Flashback Friday

Trick Or Treat (1986)

Happy Halloween my fellow Retroholics!  Since it's now Hallow's Eve I've chosen a heavy metal horror flick that features a plethora of metal tracks, as well as a brief appearance by KISS's front-man Gene Simmons and a cameo by the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osborne.

1986's Trick or Treat, directed by Charles Martin Smith, is about a bullied high school outcast named Eddie Weinbauer, a metal head who's hero is a local musician named Sammi Curr.   After hearing about Sammi's tragic death in a hotel fire, Eddie is devastated and visits his friend Nuke(Gene Simmons), a local radio DJ who knew Sammi personally.  Nuke gives Eddie the only copy of Sammi's final unreleased album "Songs in the Key of Death."  While playing the album in reverse Eddie begins to hear hidden messages from Sammi telling him to get revenge on the bullies who torment him.  At first his revenge starts seems innocent, resulting in getting the bully's in trouble at school.  Eddie copies the demo onto a cassette and gives it to one of the bully's who's girlfriend is hospitalized after listening to it.

Realizing how sinister things have gotten, Eddie tries to end Sammi's plans but Sammi refuses to stop.  Knowing how dangerous the tape is, Eddie orders his friend Roger to retrieve the tape from the bully and destroy it.  Roger lies to Eddie about destroying the tape and ends up listening to it.  Sammi threatens to kill Roger if he doesn't play the cassette at the high school Halloween dance that night.  Obeying Sammi's orders, Roger plays the tape during the dance.  At the same time Eddie's crush Leslie calls him on the phone asking where he is and Eddie overhears the music.  Realizing it's Sammi's tape, he races to the dance to save Leslie and stop Sammi from causing more havoc but when he arrives Sammi has already resurrected and begun performing on stage, firing lightning bolts at the audience from his guitar causing the crowd to flee in terror.  With Nuke planning to play a midnight broadcast of Sammi's album over the radio Eddie must come up with a plan to destroy Sammi before it hits the air waves and wreaks more carnage throughout the town.

The soundtrack is packed with enjoyable metal tracks by the band Fastway.  If you're looking for some rockin' synthwave to accommodate this film, check out DANCE WITH THE DEAD's debut album "Out of Body" which is an absolute work of art amongst the scene and features some great guitar shredding.

So after you've been fattened up by all your Halloween candy, and nursing that Halloween party hangover this weekend definitely check this flick out!  To all of you planning to cause some carnage this Hallow's Eve, I would like to say be very safe, and have lots of fun! Catch you all next week, rockers!


-Magnum Crockett

Scythe - Entity: Harvest of Insanity

by Jon of the Shred

Chapter I: Alpha Centauri Sector

Camp Terror is burning, the casualties number well in the hundreds. Bodies litter the alleyways and smoke billows angrily towards the night sky. Gunfire and screams of the dying echo throughout the safe-zone, bouncing off the skyscrapers, barely audible over the growing moans of the hungry Impaled closing in on their prey. The bullets of the Meganet cyborgs rip through Paragon security members, who lie dying as the undead close in and relish in their easy meals. Innocents, rebels, and Paragon officials alike all lie dead.

The survivors of the rebel movement, dumbfounded by the chaos they helped unleashed, have gathered just outside the city walls. While they have have freed themselves from the dystopian reign of Paragon, many lives were lost in their uprising. They had not envisioned Meganet gaining sentience on the same night as their rebellion, or ever for that matter. This was a contingency unaccounted for. Now regrouped, they plan their next move outside the walls of Camp Terror, listening to the symphony of carnage they helped compose as it plays out from within.

“We've made it out alive, but we cannot forget those who have fallen!” The leader of the resistance, Maverick, is both congratulating and consoling his troops. They've fought a tough battle the last few hours, and they had lost many of their team in the raining gunfire. Another unaccounted contingency is about to beset this group of weary rebels...

“Freeze! Drop your weapons!” Through the veil of darkness and amidst the noisy confusion, a large group of unknown people has sneaked up the hill to the city walls, now surrounding the rebels, their weapons raised. “We don't want any trouble here! Who are you?!” The Lone Musician stands at the forefront of the group, surveying the scene, battle weary and hoping they don't need to end more lives after the last few months of torturous trials. Maverick steps to the edge of his group, meeting the Lone Musician.

“I am Maverick and this is my company. If you're Paragon scum you might as well riddle us with bullets now, we'd rather die than sacrifice our freedom.” The Lone Musician looks back to his army, and gives them the motion to lower their weapons. “If Paragon is your enemy, that makes us allies. Paragon murdered some friends of ours.” The Lone Musician and Maverick shake hands, to the relief of both of the tired armies. “What the fuck is going on in there, Maverick?” The Lone Musician looks up to the city walls, the sounds of warfare still slicing through the night air.

“We've been stuck in that hellhole since the Apocalyptic Dawn. Camp Terror was one of the first major safe-zones available during the panic. Paragon rounded everyone up and put them in the camps, this being the biggest one in all of Scythe. But their methods of control have proven cruel and self-serving. They've got people from as far as Specter City holed up in there. At first it was fine, we worked together to survive, kept the Impaled off the fences, foraged for food in abandoned towns nearby. But then it all changed. Paragon began to show it's true colors – they forced us to do all the heavy lifting, to collect substances for their research and experiments. They just sat in their labs, their cyborg security force murdering anyone who questioned their will. We were starving, tired, and oppressed...it was time for a change.”

“You still have good people in there? Sounds like the fight is still going.” The Lone Musician notes the continued sounds of gunfire and screams. “That's where shit gets crazy. The cyborg security seemed to gain a mind of its own. They turned against Paragon and started wiping them out – they were gunning for us, too. It's a wonder so many of my team made it out alive. Now we're just trying to figure out our next move.” The Lone Musician nods, and gives Maverick a little background.

“My company were all being held hostage by the Nekro Cult. Sick fucks worship the Impaled, they think they're some kind of cleansing entity sent by the Gods. They had us in chains at the old Scythian Arena. I managed to free these people...the sick bastards were going to feed them to the undead.” Maverick nodded and responded, “You freed ALL of these people? Good job, man.” “I couldn't just leave them there. We were headed to this very safe-zone, rumors had been circulating through the prison that it was one of the last vestiges of safety. Before we were able to get here Paragon ambushed one of our search companies, murdered them in cold blood. We heard it through our walkies. We came here to carry out vengeance, but it looks like you guys already started it for us.” Maverick nodded. “I think our best bet is to join our two companies, but we're at a loss on where to go.” The Lone Musician responded “I agree, we can wipe the Paragon and Nekro cult scum off the face of Scythe with our forces combined. We're headed to the Alpha Centauri Sector.” The armies of Maverick and the Lone Musician now became one entity, a giant force of justice on a planet on the brink of destruction.

Chapter  II: Entity

Deep within the Forest of the Impaled lies the Alpha Centauri Sector, a swamp many people considered cursed decades before the great Apocalyptic Dawn. Through the forest, strange plants emit an eerie, mist. This mist carries hallucinogenic properties. When inhaled, this psychoactive substance causes horrible and debilitating effects. While a small amount inhaled leads to a pleasurable, highly addictive euphoria, even the slightest misstep in dosage leads to violent overdoses. An Entity overdose has the capability of driving the user to immediate insanity, and even on the first come down off an Entity high, the user suffers viscous, potentially deadly withdrawals.

For this reason, the Forest of the Impaled was blocked off to the citizens of Scythe by the Scythian government and Paragon officials. Before the apocalypse, Paragon rangers sanctioned by the Scythian government patrolled the forests in hazmat gear to ensure no one smuggled the dangerous Entity drug outside of the forests borders. Rumors around the planet suggested trespassers within the forest were even shot on site. Other rumors claimed various, small societies existed throughout the forest, inhabited by those addicted to Entity. Their entire lives revolved around the consumption of the drug, their minds completely lost in the hallucinations – an addictive trip that never ends. Some of these rumors were true...

Chapter III: Euphoric Damnation



Euphoric Damnation had huge plans before the apocalypse. They planned to infiltrate Scythian military bases, government complexes, and Paragon laboratories alike and bring the entire countries political infrastructure to it's knees. They would re-raise society in a state of symbiotic anarchy. While their intentions were arguably just, the means with which they were willing to go to exact these goals were both immoral and dangerous. The amount of innocents who would die in the backlash of utilizing Entity as a biological weapon would number in the thousands, maybe even millions. Euphoric Damnation saw these potential casualties as necessary sacrifices – they would be unknowing martyrs for the Euphoric Damnation's cause.

Members of Euphoric Damnation were of the belief a conspiracy existed on Scythe. Paragon seemed to hold all the power, and the Scythian government seemed like the puppets of the corporate giant. Many members of the extremist group were, in fact, former Paragon workers themselves. They had their suspicions when employed by the corporation, and gladly joined the Euphoric Damnation cause. Some had narrowly escaped being banished into the Deserts of Zu-Rakeen for political dissent, but escaped into the Forest of the Impaled before being deported. All good intentions of these political dissenters were lost as they stumbled through the forest in their drug induced hazes. Entity in such constant doses warped their minds and fried their brains. Though their intent was once noble, their moral foundation crumbled, and they were but shells of their former selves.

