10. Simulation Heat by Midnightout
Album Art: ?

9. Lovers Lake by Lovers Lake
Album Art: Nibera Visuals
@nibera_visuals

8. Virtual Vega by Evertt
Album Art: The Real Theory
@the_real_theory

7. Earthwalker by Clyde Shelton
Album Art: Clyde Shelton
@clydeshelton._

6. Vector Feels by Pastel Graphics
Album Art: Andrew Walker
@designsince86

5. Ident by Baldocaster
Album Art: Brouemaster Visual Decay
@brouemastervisualdecay

4. Pressure Point by Eagle Eyed Tiger
Album Art: Eagle Eyed Tiger
@eagleeyedtiger

3. AKUMA 3 by ALEX & TOKYO ROSE
Album Art: HVNTER
@hvnt.ter

2. Deuce by OSC
Album Art: OSC
@opusscience

1. Driven to Madness by DANCE WITH THE DEAD
Album Art: Marc Schoenbach
Sadist Art Designs

It’s been two long years since Midnight Danger released his screaming full length debut album “Malignant Force.”  Since then, Midnight Danger has fine-tuned his sound like a creature of the night sharpens its fangs. His latest release, “Chapter 2: Endless Nightmare” is an intense journey back from the abyss with dark driving synth bass lines, beefy riffs, and fantastic production. Featuring a slew of hellish synth metal and darksynth, Midnight Danger is be perfect for fans of Dance With The Dead, Volkor X, or Elay Arson.

“Malignant Force,” Midnight Danger’s first album, definitely had its roots in traditional outrun and synthwave, as well as a blend of 80s rock. You can hear it in the bpm and synth tempos, the fantastic melodies utilizing higher pitched synths, the crooning 80s hair metal references, and the retro stab percussion effects (there’s a perfect example at 2:22 in ‘Adrenaline Burst.’)

Of course, layered in with that were minor key synth lines and darksynth inspired heavy bass lines too. So, because of its foundation, “Malignant Force” always felt like a blend of synthwave and outrun with darksynth instead of being full-on pedal to the metal graveyard at midnight darksynth. It was an exploration of the young teenage girl that gets murdered in the first act – not the the sigil covered Necronomicon surrounded by corpese in the third.

A New Deviant Direction

This is where “Chapter 2: Endless Nightmare” changes things up, improving on an already radical sound. This album is a BEAST with intensity turned up to 11 and the darkness factor cranked up too. It punches out some fantastically catchy and fierce tracks left and right. Even though there are still retro influences and synthwave tracks, the  this album definitely falls more in the darksynth category than outrun. The production has been polished, and Midnight Danger’s sound swells with a new cinematic quality too.

The style of the synth metal on Midnight Danger’s “Chapter 2: Endless Nightmare,” has even changed a bit too – from hair metal and 80s glam to Iron Maiden esque heavy metal, taking the guitar influences to the darkside of the grave. (Even the album art looks a little like Eddie the Head!)

Altogether, this second offering from Midnight Danger really shows an artist refining their craft. All of the outstanding elements from the first album are here, but infused with a new sense of wicked ferocity and determination – just like a corpse, rising from the dead, hell bent on revenge.

Grab a listen here!

10. Robert Parker – End of The Night

Robert Parker never ceases to amaze. This expert blend of nudisco and synthpop hits all the right spots, creating a memorable and cinematic experience that we are sure not to forget anytime soon!

9. Dance with the Dead – Loved to Death

 Dance With The Dead’s most driven, intense album yet – “Loved to Death” is an instant classic. Pealing iconic synths and chugging baselines underscore this album’s immense feat of production.

8. Timecop 1983 Night Drive

This melancholic masterpiece perfectly embodies the aesthetic of driving long, twisting roads at night. A return to form, “Night Drive” is yet another expertly produced album from the one and only Timecop1983.

7. Waveshaper – Lost Shapes

“Lost Shapes” is a collection of B-Sides from Waveshaper. Chock full of early music, ideas for video games, film scores, demos, and more – this fantastic album acts like a time capsule of waveshaper’s unique sound, and it’s fascinating to hear it evolve in real time.

