Blending industrial electronics, dark-pop aesthetics, and metal-infused aggression, “Pump and Dump” thrives on tension. The track examines the psychological cost of surviving within systems that continuously demand more while offering little in return. Blood & Bones and Neon Dark weave their critique through vivid, often disturbing imagery. Boredom, survival, paranoia, and terror are personified as toxic relationships, exposing the unhealthy dependencies that modern life can foster. The striking line, “Survival is my daddy / And I’m his blushing bride,” captures this dynamic with unsettling precision, turning necessity into a form of submission.

One of the song’s most memorable moments comes through the recurring image of “going down in the backseat of a corporate car,” a metaphor that lays bare the degrading bargains hidden beneath promises of success and upward mobility. Meanwhile, the repeated plea of “Pump me up and dump me” serves as a biting commentary on a culture fueled by manufactured hype, temporary validation, and disposability.

In this release, every pulsing synth, industrial beat, and shadowy texture reinforces the song’s themes of control, exploitation, and systemic decay; and as an introduction to Elysium on Empty, “Pump and Dump” establishes Blood & Bones and Neon Dark as artists unafraid to confront uncomfortable truths, and indeed delivering quite a dark and immersive listening experience..

Weaving through an anxious person’s mind, trying to cope with intense thoughts, is what this song sounds like – and I know what that sounds like because this is how it sounds in my head when I’m trying to process thoughts that keep replaying. The sound design reflects that brilliantly. There is no single sound that surprised me or that I haven’t heard before, but the combination is so musical that it creates a genuinely mesmerizing atmosphere, especially when halfway through, there are space rock guitar lines merging seamlessly with the electronic cloud of sound.

The three-phase emotional structure – panic, reflection, recovery – gives the song a shape that you feel before you consciously register it, which is the mark of a well-constructed piece. The influences are honest ones: Neil Young in the guitar work, Pet Shop Boys and Kate Bush in the synths, Beach House in the haze. Bishop absorbed them and made something that sits in that tradition without simply replicating it. Worth revisiting when it drops at the end of May.

Emerging from Greystones in Co. Wicklow, Garrett Anthony Rice shapes his sound with a clear awareness of scale, both sonic and conceptual. “Standing In A Robe” is not interested in subtlety for its own sake; instead, it leans into fullness. The instrumentation arrives dense and deliberate, carrying a kind of gravity that mirrors the song’s thematic ambition. There’s a lineage of British rock embedded in its DNA, but what stands out is how Rice bends that influence toward something more reflective, more questioning.

“Standing In A Robe” holds two narratives that unfold in tandem. One is personal: the quiet disintegration of a relationship, rendered with restraint rather than excess. The other expands outward, confronting a historical pattern, our unsettling tendency to romanticise figures of authority whose legacies are marked by violence. The imagery of the robe becomes central here, not as decoration but as metaphor: a symbol of how power is staged, adorned, and too often absolved.

What’s striking is how these layers don’t compete, they echo one another. The emotional disillusionment of love begins to mirror a broader awakening, where admiration gives way to clarity. In this sense, the song doesn’t just tell a story; it reveals a pattern, one that moves between the intimate and the collective with quiet precision.

The production deepens this effect. There’s a sense of expansiveness in the arrangement, yet nothing feels excessive. Each element: guitars, rhythm section, and the subtle incorporation of gospel textures adds to a growing tension, as though the song is searching for resolution it may never fully reach. That unresolved quality becomes part of its power.

Garrett Anthony Rice uses “Standing In A Robe” to hold up a mirror, one that reflects both personal vulnerability and historical contradiction. It’s a piece that stays in the discomfort of seeing things as they are; and in doing so, “Standing In A Robe” by Garrett Anthony Rice settles not as an answer, but as a quiet, resonant reckoning..

The title track sets the tone with blunt clarity. “Part-time movie star” becomes both aspiration and diagnosis, a self-aware nod to the gig economy of identity in the digital age . The song is buoyant, almost cheeky, but beneath that is a subtle unease. The narrator throws his name around “like a star-shaped boomerang,” suggesting that recognition is less about permanence and more about repetition—visibility as a loop rather than a ladder.

That idea—of selfhood as something performed and re-performed—echoes throughout the album.

Musically, Glitterati operates in a hybrid space that blends polished pop instincts with rock traditionalism and a light electronic sheen. The production is clean but not sterile, allowing ARGYRO’s voice to remain central: slightly detached, occasionally yearning, always aware of its own presentation. There’s a cinematic quality to the arrangements, but it’s less about grandeur and more about framing—each song feels like a carefully composed shot.

