Angelspit Tear Up Legends.

Angelspit and eager support act Surgyn triumphed in the face of adversity in their performance at Legends in Newcastle. This ill-fated gig saw both Spekulus and their replacement Alice Moving Under Skies pull out of support slots, a last-minute change of venue and the band being followed around the country by unprecedented levels of rioting and looting (prompting a dramatic escape from their Manchester date). Needless to say all these hardships proved worth it thanks to the close, heavy and intense performances that followed.
The dramatic, static ridden Surgyn take the bouncing club friendly beats of acts like Uberbyte to a new level with accordion voiced synth and a pained yet slightly unclear goth vocal element. The duo blasted out crowd pleaser after crowd pleaser in medical themed matching outfits. Set highlights included a performance of the bands brand new single ‘Hit The Nerve’, which currently stands high in the Deathwatch Asia label chart, and its subsequent b-side ‘Pressure‘. In tracks like this the bands minor issues of live vocal projection count for nought as Surgyn set every body in the house moving, swaying, bopping, arm weaving and, of course, stomping. Wrapping up their set with the brand new song ’400′ Surgyn combine their gothic vocals with hellish howls that mirror the constant distorted bass. Closing on ‘Haemorage’, a track that both epitomizes the bands medical themes and makes deft use of comical but vicious sampling, Surgyn succeed in giving the audience the EBM aggression they expected from the evening. In the face of a drastically different lineup for Angelspit, I could honestly say I was not alone in being unsure what to expect.

Angelspit V2.0. Wreak Havoc In Newcastle.

As Zoog, Amelia, and new members Valerie and Matt take to the stage a sort of digital jazz ensues as tweaks, cymbal crashes, riffs and other calibrations are made. As with many gigs there was a slightly muddy start as everyone got into the swing of things but the brand new beast that is Angelspit 2.0 was wholly validated with a blistering ’100%’ that crashed and roared in a way no remix or studio recording could prepare you for. A timely performance of ‘Fuck The Revolution’ and a pounding rendition of’Toxic Girl’ further drove home the power of the new Angelspit sound. The more astute of you may have already detected the solid and effective presence of guitars in Angelspits music but the new tact that their 2.0 line up represents has to be seen live to be fully appreciated. Matts explosive cymbals and snare crashes take what would have otherwise been a drum-machine gauged on bpm and bass and turn it into a truly incendiary aural assault.

The Ball Of Energy That Is Valerie Gentile.

Ex-Cruxshadows guitarist Valerie Gentile does not stop moving for a second; spinning, bouncing and all the while keeping pace with the choppy crunching guitars that have for so long only been blasted by a backing track. Valerie has immense stamina and leaps out into the crowd in much the same way we’ve come to expect from her former band-mate Rogue. Amelia and Zoog don’t shrink away in this storm of stage activity with both taking on an undeniable sense of vocal ferocity with all the gusto, personality and presence they can muster.
Any skepticism about much more subtle tracks like the constantly surprising ‘Wolf’ was quelled by the distinctive visual proof that one and all are truly in sync in Angelspit 2.0 realising the punk industrial ideal. An essential encore of ‘Vena Cava’ explodes before the audience cries for more. In the violent context of the past few days an already sweat drenched Zoog promises to Wreak Havoc on the condition that every man in the audience goes topless. All obliging, in this industrial rock filled Newcastle basement of exposed, pasty white man-flesh, Angelspit transform their riotous call to arms into a show of cultural solidarity. As Zoog yells at the end of the gig, “This is about man-love!”.
This tour has been a baptism of fire, occasionally literally for their 2.0 iteration, proving not only that live instruments can not only work, but that they as a band can survive night after night. Whilst subtracting nothing from their already distinctive sound, Valerie and Matt bring with them immense heaviness that can only bolster their ever growing international reputation.

Uberbyte - NFY.

Previews of tracks from Uberbytes upcoming album ‘NFY’, scheduled for release September 5th, have begun to surface and are decidedly club oriented. Judging by the titles alone on this release the focus is all on oontz, hardcore beats and a self explanatory attempt at Evil Trance. Uberbyte have in the past played with the many niches and clichés of the industrial and EBM scene with pounding beats and powerful vocals from front man Richard Pyne constantly present in their work.
While these first few tracks are issued as a DJ pack it is possible they are not fully representative of the new album, but, granting the exceptions of ‘Hardcore Industrial’ and ‘Moneyshot’, they mark a distinct swerve towards a more mainstream dance sound. In the case of ‘Gott Mitt Oontz’ the deep booming industrial archetype vocals of Uberman Mr Pyne are balanced against the warbly altered voice of Keyboardist and backing singer Charleen which sit squarely in the vein of acts like Scooter. A cynic could read this as a parody of the well publicised remix the dance act released as a B-side to the single version of Rammstein’s ‘Pussy’, though the short punchy bursts of crowd samples and slightly more sour sounding synths on Evil Trance point more to an homage than hilarity. Evil Trance, though a tad repetitive packs the sinister aggression that is often so effective in modern EBM while retaining this touch of mainstream influence.

