Month: September 2025

Artist: Mad Vantage
Title: Minutiae.
Format: LP, CD, Digital
Label: Art As Catharsis
Genre: Progressive/ Jazz Metal
Release Date: 07/11/2025

Acclaimed composer and instrumentalist SOLUNE is set to release MINUTIAE., the debut full-length album from her genre-defying project Mad Vantage. A searing blend of progressive metal, nu-jazz, and electronic textures, the record positions SOLUNE as a formidable new voice in heavy music-bursting unapologetically into the scene with meticulous grooves, lush harmony, and fierce creative intent.

Fusing the rhythmic precision of jazz with the weight of distortion, double-kick pedals, and synthesizers, MINUTIAE. presents a sonic landscape shaped by years of artistic evolution. Recorded live in the studio with her band, the album thrives on real-time interplay-delivering polyrhythmic intensity without losing its human pulse.

“After numerous collaborative releases and a plethora of recorded work as a side person over the last 10 years, MINUTIAE. is the very first record I am putting out as a solo artist,” says SOLUNE. “I was hoping to make a big statement when I finally started my solo career, and I feel like this album exemplifies this. It says, “I’m here to make noise” and I hope that people will listen.”

Exploring themes of erosion and strength-both internal and external, MINUTIAE. reflects on personal and societal change in the age of digital transformation. It’s music of catharsis, self-definition, and defiant vulnerability.

“This record is a culmination of years of growth and learning“, says SOLUNE. “In an industry where misconceptions about women persist, I wanted to stay true to the integrity of my craft and bring together parts of my world I’m deeply passionate about: intricate and precise rhythms, feminism, distortion, bright pink fashion, and loud, groove-driven instrumental music.“

With comparisons drawn to Animals As Leaders, Plini, Hiromi, and Tigran Hamasyan, SOLUNE‘s voice remains unmistakably her own: razor-sharp, groove-forward, and emotionally charged. Mad Vantage‘s debut is a clear statement of intent, and is sure to be warmly received by fans of Australian contemporary jazz and heavy, progressive music.

Tracklist
1. Matriarch
2. Perpetual Cave
3. Terranea
4. Ictus
5. Pervade Your Mind
6. Cataclym Pt 1
7. Cataclym Pt 2
8. Cataclym Pt 3

Links  
Bandcamp: https://madvantage.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/solune_madvantage
Facebook: https://facebook.com/soluneartist
Art As Catharsis: http://www.artascatharsis.com

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Artist: The Birch
Title: Vicious Minds
Format: LP, Digital
Label: Tonzonen Records
Distribution: Cargo
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Release Date: 21/11/2025

Vigorous, that’s how The Birch can be described best. Driving riffs, punchy rhythms and all suited in psychedelic sonority, they create an atmosphere of pure ecstasy. With their sound, the three musicians from Quedlinburg, Germany send their crowd on a spiritual journey of long lost centuries, though never indulge but face themselves the current spirit of time.

New album Vicious Mind is a dive into modern psych rock. With its seven tracks, it offers a rather dark side of the bands music on side A, which dissolves in the softer, more rocknroll side B. With a trip abroad, The Birch found themselves recording their second studio album in Miami Beach, giving them a new twist from their impressions collected in the land of the free.Twangy guitars and a rhythm section going straight forward takes the listener to psychedelic soundscapes while being kept alive by an ongoing beat, following you through the 30 minutes of Vicious Mind. 

Pablo Manresa’s key playing builds a constant carpet of warm Hammond organ or Ragtime Piano. Most significant is the string arrangement in Downpour, which creates a new facet of the Band’s sound.

The Birch knows how to develop. Not only is this album a new milestone for the band’s discography, it’s an example how to give it a retro feel without being retro. New album Vicious Mind fits our time, it’s not a look back.