“Cool Shades” leans into that aesthetic most effectively. It’s languid and sunlit, with a melodic drift that mirrors its lyrical escapism. The imagery—water, sand, intimacy—suggests retreat, but not necessarily relief. Even in this softer setting, the performance remains intact. The coolness is deliberate, curated. Pleasure here is something to be staged.

That tension sharpens on “She’s So LA,” which treats Los Angeles not just as a place but as an idea: speed, beauty, and distance all at once. The song moves quickly, almost breathlessly, as if trying to keep up with its subject. The woman at its center is less a person than a projection—“a drive-by shot of sunshine”—and the narrator’s pursuit feels less romantic than compulsive. It’s desire filtered through spectacle.

If those songs explore the allure of the image, “The Phenomenon” interrogates its construction. It’s the album’s most overtly declarative moment, full of bravado and self-mythologizing. ARGYRO positions himself as both creator and product, leaning into the language of dominance and visibility. But there’s a hollowness embedded in the performance. The repeated affirmations feel less like confidence and more like maintenance—an identity that requires constant reinforcement to remain intact.

That sense of fragility becomes more explicit in the album’s second half.

“House Upon the Mountainside” is a pivot inward, trading the urban gloss for something quieter and more reflective. The imagery shifts—fog, fire, memory—and with it, the tone. Here, ARGYRO allows space for stillness, for the possibility that meaning might exist outside of performance. It’s one of the few moments on the album that feels unguarded, or at least less mediated.

Similarly, “So One of a Kind” and “Perfect Endings” explore intimacy with a degree of skepticism. These are love songs, but they resist resolution. The recurring metaphors—lightning in a bottle, fleeting encounters—emphasize transience over permanence. Even nostalgia is unstable, something that can be revisited but not reclaimed. The reference points are familiar, but the emotional grounding is deliberately uncertain.

The album closes with “Lifeline,” its most direct and arguably most revealing track. Here, the focus shifts from individual performance to collective experience. The lyrics gesture toward division—“everyone’s tongue is shaped like a knife”—before pivoting to a plea for connection . It’s a notable shift in perspective, one that suggests the limitations of the persona ARGYRO has been inhabiting. The lifeline isn’t just emotional; it’s existential. It’s about finding coherence in a world that feels increasingly fragmented.

What Glitterati ultimately offers is not a critique of fame so much as an immersion in its mechanics. ARGYRO doesn’t stand outside the system he’s describing; he moves within it, documenting its rhythms and contradictions from the inside. The album’s strength lies in that proximity. It understands that the appeal of visibility is inseparable from its instability.

There are moments where the aesthetic cohesion works against it—where the polish becomes predictable, where the emotional distance feels less intentional and more habitual. But even those moments reinforce the album’s central concern: the difficulty of distinguishing between authenticity and performance when both are constantly being negotiated.

In that sense, Glitterati is less about who ARGYRO is than about how he appears—and how that appearance shifts depending on the angle, the light, the audience. It’s an album that doesn’t resolve its questions because it’s not trying to. Instead, it lingers in the ambiguity, allowing the listener to sit with the tension between image and identity.

And in that tension, it finds its most compelling voice.

–John Carmen

Across four tracks, DISCONNECTED_ blends cinematic alt-rock infused with industrial electronics, trip-hop atmosphere, and grungy sonic architecture. The record explores themes of isolation, technology addiction, and anhedonic revelation, trying to move forward in a world that just keeps pushing back.

DISCONNECTED_ is written and performed by DEJA DEAD and produced by RICO — once described by Kerrang! as Glasgow’s “one-man nihilistic sound terrorist” — in a creative collision that left a mark on both the record and the artists themselves.

⇒ Check out our thoughts on “Snapshots” here.

The event will combine storytelling, behind the scenes footage from the recording studio, and the premiere of a neon-drenched techno-horror short film produced alongside the album, which is soundtracked by the music— offering audiences a first-hand introduction to the world behind the new release.

It all begins with “SNAPSHOTS”, a deeply introspective track written during a period of personal upheaval. The song reflects on memory, loss and the moment when clarity begins to emerge from chaos. Lyrically, it captures the feeling of being surrounded by fragments of the past and trying to connect the dots (“Red string forms a timeline/tangled all over my room”) before making the conscious decision to break free and step toward healing (“You won’t take me back there!”).

