The Department is a duo from London (Rob Green) and Gothenburg (Magnus Lindstrom). It is a relatively new band (2012) but the guys are clearly much more experienced than this. For instance Rob Green used to make progressive house in 90s and he worked as a DJ in several clubs. This is just to say that, although this is a debut, these guys are not inexperienced. And as a matter of fact the debut 'Alpha' is a well played album. But let's start from the beginning. The Department is a band clearly inspired by classical electro and new/dark wave. As Rob himself admits, they clearly stands on the shoulders of giants such as early Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths, Soft Cell, New Order. However, they are a particularly interesting mix and they have plenty of peculiarities. These guys are incredibly good in arranging songs, they know how to choose a good bass or a good lead, to make a good lines and, moreover, they are very good in structuring songs. Finally, there are also songs with commercial potential, such as 'Not for you' and 'As if transformed'. Overall, I think that 'Alpha' is a damn good album, and we will hear about The Department very soon.

Veil of Light is dark wave band/post punk (whatever this means'¦) from Zurich. This is a sort of goth rock album. Actually, it reminds me early Canaan. I mean a lot. Therefore, here we have minimal guitars, sad melodies, nice pads and lamenting vocals emerging from a far reverberated dimensions. The quality of the album is not completely homogeneous, in the sense that there are very good tracks (Pale Eyes, In Ruins, Falling Apart, Sleepless Nights) while others are completely meaningless (Xi, They Said, Shoulders). But I think that this band has a great potential: this band will surely improve its sound, the quality of its songs, and in the future the band will likely publish some very good albums. However the biggest concern is that Canaan did (and continue to do) this kind of stuff, and clearly much better than these guys (or it is a one manx band? I don't understand it). So the real question is: Why should I buy this album? I have already the whole Canaan's discography. It is not like in Black Metal, where people (me included) are constantly looking for the same old stuff, and bands playing black metal on the same line of Darkthrone or similar early bands are successful. Here I expect something peculiar, but at the moment Veil of Light still has to find its own identity. However, I'm still rating this album with three stars, because I enjoyed it overall.

There are, I think, three logically possible ways of combining electronics and punk. First, you can do punk and then use some synths to reach a certain sounds that you wouldn't be able to reach only with guitars. Many hardcore bands can have this approach sooner or later, and basically it depends on the fact that, while they're recording an album or an ep, in the studio there are some synths and they use it ('Ok well, to enrich our gloomy atmosphere, let's put some basic lines of organs!'). The result is usually nice IF THE BAND PLAYS GOOD PUNK. Conversely, there are bands who are completely into electronics music and they use some guitars to enrich their sounds. Consider for instance Alien Vampires: they do (horror) trance/ebm, but since Nysrok is also a talented guitarist here and there they make use of guitars. Nice result too. Finally, there are bands that combine hardcore guitars and electronics and they form a real hybrid: they play neither 'punk with some synths' nor 'ebm with guitars' but they play something else. Digital hardcore is a good case in point. I'm terribly sorry for this long introduction, but it was necessary to introduce this band called 'Lost Tribes' produced by the very good label Avant! Records. Lost tribes' 'Solace' is an album combining hardcore punk, with crust vocals, with some little tiny synths (some moog bass-like and pipe organs). And that's it. I don't see exactly why one should buy such an album if he is into electronics. I mean, this is a crust album (not particularly original) with some synths. I have the impression - probably I'm wrong - that this band is supposed to play the mix of electronics and punk of the third kind. But this is not the case. Therefore, I cannot rate this album since for Chaindlk is out of topic.

Hot Guts is a peculiar band from Philly (I lived there for almost ten months but didn't know about their existence'¦unfortunately). They started as a punk band and then they evolved into something quite unexpected from a punk band. I mean'¦bands today can have access to any kind of instrument without being rich, so these are amazing times to chart the development of quite traditional genre such as punk and to see what happens. Hot Guts say to play a sort of minimal electronics close to EBM with some tribal industrial and neofolk hints. Actually, I don't think it's an appropriate description. There is something more than simply 'minimal electronics' (whatever this means!). I think that the backbone of Hot Guts' songs is genuinely krautrock, that is a sort of 'cosmic music' open and somehow ethereal with interesting minimalist guitars. Clearly, this is not old fashioned krautrock, but it is a contemporary interpretation of that attitude. There are wise arrangements with samples providing the idea that songs are carefully designed from the first to the last second. Finally, the Neofolk touch: spoken worlds, or at least with a minimal tone. Therefore: krautrock with cutting edge instruments meets punk and Death in June. Fucking amazing! Produced by the interesting label Avant! Records on vinyl.

Time has finally come. Roger Karmanik is back. Many years have passed since the last fresh meat from Mister CMI. From Kamikaze Kabaret (2005) Brighter Death Now have published several releases but there were just unpublished tracks, live, or re-edition of historical records. Then last year CMI passed away, and we all thought that time for burying BDN too was arrived. We were wrong. The new album is called 'With Promises of Death' and it is produced by Roger's brand new label called Familjegraven. The album begins with a song ('With promises of death') that sounds more like a slogan: 'This is not over', with Roger keeps on singing this for the rest of the song, with reverberated and distorted voices, in the best death industrial tradition. Many years have passed since last Roger's composition, so our guy is a little bit rusty, but the result is nonetheless amazing. I hasten to add that this album reminds me somehow 'Necrose Evangelicum' although 'With Promises of Death' is a little bit more - how to say - 'agitated'. Rhythmic typical BDN bass are more prominent and invasive than 'Necrose Evangelicum', but the philosophies behind the atmospheres in my opinion are similar. Gross and slow bass, with a touch of rhythm, articulates Roger's lament. As usual, Roger Karmanik tugs the listener deep in the ground floor of human's soul, where conflicting feelings melt within each other. Here everything is allowed, and we pass from sarcasm to anger passing through sadness. A special mention goes to 'In The Shadows of Death', where a sort of cheap pipe organ draw a sinister melody, and Roger sings over it. I was waiting for this album since many years, and now that it is here, I can only say that this is a great album, and now we expect a lot of more from Mr Karmanik, reborn like a phoenix from the flames of hell.