This is the latest release of the Russian Dark Electro music project Dark The Keeper. It is solo effort of Alexander Borsov, who was otherwise musically active rather in the Russian Death Metal scene as guitarist and of one of the founders of projects like (Morgue), (Atom), and (Sarcoma – this project was part of the Crimean Death Metal scene in the mid-90s). But this episodes can be left into history.
In 2011 Alexander started to produce music with electronic-based equipment. Dark The Keeper as well as his recent alter ego-projects like Stellar Dynamics, Satura or Darkmechanic (yes, Alexsnder insists to have so many different projects running like other people would change their underwear...) have indeed not too much to do with his Death Metal past, the conceptual idea especially behind Dark The Keeper was born out the influence of the legend / cult act of Dark Electro music within, GGFH (Global Genocide Forget Heaven). Yes, Alexander's music lives and breathes the overwhelming GGFH-influence on “Insight...23” here, other references I tend to name with some Splatter Squall tracks, Pain Station with their “Cold” album, or some deepest Lexincrypt moments. But actually, he has already released a tribute EP with two instrumental cover version of GGFH to their “Disease”-era and also this new album here features two additional reinterpretations. The sick and rotten GGFH world is his most important quell of inspiration, without doubt!

So we have with “Insight...23” that kind of a deep, dark, and ominous sounding release filled with uncountable twisting sounds, dark atmospheres, samples highly infiltrated with gore/splatter voices, this all accented in a bombastic, soundtrack-like design. In short: this is an ideal soundtrack for Halloween. He adds sparsely in his vocals, often provided in Russian language and in a guttural fashion, as this is quite typically for an artist out of the Death Metal genre. Mostly the tracks concentrate to create sinister mood lines and this comes united with his mid tempo-to slower grinding, pummeling, vicious rhythm and percussion patterns. This isn't the music to set fire under the floor of your next dance party event and most important: this isn't the music provided by the redundant snap light stick Harsh Electro-generation!

Outstanding - because crystal-clear – is his final mixdown and mastering process. Alexander's tracks are sounding quite polished and well-balanced and there's absolutely nothing to complain on his recording quality. Generally I find it a bit difficult to tap on a personal favorite on here, but this rather has something to do with the fact, that each track contains lots of details and dense layers of industrial madness, a lot of strange voice samples perfectly placed and with precision installed into the mix.

Also – as a matter of constructive criticism – his amount of multiple outputs as well as his almost uncountable number of different projects which all follow musically a relatively comparable direction is a bit too optimistic to the listener to be able to follow and to identify themselves with the artist.
Since Alexander has been throughout the last year immensely collaborated through mutual track compositions and remix exchanges with Tommy T. of Diverje and projects of his DSBP label roster, it should be said, that a limited number of a physical product, a CD, is available via Tommy's mail order service.

This one can be purchased without hesitation.

There's activity behind this Minneapolis-based electronic label established by Jason Hollis (Endif, Retcon) and Brooke R. Calder (Felipe & Brooke, Lolly Pop). As a result out of this, The Red Hour is a mutual project between both. “Cracks” is as far as I know their first release under The Red Hour moniker, a Maxi-Single release which surely is intended to gain some first recognition and to introduce a coming album.
While Jason's Industrial-/Noise-project Endif is rather intended to satisfy the needs of a small niche of specialized listeners, The Red Hour is surely destined to reach a wider audience with the clear intention to be successful. A "Femme-forward Darkwave duo from Minneapolis" so they call it, it needs to be said, that musically “Cracks” is a catchy and fast-forward marching Techno-/Electronic tune with a crafty produced dancefloor-compatibility.
Outstanding is the general nasty attitude provided through the raunchy vocals and BDSM-inspired lyrics of Brooke on here. Well, who won't like to lick her boots now...? ;-)
Already the chosen remix contributors speak for itself and the strategy behind, as there's prominence on this release available. The names of the remixers include the famous Belgian musician Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen, Fad Gadget, Front 242), the UK-based and Analogue Trash-recording project Nature Of Wires, DJ Transporter, Steven OLaf (who has been around for years by remixing acts like Xorcist, Out Out or Hate Dept.), Prophei, and Badrich.
Both the remix contributions of DJ Transporter as well as Nature Of Wires bring in fresh club food while the interpretation of Jean-Marc Lederman unites Jazz and Big Beat elements and is surely the strangest and most unexpected contribution on here. Badrich tested diverse Glitch percussion elements on it, while Steven Olaf used a few Break-Beats and guitar loops on it to integrate a rather more classic Industrial-/Coldwave influence to this globally modern sounding track in.
Decent stuff available on here provided by all remix contributors available as download-only release available via the Bandcamp refrences of label and band project. A YouTube video to support this track and the project is in the works too. Give a try!

