Uranium “Pure Nuclear Death”

    The American one-man savage doomsday composer behind Uranium unleashes a devastating full-length album that is brighter than a thousand suns and more devastating than anything one could have ever imagined. The mixture of agonizing black metal and surrealistic industrial elements creates a wasteland of post-apocalyptic sounding horror, making Uranium’s sophomore release, “Pure Nuclear Death,” an utterly haunting listening experience. 

    Uranium is working with Sentient Ruin once again, which comes as no surprise given the fact that Sentient Ruin was responsible for releasing Uranium’s cassette compilation “Wormboiler" back in 2021 as well as the band's first full-length album, “An Exacting Punishment.” This new release definitely continues the reign of industrial extreme blackened electronic chaos that one can hear on the previous releases, but I think this album goes even further into the entropic sounding landscapes where all light is devoured by a dark cloud of ash. 

    When I look at this album and the five tracks which are featured on it, I find that the entire release is one vivid sounding abysmal tale from beginning to end that almost traumatizes you as your mind is constantly being overloaded by these surreal arrangements. From the very first track, “Absolute Terror,” you are met with a festering swarm of raw aggressive guitar distortion and nerve pounding rhythms. Uranium holds nothing back and really begins the album with a merciless assault of sonic terror, thus grabbing your attention as the music radioactively seems to evolve into even darker sounding directions. On the second track, “Pure Nuclear Death,” you find yourself speechless hearing the crackling sounds burst out of the speakers while these sound clips discuss the grim realities of what will happen if we experience nuclear armageddon. 

    For me the album is going to be one those releases that you either find extremely fascinating, or one which will end up leaving you completely terrified and not wanting to leave your house for a week. The music is very abrasive sounding as the album progresses with song's such as “Casual Violence” and “Fortified Mass Fungus.” In terms of the explosive chaotic compositions, they only become more overwhelming as you try to make sense of the bleak reality which will befall humanity if we continue to march off the cliff and into a hopeless oblivion. The vocal parts on this album actually impressed me the most, as the vocals really compliment the doom like atmospheres that give off a very cinematic like aura at times. I really enjoyed the last song, “Black Knight Satellite,” as the Godflesh-like approach with its agonizing industrial elements aggressively shreds away at your sanity. You almost cannot imagine what you are hearing is human as the music transforms into this cataclysmic electronic onslaught. 

    Overall, Uranium’s “Pure Nuclear Death,” is a horrifying extreme warning to all of us regarding nuclear war and the impacts it will have on our world should our world leaders decide to the press buttons. I think Uranium’s unfathomable extreme creativity throughout this release was on full display. Even if you are not a fan of this type of music I believe that the attention to detail as well as the strong production made the album’s theme undeniable potent. Extreme music has always been at the forefront when it comes to calling out these topics that people tend to ignore, which is why labels like Sentient Ruin and artists like Uranium continue to gain massive support from the underground extreme music community. Highly worth checking out if you are into punishing extreme music with a very profound message! 

Check out the song "Pure Nuclear Death" :

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/pure-nuclear-death

 

Concert Review: My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult with Special Guests ADULT. and Kanga

 

Sunday night August,13th in downtown San Jose, CA was one massive fanatical electronic/industrial gathering that featured three solid acts. Headlining was industrial/electronic music icons My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult along with openers ADULT. and Kanga. Performing at The Ritz, a venue that is extremely significant when pertaining to the music scene in downtown San Jose, I had a strong feeling that this would be an epic show. 

Hell, even before I arrived at the venue there was this buzz in the air as I walked through downtown, which seemed to be hosting some sort of festival/bloc party with street vendors as well as people dancing in the middle of the sidewalk. The atmosphere around the city and even inside the venue was unbelievably electric. Before the first act even took the stage I felt as though people were in good spirits just listening to the music being played by DJ Basura who was ecstatically rocking out in the DJ booth.  Even if some of these people were probably under the magic spell of a feel good type of substance, I'd rather have people in a positive mood before a show compared to a bunch of angry looking yokel ready to whack you in the back with a steel folding chair. 

The first act of the night was Kanga, a female synth pop artist from Los Angeles, who actually took me by surprise. I had checked out some of her material earlier in the week to get an idea of what she sounded like and to be honest the recordings that I heard were just not fully grabbing me. However, once she started performing and I watched her command the stage with such mesmerizing presence, I started warm up to her sound. Quite frankly, I am the furthest thing from an indie pop/synth pop fan, but I can respect the music and appreciate the creative talents that go into writing and arranging the songs. Also, I thought she had a really strong natural voice compared to a lot of these new artist that I hear who tend to drown their voices with unnecessary digital effects. One song that I like was, “Rehab” because Kanga really brought a tremendous amount of euphoric passion as she sang over the adrenaline pumping electronic beats. 

