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Ant-Zen

Trepaneringsritualen – Diadem of Fire (2025)

Even more luxury as Michael Idehall’s “Apokryphos” 7″ with book. This time you again get a book with black and white photos, but TxRxP got a hardcover, plus -smartly- the 7″ sleeve is glued to the cover.

The 7″ has a very ambient opening and closing track, nothing too exciting. Then there is the excellent title track, which is fairly uptempo in TxRxP’s discography. Also the first track of side B is a good Trepaneringsritualen track.

Instead of a vinyl with book, you can also get “Diadem of Fire” as a 3″ cd. If you are quick of course.

Links: Trepaneringsritualen, Ant-Zen

Thorofon – Guilty (2025)

Thorofon’s latest release is a tape in Ant-Zen’s series of luxury packages. One version comes in an acrylic glass container for the tape.

The album opens with a death industrial track and also the second track is quite industrial. Other tracks are more of the “Krankpop” type, but not as energetic as Thorofon can get. Fortunately there are also another few industrial tracks.

13 Tracks in total. Not bad, but not their best material in my opinion.

Links: Thorofon, Ant-Zen

Kommando – Wage Of Wrath (2024)

It appears that nowadays Kommando is Dan Courtman’s solo project.

“Wage of Wrath” contains the familiar industrial approach to noise, but also more typical noise material like in the early days. I especially like the death industrial tracks “Death On Demand” and “Drifting In Echoes”, an industrial rhythm, highly distorted vocals, that is the side of Kommando that I like best.

The noise tracks are not bad, but I like the more industrial approach better. All in all 11 tracks, 39 minutes and -if you are fast- available on vinyl.

Link: Ant-Zen

Michael Idehall – Apokryphos (2024)

Another luxury vinyl release on Ant-Zen. A nine track 33 RPM 7″ with a 52 page booklet. As always there are only a 100 copies.

“Apokryphos” has the rawer side of Idehall. Industrial, noisy, growling vocals; but still the recognisable ritualistic approach. It does seem that Idehall tried some new things. The sound is recognisably Idehall, but still somewhat different. Also it is not like all tracks are ‘harsh’. The esoteric avant-garde of the Ant-Zen blurp is a good description.

Idehall created another very enjoyable album of about 40 minutes.

The album is now available through Bandcamp. The physical releases will be shipped soon. I cannot wait for my copy.

Links: Michael Idehall, Ant-Zen

Kojoohar & Frank Ursus – Frost Drought (2024)

  • angstpop

Frank Ursus is Te/DIS. Kojoohar is the angstpop project of Andrii Kozhukhar who also plays in Kadaitcha.

The four tracks on this 7″ are recognisably Te/DIS, but the music leans a bit more to the ‘angstpop’ side, so I suppose that is where Andrii contributed to the sound.

The 7″ contains four fairly tranquil angstpop songs with Ursus’ typical voice.

The covers are printed manually and are all unique.

Links: Kojoohar, Te/DIS, Ant-Zen

Riotmiloo – Blackout (2023)

Before “Blackout” there has been another album, also on Ant-Zen: “La Pierre Soudée” in 2015. I did not register that debut.

When I put on “Blackout”, the first track reminded me of Geneviève Pasquier. “Your Eyes” is a somewhat industrial track with female vocals. Also other tracks have hints of Pasquier, not only because of the vocals but also because of the music. Riotmiloo sure is not a Pasquier copycat though.

The artist has an interesting musical career. According to her own Spotify biography, she has a background in riot girl and (digital) punk bands. Cooperation with techno and industrial artists led her to experiment with less punky and more industrial sounds which she releases under the moniker Riotmiloo.

“Blackout” goes from ‘discoish’ industrial, to softer tracks and most tracks are quite alright. The previous album is somewhat more punky reminding me a bit of “NAKED”, an interesting duo that slowly shifted from techno to industrial. In any case, Riotmiloo’s second album is -to me- somewhat more interesting than the debut.

If you are a collector, Ant-Zen made a luxury sleeve for the vinyl version of this album.

Links: Riotmiloo, Ant-Zen

Thorofon – Angor (2023)

Released exactly a year after “Gladio“, “Angor” is the new vinyl of the “Krankpop” duo Thorofon. Also released today is a cd with both “Gladio” and “Angor” on it.

After a noisy opening comes the nice ‘industrial disco’ (as I call it) track “Perfection”. What follows is different kinds of industrial, from more EBM type danceable tracks to more sound collage noisy tracks. Of course there is also the dirty, rhythmic Thorofon sound. There is also a track recorded together with Te/DIS.

“Angor” is rougher than the somewhat more EBM oriented predecessor, so when you listen to the cd, the music gets rougher and rougher. Not a bad approach!

Link: Ant-Zen

Kadaitcha – Tramontane (2023)

Kadaitcha is a (post) industrial project duo, half of which also has a solo project in more of an angstpop vein called Kojoohar. Kadaitcha has been around since at least 2016.

“Fracture” sounds more industrial than what I have heard of Kadaitcha before.

Thus I earlier wrote about Kadaitcha. The second remark I can repeat. “Tramontane” is a pretty industrial album, a bit of the ‘industrial rock’ type perhaps. Just as on “Fracture” there are the guitars, but not as noisy this time. “Tramontane” also contains some less industrial tracks, such as the somewhat “angstpoppy” “Knife”. Most of the other tracks are quite chaotic, sound-/noisescapes with guitars, beats and vocals.

I think this album may mostly appear to people who like the old style guitar based industrial.

Links: Kadaitcha, Ant-Zen

Geneviève Pasquier – Indecent Behaviour (2023)

In the Ant-Zen series of luxury 7″s comes the first Pasquier in several years. Two new tracks, both uptempo and both again somewhat different from what Geneviève did before.

“Cannibal Night” is a nice track with a bit of a punky feel. “Berühren” is more of a romantic electroclash song that opens softly, but is sped up by a beat after a little.

Both tracks are Pasquier’s take on old tracks, both originals I did not yet know. In the case of “Cannibal Night” by Nox the new version is not that far from the original, but now there is an uptempo beat.
Profil’s original is already a punky synthpop track, which -as mentioned- sounds more romantic in the Pasquier’s version.

Links: Geneviève Pasquier, Ant-Zen

Tanz Ohne Musik – 17 (2023)

Tanz Ohne Musik found their way to Ant-Zen who present a 7″ and (of course) a digital version.

Side A has the title track, a melancholic minimal wave track. “Cold” is more in the angstpop style that TOM sometimes produces. With some distance, this is the most interesting track to me. In the last track, TOM tried something new. “Mescaline Swimming” is a somewhat uptempo track, a bit in an electropunk direction. Amusing.

Links: Tanz Ohne Musik, Ant-Zen