Uberbyte gig goers may likely have already heard ‘Hardcore Industrial’ and ‘Moneyshot’ performed at a number of past dates, with ‘Moneyshot’ receiving a limited free release last year. Moneyshot is a fast paced pounding track with a beat for beat breakdown of porn that has constantly proved popular, while ‘Hardcore Industrial’ is another club banger in the vein of ‘Gott Mitt Oontz’ without its Scooter soft spot. A lot more accessible and much more varied ‘Hardcore Industrial’ can, and has gotten whole rooms bouncing along every time I’ve seen it played. Maybe It’s just personal preference but I like EBM and industrial to have that bit of bite that ‘Hardcore Industrial’ seems to have in abundance. The filthy electro beats of ‘MOwr FOcking COwbell’ would be deliciously sleazy if it weren’t for the almost comically perfect cowbell loop behind the positively silly lyrics  along the lines of “More fucking cowbell. Hit me with it. I love that shit”. In another preview, available via the band’s soundcloud page a snippet of new track ‘Like You Don’t’ clearly stands out. A surging EBM Synth loop punctuated with eerie key stings plays out before the line “I know you love me, but fuck me like you don’t” all of which play together into a sense of savagery and sexual deviance which always goes down well within the industrial scene.
These previewed songs make up just over half of the new album and have me torn. While I love ‘Moneyshot’, ‘Hardcore Industrial’ and ‘Like You Don’t', tracks like ‘Gott Mit Oontz’ and ‘Evil Trance’ play a little bit too far out of what I could comfortably call the boundaries of the scene. I have no doubt that these songs play to another niche and carry on Uberbytes tradition of keeping all bases covered, but could best be described as musical Marmite in that you’ll either love or loathe these tracks. What I’m even more unsure of is whether these songs represent the overall direction and voice of ‘NFY’. A release for the album explains that ” Indeed some of the styles utilised can only be described as unexpected. You’ll find nods to underground hardcore acts like Neophyte mixing with mainstream techno influences and even trance. ” but also reassuringly states that “fans of Nachtmahr, And One and Combichrist will also find familiar themes”. Uberbyte are right, taken together these previews show NFY to be anything but two dimensional and sounds that challenge and perhaps offend always pave the path of progress.
NFY will be available september 5th 2011 via Crunch Pod Records and Pray Silence Records. The band will also be touring twice this Autumn; Once in a headline slot and again in support of industrial act Aesthetic Perfection.

Resistanz! April 2nd - 3rd

Faderhead have been announced as the 14th band on the 2 day bill of new EBM festival Resistanz, rounding off an impressive collection of acts that also includes Suicide Commando, And One and Caustic.
Playing alongside tour companion Marco Visconti’s own band XP8 on Saturday April 2nd, Faderhead is set to return to our shores to play an exclusive date at the festival, while headliners Suicide Commando and And One have also announced additional dates.
And One are to play a one off date at Islington Academy, London on February 19th whereas Suicide Commando are following up their performance in Sheffield with a date at Glasgow’s Classic Grand on April 4th .

With a number of guest DJ’s confirmed and a series of after-party arrangements the festival has well and truly took shape and seems well and truly worth the £50 for the two day tickets, currently available for sale on the Corporation website.

Details have also been posted regarding the arrangements for Afterparty Festivities at Resistanz.
Afterparties at the corp are set to take place in two rooms. On Saturday The main room plays host to RevolutioN, an Industrial, Electro and Hard dance night with Dj’s including; Carbonel(Uberbyte) and L8N(RevolutioN), Nekura, DJane Pink Foamy and Azrael (XP8). While Sunday features a general Resistanz afterparty described as an Industrial/Electro/Scooter with a line up of guest DJ’s featuring sets from Tommi K (Tron/Autobody), Hive (Vampire Party) and Thomas Rainer (Nachtmahr).
The line up for the small room afterparties are no less impressive with a night called Mode(synthpop, ebm. classic industrial, eighties electro) Taking pride of place on Saturday with DJ’s Presley’dj-kik’ and Gillywoo (Wendyhouse), Followed by Synthetic Island(synthpop/electropop/ebm) with DJs ThePesh and DMaroco On Sunday.
Both rooms are set to stay open until 4am with sunday’s proceedings also featuring an additional HardDance/Hardstyle floor with DJs kohl (Sinistry), Glenn (Wendyhouse) and an exclusive guest set from A+D+A+M (lab4) who wont DJ anywhere else in the UK in 2011.

There has yet to be anything announced regarding traders at the 2 day event, If you are interested in vending please email L8N666@hotmail.com.