IVM's All Hallow's Read recommendations

Since its inception in 2011, acclaimed author Neil Gaiman's All Hallow's Read has been a movement aimed at getting people to give each other scary books as a present for Halloween. This isn't, as the author states in his original promotional video, something to replace parties, trick-or-treating, or all the other daft fun associated with the day, but just a little something extra to promote not only reading, but horror as a genre of fiction.

It's a simple but noble idea and one that we at Intravenous Magazine give our backing to. If it is something that you would be introducing to your annual Halloween festivities, here's a few lists of recommended books to get you started. This is by no means an exhaustive or definitive list, just some varied suggestions for anyone who likes a good book.

Ten Classic Horror Novels For Adults:

The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty

The Shining – Stephen King

Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus' – Mary Shelley

The Hellbound Heart – Clive Barker

American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis

The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells

Dracula – Bram Stoker

I Am Legend – Richard Matheson

The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stephenson

The Woman In Black – Susan Hill

Ten Horror Novels For Children/Teens:

The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman

A Series Of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snicket

The Eyes Of The Dragon  – Stephen King

The Witches – Roald Dahl

Krabat  – Otfried Preussler

Lord Of The Flies – William Golding

Wizzil – William Steig

The Halloween Tree  – Ray Bradbury

Aunt Maria  – Dianna Wynne Jones

The Thief Of Always – Clive Barker

Ten New Horror Novels In 2013:

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane – Neil Gaiman

Red Moon – Benjamin Percy

Little Star – John Ajvide Lindqvist

Apocalypse Cow – Michael Logan

The Lords Of Salem – Rob Zombie

Doctor Sleep – Stephen King

She Walks In Darkness – Evangeline Walton

Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard – Kim Newman

Harrowgate – Kate Maruyama

The Bell Witch – John F.D. Taff

If you want to find out more about All Hallows Read, you can visit the official website. We'd also love to know what your favourite scary books are, so why not give us your own ideas in the comments section for this post on our Facebook page.

Read More

IVM Sponsors NORTANZ 2013

As if sponsoring a fantastic gig and a great club night isn't enough, we'll be plugging Northampton's own all day alternative-electronic music festival, Nortanz. The festival will be invading on 7th December, 2013 and will feature some of the UK's brightest electro, cyber-punk, techno and industrial acts.

Bands Performing:

• Sheep On Drugs – Headliners – Industrial dance pioneers from the band who penned '15 Minutes Of Fame', 'Motorbike' and more. Splendidly named Sheep On Drugs set out to simultaneously mock and revel in the excesses of pop culture. Blending a mixture of sleazy rock, hard techno and punk nihilism into their own peculiar cabaret act of a rock'n'roll band.

• Cyferdyne – Massive Industrial/EBM music with a decadent mixture of harsh and clean vocals.

• System:FX – Industrial/electronic music with a London edge! Hints of Cubanate, Killing Joke and The Prodigy but mostly just themselves!

• Petrol Bastard – PETROL BASTARD is a two-piece sweary techno-punk outfit from Leeds, UK. Petrol Bastard formed in February 2012, and are already gaining a reputation for insanely energetic stage-shows, and hard/fast/nasty music with snarling vocals and annoyingly catchy/stupid lyrics.

• Jan Doyle Band – Minimalist post-punk synthesiser music for the dark hearted.

• Biomechanimal – London-based Electro-Industrial/Harsh Dance act, providing copious bass.

• Wrapped In Plastic – Rose from a ditch and went to Mortville where all the criminals live. They killed Queen Karlotta and arose from Mortville to become the filthiest band alive! Old school Marilyn Manson-esque dirty industrial rock.

• Ctrl Alt Del – "Sit back and enjoy the ride. It's heavy, ambient, glitchy, 8bit Geekstep weirdness..........we think?"

• Petrol Hoers - REALLY GOOD AND SEXY Petrol Hoers is a producer, performer and also a horse.


Before, during and after the bands, electro-goth & industrial djs will be playing the best tracks from the scene in the front bar.
Djs from 2pm in the front bar, bands on the main stage from 3pm

Tickets are on sale at http://www.nortanz.com/nortanz/cat_605900-Tickets.html
£12 single ticket + postage
£20 pair of tickets (2) + postage
£12 each on the door

Tickets are available to purchase from DJBod at M.2.M.2. and Rapture club nights.

For more details on the bands, checkout our website www.nortanz.com or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nortanz

The bands will also have limited tickets for sale so you can also purchase direct from your favourite.