Only about a half year after their last album release „On The Move“, this German IDM duo returns with this rather companion-like remix output to reward us, the listener, with new, revamped and reinterpreted music stuff out of the Villaborghese sound universe. Friedhelm Kranz and Erick Miotke have collected various remixes by foreign and musically quite differently sounding bands and projects to add their point of view on the spherical and filmic on the Industrial-Ambient-driven compositions provided by this duo. The list of remix contributors consists mostly on projects out of their friendship-base, it lesser takes a note to add the most well-known and recognized remixer for another free slot.
As usual for Villaborghese, also this remix album stands rather for the attempt to provide alternative versions without having a sense on releasing “hit” songs on a loveless compiled collection of tracks. Since this “Remixed” album provides the track-list in the same row like the one being presented on “On The Move”, it is like a little quiz for the listener to figure out the pros/cons of a remix compared to the original track. Additionally as a bonus, also the non-album tracks like “Iced”, “Digitized” or “Beatboxed” which can be discovered on Villaborghese's single output “Close” and “Surrounded”.
So logically this album starts with “Open (Scalar Fields Mix by Spherical Disrupted)” which adds a well-balanced layered and slow-stalking EBM-like note to this track. Mirko Hentrich is the mastermind behind this Audiophob-recording project and he can already look back on a more than 25 years longing career into the experimental field of sound-manipulations out of the Industrial / Ambient / IDM music-genres. Interesting fact asides of this, he is also co-owner of the Audiophob label. “Extractor” then follows, this time remixed by Eli van Vegas who is to me better known as producer / shouter of the old-school EBM project Zweite Jugend. Under his Eli van Vegas pseudonym he flirts a lot of with a Techno-inspired dancefloor-compatibility in a straight 4-on-the-floor outfit filled with creaking 303-like bass line sequences.
Third track is “Amnesia” and indeed – this one is impossible to remix without ruining it completely. That's what I actually thought in advance. Also, I can't figure out who Chris-Rico is as being the responsible remixer - but who cares? To place some distinctive voice samples in a bleeping, strange algorithm-programs Trance-like sound environment and to bring in organic warmth with some vintage 70s-sounding pads was a good idea and unexpected method of resolution.
Germany's international renowned Electropop duo Alphamay follows with a reinterpretation on "Mourn", but yeah... they couldn't make it for me, sorry. But with “Mover”, one of the most action-driven tunes on the original album, I was pretty much excited that the German Dark Electro-virtuoso Nick Jonath aka MC1R would have the challenge to remix it. There's still the speed of the original, still the open/close hi-hats percussion elements, but generally this one sounds more intensely and darker-minded with its various vocal samples surrounded into the mix. Also - a tiny FLA reference can't be argued away.
The wobbling percussion elements in combination with the vocal sample snippets provided by Duo for the track “Give” are also causing attraction, furthermore with the inclusion of the some nice piano lines. “Rising” in its original version has been my personal favorite taken from “On The Move” and it has been surely a wise decision to let the German Dark Electro duo of Amnistia putting their hands on it. Another truly-Blade Runner-like soundtrack with precisely hacking bass line sequences and meticulously chosen FX elements thrown into the mix. Really fine worked out and far away from the original track.
Comes then one of the most unusual remix contributions to this album, Jan-Heie Erchinger and his interpretation on “Chants”. I'd like to pay respect to his musically career, Jan-Heie is a music teacher, has released 11 own produced CD albums, a long-year stage experience and his music-genres are rather based into Jazz and Funk music. Nice late-night entertainment and Lounge music, but not that stuff I'd prefer actually.
It follows the project Sebshow.net and their interpretation on the track “Gloom”. Once again, additional information on the projects, especially those flying a bit under the radar, would have been a great initiative. However, I assume that this another friendship-based collaboration between the Villaborghese gentlemen Kranz / Miotke with the Braunschweig / Germany-based diploma designer Sebastian Schollmeyer. This track is a straight 4-on-the-floor-based Electronic tune with various samples out of the original recording, not bad at all.
One of the best and most surprising contributions follows with the German Synthpop-duo Neocoma and their remix on “Surrounded”. Bleeping, hypnotic bass line sequences drilling its way into brain and leave the listener excited until the main lead synth of this track enters the scenery. The absolutely “WOW” effect so far!
Dubvisionist is a project of Felix Wolter, a drummer, producer and mixer since the early 80s and dedicated to Reggae and Dub music styles. Well... diversity to be added in is also an idea to extent ones musically horizon... so to say. Transmitter is a 3-piece-Electro-/Rock-outfit with a long-year-lasting career and stage experience. I have heard already some of their action-driven tracks with multiple beats and percussion elements and a brilliant vocalist. This slow-stalking version of “Close” is actually a totally difference to the original, but actually I was hoping to hear them hammering out with the speed of the original track.
SphÄrenwandler is a second project of Nick Jonath with which he concentrates rather more on IDM / Ambient music-genres. “Beatboxed” is one of those non-album tracks of “On The Move”, one of the more beat-driven tunes by Villaborghese. The FLA influence on Nick's remix takes a backseat although it is still percussive and beat-driven but now with more glitchy variations and samples thrown in. Trilogy is Erick Miotke's follow-up project to Germany's Dark Electro legend Trial and so he has remixed with “Iced” his own composition. He added a few howling wolves samples and an underlining dark EBM-minded bassline to the icy soundscapes of the original and brings in more movement.
Since Amnistia could put their fingers on “Rising” as written above, also Tino Claus aka TC75 and one half of Amnistia is on parade with an own interpretation of this track. Multiple percussion elements and pummeling bass lines once again awake reminiscences to some Belgian EBM traditionalists like Dive, Vomito Negro, or early Insekt. Awesome!
Last appearance belongs to the famous German radio moderator Ecki Stieg who is known for his long appearance of the prominent “Grenzwellen” radio show. “Digitizer” is another non-album track, a noisy one in its original. Also Ecki's version is noisy, nearly anarchic and reminds on some Powernoise collages comparable in some kind with some early-Dive recordings.

