New Release: Acid Special #3 - Area 303 (Mokum 346)

Mokum has that thing where they do compilations, with new tracks by (new) artists plus tracks from their older releases.
This is quite the style-clash sometimes, when millenium or contemporary "mainstream" hardcore gets hit by the much rougher gabber & terror sound from the 90s.
This release follows the same concept, but, oh wonder, here everything blends together in a much nicer way.
I guess the acidcore of the past and the acidcore of today is not that far from each other!
And yeah, that's what it's all about. Acidcore, Hard, Acid-Gabber, Hardcore with acid sounds... dive in, but don't burn yourself.

Rating: 303 stars out of 5

https://mokumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mok346-acid-special-3-area-303

Witchcraft Techno Circle releases Hardcore and Techno EP bundled with liminal spellbook!

The "Witchcraft Techno Circle" just has a new album out, and it comes with a kind of ebook.
But let's hear it in the words by the Circle themselves:

"A while ago, or maybe aeons ego, we received and perceived the call of Hecate. We are too humble as servants to our Goddess of the Crossroads to claim that we can validate and specify what her exact messages and wishes are.

But our magical intuition made us feel and whisper the following:

As we are musicians and songwrights, Our Deity of the Liminal suggests us to enchant our art and music with magic of the benevolent kind.

In order to help, heal and benefit troubled, lost, and hurting souls.
And this help might indeed involve a release and freeing of painful, infernal energies, or a short visit to darkened realms.

And this is mirrored in our compositions, which, too, involved light, darkness, pain, pleasure.

Unlike other spiritual music, that only involves light and kind emotions.

We hope that listening, dancing, and meditating to this music has a helping and healing effect.

Yet we want to add more chapters to our spiritual efforts, that go beyond music.
Thus, included with this release are 14 short texts. These texts deal with magic and spiritual topics.

Maybe most importantly, there are texts that explain how to create magical art and magic music oneself.
There are also texts about spells, about personal experiences. And about Hecate of course.

We hope that all of this may be useful, and helpful!"

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/flames-of-hecate

News Flash: The return of the Shock Wave

Shock Wave Recordings was one of the biggest Hardcore Techno labels of the 90s in Germany, and one of the biggest in general. One of the few labels that managed to break through the dominance of the "bouncy hardcore" sound that was coming out of labels like ID&T at that time.

The label had its own sound more or less. Other Gabber labels at that date were quite close to Dance music, Happy Hardcore, and all Jazz.
Shockwave was into horror / trash movie samples, lots of hip hop and rapping vocals, acid, noize, death metal guitars, and really, really fast BPMs.

But always served with the tongue in cheek.
So if you happened to be into Morbid Angel and Sepultura, the Evil Dead and Re-Animator movies, or were into Manga, Akira, Ghost in the shell *and* happened to be into Techno at the same time - this was the perfect label.

So it's quite nice to see a return of the legends.
The first release is already out (see tracklist below).
More info, and more releases to come!



Various Artists - The Saga Continues (SH-3434)

1. The Speed Freak - Hit You Like A Shockwave 03:58
2. Chryzis - One Step Further 05:00
3. Stormtrooper - Psycho-Pets 05:08

https://refusion.bandcamp.com/album/the-saga-continues-sh-3434

https://www.discogs.com/label/1383-Shockwave-Recordings

The Hardcore Techno Overdogs Anthem VI - Ritual of Rave

The Hardcore Overdogs return, with a brand new anthem for their magazine.

And the last one was quite furious and fast, am i right?
the next one is almost the total opposite, a real slowcore banger, with very low bass frequencies.
99 bpm, to be exact.
can you still dig it?

it's almost goth / ambient / industrial sounding.... but the rave vitamins are plainly audible, too!
a true, dark, heavy ritual for all raving aspirants...

just like you would expect from the overdogs.
and 1 faster remix and 2 different tracks are included as well.

Info and Tracklisting:

The Hardcore Overdogs - Anthem VI - Ritual of Rave

1. Ritual of Rave (One 2 Three) 03:51
2. Low Entropy - Festival Riot 02:35
3. Ritual of Rave (Good Dog - Part 1) 08:45
4. Ritual of Rave (Good Dog - Part 2) 07:51
5. Meta-Morph - Musical Stairs (Ambient) 03:45
6. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 1) 04:07
7. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 2) 03:51
8. Ritual of Rave (Bad Dog - Part 3) 07:15

Omnicore Records 79
Doomcore Records 234
Slowcore Records 68

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/anthem-vi-ritual-of-rave

New radical and electronic music

I'm a 90s kid, and yeah, we had some fun. Especially related to music. Grindcore, Death Metal, Gabber, Hard Acid, Rave... music that really knocked you out and went from 0 to 60 in 3.5.
The decades that followed were a bit more boring. Or maybe, not boring. There was cool stuff, indie rock, pop, dance pop.
But everything felt less extreme and... hardcore.
Of course the above mentioned scenes still existed, too, in the underground.
But they kept repeating themselves, loop after loop after loop...

So I am very happy to see (or hear) that there are now lots and lots and lots of new artists and bands, that are really tough, extreme, wild, anarchist again...

Things obviously happen on many fronts. First, a lot look back at the 90s, take some stuff from there, and try to continue the thread.
New talented hardcore bands, new punk rockers, and so on...
Then there are new "genres" that get really tough now...
And, most importantly, a lot of people combine the old with the new, old rage with new anger... and throw many genres into one pot.
So there musicians with metal guitars and rave beats and hardcore screaming... or rap artists that break down into gabber and death metal... or jungle punks.
And the common dominator (sic) seem to be the very loud and harsh screams by the vocalist.

Oh and these bands often do not shy away from political and cultural statements, too.
Which is another breath of fresh air after a decade of "unpolitical" music.

So, I wanna recommend 17 artists or bands that are worth checking out. (Yeah, I know not all of them are brand new. But all of them recently released hot new stuff.)

(and one more time: these are songs from lots and lots of different genres).

