PODCAST: May 2025 Episode

 

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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

Welcome to the May 2025 episode of "Out ov the Coffin." We begin this month with new music from Sweden's Isolated Youth, whose new album Misrere Mei is already a contender for the Best ov 2025 episode, as far as I'm concerned. As I say in the introduction, this is a band who formed while really young and showed a lot of potential, and it is great to see them fulfill that potential with a truly well-produced full-length that brings their initial Joy Division via Placebo sound into familial territory with such dynamic modern greats as Whispering Sons. 

 

After a talk break featuring Vilde Tuv's music from the sadly under-featured recent Norwegian dark fantasy/body-horror film, "The Ugly Stepsister" (Den Stygge Stesøsteren), the first full set begins with music from French newcomers Alice Kean, whose debut single "Half Dead" promises solid modern post-punk to come. We then check back in with Florida's Astari Nite for their latest in an abundance of new singles that meld their goth/darkwave roots with '90s alt-rock, glam, and brit-pop panache. From there, we revisit Ukrainian post-punks Smurno, to catch up on an overlooked single from late last year, before sliding into a triple shot of anniversary salutes. 

 

First on board: The Chameleons, with a 40th anniversary selection from their second studio album, What Does Anything Mean? Basically, which leads into another anniversary cut from that same year from New Order's Low-Life record. The wonderfully pensive track I chose to go with is an atypical one, but as "Elegia" was dedicated to Ian Curtis, it made the perfect segue into Joy Division's "Day of the Lords," which is played here to mark the 45th anniversary of Ian Curtis' death in May of 1980. Finally, the set closes with brand new material from Bay Area neo-folk / "Americanoir" outfit Lux Interna, who will likely scratch an itch this show doesn't often reach, for fans of the moodier, more pastoral side of the Nick Cave school of dark music. 

 

Lest you should feel too close to restfulness, set two makes a turn towards deathrock territory, easing in with a synth-laden cover of the Suzi Sabotage song "Nazi Goths Fuck Off" from Tears for the Dying. Several acts have covered this one recently, for obvious reasons (as I gesture broadly at the state of US right now), but I think this is my favorite of them all. We then catch up on the second in a series of 'new flesh on older tracks' from fellow Georgians Entertainment. Third installment to be featured soon! Heading over to LA, we receive brand new deathrock from Culture Hex, a new act featuring members of Black Heroin Gallery and Scarlet's Remains. After revisiting PDX act Excess Blood's 2024 self-titled EP, we then get more new deathrock from Brazil's Sex in the Grave, followed by even MORE new deathrock from Polish newcomers Natures Mortes! Finally, we close out the set with a spotlight on Vincas current tour, which will see them here in Nashville this Thursday night, May 29th at Drkmttr, which I am stoked to catch.

 

Set three begins with a debut from German act Silver Tears (a combination of the acts Curses and Skelesys), who offer an energetic hybrid of post-punk and darkwave sounds on their self-titled release. Belgian darkwave act Bella Eterna steps in next, with an impassioned vocal approach to complement their catchy synth work, followed closely by the annual return of ROME, this time giving us less murky messages on his latest album, Civitas Solis. Picking up the pace again, we try on the catchy new single from California's Cruex Lies, which alternates smoothly between detachment and immediacy.

Set three continues with a return to Ukraine for some fresh darkwave from ЛІЗА ПАДЛІЗА (Liza Padliza). On her late-2024 debut full-length Міст через річку Порожнеча (Bridge over the River of Emptiness), Padliza explores an original, dreamlike conceptual world through the lens of dreamlike vocals over dark electronic instrumentation, with mood dictating speed throughout. We then hear a debut from Seattle's Hot Hail!, who have issued an updated version of a song from the artist's earlier band, no doubt due to its lyrical relevance in today's climate. Finally, we go one track deeper into the latest album from the Gothfather himself, Peter Murphy, who shows no signs of decline on the powerful vocal track that accompanies "The Meaning of My Life."

