Metropolis News
- Metropolis signs IAMX!!!
Metropolis Records is proud to announce the signing of IAMX. Formed by Chris Corner (of the Sneaker Pimps) in 2004, IAMX has brazenly taken the indie rock/pop world by storm. Their provocative live shows feature powerfully artistic imagery that further augments the subject matter in their songs which range from themes of sex, death, intoxication, bisexuality, obsession, alienation, and politics. Kiss + Swallow, their debut in 2004, met with glowing praises, while their 2006 album, The Alternative, thrust them into the limelight of clubs throughout Europe and parts of North America, and was voted the #1 album of the year in 2007 by XM Radio! Metropolis will be bringing these gems to North America as domestic releases in May and June of 2008, followed by a brand new studio album in the fall.
- Interns Wanted!!!
Metropolis is looking for un-paid interns for its Promotions/Publicity department in Philadelphia. Applicants must be enthusiastic, hard working and be able to receive college credit. Primary duty will consist of blogging websites along with secondary duties including: assisting the publicist, promotional mailings, phone correspondence, some writing tasks, press clipping and filing, and other day to day activities. A great chance to experience the inner workings of a non-traditional independent label. Hours and days are flexible. To submit a resume, contact Shannon Ludwig or fax your information to 610-595-9944.
- Metropolis:Rebirth 1.0 Announced!!!
Based upon the newest Metropolis label compilation set to come out on March 25th in Hot Topic stores and online, it is no overstatement to say that 2008 will be an incredibly strong year for Metropolis Records. This newest, revamped compilation featuring over 20 tracks of some of the finest rock, industrial, electronic, and pop music in the world today including two exclusive tracks only to be found on this compilation, is guaranteed to please anyone with an ear for good music. Metropolis:Rebirth 1.0 is a 2-disc set with the first disc featuring many of Metropolis’ best Electronic and Industrial artists, while the second disc contains Metropolis’ many excellent rock bands. This unbelievable compilation features some of the most prominent bands in the industrial and rock scenes including VNV Nation, Electric Six, Combichrist, KMFDM, Grendel, and The Birthday Massacre, while also ushering in some of Metropolis Records newest members such as A Kiss Could Be Deadly and The A.K.A.s (Are Everywhere!). If you’re a new-comer to the world of Metropolis Records, or just another one of our devoted fans looking for new music, this compilation is for you!
Disc 1 "Electronic"01. VNV Nation "Nemesis" 02. Assembalge 23 "Sorry" 03. Combichrist "What The Fuck Is Wrong With You" 04. The Retrosic "Deathdealer" 05. Wumpscut "We Believe, We Believe" 06. Client "Lights Go Out" 07. Meat Beat Manifesto "The Unprintable Word" 08. Cesium_137 "Endure" 09. Edge Of Dawn "Split Second [Undertow]" 10. Diary Of Dreams "The Plague (Vers. N41)" 11. Front Line Assembly "Beneath The Rubble (Combichrist Remix)" 12. Terrorfakt "M-15 (Scrape.DX Remix)" 13. Grendel "Harsh Generation"
Disc 2 "Rock"01. Electric Six "Down At Mcdonnelzzz" 02. A Kiss Could Be Deadly "Poison IV" 03. The A.K.A.s (Are Everywhere!) "Dead Flowers Forever" 04. The Epoxies "Crystal Clear" 05. theStart "Blood On My Hands" 06. Snog "Vaguely Melancholic" 07. Moving Units "Crash 'N' Burn Victims" 08. London After Midnight "Nothing's Sacred" 09. The Birthday Massacre "Looking Glass" 10. KMFDM "Tohuvabohu" 11. 16Volt "Suffering You" 12. Hanzel Und Gretyl "Fukken Uber Death Party" 13. Specimen "Nothing Lasts Forever"
- Straight To Video Holding Strong!!!
The Mindless Self Indulgence single for "Straight To Video" has just entered it's ONE-HUNDRETH WEEK on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles chart! This single contains The Birthday Massacre's unique remix of the song which can be found HERE. The Birthday Massacre will be joining MSI on tour this summer -- tour dates and ticketing links are available HERE, with more shows being added weekly!
- Welcome To A Kiss Could Be Deadly!!!
Metropolis Records is proud to announce the signing of A Kiss Could Be Deadly, a California dance pop band who has been creating quite a name for themselves for the past year and a half. Wracking up media coverage in places like Alternative Press (unsigned band contest winner) and Urb, AKCBD is already receiving radio airplay and club spins, as well as performing with the likes of Berlin, the English Beat, the Aquabats and many others. The quintet’s debut is slated for release in March 2008, with an extensive tour to follow. Check out what the buzz is about.
- Welcome To The A.K.A.s!!!
Metropolis Records is proud to announce the signing of The A.K.A.s - a band noted for their clever concoction of danceable, rabble-rousing punk rock n’ roll which is best described as "dancehall fight music." The yet-to-be announced sophomore album from The A.K.A.s will be released in February 2008, followed by a barrage of international touring, of which the band's reputation precedes them. Raw, energetic, and anthemic, The A.K.A.s live show is unstoppable as displayed sharing stages on sold out club tours with Bush-Bashers Anti-Flag and electro punks Mindless Self-Indulgence, to owning the floor of low brow Brooklyn Art Gallery Openings. The alternative to today's watered-down alternative music, which is riddled with corporate marketing schemes and product placement, The A.K.A.s are timely, pertinent, and urgent in a desperate musical and social climate. Prepare yourself to fight, f*ck, dance and destroy with The A.K.A.s.
