the band's next album, and the one after that. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Kelly McLaughlin: Vocals, guitar, bass clarinet

Eli Lundgren: Guitar

Brian Rush: Bass, backing vocals

Pierce Williams: Drums, synthesizers, backing vocals

Patrick Corona: Saxophone

Danny Quetzal: Backing vocals

Track list:

1. Pitiless Mechanism

2. Inseverable

3. Architects Of The Fated

4. A Tarnished Nexus

5. Nocturne Of Ageless Reverie

6. Infinitude’s Passage

Full Length Review: Dry Wedding "The Back of Beyond" (Vesperian, Metal Blade) by Dave Wolff

Band: Dry Wedding

Location: Portland, Oregon

Country: USA

Genre: Experimental

Full length: The Back of Beyond

Format: Jewel case CD, digital, cassette, black vinyl. sea blue vinyl

Label: Vesperian, Metal Blade

Release date: July 31, 2026

Listening to Dry Wedding’s “The Back of Beyond” is like watching a spaghetti western where all the characters are daywalking vampires. It could be set in an isolated corner of the Old West, away from human eyes, with architecture reminiscent of classic vampire cinema from Hammer Films. Bauhaus, Joy Division, Fields of the Nephilim and Glenn Danzig’s Samhain could be included on the soundtrack.

Here’s what inspired my analogy: this album not only sounds like that long-past era but evokes its feeling. While other societies around the world were becoming more civilized, danger loomed over the American frontier like a dark cloud, and the only law was survival of the fittest. Like watching a movie, you know it's fiction and feel safe observing everything from the outside. Still, there’s something about it that chills you to the bone.

Finding or creating a place where gothic rock and Americana country intersect, the band crafts a grounded, darkly mystical atmosphere that is as visually expressive as it is shadowed. Exploring connections with rockabilly, noise rock, post-punk, doom, and black metal propels their ongoing evolution, building upon their preceding albums “The Long Erode” and “Sway.” Since releasing those albums, Dry Wedding has convincingly argued that all their influences have roots in the 1950s and 60s, and earlier.

Reflecting the spirit of pirate radio stations in the UK, US, and Mexico, unlicensed stations with unsanctioned playlists. and free radio broadcasting outside government control, the band has always drawn from the same well as The Doors, The Velvet Underground, and old Pink Floyd, while crooning lyrics in the vein of Elvis, Jim Morrison, and (occasionally) Roy Orbison. Not so much indulging in sentimental reminiscence as demonstrating those artists’ timelessness and their consonance with modern music, Dry Wedding seems to step outside musical history, reaching for the dark spaces encountered when you look into that absence of light a little too long.

Having established that forbidden danger early on, they began to see where their songwriting was compatible with even rawer and darker genres with years of staying power, projecting greater strength and clarity through their vocals to balance intensity and restraint. Slowly and patiently, Dry Wedding eased their music into a dark pocket crafted from styles bands revisited time and again.

As they grew more comfortable with their ideas, their songs grew increasingly spaced, church-like and carnival-esque, making room for exploratory writing, introducing nuances of prog rock, surf rock and new wave besides noise and black metal into their mystique. The crooning was still crooning, but it grew deeper, more resonant, more pronounced. The band became so comfortable with it, so inspired by their ideas, they reached a point where they could push things as far as they wanted.

On “The Back of Beyond,” their frontier town aura and pirate radio frame of mind are a backdrop for shades of grey, maroon, navy blue, forest green, and of course, black. Their fusion of genres has coalesced into a cinematic experience appealing to all your senses. Today, there are fewer restrictions on which influences can fit together. Dry Wedding present new opportunities for growth, making concepts and vibes as integral to their sound as the music that speaks to them. The same can be said for Adam Burke’s cover artwork which sets the albums tone before you even listen to it. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Davey Ferchow: Vocals, guitar

Jarrod Green: Guitar, synthesizer

Chadwick Ferguson: Bass

Tom Fuller: Drums

Track list:

1. Arrowhead

2. The Serpent Box

3. Sure As A Gun

4. Blood-Red Vengeance

5. One Last Strand

6. Moths

7. Shifting Wilderness

Single Review: Lane Oliver "I Spoke of You in the Past Tense" (Undignified Sound) by Dave Wolff

