A striking pair of electro-industrial and EBM debuts are the focus of this week's podcast, as we turn our attention to Necro Facility's The Black Paintings and NTRSN's People Like Gods. How bands adhere to and break from their formative influences is always something we're interested in, and we have two very different approaches to that issue at hand. All that in addition to the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of Love's Secret Domain anniversary reissues on the latest episode of We Have A Technical.

After going ham with some rather abrasive rants on last week's episode, we're taking the backseat this week and welcoming on some Patreon backers who are keen to talk about records from a bands ranging from Russian synthpop (Stereopolina) to German darkwave (Diary Of Dreams) to American synthpunk (Six Finger Satellite) to Swedish neo-classical (Sanctum)!

This month's Patreon supported commentary podcast is dedicated to the infinitely varied and strikingly confident expression of high goth prowess that is Faith And The Muse's third LP. On Evidence Of Heaven William Faith and Monica Richards stride through history, love, and metaphysics, and marshal ethereal, neo-classical, deathrock, and many more sounds to a proudly flown standard. Ancient spirits, vengeful phantoms, and fuccbois sliding into the Queen's DMs are among the various topics grandiose and sundry the Senior Staff consider as they work their way through this classic goth stormer. Y

Do not adjust your podcasting device - We Have A Technical has not been replaced by that sports radio station you hear annoying ads for. We are, however, coming into our 350th episode guns a'blazing, with each of us picking five hot takes regarding the state and legacy of the music we love and discuss. No quarter given, none asked for. What legacy bands do we actually find rather dull? Which younger acts would we rather see in the spotlight than some less deserving bands? You'll hear all of that plus some discussion of new music from The Horrors and Alan Vega, and initial thoughts on the new Coil remaster.

Our two albums format finds us talking about retro dark electro and the outer limits of technoid in this week's episode of We Have A Technical. The last record from Necrotek has us discussing the slow emergence of consciously-throwback dark electro, as well as the atmospheric charms of that genre overall. Next, one-off side project Ammo's foray into drum and bass raises all sorts of questions concerning the rapid evolution of powernoise, and at what point breakcore completely diverges from anything pertaining to industrial. As if all of that genre splicing wasn't enough, we're also revisiting the legacy of minimal synth pioneer Absolute Body Control on the heels of some new tunes from them.

From the perspective of your co-workers who really wish you'd turn your headphones down, industrial music seems as far removed from pop as is possible. But that ain't the whole truth! This week's episode finds the Senior Staff discussing the role pop has played in shaping the sound and delivery of industrial music, as well as contemporary artists who are borrowing more liberally from pop traditions. We've also got some talk about forthcoming releases we're hyped for, in addition to Negative Gain Productions' cool new digital magazine.

Deep genre records from Z Prochek and Manuskript have Alex and Bruce talking about the odd intersections of sounds and styles only possible at particular periods in industrial and goth history. The tragic passing of Sophie and the recent allegations made against Marilyn Manson are also discussed.

The Senior Staff are discussing a modern EBM classic in Spark!'s Hela Din Värld in this month's Patreon-supported commentary podcast! In 2012 Mattias Ziessow and Stefan Brorsson added ambitious pop instrumentation and melody to their established anhalt EBM template, and produced one of the most enjoyable records it's been our pleasure to write about and discuss on I Die: You Die. We're discussing themes of conspiracy and humanism, breaking down the percussive structures which propel the record, and even working in some Nabokov and Mega Man!

The Pick Five format returns, with Alex and Bruce each highlighting some behind the scenes folks. Be they engineers, writers, label heads, or DJs, there are countless people who've helped to shape the music and culture we discuss who aren't as front-facing as the musicians themselves. We're discussing them, plus some Neubauten business on this week's episode of We Have A Technical.

The classic two albums format brings discussion of Minuit Machine's Violent Rains - an early example of the current wave of European darkwave we're continuing to enjoy - and Moskwa TV's Dynamics & Discipline - less an LP than a field testing of mid-80s electronic dancefloor sounds from Talla 2XLC & co. All that plus playing catch-up with the latest batch of (conflicting?) Coil reissues in this week's episode of We Have A Technical.