6. ORAX – Tearwave

ORAX tears into the darkwave scene, elevating the dreary genre with his powerful “Tearwave.” Delivering forward thinking melodies, intense sonic textures, and upgraded vocals – this album is truly a moment of progress and expansion.

5. DJ Ten – Trinity

Filling a niche desperately lacking in the synthwave scene, DJ Ten has returned with an intense blend of retro and hip-hop, resulting in some of the most interesting beats we’ve heard all year. This synthesized trip hop breakbeat vaportrap is innovative and perfectly produced.

4. Sung – Fahrenheit

The first full length album from Sung, “Fahrenheit” is simply a modern achievement in synthwave. A true tour de force. Bravo!

3. GUNSHIP – Dark All Day

This much awaited second album from GUNSHIP, “Dark All Day” is a beautiful synthpop experience of from start to finish. Incorporating darksynth aesthetics, GUNSHIP continues to grow.

2. W O L F C L U B – Infinity

W O L F C L U B’s “Infinity” signals a true return to form – really, we have not been able to stop listening to “Tears” all year! A standout example of the New Retro Wave sound.

1. The Midnight – Kids

“Kids” stands above the rest this year – not simply as a musical work, but more importantly as a much needed social commentary. Cutting directly to the heart of what makes nostalgia such a powerful emotion, this album is a lyrical masterpiece.

Honorable Mention –  Sferro – Sferrare (2008​-​2018)

Whether you know it or not – Sferro is likely one of the reasons you listen to synthwave right now. An early adopter of the sound, Sferro was a pioneer, a beautiful producer, and founder of Girlfriend Records. This year he ceased making his wonderful music.

To commemorate his career, Sferrare (2008​-​2018) has been released, featuring rare and unreleased tracks from throughout his career.

Cold air from entrance door bites at the back of my neck and soon dissipates as I ascend a short staircase to the main floor of the “Big Room Bar.” The brewery-district venue has a partnership with the local alternative station, CD102.5, but it’s the first time I’ve attended a show here. The “Big Room Bar” is, in fact, deceptively big – but that’s hard to discern with so many bodies packed in so tight. The show hasn’t yet begun, and already the main room is nearing at least 75% capacity.

The attendance is a great surprise for a Wednesday night synth-metal show. Ohio is often overlooked by artists on tour and I’m pleased to see the number of fans here showing their support. One lone bartender furiously works the bar – the poor bastard – it’s clear that not even the venue was expecting such a turnout.

Of course, they’ve never dealt with Dance With The Dead or Daniel Deluxe.

I meet with the tour manager and step into the green room to meet Justin and Tony of DWTD and Daniel of Daniel Deluxe. Their mood is very relaxed as they sip on a few beers, readying for the show. Tony looks up, guitar in hand, and introduces himself. While we chat he continues to practice almost subconsciously – not unlike Skwisgaar from Metalocalypse. I begin our small interview before the show.

How has the tour has been so far?

“It’s been awesome man – it’s been great. We’re at the halfway point right now,” says Tony. Justin nods and pipes up, “I feel like our tours always go by pretty fast.”

Tony relates that it’s Daniels first time to the states. I ask him how he’s liked it so far and he gives it a good to mixed review.

“So far,” Daniel says with a laugh, “the most surprising thing was how cheap our sodas are!”

So, you’ve been touring a new album, “Loved to Death,” How do you feel about the reception of the new album?

“It’s the most energetic records we’ve put out and written, one of the hardest. We’re really proud of it. Sometimes we can pump out songs pretty fast, but with this one we took our time and dissected every part of the song until we got what we thought was perfection. We’re stoked on it, we’re touring for it – and so far we’ve had great feedback!”

“Loved to Death” is one of your most intense albums so far – how was your production different between this album and your previous?

“We put in a lot of time for this record. We wanted to make sure the record slammed into fifth gear and took the listener on a journey.”

Do you plan on getting heavier over time? What’s next in the Dance with the Dead sound?

“We’re not sure yet… but we’re always exploring for new inspiration so we shall see!”

The synthwave and darksynth scenes have been steadily growing over the past few years – do you think the genres are getting to big for their own boots, or do you think it still has room to grow?

“I think there’s still room to grow and it should be interesting to see where it’s at in the next year or so.”

