New goth rock - The Beauty of Gemina

After getting plugged in the UK web store Musicnonstop's weekly newsletter as a hot new item, I figured I should go check out these guys - The Beauty of Gemina. Their debut, Diary Of A Lost arrived on German shelves on the 19th of February, and seems to be only available through MNS at the moment. Described as a cross between 'Diary of Dreams, The Sisters of Mercy, and Clan of Xymox', it sounded to me like a debut worth a checking out.

Fortunately for all curious parties, their official site supplies an mp3 sample so you can play the judge and see for yourself if the description does them justice:

- Suicide Landscape

Funker Vogt to return in May

Those Germanic military enthusiasts from the future known as Funker Vogt have been absent a couple years from the scene, with 2005's Navigator Being their last album to date. Never fear, for a new album has been announced! Called Aviator, the Vogt have already announced a launch date of May 8th in Europe. Naturally, one can expect American label Metropolis Records to announce a state-side release around the same date.

The band is also releasing a few messages to their fans about said album via YouTube, but since they're in German, what they're saying is largely a mystery to me.

Front 242 + Implant = 32crash

As some many have noted via the Advanced Electronics 5 compilation, a new spin-off of Belgian legends Front 242 is beginning to come to some fruition. 32crash is a new project that involves not only 242's Jean-Luc De Meyer, but the duo of Len Lemeire and Jan D'Hooghe - also known as Implant.
According to them, the 32crash disc is "a real solid-sounding SF-musical-epos". Currently, their debut is in development and will probably be slated for a spring/summer release via Alfa-Matrix, but in the meantime one can check out some samples on the 32crash Myspace page.

Forma Tadre returns in 2007?

After hearing the Forma Tadre remix of Seabound on the Dependence Vol. 2 compilation, it left me curious as to what ever happened to them. Loosely associated with Haujobb, Forma Tadre put out two stunning sci-fi tinged electo-industrial discs, (Navigator and Automate) and then just simply vanished.
However, now they have a snazzy Flash-based official site up, where they proclaim their third disc is more or less complete, and that a sindle or double disc collection of unreleased material akin to the cinematic Automate might also be in the works. One last thing, they promise that their new work, while different, will definitely not be 'futurepop'.

Covenant - live DVD + a new side-project

It seems quite fitting that now Covenant is back home, the Swedish trio would now be in the midst of compiling together a live DVD. Over their American tour, they plead for fans to help them out with footage, and thus come In Transit, their first live recording since the Synergy VHS/CD box set. No word on a release date at this point, but I would hazard a guess and say sometime this year.

In the meantime, Covenant vocalist Eskil Simonnson debuted his new side-project at the Schlagstrom even in Berlin on January 20th. The name of this new project is CEMENT. Currently, there is a bare-bones Myspace page dedicated to the project, but despite Eskil's description of "noise and neon", not much else is known at this time.

Whatever happened to Rosetta Stone?

Well, they broke up, that's what. However, the official Myspace page popped up rather recently. It's a nice reminder and flashback to these guys, who were the quintessential UK gothic rock band of the nineties.

However, head member Porl King does have a new project called misery:lab, which is slowly developing enough material for (hopefully!) an album. Musically, King once cited an 'indie bent' in his sound, but tracks like "No Cure For Life" certainly reek of a Rosetta Stone influence. Apparently, Misery:lab is also involved with an upcoming Cleopatra She Wants Revenge tribute album...but let's no go there, shall we?

A Valentine present from Nine Inch Nails?

Thanks to a little bird, I've been alerted to the fact that the first online taste of Nine Inch Nails' new album, Year Zero, has made it online. From what I've heard, this new disc is a 'sci-fi concept album' that was written and partially recorded while out on the road. In my opinion, it is a welcome return to his industrial sound...but here, take a listen for yourself:

- My Violent Heart