Monster Mash with Droid Sector Decay

Droid Sector Decay is an Experimental Electronic/Industrial Metal band from Rhodes, Greece fronted by Antonis Stavropoulos (aka Rythmdealer). He has recently been joined by Aubrey Ritchie as their lyricist and songwriter. The song they shared is “Everything Has Collapsed”, which Antonis told me “is a song I like a lot & it is also the first song I recorded for a compilation, so it is a special song for me.”

Antonis confided that the name of the band has no particular meaning, and that it was “a combination of words that I like.” I like this because there’s not some pretense at all with the name and neither is there in the music. This is not to say that there is a lack of meaning to their music. In fact he draws from many sources. “Today’s political situation, religion, true horror stories were some of the themes I was inspired from about the new DSD album…for example the song ‘The Cage’ was inspired by the Kidnapping of Colleen Stan – a true story.”

Droid Sector Decay has not played live until very recently, but fans have told Antonis that their songs are reminiscent of music from the 80′s, and I would tend to agree. His favorite bands are a reflection of this. “My favorite bands are Megadeth, Def Leppard, Front 242, Project Pitchfork, Dance Or Die, A Split Second, Velvet Acid Christ, Bolt Thrower, PIG…I’ve been influenced mostly by the 80′s industrial scene & the early 90′s. I like heavy metal (death-black-thrash-doom), hard rock, 80′s pop, neofolk, classical music & soundtracks.” Antonis also listens to podcasts, but added “I have listened only to Horror Addicts & the OontzCast Podcasts.”

His advice to new bands getting started is that “they should have patience and they should really love what they do…music is fun…don’t forget this!”

If you’d like to hear some more music by Droid Sector Decay, including their brand new album, There Is No Light Over Devil’s Land, you can find them on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, and also follow them on Twitter. You can also check out their Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Discogs, and Reverbnation pages.

Carnival Arcane by Midnight Syndicate

“The train smoke drifting through the pale moon light signals the arrival of the Lancaster-Rigby Carnival. In a forest clearing, these mesonoxian visitors await your arrival. Stroll along the midway and behold wonders both fantastic and macabre from every corner of the globe. And be sure to ride their one of a kind carousel for an experience you’ll never, ever forget.”

As we swiftly approach Halloween, I can’t resist going through my music collection and digging up some gothic and ghoulish tunes. Without fail, I gravitate to Midnight Syndicate. In my mind I equate them with more than Halloween parties and haunted houses, they fill the season itself for me. I still enjoy listening to both Vampyre and Born of the Night. So it is with mischievous glee that I listened to their latest album, Carnival Arcane.

As usual, Midnight Syndicate has crafted another wonderful “soundtrack for the imagination”. The new album centers around the Lancaster-Rigby Carnival, a turn-of-the-century nighttime traveling circus. Naturally some of the tracks are playful and whimsical while others have decidedly twisted and dark machinations. Not only will this album appeal to goth listeners and those seeking a new Halloween classic but to the steampunks who fancy something a little dark with their Victoriana.

Each of the songs on the album introduce the listener to the Carnival Arcane and the carnies who are part of it. Emz has already played some of the tracks so I’d like to review some of my favorites, though to be fair it was hard to choose only four to shine the limelight on.

As I said many are whimsical, but it is with “Agent of Fortune” that some of the shadows begin to play and can be found lurking. What dark magicks does Madame Zora call upon to tell you your fortune? Only by peeling back her tent’s door and paying the price will you know for sure.

Ah, the “Freakshow” — this is one spectacle I would really love to see become tradition again. This song really brings these curiosities to life, and in my mind it represents the somber life of the geeks and freaks.

Are you feeling poorly and out of sorts? Then step right up ladies and gents and dispel your maladies! “Dr. Atmore’s Elixirs of Good Humour and Fortification” will lift your spirits (and lighten your pocket). I love the way the crowd interacts with this one.

Are you afraid of clowns or jacks-in-the-box, boys and girls? Then “Goons and Greasepaint” will send chills up your spine as the cackles and antics of these dark jesters will really get to you. This one gets my vote for creepiest track of the album.

Old fans of Midnight Syndicate will not be disappointed as their trademark epic instrumental soundtrack feel is here in abundance, and you can see also that they have grown in their musical storytelling. I think this album will also be a great starter for those who might never have heard their music or for anyone who might have written them off in the past as “just Halloween party music”. For those steampunks out there who would like a soundtrack full of the ambiance of the freak shows and carnival days of old, you’ll be pleasantly impressed.

Monster Mash with Xiescive

A wise man once said, “The Truth is out there.” If you like your music Truth-flavored, some music with a message, then our band this week, Xiescive, is for you. Xiescive (pronounced “zy-eh-sive”) is a one-man Industrial/Electro band based in Utah created by Trevor Weeks (aka Xon). As he put it, that means he gets “all the hassle, little glory”.

