Industrial + Beers: Episode 4: Tekhnotron

We have another episode of "Industrial + Beers" with the band Tekhnotron! In this episode, we talk about Industrial, EBM, Terminus, and current world politics and how some of it comes into play in the industrial/goth scene!

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Terminus: Shockwave (2018)

Well, another year, another Terminus! This year was definitely the most well attended show (I think 95% of the tickets were sold), but I would say, probably not the strongest lineup. I do understand that this time around it was harder to get certain bands, as a lot of them were committed to other festivals. I will say though… despite that it still turned out to be a good festival!! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of photos or videos, but I’ll share what I have! Here were some of the highlights and surprises this year:

Day 1 (Friday):

Street Sects:

This band was quite a surprise for me. I’ve heard their music online, and too be quite honest, I didn’t really dig it, but I loved their live set. I find for me, the live show is what really makes or breaks a band for me. If I like the live show, I tend to follow a band, and it may not even be their performance so much, as their live sound… I tend to like bands that are a little noisier in their live show… and their live set was definitely noisy! I also think the added noise adds dynamics to the songs that aren’t there in the recordings. Their stage performance was excellent… and I’ll definitely have to go back and listen to their releases!

Shiv-R:

This band is one of the bands I wanted to see this weekend. They sounded great, but I will say their performance was not as energetic as I thought it would be, but overall I still liked it.

Author & Punisher:

I saw this guy a couple of years back at another Terminus. I’m mentioning this project again, cause it is excellent, and the performance is great! The guy fucking builds his own midi triggered gear that have a bunch of hydraulics in them… and in his performances you can tell he really works for his music… literally, his performance is very physical.

Day 2 (Saturday):

Kontravoid:

I will say, I’ve always dug Kontravoid, but I’ve never had a chance to see him live. His performance was excellent, and once again, it's always the live show that always makes or breaks a band for me, whether it’s the actual performance, or just the sound… his sound was fucking amazing... I will say this again, sometimes the live sound always adds these dynamics or elements you won’t hear on albums and that was definitely the case here! This was probably the highlight for me for Day 2!

Unter Null:

I would say Unter Null’s set was pretty noisy, and from what it sounded like, Erica’s harsh vocals were done without vocal processing, which I quite liked, as well, as you don’t see that too often in the scene! The performance overall was excellent!

Day 3 (Sunday):

HIDE:

HIDE were a surprise for me, I’ve heard their various stuff online, but their set was amazing and intense! The music had a meditative element to it I would say, and Heather’s vocals and stage performance were quite excellent. I really think their live sound/performance does justice to the recorded music. The added smoke and strobes definitely set the mood for their set!

TrepaneringsRitualen:

I hadn’t heard of this project until he was announced to play Terminus. I checked it out online… and I really liked it. It’s kind of a black metal meets noise. Seeing the guy’s stage performance was amazing… on the corner of the stage he had a little set up of black candles and a bunch of incense… which, even though it seems so miniscule I thought it was really cool! With the smoke billowing off the stage, the strobes and the smell of the incense and then this harsh performance on top of it, excellent!! I didn’t see any physical product in the merch area, but I will definitely be purchasing his music!!

DSTR:

Daniel Myer once again put on an excellent performance, this time as DSTR. I’m really not too sure what to say, anything Daniel touches turns to fucking amazing, whether that’s just the compositions of his music, or his stage performance. I feel like he walked in and rocked the show!!

Android Lust:

This is the band I wanted to see this year. I’ve liked Android Lust since she put out her album "The Dividing". I’ve said this before to some people, but Shikhee is definitely the female version of Trent Reznor. The performance was amazing! I don’t normally go into shows with expectations of what a band should sound like, or what their performance should be, but for seeing them for the first time, it was perfect!

Here were some of the performances that I wasn’t necessarily into, but thought deserved a mention:

FIRES:

This band was definitely a highlight for me, they had really good energy… and it looked like they had a lot of fun on the stage. I'm not really into the synthwave stuff but still good!

iVardensphere:

Scott and company always put on excellent performances. I have seen them countless times so, don’t really need to go into the details. Excellent performance!

ACTORS:

These guys, like the last Terminus, put on excellent performances, and they are very polished. I think I mentioned them last year, so no need to mention them this year again. Excellent!

FGFC820:

I don’t mind these guys music, although, I don’t actively go out and listen to it. I will say though they did put on an excellent show!

Leaether Strip:

It’s Claus, he put on an excellent performance! I don’t normally listen to his music, but it is definitely starting to grow on me!

Even though this year wasn't the strongest year in the lineup for me, I will say probably one of the better (or most enjoyed) Terminus's I've been to! Not so much in the music department, but definitely seeing people I haven't seen since the last Terminus, and I also met a lot of new cool people too! I really didn't want it to end, and for me this year, I'm starting to feel like these people are starting to become family. I hope this festival continues to be a thing here in Calgary for many years to come! I can't wait to see what next year brings, and I can't wait to see all you folks again!! See you at Override!!

