Back in stock: Industrial/Noise

Review: Combine Sculpture's Membrane Pop album With Eric Holm's Andoya LP and you're close to knowing what Ancient Astronaut's debut opus on Nicolas Jaar's Other People label sounds like. It's weird and wonderful on "A1" and "A2", while there's calmer, oceanic moments on "B2". Things become more industrialised and dubby on "B3", all of which are held together by two 'when you hear the chime turn the page'-type interludes that top and tail the B-side.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Definitely one for the collectors and historians, there's so much to talk about in terms of Rampton's significance you'll have to excuse sparse references to the actual music. Sorry not sorry and all that. First dropped in 1980, this was not only the first release on the cult and highly sought-after Come Organisation label, it was also one of the first pages in the story of William Bennet.

Leaving Essential Logic behind, the Come project stands as a stylistic bridge between the post punk that came before and the electronics that would follow with Whitehouse, and more latterly Cut Hands. It's weird, it's distorted, even today it's fresh and yet wholly retro. This is the sound of experimentation gone right, guitars, synthesisers and ideas colliding in a coherent mess.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


The somewhat surprising return and attempt at redemption from the industrial metal shock-rocker Marilyn Manson has been a bold pill to swallow, with the once iconic provocateur seeking to avoid the many allegations and numerous controversies he has garnered over the last decade. Attending rehab and becoming fully sober over the past few years has seen dramatic weight loss, a notably more lowkey public demeanour and a newly signed record deal with Nuclear Blast (having been dropped by Loma Vista not long after 2020's We Are Chaos) turn a few heads, simultaneously cautious and curious as to the authenticity of this humble arc. With lawsuits recently thrown out, the court of public opinion appears to be the only form of due process that shall occur, leaving it to individual listeners to make up their mind as to the merit of the artist as a person. As to the art itself, One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 is the 12th album to adorn the name Marilyn Manson, and it's his best since 2000's Holy Wood. Tapping Chelsea Wolfe collaborator/producer Tyler Bates to oversee the entire project has helped to create a generational bridge between how out of sync Manson himself had become with his own artistic strengths and audience desire, and Bates' insider knowledge as a younger fan first, collaborator second. Together they rediscover the core industrialist menace, gothic romanticism and hedonistic nihilism that kept listeners hooked after the initial shock of aesthetic would cease, but for the first time in decades, it feels earnest and earned rather than forced. Boasting Antichrist Superstar style buzzsaw synths and chug-heavy breakdowns on cuts such as 'Nod If You Understand', while the self-deprecating admission of using drugs to hide behind monstrous flaws on the gloomy balladry of 'As Sick As The Secrets Within' harks back to the most fragile moments of Mechanical Albums. Be it a cynical cashgrab or attempt to regain fan adoration, or the genuine musings of a tortured artist finally learning to face his own demons head on, there's simply no denying that this is Manson at his most potent, intimate and focused, begging the question of how different of a career trajectory and latter day output might we have had if the man had learned to look inward long before hitting the bottom.

Review: Shift Records debuts with a potent collection of four techno tracks on their first release, bringing a dystopian future to life through sound. Set in the year 3666, the label's narrative is one of a world where humanity has lost hope, and a clandestine operation, SHIFT, emerges to breathe life back into a darkened Earth. On Side-1, it opens with Sanktion Libido's 'Dream on You,' a haunting track that pulses with deep, hypnotic rhythms, that blend EBM and techno. A2 follows with Fakk's 'Naturalenza,' blending organic elements with mechanical precision for an intense, driving groove. but also, a nostalgic trip. On the flip side, B1's 'Fuzschal' by P.O. is a sonic weapon, its relentless beats and dark atmosphere pushing the listener further into the dystopia. B2 closes with AMQN's 'Persecuta,' a track that combines futuristic soundscapes with a raw, industrial edge. Shift Records #1 delivers top-tier techno that captures the essence of a future in need of sonic salvation.