Members of Euphoric Damnation were forced to wear modified hazmat suits stolen from the corpses of Paragon forest rangers at all times which served them a steady dosage of Entity. Breathing in the fumes of the forest would be too severe, they'd surely lose their minds. But they still necessitated a constant dose at increments throughout each day, otherwise the withdrawal symptoms would likely kill them. And so they lived in a state of Euphoric Damnation, giving their name an ironic twist.



Chapter IV: Harvest of Insanity

Right on the outskirts of the Alpha Centauri Sector marshes stands Euphoric Damnation's giant industrial complex. Further out, still, lie many huts and makeshift houses, all of which were occupied by the harvesters of insanity. Euphoric Damnation had learned the concentration of the Entity compound found throughout the forest was concentrated in the swamp. It was hear in the bog they took to the Harvest of Insanity.

Giant hydraulic pumps pumped the bog marshes. Later this swamp matter was strained many times over, eventually through the process of chemistry and technology stolen from Paragon laboratories, distilled into a pure, liquid form of Entity. A single drop of this would shatter the users consciousness, rendering them stuck on a permanent trip. The industrial complex manufactured hundreds of pounds of the drug on the daily. Even just 1% of the synthesized product available could drive the entire population of Specter City into violent overdoses.

Throughout the bogs and surrounding forest on this night, new sets of eyes watched the facility. From nearly every direction, members of a viscous gang, the Wasteriders, were sneaking through the foliage and marshes, closing in on the Euphoric Damnation base of operations. Their plans were to steal as much of the drug as they could handle, wiping out any Euphoric Damnation members that stood in their way. This heist had been a long time in the making.
While Euphoric Damnation were tormented with a perpetual trip, driven to insanity being so close to the marsh that produced the substance, the Wasteriders were still very much lucid. They differed from Euphoric Damnation in that they only wished to profit off the drug and use it recreationally. They had no plans other than to get high and get rich. And tonight they'd steal enough of the Entity drug to be high for the rest of their lives...



Chapter V: Disintegrate



 The casual users of Entity described the trip as “disintegrating” or “dissolving.” Every nerve in the body reeled in euphoric ecstasy from the substance. Trails followed any slight movement, and the world took on a glitched out, blurred, digital look as the pupils of the users became heavily dilated. Colors were brightened and intensified, sounds took on a new density, users would feel an increase in their creative thinking. Hallucinations only intensified with a higher dose, many claiming to see and talk to godlike entities. While many used the drug for the high, many also sought out its use for spiritual purposes.

The onset of an overdose would lead to panicked thinking, nausea, uncontrollable vomiting and shaking, seizures, and more. Some users would get caught into a loop, reliving the same moment millions of times in the space of a second. When they awoke from their drug daze, many found themselves covered in other people's blood, having been driven to violence through the drug. Communication for many became scrambled, the users ranting and raving incoherently, their psychotic babbling being both slightly humorous and rather frightening.

Some Entity users would gain an unprecedented increase in appetite and eat until their stomachs burst, while others would lose their appetite entirely, sometimes permanently, dying of starvation as they withdrew from the drug. Some users would sleep off the drug for days after a Entity high, while others would suffer weeks of insomnia afterwards. Needless to say, the negative effects of 'disintegration' far outweighed the pleasurable euphoria enjoyed at miniscule doses, especially considering how unpredictable the effects of disintegrating were.

Many folks were even driven to violent insanity on the smallest doses, as the substance is very unpredictable and very potent. While Entity could only be found in it's pure form within the Forest of the Impaled, a street drug did exist in the pre-apocalypse days. This drug was used by youths and gang members alike. Some even said the cannibals in the Zu-Rakeen desert had shipments sent out to them, but how this cargo was able to make it past the great Wall of Rot was anyone's guess.

Chapter VI: The Centaurian Heist

 The Wasteriders were closing in, all around the manufacturing facility. Throughout the hut village, sleeping members of Euphoric Damnation were murdered in their sleep. Many throats were slit, and much blood was spilled. The Wasteriders had managed to wipe out the entire community as it slept, and now crept along towards the factory, their blood lust peaking as they began to pull out grappling hooks.

First one grappling hook sank into the roof of the building, than two more, and dozens more after that. The Wasteriders began to scale the building on all sides. Nearly 200 of them now stood on the roof, poised and ready to make an unforgettable heist. Small explosions were set on one side of the roof, and detonated. The explosion rocked the facility, dozens of Euphoric Damnation members perplexed at the noise. Piercing alarms rang through the corridors, and Euphoric Damnation members quickly grabbed their assault rifles and plasma cannons.

Who was attacking them? Was it the Nekro cult, the sick bastards who idolized the Impaled? Was it the Scythian government, finally cracking down on their activist movement? Or was it the Paragon security force, the Meganet cyborgs? Regardless of who it was, they would soon be riddled with bullets.

A large company of the Wasteriders rappelled into the building through the hole, quickly drawing their weapons and moving with synchronicity and purpose. The first batch of Euphoric Damnation soldiers to arrive on the scene were immediately downed on bullets. Three lines of Wasteriders took turns shooting and reloading their weapons, an effective method. But Euphoric Damnation had methods of their own...

The first row in the Wasteriders line stepped through a doorway, only to hear the clang of metal behind them as the doors came to a close. As they sprinted forward to escape the corridor, the other set of doors on the far side of the hallway clanged shut as well. The hissing of gas clued them in on what was going on, as Entity was pumped through the vents in highly dangerous doses. They were quickly driven to insanity, some murdering each other and others vomiting torrents of blood. They were all dead within minutes.

The doors whirred back open, and the two other rows of Wasteriders surveyed the scene. The bodies of their comrades littered the room. Enraged, one member takes out a plasma grenade and throws it to the far side of the room. It explodes, shattering the metallic doors on the far side of the hall. They rushed through the corridor holding their breaths as more Wasteriders poured in through the roof.

In the manufacturing facility, Euphoric Damnation members scrambled about, some taking position in front of the Entity trays, others piling finished product onto carts, driving away in a frenzy to protect their livelihood. Explosions and gunfire echoed throughout the corridor, the sounds of battle escalating and growing louder every minute. And then the climax of the battle struck, as the majority of the Wasteriders poured into the manufacturing room. Bullets sprayed from either directions. Machines leaked fuel, sparks erupted from all over, gunfire rained on steel and flesh. The casualties on both sides continued to grow as the Centaurian Heist reached it's bloody peak.

Wasteriders grabbed trolleys loaded with the product, rushing towards the door. A few were gunned down by Euphoric Damnation members. The Wasteriders returned fire, bullets riddling the suits of the Euphoric Damnation members, Entity mist pouring out from the punctures to their suits. Neither Euphoric Damnation or the Wasteriders enjoyed victory on this day – they both suffered defeat. And the battle seemed to just be starting. While some Wasteriders escaped with pounds of the substance, many more lied dead in the facility. And while Euphoric Damnation managed to hold off the siege and maintain control of the factory, they too suffered heavy casualties. Their enterprise was set back years in just the first hour of fighting.

EPILOGUE

Just outside the facility, at the edge of the forest stands Maverick and the Lone Musician, faces covered with gas masks, watching the violent foray unfold below them. “What the fuck is this place?” Maverick asked. “I think I have an idea. A few months ago I had to run through this damned forest after escaping Specter City. As I ran through it I suffered from hallucinations. They were driving me mad. That's why I brought all these gas masks for us to wear. This swamp seems to be the source of that hallucinogenic mist that had me going crazy. If I had to guess, looks like this is a drug manufacturing plant that we've stumbled upon.” Maverick nodded. “Maybe we should head back to the edge of the forest. There's no need for us to join the party down there. Let the junkies fight it out and kill each other.” The Lone Musician agreed. “Yea, let's get the fuck outta here.” The two retreated back from the edge of the swamp and headed back towards their army to plan their next move, the deafening sounds of warfare and carnage fading as they sprinted away from the swamp.


Pick up a copy of this totally rockin chapter of the Scythe chronicles featuring Jon Of The Shred collaborating with Beatbox Machinery, Quantum, KFDDA, Hide & Sequence, Leonardo Rizzo and Cluster Buster on Bandcamp here.

The Second Annual Synthetix.FM Rhythm Vivisection Halloween Mixtape Has Arrived!

Synthetix.FM is proud to present the second annual Rhythm Vivisection Halloween Mixtape!! Thirty seven levels of Hell await you in a two and half hour soundtrack of depravity!




Last year I included a bunch of classic horror movie samples in the mix, this year I decided to up the ante even further and chose a specific movie to draw from so laced throughout this mixtape are samples from Clive Barker's classic horror masterpiece Night Breed. Future Rhythm Vivisection Mixtapes will also have a specific movie/series of movies as the theme for the samples too.

Many, many thanks to all the producers who submitted tracks this year!

Let the nightmares begin and rock that Halloween magic with this year's Rhythm Vivisection Halloween Mixtape!