1. Eville - Ballistic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NBLkvUTAvk (Metal / Jungle)
2. Hands Off Gretel - Territorial P*ssings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3qYl-6SYU8 (Metal / Punk)
3. IceLipzz - Be My Dog https://gabberindustriesberlin.bandcamp.com/track/be-my-dog (Gabba / Punk)
4. Partyof2 - Punk B!tch (Live From London) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjkwj7Qzla4 (Rap / Aggressive)
5. Slash Need - The Money Will Roll Right In https://slashneed.bandcamp.com/track/the-money-will-roll-right-in (EBM / Metal)
6. XOXO - Punisher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kBUYRq26GA (Metal)
7. Astrid Gnosis Titan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_HN9S6ILR4 (NuGabber)
8. Stoneburner - Catch and Kill https://stoneburnerofficial.bandcamp.com/track/catch-and-kill (Metal / Industrial)
9. Mimi Barks - Power durch Verrat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5bp6RjEbLE (Doom Trap)
10. Tsytska — Menstruation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4DRGGN_KNU (Female Black Metal)
11. Ramel x Jeune Lord - Etat De Droit https://newfleshrecords.bandcamp.com/track/etat-de-droit-2am-mix-free-download-rods02 (Techno / Rap)
12. Slaughterhouse - Sick and Tired https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcs_a2CdIlI (Punk / Alternative)
13. Poppy - Dying To Forget https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoedCng--Rs (Aggressive Metal / Pop)
14. Zheani - Designer Sadness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X961ka0k1a0 (Metal / Trap)
15. Bound By Endogamy - Killed By Shame https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDNqWlQIIDI (Acid / EBM)
16. Ege - I Love Stealing From Woolies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZsdP2trO0 (Hyper Pop / Rave)
17. Vial - Scorpio Moon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHAhA7LOeqE (Death Punk)

And here is a mix set that combines this new radical music with the older hard electronic stuff from the 90s.

Tutorial: How to run a DIY Techno Label - Chapter 1: From demo 2 release

The Hardcore Overdogs presents a special guest feature by Doomcore Records

Hello Sinners,
As you (might) know I run a DIY label (Doomcore Records and its subs).
I wrote a lot about it in the past, also about some releases, the artists...
I often get questions by fans or people who want to start a project or label themselves.
"How do I set up a label?" "How do I promote my music?" "Should I put butter or jelly on my toast?"

So, in response to this, I decided to give a few rare sneaks peaks... into the inner workings and mojo of a DIY underground label.
I plan to write a few tutorials and doing some visual visualizer vids, too.
Here is the first one in this series. A (very) short video.
It shows the path of a gloomy industrial doomcore techno release, from start to finish.

Tutorial:
How to run a DIY Techno Label

Chapter 1: From demo 2 release

Step 1: an artist sends me a demo by mail
Step 2: i check the tracks
Step 3: i acknowledge the artwork
Step 4: i mail them back
Step 5: i write a promo blurb
Step 6: i upload the tracks
Step 7: i release them
Step 8: release is out
Step 9: success

You can check the video here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/izl50EzADko

Hellcreator - From The Past (Self-Released)

Going by the title, this is a collection of past tracks by Hellcreator.

In case you don't know Hellcreator, he was one of the earliest producers in the Early Hardcore revival. New producers, that is - as opposed to those who do it since the 90s.
But it was never just "early", but also close to terror / speedcore.
And one thing that always stood was his prominent use of rave-y / trance melodies, almost like krautrock or shoegaze even.
So there is the opposition of calm, soothing, "cheerful" melodies - and all the terror beats.
And I really like that!

https://hellcreator.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-past

Review: Uncertain Menace - Ruines Industrielles Obscures (Audio Riots 08)

Audio Riots drops a new release, and this time it's by Uncertain Menace.
What can we say about it? This one is heavy, through and through!

There is some stuff in Acidcore now (and acid too, really), that to me sounds more like psytrance, a bit softer, mellow... and I would say, this release goes in the entirely different directon, thankfully!
Super deep drums and sounds. Like the evil offspring of Industrial Techno, Noizecore, and Hard Acid.

Have fun - and do a caustic smile!

Tracklist:

Audio Riots 08 - Ruines Industrielles Obscures

1. Signal Noir 04:53
2. Fractured Reality 03:55
3. Acid Breakfast 03:00

https://audioriots.bandcamp.com/album/audio-riots-08-ruines-industrielles-obscures

Omnicore releases longest Experimental Hardcore Techno track

Surprise release on Omnicore Records. It's actually 1 track, that runs for over 1 ¼ hours

How is it possible to arrive at a work like this? Did it take months or years to create?

The ancients of pluto tell us a different story:

"We sat down one midweek's evening. The hours of doom, when the sky began to fade to black, and the skyline of the city started to alighten and glow... as we gazed upon the moon, the planets, and the stars, we received a transmission from the heavens above... we quickly got in gear and made sure to transcribe the messages in all details on our synthesizers and drum machines...

and then, 10 days later, on a weekends night, we received the second part of the transmission. this time we made sure to move our gear and equipment to the balcony of our flat on the 1st or 2nd floor near the outermost border of the cityscape... we hope we received the starry transmission even brighter this way...

we worked and worked, under the night sky, while the city seemed to be asleep and dead, and just the moon and a few revelers on the streets seemed to bear witness...

and this way... in maybe 2 2/3 hours of work... this project was finished!"

we thank you for this message, oh ancient of pluto!

now for all the other info on this release....

oh, and the style of this huge track?
it's in a whole array of styles, beginning with beatless doombient, to techno, trance, acid, doomcore, finally deathcore, speedcore and noise... to return to ambient. quite the interstellar trip.

on the digital release, we got the entire track as originally conceived (or received) and also for easier listening purposes, the track broken down into separate chapters (or transmission).

