Haunt Jaunts Episode 34: Dark Divinations.

Courtney from HauntJaunts.net sat down and talked with Emerian “Emz” Rich and
Naching T. Kassa from HorrorAddicts.net about their latest anthology, Dark Divinations.

Listen here: HauntJaunts.net

MUSIC REVIEW – Empathy Test

By Jeffrey Kohld Kelly

After just completing a successful UK tour, it seems all to right to take a look at London synthpop artist Empathy Test’s remastered album “Losing Touch”. Empathy Test is not a newcomer to the electronic scene by any means, but their novel mainstream recognition within various electronic subcultures arguably happened overnight. The nostalgic and dreamy synth lines have gathered fierce attention from ravers and industrial rivetheads alike, each respectively identifying with some captivating aspect of this band’s truly panoramic discography.

To pin this band to a singular genre would be a disservice to the musicians and fans alike; drawing noted influence from post-punk and new wave artists, Empathy Test stands tall in a classification of their own, standing out proudly against other bands who simply fall into the category of new wave revival. Not a revival band in the slightest, Empathy Test’s music is charged with bright innovation, markedly with vocalist Isaac Howlett’s gentle, songbird-style vocals. A complex, yet effective atmosphere compliments all of their songs, begging to not be confined to the restriction of headphones alone. Indeed, this music is something that deserves to be experienced to its full capacity live if at all possible.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a chance to hear the yet unreleased “Incubation Song” from Empathy Test’s upcoming EP at their live performance in Manchester England, and while I can’t share that song with you today I can promise you that you’ll love it. Building on their own musical concepts, Empath Test continues to innovate and reach to broader horizons with this upcoming release, and we can see nothing but the best for them.

You can pre-order Empath Test’s upcoming EP “Holy Rivers | Incubation Song” featuring remixes by The New Division and Man Without Country on their Bandcamp profile. The EP will be released worldwide on Halloween, 2018.

For HorrorAddicts.net, this is Jeffrey Kohld Kelly

Holy Rivers | Incubation Song on Bandcamp:

https://empathy-test.bandcamp.com/album/holy-rivers-incubation-song

Empathy Test online:

https://www.empathytest.com/

https://www.facebook.com/empathytest/

 

MUSIC REVIEW – Live show: Freakangel + Neonsol + Advance

Hello and welcome to HorrorAddicts.net music reviews! This is Jeffrey Kohld Kelly.

Today we are going to do something a little bit different; rather than reviewing a new release I’m going to do a review of the Manchester date of the Freakangel & Neonsol show featuring Advance. This tour was courtesy of Beat:Cancer, a UK-based nonprofit organization doing their part to help find a cure through means of concert tours and compilation CDs, with additional support from Analoguetrash and DWA Records. As a newcomer to the UK, this was my first Beat:Cancer performance, and I was floored by the immense support the audience and musicians had for the cause and for each other. But more on Beat:Cancer later; for now I’ll get to the bands.

The first performer of the night was Advance, a Scotland-based “Dystopian Electronica” band with a beautiful combination of both intelligent and danceable synth lines. Their music was nearly reminiscent of genre veterans CHROM and Neuroticfish, but with a wholly unique approach. Their live sound was even more full and professional sounding than their recorded material, which may be in part due to the fact that their most recent album was released 3 years ago and they’ve grown more as producers over the years. Their live show, while somewhat lacking in energy on stage, seemed to provoke the most energy in the crowd. Between industrial dancing and singing along to more than half of the songs, it was clear that Advance had already made quite an impact in the Manchester area previously. Tom’s vocals exceeded his skill demonstrated in the album while live synthesizers provided by his accomplice Kimberley added just enough push to the mix to drive forwards and deliver more to the live show than could be accomplished in a studio record. Advance’s charismatic and dynamic live performance was actually my favourite of the night, and I would highly recommend everybody else to be sitting on the edge of their seats just as much as me to catch their highly anticipated and long-time-coming new album.

The first co-headliner was the Danish/Canadian synthpop act Neonsol, a band iconic for their songbird-style female vocals paired with the deep and brooding vocals of their male vocalist and live synth player. Despite the high number of Neonsol shirts circulating the audience, they didn’t immediately receive quite the same positive response as Advance. I can’t help but feel that most of this initial hesitation held by the audience and myself was due in part to the performance of their live drummer. While they may have had reasons for having him along, I found him to be almost an extraneous member as he only played a midi snare drum, and hit less than half of the songs’ snare strikes. What made me most concerned was the fact that throughout more than the first half of their set he was playing severely out of time with the backing tracks and sampled drum beats, causing the entire live show to feel out of time and sit awkwardly. These tempo issues may have been in part due to live stage monitor levels being a bit low; any band will tell you how frustrating and common this issue is. But whatever the case, I felt it took far longer than necessary for me to be able to properly sink into their performance and experience it how it was meant to be. However, when the band found the pocket they were looking for, the performance quality increased drastically and created the dark and moody swaying pulse they’re known for. Their song Manipulation was, of course, the show-seller accentuated live by the rumbling voice of their male vocalist’s backing vocals. The stark contrast in sounds is and was implemented in a lovely way, and any fan of synth-driven music should find Neonsol at the top of their record collection.