1, Take The Girl Home - Midnight Channel
2, Guyman Bromate - Zomborgs
3, Mark Of The Werewolf - Murkbox
4, NEAR DARK - Dance With The Dead
5, SCHERZO - Pilotpriest
6, Fugue - OGRE
7, Night Fiend - Blazestation
8, Necronomicon - Neon Over Drive
9, '86 Knights - Dana’s Vision
10, Descent into the Forbidden Laboratory - Ex Machina
11, Flow Morphia Slow - Captain Splatter
12, Risk Of Rain - Project Gagarine
13, The Impaled - Jon Of The Shred
14, Phantom Warnings - Bad Ass Wolf Shirt
15,Kalax - Halloween
16, Hellraiser - Dark Nous
17, Doomsday - Glitch Black
18, Am I Really Gonna Die? - Dress 2 Kill
19, The SCUM - Protector 101
20, One Way Out - Memphis Raines
21, Sustainer Cassette - Amazing Police
22, Shadow Agents - Powder Slut
23, Vulture Future - Hypercan
24, Summer 85 (Horror Movies) - Zerbinator
25, Final Girl Survives, Roll Credits - TSTR
26, Section Six - 20Six Hundred
27, Crawling Chaos - Mindsinger
28, Monstrosynthy - Supervillain
29, Lock and Load - Waveshaper
30, Telepathic Justice - Kirk Gadget
31, Nuclear Avenger Brigade - BEATBOX MACHINERY
32, The Marauder - GreKanE
33, Super Skrull - Audioblivion
34, DCLXVI - Vestron Vulture
35, The Faceless Ones - CTRL_ALT_DSTRY
36, State of Affairs - City Hunter
37, Earthshaker - Variar


Full size cover art available here.

A Voyag3r Into The Doom Fortress

It's Halloween Week on Synthetix.FM! To usher in one of our favourite times of the year we'll be celebrating all manner of rockin Halloween synth action to feed your fears and sate your darker passions. This will culminate with the special Halloween themed Synthetix Sundays episode coming up this weekend and will also include the second annual Synthetix.FM Rhythm Vivisection Halloween Mixtape which will be out towards the end of the week. Right on time to be your musical accompaniment through the nocturnal evils of All Hallows' Eve itself this Friday.

To begin the festivities is the totally rockin new album from Voyag3r titled Doom Fortress. With this follow up record to 2013's Victory In The Battle Chamber this group of talented musicians have replicated a flawless late 70s early 80s synthscape that would be the perfect aural companion to numerous denominations of horror, sci-fi, giallo, zombie, post apocalyptic cinema.

Taking much inspiration from the originators of the genres themselves the textures and tones of this album are born again through new ears and eyes that inspire and explode into all kinds of wonderful possibilities.


You know exactly what you're in for within seconds of the opening track, 'Summoning The Forgotten One'. The eeriness of the atmosphere builds anticipation into tension with the synths and analogue drums and guitars creating a classically Goblin/Tangerine Dream-esque flavour that sparkles with glinting blades, swells with violent revenge and crashes with violent dexterity. One can never discount the impact and presence of real instruments, especially in this age where anything seems to be able to be replicated on computer. The soul of the music burns in it's native form with a life that is absorbing in its depth. As stated on the liner notes for the record: "Doom Fortress was recorded using vintage analog synths, electric guitar through vintage tube amplification and maple shell acoustic drums. All music was recorded to 2" analog tape (MCI JH-24 2" Analog 24-Track w/ALIII remote) through various vintage pre-amps and a 1977 Custom Harrison 3232 console for maximum authenticity and spirit in capturing this classic sound." That's rockin.

Moving into the second act of 'One's True Intentions' the minimal nature of the palette allows the space for single instruments to shine like beacons. Shadows of the master Fabio Frizzi emanate from the swirling, inky backgrounds where fear stalks unabated; willing to kill on a whim. The track evolves slowly, rising from the depths, clawing through the debris until the guitars shatter the mired haze with electrifying power and pained yearnings of remembrance. The suite completes with crushing blow of energy that walks on, slowly and deliberately into the horizon.. questing for salvation.

The dirge of the first two pieces is exploded in the high energy panic of 'Doom Fortress Escape'. An heroic refrain breathes a swaggering machismo into the synthscape with wanton vengeance dripping from every pore. The mid track breakdown provides a spectacular sequence which builds with purpose of complete unrelenting passion. The arrangements of this track are as stellar as the individual performances, leading to a downwardly spiralling finish.

The fade to black is jolted back into consciousness and synth winds caress the landscape and unfamiliar locations come into a slow, bloodshot focus. Alien creatures stare back in puzzlement as 'In The Hands Of Computers' strikes it's binary chorus through the lifting haze. The blithering electronics talk in a language unfamiliar yet there is a palpable threat that hangs in the air as guitars strike chords of fear and the machines rise into a new evolutionary being.

'Il Guanto Nero' takes on singularly murderous mentality as the shroud of rich leather is pulled tightly over a hand that grasps and steals life. Argento himself would be inspired to bathe many a virtuous euro vixen in gaudy, hypnotising lights to this marvellous piece of music that illustrates the perfect sequence of horror. The set up, the stalking, the chase, the fright, the violence and the inevitable pouring out of life into sticky red pools on the marbled floor of a baroque mansion.

The final cut on this release is 'Lord Of Doom Fortress' which ties the lines of many pieces previously experienced on the record into a final act of unadulterated brutality. Oozing melodies drip with a blackness that is powered by pure evil and then rocks into off kilter passages that invert reality and create a new dimension. A dimension that is stunningly explored with a breathtaking emotive journey of synths and guitars, wide eyed and slack jawed the beauty exhilarates beyond our comprehension.

Throughout this album one is constantly provided visual insights via cues of sounds and arrangements that will spark the imagination of any fan of this golden age of cinema soundtracks. From Grindhouse to Arthouse the tonal authenticity of Voyag3r and their obvious respect these original sounds comes off perfectly. The combination of soundtrack and progressive elements presented in Doom Fortress make for a sumptuous feast of vintage sounds that I instantly fell in love with, yet found impossible to move on from. The grip refuses to relinquish its iron hold.

Voyag3r present the Doom Fortress album on their Bandcamp page here in digital formats and is also available in its purest form on vinyl from Bellyache Records here and if that wasn't enough you can also get it on CD AND cassette here! This release comes very, very highly recommended from Synthetix.FM. Get your Halloween rockin right now with the perfect soundtrack to whatever nefarious deeds you plan on committing in the shadowy, moonless night.

AIRBORNE

Liege Viper - Power Of The Interceptor
By Rick Shithouse



Liege Viper is ready to rock with his debut release on Werkstatt Recordings and Power Of The Interceptor is set to explode into a frenetic electro oblivion! The Liege Viper synthscape proves to be an intriguing mix of aggressive electro and OutRun that feels just right and then moves into less threatening movements through the back end of the EP.

The harder edge of the synths that feel raw and ragged at times (in a good way!) is then complimented by compounding percussion. The sound is very early 80s European without drifting too far into EBM territory while retaining a panicked energy throughout the melodies. His more mellow pieces take on a warm charm due to the uncluttered nature of his sound, which takes the listener into safer, calmer waters later in the EP.

The three tracks on the first half of the EP are constantly on the verge of collapse as the synths race up a mountain incline to an unreachable summit while the road behind them crumbles into an abyss below. The energy pushes the music into a frenzy of split second decisions the prolong life for more precious seconds.

The all out red-alert tracks set fire to first half the EP are then tempered by the second half of Power Of Interceptor as Liege Viper dials down the turbulence and explores a delightfully more whimsical style of 80s sounds. The uncomplicated synthscape lends itself beautifully to these pieces and gives the release a marvellous sense balance. I especially enjoyed the final near seven minute epic that really conveyed a sense of accomplishment and completion of the EP's moods and journeys.

Power Of The Interceptor's highlights for me were definitely the title track, 'Eyes Of The Future' and sprawlingly epic 'Last Sundown' but each track on the EP has its own story to tell and does so very well. Liege Viper's debut is definitely strong and has a personality to the sounds that is individual while being able to use his sound in very different ways to create starkly different results. Werkstatt Recordings presents this killer EP on their Bandcamp page here in digital formats (as well as CD digipak and limited edition cassette) and is release that promises and delivers exciting and involving 80s inspired synth action that comes in equal measures from the head and the heart.




Dallas Campbell - Pagoda
By Matthew Neophytou



Straight out of West Virginia, US of A comes Dallas Campbell’s Pagoda an EP musical journey of melodies, synths and stuff. Explained by Dallas as an experiment taking less than a month to complete utilizing only three synths, wait till you see his next feet; the worlds first synth automated space airplane flight mission. The last one is not true, but after Pagoda I really do want to book that flight.

Introducing us to the nature of the EP itself  'Spice' feels like a bowl of mixed sounds kept together with an almost trance bordering sound. 'Parchment' belongs in a trailer for a really surreal video game, something like NiGHTS Into Dreams (remember that?), an uplifting piece of music this one is.

Ending the EP we are given the track 'Gold' to bring on the chill vibes, a retro inspired moog-y introspective fills my head as I fade away deep into the track, really take this one in, it’s a good one.

Dallas Campbell's Pagoda EP is one for those who like variety in their synthwave journey and very highly recommended from Synthetix.FM and is available on various digital formats on his Bandcamp page here. Also if you dig the album cover art it was done by Geoff Hoskinsin check out his stuff on his tumblr here.

Oedo - Reaktive
By Rick Shithouse



New rocker on the block Oedo has arrived with his hot new EP: Reaktive. Merging lines betwixt all manner of electronic influences Oedo is always moving into the dramatic and casts all manner arcane spells over his synthual experiences.

Though driven by 80s motives there are tactile elements of hip hop beats and experimental 90s sounds stirred through the synthscape. The structures are often quick glimpses at ideas that flash in and out of visibility but are always punctuated in a way that hits hard.