Artist: Lane Oliver

Location: North Texas

Country: USA

Genre: Ambient, experimental

Single: I Spoke of You in the Past Tense

Format: Digital

Label: Undignified Sound

Release date: July 24, 2026

Recorded in a single eighteen-minute take, “I Spoke of You in the Past Tense” is a many-sided eruption of drone, ambience, distortion, noise, effects, and post-rock. It fills the dark spaces that emerge when you believe experimental soundscapes can’t go any further. This is the debut single from Lane Oliver of the post-industrial project Diminishing, created in collaboration with Dave Brenner of Gridfailure. Diminishing is described as semi-improvisational, immersive, tense, and devastating, with mechanized cadence to carry their songs into the most personal corners of your conscious and subconscious mind.

Without the evocative, spooky spoken word diatribes typical of Diminishing, Oliver’s single aims not to diminish your awareness of reality but to multiply the obscured places within it, to amplify the dread of facing something truly known, either outside or within. The key to achieving this heightened awareness is patience.

Distant, mechanized industrial sounds blend with ambient layers, gradually approaching as somber guitars emerge to mesmerize and engross you. Slowly, very slowly, very deliberately, the distortion broadens and intensifies, accompanied by bell-like (?) tones and faint rumbles that build in momentum. Throughout this process, the guitar lines adopt hypnotic rhythms, remaining steady yet growing in tension. Inspired by the plodding, melancholic tempo of slowcore and the expressive emotional restraint of Red House Painters, Oliver crafted the guitar parts to stand out against the ambient sounds as a warning of what’s to come.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a massive explosion comes, a kind of big bang that reverberates across the universe, signaling the birth of a new cosmos destined to replace the old. It’s as if all the sounds up to that point were drawn together before bursting outward, pushing into every corner of the universe.

This explosion morphs into minimalistic, heavily distorted guitar effects that shriek, bellow and assume dissonant, echoing characteristics that likely hadn’t been achieved in a professional or private studio, at least not in this way. I’ve made similar comparisons before, but the resulting shockwaves of guitars ringing with industrialized sounds are like a bedlamite exhibition of David Bowman’s journey in Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Whether you relate it to passing through the star gate to unknown dimensions or experience the birth of an alien universe which you were never meant to witness, “I Spoke of You in the Past Tense” is rich and mirthlessly orotund, surpassing his older work with Diminishing and promising deeper, more profound reflections of his thoughts with anything he deems fit to compose in the days ahead. –Dave Wolff

Full Length Review: Afrofuturistics "The Enigmatic" (Big Bonkey Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Afrofuturistics

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Country: USA

Genre: Jazz fusion, hip hop

Full length: The Enigmatic

Format: CD, digital

Label: Big Bonkey Records

Release date: August 14, 2026

Jazz fusion and hip hop, cosmic and experimental, shiny and dingy, linear and winding, nostalgic and relevant, with woodwind and brass instruments. This is what Afrofuturistics evolved into after forming from a desire to reinterpret artists like Miles Davis and Sun Ra. When Erik Oldman (Sons Of Ra, Mare Crisium) founded the band with rapper/producer Karl "MC Brother Tone" Isaacs (Sands Of The Hour). in 2024, there were other ideas in back of their minds that materialized unexpectedly.

Blending jazz, rap, seventies R&B vibes, distorted beats, sharp vocals, and a heavy bass presence, their debut album “The Enigmatic” is a steady push toward originality. In contrast to rap-metal crossovers born from shared angst, these songs flow naturally from mutual respect among all involved. “The Enigmatic” is mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning Rollin Weary, who has helmed countless albums and brings an unexpectedly avant-garde perspective to both classic and modern music. His work highlights unusual brass and woodwind arrangements while maintaining traditional structures.

