Such is the beauty of Resistanz, the coming together of the most wonderful Gothic souls - People who genuinely care for one another, and about the music; Artists that play out of love for what they do, and the people they play to. It's always a soul nourishing journey, a pilgrimage to a bountiful Oasis for our true selves..
For another year.. It is finished. Just like recovering from any journey of the soul.. It's been a long couple of weeks. A lot of us, myself included have come down with varying illnesses and general mental fatigue - Once again having to live in the mundane world.
This may have very well been the best Resistanz Festival of all time, from the crowds, to the bands, the atmosphere, and the camaraderie, there is nowhere on Earth that hits like Tanz.
I made a Pre-Tanz article with all the band info in as well as a playlist if you want further reading HERE
I spent a lot of the weekend interviewing bands and fighting fatigue so although this article will review the live performances, I am sorry to say they will be short on my part, especially as the illness I've suffered has tampered with my already fragile memory. However, some of my wonderful FB friends have kindly added a few sentences here and there of band's performances, mostly for bands I was not able to catch much or any of but there are a few extras sprinkled in too. The video interviews I managed are of course under each artist below!
A huge thank you to Leighton for asking me to be an official sponsor this year and for putting on this Heaven on Earth once more. Also to Mark (Of Corporation) who did a fair bit of running around for me. I appreciate you both immensely.
Also a massive thank you - that I cannot put in to words - to Kevin Stevens of Musique Non-Stop for taking breath-taking pictures of the Friday and Saturday bands. I cannot thank you enough for providing these photos to me. You really are one of absolute best photographers around. (So if any of you need a photographer, especially for music events, hit this amazing man up!)
What do you mean you haven't listened to the 2023 soundtrack album?!!
WULFBAND - Musik Ist Das
HELIX - Run (PEOPLE THEATRE's Sprint Mix)
MECHANICAL VEIN vs MORIS BLAK - Cemetery Wind (DNB VIP)
BIOMECHANIMAL - From The Mouth Of Beasts (ANTIBODY Remix)
RATIO STRAIN - Electronic Music (Tanz Mix)
VUXNUT - Exsanguination
BLINK 242 - Dark Forever
W.A.S.T.E. - Seeping
SERAPHIM SYSTEM - Limitless
DARK MACHINE NATION - F
I put the album on in my car which had a couple of bonus tracks having been the physical copy and I was in no way disappointed! (Even after the 4th play) Just the Antibody remix of Bio's 'From The Mouth Of Beast' is reason enough alone to get this album but each track on the album is pure fire. I especially love the anger and passion in Dark Machine Nation's 'F' which he discusses in our interview.
Each artist really outdid themselves with this.
10/10
STOP A MOMENT!
Please consider donating or fundraising for Beyond Reflections who are a charity run by friends of Elektro Vox and they supply an essential service to so many.
www.beyond-reflections.org.uk @BeyondReflectUK
Their support really does save lives!
Friday
Seraphim System
Ser-Sys is the one I coined as the overall must watch artist for the weekend and he sure as hell didn't disappoint. John Stancil is a machine, he may be eccentric to the point that our 'European mind's cannot comprehend' but he is also a tech wizard with a heart of Gold, blasting out incredible tracks in the time it takes others to get out of bed with a hangover.
Seraphim System has so many different sounds to choose from and fitting them all in to such a dance fuelled rave in the way he did was nothing short of mind-blowing. There were two tracks that stood out. The Ruinizer remix of his track 'Spunk For Cyborgs' and a cover song that he blasted out after an 'all American' sample to troll the crowd.. The track in question? John belted his lungs out to Slipknot's 'Surfacing'. Never thought I'd hear the industrial crowds singing along to that, what a great moment!
The man obliterates, and after nearly giving up on Ser-sys, not only did he smash out a country music industrial track like lighting (Which we briefly touch on in the interview) He has also showed me some of the next album and I sh*t you not.. It's already sounding like his most boots on the floor, wall to wall rave album yet!