The four tracks included on Reaktive all are distant cousins from each other as their ideas and textures as heavily individualised. The opening track's bludgeoning bassline and ghostly melodies leads into more inquiring passages with 'Troma'. There are times that the tracks drift out of focus and meander but Reaktive brings things back sharply on most occasions and the stories never become mired or lost.

Standing out from the four pieces are definitely 'Troma' and 'Narly', which are easily the most 80s dominated pieces and is the direction I hope Oedo delves further into.

The Reaktive EP by Oedo actually feels Japanese in many respects and this Cork based producer obviously has a spiritual connection to the East, particularly its early 90s cyberpunk palette which he often wrangles successfully into more traditional 80s ideas. The EP is available on his Bandcamp page here and is definitely worth taking high speed trip down those gangland controlled highways of Neo Tokyo for. Post apocalypse, natch.




Clinton Affair – End of History
By Matthew Neophytou


Clinton Affair – End of History is an awesome love letter of an era gone by, the whole EP is seeping with old school sounds, its as though these tracks could easily be stripped down to be intros for retro tv shows.

We are given the minimum length of music here with the longest track being 'Singularity' which has a cool reggae-ish beat happening. Can you guess where the beat and vocal sample comes from? “Why?” should be a dead give away.

Opener 'Aquamarine' brings the hip thrust straight away, with it’s 90’s mishmash WHAM vocal style. Slowing it down ever so slightly is 'Be Mine' a swoon of a song reminiscent of a Peabo Bryson ballad remixed. Sidebar, How come no one has remixed Peabo, much potential to be had there. I pretty much love 'Birthday' as it could be the music an 80’s South African singer called Brenda Fassie could have made.

Future City Records (yay!) Presents Clinton Affair – End Of History EP and comes highly recommended from Synthetix.FM, only fault I can find is that its over too soon.  Check out this great release on Bandcamp right here where the EP can be downloaded in various digital formats.

The Second Annual Synthetix.FM Rhythm Vivisection Halloween Mixtape Closing Date Approaches

As a bit of public service announcement, I thought I'd just mention that the cut off date for submissions for the second annual Synthetix.FM Rhythm Vivisection Halloween Mixtape is this weekend. I'll be able to take submissions til the end of the weekend, ie midnight on the 26th.

I've been advertising this on Synthetix Sundays and in the Synthetix Music Facebook group for the last couple of months but figured I'd get one last notice out there for those that weren't aware. Submissions don't have to be new or exclusive, but I do require that they are from 2014 and that they aren't covers. If you're a producer of 80s inspired synth from the darker end of the spectrum and have released something this year that you'd like to submit please just make contact with me via the contact box on the left side of this page.  The rules for this mixtape aren't nearly as stringent as other special event ones I do and I'm going to try to include everyone's submissions, we're already up to thirty tracks so it's definitely going to be monstrous!

The actual mixtape will be going up to soundcloud on the 29th of October, so there's lots of time to get a copy for your Halloween 2014 festivities.

Runaway Into The Neon Overdrive

By Jerry Herrera

One of the basic truths about synth producers, I think, is that they all love a good story.  There are very few producers out there that don’t have a narrative quality to their music, and this is neither good nor bad, it’s just a choice.  But when one considers the roots of synth and retro, films and film scores are the taproot.  A great synth track tells a story or creates a vivid image; it takes us on brief journeys into endless worlds.  LA Based producer, Neon Overdrive has brought us Runaway, an album full of these delicious bites of retro future storylines.

Runaway begins with 'Saturday Night', a midtempo track that has some ominous elements but ultimately evolves into a very ethereal track with soothing vocals that carrying the listener deeper into Neon Overdrive’s story of revenge. A 'Narrow Escape' is one of the strongest tracks on the album;  again Neon Overdrive has a great handle on creating thick, heavy curtains of synth but also creates a breeze on which they ripple and writhe. It makes for a uniquely atmospheric listen.

There is a brief break in the album for some lighter outrun style tracks, 'Baja Escape' and 'Welcome Home', but things get right back to business with 'Last Days' and the album really hits a high point from 'Transfixions' on through to the last track. 'POWERLOADER' and 'Necronomicon' are synth homages to two great movies, and since I’m a xenomorph fan, the former gets my vote for best track on the album.

As an entire experience, Runaway tells a cohesive story with antiheroes and heroines, danger, brief moments of levity and detailed settings and backdrops. There are car chases, violence, love, loss and revenge. Even when sampling other films, Runaway manages to tell its own unique tale and I always appreciate a story where LA is in ruins.

Sometimes I think that the dark, gritty synth sound is becoming a bit overdone but Neon Overdrive manages to bring something refreshing to it.  Not revolutionary; but necessary, maybe something like another shot of whiskey to that drink you were nursing. Perhaps it’s because his sound isn’t overbearing or aggressive, but smoother and fluid like ink in water. Flowing and seductive, but pitch black.

I greatly appreciate that Neon Overdrive incorporates atypical elements into his tracks and isn’t content with following the basic synth track formula. There’s lots of innovation to be had on Runaway and I’m so happy we have another Los Angeles based producer contributing his talents to the genre.

The Neon Overdrive presents the Runaway album on his Bandcamp page here and it comes highly  recommended by Synthetix.FM

Synthetix Sundays

The red carpet is out and synth glitterati are out to shine as Synthetix Sundays prepares for a star studded LIVE broadcast, with your host Marko Maric. In the guest spot this week Marko sifts through the genius that is Prof. Zonic Zynth, discusses world politics with Ravenh0lm, takes to the streets with a candid conversation with Video Void and manages to track down Jacques le Boulanger (the artist formerly known as James Baker) in a téte-a-téte powwow that is sure to elucidate and educate.

Joining Marko on the couch will be regular guests Paul Dress2Kill Daley and Rick Shithouse with his usual musings and ramblings on the hottest tracks of the week.

This week Synthetix Sundays is offering you the chance to score the kick arse new Robots With Rayguns record Fresh As It Gets. There are three chances to win so tune in LIVE and get ready to rock!

The cavalcade of stars is set to shine LIVE on Radio Pure Gently is at this time wherever you are on planet Earth. And you can catch a the rebroadcast right here on Monday for a fully downloadable digital copy of the live show as well as the Quality Time With Shithouse free and purchasable tracks to make sure you're rockin all the right ways all week long!





Quality Time With Shithouse free and purchasable tracks:

Flashback Friday

Night of the Demons (1988)

Happy Friday once again my fellow Retroholics!  This weeks pick is 1988's Night of the Demons, directed by Kevin Tenney, a classic horror film backed by a powerful synth intro and a rockin' goth metal soundtrack.

It's Halloween night and outcast Angela Franklin and her friend Suzanne are throwing a party at Hull House, an abandoned mortuary suspected of being haunted.  Judy Cassidy's boyfriend Jay asks her to join him at the party with Max and Frannie.  After inviting himself, bully Sal Romero scares them when he jumps from a casket wearing a demons mask.  

Stooge, Roger and Helen show up uninvited but when the batteries go dead in the radio the group decides to play party games and Angela suggests a seance.  By using a mirror they would look at their past life but Helen sees a demon and freaks out.  The mirror smashes on the floor and they all begin hearing noises from the basement when a demon escapes the furnace.  Now with it possessing them will anyone escape Hull House alive?

As I mentioned before the intro song is great, along with intensive shrieking synths throughout the film to set the tone.  If you're looking for some adrenaline inducing horror themed dark synths I highly suggest the extremely possessive sounds of Alessandro Parisi's Le Porte Emertica from Giallo Disco Records.

So if you're looking for a cheesy 80's horror flick this weekend give this one a watch!  Till next week Rockers, have fun and be safe! 

Magnum Crockett

AIRBORNE

Like Mowrey & Karter Futur - Advanced Intelligent Civilizaton

by Jazzi Marzcat



If there's one thing about science fiction, it is the ability to give hope.  The world could be in a post-apocalyptic hell, but if there is one good being still alive, there is always hope.  For this EP, Advanced Intelligent Civilization, made by the collaborative efforts of two brilliant producers, Karter Futur from Belgium, and Like Mowrey from France, the future looks very bright.  The music is as colorful, and awe inspiring as the jewel-toned cover artwork, created by the masterful Swedish artist Kilian Eng, (also known for the brilliant work on Future City Records 6th compilation), that shows the scene of an active, and lit up futuristic cityscape.  Karter Futur who is known for his addictive dance beats, (and who I've kept my ear on for several months since he created the groovy dance track 'Lazer Cat'), and Like Mowrey who is known for his heavy hitting science fiction themed synthwave tracks, (and an incredible cover of the Terminator theme),  decided it was time to release an project of this kind.  As Karter Futur put it: "The inspiration comes from just our passion for science fiction in general."  The result is a collections of songs that will have you not only up and dancing, but also bring you on a trans-galactic journey into the future.

Each producer worked on certain songs.  Karter Futur contributed two of the catchiest dance tracks on the EP.  Opening the EP is the title track 'Advanced Intelligent Civilization', with a single horn melody heralds in an introduction to these enlightened beings.  A very cool Italo Disco beat comes in, and creates a catchy, and uplifting dance track.  The delicate melody is very beautiful and gives a transcendental feeling to the song.  The build up of sounds towards the end is very gripping, and is the track that grabbed my attention to this whole adventure.  A lengthy track at almost 7 minutes, but never gets tiring, and will definitely be a song on repeat.