Doors and ticket exchange will start at 2pm
Bands will run on the main stage from 3pm followed by djs until 3am
Band merchandise will be on sale in the front bar.
There will be a cloak room.

Get your tickets and end the year on a high note!

Read More

IIOIOIOII's 'Sun' available to pre-order

Hot on the heels of his single/EP 'Rising Sky' / 'Stardust' comes the label début of one-man-synth-band IIOIOIOII. Due to the positive feedback to the EP, the release date of the album has been brought forward by Juggernaut Music Group to the new date of Friday 13^th December.

The album will be available as a limited CD release and digital download, and will feature remix contributions from Garten Der Asche, Dreams Divide and Art Deko.

Track List:

1. Rising Sky
2. Weapon
3. Stardust
4. Do You Know
5. Falling
6. Spotlight
7. We're Still Alive
8. New Sedations
9. Echo
10. Goodbye
11. Stardust (Screaming Teens Remix by Dreams Divide)
12. ???
13. Rising Sky (Art Deko Remix)
14. Spotlight (Garten Der Asche Remix)
15. ???

'Sun' is available to pre-order now from the Juggernaut Music Group bandcamp page. For more information on the band, please visit the official website.

Read More

We Built This City On Goth & 'Ball: The West Yorkshire Gothic Renaissance

There are some places which everyone considers to be quintessentially Goth. Some are obvious – bleakly magnificent Hamburg; historical Transylvania; the Yorkshire Moors as they lead to the gates of Whitby. Others are less so but remain the dead heartbeat of the scene – such as the streets of LS6, Leeds, West Yorkshire. And if nothing else it represents a cheaper option for the discerning goffic than the Reeperbahn.

With the Halloween season shortly to be upon us, it is worth taking a few moments out of our busy schedules to note the truly boggling resurgence of the scene in Goth City and the surrounding hinterland. There is much to suggest that the scene is truly undead and kicking once more in the People's Republic.

Musically, the scene has rarely bolstered such a strong bunch of acts. This autumn has seen new albums from the reformed and rejuvenated March Violets and the internationally regarded classic goth of Rhombus. Skeletal Family, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Mission, The Sisters of Mercy, Salvation and New Model Army are all active. Scene stalwarts Zeitgeist Zero are on their tenth anniversary tour and are going from strength to strength. The début album from Berlin Black promises to be a belter. The recent reformation of The Sisters of Murphy now gives the county two SoM tribute acts, along with the superb Marching Men. New goth-friendly acts like Dawn of Elysium, the Lost Souls, Witch Hunt, Distorted Pictures and Quasimodo have also started to be mentioned in dispatches. Add to that the exciting acts with strong links to the county, like Alice Moving Under Skies who release their third album shortly, and you can begin to see an almost unprecedented strength in musical depth.

Even better is that years after the closure of the scene lynchpin venue Bar Phono the logistics of the scene in the county have begun to improve too. Flock starts again this month, and Carpe Noctum has begun to settle into it's new home. A new venue in Bradford, Vampire, has also opened it's doors recently and looks set to host many new club nights and live gigs. Add to that lot the fact that at least some of the venues on what remain of Leeds' live circuit are still open, and their now appears to be at least a couple of place for acts to showcase their wares.

And of course, Yorkshire in general has more than it's fair share of UK goth-friendly festivals – Whitby Gothic Weekend, DV8, InFest, and Resistanz spring to mind.

I write this not just to annoy a raft of bands by referring to them as Goth (for which I might or might not apologise at a later date), or to siphon off some excess civil pride, but also to try and make our Halloween just that little more Wessie. Christmas may be the season of goodwill, but this is the season of dark chills, after all.

So this Halloween, do your bit for your local scene. Gothness begins at home – not everyone can be lucky enough to live in the People's Republic, but if everyone tries hard enough... maybe you won't need to.

Read More

Interview: Skinjob

Putting boot to rubber...

"I remember being given a mix tape with Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy etc. and being blown away. My background was a normal upbringing with no alternative kids. All I knew was that in the root of my veins I did not like mainstream, whatever it was I hated it."

A rising rhythm of dark electronica emerges from the smoke, followed by a heavy vice beat. Boots hit and caress the hard floor; arms glide and get lost amongst the rhythm. This is SkinJob, a one man project / two person live set. With two releases gone by and a recent tour with Icon of Coil, SkinJob are making their way through the gothic-electro scene with black luminance.