"Seraphim System.. Hard, heavy collaboration of all different genres of stomp music that will keep you buzzing days afterwards! No way of describing it to give it real justice...GO LISTEN!!!" - Kirsty Thewlis "Seraphim System filled my brain with noise and turned me into an EBM redneck and I am very happy with this new life I have been gifted. Yeehaw." - Taz marriot
"What a rootin, tootin' good challenge. Canis from Elektro Vox challenged me to do something with country and industrial, and here we go. The idea came to me while riding in an Uber and listening to this song. Knew exactly how I wanted to play it out when I heard it. Enjoy, cowborgs." - John - Seraphim System
Pretty Addicted
There's a whirlwind of fun to be had whenever Vicious Precious takes the stage. Fury at religion, fury at her family, fury at misogyny, fury at mis-directed recognition, but above all else fury in those vocals! Vish belted out each track with her entire soul, her heart bleeding out of her lungs. This woman knows how to perform and own a stage. There were many laughs to be had asking her best friend Paul to get her tequila and then instantly regretting it when she had it which was a nice comic break.
Did I mention Fury? Well when it comes to animal right there is also compassion and a touching speech was given, as a fellow Vegan, I fully approved of her message.
Banger after banger, she rocked the crowd with the new singles with Chris drumming as hard as he could behind her. It's wonderful to see the chemistry these two have on stage, even if it borders on the vulgar, who cares?
And of course, as ever - 'Mania' made the crowd rave hard, even those who had held back couldn't help themselves dance to this all time classic with crowd members singing along strong! Make sure you catch one of her Summer Goth tour dates across the country.
HARLEYLIKESMUSIC
I was not able to catch this band unfortunately but I have heard many good things!
"Harleylikesmusic was just as impressive as the last time he played in the back room of Tanz 15.
His performance was lifted with the use of visuals.
Looking at the sense of enjoyment of people who had not seen or heard of harlylikesmusic shows how using old tech is moving." - Ryan Fordman
Randolph & Mortimer
"I DO NOT NEED MY BODY!" Well apparently my dopamine / serotonin receptors didn't seem to think so and ignored my aching knees in order to dance hard to the classic track 'Body' I only managed to catch about four tracks at the end but I was incredibly impressed with how crisp and clear their sound was, I have never in all my time witnessing electronic music live, heard a band's bass sound THAT perfect. They were full of energy and had some very impressive visuals to keep the crowd just as engaged in the lyrical content as the beauty of what they were hearing and feeling.
Amazing set, wish I had seen all of it!
Assemblage 23
It is a rare thing that even before a band has started, you cannot even get in to the very rear of the venue with the queue reaching out the door, slowly filtering their way in. I was very thankful to be able to go via backstage instead.
So it was that the air was filled with static excitement for Assemblage 23. Everyone around me for the entire set was in one - or fluctuating between - three states of being.. Dancing, awestruck with respect, or lost blissfully in their own mind as the songs washed over them. A-23 have songs that resonate with the pain, happiness, and memories of everyone who hear them.
What a fantastic performance that was, I only wish they had played 'Let me be your armor' as this was my first time seeing them live but other than that, it really was a perfect end to the bands of day one.
Gillywoo
Gillywoo kicked us out of our A-23 chilled romance with a ridiculously heavy and crunchy set that set that entire room stomping from the start. So many of us were trying to chat with our friends about different things but in the end none of us could resist the calls to dance. It was such a pleasure to hear 'Not your body' played so loud and to see Marie (grabyourface) screaming along in ecstatic excitement to their own vocals on the track. What a majestic moment that was.
Lexx
I put this on my FB the morning after Lexx's set..
I’ve banged on before about how incredible Lex’s sets are but HOW! HOW does Lex keep findings ways to audibly assault dancefloors harder than DOOM guy?
I literally have no words for how good that set was. I think my actual review is just going to be..
‘Woooooooooooah’ 15/10
And you know what? I honestly don't think I can really improve on that. Put it this way, when I next put on an Elektro Vox event or Festival.. Lexx will be the first person on my line-up request. No doubt.. Several weeks later and my knees and feet are still terrified of her but my brain, heart, and soul just can't get enough of their incredible sets that set them ablaze every time!
X
Again in that same post I wrote about X too..