Kanga

Following Kanga was, AUDLT. , an electronic/synth wave duo from Detroit, MI. The band started the show by wrapping a piece of tape from one end of the stage to the other and then the singer, Nicola Kuperus, attached a wire that seemed to be hooked up to an effects pedal of some sort to create these unearthly sounds. As Nicola madly ran her hand up and down the tape to send these ear shattering noises through the speakers, Adam Miller, hammered out some thunderous rhythms to create this cold dark electronic sounding atmosphere. Throughout the band’s set I was extremely impressed by Nicola’s stage presence as she has this punk rock attitude where she come right up to the crowd and delivers the lyrics with such vivid tenacity. Also, I liked how at the end of their set she walked out into the crowd to perform the final song, while Adam just kept rocking out on stage with such a suave presence. 

ADULT.

Once AUDLT. finished their set and cleared the stage, it was time for the night’s headlining act, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. The band’s second full-length album “Confessions of a Knife…” is without a doubt one of my favorite albums, so when the band opened with the song “Burning Dirt” I started singing along as well as most of the audience in attendance. There was this thrilling electricity in the room as the band performed that allowed you to get lost in the infectious electronic sounds coming from speakers. Buzz McCoy was rocking out from behind his keyboards, while Groovie Mann delivered the lyrics with his distinct voice and charismatic stage presence. Also, Mimi Star is a solid bassist and her tone made songs like, “A Daisy Chain for Satan” and “Sex on Wheels,” sound even more brilliant when hearing them live. Plus, Justin Thyme did a great job behind the kit and in my opinion was one reason as to why the band had such a tight overall sound. 

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

I thought they played with such passion and the audience was really going all out as the band continued to deal out some groovy sinister electronic cuts like, “Ride the Mindway” and “And This is What the Devil Does.” For their final song of the night the band played, “Kooler Than Jesus,” to a massive pop from the crowd and it perfectly capped off the evening. From the start of their set until the end, the band seemed to be fueled by the audience's passionate support, which made this such a thrilling experience. 

Once the show was over and I made my way out of the Ritz and onto the streets of San Jose I felt exhausted, but also really elated as I walk back to my car to make my trip back home to the mundane suburban confines of San Ramon. Seeing this show reminded me of how strong the connection can be between a band and its fanbase, and I do believe it is why My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult has continued to thrive for so many years, as well as the band's unique and passionate creative mindset. All around this was a great show and if you have the chance to see them when they perform near you, I'd highly recommend going as they have more stops on the tour. Only complaint of the evening was going home a section of the 680 freeway was closed because of road work and I had to take a detour, but that is what you get living in this chaos carnival known as the Bay Area. 

Check out the show if it comes to your town, or if there is a stop close to where you live! 

Pale Cremation “Malevolent Cosmic Forms”

    Whenever the aliens decide to meet our leader they will not be asking for Joe Biden, but instead they will be wanting to meet, Matt Lasserre, the mastermind behind Pale Cremation. On Pale Cremation’s new release, “Malevolent Cosmic Forms,” Matt takes listeners completely off course by conjuring up some songs that sound as if they came from another galaxy far far away. 

    I would best describe Pale Cremation as a one-man doom act that throws in some other rock/metal elements as well, thus delivering a hauntingly groovy hard hitting sound to jam through your speakers. However, the two new tracks featured on this release sort of venture down a different musical path compared to previous releases, which I think makes the new music vividly jump out at you right away. Instead of classic sounding doom metal coming at you with thunderously monumental riffs, you are pulled into this chaotic sounding science fiction themed cinematic realm that is utterly unpredictable. 

    The opening song, “Malevolent Cosmic Forms,” is a sadistically warped musical creation featuring at first some death metal elements as well as some industrial metal elements to create a fearsome piece of music. Matt’s harsh distorted vocals confidently growl over the cataclysmic instrumental destruction to add to the hellacious sounding arrangements. All of a sudden the music stops and transitions into this cosmic hallucinogenic electronic atmospheric world where you feel as though you are floating through an alternate universe and are slowly melting away in the galactic oblivion.  

    The second song on the new release, “Phobos Lab,” is more of an electric cinematic composition that compliments the whole science fiction theme Matt has going on with the new music. If you were to tell me that this is where Pale Cremation would go musically after the first release, “EP I: Pale Cremation,” I would have thought you were crazy and needed to be locked up in the loony bin along with Charlie Sheen. After listening to this new music a few times I find everything to be very creative and really fascinating given the experimental nature which Matt decided to pursue on both of these new recordings. The following tracks definitely continue to focus on the cinematic electronic elements of the second song with the third track, "Shodan," reminding me of something you might hear from an 80's science fiction film. 

