PODCAST: August/September 2020 Episode

[STREAM this episode right now on Mixcloud]

 Or, click the photo below to save the podcast file (now stored on GoogleDrive!):

EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

Note: This episode is labeled as the August/September episode, first because it's arriving on the cusp of the two months, and second because it will be the last "regular" episode before October's Halloween Special, and there are a few September-related items I did not want to skip by simply calling thisthe August edition. There will, however, be a special bonus episode in September, when the annual "Compilation for the Dead" mixtape-style show arrives. That one will drop somewhere between September 3rd and 7th, to coincide with Dragon Con Goes Virtual, since that is usually where it would first appear. So, worry not,  you're not actually losing an episode in this process. It's really just a housekeeping measure. That said, on with the show...
____________

This fall marks the 50th anniversary of one of my favorite films, the Czech New Wave (oc)cult classic, "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders." Naturally, I could not resist paying it some tribute with musical selections at both ends of this episode, as well as a nod to its iconic artwork on this month's graphic. To that end, the intro features some selections from the film's original 1970 score by Luboš Fišer, as well as the 2007 alternate score by The Valerie Project. Embedded in that lush soundscape is a brand new track from ROME, taken from their just-released new full-length, The Lone Furrow. "Ächtung, Baby!" -- an apparent jab at the U2 song of the same name -- features the guest vocal power of Primordial's Alan Averill, and is indicative of the high quality of the new album as a whole (which also features guests like Nergal from Behemoth and Joe from Pallbearer, but more on that later).

Set one begins with brand new post-punk/goth rock from Finland's The Flatfield, who have issued their second new digital single of the year in the form of "The Dancer." New music from bay area post-punks Ötzi comes next, taken from their new Storm LP, followed closely by another taste of Horror Vacui's latest deathrock opus, Living for Nothing. We then celebrate a pair of essential-goth-classic anniversaries from Siouxsie & the Banshees, whose Kaleidoscope album just turned 40 in August, and Switchblade Symphony, whose debut album Serpentine Gallery came out way back on September 11th, 1995, in the times before that date was tainted. Finally set one closes with another taste of the new Clan of Xymox album, Spider on the Wall. 

Set two starts from a special place in my heart, with a trio of tracks related to my love for cult '90s act, The God Machine. I was excited to learn earlier in the week that the band's drummer, Ronald Austin (now going by Austin Lynne Austin) had reversed his early retirement from music and started a whole new project. That band, in which he plays all the instruments, is called Mercylane. He's released only a couple of singles so far, one of which starts things off. From there, fittingly enough, we move into the title track from The God Machine's very first release, 1991's Purity EP (which I had finally obtained this summer on its only existing format, vinyl, so please excuse the surface noise). I was also astounded to learn, while reading the bio for Mercylane, that Mr. Austin had actually played drums for their '90s labelmates The Cure (!!!) for one of the songs on the 1996 album Wild Mood Swings, so I wrap up my God Machine trilogy with that song, "This is a Lie."

The second half of set two continues with new music from The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices, which features vocalist Lisa Gerard (Dead Can Dance), followed by a debut from a new project called Feast! The band features drummer Tom Coyne (45 Grave, The Last Dance, The Prophetess) with a rotating cast of collaborators, making percussion-heavy music along the lines of DCD or The Creatures. Finally, the set concludes with brand new music from The Psychedelic Furs (there's a phrase you don't get to say every day), taken from their quite satisfying new album, Made of Rain.

Set three begins with another new single from Seraphim Shock, taken from a promised, forthcoming EP that will gather the first chapter of new material they've issued since their return. Since I haven't been able to run Fascination Street (my goth dance/club night in Nashville) since the pandemic struck us down, I decided to play a pair of songs recorded at recent concerts (remember concerts? MAN, those were great!). Anyway, you'll hear live tracks from Twin Tribes and Scary Black, taken from their respective "Live at Fascination Street" releases, both of which are available as official releases on their Bandcamp pages. From there, you'll get a brand new track from France's The Cemetery Girlz and a darkwave debut from Brooklyn's Shadow Figure.

Finally, on a sad note, we close the third set with a song from the latest Calabrese album, Flee the Light, which I play in memory of James Calabrese, Sr. who died last week. James was the father of all three members of Calabrese -- who are actually brothers in real life, as well as being a great band -- and he was heavily supportive of his sons throughout their career, often going on tour with them to run merch and greet fans, and even appearing as a character in one of their classic videos. Rest in peace, sir:

R.I.P. James Calabrese, Sr. (1947-2020)

Set four brings us into the realms of dark metal -- for this month, mostly new black metal releases. First up, from Los Angeles, Cultus Profano, who offer up a very '90s style on their new album Accursed Possession. Some new French black metal follows, from the mysteriously pronounced Bâ'a (feat. ex members of Anorexia Nervosa), followed by something a bit more raw from Belgium's Silver Knife. Toronto's Panzerfaust come crashing in next, with a taste of their boot on The Suns of Perdition - Chapter II: Render unto Eden. And, lastly, we travel all the way to Iceland for the final track of the set, this one from Nexion's new Seven Oracles LP.