Finally Freakangel took the stage. The Estonian industrial metal band has gone through quite a bit of genre evolution over the years, moving from harsh aggrotech to a significantly more metal-driven and hardcore or even metalcore-influenced combination. The live show delivered far more on the metal front than the studio albums, Art’s guitars receiving significantly more of a central focus, topped by an incredible and energetic performance by their new Amazon warrior of a live drummer. The vocal performance did seem to suffer somewhat compared to the album versions of songs, Dmitri mumbling or moaning the lyrics between guttural screams rather than a powerful vocal delivery throughout; while he may have been trying to convey a certain vibe to the audience through this type of performance, I can’t help but think that the show itself would have been stronger as a whole had all members shown just as much energy. Curiously enough, despite being the main headliner of the night, a surprising amount of the audience moved to the back for their performance. This may have been in part because of the stiff genre divide in the night, starting with synthpop and ending in death growls. It’s possible that most of the people who came simply weren’t metalheads and had come to see Advance and Neonsol. Whatever the case, those of us who stayed at the front had a fantastic time and I hope that Freakangel will continue to deliver such high energy performances throughout the rest of their career.

For those of you who would like to know more about Beat:Cancer you can find information at the link provided below. Even if you’re not based in the UK you can support the cause by ordering merchandise or a copy of their latest compilation CD featuring the artists who performed at this show as well as many others. For those in the UK you can catch the next Beat:Cancer tour featuring Sirus throughout the UK this October!

For HorrorAddicts.net this is Jeffrey Kohld Kelly.

Advance:

https://www.facebook.com/advanceaudio/

Neonsol:

https://www.facebook.com/Neonsol/

Freakangel:

https://www.facebook.com/freakangelofficial/

Beat:Cancer:

http://beatcancer.info/

MUSIC REVIEW: Night Club

Night Club 

Scary World

Review by Jeffrey Kohld Kelly

I’ve had the pleasure of gaining early access to the remarkable electropop and industrial influenced upcoming album Scary World by the LA-based duo “Night Club”. Scary World is slotted to be released worldwide on the 24^th of August 2018 featuring the single “Your Addiction”.

Night Club’s production value is incredibly professional, masterfully compressed drums and seamlessly arpeggiated basslines building a strong and driving foundation for the music. Emphasizing electro synth wails and sirens accentuate energy and drive when necessary, but are used sparingly enough that they deliver a strong enough punch each time that it never gets old. Their vocalist’s gentle and almost tantalizing voice offers a beautiful contrast to the instrumentals, offering chiming innocence during moments of tension, and an extra dose of adrenaline when the synths take a back seat.

The album immediately sets its own stage and carries the theme unadultered from beginning to end. Yet, despite using relatively similar thick and minimalistic synth sounds and stylistic techniques throughout, each song proudly speaks for itself and never falls into the easy trap of becoming a parody of itself. The album climaxes with my personal favourite on the album, Survive, easily leaving me wanting more from them.

Night Club is currently on tour with Combichrist and Wednesday 13 across Europe and the United Kingdom on the “Everybody Still Hates You” tour, and I personally will be sure to catch their Sheffield date on the 10^th of August. I would highly recommend for anyone else along the tour route to be sure to pick up tickets for a show near them soon as well!

If you would like to hear more from Night Club and order a copy of their new album Scary World then you can visit them online at NightClubBand.com or follow them on all major social media platforms.

 

Links:

https://nightclubband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/nightclubband/

https://twitter.com/nightclubband

https://www.instagram.com/nightclubband/

https://www.youtube.com/user/nightclubband/videos

 

Masters of Macabre Challenge Coming!

It’s that time of year again Addicts, time to be entertained by three of our Masters of Macabre!

This year’s challenge is Haunted Houses. They come in all shapes, sizes, and locations with as wide a variety of ghosts, ghouls and poltergeists. See how our Masters handled their particular challenge by listening to the show airing this week at HorrorAddicts.net.

Our entrants this year are:

Rish Outfield

Location: The White House

Item: An unopened letter from 1842

Donald Pitsiladis

Location: Old School House

Item: A text book

Rick Kitagawa

Location:  Double wide mobile home

Item: A black and white television

Listen to or read their stories this week on HorrorAddicts.net and vote to win a HorrorAddicts.net prize pack!

