Welcome to Hard Wired

Welcome to Hard Wired

Evenin' all
Welcome to the new look Hard Wired. After a lot of toing & froing the reviews sections have been overhauled in order to combat the problem of the pages taking ages to load. Thanks to suggestions from myself, Stuart & Anya Dave was able to put together the excellent design that you'll see when you click on any of the new reviews. We're sure you'll find using the site a lot more convienient now & we'll look forward to reviewing lots of great music over the coming months.

One bit of bad news is the announcement that Dependent Records will be biting the dust in the summer. As usual it's that old spectre of downloading that is causing so many problems. This saddens me a great deal as all the labels in 'our scene' are spare time jobs run by people not for money, but for the love of what they do. To them every sale could make the difference between them making their next release or going to the wall; just remember that the next time you're tempted to download something or burn a CDR for someone. Here endeth the lecture so enjoy the reviews & let us know what you think of the site

Carl Jenkinson
Editor & Chief Moaner

Industrial review for:

KIFOTH - Acerbity Torrent. This Slovak duo return with a dark & challenging album that is not for everyone but which requires serious & deep listening

EBM review for:

Brain Leisure - Methods To Madness. Another artist returns after a long sabbatical with his own take on the old-skool EBM style

Goth reviews for:

Age Of Reason - One Small Act Of Defiance. What do you get if you mix melodic grunge-tinged rock with sharp observational lyrics? Why Age Of Reason of course..
Midnight Configuration - Parallel Worlds. An album sent straight from Satan's Arse. Is that in Surrey?
Ikon - As Time Goes By. Ikon ripen over the years like a high-grade wine - but is this a good vintage?

Electronica review for:

The Secret Meeting - Ultrashiver. What would happen if Dean Garcia, from Curve, got together with kaRIN and Statik from Collide?

Synthpop review for:

Vani - Strassenunterhaltung. Does Vani pass the Diet Coke challenge?

Other genres review for:

Psychic TV - Hell Is Invisible ... Heaven Is Her/E. Dip into your wallet/purse and make a contribution to hermaphroditic entity to be Breyer P-Orridge...

15/07/07

Gothic rock reviews for:

Ikon - The Burden Of History. Arguably Australia's biggest export give us a Best Of that will please fans and new listeners alike...
Alien Produkt - Ignorance. Argentina's finest export since Shakira tell us about a world of paranoia, isolation and disassociation...
Obliteration - Perpetual Decay . A belching bludgeonfest with little variety...
Dark Horizon - No Gods On Earth. When you need an album that encourages you to strive despite the misery of this world turn to the Dark Horizon...
Coph Nia - The Dark Illuminati - A Celestial Tragedy In Two Acts. If Hell is other people, then seek the company of Coph Nia...
Desiderii Marginis - Seven Sorrows. I shudder to imagine what sort of yoga you would do while listening to this dark ambient soundtrack...

07/07/07

Gothic rock reviews for:

The House of Usher/The Escape - Conspiracy. Two gothic rock bands unite in Limited Edition 7" excitement...
Screaming Banshee Aircrew - When All Is Said And Done.... Male and female vocals deliver tongue-in-cheek humour, rockabilly, sombre ballads and Gothic sounds...
Dyonisis - Dyonisis. Debut album by female-fronted four-piece from Sheffield that swirls, soars and enchants...
Stormfagel - Ett Berg Av Fasa. Get the bunting out Mother - for once there's a Cold Meat Industry band who don't seek to conjure the atmosphere of a deserted mental asylum...
Elusive - Dream On Sister. German gothic rockers offer single action, with Depeche Mode cover on the sides...

Other Genres review for:

Artesia - Chants d'Automne . Forest-loving French duo do their ethereal atmospheric thing...

EBM reviews for:

Assemblage 23 - Meta. A timely reminder of why Tom Shear's music has become so widely loved.
Controlled Collapse - Injection. The influences are obvious but here's an exciting new prospect.
Various Artists - Septic VII. Yet another top-class collection that's well up to the usual standards.

Electronica review for:

Faderhead - FH2. Inventive music to go clubbing to!

Industrial reviews for:

Inertia - Inertia. A totally new sound for this well-loved band.
Tin Omen - Define My Existence. A top-class British band that you should all check out now-now, you hear me?
Idiot Stare - Welcome To Babylon. You see, the west coast of America can produce great music!