Tracklisting:

The Ancients of Pluto - Orion Transfer (Omnicore Records 75)

1. Orion Transfer 01:16:43
2. First Interference 01:25
3. Cosmic Train 05:30
4. Second Transmission (Titan Reflections) 09:43
5. Galactic Runner 04:29
6. Third Transmission (Jazz Aliens) 07:49
7. Pan Acid 04:28
8. Fourth Transmission (Martian Interference) 07:17
9. Cosmic Jet 05:16
10. Fifth and Final Transmission 05:39
11. Pan Reprise 02:55
12. Extra Lap Around Jupiter 03:20
13. From Here To Tau Ceti 06:54
14. Third Interference 01:19
15. Ambient Fade Out (Leaving The System) 02:22
16. First Transmission 08:09

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/orion-transfer

Review: Ninu Brt - Medieval Ep (Braintrance Records)

Braintrance is the go-to (or to-go?) for good neo hardtrance / ravecore stuffz.

And this release does not disappoint either!
Not sure if the title is just a gimmick... but these sawtooths and pads partly sound medieval to my ears for real!

https://braintrance.bandcamp.com/album/ninu-brt-medieval-ep

Alt rock and indie happy hardcore

Another piece by our guest author low entropy

there is a project i have been doing since i even started producing music.
well, at least the first seeds were sown then.

happy hardcore always has been a kind of guilty pleasure for me.
producers sample a lot of catchy melodies and pop stuff. the mainstream behemoths, abba, madonna, olivia newton john...

but it's not just the pop billionaires who are apt at creating catchy cool melodies...
i am talking about indie rock here... alt pop.

they have more bittersweet, joyful-tearful melodies than any mainstream pop producer could do...

and now and then, a producer picks up these underground swooners and puts them in a tune.
it's ultra rare, but it happens.

let's revert to the starting point. my love for this nano-genre appeared when i listened to a happy hardcore tune called "started with a bass" by jorge & rico.
the breakdown felt so good, it flew me to the stars!

only much later i learned that they sampled an 80s underground pop song - colour box, with "suspicion".

somehow, the catchy cool melodies by indie pop artists or alternative rockers sound even better, when pitched up to a pixie-like voice sound.

another track in that vain is "suddenly" by space cube. the sample's from an obscure 80s underground thing, too.

and then there's DHR with DJ Bleed's "in bed with marusha", or alec empire himself with "doesn't make it alright", which samples the specials (or are they considered to be mainstream now?.

i tried to have a few stabs at that genre myself, by sampling obscure new wave and other acts.

for example here and here:

hopeful that there will be more post punk underground hardcore dance in the future!

do you know more alt rock and indie pop hardcore techno tracks?
let me know!

Jay Maniakal talks about his life as an artist and the roots of New York City Hardcore, Rave and Gabber (Interview by GabberGirl)

Hello Pups, Dogs, and Overdogs! GabberGirl here, and I am back, this time to interview Jay Maniakal, one of New York City’s most prominent players of the hard dance scene. With deep foundational roots, his tree is strong and tall with many supporting branches—Jay is an event promoter, hard techno producer, a DJ, co-owner and founder of the globally reaching online station RTDF Rave Radio, and of course, a raver, since the 90’s. He is famously linked to DOA through their albums’ art work and the late Nicky Fingers, now memorialized on Jay’s arm as a tattoo. Beyond all the incredible support he gives the East Coast dance scene, Jay Maniakal is also an accomplished artist, running Maniakal Tattoos out of NYC Tattoo Parlor in Brooklyn.

GabberGirl: You were part of the NYC rave scene when it was still young. When did you discover hardcore?

Jay Maniakal: I discovered hardcore in the NYHC scene in Lower East Side NYC as a young teen in the early 90’s, but I discovered hardcore techno from buying ‘Factory 1’ mixtape from Frankie Bones at Ceasar’s Bay in Brooklyn in 1993.

GG: You’ve been an artist your whole life, including being a graffiti artist as a teenager. You are also the collage artist for the Discipiles of Annihilation album cover art. How did that assignment come to you?

JM: The week leading up to ISR Disciples of Annihilation’s second double album release (NYC Speedcore), me and Nicky Fingers had planned to have me go to his family's house where in the basement he had his studio set up. I was being mentored by Nicky and taught how to mix records, etc. When I arrived, he told me I had to help him finish cutting and pasting photographs on the back of a vinyl sleeve to get it done fast! Lenny needed the album art finished and time was short so Nicky and I did it together, got it out of the way, and jumped into our session.

GG: Growing up, were you just as interested in music as you were in art?

JM: I was instantly controlled by both art and music as a kid. I never went to school, always cut out so I could go hide somewhere and listen to music while drawing.

GG: What were your earliest musical influences and favorite recording artists?

JM: Everything from Public Enemy to Nirvana to The Doors, U2, Beastie Boys, NIN, Ministry, Agnostic Front, Sick of it All, and then ultimately Bones, Lenny Dee, John Selway, Oliver Chesler, Jimmy Crash, Onions, Odi, Decipher, and the list goes on forever.

GG: When you joined the ranks of DJs, where would you typically play out in the 90’s?

JM: First places I played out were illegal underground hardcore outlaw raves. Most of them myself, Nicky Fingers, and multiple other friends at the time would organize together all over the NYC area. I played out a couple of times for a friend/promoter Mark “Joust” Mccloskey (RIP) at venues like Planet 28 (Demarora) and 1 Front Street, Brooklyn Bridge. I was able to play at a couple of Mecha parties hosted by Simon Underground at the Ludlow in the lower east side of Manhattan. I played a bunch of very small hardcore shows at local clubs like the Wetlands and even CBGB’s one night. I got really lucky one night and was asked to fill a slot in the Chapel Room of the Limelight Club [Manhattan location]. I played in The Engine Room of Palladium a few times throughout the summer of ‘96 or ’97, and then The Tunnel one night for one of the memorial parties we organized after Nicky passed. Besides those, mostly all illegal underground outlaw raves.

GG: What kind of music was your focus then? How has that changed compared to what you play now?

JM: My focus then was always hardcore techno, lol. I wanted to be like Nicky! The only thing that’s changed from then till now is I’m more versatile and I like to mix a lot of genres in my sets today, while always staying in the Hard realm. I tend to build up to the hardcore now days.