Karter's second contribution is the fourth song, 'Time and Space Travel', and is very much my favorite.  Another italo disco beat, with a light touching bass, and slight arpeggio melody that just makes for a dreamy, and body moving experience.  Or better yet, with time bending sounds at the 2:47 mark, this track gives more of a out of body moving experience as the music moves your senses through space and time!

Like Mowrey brought to the experience his expertise of epic story telling, with tracks such as 'Potential Quasar', 'Stella Eterna', and 'Milky Road'.  As the second song, 'Potential Quasar' has a dignified and serious tone, as a heavy hitting drum keeps a sure footed beat, and a arpeggio melody escalates into a cool spacey bass that makes a listener feel the power of a potential quasar, the energy associated with the birth of galaxies.  This song justifies such powerful energy of the cosmos, and is a very strong and powerful piece.

'Stella Eterna' is more light hearted.  With a heavy deep bass, the beat is more uplifting, and the melody is quite catchy, and as beautiful as the stars that it refers to.  A minute into the song, and close to the end, there are breaks in the song that have a simple spacey synth melody, that gives the impression of the vastness and endlessness of space.  The song also has the cool features of what sounds like rocket engines fired up.  Again, this track gives the impression of a strong and powerful universe, even out among the breathtaking beauty of the stars.

'Milky Road', the last song and Like Mowrey's final contribution, begins with a spacey melody, and a cool bass that reminded me of the bass in Micheal Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal'.  Not exact, but still has the oomph to give someone that 80s attitude and swagger to walk down a street with.  A very cool track, and ends with the fiery sounds of rocket engine, that reminds the listener, that this EP is quite out of this world!

A great release that I had to grab as soon as I heard it.  As a fan of science fiction, I found the music to be very positive, uplifting, and very hopeful that one day, the future that is in store for us, is something to truly look forward to. You can pick this awesome EP at Bandcamp here.  

While you listen to it, check out the amazing science fiction artwork of Kilian Eng here. Also check out other works by Karter Futur and Like Mowrey.




The Hunt - Revengers of Darkness EP

By Matthew Neophytou


This is the perfect exercise on how to create a great piece of thematic synth, without sacrificing the energy. Berlin based Giallo Disco Records brings us French duo The Hunt’s latest offering; Revengers of Darkness. I feel this should come with a John Carpenter like trailer.

We begin this quest of revenge with a build up of psychedelic synth enforced by a strong beat ensuring that you are ready to take on anything in your path. That essentially is 'Angoisse'. We get a sort of sequel piece in 'Survivor' but by no means any less or the same, how about we say its psychedelic beats enforced by strong strings of synth. Yeah that’s the stuff. 'The Abomination' ie; the musical equivalent of walking into a mist-flooded alleyway, hits us with pulsating strobes that should include some terminator shades with each listen.

 Giallo Disco Records Presents The Hunt Revengers of Darkness EP, is just the soundtrack you would need for the forthcoming Halloween. Available for digital download and on 12" at their Bandcamp site here this is very highly recommended from Synthetix.FM




Daniel Deluxe’s - Night Stalker EP

by Chris ‘Python Blue’ Day



There was a bit of press beforehand of Daniel Deluxe’s Night Stalker EP, and I finally know what they were talking about. This is a great listen for two reasons. First, while I tend to enjoy dark synth in the first place, Daniel Deluxe has impressed me with how unique his edgy melodies sound. Second, I heard several sounds that are atypical in the synthwave scene, which, in my book, is a good thing for the sake of variety.

This EP brings new meaning to combining past and present: I recognize a few sounds and samples from the 90s onward, as opposed to strictly a retro sound, and there is also excellent sound design for those into soundtracks and experimental music, particularly in the tracks  'Xenogenesis' and 'Underwater Terror'. Overall, a great listen! Pick up your copy of Night Stalker just in time for Halloween 2014 here on Bandcamp.




Ichisan – Extra Ball

By Matthew Neophytou 



What a joy is was to listen to this EP; all the familiar sounds of the genre we all love are here but just served to us in a different dish. Ichisan fuses some nu-disco Italo Disco synth goodness into 'Extra Ball' that will have you boogy-ing (like begging but with boogy) for your own night of Saturday Night Fever.

Did you hear that? Like a signal originating from a far away planet ruled by beings of audio funkdom, Title track 'Extra Ball' makes you wonder what a ride in their spaceship would be like? Bringing back down to Earth we set sail with 'Trans Atlantic' a playful melody of notes guaranteed to pick anyone up.

'20/40' continues the italo vibes as evident throughout the release, this throwback could easily have come from the 70’s, all the classic sounds are here but still kept fresh. If there were any excuse to strut down a street Bee Gees style it would be 'Triglav', as I’m typing this my head cannot stop moving in a back and forth like manner, a hop scotch of groove, funk, beats and synths make it the standout track for this boy

As you can clearly read I cannot recommend Ichisan's  Extra Ball EP enough, a solid craft of the genre that is really a beam of laser light amongst the often-thematic world of electro. Available for digital download aswell 12inch on their bandcamp site here. Very, very highly recommended from Synthetix.FM

Scythe: End Of Days

by Jean-Pierre Van Damme and Jon of the Shred

PROLOGUE

This is the story of the thriving planet Lleh and it's inhabitants, and how the society they've built is brought to an untimely and decisive end. This...is the beginning of the End of Days.

The Daymon Corporation is dimly lit, fluorescent bulbs flickering in a frenzied fashion, giving the room a foreboding and unsettling feel. It almost seems too fitting, the spastic lights making Dr. Carpenter seem all the more menacing as he screams, “I DON’T CARE!  KEEP THAT PORTAL OPEN!”

“Sir, there ar-“

“We’ve come too far for your petty concerns!”  The doctor draws a Colt 1911 from the inside of his jacket, and presses it firmly against the temple of the engineer manning the control station.  Beads of sweat form around the barrel and fall along Mastersons cheek; his breathing has become shallow and quick, taxed by his growing dread. He responds to the doctor slowly and deliberately.

“Yes sir.  I understand.”  He turns his eyes to the doctor without turning his head, remaining motionless.  Surrounded by busy soldiers and workers, Carpenter and Masterson look like still life in contrast, the tension forcing them both to remain stationary. Masterson's next words are feeble, drowned out by the hydraulics and grinding machinery feeding power to the top secret weapon known as Project Leviathan.  “However, something is wrong.”
“Speak up, you fool!”  The doctor presses the gun harder into the engineer’s temple and cocks the hammer back with his thumb.  The engineer flinches.  “Dammit Masterson, SPEAK!!”

“We are seeing an increase in matter, Dr! NOT A DECREASE!”  His words carry over the background, loud enough for the crazed Doctor to hear. Masterson swallows hard, almost audibly.  His sweaty palms remain still at the controls, itching to shut the weapon down.

The doctor smiles, uncocks the pistol, and coolly lowers it from the engineer’s head.  To his left a large tear in the very fabric of space is occurring. According to the head engineer this is no scientific breakthrough, but a major problem. Masterson turns his head to reveal a look of grave concern to the doctor. When he sees his smile, his face flushes white.  Realizing what is about to occur he panics and reaches for the controls, but he is not quick enough to avoid the .45 caliber round that bursts through his neck, or the second one that shreds through his face like a knife through melted butter. Blood and brain matter splatter on the ground as all life is drained out of Masterson.  Dr Carpenter kicks Masterson’s body and the chair rolls, carrying the slumped corpse away from the control panel.  The doctor feverishly resets a few switches and dials a few knobs to increase the unimaginable power being directed to Project Leviathan.

The ground begins to rumble menacingly, as if a great Earthquake is tearing the Lleh soil beneath the Daymon laboratory. While this type of phenomena was typical during earlier tests, this time is different – the rumbling is continuous. Everyone in the facility can tell something isn’t quite right – something is very off here. The tension in the air is so thick it could be sliced asunder with a machete. The Daymon foot soldiers and engineers all stop moving, and the group fix their collective gaze on the portal opening in the air in the middle of the dimly lit room. It’s much bigger than the test portals, and while no one speaks of it verbally, their facial expressions all seem to indicate the shared concern at the madness unfolding before their very eyes.

Dr. Carpenter seems to be expecting something no one else knows about; his eyes are wide, and his stance stone still. In a matter of seconds all of time seems to slow to a near halt; sound fades away and everyone ears pop with the sensation of going temporarily deaf. Their hearts beat slowly, and their blood feels cold.  An icy smoke rolls from the hole in the air, and nightmarish roars cry out from the other side.

Some time earlier...

The year is 2029 A.D. The city of Macropolis, a once thriving metropolis, is now burdened with excessive overpopulation. Despite the many skyscrapers dominating the skyline there is simply no longer enough space to comfortably house everyone.

The streets lying in the shadows of the giant skyscrapers are teeming with criminals. Rivaling gangs, drug dealers, and a fascist police force ensure violence and death is a daily business. These issues  run rampant in more than just the once thriving city of Macropolis; the entire planet  is suffering. A lack of jobs, food and resources either cripples the citizens with fear, or drives them to criminal activity. Political differences are not uncommon.

Acts of terrorism lead to acts of reprisal...