It shouldn't wonder anyone that this remix collection adds thanks the chosen contributors a much wider musically spectrum to the soundscapes of Villaborghese. Also the fact that almost all contributions add in some more percussive elements to the at times static and tricky compositions of this duo seems to be a logically consequence. This remix collection compared with the original album doesn't follow the worn-out “increase-sales” formula so often discovered, it rather more adds musically diversity in one or another variable style and finally turns out to be a valuable addition.

Although flying a bit under the radar during the turn of the year and because of the feeding with highly recognized Dark Electro music-albums at our pandemic home-office days by such well-known projects like Dive, Placebo Effect, Fix8:Sed8, Pyrroline or at least FLA, we shouldn't oversee the latest output of Germany's Mind.Area. The solo project of the Human Decay musician Maikko Advance and his releases have been often well recognized guests here on our pages although it's a while back when we heard from him the last time. “No Enemy of Progress” is at least his 4th complete studio album and we also shouldn't forget Maikko's spectacular 5 EP releases mostly accomplishing with the respectively albums.
What has always impressed me with Maikko's works is his true DIY mentality. Since his very first beginnings with the EP “Thenceforward” (2008 – X-Line / Alter-X Promotion Project) he has watched out to publish his works freely available via netlabels. The Russian Alter-X group, whose website is still online at www.alter-x.ru, has been the initial part for Mind.Area with the first releases, later on the German Ionium Records has picked up this course to push the talent of Maikko with a widely arranged promotional offensive. Despite the fact of Maikko's membership into Human Decay, it is undoubtedly that he is a prominent and well-known contributor of the Dark Electronic music scene. Therefore his DIY course surprises a bit because I think that he could have a lot of possible label deals to sign in his hands.

Secondly, it is Maikko's special kind of production and composition. If we refer on classically produced Dark Electronic Music, mostly people specify this automatically with the often mentioned and praised Puppy-an influence. Mind.Area is the vital proof that this style of music can offer so much more influences and diversity. Be it Maikko's meticulously produced arrangements filled with musically ingredients taken out of diverse music styles like IDM, Synthpop, Ambient, Dub Step or Trip-Hop elements, or be it simply his kind the install his vocals in his very own, multi-faceted way between calm and harmonic to dark whispering up to raw and outraging, he always manages quite well to allow different influences to break with beloved traditions as well as with one-dimensional directions. To break and there with expected paths has always been one of the winning points for Mind.Area.

Same counts for this new album. “Gone Life” is sort of these tracks being composed and arranged pretty near to the well-known and beloved veterans with ominous and haunting vocals and dense synthesizer pads, while it at least offers that glimpse of intelligence not to fall too close into this death valley. “Failure” with its Trance-like, nervous synth bass lines and the calmer sound voice of Maikko blends over into a much lighter outfit. Maikko's voice works excellently as an instrument too, just if you check with “Parasite” and its nicely installed vocoder effects. “Muggler Heart” as well as “Mention” are breathtakingly arranged instrumental tunes giving you an insight in the wide-ranging sound universe of Mr. Maikko.
In between we'll find the to me best track on here, the spacey sounding “World Without” - asides the once again thrilling sounding vocoder effects on his vocals it is stunning to hear how this track drills into your head without any aggression, just arranged with a simple percussion structure and beautifully installed synthesizer layers.