GG: What was the funniest thing that happened to you when you were playing out?

JM: The funniest thing was cops chasing us all over the city, sometimes with helicopters even, lol. One night they rolled up on us in an abandoned pool hall above an auto body shop in Queens and they just threw their hands in the air, turned around, and gave up when they saw the pit through all the smoke and lasers while DJ Narotic was blasting NYC Speedcore!

GG: When did you start party promotion? What rave company or crew were you part of?

I started party promotion right away, at like 16 years old, lol! Even before DJing, I was organizing outlaws with multiple different groups of local ravers. I was directly affiliated with ISR, Renegade Virus, the McMuffin Family, Lunatic Asylum, Brooklyn Zoo, Digital Domain, the list goes on. Half the time back then it was a multitude of different organizers working together for outlaws.

GG: What was your most memorable event you threw or helped to throw in the 90’s?

JM: My most memorable was the party named “WHAT” (1995). We did that in the abandoned pool hall I referenced before. Zero budget. Just an empty space and a generator. Every city bus that pulled up had a snake of ravers getting off it. Too many showed up but we made it through the night till 6am. The line-up was Nicky Fingers, Narotic, Siege, Atomic Babies, Decipher, and myself.

GG: You are highly involved in event promotion now. Do you book hard dance DJs for your events? Tell me about the April 3rd party you just hosted with another promotion company.

JM: I was involved in organizing the DJ talent for Nocturnal Creature Society (NCS) at a rave they threw at an indoor skate park in Brooklyn (3 April, 2026). NCS is the promotional company I work with today, mostly. They are the best I have seen since the early 90’s when it comes to vibes and overall atmosphere for original true rave culture! They are very young and they have a stronghold on today's youth within the underground rave scene. My role with them is curating the DJ talent and bookings, etc. I also provide connections and resources for the audio equipment.

GG: You have a lot in common with your wife, the Baroness Jennylee, formerly P****lee. You are both artists, DJs, event promoters, and hard dance producers. You also co-founded and run the RTDF Rave Radio station together. How did you meet? When did you realize your friendship had turned into a love match?

JM: Yes, me and my wife do all the same things always together, lol. We met from her finding my art online and then reaching out to me for tattoos. We became friends. Started dating. Started rtdfraveradio together and eventually fell in love. Today we are NY City's hardcore power couple, lol. We have been doing very well with all the Hard work put in! We have played together in the UK, Detroit, Florida, Connecticut, upstate New York, New Jersey and all over the NYC area.

Baroness Jennylee, Lenny Dee, Jay Maniakal

GG: You have some tracks out as Jay Maniakal, and some out as P****fist (you with Baroness Jennylee). You also have a record label RTDFRaveradio on Bandcamp. What are your goals for your label? What’s next for your music production?



JM: When Jennylee and I play out together as a tag team or produce together we are known as “P****FIST”. We have one single release as P****fist on our label, but are actually just about finished with our next release which will be an EP.



Goals for our label is to keep the underground techno, hardcore, and hard Rave sounds alive and strong! We really want to grow rtdfraveradio to a point where we have regularly scheduled pod cast shows!

Myself and Jenny are both in the process of a multitude of projects. I am also in the middle of a collaboration with Lenny Dee of ISR . So, expect a handful of new releases on rtdfraveradio from us in the near future.

GG: Thank you, Jay Maniakal!

https://rtdfraveradio.bandcamp.com/

https://rtdfraveradio.com/

My personal Bandcamp Friday coverage (Electronic release centered)

Hello folks,
Like most bandcamp fridays, I am gonna do a little coverage of the ongoing events again.
Because, just like last time, releases were poured out en masse by the labels!

A reason to rejoice and to smile, and I want to take a deeper look at all that cool stuff (and the *hot* stuff too!)

Like last time, my focal point is mostly on electronic, techno, hardcore etc kind of... stuffz.
Note: No AI has been used when writing these texts.

DrMacabre - The Macabre Excavation (Haunted House Records)

Holy Cow! What a release (one track on the release is literally called "Apocalypse Cow", btw).
I'm certain most electronic fans know the label PCP and the head honchos Marc Acardipane, Miro, Slam Burt... and Dr Macabre was the sneaky french guy who was part of the main crew, too.
So this is some legit music history here, as - nomen est omen - our lunatic from france dug up a lot of his past tracks and put it on this compilation.
There are some sacred, sacred gems here. Like "Dimension of the doomed", his collab with Miro from PCP. Or "Boomstick" with the hilarious Evil Dead quotes ("and this is my.... boomstick").
But the creaming on top is that some bona fide *unreleased* tracks were put on this comp, too, by the french maestro!

https://hauntedhouserecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-macabre-excavation

Vilde Tuv - Truthbomb 2 (Self Released)

Vilde Tuv is a norwegian artist that speaks with stones, sings like an angel, plays the flute, and drops some gabber beats.
what could possibly go wrong? nothing went wrong. and these are some remixes by v.a. of her tracks.
(sorry if the description is misleading. the gabba beats are mostly absent from this release and instead... it's a super cool mixture to be heard!)

https://vilde2v.bandcamp.com/album/truthbomb-2

Hecate - More Tales From The Crypt (Zhark International)

Hecate has been on a huge spree of re-releases lately.
She named herself after the Greek Goddess of liminality, the underworld, witchcraft and long journeys (amongst other things)
And I guess this describes the mood of these tracks very well.
And "from death dub to breakcore and black metal" describes the style of these tracks very well.

https://zharkinternational.bandcamp.com/album/more-tales-from-the-crypt

Somatic Responses - Observation (Self Released)

Surprise release by the welsh brothers.
"The unobserved observer..." oh sorry, my mind slipped into another topic of thought. But, well, no, it's actually a good take on the music here. music that has to be observed, music that has not been observed yet, sounds never seen...
trippy, psychedelic, lush soundscapes. a piano plays in the distance and aliens escape through the Cardiff space-time rift nearby.

https://somaticresponses.bandcamp.com/album/observation

Mokum - Happy Gabber Sounds #4 (Mokum Records)

