METAL DISCO: Devil Explicit (Detonic) — An Australian “post-EBM” concern, with a singer taking his vocal cues from Simon Topping of early A Certain Ratio. The music is various strains of bleep. The “EBM” it’s “post” is the original ’80s issue, DAF and their early descendants. They’ve taken the basic idea of EBM and put more elaborate dressing on it without losing sight of the core of what they’re doing. I wasn’t very keen on this on first listen, but everything sounded better second time through. Available 21 June. Detonic does a good line in electronic music that’s compatible with rock’n’roll fans.
BARABBUS: Barabbus (Undergroove) — there are several bands called Barabbus, this is the one fronted by Paul Catten. The grungier, punkier end of metal; first track “My Nightmare As A Reality TV Contestant” could be Nirvana. It’s got a surprisingly clear and accessible sound for angular proggy metal noise with more shouting than singing; something about this works really well. (For me, at least; Arkady said “what is this,” slightly appalled, and “is there much more of this horrible thing” around seven tracks in.) If you like some hideous rock’n’roll-based noise along these lines, this could be just your bag. Personal favourites “TV Contestant”, “Master of Disguise”, “Kleptomania”. Out tomorrow (Friday 9 June) and there’s a preview stream.
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