“To me, SNAPSHOTS is about looking back in order to move forward,” says DEJA
DEAD. “It takes hitting rock bottom, going to that place that’s so dark, so lost… until a new image starts coming through— possibly a way out.”

A distinctive element of the track is its atmospheric introduction, which was recorded on the last remaining cinema organ in Scotland — a rare instrument that adds a haunting, cinematic texture and subtly ties the song to the visual and theatrical themes of the upcoming event.

The Glasgow Film Theatre event will serve as a broad presentation of DEJA DEAD’s evolving artistic world, blending music, film and narrative in a setting designed to mirror the song’s emotional journey.

“SNAPSHOTS” was written and performed by DEJA DEAD and produced by RICO. The single will be available across all platforms later this month.

📍 Glasgow Film Theatre
📅 23 March 2026
🎟 RSVP: https://partiful.com/e/uznc4in98WgaxxhT1bS2?c=2DrY1YSE

• Your musical journey has spanned diverse releases, from the song-oriented No Photographs and Confluence to the more experimental Head Above Tide and now this instrumental series. How has your background as a multi-instrumentalist—proficient in alto sax, soprano clarinet, piano, guitar, and voice—informed the transition to purely instrumental compositions like those in 2. No Wave Gaze?

I composed many of these pieces in tandem to writing songs and I was always interested in compiling mood playlists for them, providing a playlist as a framework for the music. I find any inspiration to create originates from the same source; each project type requires its own skill set. The joy of discovery is the thread that connects everything and it is key, as it often informs the choices I will make artistically. For example, when I started to learn how to arrange for orchestral instruments, I found a love for the saxophone so I purchased a student model to learn how to play it.

• 2. No Wave Gaze draws explicit inspiration from the late 1970s No Wave movement in New York City and early 20th-century Expressionist art. In what ways did these historical influences shape the album’s thematic exploration of dimly lit aural spaces and perceptual challenges?

I was always attracted to the art that exploits subjectivity and focuses on internal experience, which are elements that relate to both historical movements. Expressionism was all about distilling art from an emotional vantagepoint, while No Wave was all about finding one’s voice without the influence of traditional rock aesthetics. To my ears, “Exposure” from Robert Fripp, the guitarist from King Crimson, is the prototypical No Wave album. Its concept, to expose the performers’ raw emotional underbelly, whether it be ugly or pretty, is brought forth by its title. Robert collaborated with many musicians and songwriters within the NYC scene to build the tracks, as well as drew inspiration from the pressures of creating an avant-garde work for a major label. Through this funnel, he found his perception was colored by the oppressive environment upon which he wrote. In one stark example, he created a song using disturbing background noises from his apartment. These included an argument from a couple next door as well as hiss from a floor-to-ceiling steam pipe. The anxiety I feel when hearing that song speaks to what he was internally dealing with. Naturally, the record company shelved the album, and it didn’t see the light of day for several years.

• The album features innovative sound design elements, such as the use of the “Bubbalin”—your homemade electric cello—and aleatoric processes like feeding the Fibonacci sequence into a sine wave oscillator in “Grandfather Clock.” How did these experimental methods contribute to the overall sonic palette of dark ambient and glitch textures?

I was not seeking to associate these instrumentals with any genre, but vice versa; the categorization emerged because of processes I sought-out. For example, the glitchy sounds originated from chance-oriented digital signal processing (DSP), which forced me to relinquish control of the result; akin to a board game by which the dice directs the play. I would often highlight the digital artifacts inadvertently generated, as I found them to be the most fascinating part of the outcome. I found the textures brought together a dark ambience to the listening experience. The “Bubbalin” is name after my brother, as we call each other “Bubba”. Besides it being a term of endearment, the name brings back a memory of building the instrument in my parent’s garage. I took a cheap Fender Stratocaster knock-off, glued a cello-like fingerboard onto the existing fretboard, installed a bass bridge, and replaced the pickups with bass pickups. The playability is mixed, as the finger board is not correctly leveled for good play action. However, I can voice all the notes as touch harmonics, which creates a ghostly timbre. I think it befits the material well.

• Tracks like “Khumbu Icefall” incorporate guttural throat noises in a collage of terror, while “Train Alarm” builds percussion from snapped and spun plastic toys processed through filters. What guided your selection and manipulation of these unconventional sound sources to create the album’s unnerving yet inviting atmospheres?