Acts of reprisal lead to more acts of terror...

A perpetual circle of violence.

Everything working in tandem to keep the gears of war well oiled.

The wealthy arms manufacturers and merchants, as well as corporate giant Paragon seem to be the only ones to benefit. Billions of dollars in resources are poured weekly into research focusing solely on weapon technology. And billions more dollars in resources are poured weekly into an effort to increase the national surveillance network in scale and efficiency.

“The Transparent Citizen” is a new act the government has put into play. The fascist government has introduced this new act into the political lexicon in an attempt to reduce the swelling crime rates. “The Transparent Citizen” has literally no support from anyone other than those in the government itself – power hungry politicians and disaster capitalists relish at the thought of dictating the every move of all the citizens they were elected to serve. Some of the policies “The Transparent Citizen Act” entails include all purchases and transactions requiring a fingerprint to complete, with every single transaction being carefully analyzed and filed. Other policies include car start ups requiring government authorization, surveillance literally everywhere, and curfews, the ignorance of which could lead to the death penalty.

But the government itself isn't the only thing polluting the world of Lleh. Fumes are clouding the sky and darkening the streets. Not a single man, woman, or child has caught even the slightest glimpse of a blue sky, nor inhaled a breath of fresh air in decades. Lleh is on the brink of societal collapse – and the slightest push could cause it all to come crumbling down...

DAYMON CORPORATION

The Daymon Corporation was founded in 2015 right before the conflict with Jakith brought the planet of Lleh to a dangerous economical and societal standstill. Initially the firm started with projects for private security concerns, mainly non-deadly weapons and non-intrusive surveillance upgrades. Only a few months later they started receiving orders from local arms dealer and collectors for the development of new weapons. 

The Daymon Corporation was set up quickly, founded by the ambitious Dr. Carpenter. The company was quickly placed at the head as the leading supplier for Lleh's Global Military, disaster capitalists posing as peace keepers. The quality and the visions from the founder of the company were groundbreaking, but his intent and methods were oftentimes questioned by his peers.

In 2019 the firm was greatly expanded, funding pouring in to supplement the corporation as it started its ambitious “Construction Project.“ The Construction Project was centered in Macropolis, and was sponsored and partially funded by Lleh's Global Military. This project was devised with the intent to supplement and enforce the changes brought about in the “Transparent Citizen Act.“

The most successful inventions developed under this act were all authorized by military adviser General Hicks. General Hicks was an adviser sent in by the Lleh Global Military Force, mostly to ensure efficiency and keep an eye on the mentally unstable Dr Carpenter.

The Construction Project was a rather unfitting title, considering at least half of the research conducted was done so to develop new weapon-based technology. The most successful of these inventions included a variety of EMP Grenades and other bombs, many of which were created with the intent of disabling the communications systems of the enemies of Macropolis. Exoskeleton armor and bionic prosthetic were also created. These technologies not only afforded soldiers greater stamina reserves, but also reconstructive technologies, bringing gravely wounded soldiers out of retirement, physically fit yet again to resume their indentured servitude to the Lleh Global Military service.

Other technological advancements included remote controlled Spider-Drones. These Spider-Drones would act like assassins, strategically positioning themselves and self-destructing to destroy critical enemy fortifications such as ammo dumps, factories, and military bases. Another such development was the free tractable Cutterhead-Bombs, tactical explosives used to destroy bridges and important access roads, effectively stranding the enemy and making transportation far more difficult and treacherous.

GENERAL HICKS

Far above the rooftops of the city General Hicks is standing in a cube of glass, watching from a distance.

“Foolish people,” he mutters while taking a deep drag on his cigar. His remaining steel blue eye now focuses on the wisps of smoke as it rises towards the transparent ceiling. He had lost the other eye in the war against the nation of Jakith in 2020.

Despite the technological advances in medicine, he refused the artificial implants and cybernetic enhancements he was offered. Every single day his loss shall be a reminder – every time he looks into the mirror or catches his reflection in a pool of water, the dead eye would remind him - “Be quick. Always get the drop on your opponent. No mercy.”

Fortunately, General Hick's sacrifice did not go unnoticed – he was revered by the Lleh military, a decorated war hero amongst military personnel and Macropolis civilians alike. The government even placed him as second in command of the national defense of Macropolis.

Cynical and bitter he now stands above the cancerous Macropolis, supervising the development of a new weapons prototype to ensure the safety of the very Lleh citizens he loathes. If there is even the slightest grain of truth to be found in the reports and stories of the maniacal Dr. Carpenter, than this weapon he is developing, Project Leviathan, grants godlike powers, capable of eradicating any of the Macropolis's enemies in the blink of an eye.

Those thoughts, those visions of obliterated states and cities in ruin are haunting him...and yet they simultaneously seem to please him and satiate the voices of demons in his head that have only been getting louder since the great war with Jakith in 2020...


DR CARPENTER

Dr. Carpenter is a genius...and a mad man. He obsesses ceaselessly over dark matter, and is widely known throughout Lleh as a fanatic with dangerous visions.  His current obsession is called Project Leviathan. Even the projects name spelled out is enough to spark a maniacal glare in his weary eyes. He pours all of his energy into Project Leviathan, working fifteen hours every day. It's to a point that Dr Carpenter is eating, showering and sleeping in his laboratory. 

Despite the obvious mental health issues plaguing him, Dr Carpenter is free to do whatever he wants with the unwavering consent of the Lleh Global Military. Dr Carpenter loves to take advantage of this. It was Dr Carpenter's profound impact on the war of 2020 that afforded him this freedom. His impact on the war rivaled even General Hicks impact.

Animal testing is a waste of time. Why should weapons designed to kill human beings be tested on animals? So many useless humans plaguing Lleh. So much filth and garbage...wastes of flesh and oxygen that no one is going to miss. Quite the opposite in fact; the benefits to society will be vast when the population is brought down to a more manageable number. After all, most of the people on Lleh are nothing but criminals and homeless vagrants.

A test chamber has been built for this sole purpose - the systematic and unbiased depopulation of Lleh. 

Carpenter is testing one of his experiments, “Meltdown“ at long last. Meltdown is a microwave transmitter transformed into a deadly weapon. Subject 13 will be the victim of this twisted experiments, heavily sedated. Subject 13 is unable to move or even speak, but can feel every single effect Meltdown is having on them. Dr. Carpenter reaches for the transmitter, a device shaped not unlike a jumbo laser pointer.

Carpenters eye twitches with excitement as he activates the weapon. The twitching intensifies as the sinister looking mechanization start to hum. Subject 13 attempts to stifle a moan and despite the sedation actually begins to thrash about violently in his seat, the chains and straps holding him down rattling. But this last surge of adrenaline is not enough to save 13.

The first visible effects of Meltdown is the subjects hair catching flame, followed seconds later by the eyebrows and eye lashes. Shortly after the skin starts to melt and bubble, the stink of burning flesh filling the room. Blood has started to leak from the ears, eyes and nostrils of Subject 13. Then the eyes start to liquify, running out of the sockets in a horrific display. As the pressure continues to rise the sickening sound of Subject 13s cranium snapping echos throughout the room, ringing loudly above the humming machinery. The scalp has ripped open, with boiling brain matter oozing out. Subject 13 lets out one last agonizing scream before slumping to the floor lifeless and twitching.

Lovingly Dr. Carpenter caresses his invention and puts it back on the workbench.

„General Hicks and his men can take care of this mess,“ he thinks to himself as he sets off to conduct more of his sick experiments.

Meltdown is child's play compared to what Carpenter is really obsessing over - his masterpiece awaits. A weapon more destructive than a thousand nuclear bombs. A man-made black hole, capable of eradicating entire cities, countries even, with a single press of a button.

Leaving no mess to take care of...rebooting Lleh to a sterile slate.

PROJECT LEVIATHAN

Project Leviathan is a weapon designed to spawn a synthetic black hole. The prototype is about the size of an anti-aircraft defense. The estimated size of the black hole this deadly device could manufacture is 5 feet - enough to absorb a whole city like Macropolis. The testing phase can only be performed with a smaller version, however, because the risk of peril is too great. It is for this reason the full power of Project Leviathan has yet to be tested. Instead, a smaller version  has been studied, roughly the size of a Missile-Launcher, creating a black hole with a diameter of 1 foot. These tests are conducted in a hermetically sealed room as a safety precaution.

While the first few tests proved accurate, the latest tests didn't go as well. The black hole is becoming more unstable with each test, disappearing in minutes. But those few minutes were indescribable. Dr Carpenter felt as though he was looking right into the face of a god, a god he created himself. The air crackles with electricity, and a steady vibration shakes the entire room. This might of this machine is beautiful to behold! To a scientist, at least.

On this day Dr. Carpenter will make history. He stands euphoric in the Daymon laboratory, waiting to start the next testing phase with fevered anticipation. The drones – Lleh military personnel and Daymon scientists, all man their assigned positions. Most feel skeptical of the doctors intentions, apprehensive to question the legitimacy of the project. They stare almost robotically at the monitors as the machine is fired up.

“Project Leviathan, Testing Phase Number 6!” Masterston states as he dials in the machinery. The black hole is stable, floating weightlessly around inside the giant lab. All those present gaze into the black nothingness, their gaze transfixed as if hypnotized. All is going well, and yet something sinister moves inside the emptiness. A small, barely visible red light flares up threateningly. It almost looks like an eye, a hellish pupil. Seconds later, metallic whispers infuse the room, and the monitors implode violently, sending burning shrapnel raining down on the Daymon staff.