- VelvetAcidChrist.com Upgrades!!!
VelvetAcidChrist.com has undergone many new changes. Currently visiters can find video game, music, movie, music gear, and pro audio reviews, as well as Velvet Acid Christ news, discography, fan submissions and much more.
In other VAC news, the video for Pretty Toy recently won several awards at ChillerTV. You can view the high quality version on the new VAC site.
- The Birthday Massacre Podcast Interview!!!
On the Podcast Most People Are DJs host Mikel O.D. sits down with Falcore, Rainbow and Chibi of the Birthday Massacre to talk about their US tour and new CD, "Walking with Strangers". Listen to the Episode.
- God Module News!!!
God Module have started working on the follow-up to their latest album, Let's Go Dark. The first glimpse of the new material will be the upcoming Torture Porn EP which will be annouced later this year.
- Velvet Acid Christ News!!!
Velvet Acid Christ has been keeping extremely busy as of late. Not only is he working on a new CD (working title Songs For Villains, but he has also just wrapped up a long line of remixes for the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Emilie Autumn, Brain Leisure, and Darker Days Tomorrow. Behind the scenes videos can be found of Bryan Erickson working in the studio on his YouTube channel. All of the remixes can be heard in their entirety streaming and club and radio DJs can download the NIN “Survivalism (VAC remix)” for free. When asked about the remix, here’s what VAC had to say:
Bryan, what gear did you use? Well the main bass line is the future retro revolution, the chorus is my modular stacked with the korg micro x. drums are xbase 09, and some samples coming out of logic. I streamed all the audio tracks out into my onyx 1620, and some into the 1202 vlz pro that goes back into the onyx. Ran the modular the ksp8 stereo rotor fx with a band pass bass sound doubling the huge microx bass distorted thing, the band pass sounds was 2 plan b osc pwm hardcore. The weird noises at the end were some of my filter fm sounds from the ssm module and the planb osc. It's a pretty simple mix, and of course I used a lot of the weird noises that were buried in the original mix and brought them out.. I ran it all back in through my fireface 800 and recorded it into logic, than put it in wavlab and ran the l3 on it to get it a little louder. But it’s not really mastered much. So it’s really raw still... I hope this gets some club play... please LISTEN TO IT REALLY LOUD!
Several other Velvet Acid Christ interviews can be read at: PunkTV.ca, Matrixsynth Gear, and Vampire Freaks.
- MSI vs. iTunes!!!
NYC electro-punk outfit Mindless Self Indulgence has been asked by iTunes to change the genre that they are filed under. Presently MSI is filed under 'religious' because of their devout fan base and cult-like following (currently having shipped 180,000 CD's in the last year alone). Apparently this has angered some Christian organizations who have filed complaints with the digital music giant to get the band's music removed from that category. Several Christians appear to have purchased the seemingly offensive material, on faith, even though it clearly was marked as being explicit material. Part of what seemed to annoy them was how well MSI's album, You'll Rebel To Anything, did reaching #27 on the iTunes Christian/gospel charts! When asked what he thought of this controversy, MSI's singer, Jimmy Urine had this to say… "It was iTunes, not us, that interpreted "religious" to mean Christian. What is offensive to some people is obviously inspirational to others. To our fans this IS inspirational music. I have no intention of changing the genre listing of this album."
- Metropolis Ringtones!!!
Metropolis is pleased to announce that ringtones will be available for select artists from most major carriers starting November 15th, 2006. We will be adding more and more ringtones as time progresses. Check out our ringtones section for more information.
- Electric Six Videos!!!
Electric Six has several videos completed for songs off of their album, Switzerland. Check them out!- "I Buy The Drugs" video (Windows Media) Directed by: Anthony Garth
- "Chocolate Pope" video (Quicktime) Directed and Animated by: Brian Oakes
- "Mr. Woman" video (Quicktime) Directed by: Kris Kaczor
- "There's Something Very Wrong With Us So Let's Go Out Tonight" video (Quicktime) Directed by: Bangs and Blurry
MSI's remix CD, STRAIGHT TO VIDEO: THE REMIXES, contains not only 15 great remixes by some of industrial music's biggest artists, but also the accapella and instrumental versions for fans to make their own remix.
Here are 3 such examples: Submit your own remix to remixes@mindlessselfindulgence.com and the band will pick the very best ones to put on their Purevolume site. Remixes will be added and changed daily so check back often.
Good Luck!
Download the QuickTime or RealMedia version of the video.
The director talks about the video:
"What is the best way to represent a song, and a song's meaning of war for oil profits, without putting miles of Iraq war footage? I struggled with this answer for a long time. In the end, for me, the answer lay not in putting obvious and direct footage in you, the viewers face. Instead, I chose to bring the message out by pushing the boundaries that are often present in the dualities of right and wrong. How the two sides can conflict with each other on both a subtle basis and a violent obvious bases. The best way to watch the Collapsed video is by turning up the sound really loud. Let your unconscious mind be open to let the flashes of subliminal images guide your feelings.
As the video opens with the V.A.C. logo blooming into violence, I wanted to show the calm of the hunter, represented by split Black and White imagery. Bringing out the clear message of unforgivable, unexplainable justice. This is quickly given over to bright, flowing halos of color that guide the prey into fascinating yet unknown territories of exploration and terror.
You'll find emotions of rage, freedom, terror, guns, oil, calm desperation as you follow the split personalities of a girl going mad as she tries both to navigate her new found freedom and cope with the repercussions of her violent actions. Although the underling visual message is often not clear and present, my artistic hand was guided by one force. Art."