No doubt, also Mind.Area sends once again a valuable sign out of the Dark Electro music camp which rewards you, the listener, after a few more-than-usual spins with a thrilling and top-notch produced sound experience. In case you'll prefer to own a hard copy, Maikko has again signed a deal with the Moscow-based label ScentAir Records.
This isn't the first collaboration between them and Maikko as this label has already brought out his last album “Glowing Grey”. So „No Enemy of Progress“ is in the first instance a downloadable, self-released album while ScentAir has produced the physically product, a professional CD pressing, and takes care for sales and distribution things especially in the Eastern European area. Even if our pandemic days may delay the one or another shipment, this album is worth to wait a bit longer. Go and get it.

No, the protagonists of Germany's Dark Electro/Industrial duo Pyrroline have never been that sort of loud-mouthed posers of the scene, although measured with their immensely talent they surely could! Schmoun and Arnte aka Pyrroline, one of my most beloved female-/male-duos out of this special niche of the dark music scene have always made their impact on me already with their very first beginning under their previously chosen project name Nordschlacht and their unforgettable debut “Silence, Beauty and Cruelty“ released in early 2007.

Nordschlacht became soon history because Schmoun and Arnte felt to that time that their chosen band name was sounding too martially, too aggressive – what the protagonists aren't and never have been. The music though hasn't changed too drastically. Now, 14 years later and with their fourth Pyrroline album (+ the one Nordschlacht album) in stock, the third signed to the Canadian label EAR, they start their epic sounding comeback and can be well sorted into the prominent row of quality Dark Electro music albums released in this very first weeks of 2021. Almost four years in the making after their last opus „In the Dawn of Freedom“, Arnte and Schmoun give us the expected kind of a comeback, the necessary daily doze of classically produced Dark Electro music with that so beloved old school vibe founded in the heydays of the late 80s / early 90s.

Pyrroline in the year 2021 stands for refining their audio perfection still woven into the known and beloved veteran-like sound design. As for the typically stereo-type rating which we reviewers always have been confronted with, just think about a musically intercourse between „Revelations 23“-Like M&tF, Placebo Effect and/or Abscess for possible comparisons. Yes, it's only meant to give you, the listener, a hint. To me actually Pyrroline stand on their own feet and are able to formulate themselves new and unique in their style. This mainly belongs on the fact that you'll get an artistically output filled with intelligent hints, with depths and springs of inspiration on which Pyrroline extract part-wise their lyrically content always infected with meaning and message. Writer and poets like James Montgomery, William Blake or Edgar Alan Poe find their homage with their inspirational works in Pyrroline lyrics and Schmoun and Arnte aren't also afraid to take The Holy Bible (“Nothing Besides You – Psalm 73”) into their composition process too. I guess it doesn't need to mentioned especially that this demanding content and concept stands light years above the pseudo-aggressive testosterone-driven muscle-and-sweat EBM formula. This is purest dark aesthetic.

„Struggling“ is the album title, but nothing struggles here, not at all. It is highly recommend to pick up the physically released product, which is a nicely designed DCD set. The bonus CD won't be available via digital downloading procedures and this DCD set is only limited to 500 exemplars. You know it... when there are gone, they are gone... so... what are you waiting for? Next point is the awesome looking bluish cover art painted by Sorin Sorin (http://www.arts.md) which shows an old sailing vessel trying to find it course through a stormy sea with jagged rocky coasts. An absolutely eye-catching kind of work and no digital download could be able to replace it.

First off, the main album starts with a slow and haunting Dark Electro pearl entitled „Decency and Integrity“ which is a co-composition with Martin Sane of Fix8:Sed8. Check it, consume it, inhale it – and play it with its epic Synth string pads side by side to Skinny Puppy's „Worlock“ - and it fits perfectly! Check also out the meticulously arranged bass line programmings especially on this one, the best under a quality pair of headphones. So much hand-made details between harmonic and filter resonance manipulation can be discovered quite seldom. „Battleground“ comes next and drags the scenario into a more pummeling and subliminal aggressive mood. It is one of the very few tracks breaking out of the mid-tempo scheme to a more straight and danceable environment and also Arnte's voice sounds more darker and fx-treated than usual. It is one of those Blade Runner-like classic early 90s-inspired Dark Electro tunes which can mess with the biggest hit tracks of comparable projects.
„Song of Deliverance“ is lighter-minded, almost catchy produced with a constantly well-balanced song structure. Arnte's nearly natural sounding sounding voice swims perfectly mixed in between the beautiful installed synth pads. Not a Synthpop track, no, but a quite accessible and suitable tune for a wider interested audience of . “Suffer” is another outstanding example of the lesson “how-to-turn-a-Dark-Electro-tune-into-a-space-odyssey”. Nearly completely exempted of all heavier percussive elements this track enters the galactic nebular with it's ambiance, various installed icy synth pads and Arnte's voice drastically manipulated with a vocoder effects. The nailing bass line bring in some unfamiliar restlessness into a track like “This Dusky Faith” while the majestic integrated synth pad bring back the beloved goose-bump-impression to Pyrroline's music.

