How much money is your time worth? How much of your own humanity are you willing to sacrifice at the altar of commerce and urban living? At what point do you become one of the drones, falling into the open mouth of Moloch? These seem to be the questions that come to mind when listening to “Working Ecstasy”, the latest double CD release from French Industrial artist Nocturne. For over 15 years front-man Saphi has been honing his craft as a purveyor of French Industrial culture, and with “Working Ecstasy” he has achieved his finest work yet.

The album is split into two titles, “Working” and “Ecstasy”, which articulate what I believe to be the theme of the album. That is, the overwhelming sense of demoralization as a result of living in a post-Industrial society. For some, Stockholm Syndrome takes place as a means of survival and one embraces their lot, after all… arbeit macht frei.

he years 2005 and 2006 will always stand out as one of the highlights in the long history of Cold Meat Industry. We saw new music from Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Desiderii Marginis, Atrium Carceri, Brighter Death Now, Sephiroth, Mz.412, raison d’être, the return of IRM, and live performances across the world. They also seemed to have had an increased interest in Neofolk, introducing bands such as Medusa’s Spell, Rome, and Stormfågel. At first I was a little hesitant, if I recall correctly there was a heightened interest in Neofolk at the time, and a sort of power vacuum as well. It would be about 4 years before we would see a new Death in June album, 7 years for a new Blood Axis, and a number of new bands coming out, some looking to make their mark, others retreading the same ground. With Stormfågel, I initially wondered how they would define themselves, but it didn’t take long before I picked up on the subtle, hidden references to Existential films and literature, and took them to be far more intellectual than some of the other new bands coming out.

Over time I felt some internal conflicts within myself, in that I’ve felt rooted in traditional ideals, but fully aware of my own functions and contributions to a modern world. After a closer examination, I was surprised to see Stormfågel also lamenting on these conflicts and with that I was even more excited for their new release and to interview front-man Andreas Neidhardt for Heathen Harvest. The following conversation was had over an extended period of time in early 2012 over e-mail, during which time Andreas was finalizing the new album “Dödsvals”, and towards the end of the thread actually saw its release.

As I put on the latest Terra Sancta release I wonder, is it just me or has there been a growing interest in Dark Ambient over the past couple years? There appears to be a swell in sweeping home produced waves of synths, delayed strings, and references to the cosmos. I’m not complaining, but if one has discriminating taste it’s natural to put a critical eye to the growing number of pedantic facsimiles.