Backstage latex is being pulled off after performing at the Classic Grand, Glasgow. Fitz writer and founder of the group, takes a towel to a shiny chest and gives a glimpse of what lies beneath the electronic rhythm of Skinjob.

Intravenous Magazine: What is Skin Job?

Fitz: We started this in 1992 back when we were in college, about the time 'Pretty Hate Machine' by Nine Inch Nails came out. What we wanted to do was make post-modern industrial dance and that was the key concept, as we thought that nobody is doing this. What we wanted to accomplish is what modern EBM has become today.

We came up with very cool avant-garde ideas though we were poor students and we couldn’t afford to record. I shelved it for a few years and once I saw what computers could do and what also you can do yourself with your own music software I could see viability of bringing SkinJob back from the shadows, it could work now.

IVM: Why did you choose to bring political opinion into your music?

Fitz: In a lot of my music there are political opinions and statements. I write about things that affect me and this is one area that affects me greatly.

IVM: So do you want to use this as a way of bringing change, or just an expression of opinion?

Fitz: I haven’t really thought about it in that way, I just want to express my opinion. If people become inspired by bringing change through my compositions this is fine.

IVM: Your influences?

Fitz: I was influenced by a lot of amazing music. I remember being given a mix tape with Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy etc. and being blown away. My background was a normal upbringing with no alternative kids. All I knew was that in the root of my veins I did not like mainstream, whatever it was I hated it.

IVM: Going into the present day of SkinJob where is it now?

Fitz: We don’t know frankly, we take it as it comes. Two years ago the first album came into being and then I and Susana were in a car crash which knocked us down for a while and it was only recently I started writing music again and its now in a new direction. What I don’t want to be is a carbon copy club writer on profitability. I do it for the art of production, if it works fantastic, if not I don’t care.

IVM: How has it been on the tour so far?

Fitz: Well the guys from Icon Of Coil and Terrolokaust are really great! Icon is one of my favourite artists, so to be offered a place on the tour was fantastic.

IVM: Name two Desert Island tracks?

Fitz: 

Depeche Mode - 'Never Let Me Down Again',

Nitzer Ebb - 'Godhead'.

IVM: With the advancements of music feedback such as Soundcloud do you use them?

Fitz: I definitely love the idea of tools such as Soundcloud, as an artist you would write your album, get some reviews and find out whether it was bad a few years later. Whereas now I can write a song, put it up on Soundcloud see likes and comments, the same goes for Facebook.

IVM: Would it though govern how your music is created?

Fitz: It’s a balancing act, yes I do listen to what people may not like in a track and I’ll maybe tweak it a bit, though I am not going to do a complete overhaul as at the same time it is my material.

IVM: When music artist drama occurs in the scene, what do you think about it?

Fitz: As a music artist I am a firm believer in that once in the public eye you lose all rights to opinion… in order to become successful. If you do make an opinion, then it will instantly be dissected by anyone, for their own agenda. Then again this can work towards publicity, as any drama within the scene, causes attention; any publicity is good publicity. Whether it is good for the scene or not is another matter.

Skinjob's 'Selfish Discipline' is available to buy now via the band's bandcamp page. For more information on the band, please visit their official website.

By Dominic Lynch (LX-E)

Read More

The weekly compendium 11/10/2013

Well it's the end of another jam-packed week over here at Intravenous Magazine. Remember tonight it's the “Monster Apocalypse” at Eddies in Birmingham, so if you're there go check out our Dokka behind the DJ decks.

This week we've had not one but two live reviews. The first being from the 'Best Of British' gig at Slimlight, while the second is courtesy of Oz as he attended The Royal Albert Hall for a night of Dany Elfman's music. We've had album reviews for the latest releases from Dreaddup, IIOIOIOII, and Noir. As well as End: The DJ's monthly column and news from the likes of Miss FD and Kurt Dirt.

Over on facebook we've had news that The Mediaeval Baebes' Christmas Cathedral tour is getting a few church officials hot and bothered. The Birthday Massacre will be touring with Emily Autumn. Psyclon Nine have unveiled a brand new track. And Black Tape For A Blue Girl have released a free EP!

Oh yes and we have pictures of the Best Of British gig on our Flickr gallery, plus a video from the night on our YouTube page.

Right, that's it for this week. I'm heading to Doncaster for Tattoo Jam tomorrow, and if you're very good, I may bring you back another video.