One of the playful ways of making art is to come up with a set of rules to follow. “Khumbu Icefall” is built from two pieces, each utilizing a rule; the first, to create a full arrangement using one instrument patch bussed through a DSP plug-in and the second, to create a full arrangement with one voice performance. The resulting tracks, “Oceanic Hollow” and “Ice Floe,” both having an aural connection to the water, create a “collage of terror” when joined together. “Train Alarm” was originally developed for a commercial, whereby the producer asked me to use the toy being advertised as the aural focal point. I enjoyed its frenetic energy so much that I decided to include it as well.

• “A Piece of a Sing Along” stands out as the only vocal track, blending original recordings from twenty-five years ago with modern falsetto overdubs to form a mantra-like bridge across time. How does this piece encapsulate the album’s theme of harmonizing past and present creative exploits?

To give you some context, I met a couple of wonderful Luxembourgish chaps who lived out of the same hotel I did after evacuating the Lower Manhattan NYU campus housing due to the 9/11 attacks. We became close over the 2 years we were in school together but after graduation, their visas expired and they had to head back to Europe. My emotions were so fraught after saying goodbye, I was driven to capture my state of mind. Turning on my recorder, I feverishly improvised a rhythm guitar part and vocal. I forgot about this demo for many years and returning to it recently was like finding a nostalgic moment through scent. It was visceral. The demo had enough meat to build a full track, which helped to retain the emotional delivery of my initial performance. I think it’s accurate to call this song a collaboration between the two of me!

• As the second installment in your instrumental series, 2. No Wave Gaze builds on 1. Ambient Corridors by shifting from whispers to a more complex soliloquy. What evolution do you envision for the third entry, which you have indicated will focus on classical pieces and be recorded live?

As I mentioned previously, I see each of the series as a mood playlist that stands on its own. I worked on several video productions over the years through which I composed many classically styled pieces for cues. Pulling those cues together and developing them into full blown pieces gives these compositions a second life. A classical ensemble lives and breathes in a concert setting, so my focus will be to capture their performance in the flesh, so to speak.

• Looking beyond the instrumental series, you have mentioned a new singer/songwriter album in development for release next year, alongside ongoing live performances in New York City venues and with your ensemble. How do these upcoming endeavors align with or diverge from the experimental direction established in 2. No Wave Gaze?

I’m not entirely sure how the next singer/songwriter album will look, but it will delve deeper into my No Wave leanings. I always loved challenging the ear with distinctive idioms as well as finding new ways to express myself. On a separate note, my wife and I drafted a musical using my existing songwriting. I believe having professional actors perform these scenes on video will bring the songs to a brand-new audience, while not alienating the folks who already follow my work.

“Survivalist deliver riffs with purpose, breakdowns with impact, and songs built to translate violently in a live setting.” — Kerrang! Radio

“A band unafraid to push intensity and atmosphere in equal measure — this is modern metal done right.” — New Noise Magazine

Survivalist are a four-piece metal band from Belfast, Ireland, featuring Gavin Sharp (vocals), Nick Butcher (guitars), Lee Shaw (bass), and Rhys Fraser (drums). Shaped by personal struggle, lived experience, and an unfiltered response to the world around them, the band have forged a sound they define as “Groovecore”—a volatile fusion of melody, crushing riffs, groove-driven momentum, and climactic, unrelenting breakdowns, all delivered with raw emotional weight. It’s a style that feels current without chasing trends—confident, grounded, and heavy by design.

Their debut album, ‘VII’ (2021), was widely praised for its intensity, relatable lyricism, and modern-yet-familiar sound, surpassing 100,000 streams and earning critical acclaim across the heavy music press. Highlights included 10/10 from Rock ‘N’ Load Magazine, 8/10 from Powerplay, and 9/10 from Evermetal, with multiple outlets referring to the record as a “masterpiece”.

Since then, Survivalist have gone from strength to strength on the live circuit, sharing stages with Thy Art Is Murder, Chelsea Grin, Polaris, Suffocation, Atreyu, Kublai Khan, Party Cannon, Heriot, and Distant. Their growing profile has also seen them appear on Channel 5 during prime-time television, where they were interviewed by Gaby Roslin and Ortis Deley—a rare crossover moment for a band rooted in extreme music.

‘A Place For Those Who Suffer, Alone’ is a record rooted in isolation, internal conflict, and the pressure of modern existence. Across its runtime, the album explores emotional endurance and psychological fracture, pairing crushing low-end heft with moments of stark melody and tension. The focus track—named after the album itself—‘A Place For Those Who Suffer, Alone’ stands as the project’s defining statement.