The hole collapses, then grows larger over the entire room. General Hicks of all people is intimidated by this development, but Hicks is the only one aside from Dr Carpenter to hold their composure. All the soldiers and lab technicians break down and panic, some screaming, others pacing wildly at their assigned posts.

Dr. Carpenter stands transfixed as a hellish, otherworldly voice cuts across the Daymon Laboratory. ”Open the Gate.“ Dr Carpenter pushes the button and the hydraulic door mechanism sealing the test room hisses open. Dr Carpenter widens his arms like some sort of twisted prophet and walks right into the test chamber, smiling maniacally as he walks directly into the black hole vanishing into the black nothingness he spawned with his hellish invention, Project Leviathan.


SHADOW AGENTS

Paragon Genetic Technology Corporation is Daymon Corporations biggest competitor. Paragon's corporate offices and central laboratory facility is located in Flagg City. The experiments conducted within are kept very well hidden, inspiring hushed whispers echoing distrust of the corporate giant throughout Flagg City. Rumors of Paragon's dark doings spread out further to Macropolis, and some even as far as Jakith.

Despite the ill reputation, Paragon remains excessively guarded and secretive. Rumors suggest they specialized in biological and chemical weapon agents, and a good deal of their technology was used in the Jakith war, and was as big a factor in the war as Daymon Corp. Some suggested Paragon were playing Macropolis and Jakith against each other, profiteering off a war by supplying weapons to both armies like some sort of twisted country puppeteer.

Paragon's rivalry with Daymon Corp remained heated for years, climaxing during the war and never quite fizzling out. Daymon regularly spread allegations against Paragon throughout the years, claiming projects they were working on were being stolen and copied by Paragon. Paragon remained creepily silent, as it always had.

General Hicks has had suspicions for a long time Daymon Corp had been infiltrated by a spy agent sent in by Paragon. He suspected a cyborg agent had been sent in by Shadow, a mercenary firm that infiltrates organizations to steal secret documents and research findings, then sells this stolen information back to their clients at a steep price. Some even suggested that Hicks himself was the mole, but these suggestions were false – General Hicks remained loyal to the Lleh government despite his cynicism, and in all actuality distrusts the shady Paragon. General Hicks, on the other hand, was correct in his suspicions.

Agent 17-34-X had indeed existed in the Daymon Corporation for years, having risen through the ranks to quite a formidable position, managing his own lab within the giant Daymon HQ. Little did his co-workers know, A17-34-X, or the name they knew him, Xander, was actually more cybernetic than human.

Xander is a test subject of an older Paragon experiment, one of their earliest “Shadow” agents. Needless to say, the Shadow spy firm wouldn't be paying Paragon for these services...they funded the entire operation. Xander was 'upgraded' with bionic implants, equipping him with sophisticated spy technology. His right hand is wired with hacking software, and his left retina has a micro-camera attached, a live stream constantly airing both to Shadow and Paragon officials. And tonight he is tackling his biggest assignment yet...

XANDER VS HICKS

Xander has been sent to the Daymon Corporation to sabotage “Project Leviathan” and to hack the mainframe and retrieve all information and data related to the project. With his level of security clearance coupled with his bionic upgrades and years of experience working for Shadow, he is more than confident he will be able to deliver his client what they seek.

At the peak of the night, the hour in which shadows paint mysterious pictures across the Macropolis streets, Xander makes his move. He is well aware that Dr Carpenter has been making huge leaps of progress in the Leviathan project, and realizes he needs to infiltrate – in plain sight – as quickly as possible to ensure the success of his mission.

“Pretty chilly night, eh Xander?” A lowly security guard questions him as he swipes his key-card to gain access to the laboratory wing of the Daymon building. Xander replies cooly, “Couldn't have come sooner, I've been getting sick of the heat myself.” The door hisses open and Xander steps inside, hearing the metallic door come clanging to a close behind him.

He is completely undetected in his assumed role as head of the laboratory. This was a long-term assignment, years in the making. “And tonight is the night it all pays off,” Xander thinks to himself, smiling at the thought of an early retirement in the beaches of Jakith. Reaching the test chamber, he readies his hacking device.

The data transfer had begun. Years of research floods into Xanders hacking software, instantaneously available on the Paragon and Shadow servers. After the data transfer is successfully completed, he walks to the console standing directly in front of the Project Leviathan testing chamber. He quickly sabotages the Flux-stabilizer and misplaces the frequencies of all the measuring devices.

Unbeknownst to Xander, new security measures had been installed just last week as per Dr Carpenter's orders. An intrusive alarm is screeching through the speakers, piercing and deafening. Xander is startled and knows full well Daymon security are already on their way. But they're no match for his superior cybernetics.

Dashing to the exit, Xander narrowly squeezes through the giant steel bold security doors enclosing the Project Leviathan room. He doesn't escape unscathed – his left arm his crushed in the steel from the elbow down. Blood gushes in torrents and wires flail about, sparking in a frenzy, their light dancing off the blood splatter in a sickly beautiful display of gore and bad timing. Xander is unaffected, the pain medication implanted into his right arms medical technology surging through his veins simultaneously with a surge of adrenaline. He rips his left arm out of the enclosure, losing everything below the elbow, yet sprints onward.

Before Xander even turns the corner he's aware of, and ready for, the Sentries standing there with their gun fixed. They fire a burst of rounds as he turns the corner but he front flips over the bullet spray and lands directly behind the two of them, quickly snapping the guard on the lefts neck in just a way that causes him to gun down the guard on the right. Before the two Sentries manage to hit the floor Xander has connected a fatal kick to the throat of another Sentry rounding the corner. On he runs.

Xander escapes through an air duct as more Sentries run into the hall. The Sentries gaze at their fallen comrades for but a second before spraying bullets all across the air-vent. Xander is already gone though, crawling with speed and purpose towards an exit. Finally he kicks the air duct leading to the outside of the facility, and hops right down on a hover bike he had left there hours earlier. As Xander kicks the bike into gear and it's propulsion mechanisms kick in, he sees a shadowy figure standing at the end of the alleyway, blocking his exit.

Xander guns the accelerator and whirs right towards the figure. The figure lifts its right hand and fires a single round, then side-steps just in time for Xander to fly past. The front left propulsion tube has been breached, a perfect shot to send the bike spiraling back towards the ground. The explosion is massive, and Xander is thrown from the wreckage, his legs torn off in the brunt of the blow, most of skin melted off and his circuitry tangled in a sparking mess. “Fuck, the pain meds are wearing off....”

Xander is now crawling away, leaving a trail of boiling blood and torn circuitry in his wake. He hears footsteps coming towards him slowly, purposefully. As the steps reach right behind him Xander turns his head, his murderer revealed.

“You son of a bit-”

Before Xander can finish cursing him out, General Hicks puts a plasma slug right through his forehead.

“Got you, you rat bastard.”


RISE OF THE DEMONS

The whole laboratory is vibrating violently, a hideous mechanical grinding sound deafening everyone in a half mile radius. The lights in the laboratory are flickering off and on, meshing with the hellish grinding sound, giving the room the aura of some sort of twisted dance club. The Black hole pulsates unnaturally, and out steps a changed Dr. Carpenter. With a bowed head and sporting a maniacal grin, his face is white as a sheet, ghastly and otherworldly.

With his eyes creepily closed, he steps forward, deeply breathing the electrically charged air, his chest rising and sinking slowly with each step he takes. As he slowly opens his eyelids, a gleaming green light shines out. Dr Carpenter is now walking towards the sealed entrance of the testing chamber. The scientists and engineers in the laboratory seem to have been broken from their spell, and scramble to ensure security measures are taken. Just as a giant steel plated door double-seals the chamber, Dr Carpenter reaches it. He isn't alone, though...

What looks like HELL itself now starts to pour out of the portal. Creatures half-machine and half demon crawl into the test chamber. Their eyes flair, full of anticipation for the impending invasion and feasting. The terror of 10,000 endless nightmares commences. One of the creatures, a sickly mesh of flesh and sparking circuitry, reaches the entrance to the chamber. Dr Carpenter steps aside, allowing the creature access to the steel plates, which the creature starts smashing. Lab technicians and engineers start fleeing from the room, their cries frail and panicked. General Hick's men stand, holding rifles with shaking hands, pointed directly at the testing chambers entrance.

With the 7^th mighty strike the creature has blown through both doors. Chunks of steel fly out, one metallic shard impaling a soldiers throat, torrents of blood pouring from the wound. The soldiers open fire immediately, the first creature taking bullets up and down it's body, sparks cascading off its metallic parts and a sickly green blood shooting out from its fleshy parts. To the horror of the soldiers, the creatures blood starts to melt right through the floor. A big chunk of blood soaked flesh lands on a desk, burning through almost immediately, landing on the unlucky engineer hiding beneath. The acidic blood and chunks of flesh immediately melt the engineers flesh, his horrific screams now echoing in a symphony with the carnage being unleashed.

Metallic clanging rings crisp through the halls as mechanical feet stride with purpose across the cold floor of the laboratory. The labored whir of plasma-operated engines and the rattling of pipes are completely drowned out by the battle ensuing within the Daymon laboratory. The cybernetic demon hybrids pouring out of the portal seem to be never-ending, and Dr Carpenter appears to be allied with them, or perhaps possessed by them. Shapes from nightmares take form in the portal, one after another, as if long forgotten Gods sickened by humanity and coming to wipe the slate clean.