Photograph of Cease2xist courtesy of Imago Mortis Photography

Read More

Review: Noir – 'Darkly Near'

NOIR 

'Darkly Near' 

METROPOLIS RECORDS 

Athan Maroulis should need no introduction. However if you are unfamiliar with the man, his associated projects Spahn Ranch and Black Tape For A Blue girl should be some indication of the prowess of his back catalogue. Now he returns with Noir, a project which blends the gothic and industrial elements of his past with filtered through a retro-futurist conceptual view of New York City. The end result is a dark mix of minimalistic electro-goth and beat-driven futurepop.

The opening track (and lead single), 'My Dear', sounds like a stripped-back take on 'Beat Noir' era Spahn Ranch with its compulsive beat and dance floor pace make this simply a must have track. 'The Grifter' is a little more layered with more vocals and synths building throughout the mix, but again it keeps that nice dance pace for an upbeat counter balance to the dark melodies. The first of the covers on the album, Maroulis' take on The Cure's 'A Forest' is simply divine, transforming the morose pop of the original into decadently dark electro hinting at the atmosphere of albums like 'The Coiled One'. Whereas 'The Voyeurs' ventures into the dark cabaret of Black Tape For A Blue Girl with it's sombre lead and reverb drenched vocals.

The synth-driven and beat-free formula formula of 'The Voyeurs' is then carried over into 'The Tragics', which blends the likes of David Bowie's 'Warszawa' and Wendy Carlos' soundtrack for 'A Clockwork Orange'. However, 'Timephase' brings the album back into more dance friendly waters with its filthy bass grove. The penultimate track, 'The Satin Box', is simply an excellent dark pop song which, despite it's straightforward style, is very addictive. The album then finishes off on a cover of 'Roxy Music's 'In Every Dream Home A Heartache', which until now was definitively done justice to by Rozz Williams, however Maroulis still manages to wrestle out some originality of this gloomy glam favourite.

'Darkly Near' is like a computer-generated art deco poster for a forgotten film. The the beats are clean and sparingly used, while the synths are dark and haunting. There is no over saturation, and Maroulis' distinctive vocals permeate every layer with emotion. This is an excellent consolidation of the two distinct musical strands of Maroulis' career that have come together to open up a whole new chapter for him.

Read More

Live: Best Of British – Slimelight, London

BEST OF BRITISH (XP8, Cease2xist, The .Invalid, Digital Deformation) 

Slimelight, London 

28^th September 2013 

Static Distortion Records have slowly been amassing an impressive array of artists on their diverse roster, and what better way to show off the potential of home grown talent than to put on a show at one of the worlds most famous gothic/industrial clubs. After the sad loss of Sheffield's titans Uberbyte, tonight’s new headliners XP8 stepped up, and with the band now based in London, it's safe to say we'll quite happily support them as one of our own.

It's a strange night at Slimelight with a wedding reception closing off a big chunk of the club, the festivities are relegated to the downstairs room. But even thought it is small, it's comfortable and intimate giving the night more of a party-like atmosphere.

The kick off was a little early with opening act Digital Deformation hitting the stage at 7:20pm. Unfortunately this meant your reviewer happened to miss their performance, but trusted colleagues within the audience who did make the opening doors assured that they put on a strong performance.

Luckily though, by the time yours truly had arrived, industrial one-man-band The .Invalid had hit the stage. The lone figure of Seamus Bradd maniacally filled the stage. Unrestrained he repeatedly leapt into the audience and threw himself around like a Scots Iggy Pop as the hard dance beats and grinding synthesizers of his début album, 'The Aesthetics Of Failure', throbbed through the speakers. Despite some shakiness to his voice in places, Bradd carried off his performance on the back of a serious adrenaline rush. While all those present ate it up as he reeled off tracks like 'Cry Wolf' and 'Breaksequence' which inspired some mass sing-a-long moments.

The .Invalid were exhausting to watch, so who knows how then within seconds of his solo set finishing did Bradd have the energy left to launch straight into Cease2xist's equally frantic set. The band continued to build the energy in the room with their searingly hot take on aggrotech. Vicious guitars complimented the hard beats, harsh synths and distorted vocals throughout huge songs like 'Teenage America', 'Living By The Bullet' and 'Occupy Everything' eliciting big reactions from the crowd. The band easily put on a headline-quality performance. It is pretty safe to say, that with albums like 'You Are Expendable' under their belt and high quality live performances such as this in their wake, there is little doubt that Cease2xist are going to be major players in the UK and abroad.