After another short instrumental from The Valerie Project, the final song of the show once again goes to Pallbearer, this time with the second single from their forthcoming LP, Forgotten Days. As I mention on the way out, the vocals here are nothing short of heroic, and the basslines are fluid and ever-moving -- which I think we've grown to expect from Pallbearer at this point, but it's still great to hear it happening again.

 
All of that PLUS: New dark ambient work from Ukraine's Saalvia and an ambitious project called Grizzly Steppe from members of Dead Voices on Air and Snog; An unearthed example of actual '80s synthwave from Projekt Records man Sam Rosenthal's old project Doppler Effect; Further cult film anniversaries; and more.

Ready to hear the show?
Stream it or grab the podcast file?
Here you go...

Click the photo to save this podcast
for your portable device.
Now stored on GoogleDrive!

[STREAM this episode (on Mixcloud)]
(scroll down to stream it from this page)

<<< Or grab the file to the left <<<




 

 
PLAYLIST BEGINS HERE
Format: Band Name - Song Title [Album Title, Year]

(each band name is also a website link)
(sets and talk breaks separated by dashes)

"Out ov the Coffin" w/ Ichabod
  Show recorded: August 30th-31st, 2020

Opening Theme: 
Elliot Goldenthal - Libera Me [from "Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack), 1994] 

Luboš Fišer - The Work of Death (exc.)  [“Valerie and Her Week of Wonders” (soundtrack) 1970]
ROME (feat. Alan Averill) - Ächtung, Baby!  [The Lone Furrow, 2020]
The Valerie Project - The Sermon  [The Valerie Project, 2007]
-
Luboš Fišer - The Sermon (exc.) / Sacrifice (exc.) / The Contract (exc.)  [“Valerie and Her Week of Wonders” (soundtrack) 1970]
-
The Flatfield - Dancer  [single, 2020]
Ötzi - Tunnels  [Storm, 2020]
Horror Vacui - Frustration  [Living for Nothing, 2020]
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Trophy  [Kaleidoscope, 1980]
Switchblade Symphony - Wallflower  [Serpentine Gallery, 1995]
Clan of Xymox - Black Mirror  [Spider on the Wall, 2020]
-
Doppler Shift - Sharon’s Theme  [Live KSBR, 1987]
-
Mercylane - Wade Into Love  [single, 2020]
The God Machine - Purity  [Purity EP, 1991]
The Cure - This is a Lie  [Wild Mood Swings, 1996]
The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices (feat. Lisa Gerrard) - Stanka (Choir version)  [Shandai Ya Stanka, 2020]
Feast! - Melech Malchei Hamelechim  [single, 2020]
The Psychedelic Furs - Don’t Believe  [Made of Rain, 2020]
-
Saalvia - Nusquam  [Zionphar, 2019]
-
Seraphim Shock - Savannah’s Bones  [single, 2020]
Twin Tribes - Portal to the Void (live)  [Live at Fascination Street, 2020]
Scary Black - Ice Rose (live)  [Live at Fascination Street, 2020]
The Cemetery Girlz - The Wanderer  [The Wanderer (single), 2020]
Shadow Figure - Purgatory  [Accept & Kneel, 2020]
Calabrese - Let Doom Overtake Us  [Flee the Light, 2020]
-
David Williams - The Prophecy / Lucifer / Transfer of the Soul  [“The Prophecy” (soundtrack) 1995]
-
Cultus Profano - Cursed in Sin, Op. 25  [Accursed Possession, 2020]
Bâ'a - Transept / Titan  [Deus qui non mentitur, 2020]
Silver Knife - Unyielding  [Unyielding, Unseeing, 2020]
Panzerfaust - Areopagitica  [The Suns of Perdition - Chapter II: Render unto Eden, 2020]
Nexion - Sanctum Amentiae  [Seven Oracles, 2020]
-
Grizzly Steppe - 00.05.55  [Svalbard, 2020]
-
The Valerie Project - Prelude  [The Valerie Project, 2007]
Pallbearer - Rite of Passage  [Forgotten Days, 2020]

________________

STREAM this episode right here: