In the four years that have gone by, something cold, alien and deadly has been frantically cutting through the fabric of reality.

As the night grows ever darker a brutal, systematic rhythm can be heard coming from a distance.
A sound of metallic heels colliding against black basalt stones, the hissing of a blade gleaming wildly through the shadows, a low, regular rumble that amplifies the vast darkness that surrounds us.

Carpenter Brut – Blood Machines
(The only reason this isn’t #1 is because it technically isn’t a music video, and it’s currently not available to stream. Check out the website here to see it when it becomes publicly available!)

Jack Stauber – Baby Hotline

Confrontational – Happy Children

Korine – Elegance & You

Top 10 Retrowave Music Videos of 2019

10. Deadlife – Nothing Left But Pills

9. Morgan Willis – Lets Go Together

8. Futurecop! – We Belong (feat. Parallels)

7. Starcadian – Freak night

6. Glowline – Glow with Me

5. Carpenter Brut – Leather Teeth

4. Com Truise – Ultrafiche of You

3. Alex & Tokyo Rose – Affliction

2. Ollie Wride – Back to Life

1. Michael Oakley – Left Behind

After rotting in the crypt for another year, CONFRONTATIONAL, aka Massimo Usai, is back with a delightfully devilish new album, “The Burning Dawn.” We at New Retro Wave have covered CONFRONTATIONAL’s earlier releases, and I’m pleased to state that like a cask of blistering bourbon or a fine, blood-red wine – Usai’s work only seems to get better as time shuffles by.

“The Burning Dawn” is Sardinia-based Usai’s junior full release – the third in his triptych that began with “A Dance of Shadows” and continued with “Kingdom of Night.” The conceptual trilogy tells a story of
“…unrequited love, dealing with loss of identity, loss of innocence, temptation and lust.” Sonically, this trilogy feels like a coming-of-age story, with the CONFRONTATIONAL sound also becoming more
refined and immersive with each additional offering.

“The Burning Dawn” distills Usai’s vision even further – the darkness is still there, but it’s draped in stronger retro and nostalgic influences that better encapsulates CONFRONTATIONAL’s particular blend of darkwave. There is an essence of longing that bleeds through the tracks unlike the other albums. While Usai’s earlier works have been very well crafted, “The Burning Dawn” is now cleaner – expertly produced and mixed, allowing more subtle nuances to flavor the tracks.

With the CONFRONTATIONAL sound at its zenith, (For now!) one can really hear the full range of influences from early Joy Division and New Order, Sisters Of Mercy and, of course, John Carptenter -who’s son, Cody Carpenter has been vividly involved in the making of the past three albums. You can also hear the influences of Usai’s early work with metal bands and, of course, the myriad of other fantastic artists featured on the album such as – Tying Tiffany, Tobias Bernstrup, and Trevor W. Church.

All of these influences flow together perfectly with great vocals, expert synths, and guitars treated as synths to form an amazingly diverse, nostalgic and sinister sound that would be perfectly suited to an epic screenplay – so long as the film took place after dark.

This is the best piece from CONFRONTATIONAL so far – and not one to miss! Top tracks: “Fade Into The Burning Dawn (Feat. Tying Tiffany),” “Under The Killing Sun (Feat. Cody Carpenter),” “Threshold Of Redemption,” and “Together Again.”

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You’d see this and swear you were looking at the poster for one of those classic Italian horror films. I love it.

Confrontational has done it again with a monolithic, spooky album that’s perfect for October. A Dance Of Shadows is heavy and ominous, a set of tracks that will evoke images of both the dance floor and the horror movie screen.

I had the pleasure or reviewing Confrontational’s EP Done With You in February, and I recall being impressed by how nuanced and detailed the sound was. It was like something spun of glass, delicate, heavy yet airy. Confrontational has certainly put the pedal down on the heavy side for this new effort, and I’m doubly impressed this time – blown away in fact. There is a beautiful, darkly comforting weight to this album, along with pleasing proof that the artist has only continued to learn and improve his craft.

The starter track, “Shadowdancing,” plays off the album’s title and is both suitably ominous and alluringly catchy. “Flat/Line” has a catchy vocal line and some great echoing tones that blend well together. It’s a neatly assembled song that still seems very organic, and the stops and starts are cleverly done to keep you listening. The transition to the next track, “Like A Curse,” is smooth and natural. This song also has some dark and emotional lyrics, brooding yet oddly endearing. “One Last Kiss” leads in with vague gong-like sound effects and then flies right out of the gate at you. The instrumentation on this one is a bit more sparse, but it is tastefully and skillfully arranged to the point where it must have been intentional. The excellent addition of some very realistic nylon-guitar-string type instruments flow in about midway to add some thickness. “Script” is another atmosphere builder, dominated by a monologue this time. The message is a bold expansion of the concept Shakespeare promoted with the line “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” in Act II Scene VII of As You Like It. After a few more moments, we are dropped into a morose realm with “Forsaken,” a fantastic instrumental piece and definitely my favorite on the album. The track is another example of a synthwave artist building a piece that could be considered movie music. “Forsaken” could be the title theme to a particularly hopeless and dismal ghost movie. “To Live and Die On The Air” takes its time to build up, but the track is so well timed and orchestrated that you can almost imagine a conductor waving his hands. It is the longest track on the album, and Confrontational takes a lot of that time to play around with some great solos and dynamic changes.  It is a very easy one to get lost in. The pace picks up significantly as the album is rounded off by “You’ll Be Mine.” It is an excellent cap for the album, with yearning and faint menace throughout.

There is a bonus track, available when you purchase the album. I won’t say anything about it except that it is just as good as the other tracks, and just another reason to add this to your collection.

Confrontational (Massimo Usai) certainly has his own style. While no one in retro synthwave can be considered a total island in terms of creativity, he has surely carved out a place for himself by developing a recognizable and enjoyable sound. This album is a great representation of that sound, and I commend Massimo on his efforts. He has not failed to outdo himself. I give A Dance Of Shadows 9 stars out of 10, because it not only shows growth, but also a really polished sense of purpose. Confrontational intends to confront you, and what he will show you may frighten you… but only until you come to love it for the art that it is.

Keep checking back for more chills and thrills this October, RetroMonsters!

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