 

Arriving at the dark metal portion of this month's journey, we begin our descent with another taste of Drudkh's Shadow Play album, completing this episode's Ukrainian Trident. The intensity is then turned up on a debut from Swiss black metal act Aara, taken from their late-2024 release Eiger, until we go one track deeper into the new Barshasketh album, Antinomian Asceticism. We then visit soundtrack territory for an extended piece from Ludwig Göransson's score to the new movie "Sinners." It's an unusually heavy piece, the style of which is not often heard in mainstream modern cinema, so I figured it deserves its own space here. Closing out the set is a deeper cut from the latest Seth album, La France des Maudits, because it's a remarkable piece of work and should be heard more than once. 

 

The show draws to a close in the most graceful of ways, with a 30th anniversary classic from My Dying Bride's 1995 opus, The Angel and the Dark River. "The Cry of Mankind" has proven to be one of my favorite dark metal compositions of all time, so I have allowed its full 12 minutes of glory to ring out as the epilogue for this episode. May it grant you something you haven't felt in a while. 

 

 

All of that PLUS: New dark ambient from Italy's ILUITEQ; Anniversary soundtrack selections from films old enough to be your father; and more!

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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
  May 2025 Episode
  Show recorded May 27th-28th, 2025

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

Isolated Youth - Underlandet  [Miserere Mei, 2025]
-
Vilde Tuv - Blomsterdansen  [Themes for "The Ugly Stepsister" (soundtrack) 2025]
-
Alice Kean - Half Dead  [single, 2025]
Astari Nite - Ms. Rain on My Parade  [single, 2025]
Smurno - Леза (Blades) [single, 2024]
The Chameleons - Home is Where the Heart Is  [What Does Anything Mean? Basically, 1985] 
New Order - Elegia  [Low-Life, 1985] 
Joy Division - Day of the Lords  [Unknown Pleasures, 1980]
Lux Interna - Into Night  [New Wilderness Gospel, 2025]
-
The Valerie Project - Grandmother / Death and Rebirth  [The Valerie Project, 2007]
-
Tears for the Dying - Nazi Goths Fuck Off  [single, 2025]
Entertainment - Confusion of Senses (New Voice, Club Mix)  [single, 2024]
Culture Hex - Cloak and Dagger  [single, 2025]
Excess Blood - To Love is to Grieve  [Excess Blood, 2024]
Sex in the Grave- Penumbra  [single, 2025]
Natures Mortes - Bruises  [Blind Submission, 2025]
Vincas - Bury Me Upside Down  [Phantasma, 2020]
-
Didier William Lepauw - (untitled medley)  ["Lèvres de sang" (aka Lips of Blood) soundtrack, 1975]
-
Silver Tears - Again  [Silver Tears, 2025]
Bella Eterna - Me and the Desert  [Fire EP, 2025]
ROME - Food for Powder  [Civitas Solis, 2025]
Cruex Lies - Apocalypto  [single, 2025]
Liza Padliza (ЛІЗА ПАДЛІЗА) - Отруїлась в тумані (Poisoned in the Fog)  [Міст через річку Порожнеча (Bridge over the River of Emptiness), 2024]
Hot Hail! - My Own Private Weimar  [single, 2025]
Peter Murphy - The Meaning of My Life  [Silver Shade, 2025]
-
Ludwig Göransson - Hole Up 'til Sunrise / I've Seen Enough of This Place  / Together Forever  ["Sinners" score, 2025]
-
Drudkh - The Exile  [Shadow Play, 2025]
Aara - Grausig ist der Blick  [Eiger, 2024]
Barshasketh - Antinomian Asceticism  [Antinomian Asceticism, 2025]
Ludwig Göransson - Thy Kingdom Come  ["Sinners" score, 2025]
Seth - Dans le Coeur un Poignard  [La France des Maudits, 2024]
-
ILUITEQ - Lament  ["Fauna" (compilation) 2024]
-
My Dying Bride - The Cry of Mankind  [The Angel and the Dark River, 1995] 

________________

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PODCAST: March-April 2025 Episode

[STREAM this episode right now on Mixcloud] 

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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

Welcome to the March/April 2025 episode of "Out ov the Coffin." This episode did not come easy, having taken an extra long time to filter through huge piles of new releases to include only those worthy of note. In the end, it made more sense to release this one on April 1st as a semi-monthly issue, so here we go!