He sent us his song “Sex, Drugs & Electro” because he thought “it would be the most universally accessible to the audience since it’s a little bit gothy, a little bit industrial… sorry, just read the ‘no Donnie & Marie puns’ clause. Uh, anyway to me that song is basically about the fact that there is this front that a lot of people put up to hide or escape life and their problems, especially at a club or bar. I understand that’s the point of getting out on weekends and such, but I’m basically saying I understand and empathize with that point of view in an effort to relate and connect to my audience in a more profound way.”

As I was listening to his music and checking out his website, I couldn’t help but enjoy the X-Files-esque theme of his music and the project itself. He said, “It’s really just a name I made up to represent what the ‘powers that be’ are doing to systematically destroy us, in almost every facet of our lives. When you break down the design of how modern life actually works, you will see some very sinister patterns that are very deep seeded in our routine lives, NOT by accident or coincidence.”

About his music he said that “on the surface, it’s very aggressive and political, but delve deeper into the meaning of the lyrics, there is definitely a more sinister angle being played.” The inspiration for creating his soon-to-be-released album “Nexus”, he added, was “basically to create something that will make people move and think, depending on your mood of course. Also to do this in a way that there was enough ‘substance’ on the album to garner attention from diverse viewpoints.”

Regarding music altogether, he said, “I was classically trained on the piano as a child for a few years before giving it up, only to pick up keyboards a few years later at the age of 15. I have been playing/programming and producing steadily ever since and don’t see any signs of quitting. I’m 32 now, so about 20 years all together. I am always writing music for one thing or another and it’s always an adventure. I’m a pretty big tech-head when it comes to music, always experimenting with new technologies, so I look at music as a big learning experiment and recorded music is the result of this experimentation. I read a lot of manuals and documentation on music products and music theory to keep myself up to date. It’s nice to be able to exercise and implement those new techniques I pick up from reading and experimenting and integrate my own thoughts and feelings that manifest through them into song form, it’s really very satisfying. I’m really getting into listening to more movie scores as I’m moving parallel in that direction musically as well with Xiescive. I have just finished scoring my 1st full length indie film and hope to continue down this path for years to come, I really enjoy the work.”

He has toured with other non-industrial bands he has been in, but added that these days “I spend my time in the studio rather than venturing into disappointing bars, but am very anxious to get an opportunity to play in stronger scenes where this kind of music is admired. I have never performed live as Xiescive, so I’m not sure, but I’m confident that it will be positive as it was designed to make people shake their ass and/or use your brain.”

For other bands getting started, his biggest piece of advice is “to have thick skin, especially at first. You’re going to get a lot of feedback and I can’t say it’s going to be mostly positive. It takes quite a bit more now than it did 20 years ago to ‘wow’ a listener. You have to come with weapons locked and loaded so to speak. I actually interact with a lot of new projects and my biggest annoyance is that they think they’re done with a song after 10 or so hours of work, with musically inexperienced ears, speaking from a production point of view. Basically, spend more time perfecting the song writing and production, quality, not quantity.”

So what does the future hold for Xiescive? “I was thinking of doing something very different with the next album, but still in the same vein. I’ll just say more bombastic, less banana, lulz! Also, I’d love to start hitting up more events and shows.” His current project, the full album “Nexus” will be released this October or November, and I’m looking forward to that.

To find out more, visit Xiescive.com. From there you can find updates as well as links to other sites to buy and listen to his music. You can also find him on Facebook and MySpace, of course.

Monster Mash with AGGROAPHOBIA

For this episode we are featuring German Harsh-Electro/EBM band AGGROAPHOBIA and their song “Obsessive Mind”. This is another band we were not able to chat with for an interview. This is perfectly understandable with their recent gigs which included Electro Nacht Bremen and Dungeon Open Air 2011, with more in October and November planned.

The band was formed in October 2008 as AgoraPhobia, but the founder PHOBIA, changed the band’s name in September 2009. Their music has been featured in at least a dozen compilation albums. When they aren’t touring, they are busy working on tracks for their first official release of their own.

Their sound is definitely harsh with techno beats and screaming vocals, but they do at least yell in both German and English. There is a solid Gothic sound running through their music and with a name that focuses on phobias, you know they are a good choice for our Horror Addicts.

You can check out all of their ”New Sounds From Hell!” on their many websites, including MySpace, Facebook, VampireFreaks, and ReverbNation. You can also see some of their videos on YouTube.

Monster Mash with Sonik Foundry

“All your thoughts have been compromised
Can’t control what’s in my mind
Your sanity no longer whole
I’ve lost my grip, I’ve lost control”
– “Darkness Falls” by Sonik Foundry

For our music this time around, we have EBM/Industrial band Sonik Foundry from Maine. Lead singer Nikademus formed the group in 2008 originally as a solo project, but now works with percussionist Malic Acid, and guitarist Bane. Nik writes all of the music and lyrics, does the arranging and mixing at his own Hitman Studios. More than just drums, Malic Acid brings in the gritty screams and animalistic stage presence. Bane adds the rock/metal edge to the music. All together Nik describes their sound as “a very unique flavor of industrial, almost aggrotech EBM with a slight rock element; with a melodic and ‘Understandable’ vocal accompanied with gestures and body language ‘kinesics’, that convey and sync with the meaning behind the music.”