Now.. X played two new Straftanz experimental tracks and WOW that was some incredibly beautiful sound waves of pure rave. For their first solo time, that performance was beyond perfection!
Not only that but every track played kicked some serious ass and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Tanz DJ floor kick that hard all night!
So yea, a fantastic set and one that will stay with me for a very long time! Especially as X is one of the most incredible people on the scene and we are luck to have both her and J.
I now know those two tracks mentioned above to be from their new project - Mutual Aid, which they discuss below:
DJ DeadDancer
Not one to be outdone, DD played some absolute bangers, from what I recall not only was there a similar healthy does of dark techno but there were some fun tracks, some cheeky tracks, and overall the best kind of fun - the fast and the depraved. I didn't stay too long as I was exhausted beyond all reason having just had my ass handed to me by amazing artists and DJs, but what a great DJ to close on!
Saturday
Blink 242
A band I only caught one track of, but wow was that crowd going insane for the Cyferdyne boys. I have heard so many good things about them. My partner Coral came out at the end over the moon and possibly the happiest I have ever seen a band make them. So well done guys!
I did also ask Andy and Steve backstage afterwards if there would be an album release, all I can say is.. Watch this space..
"I've never sang so loudly or danced so hard at 3 o'clock in the afternoon in my entire life. Love them even though they stole my entire voice." - Taz Marriott
"The genre we didn't know we needed. The shenanigans we knew we wanted. Absolutely a highlight of the festival."
- Rachael Turner "Their set was filled with nostalgia and energy! So glad I didn't miss it!" - Hanzza Bloggs "An absolutely perfectly executed terrible idea, like watching Picasso paint a picture of dogs playing poker. Exactly the right kind of showmanship needed for an act like that as well, they played to the crowd just as well as they played the music." - Jack Anderson "I enjoyed hearing so many old tracks in an industrial style. Made me remember being a stupid teenager, and it was just as much fun; They made a daft idea into a brilliant one. 10/10 would see again " - Kelly Orr "Funniest shit I'd seen all week. 10/10" - Catharine Bowen "The best way to start a Saturday left me dancing madly & grinning from ear to ear."
- Jennifer Dale
"They were the most stupid fun I've seen in years. Add them on Myspace."
- Bjarki Guðmundsson
"The perfect hang over cure. Got even the most broken excited and bouncing!"
- Dexter Kidd
Video by Jamie Mann (I hope you don't mind!) he has several more Blink 242 songs on his channel.
Mechanical Vein
I was only able to catch 'Cemetery Wind' in between interviews but wow did that track blow my mind live. Keith's Electro axe blazing away once more, the crowd went bat sh*t crazy when the drop in Cemetery Wind gave way to rippling, super fast pulses of audio devastation that left no one in the crowd standing still. It's was an incredible moment to watch coinciding with the strobe/stage lighting. Having seen M.V play before, the sound really has got so much better, this band continues to evolve super fast!
"Mechanical Vein were incredible, I saw them in Helsinki in November and the improvement in their performance was insane. Keith was so much more confident this time and the guitar was just right in the mix, not overpowering."
- Bjarki Guðmundsson
Helix
Helix's first live show and I am so sad that again, I only caught one song. Yet from that one song, I knew everything I needed to, pristine vocals, beautiful stage-womanship, and a soundscape so melodic that is was enchanting. Mari's enthusiastic energy and mannerisms were so fun and exciting to watch and listen to. You could really sense (even from the pictures) just how much joy she was having performing and that made the crowd's experiences incredibly memorable. I really hope I get to see Helix perform again one day! Brilliant stuff.
"Helix - first ever and long overdue UK performance for Mari Kattman and Tom Shear's project. Absolutely spellbinding performance with a stunning rendition of "Beautiful unseen" being a personal highlight. Mari absolutely owns the stage and her and Tom have wonderful onstage chemistry." - Woode Gillyan
A-E
I was so sad to have Missed A-E because Tim is one half of the Memmaker (One of my all-time favourite artists) that absolutely rocked my sh*t last Resistanz, from what I've heard, everyone LOVED IT. Please play again!
"If A-E (aka Tim) doesn't release the stuff he played in this set I will have to break into his Dropbox and take one for the team... that stuff was insane."