Mokum was an amsterdam label that filled the european dancefloors in the 90s. With dance and rave smashers like "techno head - i wanna be a hippy" or "party animals - hava naquila".
And, unlike most of the 90s dance craze remnants, mokum is very much active, and not in a zombie state at all.
Like the title says, this is a new compilation of happy dance gabba rave smashers, and that, according to the promo blurb, is "filled with brandnew blasters and a few remixed or remastered Mokum classixxx"

https://mokumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mok342-happy-gabber-sounds-4

Etat De Droit - 2AM Mix (New Flesh / Rave or Die)

New flesh is slowly becoming my new favorite label. I guess it was named after the video drome quote, btw!
This release is... techno? but very industrial, with electro. and, most importantly, some bad ass french rapping (yes, such things exist!)

https://newfleshrecords.bandcamp.com/track/etat-de-droit-2am-mix-free-download

Lee Holman - Sentinel (RIOT Radio Records)

Remember when Underground Resistance and Detroit was on a huge "Sun Ra" type trip? With all the references to alien communication, star trek, the rings of saturn, and such?
This release reminds me a lot of that! but it does not copy, it just floats in the same river.
Let's... call it space-techno!

https://riotradiorecords.bandcamp.com/album/sentinel

Various Artists - Origo LP (Zodiak Commune / Same Size Soul)

Zodiak Commune Records is one of these labels that do not tie themselves up in one style. There is acid, techno, maybe even house... i guess this follows the "commune" idea, so to say.
the common thread seems to be danceable, hard, dark, and high quality music in these releases.
another style they dedicate themselves to is electro, and, oh boy, this new release is so good!

this is no cheese funk, really crunchy, cold, dark steel electro beats. also mixed with other styles, industrial sounds, minimalism, krautrock... a commune of sounds!
good one.

https://zodiakcommunerecords.bandcamp.com/album/origo-lp-sss-dig001

Noice - Noice 16 (Re:Fusion collective)

Noice is a project by the crazy gabba-germans surrounding "the speed freak".
It's a throwback, to their 90s output on labels with cutie names like "napalm records", "agent orange" or even "street trash alliance".
Let's... call it nosebleed techno! for the total maniacs.

https://refusion.bandcamp.com/album/noice-16

Nonlinear - Nonlinear (Music With Machines)

Harry Harrison was an author who gifted the world with stories like "soylent green", "bill the galactic hero", and one that was called "the final incoherent adventure!".
and this would have been a fitting description of this track (or is it multiple "tracks" ? ) on this release, and a fitting end to our coverage.

because there is no coherence or linearity in this track. seemingly just a collection of noises, beats, and sounds. out of sync, for 16 minutes.
and so do we end. the final.

https://musicwithmachines.bandcamp.com/track/nonlinear-2026

The Hardcore Overdogs Anthem VII

This release just fell out of the sky.

Tracklist:

Topp Dogg - The Hardcore Overdogs Anthem - Part VII

1. Topp Dogg - Arena of Doom (Short Mix) 03:46
2. Low Entropy - Opera Core 03:35
3. Topp Dogg - Arena of Doom (The Hardcore Overdogs Anthem Part VII) 06:07
4. Topp Dogg - Arena of Doom (Instrumental) 06:07

Omnicore Records 73

https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-hardcore-overdogs-anthem-part-vii

Review: Various Artists - Origo LP (Zodiak Commune / Same Size Soul)

Zodiak Commune Records is one of these labels that do not tie themselves up in one style. There is acid, techno, maybe even house... i guess this follows the "commune" idea, so to say.
the common thread seems to be danceable, hard, dark, and high quality music in these releases.
another style they dedicate themselves to is electro, and, oh boy, this new release is so good!

this is no cheese funk, really crunchy, cold, dark steel electro beats. also mixed with other styles, industrial sounds, minimalism, krautrock... a commune of sounds!
good one.

Tracklist:

1. Signal 72 - B72 04:58
2. Bytecon - Hydraulic2 06:36
3. Spectrums Data Forces - 1livefil 05:12
4. X-Truder - Void Reflections 05:12
5. Zobol - Simulated Memory 06:26
6. 303 Vision - PW Acid 05:56
7. G303 - Like This 06:02
8. Nasty Boxes - Seeking for truth 06:02
9. Dergach - E Mission 04:12
10. 4TRIKS - Achtung Electro (Nasty Boxes remix) 04:12
11. JWNK - Core function 05:07

https://zodiakcommunerecords.bandcamp.com/album/origo-lp-sss-dig001

Review: Nevermind - Huffing Glue (RTDFRaveradio Records)

A respected commander in the anarchist army, Nevermind has been following recent orders to keep the citizens of Planet Speedcore entertained. Following his February EP release, Lt. Larry Nevermind followed with a DJ set on HCBX. Under threat of torture by the enemy, he has also revealed too many secrets in an exclusive interview. Listen for hidden clues and agendas in his latest release, reviewed here by GabberGirl:



Nevermind “Huffing Glue”

RTDFRaveradio Records

3 track EP- Release date February 2026

Huffing Glue = Starts super stompy, an industrial barrage of crunchy beats then surprise! Switches gears to a double time speedfest.

Punk Ass Bitch= Similar to Huffing Glue, starts halftime, then casually turns into speedcore when you are least expecting it. Nasty kicks, spacey woo-woo sounds, and nicely curated samples tie it all together.

The Zapper 400 = Exciting and intense, the crowning jewel of this EP. From quarter time to quadruple—this track has no limits. Just gotta hear it for yourself.

https://rtdfraveradio.bandcamp.com/album/huffing-glue

HCBXCast Nevermind DJ set. Premiered 4/25/2025:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0oAgNX7Q2E

DJ Asylum interviews Larry Nevermind; read it here:

https://hcbxcast.blogspot.com/2026/04/hcbxcast-vol-81-interview-with-nevermind.html

Music Video Release: The Hardcore Techno Overdogs Anthem - Part II

Dogs and bltches!
We got some rolling grrrreat news for you!
Remember the gabba techno track "Topp Dogg" by Topp Dogg?
It was the 2nd official anthem for our very magazine.
And now... it gets its own music video!