The song we have from the band is “Darkness Falls”, which as Nik explained, “is about a close friend that lost it, he let everything go, and lost his mind, and became evil.” The song definitely has the feeling of sanity spinning out of control, and even though there is shouting of lyrics full of emotion, the song is not harsh like some EBM, which gets kudos in my book.

Nik came up with the band’s name while playing with synonyms of “Sound” and “Factory”. He said, “SoundFactory did not sound original, and it was kinda cheezy. I don’t want to be mistaken for that old 80s band C+C Music Factory. pfft. So I created Sonic Foundry. I then learned that a software company used to exist with this name but they were bought out by Sony, so I used a ‘K’ instead of a ‘C’. To this day, I still get flak, but I don’t care, I like the name, and being that I did not know about the software company when I created the name, it was original as far as I was concerned. I did not rip it off the software company as many might think.”

When the band plays live, they get some pretty awesome fans at the shows, and even venue promoters have given them some incredible feedback. “Fans this year seem to react in shock and awe, which is really exciting to us. I’m glad we could make such music and perform in such a way that gets such a wow-like reaction. Fans and promoters keep telling us they never seen such energy, and such a powerful stage presence and coordination. We were like, ‘Really? Wow?’ Every show we did this tour had the fans and promoters in sheer delight. We had to hear the phrases ‘You guys were F@#king Awesome’, and ‘You f@#king Rock!’ a hundred times from the fans and promoters at The Shelter (Das Bunker) Atlanta, ZombiFest in Louisville, KY, The Shrunken Head in Columbus, OH, and The Southern Gothic Festival in NOLA. Two promoters said ‘you need to get known’ and ‘someone has to spread the word about you guys’. One promoter said that we brought tears to another band’s front man’s eyes, which left me kinda speechless. I didn’t think anyone in this scene cried, lol… as my 17 year-old daughter would say… OMG! For the first time, while performing at SOGO, we were cheered on after we finished our set, like a classic riot! They wanted more! So we did an encore! It was 2:30AM!”

“Darkness Falls” is one of the songs on their new album Parish of Redemption. The album and really the direction of their music has been about breaking away from what other groups are doing. Before this album, Nik said, “I was just following suit from the sounds of the industrial scene. And then it hit me… I thought to myself, this scene needs change, everybody is doing the same old ootz, and the scene is dying because of the same old same old music. So I wrote music that was very unusual, but very dancy and very industrial, and after adding guitar and accent drumming, it flowed like wine and spread like soft butter. It was full and juicy, yet harsh and mean, and full of energy! So, I was sure that we would redeem ourselves with this unique creation, and thus far, my predictions were right, and the style I created, paid off! At the moment, my favorite [new song] is ‘Severance Pay’, because it is our opening song. It starts out all calm and usual, and then it blows up like a firecracker and that’s when the shock and awe begins, and doesn’t stop till we stop.”

Nik has been in countless garage bands and numerous side projects all of his life, starting as a DJ in his teens during the 80′s. Of musical influences, he said, “I really don’t have any particular favorite band at this time, and my influences change constantly. I come from a very, very musically diverse lifestyle and have grown through many fads and eras of music styles ranging from metal to punk, to freestyle, to house, to jazz and classical, to EBM, Rap (dirty south and west coast) to R&B to screemo, industrial, aggrotech and goa. Pretty much every genre except country. I just don’t care for county music, which is perhaps the reason why I epically failed at producing a country album for a local country/southern rock band. I grew up in NJ and had many time periods of different ethnic socialization.”

While pondering what the future holds for the band, he said, “Well, we are under a 5-year contract with Nilaihah and have many more albums to produce, so we will be quite busy. I can’t say what the sound will be like but it will always keep true the Sonik Foundry sound, and will prolly get crazier and crazier as we find new ways to blow away the crowd. For me it’s all about the fun, and want to keep it fun, a hobby of sorts, and never work. I’d like to work on some experimental, perhaps some Ambiance and some other hot stuff like dubstep, but dubsteb is so loved and hated at the same time. But you gotta admit, dub is hot and everyone is doing it or thinking of doing it. Our next album is going to be quite interesting I’d say. I’d like to do a few songs that break into some dubstep and Aphex Twin-like sound as an experiment perhaps. Maybe, who knows.”

His advice for new bands really applies to living life and is sound advice for everyone, I think. He said, “Well, first thing is love what you do, never take it to seriously, stop fighting over headlining and get there in the future by your fans and pleasing the promoters rather than fighting with them for the spot. Be true, be honest, be friendly and compassionate, earn your keep, be a team player, carry your own weight, contribute, never act in haste or be compulsive or careless. Think before you ink or speak, help others and be happy. Be modest, don’t get cocky, don’t get full of yourself and think you are the best, there is always someone better then you. Play it smart, and play hard, be yourself… if you are good you will get there and gain fans that like you for you!”