HorrorAddicts.net 089, Julianne Snow

Horror Addicts Episode# 089

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Intro Music by: Cancer Killing Gemini

———————————————

julianne snow | the raven | edgar allan poe

http://traffic.libsyn.com/horroraddicts/HorrorAddicts089.mp3

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

| dan – raven medley | mimi – fashion | band poll |

| after the fire | raven quiz | horrific history |

| the raven live baycon | free fiction friday – matters of blood |

| david – books | black magic | kbatz – cat people |

| cassandra curtis – ghosts | kbatz- gothic tea society |

| marc – events | saph – julianne snow | mental ward |

———————————————

BayCon 2013 Raven voice work:
Marc Stephenson, Davey Mollander,

Lynette Raygoza, Cathy Raygoza,

Heather Stephenson, H. E. Roulo

& Emerian Rich

———————————————-

h o s t e s s

Emerian Rich

s t a f f

Sapphire Neal, David Watson, Dan Shaurette, Marc Vale, KBatz, Mimi

Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s

http://www.horroraddicts.net

m u s i c

http://www.graveconcernsezine.com

Exciting News from Jeff Carlson!

Jeff Carlson announces his newest release in this exclusive audio clip.

x audio lost

Check out this new work and more from Jeff at http://www.jverse.com

HorrorAddictsCon: Michele Roger Evil Holidays 4

Santa CLAWS

by Michele Roger

Santa returns after his Christmas Eve night of delivery.  But Mrs. Clause discovers that something terrible has happened… somone on the naughty list has turned Santa into a werewolf!

Having trouble with the clickable player? Here is the direct link:
http://www.micheleroger.com/Podcasts/SWTWC-SantaClaws.mp3

Michele Roger is the author of “Dark Matter” and “The Conservatory”; both horror novels.  She also hosts her own podcast of short stories called “Something Wicked This Way Strums”.  When Michele isn’t writing, she is performing as a solo harpist as well as in the ensemble “Bellissima Musica”.  You can find both her writing and her music at www.micheleroger.com

HorrorAddictsCon: Michele Roger Evil Holidays 3

The Christmas Eve Monster

by Michele Roger

A short holiday story about a young girl who doesn’t want pink guitars or ballet lessons for Christmas.  Instead, she would rather have a monster to call her very own.  Here is what happens when Christmas wishes come true….

Having trouble with the clickable player? Here is the direct link:
http://www.micheleroger.com/Podcasts/TheChristmasEveMonster.mp3

Michele Roger is the author of “Dark Matter” and “The Conservatory”; both horror novels.  She also hosts her own podcast of short stories called “Something Wicked This Way Strums”.  When Michele isn’t writing, she is performing as a solo harpist as well as in the ensemble “Bellissima Musica”.  You can find both her writing and her music at www.micheleroger.com

HorrorAddictsCon: Michele Roger Evil Holidays 2

The Marvelous Madame BienVenu: Course 1

by Michele Roger

Madame BienVenu hasn’t lost her touch in the kitchen.  She has created some of the most delictable and dellish dishes for her guests.  But it isn’t food she’s interested once everyone sits down at the table.  Her prodical daughter watches in amazement as her elderly mother charms a handsome news reporter, defends the battered preschool teacher, and begins to cast her spell that will bring a lifetime of justice to a table.  Her unsuspecting dinner guests have no idea that Madame BienVenu plans to have one last night of revenge mixed with black magic……

Having trouble with the clickable player? Here is the direct link:
http://www.micheleroger.com/Podcasts/Madame-Bienvenue-Course-1.mp3

Michele Roger is the author of “Dark Matter” and “The Conservatory”; both horror novels.  She also hosts her own podcast of short stories called “Something Wicked This Way Strums”.  When Michele isn’t writing, she is performing as a solo harpist as well as in the ensemble “Bellissima Musica”.  You can find both her writing and her music at www.micheleroger.com

Horror Addicts 069, Peter Giglio

Horror Addicts Episode# 069
Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich
Intro Music by: Saints Of Ruin
————————
current era | peter giglio | sunshine | xiesive
Find articles at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

Click to listen:

