One of the best things to come out of 2018, Spielbergs are the best band from the 90s you’ve never heard. Their debut EP ‘Distant Star’ is also the first release on a small UK indie label, By The Time It Gets Dark, and between them, they have a potential classic on their hands. This EP is a real adrenalin hit for anyone who loved shoegaze and goth sounds in the 90s; a sharp reminder – if needed – that they do make them like they used to. It’s the kind of release that could make similar bands raise their eyebrows, give a collective shrug and throw in the towel. This might sound like mere hype, but frankly, ‘Distant Star’ really is that good.
Tag Archives: goth
Killing Joke to celebrate 40th anniversary with expansive vinyl & CD box sets; tour dates
The legendary Killing Joke will celebrate their fortieth anniversary this year. As with most other things they’ve approached, the anniversary isn’t being dealt with in a half-hearted manner.
There are a run of live dates, but perhaps just as exciting is the planned release of a career spanning box set, ‘Laugh At Your Peril’, available in both LP and CD formats and containing a world’s worth of bonus tracks.
CLIMBING ALICE – Living EP
At the beginning of 2016, Wakefield’s Climbing Alice sounded like a force to be reckoned with on their ‘Melt Yourself Up‘ EP. Mixing alt-rock, goth and shoegaze noises, the four piece band created a great listen via a wealth of influences. There wasn’t so much in the way of immediate hooks or catchy melodies, but if it were a riff or six you craved, the EP – and band – came up winning pretty much every time.
DARKFLIGHT – The Hereafter
Darkflight first took form in 2000 with a mission to create harsh, doomy sounds. Over the course of various DIY releases combining heavy as hell riffery with fantasy themed lyrics, they carved themselves a space in the world of Eastern European extreme metal. By the time of 2008’s ‘Perfectly Calm’, their atmospheres had grown to include elements of medieval folk metal, but generally speaking, their main concerns leant very much towards the heavy.
Fast forward to 2017’s ‘The Hereafter’ and Darkflight is just the product of two men: multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Ivo Iliev and bassist/clean vocalist Milen Todorov. The apparent lack of full band has had no impact on either Darkflight’s sense of vision or their abilities to absolutely crush with a riff, although Milen’s contributions of clean and gothy vocals certainly go a long way towards making this album as enjoyable as it is.
THE FATHER OF SERPENTS – Age Of Damnation
The Father of Serpents is a six headed beast comprised from members of various Serbian extreme metal bands. The combination of their talents hoped to recreate the sounds of classic doom with a melodic death metal edge, taking the mantle from established bands like (early) Paradise Lost, (early) My Dying Bride and Cathedral. It doesn’t take too long after hitting the play button on their 2017 release ‘Age of Damnation’ before it’s obvious that the vision they’d hoped for has been reproduced in a spectacular fashion.