
Covered genres: Gothic Electro, Synth-Goth, Electrogoth, Dreampop, Dark-Trip-Wave, Gothic Industrial, Electrofolk, Coldwave
10. En Penumbra - ‘Blasfemia’ (Gothic Industrial, Gothic Electro | Spain, Self-Released)
The Spanish project EN PENUMBRA was formed in the early 10s in Barcelona as one-man project. The Spaniard’s debut work was released in 2012 on his own. Till the year 2024 the project had more than 5 full-length albums and several EPs. The new album is called ‘Blasfemia’ and is made in a combination of Gothic Industrial and Gothic Electro genres. The listeners will not find rhythmic dance compositions here, but the presented mid-tempo tracks with male vocals create an interesting experimental Gothic gloomy atmosphere and the Spanish-language lyrics add charm. The first associations that come to mind are that the album and the music of EN PENUMBRA could be a soundtrack to a Steampunk-Industrial version of the movie Pan’s Labyrinth. But not for sure. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enpenumbraband
09. Caelum Wraith - ‘13’ (Synth-Goth, Gothic Electro | Germany, Self-Released)
The American project CAELUM WRAITH was formed in the mid-20s and the first recordings of the musicians began to appear in 2024 on their Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages. In April 2024 the debut full-length album entitled ‘13’ was released. The music on the album is made in the Synth-Goth genre with elements of Darkwave and Synth Pop with male vocals. In some places the material reminds the sound of DIARY OF DREAMS, somewhere the compositions sound like the work of WOLFSHEIM in a more synthetic key, but still with a touch of Gothic music. Melancholic songs are diluted with rhythmic ones with a faster rhythm, to which you can move on the dancefloor. A good solid album of a young American project, which is worth paying attention to for fans of Electronic Gothic music. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558695112292
08. They Die - ‘Black Magic’ (Synth-Goth, Gothic Rock, Postpunk | Italy, Swiss Dark Nights)
The Italian formation THEY DIE was formed in 2020. The lineup includes Giorgio, Massimiliano and Simone. Giorgio Ricci has long been known in the dark scene of Italy for his experimental project CABARET DU CIEL and later for the Electronic Rock band TEMPLEBEAT. Simone Scarani in the mid-00s made a splash in Italy with his gothic electro project FIRST BLACK POPE. THEY DIE essentially became a combination of all the musical preferences of the members, combining the guitar sound of Gothic Rock and Postpunk with the electronic opuses of Synth-Goth and Gothic Electro. The project’s debut work was released in 2021 and in 2022 the Italians released their second album on the Swiss label Swiss Dark Nights. The third work is called ‘Black Magic’ and is performed in the same sound of guitar and Electronic Gothic style. A good quality album with music that does not copy the sound of popular bands, but creates its own. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theydie
07. Yakima Jera - ‘Azrael Take My Hand’ (Coldwave, Postpunk, Minimal Synth | Germany, Young and Cold Records)
After a powerful debut EP in 2023, the German duo YAKIMA JERA releases their debut full-length album ‘Azrael Take My Hand’. The project was formed in 2022 and releases records on the German format label Young and Cold Records. The first full-length album turned out to be not as unique as the debut EP, but still worthy of the attention of fans of the dark scene and a place in the top of Electronic Gothic music for 2024. This is the same minimalistic Coldwave with female vocals and a cold dark atmosphere. At the moment YAKIMA JERA can safely be considered as one of the best Coldwave bands on the scene. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Yakima-Jera-100087092104610/
06. Battle Scream - ‘Spiegelbild’ (Electrogoth, Gothic Electro, Electro-Metal | Germany, Scanner)
The German project BATTLE SCREAM was formed in the first half of the 00s and has 6 full-length albums to its discography, performed in the genre of neue deutsche härte with its recognizable sound. On the seventh album, the first released on the famous label Scanner, the Germans took a step away from the guitar sound of NDH to a more electronic one. On the album called ‘Spiegelbild’ the project creates Electrogoth with Gothic Electro and guitar riffs. It turned out to be quite original, fresh and hitty. However, the hit-making skills of BATTLE SCREAM is not new. Their previous works were full of hits and the new one is not exception. Cool sound with interesting and original material. It is nice, that the project is developing in this direction and not in the direction of mainstream Rock as many their NDH colleagues do. The album surprised. If the project continues to experiment with genres like this, the future albums of BATTLE SCREAM can easily hit the top Synth scene, Post-Industrial, or even Industrial. Great job. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BattleScream
05. Ductape - ‘Echo Drama’ (Postpunk | Türkiye, Swiss Dark Nights)