[audio http://m.podshow.com/media/18914/episodes/297449/horroraddicts-297449-09-29-2011.mp3]

| current era horror tunes | sunshine | the machine stops |
| skulls | pumpkin teeth | forbidden fiction | raggedy chan |
| books | free fiction friday | masters of macabre | inbred |
| the thing red-band | 100 word story | sonoma book fest recap |
| laurel anne hill | ann wilkes | camille picott | michelle murrain |
| uk film news | hijack the blog | gothhaus | theme song banc contest |
| writers workshop details | events | xiesive | peter giglio |the machine stops
http://www.bellefairepodcast.com/
skulls by armand rosamilia
http://armandrosamilia.wordpress.com
pumpkin teeth
http://www.etsy.com/listing/59115359/6-package-pumpkin-teeth-your-choice

http://www.forbiddenfiction.com

nine-tail fox: a chinese heritage tale
http://www.bellefairepodcast.com/

Laurel Anne Hill
http://www.laurelannehill.com

Ann Wilkes
http://www.annwilkes.com

Camille Picott
http://www.camillepicott.com

Michelle Murrain
http://www.murrain.net/

Having trouble with the audio button above? Try this direct link:
http://m.podshow.com/media/18914/episodes/297449/horroraddicts-297449-09-29-2011.mp3

h o s t e s s: Emerian Rich
s t a f f
Knightmist, Sapphire Neal, David Watson, Ed Pope, Dan Shaurette
Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email emzbox@sbcglobal.net
c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s
http://www.horroraddicts.net
t a p i n g . s t u d i o
Quills, A Place For Writers
13 Nightmare Lane, Awen, Second Life
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Awen/168/179/23

Masters of the Macabre Contest!

Please listen to all 8 stories, before casting your vote for…
Who will the first Master of Macabre
Email your choice to: horroraddicts@gmail.com
Voting ends October 1st! Get your vote in now!

1. Chris Ringler
Agyrophobia – fear of crossing roads
Graduation
Golf clubs

2. R. Michael Burns
Ailurophobia – fear of cats
Parade
Stereo or sound system

3. Jerry J. Davis
Technophobia – fear of tech
Y2k
Computer

4. Rish Outfield
Entomophobia – fear of insects
Luau
Hang Glider

5. Colin Barnes
Necrophobia – fear of death & dead
Gallery opening
Hunting Knife

6. Tom Andry
Osmophobia – fear of smells
Outdoor Picnic
Telescope

7. Shaunessy Ashdown
Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors and one’s own reflection
Bachelor Party
Motorcycle

8. Don Pitsiladis
Astraphobia – lightning & storms
Sporting event
Riding Mower

Guest Blog: Rhonda R. Carpenter on Wicked Women Writers Most Wicked 2010

A little over 3 years ago I started dabbling in horror. It all started as a joke. Emerian Rich, the founder of Horroraddicts.net and author of Night’s Knights a vampire series,  joked on her podcast she needed to make me scary. She stated in her podcast 13 things that would make Rhonda scary.

You see I tend to write historical fantasy fiction like The Mark of a Druid which is available everywhere even in pod novel formats and I am pleased to say for a first time author it has done exceptionally well including hitting the top of the UK Amazon Kindle Charts at #2 in Historical Fantasy just a few weeks ago.

Horror doesn’t come naturally to me. But I completely enjoyed the Horror Addicts platform and have written several things for them and the support group of Wicked Women Writers in an effort to stretch myself as an author.

Simply put WWW is a private facebook group of female writers that mostly produce horror but we discuss all kinds of writing styles and genres. We check in on each other, brain storm, encourage and sometime kick each other under the virtual table of; come on you can do this, support. For the last 3 years WWW has held a competition that is fan voted. The winner carries the title of Most Wicked for the year and receives books and prizes. Last year my story, Barring Lilith, won! And because of that win a new audience was introduced to my work.

Well it is now time to hand that title to the next Wicked to win. On July 7^th the 10 stories from this year went live on Horroraddict.net. Voting will close August 1^st, 2011 at 12:00 pm PST. So you still have time to listen and vote for one of these Wicked Women Writers.

What does this mean for you and why should you care? I don’t know about you, but I am always on the lookout for the next new author that is going to make my day with their writing. The awesome thing about this competition is that all you have to do is listen and vote via email. One lucky voter will win free books, ebooks and schwag from HorrorAddict.net and all 10 of the WWW and me. It’s like Halloween with Christmas presents.

Hear 10 new authors!
10 Free short stories that will scare you silly!
One author wins!
One lucky voter wins too!

Listen at www.horroraddicts.net and vote for your favorite by sending an email to horroraddicts@gmail.com . Make sure you include your snail mail address in case you are the winner the gals can send your prizes.

Until August 1^st I am still the Most Wicked Woman Writer but I will always be WWW2010. My name is Rhonda R Carpenter I am an author, podcaster, and co-host of the wildly popular www.podioracket.com where you get the news and contest info, author interviews, writing and podcasting tips from all the Podiobooks.com authors. You can find out more information about me and my works at www.themarkofadruid.com, www.rhondacarpenter.com. Come say hi to me on Twitter @RhondaCarpenter or find me on facebook http://www.facebook.com/rhonda.carpenter. And just because you are reading this blog you get the Ebook Version of the full novel by entering the coupon code when you check out YV24T at  www.smashwords.com. This coupon is good until July 30^th, 2011.