If you would like to catch the band live, they are done touring for the most part, but have a few one-offs here and there. They will be performing with Imperative Reaction, God Module, and System Syn in Philly on October 2nd at the Starlight Ballroom, and one other show at QXT in Newark, NJ possibly soon. Keep an eye on their website at Sonikfoundry.com and their label Nilaihah.com to find out more. You can also grab their music at iTunes, Amazon, Amie Street, FIXT, and the like, plus you can follow them on Facebook, VampireFreaks, and MySpace.

Monster Mash with TuT

Our featured band this week is Seattle’s own Hard-rockin’ egyptophiles, TuT. The band is formed by bassist Randy Adsit, drummer Brett Miller, and lead guitar and vocals by Chris Tuttle. All of them got together to share their thoughts about their band and their music, saying ”Randy plays bass & sings back ups w/ screams. His open grooves on the 6 string give the band its sound.  Brett’s drumming style is unique… it melds with Randy. He works hard on his grooves which definitely influence our sound.  Chris is the rhythm/lead guitars and lead vocals, he provides the meat, the flesh of the song’s melody.”

We are featuring a wicked song, “Hell’s A Comin’” from their new album The Tomb. The song’s dark theme is a fine fit for our Horror Addicts. It has great beat and melody and the vocals are tight, evoking everything I love from a great metal song. I would have to agree with Chris’ description of their music, “RAW, full of emotion, tight”. Chris explained that the song, ”Hell’s A Comin’”, was written when “we (the USA) were invading Iraq, at the time we wrote the music and operation ‘Shock & Awe’, that helped influence a lot of the lyrics.”

I really dig the Egyptian theme throughout their websites, including their sweet animated band logo. Chris said, “I have always been inspired by Egyptology and Tut is a nickname I had in high school.”

A few places they’ve played are the Met Theater in Spokane, The Showbox (Seattle), Hempfest (Seattle), The Phoenix Underground (Seattle), 7 Cedars Casino (Sequim, WA), Tulalip Casino (Marysville, WA), J&M Café, Club Motor. Randy said that they’d love to play the Marymoor Park Amphitheater, Key Arena. Chris added, “It would be cool to play some out of state touring like to Cal & Oregon… like a west coast tour.”

Chris told me about one gig in particular where he may have learned a valuable lesson. “Everyone who comes out to our shows seems to have a great time. We have some awesome fans, who truly appreciate music. I have learned you have to be careful what you say when you are playing @ The Central Saloon. Between songs I yelled, ‘break something’, then a girl picked up a glass & smashed it on the ground ‘yeah!!’”

Of the rest of their music, Randy’s favorite songs are ”My God” and “Not Ready” and for Brett there’s ”In Your Eyes” (for its complexity) and “Resonance” (because it’s new). Chris added, “I’m really excited about the new material we are writing. If I had to choose from The Tomb album it would be a tie `hahaha’ between ‘In Your Eyes’ and ‘Hate’.”

The guys have all been making music for a very long time and their experience shows in their music. Randy said, “I have been involved with music in some form or another all my life.  I grew up singing and in the early teen years started playing guitar and bass.” Brett has been playing music for 21 years, and writing/composing for 16 years. Chris has been playing for 20 years and “started on bass and switched to guitar about 7 years ago. Most of my writing has been the last 10 years with TuT.”

They have a diverse taste in music, not only in what they like and listen to, but Randy confessed, “we try hard not to let outside influences color our music.  We try not to listen to our preferred genres when in writing mode.” In creating their album, The Tomb, Chris said, “I have always loved recording. This one was more challenging because we recorded it ourselves. I think the best part of recording is how the band grows each time you complete a project.”

When they aren’t making music, Chris loves just being outdoors, hanging with friends and family, and playing video games. Randy admits, “Music is my only creative outlet but things I do for fun outside of music is reading (fantasy, sci-fi, action-thriller), and gaming (PC, MMO’s, some console).” Randy also listens to talk radio podcasts, like The Men’s Room and the BJ Shea Morning Experience, but he and Chris both said they will listen to Horror Addicts. Muahaha, the legion grows… ahem, sorry.

To wrap up, they each shared some advice to new bands out there. Randy said, “Learn to listen to each other.  Share your vision of the music.  Don’t quite or give up, longevity can allow for greater musical evolution in a band you just can’t get in the short term.” Brett said, “Find a group of people you like to work with and stick with it.” Last but not least, Chris added, “Practice, practice, practice… Believe in yourself.”

In addition to their homepage at TuTmusic.net, you can find them on Facebook and MySpace, plus you can download tracks from their album The Tomb at CDbaby and iTunes.

Monster Mash with HORRORFALL

So you want something different? This week we have a band so alternative they aren’t a band! Well, OK sort of, but I’ll let them explain. This week we’re featuring ”Cracks In The Walls” by HORRORFALL, which is the studio project of Colin C. Allrich and John Girgus from Los Angeles, CA.

John explained, “The band started as a collaboration between the two of us aiming to create music more strictly for a licensing capacity as we were both fairly well established in our own projects. Over the year, it evolved into an idea Colin had for a looser musical collective involving some of his more recent collaborators.”