- Jan Laustroer
W.A.S.T.E
Some of you may know that Jamie Black (ESA) and Yann Faussurier (Iszoloscope) had to stand in as Shane Shaw was not able to make it. Vanessa drummed her heart out on that stage to some heavy, filthy, and hard hitting tracks. There are no vocals in W.A.S.T.E, there is only raw energy, emotion, and power. I will admit I had to leave after a few songs as the visuals were that of horror and such human suffering and gore has never sat right with me, it reminds me too much that human 'monsters' exist outside of films too. However from what I heard, my head and feet were rocking hard and I really got the sense of why W.A.S.T.E's sound has been such a respected one in the EBM world. There was no fault whatsoever with the music, it was empowering, devastating, heavy and satisfying.
MORIS BLAK
His first ever UK show.. We were hit with intensity from the first second. Looking like a cultist of death, MORIS BLAK assaulted us with hymnal choirs distorted with epic trap industrial beats, drums, and synths filthier than the plague God Nurgle. 'The machine is death' sample was belted out as furious as Khorne himself, the complex machinations and intricacies of each track's layers and mixing weaving more masterfully than Tzneentch - Not to mention tricking us with 'State Rejects' where I assumed Marie of grabyourface was going to stroll on, they did later on, for their track 'Complicate' and 'Science Fiction' which they said would probably be the only time it's ever played live.
Alongside Marie's enticing vocals and incredible style, we then had a stage invasion from Biomechanimal and Seraphim System for all four acts to sing a cover of 'Blue Monday' together.. Well, Slaanesh would have been proud!
Brian smashed that stage and dancefloor apart and was every bit the new God of industrial that we all came to worship.
"MORIS BLAK scared the absolute shit out of me. 10/10 would stare transfixed at a industrial demigod again." - Taz Marriot
"MORIS BLAK was legendary. It was like a force of nature sweeping through the crowd. Can't wait to see him again!"
- Frazer Barnard
I managed to grab a fair few pics of Marie and the stage invasion knowing they were coming on at some point!
MORIS BLAK says support your Trans homies!
STOP A MOMENT!
Please consider donating or fundraising for Beyond Reflections who are a charity run by friends of Elektro Vox and they supply an essential service to so many.
www.beyond-reflections.org.uk @BeyondReflectUK
Their support really does save lives!
Ayria
I managed to catch two, maybe three songs of Ayria's first performance in FIVE YEARS! Can you believe that? You would never have known because she owned that stage so incredibly well. Each vocal note and pitch was on point, she smiled her way through every moment in an infectiously happy buzz that resonated back from the crowd.
Power, grace, style, and heaps of talent, Ayria showed us all once again why her name is legendary on the scene and why she has been going strong for twenty years. I wanted to see the whole show but I am so glad I caught what I managed to!
"Infectiously energetic in her vocal delivery and crowd interaction, Ayria's comeback performance graced the stage like an exiled queen reclaiming her rightful throne."
- Redthir Jerdisheim
"Ayria - a triumphant return to the UK after probably ten years. Excellent mix of older and newer tracks all delivered by the note perfect ball of energy that is Jennifer Parkin and her crew. It's almost two weeks on and I still have "Stranger Danger" in my head."
- Woode Gillyan
"It was fantastic to see Ayria perform again. It brought back so many memories. A perfect balance of all of my old favourite songs and new ones I was less familiar with. Loved it!" - Frazer Barnard
I had to retire to sleep after Ayria due to exhaustion, so I apologise for not reviewing the Saturday and Sunday DJ's in full (For the same reason)
DJ emanon
I was not able to make this DJ's set, if you have a one or two line review you would like to have included here, please message me on FB!
"Emanon played a Dimmu Borgir cover song in an industrial DJ set and made it work amazingly well!"
- Bjarki Guðmundsson
MATT HART
I was not able to make this DJ's set, if you have a one or two line review you would like to have included here, please message me on FB!
VINDIMØDE
I was not able to make this DJ's set, if you have a one or two line review you would like to have included here, please message me on FB!
BLAK 2 BLAK
I was not able to make this DJ's set, if you have a one or two line review you would like to have included here, please message me on FB!