With help from him and recording by Eric McWhorter, himself a long time music veteran, the rough, slightly grungy resonance of the beats and the delicate presence of additional pianos for ambiance are added at different sound levels, driving and refining the material where needed. McWhorter got his start in the Chicago industrial music scene, and the skills he picked up bleeds over here. I don’t know if this was a conscious effort to increase the band’s appeal to fans of rougher music or just a by-product of McWhorter’s time in Chicago. But his input grounds Afrofuturistics’ spacey arrangements, and the openness of the Chicago music scene is evident in how easily this rough edged sensibility fits the musicianship.

The beats with all their furnishings serve as a solid anchor for the rap sections of MC Brother Tone Sands Of The Hour with MC Levi Stress and Artie Slaw. The jazz fusion compositions by brass musicians Keith Wakefield and Scott Free, along with woodwind players Luc Mosley and Eli Wilson, showcase their professional improvisational skills. Their work often sinks and soars, occasionally shifting into off-time signatures, highlighting their individual talents and ability to work together. When they contribute their instruments to the hip-hop tracks, they demonstrate how the genre can expand with additional instrumentation.

Also watch for appearances by kora player Abdoulaye Conde, a renowned musician, visual artist and muralist in his own right who recently performed at the World Music Foundation in Chicago. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Brother Tone: Beats, MC

Keith Wakefield: Tenor saxophone

Erik Oldman: Bass, synthesizers

Scott Free: Trumpet, cornet

Luc Mosley: Soprano saxophone

Eli Wilson: Baritone/tenor saxophone

Abdoulaye Conde: Kora

Track list:

1. These Things Happen

2. Daydream

3. The Enigmatic

4. One Whole Song

5. Lexaprocrasstination

Film short/video review: Neurosis with The Firekeeper Alliance "We Are Torn Wide Open, Mirror Deep" (Neurot Recordings) by Dave Wolff

Artists: Neurosis with The Firekeeper Alliance

Location: Oakland, California

Country: USA

Genre: Post metal, sludge

Film short/video: We Are Torn Wide Open, Mirror Deep

Format: Digital

Label: Neurot Recordings

Release date: March 20, 2026

Neurosis’ collaboration with the Firekeeper Alliance is reportedly a big project involving filmmakers, actors, storytellers, production assistants, creative collaborators, a soundtrack and a director. It almost sounds like a crew behind a small independent movie, which probably isn’t too far from the truth.

Hours of travel, filming, and editing transformed an idea into a powerful cinematic tribute to the environment and resilient spirit of the Blackfoot Indians, also known as the Niitsítapi. The Blackfeet, from the Northern Great Plains, are nomadic bison hunters and trout fishermen with a lineage dating back 18,000 years. To preserve their cultural identity they helped form a nonprofit organization with Charlie Speicher, promoting community connection and addressing mental wellness and suicide prevention among Native American tribes.

Building an opportunity to represent their history and perspective with an untitled short film, the organization met with Neurosis who contributed songs from “An Undying Love for a Burning World.” Conceptualized by Speicher and the Firekeeper Alliance, with Steve Von Till and Robert Hall, and directed by Bobby Cochran and Jason Nix, the film opens with a wide panoramic shot of the Blackfeet Nation Indian Reservation, viewed through the perspective of the Blackfeet’s ancestors.

After this establishing shot, the film tells the story of four Browning Public School students haunted by an evil spirit that appears and disappears periodically, following each of them for unknown reasons. These sequences are accompanied by Neurosis' songs “We Are Torn Wide Open” and “Mirror Deep.” A brief shot before the soundtrack suggests that a pair or shamans or elders are aware of the spirit’s appearance, but the spirit’s purpose is as mysterious to the students as to us.

But for some reason, the spirit doesn't appear to be friendly. At least not at first? The entity’s appearances and disappearances are intentionally vague, with frequent surreal camera shots designed to heighten the mystery of the unfolding narrative. The songs from Neurosis’s new album complement the disorientation and confusion experienced by the main characters as they are pursued by the spirit, whose motives remain largely unknown throughout the film.

Sim Schildt, who also served as production designer, dramatizes the spirit with a palpable sense of menace as it first appears in the students’ dreams and then haunts them in the waking world. Each time it faces one of the students it seems to induce a trance-like state, effectively conveyed through consistent camera work that heightens the mystery and amplifies the growing sense of dread leading to the finale.