Colin added, “At first it was just us programming, playing guitars and trading vocals. As things started to grow, we invited some of our musical friends to contribute in various ways to the project. Cora Ripatti who I’ve worked with as a vocalist for some years now has come on to sing and song write for us, as well as Tammy Tomahawk (Cinderella Motel). I also invited Danny Fluck to do our live drums and Zac Venne to add his guitar skills.”

The song which the guys sent our way is a bewitchingly dark yet smooth track entitled ”Cracks In The Walls”. Colin told me, “I think I can speak for John and say that we are quite fond of it. I started the initial programming and building these synth arps (sic) and he took to writing some melancholy vocals to it that we ended up seriously vocoding (sic) into something kind of haunting. It’s definitely our darkest track on the EP and it was the first one to spring to mind”.

The song itself was born from the title which Colin came up with and John took over from there. He said, “I like to elaborate off the existing titles. It gives me a launchpad and direction and usually surprising. It all comes down to relationships as it relates to drywall and plaster. You will eventually see the flaws in everything. It’s a simple matter of disillusionment. It was a time in my life when I was experiencing a great deal of that. Dreams were ending. Shines were fading. It’s got a defeated glow to it. I recorded the vocals on a hotel holiday while the inspiration for the content slept away unwittingly into a portable setup and a handheld mic. We turned it into a robot. An android with what little emotion left or developed shown as regret. It felt creepy and faded to do, and I think that was just perfect, but like I said… it’s not something I’d really like to have to go through again, but it was a bit cathartic. I do remember it fondly.”

Since HORRORFALL is a free form collective of artists it would be unfair to try to classify their music, but in their current incarnation, Colin has dubbed their sound as “Deadwave” and I dig that. I also loved it when John described it as “a punishing storm at sea with the odd melodic lighthouse.” You know, that touches me somewhere deep inside, man.

As for the name of the project, that was Colin’s idea. “I’ve always been fond of the written word, and especially plays on words. Karl Hyde (Underworld) has been a huge influence on me and how I write, as I literally grew up salivating at his every word. So it started from a simple stream of consciousness session in one of my notebooks as I scribbled it out. I had the intention of starting a project with it, and it just happened that John and I were talking about a real collaborative effort between us that I finally suggested it. Unfortunately that’s the real boring story of how it came about.”

Both John and Colin are transplants to Los Angeles and admit that the City of Angels is more than just a home. John said, “I grew up a few hours east. I do consider it my hometown now as I have been here over 12 years. I am an Angeleno. It seeps into everything I do. The city’s influence is immeasurable.” Colin traveled even farther, “I found my way out here for art school from Boston, Massachusetts. I would have to say that there is a lot of L.A. in my process of writing for the project. There’s some strangely broken yet idyllic atmosphere to L.A. thats very compelling to me. I love the urban decay of the street art, something I focus on in my art & photography on my blog.”

Another way that L.A. has helped the project is by shining a spotlight on them. Their single ”Necroplasm Fix” was featured in the season three premiere episode of HBO’s hit vampire TV series, True Blood. John confided, “It’s garnered a great deal of YouTube hits, I’ll tell ya that. As uncool as it is to admit connections, the music supervisors are friends of mine and I work with them closely and often on various projects. In an effort to maintain cred however, it must be said that music can only be used if it’s right for the show. They’re very strict. Alan Ball has to like it, and I’ve never met the man. End of story. It’s true what they say about a connection getting a foot in the door, but that’s where it ends. The rest is up to you.”

In addition to other activities away from the project, both guys shared with me that they are fans of podcasts. John listens to Moheak radio, Buzzbands.la and dublab. Colin listens to Adam Freeland’s podcast and Warren Ellis’ 4am Podcast. For a laugh he also recommends Matt Berry’s podcast if you’re a fan of British humor.

Finally, they had some wicked great advice for new bands. John’s words of wisdom? “Quit. Get a job.” Colin on the other hand elaborates, “You’ve got the two sides going at it, for example the guy from Cake recently said that ‘music will be nothing more than a hobby to people in the next 10 years.’ Which I can see from his standpoint why he would want to say that. He’s part of the ‘old machine’ that generates record deals, and brick and mortar CD sales that really don’t exist anymore. Then you got guys like Trent Reznor who have some interesting ideas on how this new model of music can work. I guess I’d say just fucking do it, make music, put it on SoundCloud, give it away for free, and have fun. Because if you aren’t and you are looking for more than self entertainment at this point, you’re in for an uphill battle.”

Besides their website at Horrorfall.com, you can find their music on iTunes, Amazon, etc. You can also stalk them at twitter.com/horrorfall, and watch their videos on youtube.com/horrorfall, including the video for “Cracks In The Walls”.

Monster Mash with Plasticoma

“I think I am decay
I am evil
My thoughts are never pure”
– From the song “Champagne and Razorblades” by Plasticoma

Our featured band this week is Plasticoma, a dark electronic trio based out of Johannesburg, South Africa, also known as Jozi. Plasticoma was founded by vocalist and writer Jaco Brewis. Rounding out the group are guitarist Shawn van Staden and bassist Derik Nel. Their song we are featuring this episode is “Champagne and Razorblades”. Much like the song from our previous episode, this song also embraces the theme of insanity. (Both songs really speak to the Malkavian in me.) However this is where the similarities end, as ”Champagne and Razorblades” is a much darker, heavier track.