“The Grave” is one of the earlier released appetizer tracks of this duo which offers opulent synth pad sounds pretty much linear installed into the parts and a rather forward-pushing attitude plus Arnte's heavily vocoderized vocals. It is straight oriented, yes, but at least lesser danceable like “Battleground” or “Song of Deliverance” for example. To me the strongest moments are following with the last few tracks as this are the moments when Schmoun seems to be taking more impact into the Pyrroline sound and composition process. “Chaos and Order” is a well-chosen title and services already perfectly into this review. This tracks starts unfamiliar chaotic with some noisy rhythm FX sounds and Arnte's deep dark distorted voice. This scenario leads us to the chorus where Schmoun takes control on this track with her beautiful voice and brings everything back into order.
“My Rebirth” is a breathtaking and very catchy mid-tempo instrumental tune filled with moody synth pads which reminds in its kind a bit on some Delerium works out of the Leeb / Fulber fame - at least this track can accomplish with them. Finally – and to me their best tune on this top-notch produced album – comes in with “The Divine Image” - another “Schmoun”-song brilliantly placed in the mid-tempo with her providing the lead vocals. Same impression here which I had already with opener: check out the bass line programming skills here! I love that wobbling creaking here as much as I like her voice on here. An ice-cold produced combination again filled with this special goose-bump-factor, but so damned epic and majestic above all expectations.

Have I mentioned before, that YOU MUST order this DCD set? YES, YOU MUST, because also the second CD of this beautifully styled digi-pack offers a rich and valuable content to fulfill your highest expectations. Three additional original Pyrroline compositions and with “Atelier Complex” another breathtaking Blade Runner-like instrumental tune which could be easily added to a FLA score album like “WarMech” and you as the listener wouldn't recognize an alteration of quality.
“State of Things” is a quite straight produced smasher with enough potential to rival with “Battleground” on the main album. Regarding the Leeb-/Fulber-like bass line programming skills represented here - somehow I'd wish that Arnte would be the producer for the next FLA album. Additionally 9 remix contributions provided by the creme of the creme out the current Dark Electro scene could be place with Placebo Effect, Jihad, Sleepwalk, Terminal State, The Opposer Divine, Fix8:Sed8, g.o.l.e.m. and Amorphous.
Yes, the surprise is Placebo Effect but not only for their comeback as a duo after 21 years at the end of 2020 and their self-released album „Shattered Souls“ (produced by Arnte...). PE haven't provided any remix for foreign bands with the one exception of La Floa Maldita in 1995, so to find them here featured with two fairly produced contributions of „What might have Been“ and „Suffer“ is a little sensation.

To go for the real deal and to point out the best remix contribution is kind of my very own taste and perspective – but what Mr. James „Jihad“ Mendez extracts out with his smooth piano inserts on the track „Where has no Child to Die“, a rather „normal“ sounding Pyrroline track, has left me absolutely speechless! This track in its original version is featured on here on this bonus CD too – but sorry to say that but this remix of James kicks out the already good original composition.
Also worth to mention is the straight and pounding interpretation from Amorphous on „Chaos & Order“. This is surely one of the most difficult remix works compared to the fascinating original composition on the main album and to to find it in this rather EBM-related danceable style is at least unusual - but solidly solved.

Since already this DCD set is worth enough to pick it up only thanks to the three original Pyrroline compositions, I again strictly advise you to purchase it. Again, it is only limited to 500 exemplars. Regarding the whole package I will have again sleepless nights from now on because this Pyrroline album is another contender for the imaginary „album of the year“ contest surely together with Fix8:Sed8 latest album – but I hardly can't decide so far.

Today it is Valentine's day – also today is Schmoun's and Arnte's wedding anniversary! And the release date of „Struggling“ is set for today too! Congratulations to you both and all the best for your further mutual walk of life.

Normally you both deserve all the praise and presents and not contrary.

But so it is – this album is a gift for all fans and friends of quality produced Dark Electro music in the classically style!