I don’t want to spoil too much if you haven’t seen it yet, but the film explores themes of belonging and connection as alternatives to mental illness and suicide. The release of the film coincides with the July 23-26 Fire In The Mountains festival in Montana; for a complete list of everyone involved in the making of this film, visit the official YouTube link. –Dave Wolff

Neurosis lineup:

Aaron Turner: Guitars, vocals

Steve Von Till: Guitars, vocals

Noah Landis: Synthesizers, backing vocals

Dave Edwardson: Bass, backing vocals

Jason Roeder: Drums

Full Length Review: Yeti on Horseback "Traditional Addictions" (Independent) by Dave Wolff

Band: Yeti on Horseback

Location: Ontario

Country: Canada

Genre: Doom metal

Full length: Traditional Addictions

Format: Digital, vinyl

Label: Independent

Release date: July 24, 2026

The Canadian doom metallers Yeti on Horseback took four years developing “Traditional Addictions” as a convincing vehicle for its themes. Most of it explores the cycle of addiction and trauma, two conditions that have long existed hand in hand. Their debut album “The Great Dying” had a sound described as free flowing and soul crushing that earned them an accolade as doom metal’s hope for the future from Metal Injection.

While Yob, Electric Wizard, and Sleep delve into themes of spirituality, occultism, science fiction, and fantasy in their lyrics, Yeti on Horseback focuses on realism and physical aspects of existence, not all of them good. Their latest full-length features fluctuating, shifting, contrasting and unpredictable dynamics, waves of sound sinking into depths of disheartenment and climbing toward extreme levels of anguish and derangement, prompting a stark recognition of the physical and mental traumas associated with addiction. Its presentation, forbidding and almost intimidating in its minimalism, is the closest you’ll come to this sensation without actually succumbing to addiction.

Unlike the relaxed, easygoing atmosphere usually associated with stoner rock, Yeti on Horseback presents much darker perspectives. Guitar and bass tones are recorded for a balanced equilibrium, anchored by primitive percussional rhythms. Co-helmed with engineer/producer Greg Dawson at BWC Studios (specializing in traditional and ground breaking music), “Drug Addict” hits hard with plodding, endlessly repetitive loops of chord progressions that gradually build toward a crescendo, shattering classic doom conventions.

Over this cacophony, multiple vocal tracks produce a chilling series of howls, wails, and roars with growls and shrieks, expressions of pure agony generated from deep inside. Atmospheric guitars add emptiness to the heavier sounds, working with the persistent minimalism to create an irresistible, inexorable pull. Throughout the album, these atmospherics expand, giving the doomy guitars and bass room to breathe and gain presence. Imagine The Obsessed, Saint Vitus and Wino stripped to their essence with twice the distortion and depth, with free reign to voice the deepest horror.

Many of the band’s riffs evoke early death metal bands like Paradise Lost, Carcass, and Bolt Thrower; these influences become more apparent in tracks like “Mariner’s Lament” and “Through With This Flesh.” The album’s final track, “Erotic Goth Dad,” takes a different lyrical approach, addressing sexual and mental abuse within the church and the trauma it causes. Given its subject matter, it’s likely the album’s heaviest and most lyrically imposing song, sure to offend the religious right. But that’s the point as it calls out behaviors that many find offensive. With as much emotional weight as the band could infuse, it was also intended to be the album’s most diverse and commercially accessible. Added at the end, it leaves the direction of their next full-length open to explore further. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

S.S.: Vocals, soundscapes

R.P.: Vocals, guitar

M.S.: Lead guitar

S.M.: Bass, vocals

E.T.: Drums

Track list:

1. Drug Addict

2. Mariner's Lament

3. Through With This Flesh

4. Erotic Goth Dad

Full Length Review: Nights of Malice "Chaos Exordium" (Bleeding Art Collective, Blood Blast Distribution) by Dave Wolff

Band: Nights of Malice

Location: New Jersey

Country; USA

Genre: Death metal

Full Length: Chaos Exordium

Format: Digital, CD, vinyl

Label: Bleeding Art Collective, Blood Blast Distribution (Nuclear Blast Records/Believe)

Release date: June 4, 2026

From its opening track “Reject the Host” which hits you immediately, to the energy the band is throwing into the Chaos and Misery tour, to their release of four promotional videos, Nights of Malice is setting out with pure confidence not only to promote “Chaos Exordium” but to strike while the iron is hot, launching a fiercely relentless campaign to dominate the country and the world beyond.