Daymon Laboratory has fallen. Few, if any survivors, remain to warn the public of Macropolis. The stream of demons appears to be never ending, and soon they're filling the city streets. Citizens stare dumbfounded and horrified at these sickly creatures, few standing a chance of survival. The creatures do not initiate the attack, however. They merely stare at the citizens of Macropolis. The humans are frozen stiff, trembling with a primal, instinctual dread that has only now come to the surface for the first time. Only a few people are able to break free from this trance, and sprint in the opposite direction, as the army of monstrosities increase in number.

Then out of nowhere a booming, smoky voice seems to emanate from each demon, as if each demon is hearing it within it's head and all their thoughts are being projected outward. “LET THE HUNT BEGIN” commands the voice, the words echoing menacingly through the city streets. Instantly the bloodbath starts. Bony claws scrape flesh from bone. Acidic spit melts off faces, and razor sharp, spiked teeth deeply penetrate throats. Swords decapitate, spears impale, and bullet fire finds demonic targets as the Macropolis police force fight back. The Vanguard of cybernetic demons are relentless however, sending people running screaming in every direction. People trip over each other in their stampede, some trampled into submission, barely alive as the demons reach them and start feasting from their flesh.

Back inside the building Dr. Carpenter is back at the console, pushing aside bits of flesh and circuitry, the acidic properties having no effect on his hands. He turns the dial higher on the Project Leviathan control console, enlarging the Hole within. The Hole grows until it starts disintegrating the walls of the test chamber, crashing through the roof. And still the hellish creatures march out, swarming out like a fountain. The numbers increase, from the hundreds to the thousands. Dr Carpenter smiles to himself, semi-lucid, not fighting the demonic possession but embracing the power it gives him.


END OF DAYS

The gateway to the hellish dimension continues to grow. It has now swallowed up half of the town. It pulsates, sending ripples to all barely perceivable edges of it's outer rim. It appears to be breathing, in and out, creepily, as if it has a life of it's own.

The demons still pour out of the portal, flying and marching off in all directions. Seeker demons fly about, their eyes glowing out like fog lights, seeking out fresh victims in the now abandoned and blood-stained alleyways of Macropolis. The Seekers fly miles out of the city, flying over the burning homes in suburban settings. A lucky pack of Seekers manage to find what remains of a 5 car pile-up, some of the victims of the accident still alive and writhing. Easy prey....

A mountain of demons are ravaging the countryside beyond Macropolis, moving slowly across the land, laying waste to all before them. These demons have the power to shoot bursts of flames from strange fleshy growths on their wrists. Entire villages are burned to the ground, the charred corpses welcome meals to the hungry demons.
Back in Macropolis, from deep within the portal, booms the same hellish voice that only hours earlier boomed throughout the Macropolis skyline. Only this time it's even more terrifying, and worse still...it's closer. So much closer.

For a moment the stream of endless demons seems to relent. The odd seeker flies out every 10 to 20 seconds, but then – silence. From the skyscrapers in Macropolis, several groups of survivors who have managed to remain hidden up above, watching the apocalypse unfold below them, watch as the stream of demons mysteriously stops. They all look at each other with suspicious relief, not sure if it's just the eye of the storm. Then the ground shakes, like an earthquake, shaking the skyscrapers. Worry returns to the survivors faces. Another shake. Then from the center of the portal steps the terrifying voice, belonging to what is easily the most fearsome and giant of all the demons.

Belial. Worldeater. Cybermancer. This demons flesh had long corroded with steel and circuitry. This creature looked more cybernetic than it did demonic. All of the demons body parts seemed to be enhanced with bionic upgrades. On it's giant chest was a reactor, shining with a threateneing greenish hue. What a sickly combination. Most of the demons had some cybernetic elements, but not as much as the Worldeater. A sickly black mist seemed to follow the creature as it stomped it's way down main street.

The Worldeater bellows an unsatisfied roar, seemingly impatient. He breaths a stream of acidic fire at one of the skyscrapers – the building starts to crumble and melt immediately, the group of survivors inside screaming in terror. It is a sight to behold for the other remaining survivors scattered throughout the buildings, who immediately scramble back down towards the bottom levels, many only making a single step outside before being swiped by a Seeker, their innards being ripped out before tumbling back to the blood soaked pavement below.

Beneath Belial sits a truck, the Project Leviathan control center chained to its rear axel. Behind the wheel sits no other than Dr. Carpenter. Belial speaks to the possessed maniac. “YOU KNOW THE TASK. SPAWN NEW PORTALS ACROSS THE COUNTSIDE!”


DAWN OF THE APOCALYPSE




The war was lost – the planet Lleh had been reduced to a smoldering wasteland, from Macropolis to Jakith. Dozens of portals have sprung up across the entire planet, open wide, thousands of demons pouring out each hourly. The scant survivors on Lleh had absolutely no chance in defending the portals, the only survivors being those that had gone into hiding. The military fought valiantly, but the demons were far to swift and powerful. A little over 1000 demons laid dead, while the casualties for the Lleh people numbered in the millions. The Demons where immune against biological and chemic warfare, and fire and hand guns were also ineffective. The only way to take these bastards down were explosions and dousing them in seas of bullets – but not enough bullets existed on the planet to even take out a 20^th of the demons forces, even if each shot hit it's mark with perfect accuracy.

As the demons ravaged the countryside, they burned entire cities to ashes. Many of these cities had Daymon and Paragon laboratories, with prominent abundance of plasma and laser technique weapon manufacturing facilities. Some housed deadly biological weaponry, and in the midst of the chaos, these were also released, poisoning the air, an additional threat joining the forray across the wastelands of Lleh, another hazard for the few survivors left to contend with.

The weaker of the demons where unarmed and strode on all fours, hunting the people like bloodhounds, ripping them apart and feasting on their flesh. They killed everyone they could find - no mercy for the woman or the children. The majority of the population had met their maker – they were no longer the highest species on the planet, no longer at the top of the food chain. This was their extinction level event.

Inside a underground bunker in Macropolis the Crisis committee had assembled together, somehow managing to avoid the initial onslaught of the demons. The Macropolis President was dead - like many other he was slaughtered brutally and feasted upon by the hellish creatures.

Fear and desperation lies on the faces of the committee. Not a single member uttered a word. The radio-telephone operator told additional stories of woe and despair from all across Lleh. Jakith and Rustland had also fallen. At least 90% of the entire world had perished, now outnumbered 100 to 1 by the demons, their numbers only increasing by the hour. The combined forces of Lleh could not stop the invasion, even if they had time to prepare and all joined forces. Jakith had made a bold attempt minutes earlier, launching a nuclear strike on their own land in an attempt to destroy the demons. This did wipe out thousands more demons, serving as the biggest hit to their ranks...but it was not enough.

A panicked soldier now sprints into the bunker, bearing the horrible news – the demons had penetrated the defenses of the facility. They'd be in the control room in mere minutes. The soldier than collapsed dead, as if to accentuate his point. The decision was unanimous, at that point. Macropolis will launch their nuclear weapons as well - the Country was lost. Hell, at this point, the entire planet was lost. But Lleh would not fall by the claws of the demons. If the free folks of Lleh are to die, it will be by their own doing, in a sacrificial blaze of glory. They will ride out the waves of nuclear hellfire, hopefully eradicating the demons and offering the few hundred survivors who had retreated to bunkers the chance to start civilization anew in the decades to come.

The codes are entered with observed silence, all the security hatches of the building grinding open. The highest ranking officer who remained, second in command to General Hicks who had disappeared before the invasion, pushes the button as the remaining committee make peace with their Gods and sit together in collective solidarity against the demons. The screams and screeches of demons echo through the hallways as the final codes are entered. Trembling hands enter the final codes, the demons bursting through the door just as the final button is pressed to launch the nuclear strike.

The air stands sickly still for but a second, then chaos. White lightning blinds the committee and the thunderous roar of the nuclear explosion deafens them seconds before they and the demons invading the bunker are vaporized.


NOTHING SHALL REMAIN




After the all-eating fire, nothing remains – everything and everyone, save a scant few survivors scattered across Lleh, hidden deep underground in nuclear-resistant bunkers, have been torn to shreds by demons or vaporized by the hellfire of a hundred nuclear explosions. The demons themselves were even fell by the explosions, the majority of them wiped out or gravely injured. Hundreds of demons limped back through the closing portals, and the few that remained on Lleh wandered the countryside, injured and slowly dying of starvation. The fallen cities are but dust and ash, a monument to the failure of civilization and the greed of those who inhabited it. Time seems to stand still...nothing moving, no sounds...only silence. Deathly, unsettling silence. Nothing shall remain.


D1G1T4L H3LL




 In a far away place, across dimensional planes, breaks an evil laugh through a darkly silence. It screams I WON defiantly, with a hellish and raved voice, speaking the dead tongue of a language long dormant.

„Well played, old friend,“ snarls a response. A whispered laugh continues the conversation. „Let us start something new, father.“


WORLDEATER

MELTDOWN

RED HORIZON

Keep rockin the Scythe Synth Army on Jon Of The Shred's Bandcamp here.