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The post Alice Cooper’s memoir ‘Devil On My Shoulder’ is an international best seller first appeared on Sleaze Roxx.

Substance Festival returns to California this weekend and next with a gathering of post-punk, darkwave, industrial, EBM, and synthpop artists spread across two cities and five nights. Los Angeles gets a takeover of The Belasco on Saturday, October 24, while San Francisco hosts four evenings at Great American Music Hall on October 22, 23, 29, and 30. Between Drab Majesty, A Split Second, Crash Course in Science, Desire, and Cold Cave performing Cremations, the calendar offers plenty of opportunities to rearrange one’s sleeping habits.

As in previous editions, Substance puts the relationships between generations within earshot. The electronic experiments that helped establish this music share a bill with artists pushing its rhythms, theatricality, and emotional extremes in fresh directions. There is considerable pleasure in recognizing those connections from the dance floor, particularly when an unfamiliar name on the timetable becomes the reason you arrive early.

The published timetables list start times only. 

Los Angeles

Saturday, October 24 — The Belasco

The Los Angeles edition packs three live stages and a DJ booth into one evening, with doors opening at 6:00 PM. The Belasco is located at 1050 South Hill Street, and the event is all ages.

The Chapel’s running order makes a strong case for arriving at the beginning and staying into the small hours. Philadelphia synth-punk experimenters Crash Course in Science, whose history reaches back to 1979, open the main stage; Spike Hellis, Madeline Goldstein, Buzz Kull, and Kontravoid carry the evening toward Belgian EBM pioneers A Split Second. Drab Majesty then take the final slot, with Deb Demure and Mona D’s expansive guitar melodies, synthesizers, and otherworldly presentation offering an appropriately ambitious destination.

There are good reasons to explore the other floors from the outset. Blone Noble opens The Sanctuary following the release of “Designer”, his art-rock collaboration with Dakota Blue, while XTR HUMAN brings the forceful EBM of his recent “Fake” single to The Chamber. Those early appointments leave plenty to discover before the later run of SRSQ, Void Vision, Zanias, Die Sexual, and Aux Animaux.

A little advance planning will help: Buzz Kull and SRSQ begin five minutes apart, while A Split Second and Zanias start within ten minutes of one another. After midnight, Vioflesh, a TR/ST DJ set, and Drab Majesty begin across the three live rooms within twenty minutes. The complete stage-by-stage schedule follows.

The Chapel — Main Stage

• 6:25 PM — Crash Course in Science
• 7:35 PM — Spike Hellis
• 8:35 PM — Madeline Goldstein
• 9:35 PM — Buzz Kull
• 10:35 PM — Kontravoid
• 11:35 PM — A Split Second
• 12:50 AM — Drab Majesty

The Sanctuary — Upper Stage

• 6:40 PM — Blone Noble
• 7:40 PM — Automelodi
• 8:40 PM — GHOST COP
• 9:40 PM — SRSQ
• 10:45 PM — Void Vision
• 11:45 PM — Zanias
• 12:35 AM — TR/ST (DJ set)

The Chamber — Lower Stage

• 7:00 PM — God Tongue
• 8:05 PM — XTR HUMAN
• 9:15 PM — CLUBDRUGS
• 10:20 PM — Die Sexual
• 11:25 PM — Aux Animaux
• 12:30 AM — Vioflesh

The Confessional — DJ Booth

• 6:00 PM — Society
• 7:45 PM — Danse-X
• 9:30 PM — Machine Club
• 11:15 PM — Girls on Film

Get tickets for Substance Los Angeles.

San Francisco

Great American Music Hall, at 859 O’Farrell Street, hosts Substance across two successive Thursday-and-Friday pairings. Doors open at 6:00 PM each night. Each bill has its own character, giving Bay Area audiences four different routes through the festival’s mix of electronic pop, body music, and post-punk.

Thursday, October 22

Opening night puts two important chapters of electronic music history at the top of the bill. Crash Course in Science bring the restless invention of Philadelphia’s late-1970s synth-punk underground, followed by A Split Second, whose 1986 single “Flesh” helped shape Belgian New Beat. The earlier sequence of God Tongue, Pink Stiletto, Vioflesh, and Automelodi makes this a full evening of discovery before those final appointments. For listeners drawn to the meeting point of experimental electronics and club music, Thursday is a particularly persuasive starting place.

• 6:35 PM — God Tongue
• 7:30 PM — Pink Stiletto
• 8:35 PM — Vioflesh
• 9:40 PM — Automelodi
• 10:45 PM — Crash Course in Science
• 11:55 PM — A Split Second

Additional DJs: Mozhgan and Jumpr.

Get tickets for Thursday, October 22.