In Jaco’s own words, ”I thought it was a good track to go with the theme of horror. I came up with the idea at work one day when I was feeling really sad and depressed but happy at the same time, so I thought this is ‘Champagne and Razorblades’. So that was the concept — happiness in darkness but slightly more psychotic. When we were recording the track Shawn had this idea to take the concept further and make it like a mental institution song, where in the verses we would talk like background voices of me the patient and Shawn the shrink. We also recorded some throwing of chairs and things. It was a lot of fun and it come out the way we wanted to.”

Plasticoma got its name when Jaco recorded a song for a gothic compilation album and then realized he needed a name for the then solo act back in 2006. His girlfriend Emma had suggested “Plasticoma” among others. He said, “I immediately liked it as I pictured someone in a coma but wrapped in plastic, kinda like a plastic morgue. Also I liked the name as it sounded fresh and it was the direction I wanted to go in, full electronic dark music.”

He described their music as “experimental in a lot of ways, as we are fusing heavy guitars and a lot of synths. It is still electronic music but also alternative and sometimes even rock electro if there is such a thing.” About his band mates he added, “we work well as a team. Shawn is a bit of perfectionist and I tend to quickly just write riffs and chord progressions. After that, me and Shawn will normally put a lot more work in, finer details and textures will be put in. Derik adds some solid bass lines that makes the sound fatter.”

Their album, Frei, and its title track comes from the German word for “Free”, and was written as Jaco puts it, “when the first member of the band and I parted ways, and I was well let’s just say very p* off. So I wrote the song to make me free of all B.S. But I never write songs about singular events so it became my break away song from all that bothers me in life, to make me free from this pain, make me free from this flesh, and so on.”

Jaco has some great advice for new bands, ”Keep going! Write the music, don’t judge the music. It’s easy to be over-critical, keep your dream alive. See where you’re going and you’ll get there.”

For fans of the band in Johannesburg, you can find them most of the time playing gigs in nearby Pretoria at Full Moon Lounge under V.A.M.P. parties. Their record company, Koffin Kidz Records (how can you not love that name), books all of their shows and also owns the club. Jaco added, “we haven’t played Cape Town yet, and as a goth cliché, I’m going to say we would love to play in Germany, like a tour. That would be amazing I think.”

You can find the band online at http://www.plasticoma.co.za/, as well as on ReverbNation, MySpace, and on Facebook.

Monster Mash with Witness the Apotheosis

“They say I suffer from insanity
Just between friends
I’m not suffering at all
I kinda like it here”
– From the song “Asylum” by Witness the Apotheosis

Witness the Apotheosis is a darkwave/industrial duo from Athens, Georgia and consists of Terance Schmidt and Zak Vaudo. Both provide vocals, electronic programming and compose the music. Zak also plays cello while Terance plays other instruments. In describing their synergy, Terance said, “Zak is certainly better with beats then I am, I tend to get things started, then Zak will bring a lot to the rhythm. I tend to do pretty well with creating melody – basslines, arpeggios, that sort of thing. Zak has much more experience with the genre of music that we make; he’ll pull us back in that direction when I go too far towards my rock roots.”

The song they shared with us is “Asylum” from their debut album Monomyth. The voices inside my head that scream at me from behind my eyeballs totally love this song. Apparently I’m in good company. Zak told me that “aside from being a fan-favourite, ‘Asylum’ has always just jumped out as one of the more unique songs in our lineup; it showcases our blend of style backgrounds better than any of our other works.” Terance added, “it’s the song that we have the most fun with on stage. My favorite memory playing that song was one time we completely freaked out our audience with it. After the song they just stood there, silently. I looked back at them and said ‘your silence is all the applause I ever wanted.’”

Both Terance and Zak were originally from Queens, NY, but met in Athens, GA. Terance is a fan of the music from Athens. He said, “I enjoy the B-52s, REM and Pylon especially. Music Hates You is also an influence. The bass in Pylon and REM is something I think I may draw from somewhat.” Zak noted that there isn’t a lot of electronic music in Athens to draw from, saying, “the last one that had any influence on me was Unavox. I let Terance pull the rock elements; electronic music tends to resonate the most with me.”

Myself, I love the little references to Greek myth in their band name, album titles, and such. Terance mentioned the time he sought advice from an oracle, in this case, a tarot deck. “I did a tarot reading to get some idea of how things might work out with Zak and I doing a band. It came up with the World card, which is the best card in the deck to draw. In the explanation book for my deck, one of the lines was that ‘they will all come to witness the apotheosis’, so that was a good sign. Apotheosis means becoming god-like. I like to say that when you get up on the stage and do your thing, you transcend ordinary humanity and become something more, so the name really makes sense to me.”

