Despite talking about it seemingly incessantly on the site and podcast, the third Cold Waves fest down in Chicago has snuck up on us like a thief in the night, or like the Pittsburgh Pirates’ playoff chances, or like a well-executed Randy Orton RKO, or any other sports analogy you’d care to drop. We’ll be taking off on Friday to reconnect with friends old and new, and catch bands from the genre-defining to the cutting edge, and will likely be taking next Monday off to squeeze every last drop out of Chicago (242 DJ gig? Giddy up.), but in the meantime we’ve got another week’s worth of content, starting today with half a dozen new cuts.

Google Celldweller fanart, you'll be glad you did.

Celldweller, “End of an Empire (Comaduster remix)”
If you’ve been patiently waiting for new material from Comaduster like we have, get your fix via this excellent remix for perennial electronic rock act Celldweller, included on the latter’s recent End Of An Empire release. Present in both a full vocal and instrumental version, there’s no mistaking the glitches, bass grind and open sky textures that are the hallmarks of Réal Cardinal’s productions. Goodness knows when the next full-length from the man who gave us last year’s incredible Hollow Worlds will arrive, but rest assured once we hear something concrete you’ll be the first to know. Crank this one up loud, true believers.

Blac Kolor, “Storm Fly”
Maybe it’s just because Alex has been listening to a metric tonne of EBM-flavoured techno recently, but damn if this new demo from Blac Kolor isn’t doing a body right right now. Leipzig’s Hendrick Grothe is making a habit of grinders like this one, from the excellent last album Wide Noise to the tracks that have been gracing Basic Unit’s label comps. Check ’em out if you like your beats steady, your moods mechanical and bleak and your textures soupy and dark.

PreEmptive Strike 0.1, “Pierce Their Husk (feat N​.​ Kvarforth)
Never let it be said that Greece’s PreEmptive Strike 0.1 let a concept track slip them by. Their last outing pitted them against titans of national myth and Harryhausen flicks, but this time out it’s a much more modern nemesis: insectoid aliens of the Heinlein/Verhoeven cast. Once again Shining’s Niklas Kvarforth makes an appearance, and if you know a lick about black metal you’ll understand how wacky a pairing this is.

STOIC, “Without Frenzy”
A chill suite of instrumental trap-ish tunes from friend of the site and Portland’s man about town (or at least man behind reakt[ion] and live member of [product] and co-host of Talking To Ghosts) Wes Mueller. Folks who’ve dug the path Ben Arp’s carved out for himself over the past few years should get a kick out of this. Oh yeah, speaking of [product], they’ve just released a cassette edition of this year’s Shallow Graves tape, so be sure to cop that.

Kant Kino, “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”
Alfa Matrix has been jocking Cleopatra Records’ “A Tribute To” MO for a minute now, although thankfully they’ve been sticking to pertinent (if obvious) acts like Depeche Mode and The Cure and spared us the collections of b-rate goth bands covering Linkin Park or whatever. These things are always a mixed bag, but we can’t be mad at this cool lil’ EBM cover of Robert Smith & Co’s “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” by the fine Norwegian fellows in Kant Kino. A quick in and out played fast and loose, this is the best way to approach a stone classic you ain’t ever gonna outdo: just have fun with it.

CIR, “Lost Memories”
Even on the other side of the country and continent, it’s been very inspiring to see the collective efforts of the Ottawa Industrial League continue to bear fruit, like this brand-spanking new sampler featuring work from site faves like Wychdoktor and Apriorism as well as plenty of newcomers. Ranging from metal-influenced outings to more glitchy and abstract pieces (like this one), it’s yet another indicator that exciting things are happening in the nation’s capital.