Heavily channeling the vibes of rave / hardcore videos from the 90s... cuts from parties, cyberpunk action, a journey to cyberspace, flying saucers pass by... everything you need!

But it got lots of spiffy new sparks, too! You know us... we won't get stuck in the vintage bin.

So, without further ado (but much "arooo!" - sorry, bad joke), here is the latest by the overdogs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEs_iGgqaUk

Links:

The Hardcore Techno Overdogs https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/
The Anthem https://lowentropy.bandcamp.com/album/topp-dogg-the-hardcore-techno-overdogs-anthem-part-ii
The Anthems Remixed https://gabbaretrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gbbr110-we-are-the-hardcore-overdogs-the-remixes
The Anthems Remixed part 2 https://doomcorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-hardcore-overdogs-remixes-part-ii

Track:
Topp Dogg (The Hardcore Techno Overdogs Anthem - Part II)

Released on Doomcore Records / Omnicore Records

Video:
edited by Overdog 1

Presented by:
The Hardcore Techno Overdogs

Origin of Styx interviewed by GabberGirl

The Hardcore Techno Overdogs Magazine · Origin of Styx interview by GabberGirl

A few weeks ago, I met up with doomcore and dark ambient producer Origin of Styx at a hardcore rave, and asked to interview him for the Hardcore Techno Overdogs online magazine. He agreed, but only if the driving energy of hardcore kicks could be audible, background beats to the recorded interview. I suggest you listen to the eleven-minute audio, but if you would rather read the transcript, see it below. Cheers! GabberGirl

GabberGirl: Okay! I’m here with Origin of Styx, at a hardcore party in Phoenix, Arizona, put on by the AZ Hardcore Junkies. I’m here to ask him a few questions. Origin of Styx, just to let you know, if you haven’t heard his music, its deep and atmospheric. I would say it’s beautiful and accessible and it’s probably, in my mind, the definition of doomcore. So, here he is. Why don’t you introduce yourself and say hello.

Origin of Styx: Hey ya, this is Ethan from Origin of Styx. I’m at the AZ Hardcore Junkies 30th Anniversary party right now. It’s a really great rave, probably one of the best raves I have been to in a long time. It’s got three stages, main stage with a lot of big name hardcore DJs, even coming in from Europe. We’ve got two techno buses here, one playing hardcore, and then the other strictly playing techno, from the Techno Snobs.

GG: So, do you want me to call you Ethan, or Origin?

OOS: Ethan.

GG: Okay, Ethan. I would like to understand how you came to doomcore, and like what your roots are with the specific kind of music you play these days, that you produce. Like how did you find doomcore, and what draws you to it?

OOS: Well, I first started listening to electronic music when I was around 12. I was first exposed to house, dubstep, with artists like Deadmau5 and Skrillex, which were really huge at the time. And then I went deeper down the rabbit hole of electronic music. Probably around like 2014, I started listening to more hardcore, eventually speedcore, and I just kept branching out and learning more about different genres.

You know, when I was in high school, I started having more health-related problems, actually, it got me more prone to feeling fatigued, feeling depressed, struggling with brain fog. So, I started listening to more darker styles of music. I found more comfort in darker styles. Previously, I had just listened to more mainstream house and techno, until the time I started listening to a lot of dark ambient.

I first started producing dark ambient when a rapper from Poland named Biniolynx messaged me on Soundcloud and said he wanted me to make the intro and the outro for one of his albums. So I said I wanted to do that for him but I didn’t have a name to release this kind of dark ambient music under so he recommended Origin of Styx, and that was where the name came from.

GG: Oh!

OOS: And around that time, I started listening to more hardcore, and I was exposed to doomcore when I realized that it’s pretty much the synthesis to techno, hardcore techno, and dark ambient.

GG: Thank you. So you’ve started a doomcore label yourself with your friend who I believe is in LA, and I believe it’s the first doomcore label in the United States of America. Can you tell me a little bit about that? Like the name of it, and how I could find it?

OOS: Yeah, we are the first US-based doomcore label. We have a Bandcamp page, I think its morosrecordings.bandcamp.com, or if you just search Moros on Bandcamp, you should find it.

It was created with my friend Hecatonchirus, a bit of a mouth full but if you search the label, you can find his music, my music, and we wanted an outlet for doomcore that was from the United States because we’re really, at the time, pretty much the only artists in the United States that were producing doomcore.

GG: Right on. So, tell me a little bit about your production style. Are you using actual instruments or are you focusing on a DAW, a D-A-W, or do you use both?

OOS: When I first started producing, when I was like 14, 15 years old, I made all my music digitally with a digital audio workstation (DAW). I started with a cracked copy of FL Studio 10, that was my first DAW. Then I started using Ableton, mostly like the Intro, or the “light” version, and at the time there was all digital, other than maybe some midi controllers that I would use to play the digital synths.

But then probably about two or three years ago, I started having more writer’s block with the DAW. I ended up expanding, I got a lot more DAWS. I started experimenting with Logic, Reason, Ableton more, Persona Studio One, and so I tried all these different DAWs, but I was still having a lot of writer’s block.

I started investing in buying electronic instruments. Synthesizers, drum machines, music sampler, mixers, stuff like that, and I found out that its a lot more enjoyable to actually be able to put my hand on a piece of hardware; be able to hear how turning a knob actually changes the sound, the way the synthesizer sounds. I found that to be a lot more interesting and I stuck with it, and it’s become somewhat of an addiction now, collecting all these synthesizers and collecting all these drum machines, and I’m recording them now into my DAW. So it’s a little bit of both, mostly analog but also a little digital.

GG: Right on. Do you have goals for your studio? Do you have any other synthesizers you are trying to get or do you think you have a complete studio at this point?