Building their songs around guitar riffs, using them liberally and creatively, and refining their sound with the help of Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland at Atrium Audio studios has proven a successful strategy, one they’re doing well to stick to. After experimenting with taking their sound in different directions, they settled on this approach once again. They’ve done something right as vocalist Brendan McGrath reports rabid reactions from fans and rave reviews from critics, praising the extensive effort and love for their genre poured into recording, mixing, and mastering.

The album’s tech/groove death metal style is clearly evident from the first track onward. When I first listened to Archspire I didn’t think any band could come close to them, but with brutal guitars, rapid-fire blast, rapid fire verses and guttural vocals, Nights of Malice is closing the gap, proving New Jersey bands can stand with Canadian bands.

After many years, echoes of the band’s experimentation is underscored by an old-school DM vibe with recognizable traits of Slayer, Death, Deicide, and Morbid Angel, sometimes incorporating slam death metal. Writing an overwhelming amount of riffs, Nights of Malice ensures their songs carry that relentless drive to vanquish and conquer, avoiding redundancy and opening more windows of opportunity for embellishment. The creative freedom shown allows for greater flexibility, shaping entire songs around specific riffs and trying different scales while preserving brutal intensity.

Producing the guitar sound with viscosity calls attention to the distinctiveness between riffs and the atmospheric, somber sections adding depth. This meticulous production tightly integrates the guitar tones with the coarse, gravelly, deeply guttural vocals, which contrast with the higher-pitched vocals, pushing both vocal styles to the forefront and beyond. Additionally, the drums use dynamic fills to shape the song’s varying time signatures and to provide equal momentum to the guitars and vocals, functioning as effectively as the double bass in driving the intensity forward.

Incorporating subtle elements of deathcore and slam death metal, the material achieves brief moments of distinction without overproducing or overshadowing the band’s core death metal influences. While the addition of deathcore can sometimes be a limitation as much as an enhancement, Nights of Malice appears to have struck a balanced middle ground that works for them. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Brendan McGrath: Vocals

Xavier Quiles: Guitars

Rick Smith: Bass

Joe Capasso: Drums

Track list:

1. Reject the Host

2. Ex-Mortis

3. A Message in Blood

4. Stitched

5. Riches to the Conjurer

6. The Hand of Death

7. Gore Nest

8. To Live Undead

9. The Inhuman Experience

Single/Video Review: Imperial Age "Gnosis" (Atlantean Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Imperial Age

Country: UK

Genre: Symphonic power metal

Single/video: Gnosis

Format: Digital, CD, 7” vinyl

Label: Atlantean Records

Release date: June 5, 2026

Premiered on YouTube last month, “Gnosis” is the promotional video for Imperial Age’s single released in September 2024. It serves as a preview of a new full-length they plan to work on following an upheaval or two in their career.

“Gnosis” is the first video they’ve made after relocating from Russia to Turkey and finally to the UK where they were granted residency as “exceptional talents” in 2023. Alongside the digital release, Atlantean Records issued physical singles on CD and seven-inch vinyl with instrumental and symphonic versions of the song. Since I stumbled across this video by chance, I have yet to hear those versions, so I will be concentrating solely on this one.

This video was financed by fan crowdfunding and produced by Loki Films with Shaun Hodson who previously helped Cradle of Filth, Slipknot, Skindred, and Sleep Token bring their visions to life. It’s been four years since Imperial Age last expressed their ideas in film, and “Gnosis” appears to symbolize a rebirth of their imagination and creativity. It’s the start of their "English period" as the band needed a change of atmosphere to begin anew after facing rejection from the Russian metal industry.