The night's headliners XP8 started off with a little microphone trouble, but ever the consummate professionals they weren't phased in the least. The duo of Marko and Marco have so far this year released one of their strongest albums yet in 'Adrenochrome' and are arguably stronger as a band than ever before, which is evident in their performance. The duo unleash a strong dance-orientated set that gets the audiences feet moving and bodies grooving. New songs sit comfortably the band's vast array of proven live crowd pleaser’s with particularly strong renditions of 'Information' from the latest album, as well as an excellent version of 'Burning Down' taking pride of place in the band's set. The pre-encore gap is cut short due to an impromptu show of appreciation from the crowd as they give birthday boy Marko a round of 'Happy Birthday'. It leaves little doubt that London is very willing to adopt the Italians as their own as they bring the night to a close.

The evening proved to be a strong show of support for not only the up-and-coming talent being championed by the Static Distortion record label. But also the people out there who enjoy electro/industrial music. More shows like this would only serve to strengthen the UK's identity and galvanise support for our bands.

All photography © Imago Mortis Photography - Remember to check out our gallery to see more pictures from the night.

Read More

Review: IIOIOIOII – 'Rising Sky' / 'Stardust'

IIOIOIOII 

'Rising Sky' / 'Stardust' 

JUGGERNAUT MUSIC GROUP 

IIOIOIOII (pronounced I.O.) AKA Christopher Gurney is a new name in the scene with only one full-length album under his belt. But his new EP 'Rising Sky' / 'Stardust' shows that he'll soon be well known. Blending the likes of John Foxx, Gary Numan and Depeche Mode with the grittiness of Skinny Puppy and Acretongue, Gurney crafts a melancholic, sinister and entrancing take on synthpop.

The opening track 'Rising Sky' is a pure 80's crossover with nods to the likes of 'With Sympathy' era Ministry, Gary Numan and Skinny Puppy. The B-side, 'Stardust' is borderline psychedelic with Gurney's melancholic vocals becoming almost hypnotic over the cold space-age melody. 'Could Have Been' continues the hypnotic vocals but over a minimalistic blend of John Foxx-meets-Fad Gadget inspired electro that is begging to be let loose on the dance floor. The final song, 'Good Night', gets a little darker with it's harder beat, and synths reminiscent of early Skinny Puppy complimented by sinister whispered vocals.

The four songs compliment each other nicely, steadily getting darker as they progress. Which shows off a strong level of vision that is ultimately carried through to the mix, with each song constructed with great care.

This is a very promising glimpse of things yet to come. Despite being an unknown artist, Gurney demonstrates a mastery of his craft that blends the darker side of synthpop with the lighter side of electro-industrial in a modern way. And without pandering to a misplaced sense of “Retro for retro's sake”. This is strong and relevant work that hints at great things to come.  

Read More

Review: Dreddup – 'Nautilus'

DREDDUP 

'Nautilus' 

LABTOY MUSIC 

Serbian industrialists Dreddup may not be much of a household name, but with 20 years and several studio albums to their name they certainly don't lack experience. As the band's 5^th studio album 'Nautilus' can attest. Dreddup inhabit the hard, stomping rhythmic end of the industrial spectrum favouring repeated bludgeoning impact over standard dance beats. But that doesn't make them any less catchy.

Opening with 'Awake' the band drag-out the atmospheric intro beyond a comfortable length to the point where the ambient synths and shouted vocals begin to resemble an early effort by Laibach. However the likes of 'Train To Madness', 'Fire Up The Palnet', 'Non-Negotiable', 'Face Off' and 'Nautilus' demonstrate an appeal that brings the band out of the oddity realms and into serious dance floor potential. The catchy synth leads, easy tempo and almost Rob Zombie style construction makes them very accessible.

The band is at it's most interesting though with the left of centre tracks dotted about such as the afore mentioned 'Awake' as well as 'Hospital For The Broken', 'Cold Eyes' and 'Two Of Us'. Making use of martial beats, oppressive atmospheres and jarring, sometimes glitchy synths.

As attention-grabbing as the track list is, the production isn't as good as it could be. The whole album is held back by a mix which becomes swamped and muffled very easily. The vocals never sound distinct and the use of distortion means a lot of elements blend into each other quite often. It's a shame as there is an awful lot of good song writing present on the album.

The band have the experience and the song writing talent to craft an interesting album that would work well for those who frequent dance floors as well as those who like their industrial a little more experimental. Its a fine line that only unravels in the mix. But nonetheless this is a solid offering.  

Read More