"Blak 2 Blak (or Hybrid Blak? I'm genuinely not sure what they were actually called for that set) went so hard that my blisters still haven't fully healed."
- Jack Anderson
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Sunday
Kevin (Musique Non-Stop) had to leave suddenly Saturday night so I didn't have any pictures of artists on the Sunday, friends have kindly allowed me to use some of theirs.
Ratio Strain
Photo credits: Juha Matilainen
Vanessa kicked some serious ass! For the first band on a Sunday, I did not expect it to be so brutal, dance heavy, and to pack the ultimate punch. By the end of the set, I wasn't half dead anymore, that's for sure!
The vicious audio and dark techno industrial rhythm blasted out was like Vanessa's necromancy raising us all from lethargic zombies, in to pulse pounding ravers.
Stunning stuff and I will be listening to Ratio Strain a lot now.
Antibody
Photo credits: Pic 1 Matt Kohl Brooks Pic 2: Juha Matilainen
Wow.. I was beyond impressed. Jann knows exactly what people want and that is to dance like animals. Each track was the modern day evolution of what made industrial dance music good ten years ago - into something super enjoyable and acceptable for everyone now, even the anti 'dance music' elitists. Every single face was smiling ear to ear, ever foot was stomping, every head was banging, and it was incredibly fun. He was joined by MATT HART for a bit and also Dancefloor Gladiators who recorded 'F-Society' live.
Antibody is going to be a very big name in the years to come, I've no doubt!
"Antibody - Fresh, young blood to the scene that will absolutely blow your fkn mind! Everyone should check him out!"
- Kirsty Thewlis
Dark Machine Nation
Photo Credits: Pic 1 Woode Gillyan Pic 2 Juha Matilainen
Seeing Therion Major play his first ever show outside of the USA was something I was super looking forward to but sadly the way things turned out, I didn't catch any of his performance but I have never heard so much praise for an artist after their set as Dark machine Nation received. Everyone was thoroughly impressed by his weaponised assault of power noise. As he says in our interview below.. "If you hear something in my music that sounds like explosions... It's explosions."
Dark Machine Nation - gnarly A.F and delivered a visceral and relentless aural assault on my Sunday eardrums. Absolutely captivating.
- Woode Gillyan
Dark Machine Nation omfg...wow...dark, evil, INCREDIBLE...still completely blown away by his set...Branded apocalyptic doom genre...bring on the end of days if he's playing! Going to be a fkn rave!!
- Kirsty Thewlis
Dark Machine Nation - if this is the last time we see him over here there is something horribly wrong in how people book acts, one of the best one man shows I’ve seen. Powerful, energetic, and bringing real presence to a difficult to execute trend of one person performance shows.
-Rhys Hughes
Dark Machine Nation - Searingly brilliant and varied take on noise. Raw, brutal and downright awesome - Hands down one of the best noise performances I've seen in a very long time.
- Simon John Bowers
Video from 'Future Music From The Robot Lab' YouTube channel
(I hope you don't mind!)
Iszoloscope
The one and only Yann, I had to rush back super fast to catch the last half of his show and dance my ass off next to my friend Laura who was going twice as hard as me! When I found out Iszoloscope were replacing Vuxnut, I was over the moon, nothing personal to Vuxnut but Iszoloscope is one of my all time favourites and I had the chance to see him live snatched away from me once before. Yann plays the heaviest, speaker blowing, bass defining, chemical dropping, soul satisfying dark industrial this side of Hell and I am in no way exaggerating when I saw, that was the most fun I have ever had watching an artist live. He even knocked Memmaker off that top spot for me but then again Yann is/was part of Memmaker so you know.. It's to be expected. This man's genius for the sounds he makes are out of this world. I cannot gush enough at how good that was Yann. Just... THANK YOU!
Master Boot Record
Photo credits: Pic 1 Corporation Sheffield official Pic 2-4 Juha Matilainen
Full of of nostalgia, chip tunes bliss, and powerful guitars, MBR have been a band I've been meaning to cover with E.V for a long time so to see them perform live was nothing short of techno-magic.