Upon their move, vocalists Jane Odintsova and Alexander Osipov assembled an entirely new lineup with musicians from England and Italy and worked toward performing at European festivals to re-establish their presence. Settling into a new environment and adding fresh blood is exactly what was needed for the founding vocalists to restore and replenish their livelihood and fortitude as performers. Starting over after about a decade has given them a fresh perspective, a new sense of professionalism and a drive to prove themselves all over again.

The new members who joined between 2022 and ’25 seem to be building rapport while handling the song’s technical and operatic aspects. With an even stronger offensive than what I last heard on their 2022 album “New World.” Everything in this song sounds aligned toward striking a chord with fans of symphonic power metal, especially the kind with operatic, orchestral and classical overtones, range and genre fusion, multiple lead vocals, choir harmonies, accurate blast and intelligent, ironic lyrics.

Reaching toward epic proportions at six and a half minutes, it’s reserved to a modest enough duration so the songwriting doesn’t repeat itself, linger or degenerate into tediousness. The setting of the video, the band’s costuming and the amount of lighting used to provide ambiance characterizes the song thoughtfully. It feels like a private excursion into consciousness and understanding, free of scrutiny from without.

The song also seems to hint there’s always a possibility for it to become bondage of a sort; the more knowledge you attain the more your hunger for knowledge grows, and attaining infinite knowledge comes at too heavy a price. So in the end your only direction is to more deeply explore the unknown in pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment beyond the physical world, sacrificing everything to find the answers to these questions. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Jane Odintsova: Vocals

Alexander "Aor" Osipov: vocals

Daniel Carpenter: Lead guitar

Colin Parks: Rhythm guitar

Dan "Beardy" Quiney: Bass

Manuele Di Ascenzo: Drums

Full Length Review: Poly-Math "Something Deeply Hidden" (The Lasers Edge) by Dave Wolff

Band: Poly-Math

Location: Brighton, London

Country: United Kingdom

Genre: Prog rock, math rock

Full length: Something Deeply Hidden

Format: CD, digital, vinyl

Label: The Lasers Edge

Release date: April 10, 2026

As an album title, “Something Deeply Hidden” somehow suits a band that spent fourteen years pushing to be heard. Through that time, Poly-Math has experimented with multifaceted progressive rock in pursuit of recognition. Hailing from the United Kingdom, a country long renowned for artists who reshaped popular music, they may be one of prog’s most promising contenders.

Since 2013 they’ve fused intricate musicianship with rough-edged, borderline metallic guitars, maintaining the clarity and sophistication of early Genesis, Yes, Rush and King Crimson. Their momentum is finally paying off, with their new album serving as a significant breakthrough from relative obscurity. The band dives deeper into heaviness, inventive scales, complex progressions, unconventional time-signature shifts, atmospheric textures, and ideas rarely explored. Whether releasing singles, EPs, or albums, they avoid sameness in favor of forward thinking.

What distinguishes from modern prog and math rock is their ability to capture not only the technical precision and musicianship of classic acts but also their mystique, allowing their instruments to channel it without relying on lyrics.

Mimicking the approaches of the bands mentioned above would only contribute to what some writers perceive as idleness in modern prog. But I've heard several comparisons between this band and the US prog band The Mars Volta who are known for their experimentation, conceptual albums and energetic live shows. Drawing from free jazz, hardcore, and psychedelic rock, they craft music that balances tension and flow seamlessly in their sonic landscape.

With similar creativity, Poly-Math reconstructs prog by integrating elements of math rock, post-rock, jazz, metal, and various other influences throughout their music. Guided by producer Mark Roberts they refine their style of jazz-prog to appeal to fans of heavier music while elevating its complexity. In doing so, they provoke thought with musical ideas rooted in the “many worlds” theories Sean Carroll discusses in “Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime.” Roberts, risking his reputation as a writer, makes an effort to answer longstanding scientific questions and reconcile theories long at odds with each other.

Combining deep reflection with a dynamic process of generating and evolving ideas, Poly-Math embodies Roberts' multiverse theories through a blueprint that makes unpredictable syntheses succeed. Breaking away from traditional prog conventions, the band emphasizes groove-driven bass with funk influences and jazz-inspired drum beats and fills, complementing the fuzzy overtones, heaviness, atmospheric textures and eccentric harmonies in the guitars.

