WINKIE – This Place is Death
Shoegaze, Alternative Rock(They also suggested this might be Industrial)
Similar artists: Killing Joke, The Cranes, My Bloody Valentine, Suicide
Yes, people get their thrills in all sorts of funny ways all over the world. But, consider the fact that in a world where safety is one the paramount topics discussed in any kind of free political election, there are millions willing to spend good money on getting scared out of their wits. There are various industries that cater directly towards this, chief of all the movie industry.
Now, terror junkies had their suppliers in the music industry as well. Some might even argue that the musicians were the greatest horror artists. Some spat blood, some swung chains at the audience, and some bands simply sounded frightening. It’s all been overdone and the masks have come off, however, and music struggles now to give you a proper scare.
Enter WINKIE, a U.S. duo that sounds as if they’ve been illegally occupying run-down buildings for years and creating sounds that properly reflect the industrial wastelands around them. This place is death is a brutal, yet stylish sonic assault. Very little of this sounds human. It’s the kind of music one might suspect that scarred war-veterans or people that have been in solitary confinement for a while might consider making.
State of Illusion – Starlight
Genre: Metal, Alternative Metal
You have to feel some respect for musicians making drastically uncommercial music who, somehow, end up having fans across the world, and also influence other artists with their sound. In this day and age, particularly, where musical fame is so difficult to come, this is remarkable.
This, in many ways, is what groups like Tool managed to do. Yes, their fans might be more inclined to write papers on complex mathematics or take powerful hallucinogens and stare blindly at the stars for hours on end. But, the truth of the matter is that this brand of complicated, otherworldly prog-influenced guitar music has become a mainstay in popular culture.
If you ever found yourself spending those little hours wondering what would happen if Tool were to put all their weight behind making a pop record, you’re in luck. State of Illusion’s Starlight is the closest approximation to that sound. It features the group brazenly pushing their rock arrangements towards the cosmos, yet making sure that everyone in their audience is on board with this. Starlight is a prog-pop song for the modern age.