Even though they enjoy playing gigs, they both agreed that creating new music was more fun. Inspiration has come from many places. For Terance it has even come from just walking down the street. “Asylum started out with the line ‘I really like the flowers but what did they do with my mind?’ I was walking down Washington Street in Athens to Hot Corner Coffee when it came to me. I started writing lyrics for it and thought it would be funny. Then it got more serious, and yet still funny. It’s rare that I sit down and say, ‘Now I’m going to write a song about X.’ Instead it’s usually things that come out spontaneously and then we’ll build on them; that seems to work best.” Zak added that “the album Monomyth draws its inspiration from Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces, as does the band’s name (the Apotheosis is one of the many steps on the Hero’s Journey). The Monomyth is the singular idea, the foundation of the myth. This debut EP is our foundation.”

After Monomyth, they created and released When the Night Comes. As Terance puts it, “Monomyth was a ‘gotta have something done for Frolicon,’ a convention we played. I was literally finishing it up just in time to burn it and go.  When the Night Comes was more of a remix album of the title song. It was really cool to hear what other artists did with this song that we wrote. The track I find most interesting on it is “Modern Prometheus”, which is some very out-of-genre music for us that I started playing with late one night and Zak reading a poem over it. I never imagined I’d like it as much as I do.” Zak added, “for me, I really wanted to create a single that showcased one of our favourite songs and the transition it had undergone (with the ‘New Wave Cut’ being the first draft and the ‘Album Version’ being its reinvention). It was imperative to me that any remixes of the track were strikingly different from anything else on the single; I hate remixes that sound like they’ve been added in as filler. The Dark Clan and Creation bring extremely unique sounds to the track, giving the song new and engaging faces.”

To check out the band, visit their Bandcamp site at witnesstheapotheosis.bandcamp.com. You can also find them at ReverbNation, MySpace, Facebook, and in all the dark corners of Athens, Georgia.

Monster Mash with Counterfeit i

“Pitch black, sleepless dreams,
And muses singing
The harmonies envelop me”
– From the song 2:41 by Counterfeit i

Counterfeit i is the solo musical effort of Derek Allen, whose latest album Search Party is where our featured song 2:41 is from. This song blends together many styles wonderfully, with an eclectic ethereal energy throughout. This spooky sublime nature plays well with the experimental, industrial core of the whole album.

His music, and indeed the name of the band, represent a search for identity while sloughing off pretense. “Counterfeit i kind of started from the question: what is real? We all spend our days covering up who we are and pretending to be someone that we aren’t and don’t even want to be,” said Derek. The name of the album, Search Party, exemplifies this search, and even the titles of the other songs represent things humanity has sought, like Atlantis and Holy Grail.

I asked Derek about 2:41 and what it means to him. He said, “I feel this song is a good representation of our last EP Search Party in that it covers most of the styles present on the EP. Thematically, this song is about seeking some kind of fulfillment in this life through an obsession. 2:41 compares the blindness of obsessions to the absurd waking dreams that one has while awake for long periods of time. It’s very influenced by insomnia.”

When gigs are played live, Derek is joined by bassist/keyboardist Hank, and Bryan who runs all of their electronics and plays keys. “Both of them just seem to get the music real well and they definitely add their own individual styles to enhance the live shows,” added Derek. Counterfeit i is based out of Wheaton, Illinois near Chicago, but they’ve played in venues up and down the East Coast and the South. He said, “We’d love to get over to the West Coast sometime soon.” For myself, I’d love to catch them live if they make their way to Arizona.

Playing experimental electronic music gives an artist a great deal of freedom. Now, when I think of Chicago I immediately think of Jazz and Blues. Well, that and the band Chicago, but that’s another story. I wouldn’t have figured it for a place to catch Electronic/Industrial. However, when you realize that these are all very experimental and improvisational, then it becomes obvious that one could influence and embrace the other.

In fact, Derek told me that some of his favorite bands are “Portishead, NIN, Thrice, Project 86, and John Coltrane.” He’s also a fan of the Incoming Fire podcast, produced by our friends at Grave Concerns ezine. On his influences, though, he told me, “I think everything you hear influences you in some way, so even bands/artists that I don’t like can make me think in a different way. I really don’t care about genres. If it’s real and honest, then chances are, I’ll like it.” He also added, “to be honest, when I first started listening to electronic/industrial music, I had no idea that Chicago was, in the past, a big place for it. You don’t really see too much of it here anymore.”

Derek has been involved in music for about 12 years. When it comes to playing music he said, “some people appreciate what we’re doing and some people just don’t get it at all, which I totally understand. But I love it when people can connect to the music. My favorite shows have been the ones where I can sense that the audience, or even just one person, have a connection to what we’re conveying through sound.”

Search Party EP Cover

Of his own work, his favorite album is his recent EP, Search Party. He really enjoyed composing it, saying, “it was very layered and focused on sounds. I spent almost a year working and re-working the sounds and layering them. Also, I focused more on dynamics and rhythms. Although, it took much, much longer than our last releases, the creation of Search Party just seemed to flow.”