The guitars and drums accompany the groove/funk heavy bass through each time change without skipping or indicating that they are changing their approach to fit the new time signatures. The transitions are quite natural, and the instruments don't lose their presence when new sounds are added to expand the mood with elements you wouldn't expect.

The break in the middle of "One/Two/Three/Four Body Problem" is one example, where everything stops to make way for an industrial guitar interlude reminiscent of Voivod's guitar sound, an interlude gradually allows the other instruments to reenter the picture. "No Such Thing as Now" is another example, starting with a mellow yet bizarre series of progressions, building in intensity until it picks up midway through with a generous amount of percussion.

“Spectral Dis/Order” has the tightest balance between heavy bass, percussion, inventive lead guitars, and stronger transitions between jazz fusion and heavy prog, with metaphorical moods provided by background keyboards. Referring again to Carroll's "many worlds" theory, this song comes the closest to illustrating how many different realities exist simultaneously in the multiverse Carroll hypothesizes.

"Terror Management Theory" is the final release of kinetic energy, where the band takes their formula into the coldest, darkest territory. Transitioning at the midpoint to a funky bassline with some Black Sabbath-esque blues and haunting keyboard effects, the track makes way for a lengthy, mesmerizing guitar solo that evolves into a duel between guitar and keyboards, holding your attention until the song degenerates into noise and all genre barriers are melted away.

"Something Deeply Hidden" demonstrates how much Poly-Math has pushed toward total creative freedom after fourteen years, growing far beyond the drive for recognition that has fueled them since they started. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Tim Walters: Guitar

Joe Branton: Bass

Josh Gesner: Keyboards

Chris Woollison: Drums

Ben Harris: Additional guitar on “Terror Management Theory”

C A Walters: Additional music on: “The Universe as an Engine”

Track list:

1. The Universe as an Engine

2. One/Two/Three/Four Body Problem

3. No Such Thing as Now

4. Euthyphro Dilemma

5. Spectral Dis/Order

6. Chronostesia

7. Terror Management Theory

Interview with Edwin Alter of Die Sektor by Daniel Ryan

Interview with Edwin Alter of Die Sektor by Daniel Ryan

What is your name & what do you do?

Edwin Alter from the band Die Sektor. I'm the vocalist and sort of front man for the group. I write the lyrics and come up with the concepts.

How long have you guys been making music for?

We have been a band for close to 20 years now.

What acts have you played with before if any?

Lots and lots. But I don't remember most of the names. I had a project called Alter which is where my name comes from but it was pretty much just a different configuration of Die Sektor. Since Die Sektor has been on a hiatus the last few years I have been restarting the Alter project which is pretty much just me doing everything so far.

Who plays what in the band?

Well I'm the vocalist and Scott Denman plays synth, drum pads and writes most of the music. Damion Blackwell plays keys and synths. We all help with production but Scott mixed the last album. Before that our former band mate Daniel Gant did the mixing. Mixing is a huge part of course.

What acts have you played with or toured?

The list is a little too long and I couldn't remember them all anyway considering all the festivals and local openers on all the tours. But let me stick to just touring and I will try to remember them all. Deviant UK, Cryogen Second, For All The Emptiness, Frontal Boundary, Becoming The Devourer, Nitronoise, God Module, Mordacious, Ego Likeness, The Rain Within, VoiceCoil, Dawn Of Ashes, Midnight Myth, Psyclon Nine, The Dead Room. Probably many more I can't recall right now.

What is the coolest experience you have had as musicians?

Just getting to travel around the world meeting new people and playing our music for new people. I loved the travel part. I seemed to be made for it.

What inspires you guys to keep doing what you do?

I don't really know. I just love the process of making a song come together and getting my creations out in front of people. It's therapy of course but it isn't just that. Maybe a sense of trying to find something just out of my reach at all times.

If you guys had to name some influences what would they be?