The Turkish duo DUCTAPE was formed in 2019 and from the first releases in 2020 it became obvious that DUCTAPE would make some noise and become loved by the audience. The debut full-length album was released in 2022 and the second work was called ‘Echo Drama’ and was released in 2024 on the Swiss label Swiss Dark Nights. If the debut album was more guitar-based with admixtures of electronic styles, ‘Echo Drama’ has already become mostly electronic. Melancholic Synth-Goth with bleak Coldwave with periodic elements of Postpunk is mesmerizing. The album is partly with English-lyrics, and partly is performed in Turkish, which is no longer a novelty in Gothic music, but still each Turkish-language release attracts attention primarily with its exoticism. DUCTAPE’s creativity attracts not only with its exoticism, but also with its quality, unique atmosphere and excellent female vocals. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ductapeofficial
04. SPC ECO - ‘How Did We Get Here?’ (Dreampop, Trip-Hop | UK, Self-Released)
The British duo SPC ECO was formed in 2007 and from the first recordings it became obvious that this project would become a new benchmark in the Dreampop genre. The project has more than ten full-length albums in its discography, not including remixes and many EPs and singles as well as collaborations with other musicians mainly from the indie scene. The new album is called ‘How Did We Get Here?’ and is made in the genre of airy Dreampop with elements of Trip Hop. Rose’s angelic vocals and the atmospheric sound sketches of composer Dean create music with an ideal structure and a unique atmosphere. An excellent album from one of the leading projects in the Dreampop genre as an example of the smart combinatiom of indie music with a Gothic atmosphere. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SPCECO2
03. Kalte Nacht - ‘Urge’ (Synth-Goth | Greece, Cold Transmission Music)
KALTE NACHT is a Greek Electronic Gothic music project formed in 2017 by Nikos Konstantinidis. In 2018 a voice actress and singer Myrto Stylou joined the project. The duo released their debut album in 2020 on a local Greek indie label. The second full-length work is called ‘Urge’ and was released on the known format label Cold Transmission Music. The project attracted attention at the beginning of its music way, but did not reach the top due to the presence of more powerful releases those years, but the second album of KALTE NACHT itself has already become a powerful release. In addition to the great musical component based on the Synth-Goth genre, Myrto fully applied her acting voice skills. Very emotional vocals combined with a cold electronic music sound perfect. The Synth-Goth genre is actually an electronic derivative of Gothic Rock, so on the new album KALTE NACHT made Synth-Goth not only as Electronic Gothic Rock, but also as Electronic Postpunk and Deathrock. A wonderful album. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KalteNachtDuo
02. Varg I Veum - ‘Varg I Veum’ (Synth-Goth, Darkwave | Italy, Swiss Dark Nights)
The Italian duo VARG I VEUM was created by former HAPAX member Michele, who was joined by Alessandra. The debut self-titled album was released in 2024 on the famous Swiss Dark Nights label. The album features eight compositions in a combination of Synth-Goth and Darkwave. The compositions are periodically flavoured with a slight touch of Coldwave. Deep male vocals combined with beautiful high female vocals in viscous compositions turned into more rhythmic ones make this album unique in sound with a recognizable style. Firstly, I wanted to write that the music on the album can be roughly characterized as DIARY OF DREAMS and L’ÂME IMMORTELLE meets ABU NEIN, but this would be far-fetched, because the album is much more diverse than comparisons with other projects. The description may seem dry and formal, but in reality, the album evokes real feelings and is one of the best in 2024 not only for the Gothic Electronic music, but also in the dark scene in general. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093373720232
01. Twin Tribes - ‘Pendulum’ (Synth-Goth, Postpunk, Coldwave | USA, Beso De Muerte Records)
Luis Navarro and Joel Niño from Texas created the TWIN TRIBES project in 2017. Previously, the musicians were involved in the Alternative Indie project IDEOPHONIC. The debut work of TWIN TRIBES was out in 2018 on their own and the second album was already released on the known label Negative Gain Productions. ‘Pendulum’ has already become the fourth album in the discography. Musically the duo creates high-quality Synth-Goth with elements of Coldwave and Postpunk with emotional male vocals. A very powerful work of the Americans, where each composition is a hit, which entered many tops of different publications as the best not only in the gothic music scene, but also indie. Very high-quality, varied music permeated with emotions. Without a doubt the best album of Gothic Electronics of 2024. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwinTribes
Other honorable mentions: 36,1912, ABU NEIN, BELLA LUNE, CHIFFON MAGNIFIQUE, COLD CONTRAST, DE LA MORTE, ERROR ENTER EXIT, MELMOTH, PHANTOM SEQUENCE, SUFFER RING, TANKS AND TEARS, THE KVB, THE WITCH’S FORGE