To coincide with the album launch, Survivalist will release an official music video for the title track; The video amplifies the track’s intense energy and dark emotional themes, combining striking visuals, cinematic lighting, and visceral performance shots that mirror the song’s groove-driven aggression and climactic breakdowns. Designed to capture both the weight of the music and the personal struggles behind it, the video provides fans with a compelling visual entry point into the world of Survivalist and the album’s thematic core.

The title track captures Survivalist at their most confrontational and disciplined, leaning into dense, metal-focused momentum while pairing muscular low-end weight with sharply cut rhythmic turns and a chorus built for maximum impact. A calculated tension runs throughout—each section escalating with purpose rather than excess—before collapsing into breakdowns that feel engineered, not ornamental. Interrogating power, ego, and self-appointed authority, this piece frames control as both a personal and systemic weapon. It’s a song that thrives on restraint as much as aggression, allowing space for the groove to breathe before striking with force.

Alongside the title track, the album also features the previously released singles ‘Deathbed’ (featuring Alex Koehler — ex-Chelsea Grin / Ameonna), ‘Radio Bleed’, and ‘Failure Of Being’ (featuring producer Josh Sid Robinson), with an additional guest appearance from Kid Bookie. Together, these tracks distil the album’s core themes into direct, unflinching statements—designed to translate just as heavily in a live setting as they do on record.

These releases have received support from Metal Hammer, Kerrang! Radio, Devolution Magazine, New Noise Magazine, and more, collectively surpassing 100,000 streams. This momentum has led to a new booking partnership with Echelon Artists, helping propel Survivalist into their next phase.

With ‘A Place For Those Who Suffer, Alone’, Survivalist stand poised to deliver their most focused, ambitious, and fully realised work to date—and to bring its weight, groove, and intensity to the stage throughout 2026.

“A masterclass in modern heavy music — intense, emotionally charged, and executed with absolute precision.” — Rock ‘N’ Load Magazine (10/10)

“Survivalist balance brutality and melody with confidence, delivering groove-led metal that feels both current and commanding.” — Powerplay Magazine (8/10)

“Crushing, introspective, and unapologetically heavy — a record that proves Survivalist are a band operating far beyond the underground.” — Evermetal (9/10)

“Groove-driven aggression paired with real emotional weight — Survivalist understand exactly how to make heaviness hit harder.” — Devolution Magazine

QUOTE ABOUT THE ALBUM

“We’ve been working on this album for around a year and a half, starting the writing process in 2024 and properly taking it into the studio midway through last year. A lot of the material was rewritten in 2025 as we refined what we wanted the record to be. Artistically, it was important that the album represented all of our influences as we’re not tied to one genre, and that variety comes through across the tracks. While the album feels cohesive as a full body of work, each song still stands on its own. This record taught us a lot about writing, using studio time effectively, and working together as a four-piece, ultimately helping us lock in our sound. We wrapped everything up around August or September and immediately went back into the studio, with several new tracks already finished for an EP planned for 2026.”

QUOTE ABOUT LEAD TRACK

“We chose the title track ‘A Place For Those Who Suffer, Alone’ as the lead single because it’s the most honest snapshot of who we are right now and what this record represents. The album is heavy, dark, and aggressive, but it’s also meant to be a refuge, a place you can turn to no matter what headspace you’re in, whether you need to vent anger, sit with sadness, or just feel understood. This track captures the anguish, stress, and mental weight behind the entire writing process, while setting the tone for the variety across the record. For the video, we stripped things back to a raw playthrough, focusing on isolation and authenticity, showing us exactly as we are without a storyline or distractions. Between the environment, the sound design, and the intensity of the performance, it felt like the strongest and most direct way to introduce this album.”

2. No Wave Gaze functions as an optical illusion for the ears. Vitelli challenges our perception of ‘correctness’ much like a new flavor broadens a gourmet’s palate, delivering a darkly ambient soundscape that is as intellectually stimulating as it is haunting. This is a collage of terror and beauty—a raw, Expressionist exploration of the dimly lit corners of his aural world.

If 1. Ambient Corridors was a whisper, 2. No Wave Gaze is the complex, captivating soliloquy that follows. Merging the raw creative exploits of his formative years with modern technical prowess, Vitelli solidifies his place as an artist unafraid to expand the definition of his own sound.

The next installment of the instrumental series will be focused on classical pieces and will be recorded live. A new singer/songwriter album is in the works for next year.

 

US heavy/hard rock artist Frank Palangi is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his fan-favorite single “Break These Chains”, originally released on August 28, 2015.