How has the tour been so far? What are you favorite highlights or conversely, some of the more difficult moments?

“Tour has been great so far. Some of the highlights are playing places we’ve never been to and meeting and making new fans. Difficulty’s would be dealing with Van and trailer issues. Those are never fun…”

(After the show) How did you like the Columbus crowd?

“We didn’t know what to expect since it was our first time but the crowd and energy was great! Looking forward to coming back.”

I notice Daniel has exited behind me to start the show, so I thank them for their time and make my exit to take some photos.

Daniel Deluxe puts on one hell of a show. He mixes his tracks together in a deft manner – subtly changing the tracks to amazing effect. His darksynth sound is deep and raw enough to get even the metal heads in the audience head banging.

Too soon, his set is over – and Dance With The Dead takes the stage. As they do so some curtains are lifted, revealing two massive skulls that blast neon green light into the audience. The crowd rushes forward and soon it becomes difficult to get photos with the erratic mix of head banging and dancing going on. They absolutely tear up their sound – hitting every note with an expert flourish. Often they switch between keyboard and guitar.

I had specifically chosen not to listen to their new album beforehand, and I’m greatly surprised by the evolution of their sound into heavier, darker territory. Vocal stabs from horror movies punctuate the end of tracks, and as soon as it began the show is over. The audience screams for an encore before they’ve left the stage – and they return quickly with three full final tracks.

This tour is certainly not one to miss – grab your ticket for one of their last remaining shows if you haven’t already!
Click Here to see their remaining tour dates!

A club that is ethereal, church-like. Bad memories. Meeting the noise and a stranger, become confused to which is which in the darkness. Conjured from the cauldron of imagination to realisation, a confused state, conscious, just, speech slurred, eyes crossed against one another. A room of bad complexions and cheap smelling perfume.

Dance With The Dead take you on a journey through mutilated guitar riffs, pounding hard rocks drums, eerie spine tingling synths.

At times the soundtrack to an 80’s horror movie, as if scored for the entire catalogue of Stephen king’s work with a hair-rock aesthetic.

Grinding menacing arpegiators, always pushing you on-wards work both with and against the slick guitar licks to create a dangerous and unique dynamic. A sound that creates a constant rising friction, but rather than estrange it excites, drawing you deeper and deeper into their sound.

Be warned, the possible side effects from listening to this album are (minor complications) including double or blurred vision (for a few days), burning, stinging, ear drums, disorientation, euphoric tension,  and pounding agitated restless heartbeat.

Hear the album right here:

Future Holotape

Street Cleaner

Protector 101

Syntax

The devilish duo Dance With The Dead are being resurrected back into the spotlight with the release of “B-Sides: Volume 1.” Although this album is comprised of various unreleased and compilation tracks, it is quickly shaping up to be a truly fiendish fan favorite.  

On a twitter post, the Orange County based producers simply promoted the album as “Tons of music that never made it onto our records!” However, “B-Sides” is transcending it’s own title. B-sides are usually known for content not good enough to make the A-side cut, but here we have a collection of excellent tracks blended expertly together to form a cohesive whole – something not usually seen in a collection of unreleased material. Were talking grade A premium zombie killing music folks!

In spite of the album’s cohesiveness, the mix of songs still leans towards eclectic. “B-Sides: Volume 1” ranges from tracks comprised of an odd mix of power and speed metal (sans the big hair) to the more familiar mix of diabolic, always surprisingly danceable synthwave. 

“B-Sides: Volume 1” feels like it’s melodies were ripped straight from the head spinning original Exorcist and piped through a duo of synthesizer and electric guitar. Tracks like this would be just as fit as the soundtrack to Castlevania as to a dancefloor – an odd combination where it’s easy to miss the mark, and Dance With The Dead nails it. The crisp production on this album will have metalheads and darksynth fans rising from their graves to rave together.

The standout tracks on this album seem to be “Banshee,” “Entity,” “Blood Moon,” “Venom,” “The Man Who Made A Monster” and of course the bangin’ climax at the end of “The Awakening.” That’s over a third of the album that are must-listens for any fans of darkwave. With tracks like this hiding in the attic, we can only wonder with excitement whats coming next from Dance With The Dead!