    On the album's fourth track, "Containment Zone," I could hear a lot of industrial elements that reminded me of industrial icons, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, especially the pertaining to the way the entropic electronic noises somehow come together to create a very hypnotic and catchy sounding atmosphere. The final song, "Salvation Initiative (Phase II)," is a very somber piece of music which is definitely a departure from the previous three tracks by putting more of an emphasis on this very eerie melody. I really liked the rough distortion setting Matt used and how it complimented the riff as the music eventually faded into the cold lifeless sounding void. The final noises you hear are these extraterrestrial like noises as if you have finally made contact with a species from another planet and in the end you wonder, why would anyone want to visit our toilet of a planet...

    I would highly recommend that people check out, “Malevolent Cosmic Forms,” if they are into extreme music mixed with some cosmic electronic noises that all come together to tell this surrealistic science fiction tale. Hollywood might want to reach out to Matt and get Pale Cremation to help score the next big blockbuster film, because they sure as hell need help right now given all the crap they have been putting out lately. Maybe Pale Cremation can create some music for my idea of a film, “The Day Barbie was Disintegrated by Visitors From Mars.” 

Check out the album via 666MrDoom's channel below :

Pale Cremation Bandcamp:

https://palecremation.bandcamp.com/album/malevolent-cosmic-forms

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult "Sinister Whisperz IV: The Bedroom Tapes 1987-1988"

    Whenever I picture a town in the Midwest where the local preacher is giving a sermon about the dangers of satanism and degenerate musical acts trying to brainwash the youth of America, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult is always one of the first bands that comes to mind. Arguably one the most influential industrial rock/electronic bands along with the likes of Ministry, Front 242 and KMFDM, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult has amassed a very loyal cult following over the years. 

    Originally formed in the late eighties, the bad started when founding members Groovie Mann and Buzz McCoy started coming up with some unique sounding electronic/industrial ideas for their B movie project which never fully came to fruition. However, their music caught the attention of Wax Trax! Records and from that moment on the world would be gifted with groovy electronic satanic themed industrial music. This upcoming release, “Sinister Whisperz IV: The Bedroom Tapes 1987-1988,” is part of a really cool retrospective serious which the band has been doing as of recent. I think fans will appreciate getting to hear recordings that originate from the pre-band days when the two founding members first started throwing ideas around in a small Chicago bedroom during the winter1987. 

    The recordings on this release definitely provide insight into what fans would later hear on the band’s first couple full-length releases, although some of the tracks on this album are truly epic sounding electronic jams. I would describe their sound as new wave music with a adrenaline pumping satanic themed twisting, taking you on a rhythmically hypnotic journey. Buzz comes up with some bombastically raw sounding arrangements, while Groovie Man’s bewitching vocal parts perfectly compliment the catchy chaotic compositions. Tracks like, “Sermon 4 None” and “Absolution,” are trippy electronic surrealistic pieces of music that you could imagine being used to score some bizarre black and white avant-garde satanic themed art film. During “Absolution” Groovie Mann repeats the title of the song through the track, but he does it in such suave and haunting manner that the words can easily get stuck in your head. 

  

  Throughout the album you hear a plethora of audio clips from religious speakers talking about the dangers of Satan that are perfectly woven into the mind altering industrial arrangements. The best example of this would be, “Satan's Power,” because the main beat is extremely euphoric sounding, yet you hear all these people babbling on about the dangers of Satan. There are countless examples on this release where the compositions may be a bit rough, but the beats and synth arrangements create these unbelievably solid sounding jams. “Out of Order 87,” is one of my favorites off of the album and explores this very dreary atmospheric landscape where the vocals are muffled to give the music a truly ominous vibe. 

    From start to finish, when listening to this album you can really hear two individuals letting their creative thoughts flow without any boundaries, or fear of getting run out the community by a pack of bible thumping old women. In my opinion, the songs on this album serve as the blueprint for what would eventually lead to My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult becoming one of the most iconic industrial bands of all-time. The creativity and uncompromising mentality of this group has always stood out and I really hope more people check out their albums as they have a very prolific discography with enough music to send a televangelist preacher straight into a spastic frenzy. 

Promo video for the album which comes out May 9th :

Band's Website:

https://mylifewiththethrillkillkult.com/

Pre-Order for the album:

https://mylifewiththethrillkillkult.com/album/2457772/sinister-whisperz-iv-the-bedroom-tapes-1987-1988