 

The show starts off with a 40th anniversary tribute to one of the greatest Goth records of all time (even if the band itself hated that label), The Sisters of Mercy's debut full-length, "First and Last and Always." Codifying what would come to be known as the orthodox gothic rock sound, which would be copied relentlessly for years, The Sisters built F+L+A on the already impressive sound of their early singles, but with the newfound collaboration of Wayne Hussey (who would leave the band after this record to form The Mission), added an almost magickal dimension, creating a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, the likes of which would never be heard again -- which is why it remains one of my top 5 albums of all time. In between the songs, I have included clips from two 1985 interviews (full versions here and here). Their answers were a bit cheeky at the time, bordering on intentionally difficult, but I thought it would be interesting to hear their actual words from 40 years ago.

 

The first full set drives straight into new material, beginning with The Funeral March of the Marionettes, whose founding member Joe Whiteaker passed away in 2024, leaving the remaining members to piece together a final EP entitled It All Falls Apart. We then turn to Germany for a very Cure-inspired new act Klez.E, before visiting Toronto for some noisy, high-energy sounds form Dermabrasion's latest, Pain Behavior. We then dip back to 2024 for an overlooked single from Vegas "K-Goth" band Past Self, before checking out the latest single from French post-punk act Heimberg.

For the second act of set 1, we turn the lights down for some more ethereal material, starting with the latest from Costa Rica's Ariel Maniki and the Black Haloes, which segue's into a black-velvety new mix of Tears for the Dying's adaptation of the Dolly Parton classic, "Jolene." Finally, we close the set with new music from long-running German post-punk act Pink Turns Blue, who will be on tour this Fall in the US in support of their new Black Swan album. For those near Nashville, mark your calendars for September 10th at the East Room!

 

Set two pairs memorial tributes for two artists who were instrumental in the early days of punk, goth, deathrock, and beyond. The first half is dedicated to the memory of Brian James, guitarist and founding member of The Damned and The Lords of the New Church, who died on March 6th, 2025. In his honor, I have included The Damned's breakthrough single "New Rose," followed by my two favorite songs from The Lords of the New Church, separated by a small clip from a 1988 interview with James himself, because I love to let artists speak for themselves, especially from beyond the grave. 

 

Brian James [2.18.1955 - 3.6.2025] R.I.P.

The second half of set two is my annual remembrance of Rozz Williams, founder of Christian Death -- and, by extension, deathrock itself, one could argue -- as well as many other projects in all forms of media. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the final Rozz-era Christian Death album (prior to the splintered variations of the legendary band), 1985's "Ashes," so I lead with one of my personal favorites form that album, then segue into the pairing of an excerpt from my favorite of his spoken word pieces, with my absolute favorite solo-era song that Rozz left for us, his prescient epitaph in song form "Flowers." 

Set three begins with another new single from Peter Murphy's forthcoming Silver Shade album, this one recalling a story from the Bauhaus era, which you can read here. Next up is a debut from New York act Some Days Are Darker, who will be opening dates on the aforementioned Pink Turns Blue tour. The slightly more reclined style of the track makes a good segue into the world of The Legendary Pink Dots, from whom you'll hear the opening track from their latest album, So Lonely in Heaven. We then enjoy the latest '90s-era single from Florida's Astari Nite, which leads us to the latest from Minnesota's Autumn, and a late 2024 entry from Sweden's Abu Nein. The set closes with the latest from Washington D.C.'s VOSH, who are on tour now (including a Nashville show on April 2nd) in support of their Vault Vol. 1 release. 

