Whispers In The Shadow + Golden Apes + No Love Lost
WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW
Austria's longest-standing Gothic/Dark-Rock band (founded in 1996), released their eleventh album "Ghosts" in 2023. Once again, the band led by charismatic frontman Ashley Dayour (The Ðevil & The Uñiverse) demonstrates their versatility. This time, the journey leads into heavier territories.
Lower-tuned, monolithic guitar walls stacked upon each other, thunderous drums and booming bass that seems to come from the depths of the earth. Above them, psychedelic keyboard carpets and Ashley's unmistakable vocals, shaping the band into what it is. Even after 27 years, one thing remains: expect the familiar unexpected.
"Ghosts" is their hardest album to date, aligning it with the darkest albums in the band's history. Especially the 13-minute centerpiece of the album, "Majesty & Torment," surprises with its numerous meter, riff, and tempo changes along with its progressive approach. "Sacred Fear" flows relentlessly like a stream of lava, and the opener, "Totems Of Decline," evokes a dystopian vision that seems to have long come true. In addition, WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW open the door to dark-wave territories with songs like "A Haunting" or "Ghost Loop Remedy," always with a twist and a certain hardness that is otherwise sought in vain in this genre.
Thematically, "Ghosts" is a journey into the Abyss, a trek through human and inhuman depths. A dialogue with shadows and spirits. Both societal and personal. Demons like addictions ("A Haunting"), paranoia ("Ghost Loop Remedy"), self-righteous ignorance ("Totems Of Decline"), and chauvinism ("Harpies") are invoked.
In the end, the journey into and through the Abyss ("Majesty & Torment"), the confrontation with the fear of fear itself, and ultimately, the realization that the spirits are a part of oneself ("Poltergeist"), one's own ego as the final boss.
Visual Artist Billy Phobia is responsible for the cover artwork once again. He used the magical technique of automatic drawing, inspired by the spirits of music that found their way directly onto the cover.
WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW not only stare into the Abyss until it stares back with "Ghosts," they walk through it fearlessly, having coffee and cake with the demons that reside there. In this sense: Let's get haunted!
GOLDEN APES
The Dark Wave and Post-Punk of Golden Apes takes you on a journey from the veined rivers of melancholy to the rugged rocks of destruction, from the deserts of despair to the vast oceans of longing, from the lightless depths of desperation to the highest peaks that pierce the sky... one cannot pinpoint their finger on this emotional map and gain certainty about where the music of Golden Apes will take them. You will find everything you desire and yet have to search for it at opposite poles, an atlas that shapes and changes with every note that reaches your ears and with every syllable that enters your mind. These are Trojan harmonies...
From their debut "Stigma 3:am" (2000) to their highly acclaimed album "KASBEK" (2019), Golden Apes manage to deny any kind of tangibility, stepping back behind the music, as if they were only messengers delivering the map that guides you, leading you out into the land of swarms, to the places that scare and protect you... to the rivers and deserts all the way to bliss...
Their new album "Our Ashes At The End Of The Day," released earlier this year, continues this path impressively and consistently...
In 2024, the Golden Apes will celebrate their 25th stage anniversary.
NO LOVE LOST
No Love Lost plays modern Post-Punk, inspired by bands of the 80s like Joy Division, The Sound, and Gang of Four, but also the Post-Punk Revival bands of the 2000s, especially Interpol. The individual instruments never stand alone; it is through the interplay of guitars, bass, drums, and synthesizers that a complete picture emerges, over which the vocals move, often angry or desperate, but always with a touch of melancholy.
Age Restriction: 18 years
Doors Open: 7:00 PM