OOS: I have most of the things I need to make the kind of music I want to make. I recently got a music sampler, that was a key part of my studio. I also got a Drone synthesizer, like its my first semi-modular synthesizer. I think it might be cool to get a second modular synthesizer, and sync those two together, or also, there are kits online; one is called Microrack. (Search microrack.org online.) Its basically a build-it-yourself DIY analog modular synthesizer kit. I want to get that, learn more about modular synthesis.

Otherwise, there’s also a noise box. Kind of like an acoustic instrument, where you could pluck it and make different weird ambient noises.

Those are the only other instruments, really, otherwise I have everything I need to make the kinds of styles and genres I want to make.

GG: I feel like you already have all that just with your DAW because your album from, what was it, 2018, on Doomcore, was it from 2018?

OOS: The first record I put out on Doomcore Records was 2017.

GG: Oh, 2017. And what is it called?

OOS: I think its just 53, like the catalog number of the label.



GG: Well, what about the album that came out in 2023?

OOS: 2023 was Stygian, I believe.

GG: But you made that with a DAW, didn’t you?

OOS: I made all my music with a DAW up until July of 2024. Pretty much switched and made my music now, pretty much like 80 or 90% analog.

GG: Okay, so you grew up in the Phoenix area, correct?

OOS: [nods yes]

GG: Okay, so this is your rave scene. When did you join this scene? As a raver. I understand when you started making music and stuff. But were you already going to parties, when you were 14, 16?

OOS: I started learning about styles of dancing when I was 14, 15, actually earlier, when I was probably like 12 or 13, I learned first about Jumpstyle, and Shuffle. I’m really good now at Jumpstyle, but I can’t Shuffle at all, but I also kind of have my own kind of style, where I incorporate like Brisbane Stomp and Drum n Bass Step. So I started dancing when I was 14, 15, and then after finishing high school, when I was 18, I started attending more local hardcore techno raves which were mostly either in warehouses, or they were in deserts; underground desert raves.

GG: Oh wow.

OOS: The reason I started doing it that way was because at the time I couldn’t get into venues that served alcohol.

GG: Right.

OOS: Mostly bars, clubs, more things I started going to later, after I turned 21, I started attending a lot more Techno Snobs shows at the club, and I also started going to a lot more goth dance nights because there is a very active goth dance night scene here in Phoenix, with lots of bars, lots of clubs, hosting exclusively goth music, industrial music, and catering more to that kind of audience.

GG: Okay, how do you think the scene has changed or progressed in the past 15, 20 years?

OOS: It could be just because I am going to a lot more clubs, but I don’t think the desert rave scene is as active, but again, it could be just because I’m not looking for those anymore?

GG: Or maybe its cuz of Covid?

OOS: Yeah that was… Covid definitely… a lot of the desert raves have been happening less frequently when the Covid pandemic started. Because I was going pretty much every weekend or at least every other weekend, 2 or 3 times a month, back in like 2018 and 2019, before the Covid started.

GG: Okay. So you started raving in like the 2010’s?

OOS: I started raving, the first rave I went to was in 2018.

GG: Okay. Well, that concludes my questions at this point. Do you have anything to add, to this interview? Anything you want to let this audience know, about your music, your scene, or your goals?

OOS: I would say, just keep following my music, keep following my projects, look up originofstyx.com. and also shout out to the Techno Snobs, and shout out to the Arizona Hardcore Junkies for putting on such a great show tonight.

GG: Thank you, Ethan.

https://originofstyx.com/

https://morosrecordings.bandcamp.com/

Interview with Technohead - Michael Wells Looks Back at his Sonic Legacy

The Hardcore Techno Overdogs are excited to present an interview with Michael Wells of Technohead. The mastermind behind Technohead, and other electronic music projects such as Greater than One, Church of Extacy, Elvis Jackson, and Killout Squad, discussed his artistic and musical career, studio setup, and what’s next for Technohead with interviewers Low Entropy and GabberGirl.

Q. You went to the Royal College of Art and hold a doctorate in Fine Art, and a BA in graphic design. You met your late wife at the college, and you did art shows together, set to music you two created together. Were you surprised that it was your music that took off and launched you into fame, as opposed to art? Were you always as interested in music as you were in art?

A. I got into music through Art. When at Art College I started making 'Performance Art' physical happenings involving sound, action and film so I needed a soundtrack for these shows. The soundtracks were created by scratching records, making tape loops and creating rhythms on anything from banging metal tables to using children's toys. This is how my love affair with sound began.
In the beginning it's not what people would normally call music. Early Greater Than One releases are a testament to this.
After college Lee and I started buying musical equipment and slowly built a studio, learning from scratch the basics of recording techniques. The earliest releases were very experimental but it was the influence of Acid House and the emerging underground club culture that focused the music towards the dancefloor.

Q. You also created your own album art. Do you still make physical art for fun or professionally?

A. I still make most of my own artwork. I worked as a commercial artist after I left College and made illustrations for book covers and magazines. In the early days We made music in our spare time as a hobby even when the music took off I was illustrating, but eventually it became a full time thing. I am lucky now that after more than well over thirty years I can live from making music.

Q..You have been known to say that Detroit was not the birthplace of techno; that techno’s roots were formed in the 1960’s experimental music movement of Germany. Is this where your earliest electronic music influences came from?

A. For me personally my influences come from a mixture of sources which range from Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle to Stockhausen and The Sweet. Electronic music for me started with the sound of the Moog and the work of Stevie Wonder, The Monkees, Wendy Carlos etc.

Q. You are one of the original creators and innovators of hardcore and gabber; who were some of the bands or artists you were listening to and possibly emulating in those earliest days of hard music?

A. For me Gabber was just a harder faster version of techno, made with similar equipment but containing a more irreverent attitude. At the time living in London it was the antithesis of House Music and represented a spirit of rebellion. No radio shows played it and most clubs were scared by it, so that's what made it attractive.
The Hardcore that emerged from the 90's took no prisoners and was a great experiment in sampling and assimilation. Samples came from everywhere Horror Films, Cartoon Shows or cheesy pop. There was Hardcore coming from everywhere Australia, New York, Holland, Vienna and we were playing and listening to it all, so the music was a reflection of this.