Friday, October 23

Friday puts Aux Animaux, GHOST COP, and Zanias ahead of a substantial late-night stretch with Kontravoid, Buzz Kull, and TR/ST behind the decks. Kontravoid’s Sound of the Void, released October 2 through Artoffact, and Buzz Kull’s Deep Hate EP give the pairing fresh material to draw upon. Zanias adds another compelling voice to the evening: Alison Lewis’s work moves between coldwave, forceful electronics, and the emotional and political concerns explored on Cataclysm.

• 7:00 PM — Aux Animaux
• 8:05 PM — GHOST COP
• 9:10 PM — Zanias
• 10:15 PM — Kontravoid
• 11:20 PM — Buzz Kull
• 12:20 AM — TR/ST (DJ set)

Additional DJs: Omar.

Get tickets for Friday, October 23.

Thursday, October 29

The second week turns toward the theatrical pleasures of electronic pop. Desire, the project of Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel, close the evening with their combination of cinematic synthesizers, disco, and romantic unease. Immediately before them, identical twins Elyse and Larena’s MOTHERMARY bring the art-pop sensibility introduced on their Italians Do It Better debut, I Am Your God. With Violet Thrones, CLUBDRUGS, Madeline Goldstein, and Sacred Skin filling the earlier hours, there is ample incentive to make a full night of it.

• 6:25 PM — Violet Thrones
• 7:30 PM — CLUBDRUGS
• 8:35 PM — Madeline Goldstein
• 9:40 PM — Sacred Skin
• 10:40 PM — MOTHERMARY
• 11:45 PM — Desire

Additional DJs: Starr Noir and Black Lipstick. Individual set times are not listed on the published timetable.

Get tickets for Thursday, October 29.

Friday, October 30

Substance’s final San Francisco evening centers on Cold Cave’s solo performance of Cremations. The 2009 collection documents the project’s early collision of damaged electronics, noise, and pop instinct, making this a chance to hear Wesley Eisold revisit a formative period of Cold Cave’s music. SRSQ, the project of Kennedy Ashlyn, provides an equally compelling reason to attend, bringing a powerful voice and a body of work that stretches between dream pop, shoegaze, and emotional directness. A.Cold.Era, False Figure, and Houses of Heaven complete the closing night’s live lineup.

• 7:00 PM — A.Cold.Era
• 8:05 PM — False Figure
• 9:10 PM — Houses of Heaven
• 10:15 PM — SRSQ
• 11:20 PM — Cold Cave (solo, performing Cremations)

Additional DJs: Pink Stiletto and Hot Goth GF. Individual set times are not listed on the published timetable.

Get tickets for Friday, October 30.

Explore four-night San Francisco passes. Visit the Substance website for the festival planner and schedule updates. Set times are subject to change.

Follow Substance Festival:

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The post Substance Festival Returns to LA and SF This Weekend and Next with Drab Majesty, Cold Cave, Desire, and More! appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

I bought the newly released CD by The Cramps. Gravest Gravy is a listen into the roots of punk rock and psychobilly. Raw and highly addictive is this album. I highly recommend you searching out the legendary Henry Rollins and find out just how this “lost album” was resurrected. I can’t get enough of this album and only wish I was able to see The Cramps live in a club so many years ago.

This album was originally recorded back in 1977, with producer Alex Chilton.

THE CRAMPS:

• Lux Interior – Vocals
• Poison Ivy Rorschach (Poison Ivy) – Guitar
• Bryan Gregory – Guitar
• Nick Knox – Drums

Track List:

1 TV Set

2 Weekend On Mars

3 Twist & Shout

4 Jungle Hop

5 ICan’t Hardly Stand It

6 Hungry

7 The Natives Are Restless

8 Domino

9 Can’t Find My Mind

10 Rockin’ Bones

11 Problem Child

12 Rocket In My Pocket

“The power of love is the album’s overall theme—in response to these chaotic times and the hatred spread by social media,” Raffi tells us.

The post Raffi Opens Up About Democracy, Music, and Love in Divisive Times appeared first on Rockmommy.com.

A song exploring self-acceptance and the challenges of finding happiness

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He thanked Robb Flynn for supporting him through a difficult family situation

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Rock icons Deep Purple have released a video for the irresistibly groovy title track of this year’s Splat! album, which was released in July.

Earlier this year, Purple frontman Ian Gillan told Classic Rock that ‘Splat!‘ was a word he’d scribbled in a notebook years ago as a potential album title after thinking about the old joke in which a bug flies into a car’s windscreen and the last thing that goes through its mind is its arse.

“I thought of me hitting the car’s windscreen, and through my skull flew King Arthur and the Roman Empire, and every other aspect of humanity that had existed,” Gillan told us, in typically fanciful fashion. “All in the form of chess pieces. And then they pixelated, gravitated towards each other, and faffed off towards the next form of human energy, but without arms and legs and bodies.

“The whole point of it is we’d become disembodied and part of a collective. All of the experience of a quarter of a million years of humanity lumped together as a smouldering energy force. My vivid imagination, basically. I’ve no idea what the hell’s going to happen.”