Industrial Music Monday - Thundercube

It's Monday, and that means...Industrial!!! This week we have a project out of Prince Albert, SK, Canada. The music is in the vein of electronic/industrial/dubstep. This solo endeavor is the creation of Tyler Johnson. The project is called: Thundercube!! Check it out!!!






thundercube on Bandcamp

twitter.com/ThundercubeEDM

Industrial Music Monday - DV8R

It's that day, and you know what that means... Industrial!!! This week we have a band out of Seattle, Washington. The music is in the vein of electro/industrial/ebm. The band consists of three members: Corey Wittenborn (Vocals, music, programming), Matt Sharifi (Music, programming, live drums), Kevin Preston (Additional production, live keys). Together they are called: DV8R! Check them out!!!






facebook.com/DV8RBAND

DV8R on Bandcamp

DV8R youtube

www.dv8r.net


P.S.: I kinda get a Icon Of Coil vibe from them, what do you think?

Review: Nine Inch Nails: Bad Witch

Excerpt from a Facebook conversation with a friend in regards to Nine Inch Nails "Bad Witch":

"Do you like it?"

"That is the burning question, isn't it? lol! To be truthful and honest, what I've heard is decent, and I get that all these EP's are more on the noisy side of things... I do like Trent's 'Bowie' voice (I know he wasn't going for that, but that is what it sounds like), I also feel these three EPs are definitely not NIN's strongest, but I will say being that NIN is now Trent and Atticus, and the dynamic is different, I'm assuming Trent isn't calling all the shots now... so we hear Atticus' influence (course, I have no idea what the writing process is like with them, as I've never been in the studio with them... and I haven't found an interview with them that goes into detail)... I will say though, even after all these years, the production is fucking amazing... I still wonder how Trent and company come up with all these sounds and shit (and the dynamics)... and when I've found (with NIN) that when something initially doesn't sound strong with me, I still end up liking it in the end... there is not one NIN album/release that I don't like... sometimes it just takes repeated listening... and I grow into it. I have a really hard time trying to pick a favorite album/release from them, cause I really do like them all." 


There you have it! If you haven't listened to Nine Inch Nails "Bad Witch" yet, I would highly suggest checking it out!!! Definitely worth the $12 I paid for it!!

P.S.: I would also suggest picking it up online through the NIN.com site (support them directly), or picking it up at your local mom & pop shop (they need your love too)!!

Industrial Music Monday(ish) - Siva Six

Well, it's that day(ish) and you know what that means... Industrial!!! This week we have a project currently out of Athens, Greece. The music is in the vein of dark electro/industrial. The band consists of two members: Z (vocals), and U-RI (keyboards). They are called: Siva Six! Check them out!!!





sivasix.bandcamp.com

www.sivasix.com

facebook.com/sivasix

40th Pass Around The Sun!!

Well, here it is… my 40^th pass around the sun, and I’ve never felt better, and more energized! I don’t feel old, I feel like I’m still 23. When I look in the mirror, I still see this young man, trying to make his way in the world. I may not be as far as I want, but my attitude is still the same, I’m never gonna give up. I have had my struggles… for a period of five or six years I wasn’t doing well mentally… and out of total honesty, I realized, I don’t have time for that shit anymore… I knew this a long time ago, life is short… we only have about a hundred years to live, if we are healthy (mentally, physically, spiritually). Sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves, but after spending too much time dealing with mental bullshit, I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life dealing with that shit (now things are much more manageable, and the mental part is now pretty much a non-issue [finding coping techniques {that work for you} is key!]). Now, I have a music career, I’m an artist (drawing, painting), I have big dreams/goals, I may be 40 now, but that doesn’t mean those things have to end… I think too many people get caught up in the idea that once you’ve reached 40 or 50, that’s it, life is over and you have to give up the things you wanted to do in the past… what I’ve always thought was, rather than giving into the stupid stereotype that “oh, you’re too old...", or "it’s too late to do these things now…”, that it’s never too late! If you’re fucking 80, you can still go out there and achieve your dreams, it just means you’ve less time to do it in… but it is not impossible… and yes, you still can strive for your dreams to be a rockstar at that age… I think Al Jourgeson was 35 when he went big with Ministry. Every birthday since I was 30 I’ve looked back and taken stock of what I have done, and then planned and set goals for the next year… this year is no different! I’m still setting goals with the intention to achieve them… there has been a lot of moving forward in the last 6 months… there’s a lot of shit going on, a lot of exciting shit! Stuff that I can’t go into detail right now that I’m working on behind the scenes (not directly related to my music and art, but very applicable in that sense as well also). There’s also shit that I’m working on that is directly involved in with my music and art career, if you follow my Twitch page on FaceBook and/or are connected to the Twitch Newsletter: The Twitcher… you will know I’m working on a couple of new things, the most immediate one, is a new EP… which I’m not sure about the release date, or even when we’ll play in support of it, but rest assured, you will know when it arrives!! I’m also working on another musical endeavor that takes place after the EP, but I’m not going to go into great deal on it right now, cause we are still a ways away from an actual release and shit! Also, we are hoping to do more shows here in Calgary, and more out of town shows as well (hope to bring the Twitch to some out of province places as well)! Not only do I have that shit going on, but next year (2019) will be 20 years of Twitch, and I plan on doing something special for that… not gonna tell you what it is, but things are slowly being put together. 40 is here! Can’t wait to see what the year brings, or what I bring to it! ;)