Set four finds us in dark metal territory, eased in by the acoustic introduction to the opening track from French act Unholdun's new album Fœhn. From there, we mark the 30th anniversary of Portugese heroes Moonspell's debut album Wolfheart, which is followed by new music from Poland's Patriarkh (an offshoot of the splintered act Batushka), taken from their new release, Prophet Ilja. We then go a track deeper into Amber Asylum's latest, Ruby Red album, which serves as a perfect chamber-doom intro to Celestial Season's "The Scent of Eve," played here to honor the 30th anniversary of their gothic doom classic Solar Lovers. Finally, the set closes with the relentless opening track from UK black metal act Barshasketh's new album, Antinomian Asceticism.

 

Last, but certainly not least, the show closes with a lengthy new piece from Ukrainian black metal heroes Drudkh, the fittingly-titled "April," taken from their just-released, and so far very impressive, Shadow Play.

 

All of that PLUS: New Ukrainian dark ambient from некрохолод (Necroholod) and Shadowsun; Experimental synth work from Germany's Glaring; new soundtrack music from Flying Lotus' "ASH"; 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
  March-April 2025 Episode
  Show recorded April 1st, 2025

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

The Sisters of Mercy - Marian (version)  [First and Last and Always, 1985]
[Sample] The  Sisters of Mercy Interview (Hussey and Eldritch) 1985
The Sisters of Mercy - Black Planet  [First and Last and Always, 1985]
[Sample] The Sisters of Mercy Interview (Eldritch) 1985
The Sisters of Mercy - Poison Door [First and Last and Always (expanded with b-sides), 1985]
-
некрохолод (Necroholod) - On the Other Side of the North  [On the Other Side of the North, 2025]
-
The Funeral March of the Marionettes - Shadow Games  [It All Falls Apart, 2025]
Klez.E - Erregung  [Erregung, 2024]
Dermabrasion - Halberdier  [Pain Behavior, 2024]
Past Self - 불꽃으로/ Bulkkoch Eulo  [single, 2024]
Heimberg - Shadowed Guard  [single, 2025]
Ariel Maniki and the Black Haloes - The Veil  [Pieces, 2025]
Tears for the Dying - Jolene (remix)  [single, 2025]
Pink Turns Blue - Follow Me  [Black Swan, 2025]
-
Goblin - Profondo Rosso (Remix version)  ["Deep Red" (soundtrack) 1975]
-
The Damned - New Rose  [Damned Damned Damned, 1977]
The Lords of the New Church - Open Your Eyes  [The Lords of the New Church, 1982]
[Sample] Brian James, 1988 interview
The Lords of the New Church - Dance with Me  [Is Nothing Sacred?, 1983]
Christian Death - Face  [Ashes, 1985]
Rozz Williams - Dec. 30, 1334 (exc.)  [The Whorse's Mouth, 1996]
Rozz Williams & Gitane Demone - Flowers  [Dream Home Heartache, 1995]
-
Glaring - Lonely Graves / Nostalghia  [Astral Drone, 2025]
-
Peter Murphy - The Artroom Wonder  [single, 2025]
Some Days Are Darker - Protect Me  [TV-MA, 2024]
The Legendary Pink Dots - So Lonely in Heaven  [So Lonely in Heaven, 2025]
Astari Nite - Unisex Games  [single, 2025]
Autumn - Venice  [single, 2025]
Abu Nein - City of Dust  [Dark Faith, 2024]
VOSH - Perfection  [Vault Vol. 1, 2025]
-
Flying Lotus - Horizon / Questionable Sandstorm / In the Walls / Surface  ["ASH" (soundtrack) 2025]
-
Unholdun - Combes  [Fœhn, 2024]
Moonspell - Alma Mater  [Wolfheart, 1995]
Patriarkh - Wierszalin VII [Prophet Ilja, 2025]
Amber Asylum - Secrets  [Ruby Red, 2025]
Celestial Season - The Scent of Eve  [Solar Lovers, 1995]
Barshasketh - Radiant Aperture  [Antinomian Asceticism, 2025]
-
Shadowsun - The Undreamed  [Levitation Dream, 2025]
-
Drudkh - April  [Shadow Play, 2025]  

 

________________

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