In the depths of Berlin’s underground raw area, where dark corners pulse with untamed dancefloor energy, Johannes Stabel’s XTR HUMAN unleashes Sledgehammer, a brutal blast of industrial-infused power. Over the last decade, Stabel has prowled the city’s nocturnal corridors, pilfering various sounds and claiming them for his own. Coldwave’s icy chill, the ruthless pulse of EBM, and post-punk’s angular melodies. These influences collide spectacularly here, sharpened and honed into a relentless force built for movement and liberation.
From the first pulverizing beat, Sledgehammer detonates like a supercollider fuses industrial EBM and Techno, with remixes engineered to ignite the town’s warehouses and abandoned factories in an explosive haze of strobes and sweat. Percussive rhythms pound like heavy machinery, metallic textures spark and scrape, and Stabel’s commanding vocals deliver raw German intensity, each syllable slicing the air with calculated aggression.
The accompanying black-and-white DIY video heightens this fevered mood with delightfully absurd visuals starring Eddie Dark. Set in a stark industrial wasteland, the footage captures the slapstick antics of sledgehammer golf played at manic speed, channeling the playful chaos of silent film comedy. This humourous edge brilliantly amplifies the music’s muscular punch.
Sledgehammer is a relentless jolt to the senses, smashing through convention with steely determination. It pulses with urgency, a bold declaration of liberation and defiance, compelling listeners to cast aside caution and surrender to its potent rhythmic assault.
Watch below:
Sledgehammer, featuring remixes by Dancing Plague, Personal Offence, and Kris Baha, drops July 18 via Wie Ein Gott Records.
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