Splat! (the song) is the fourth single to be released from Splat! (the album), following Guilt Trippin’, Arrogant Boy and Diablo. Deep Purple are currently on tour in Europe and will arrive in the UK for a run of shows in November. The band will also play several South American and Mexican shows in the run-up to Christmas. Full dates below.

Deep Purple: Splat! tour dates

Oct 23: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Oct 25: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Oct 26: Stockholm Avicii Arena, Sweden
Oct 28: Oslo Spektrum Arena, Norway
Oct 29: Gothenburg Scandinavium, Sweden
Oct 31: Leipzig QI Arena, Germany
Nov 01: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Nov 03: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Nov 04: Berlin Uber Arena, Germany
Nov 06: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Nov 07: Nuremberg Arena, Germany
Nov 09: Amsterdam Ziggodome, Netherlands
Nov 10: Strasbourg Zenith, France
Nov 12: Bordeaux Arkéa Arena, France
Nov 13: Nantes Zenith, France
Nov 15: Lyon LDLC Arena, France
Nov 18: Newcastle Utilita Arena, UK
Nov 19: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Nov 21: Birmingham BP Pulse Arena, UK
Nov 22: Manchester AO Arena, UK
Nov 24: London Eventim Apollo, UK
Nov 25: London Royal Albert Hall, UK

Dec 05: Sao Paulo Suhai Hall, Brazil
Dec 08: Santiago Movistar Arena, Chile
Dec 10: Buenos Aires Movistar Arena, Argentina
Dec 13: Monterrey Arena, Mexico
Dec 16: Guadalajara Arena, Mexico
Dec 19: Mexico City Estadio Fray Nano, Mexico

Find Deep Purple tickets.

Exhaustion has become such an ordinary feature of daily life that we have practically mistaken it for a personality. The calendar stays full, the messages keep coming, and the future starts to resemble a corridor lined with doors that have all been locked from the other side. Carry on long enough and even the promise of escape begins to sound like another item on the to-do list.

Louisville, Kentucky industrial punk trio VIRGIN BIRTH give that predicament a particularly bruising accompaniment with The Dead End, the title track from their newly released six-song EP, with a video by the band’s own Phillip Olympia. Their fascination with electronic music’s darker corners and punk’s abrasive economy takes an increasingly personal turn, bringing the effects of a deteriorating world into the cramped confines of an exhausted mind.

The song opens with eerie electronic tones before a sizzling hi-hat pattern ushers in a restless beat reminiscent of The Prodigy. A kick drum lands with a heavy thud beneath the percussion’s rapid shuffle, while growling guitars bear down on the arrangement. Their harsh attack against the programmed rhythm recalls Ministry’s Stigmata, giving the track a sense of force held to a precise, punishing tempo.

Olympia spits out the vocal with an acidic, grunge-inflected bite, his delivery recalling Trent Reznor’s agitated intimacy and Bill Leeb’s severity. Spoken-word murmurs and anxious synth pulses add to the discomfort, drawing the ear toward smaller disturbances within the mix. The hi-hats keep sizzling around that blunt kick, the guitars crowd the available space, and the voice sounds frayed by the machinery surrounding it.

Olympia’s visuals extend that unease through a largely monochrome collage of overlapping faces, cloud formations, blurred performance footage, and vintage exercise routines. Heads and hands leave smeared trails across the image as the musicians appear to split into multiple versions of themselves. Faces push toward the camera, lose definition, and disappear beneath another layer of movement, with occasional glimpses of instruments anchoring the confusion.

The exercise footage supplies a peculiar, bitter joke. Women in leotards work through synchronized routines, their carefully repeated movements carrying the familiar promise that enough effort will eventually make everything better. Against the song’s accumulating strain, that orderly exertion starts to resemble another exhausting obligation. The bodies keep moving, the beat keeps counting, and relief remains conspicuously absent.

Watch the video for The Dead End below:

VIRGIN BIRTH is comprised of Phillip Olympia on vocals, synthesizers, and drum machines; Jake Miller on guitars and synthesizers; and Matt Haas on bass. All three have deep roots in punk and indie rock, having played in various bands over the years. A shared appreciation for the industrial music of the 1980s and 1990s sparked conversations that eventually led to experiments with drum machines, synthesizers, and sampling.

Across The Dead End, their focus moves from the wider collapse examined on previous releases toward exhaustion, isolation, dread, and the private consequences of living with an ever-narrowing set of possibilities. The EP’s six songs offer industrial punk for a world running on its last reserves, with no reassuring resolution attached.

The Dead End is available now on all major digital platforms. Listen to the EP below and order it here.

Follow VIRGIN BIRTH:

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• TikTok
• Bandcamp

The post Louisville Industrial Punk Trio VIRGIN BIRTH Run on Fumes in Their Video for “The Dead End” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

They hope to return in the future

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Out December 15 via Time To Kill Records

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