Tracklist
1. Vicious Mind
2. ‘Till you’re gone
3. Little Treat
4. Trinity
5. Downpour
6. Roll’n’Rock
7. Free Your Head 

Links
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thebirch
Bandcamp: https://theblackcatseye.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebirchband
Facebook: https://facebook.com/people/The-Birch/61551843947731/
Label: https://tonzonen.de

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Artist: The Black Cat’s Eye
Title: Decrypting Dreams Of Weird Animals And Strange Objects
Format: LP, CD, Digital
Label: Tonzonen Records
Distribution: Cargo
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Release Date: 31/10/2025

The Black Cat’s Eye: Second Album Explores Cinematic Soundscapes. 

With their debut The Empty Space Between A Seamount And Shock Headed Julia, The Black Cat’s Eye made a notable impact on the scene in 2023 – an energetic and atmospheric album that uniquely fused psychedelic and post-rock elements and quickly sold out. Now, two and a half years later, the Frankfurt-based quintet returns with their new album, Decrypting Dreams Of Weird Animals And Strange Objects.

Once again, the band navigates the borderlands between psychedelic rock, krautrock, and post-rock. Their sound oscillates between hypnotic drive, dreamy guitar textures, and dynamic arcs of tension. The album consists of six tracks, each a sonic journey lasting between five and ten minutes. A notable development is that two band members contributed to the songwriting: Alongside guitarist and band founder Christian Blaser, bassist Jens Cappel wrote half of the material. His powerful, direct style perfectly complements Blaser’s atmospheric approach. Blaser comments: “On the debut, I wrote all the songs. As the founder of the band, my initial focus was on setting a musical vision and direction. Jens wasn’t yet as involved in the creative process at that point, even though he’s an extraordinarily talented and prolific musician. He regularly releases excellent music on the Bandcamp pages of his own projects, like The Black Black Paint. When it came time to write new material for the second album, Jens brought in some truly fantastic demos.” Stylistically, the new album – like its predecessor – blends classic ’70s influences with contemporary rock. Echoes of Can, Motorpsycho, Neu!, indie and stoner rock can be heard, along with nods to David Gilmour’s guitar aesthetic. The music is instrumental, with one exception: Jens Cappel provides vocals on the final track, The Magic Ballon.

The album’s title – Decrypting Dreams Of Weird Animals And Strange Objects – is as enigmatic as that of their first record. Blaser explains: “The title was inspired by a fascinating concept from the American TV series Westworld. In the series, humanoid robots are programmed with feelings and dreams. But as they become more human, they spin out of control – so the programmers begin analyzing the source code they wrote, searching for errors in artificial thoughts, feelings, and dreams using computer programs. Translated into our reality, the title is meant to be ironic. Our modern technology gives us the illusion that we can fully control every aspect of life. Self- optimization and the commodification of the self become the highest goals. But it’s a false illusion – we are only tiny fragments of a greater whole that we can’t comprehend. Against this backdrop, the question arises: What can art contribute to our perception of the world? What meaning lies in expressing oneself through music? Through technology, mathematics, physics, and pure reason, we don’t truly get closer to the miracle of life or the meaning of existence. What remains are rituals, incantations, ecstasy. Music, dance, painting, stories – they momentarily reveal the core of life, realign our connection to it, and link us to the universe.“

The album was once again recorded at Tonstudio Bieber in Offenbach am Main. Studio owner and fellow musician Oli Rüger – who has years of experience recording guitar-based bands – handled the recording. The basic tracks were recorded live with the full band over three days, then later enriched with overdubs. Rüger also co-produced the album. Cappel notes: “Oli has a knack for striking the perfect balance between raw, heavy, and delicate sounds, without ever losing sight of the bigger picture.” Final mastering was done by krautrock legend Eroc – a fitting choice for a band that not only sees itself as part of the ’70s legacy but actively seeks to carry that tradition into the present.