When I asked him what advice he would give to new bands, he offered some sage wisdom: “the only advice I can give is to be and always stay true to yourself, no matter your amount of ‘success’.” That seems to be the ultimate message of his music as well.

Derek is working on new music which I am looking forward to. If you have the chance, check them out at one of their upcoming summer tour dates.

You can find Counterfeit i on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, etc. They also have a bandcamp page with free high-quality downloads at counterfeiti.bandcamp.com as well as a special edition version at the same website. Finally, beyond their homepage at www.counterfeiti.com, you can friend and follow them at their Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube pages.

13 Questions with Dan Shaurette

This week on Horror Addicts, our theme is: B-Movies. For those of you not familiar with B-Movies, the definition of a B-Movie is a low budget genre film. Their “Golden Age” being the 60′s and 70′s.

Featured to tackle this theme is author Dan Shaurette. His story for HA episode 47, is “entitled Hunter’s Moon and is an old story of [Dan's] that [he] dredged up and dusted off for the show.”

“It is told by Bill Johnson, a vampire hunter who went out on patrol one cold October night. That night just happened to be Friday the 13th and a full moon to boot. Dark things and darker deeds were naturally afoot.”

Though you may have heard Shaurette’s promos and name mentioned; this is Dan’s first time to be “ interviewed and featured on Horror Addicts.” I asked Dan how it felt to be here for the first time and this is what he had to say. “This is wonderful. I’m a huge fan of Horror Addicts (and Night’s Knights!) and have nothing but admiration for Emz and everyone who puts together this podcast. I am honored to be here.”

Many of you Horror Addicts may have heard of Shaurette’s novel Lilith’s Love. Dan explained to me that, “[it] is a modern vampire story (set in 1993, which is when I wrote it) that tells the tale of Lilith, our female vampire protagonist, and her search to find a new home. The hunters have found her in New Orleans so she and her friend Anna need to leave. They decide to go to Phoenix, AZ, hoping that no one would expect to find vampires in the Valley of the Sun. There they find Donovan and Christian and a couple of romances blossom. There’s action, romance, reincarnation, Wiccan magic, and ominous foreshadowing. I think it has something for everyone.”

I wanted to know what had inspired Lilith’s Love, this is what he had to say. “To be honest, it was kind of a knee jerk reaction to reading Anne Rice’s novels in high school. I love her books, but to compare them to food, if I may, they are like eating rich, heavy foods. Great on special occasions but you can’t eat that way every day. I wanted to write a story that was leaner, smaller, more balanced, and local. The idea of vampires coming to Arizona, which is where I live, I thought was a great hook and it grew from that idea.”

Even though Shaurette was reading Anne Rice in high school. The author grew up on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. He jokingly added, “[y]eah, that probably explains a lot.”

Not only is he an author, Dan has a “day job” as a software developer. Of course, I was curious to see if being a software developer affected his writing in any way. “The character Donovan in Lilith’s Love is based on me, so he’s a programmer and he created a diary program that he used. Some of his journal entries are in the novel. But, other than draining my free time like Dracula on a bender, not much.”

Since, this is HA I had to ask what got him into Science Fiction. “Seriously, I’m a romantic at heart. Science Fiction is just something I grew up watching, reading, and loving. Vampires embody whatever we want them to, and frankly that is why they are hip now and are always in fashion.”

Vampires are a reoccurring theme in Shaurette’s life. “[Dan and his fiancée] hosted La Bal Masqué Nocturne, a vampire-themed masquerade ball, in 2006 to raise money for charity. [They] spent more to hold the event than [they] raised, but [they] still made a donation out of [their own] pockets.”

Still, they didn’t let that get them down. Shaurette explained to me that, “[they] learned a lot and hope to host another event in the future. Hopefully with sponsors or with the help of a group to bear the costs.”

With all the talk of vampires, growing up on Anne Rice and Edgar Allen Poe, will Dan ever transition into the Horror genre? “I’ve dabbled with horror in my short stories, like Hunter’s Moon. Lilith’s Love has elements of horror, but it would probably get classified as Urban Fantasy instead. I might write a novel that is more horror, but as I said before, I like to balance my stories, so it would probably also be a comedy of errors kind of thing as well as horror.”

If you are hungry for more Shaurette stories check out his blog (DanShaurette.com). There you can find several short stories. Also be on the look out for more of Dan’s work in the future. “[C]urrently, my fiancée and I host The Out Of The Coffin podcast all about vampires, so that is something you can enjoy now. Plus, as I said I have sequels and prequels to Lilith’s Love that I’m working on. Nothing immediate to release there, so that’s the long view ahead. I have started a new blog at SteamJunk.com all about Steampunk and there’s plans for a podcast there soon. That will discuss not just steampunk but gaslamp horror and fantasy as well as weird westerns. Gear-filled genre goodness.”

For information about Dan Shaurette, be sure to check out these websites:

http://www.OutOfTheCoffin.com

http://www.Liliths-Love.com

http://www.SteamJunk.com

http://twitter.com/dans42

http://www.facebook.com/danshaurette

http://www.DanShaurette.com