Unfortunately, what was alluded to on last week’s podcast has come to pass, with the passing of our friend Rexx Arkana. The sheer number of tributes to him as a friend, colleague, and supporter we’re seeing from folks in the industrial scene around the world says something about the legacy he leaves behind and the mark he made in with the time he had. We’ll miss you, pal.
YZBL
Eye New Dark, “Backward Through that Door”
Jill Sheridan is a familiar voice via her work with Wisconsin synthpop standard bearers Null Device, and her solo project Eye New Dark follows in the same tradition of extremely musical electronic composition and performance. New single “Backward Through that Door” really does highlight Sheridan’s vocal acumen, and especially her ability to sound both grounded and full-bodied and ethereal in equal measure. On top of that, the song is very nicely put together, minimal in ways that bring out the underlying melodies and structures that keep it moving and evolving.
YZBL, “Patterns”
Lana Del Rabies’ Feral Crone Recordings got off to a strong start last year releasing the latest in LDR’s high-concept death industrial work as well as a solo record from ex-Tassel member Ash Barrett. That association continues with Feral Crone reissuing recent work by other ex-Tasselite YZBL and having her sophomore LP on deck. While last year’s tendril dug into dubby and grimy downtempo, this teaser for Hermaphrodite explores sludgy, stuttering industrial metal which brings any number of Broadrick projects to mind.
Devision Redux, “Synchronize (Excubitors remix)”
“Synchronize” by Devision Redux was one of our favourite tracks of 2025, both in the club and for personal listening. The union of De/Vision’s Steffen Keth with Daniel Myer to re-envision the former’s music in a more modern electronic style was certainly a treat live when we caught them at Terminus that summer, and the single was just compulsively listenable, maybe even moreso than in its original form, due to the added melancholia in its performance. New remix single for “Synchronize” sticks to the high energy take on the cut throughout in different variations, and we’re quite taken with the Excubitors remix, which brings some euphoric futurepop to the tune.
Zanias, “The Spire (Trakt Null Remix)”
Speaking of remixing some of last year’s faves, one might guess that the trance threads brightly woven through Zanias’ Cataclysm would be stressed in any remixing of that record, but the four mixes of “The Spire” which just dropped counters those expectations. Instead, stripped-down, no-nonsense techno holds sway on many of those versions, though the thudding combo of EBM and big beat offered by German newcomer Trakt Null
Balvanera, “Desgaste”
It’s been five years since Angentinian darkwavers Balvanera released Course of Action, a record that feels somewhat prescient given how the electro-darkwave sound has propagated in the years since. How the band have or have not adjusted their approach in the last half-decade is unknown, but first single from Hasta tocar el fondo vacío del lenguaje shows some intriguing developments; there’s a real focus on twonky, slightly out of key lead sound that amp up the menace, even as the swells of reverb and added layers of percussion make it all feel more manic.
Dead Voices On Air, “Half-Half”
We’ve done our best to stay abreast of the torrent of activity from within the Dead Voices On Air camp over the last few years, but between new, collaborative, and archival releases coming fast and furious, that’s no small task. Thankfully, the continued association between Mark Spybey’s longstanding project and Re:Mission has led to a new merch hub collecting the last decade-plus of that work, just in time for this teaser from the forthcoming mothcomma LP. It’s tough to tell if the moments of high drama and bombast which punctuate some classically harmonious Spybey drones are an indicator of things to come, or simply befitting the last track on the record.
