Kælan Mikla - "Undir Köldum Norðurljósum" [2021]

Artist: Kælan Mikla

Title: Undir Köldum Norðurljósum

Genre: Darkwave, Post-Punk

Country: Iceland

Release date: 2021

Track List: 

1. Svört Augu
2. Sólstöður
3. Örlögin
4. Halastjarnan
5. Ósýnileg
6. Sírenur
7. Stormurinn
8. Óskasteinar
9. Hvítir Sandar (feat. Alcest)
10. Saman

Pretty sure that many of my readers already know about Kælan Mikla, since this all-female trio from Iceland is (deservedly) one of the biggest internationally known names among the wave of 2010s post-punk bands, so I'll be brief. While I'm not that much into their earlier stuff (mostly because of the vocals), "Undir Köldum Norðurljósum" is one of the best albums I've heard in the last few years, and it's exactly what I'd expect of a goth/darkwave/coldwave album from Iceland, especially fit for listening during winter time (and especially around the time of winter solstice). My personal favourites are "Sólstöður", "Sírenur", "Stormurinn", and "Óskasteinar".

Shamans From Red Forest - "Дикость" [2025]

Artist: Shamans From Red Forest

Title: Дикость

Genre: Industrial Rock, Breakbeat

Country: Russia

Release date: 2025

Track List: 

1. Дикость
2. Дикость (Industrial mix) 
3. Дикость (Breakbeat mix) 

I decided to check out this Halloween single by a Moscow-based trio, featuring the title track along with two heavier sounding remixes, mostly due to the band name and the cover art, which are both 10/10. My feelings about the music itself, however, are much more mixed: while it's nice to see that industrial rock is still a living genre, something definitely should be done about the vocals... Anyway, if you wish to check it out too, pick your platform.

Ködzid Goo - "Дотла (split w/ Kojoohar)" [2021]

Artist: Ködzid Goo

Title: Дотла (split w/ Kojoohar)

Genre: Industrial Hip-Hop

Country: Russia (Komi)

Release date: 2021

Track List: 

1. Сулема
2. Гарь
3. Плоть
4. Полынь 

Another interesting discovery from Komi, this time it's hip-hop but "for people who don't like hip-hop" (originally, it was said about dälek, but it'd strongly recommend Ködzid Goo to anyone looking for something like dälek but with lyrics in Russian). Not much is known about the project except it's from northern Komi and is inspired by other experimental musicians from that region, including Saraf. The style is described as "real шуштӧм (gloomy) shit", which I think is fairly accurate. Those tracks were released on Ant-Zen as a part of split album w/ Kojoohar (kudos to them for being released on a well-known industrial label):