The monochrome cover art underlines the music’s dark atmosphere. It reflects the band’s conceptual approach to treating music not just as sound, but as space, concept, and visionary narrative. The cover image – a seemingly endless spiral symbolizing DNA structures and eternity – was designed by Italian graphic artist Daniele Stochino. The gatefold’s inner artwork combines this motif with an illustration by Berlin-based graphic designer and musician Max Emil Hurlebaus, using vibrant colors to create bold contrasts and new visual perspectives.

Tracklist
1. Hell Bent For Sæther   
2. The Walls Of Crystal Keep   
3. Unicorn   
4. Sternenfels Space Gate   
5. Everywhere I Rest My Head The Ground Is Shifting   
6. The Magic Balloon

Links
Official: https://theblackcatseye.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theblackcatseye
Bandcamp: https://theblackcatseye.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/theblackcatseye
Facebook: https://facebook.com/theblackcatseye
Label: https://tonzonen.de

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Artist: Electric Litany
Title: Desires
Format: LP, Digital
Label: Flying Hearts
Distribution: Muting The Noise
Genre: Post-Rock/ Synthpop/ Electronica
Release Date: 17/10/2025

Electric Litany made their entrance into the music scene in 2010 with their debut album, How to Be a Child and Win the War. The release garnered widespread acclaim, leading to a European tour, including a support slot for Interpol soon after.

The band’s rise to prominence was further solidified when they graced the main stage at Rockwave Festival in Athens, sharing the bill with iconic acts such as Prodigy and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Their electrifying performance left an indelible impression on festivalgoers and established Electric Litany as an unmissable live act.

Their second album, Enduring Days You Will Overcome, was co-produced by legendary producer Alan Parsons, who declared them “the next Radiohead.” In 2019, they released their fourth album, Under a Common Sky, which also received international acclaim.

Their forthcoming album, Desires, captures the raw energy and emotional depth that have made Electric Litany a revered force in alternative music. Set to be released under Flying Hearts, this album represents not just a creative evolution but a labor of love—crafted with an uncompromising dedication to artistic integrity.

Desires is the culmination of over fifteen years of exploration. Emerging at a time when the line between truth and illusion is increasingly blurred, it finds the band questioning the value of authenticity. With artificial yet strikingly beautiful artwork that echoes the concepts at the heart of their latest work, it finds Electric Litany asking: “if reality is a construct, does it even matter what’s real?”

Sonically, Desires finds Electric Litany pushing themselves into more experimental territory than ever before. Tracks like Itor exist in a haze of distortion, while Reciprocate is a deliberately oversaturated dream-pop anthem that still holds its form. In contrast, moments of respite come in the form of Prism, where a hands-off simplicity allows the musicians to take centre stage. Richard Simic’s intricate drumming expands the rhythmic landscape with dynamic intensity, while Jason Tsontilis’s synth work elevates the band’s sonic textures into more atmospheric and experimental realms. Alexandros Miaris brings his distinct vocals, shoegaze byzantine guitars, and piano to Desires, adding emotional depth to the album. His multi-instrumentalism and introspective lyrics create a personal touch, blending seamlessly with the experimental textures of the band.

Across the record, Desires finds the band remaining true to their artistic traditions. By performing their ideas out as live impromptu recordings, trying and testing their raw, improvised components, and fusing them to etchings of pre-written ideas; the end results are palpably organic in feel and alive with the untameable energy so definitive of Electric Litany’s work.

With the entire record recorded at Fish Factory Studios, London, additional recordings were laid down at Caledonian Road Studios, London and Dada Studios and Byron Studios, Athens. The album features production, engineering and mixing from George Botis, plus additional mixing from Alexandros Miaris.

Tracklist
01. Falcon   
02. Opia   
03. Reciprocate   
04. Diamonds   
05. Prism   
06. Itor   
07. For Another   
08. Crumpets   
09. Junkie 
10. Bless

Links  
Official: https://electriclitany.com 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/electric_litany
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ElectricLitany

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