This is another list that is all over the place. Our influences come from all disciplines of art really and we all listen to different types of music. Part of what makes Die Sektor kind of unique and stand out is the blend of musical influences not found in other industrial bands. We never try to sound like someone. We are always trying to sound like a better version of Die Sektor. My playlist tend to give people panic attacks because it can come across so random. But to me I only listen to two types of music.

1. Music that makes me FEEL SOMETHING. I don't care what it is. The joy of music for me is the ride of emotion.

2. Parody or Novelty. Something that seems so absurd it makes me feel weird. Or just something funny.

How has the reception been for your band so far?

We have been fortunate with a dedicated fan base over the years and our music is still played in clubs across the world even though we are generally not the most dancy industrial band. Our fans have given us the chance to travel around and have some really unforgettable experiences on the stage.

To sum up this interview which website can we find your latest music on and any shout outs to anyone for the readers of Asphyxium zine?

The best place to find out music is on Bandcamp and it can be streamed from all the main streaming services. You can find post of our songs all over YouTube and our music is for sale on most music websites. Bandcamp puts the most money directly in our pockets though and we have some rare releases on there you can't find anywhere else.

-Daniel Ryan

Die Sektor at YouTube

Die Sektor at Bandcamp

Die Sektor at Facebook

Full Length: Semantron "Secrets of a Krummholz" (Grand Hand Records) by Dave Wolff

Project: Semantron

Location: Portland, Oregon

Country; USA

Genre: Experimental

Full length: Secrets of a Krummholz Heart

Format: Digital, LP

Label: Grand Hand Records

Release date: July 10, 2026

Dave French, the drummer of the Oregon doom/stoner band Yob, compiled material for Semantron while traveling with a classical guitar, composing anywhere and everywhere: backstage at shows, hotel rooms, on the road, crossing water on ferries, and sometimes in remote, undisclosed locations. In isolation, and even in the company of others, he wrote at least fifteen songs through a slow, patient process, unconcerned with the presence or absence of an audience. His songs were vibrant, somber, and meditative, resonating with deep contemplation.

What grew from that process was as firmly rooted as the krummholz, trees thriving in subarctic mountains and wind-smacked coastlines. Shaped by these harsh elements. Krummholz trees teem with life and remain connected to the ground. To metaphorically reflect that resilience on “Secrets of a Krummholz Heart,” French recorded acoustic guitars as the foundation for his material in a solitary Mount Adams cabin in Washington. Off the grid and surrounded by nature, he maintained the sense of privacy he wrote his songs with, drawing from his surroundings so the acoustic guitars sounded absorbed by them.

After completing those tracks, French recorded vocals, guitars, bass, and drums at Yob’s rehearsal space and his home studio. Choosing six cuts and collaborating with mixer Nathan Yaccino and mastering engineer Tad Doyle, French added field recordings of wildlife, wind, rivers, percussion on trees and stone, and melting glaciers to evoke the natural ambience he wanted. The material he so diligently crafted, described as a fusion of Dead Can Dance and Pink Floyd have to present itself patiently, spreading outward with a tenacious, resolute presence to occupy your thoughts with its elemental atmosphere and engage you in its meditative essence.

“Secrets of a Krummholz Heart” overflows with rough-edged guitars, generous reverb, and a polished sound. Interacting with bass lines that complement the drum tracks, the guitar layers gradually accumulate, rendering the songs more complete, balancing rawness with clarity. The overall picture formed by this, the additional sounds described earlier and an increasing amount of psychedelic sounds ensures the mournful vocals are as profound as the poetic, deeply personal lyrics.

The acoustic guitars French recorded in his isolated habitat not only realize the landscape he spent his time in but also capture pictures of fall preparing for the coming of winter, or winter waning in preparation for spring. “Secrets of a Krummholz Heart” travels far beyond French’s work with Yob; while reminding us of his experience with doom and stoner rock it demonstrates with he can achieve by exclusive introspection. For its bleak, doomy tendencies this album pulses with life, and its effect is all the more profound if you sit back and allow each song to grow on you. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Dave French: Vocals, all instruments

Track list:

1. Primary Planets

2. Prisoner of the Sun

3. At the Feet of Friendship

4. Piha

5. Dry Falls

6. Krummholz Heart