The visual's for each track brought back so many memories of old games I had once played, memories long forgotten, and a strong sense that my inner child was screaming inside of me to get out and rave with me, so I let him!
Fantastic notes and computer sounds powered out a whirlwind of fun and beauty that only MBR could masterfully manage with such 'instruments' no one else comes close to making retro sounds so damn exciting and modern.
True perfection in every sense of the word.
Video from 'Future Music From The Robot Lab' YouTube channel
(I hope you don't mind!)
BLACKBOOK
No pictures were available but here's a video and as you can see, this was apparently only their second ever gig!
I only heard of BLACKBOOK putting together the playlist before the festival and was genuinely looking forward to their sound as I love melodic bands. Every track was sung with perfect vocals, I could make out every single word even in songs I had never heard before and there was something quite magic in the way they sounded so pure but kept their faces hidden. When the song 'I Dance Alone' came on the crowd went absolutely insane with dancing but the one that stood out to me was the last.. 'My Darkest memory'. The reason being was something completely unexpected for me that weekend and the lyrics washed over me with such clarity and acceptance that it helped me process and carry on on with my weekend, so thank you BLACKBOOK for this incredibly wonderful and poignant song that I can't stop listening to!
To top it all off, the crowd chanted 'one more song!' Which I don't think any other band got that weekend!
Video by Jamie Mann (I hope you don't mind!)
Wulfband
Photo Credits: pic 1-2 Corporation Sheffield Official Pic 3-4 Woode Gillyan pic 5-7 Juha Matilainen
What the Fuuu? Wulfband is a crazy maelstrom of ridiculously silly energy intermixed between some pretty heavy and serious tracks. From having people help sing a track, to taking off his trousers and throwing beer at the audience, Wulfband are.. Bizarre to say the least. Having met the man backstage, I can assure you, it doesn't stop off stage either!
This was such a fun act and one that I enjoyed so much that I had to get Leighton's attention in the crowd and give him the 'OMFG WELL DONE BOOKING THIS BAND!' kind of signal, all the while Marie was trying to get my attention to tell me how good they thought the bad were.. So as you can see - chaos on stage, chaos in the crowd, but the best kind of chaos imaginable INDUSTRIAL FUN.
I wish I knew what else to say but that was fantastic and I hope I get to see them again one day.
GRENDEL
Photo Credits: pic 1-3 Corporation Sheffield Official
pic 4 Juha Matilainen
Who here among you doesn't know of Grendel and the great guy that is JD? This was a full band show and they played a brilliant mix of tracks old and new. There is nothing quite like an entire audience yelling 'MARINE CORP!' or belting out 'Chemicals and Circuitry' together. Grendel is a band that brings every single group of electro heads together in unison for those two tracks and it's a beautiful moment. Of course though, the newer tracks are so full of meaning, of emotion, and talent that they are as much part of the Grendel phenomena now as the classics were then. Grendel is a band always redefining and evolving in ways that often spearhead the next limits of what industrial and electronics can be.
It was also great to see Kuro on the keys! This was an incredible performance and I think the fourth I have seen of theirs, this was by far the best, and a magnificent way to round of the Sunday bands.
Yassi Puls4ra
I did catch about twenty minutes of Yassi's set and I remember it being pulse pounding, foot stomping excellence, and it was evident they were having a great time themselves, I don't remember much beyond how it felt - Awesome. So again, if you'd like to include your comment for them, let me know!
Dancefloor Gladiatorz
I was not able to make this DJ's set, if you have a one or two line review you would like to have included here, please message me on FB!
BUT check out their entire recorded set there! ^
"Omg Dancefloor Gladiatorz were epic! Literally couldn’t stop dancing! I had seen them on twitch before but seeing them in person was *inaudible excited linda noises* I think they were my fav from the whole festival!"
- Linderella Perrini
Victoria Fenbane
I was not able to make this DJ's set, if you have a one or two line review you would like to have included here, please message me on FB!
Simon Briggs
I was not able to make this DJ's set, if you have a one or two line review you would like to have included here, please message me on FB!
So..
Done for another year, and I'm sure we will all be remembering it fondly until the next one. Much love and take care of one another.
Thank you!
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