Q. Let’s talk about your most famous track as Technohead, “I Wanna be a Hippy”. Who sang the lyrics? Did you and your musical partner Lee Newman write the lyrics? This track has sold a million copies and has been remixed and remade, officially and unofficially, dozens of times. How do you feel about making the most famous gabber song of all times? A lot of bands get sick of playing and discussing their most famous songs; do you feel like this, too, about “I Wanna Be a Hippy”?

A. Unfortunately amongst probably thousands of tracks we released this is the most famous. It represents a few hours of cutting up a sample from a film the unique factor being that it is a great funny song about Marijuana. It was a great idea that worked and as soon as it was released on Mokum Records many Hardcore Deejays told us that the audience response was crazy. We had experienced this before when Pure and Tricky Disco were hits, so it wasn't such a big surprise. In the end though for me it represents a very difficult and sad time because it was successful at the time when Lee was very ill. And when it was a hit both Lee and my Mother died. So it is a track I really don't associate with anything good.

Q. You were infamously widowed at a young age. It breaks my heart thinking of what you must have gone through, watching “I Wanna Be a Hippy” top the charts week after week, and not being able to share that with your late wife Lee Newman, who created the music with you. On a personal note, were you able to find love again?

A. As the above answer can show it was a very difficult time. On a personal and professional level I eventually moved on but you never really recover from such a thing, it is a part of you.

Q. What is your current studio setup like? Are you mostly using analog equipment, DAWs, or a combo in your recent music productions? How does your current method of production compare with your historical approach?

A. Yes maybe ten years ago I changed my studio to fully digital. No mixing desks no synthesizers. All plug ins etc.
So it is radically different to the early days of tape recording and physical boxes and units but it allows me the freedom to work more streamlined. Technology has moved on. We were probably one of the first people to buy a sampler and now the virtual samplers and effects are so sophisticated that to move with the times is a good thing. So my set up is Logic Pro and lots of fun plug ins and Synths my favorite is always a sampler, then a Spire synth and a great free reverb and delay plug in called Valhalla.

Q. What do you think about the current sound of hardcore and its new subgenres—will you incorporate any of the new sounds into future Technohead releases, or can fans possibly expect a new hardcore project?

A. The Sound will always evolve as new producers and new technology goes hand in hand. Art and music is reflection of our society and therefore as society changes so will the art. We are experiencing at the moment a radical polorisation of politics and society and art will react to this.



Q. What is next on the horizon for TECHNOHEAD

A. Recently I released 'Acid Head ' on Mokum Records a collection of Hardcore Acid style tracks. And coming is an E.P. called Taxi also on Mokum incorporating Middle Eastern sounds. And I continue with techno releases as Michael Wells a.k.a. G.T.O. and my more experimental work as Greater Than One.

Interview Questions by Low Entropy:

Q.The "Technohead 4" CD compilation was the biggest exhibit of experimental and underground hardcore in the 90s. With labels like fischkopf, praxis, artists like somatic responses and alec empire on it. Way different from the gabber mainstream. What was the intent and inspiration behind this release?

A. Simply, Technohead 4 just represented for me a selection of the direction of Hardcore at that time. It's use of speed, rhythm, distortion and humour. People ask me why you say humour, it's because for me humour is a specific kind of intelligence like irony. If you look at great Art, literature or Cinema the real subject is Human and Humans are full of contradiction and ultimately humour no matter how dark it is. I also love invention and the Avant Garde is the mother of invention.

Q. You were already very active in music long before the advent of hardcore. How were those days? And is there a connection between your industrial output in the 80s, and your later "industrial" hardcore?

A. Yes the seeds of Hardcore were sown in the early tracks in New Beat, EBM, Electro and Hip Hop. It's an involvement in alternative culture underground films, art etc. I also draw from the 'Do it Yourself' idea of Punk culture. I still make my own artwork, promo videos etc and create alone in the studio. I think there is a connection between the older music, in that I still want to add elements that surprise or maybe don't seem obvious. In that sense I approach each new project as an opportunity to experiment and try something new.

Q. Your signs ov chaos release on kill out was one of the hardest, fastest and most insane audio outputs ever - already back in 1993. What is the background to that production?

A. It's interesting that the Killout releases were totally instinctive and spontaneous and recorded almost 'live' in the studio. Real experimental Hardcore. But it's only after many years that I realised that people played and reacted to them.

Q. PS: Last question from GabberGirl: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

A. Only that when people talk about music or art it's only a construct to perception. It can be anything it's not a system, it's not a law or a rule and if it breaks the rules it's a good thing.
For me the worst music, art or film is 'middle of the road' pop and rock. Commercial radio has killed music with it's playlist garbage. To a great deal of people art is not an important part of their life, for me it's vital.


Thanks Michael 🤖

Links

Bandcamp
https://dataflow.bandcamp.com/artists
Beatport
https://www.beatport.com/artist/michael-wells-aka-gto/830509?srsltid=AfmBOop9hluaAWOLMnW0Mtf97sL94XgFuvxrJDa_zccMlR75TgRR7yrA
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DEirPY2f2/

Also check our earlier in-depth feature:

The 1000 Heads of Technohead

https://thehardcoreoverdogs.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-1000-heads-of-technohead.html

Reign in Black Blood - An earliest Doomcore Techno veteran back on scene

Black Blood is a Techno veteran from Germany who is deeply embedded within the history of Doomcore. Part of the early generation - only PCP was earlier.

After the millennium, not much had been heard of him. But he now returns with a bang.

There will be new releases of old (unreleased) material. There will be new... videos! And who knows what's still coming?

While we wait on the stuff to pop up... check here for a recent interview:

https://hcbxcast.blogspot.com/2026/02/interview-with-black-blood.html

Info about Black Blood in the "Doomcore Techno Guidebook":

https://doomcoretechno.blogspot.com/2025/06/history-of-doomcore-techno-2nd.html

And, last but not least, the old releases on a new bandcamp:

https://frontlineofsound.bandcamp.com/album/