Photo by Mae Koo
Bursting forth like sparks from a shattered power line, DILDOX is the brainchild of Sofia Alieninova and Davey Shook, the audacious synth-punk agitators out of Los Angeles. Since 2022, they’ve been jolting the West Coast with their high-voltage brand of electro-industrial mayhem, delivering lyrics that whip between English and Russian and sketching a world in perpetual chaos—where fire and ice are always on a collision course, each force bent on annihilation.
But with their track “Devilish,” it’s evident that DILDOX have chosen their allegiance—the blaze. This song is for those who would strike a deal with the devil himself to thaw a heart gone cold. It speaks to that raw, almost primordial feeling where hatred has frozen the soul, and the promise of flames holds an irresistible allure. Underpinned by a relentless industrial synth beat and vocals that snarl with a feral intensity, calling to mind Alien Sex Fiend, Ministry, and Christian Death, “Devilish” cuts through the icy fog of the coldwave scene like a blowtorch in a blizzard.
The video for “Devilish,” directed by Jane Slater and Glen Jennings, slices through the end of summer with a frosty edge. A haunting troupe of dancers moves like apparitions caught between this world and the next, with Sofia Alieninova commanding the scene as a demonic queen, leading her cast of devils and doomed souls with all the gravitas of a fallen monarch. It’s like Hieronymus Bosch crashing a drag show—twisted, theatrical, and laced with campy, vampy menace. Each frame straddles the line between nightmare and dreamscape, making it a perfect prelude to the eerie embrace of Halloween.
Watch the video for “Devilish” below:
A remix of “Devilish” by MMDA will also feature on the forthcoming EP, Bound To Submit, a work that explores the dystopian future carved out by our current geopolitical and ecological crises, set to the pummeling rhythm of scorched earth gabber beats.
In Bound to Submit, DILDOX delves deep into the primal forces that still drive us, juxtaposed against the tightening grip of modern society. The EP poses a stark question: For all our technological advances, are we any less driven by the same survival instincts as our ancestors? Or are we just navigating an updated version of their savage terrain? It’s a thought-provoking contrast—the more the world changes, the more these age-old urges remain.
Listen to Devilish below and order here.
DILDOX will soon be traipsing across the U.S. on their Irrational Impulse tour with More Ephemerol from September 13th to October 3rd (select shows with Madeline Goldstein) and continuing through the fall on shows with Pixel Grip, Dark Chisme, and Meldamor. Dates and venues are in the poster below.
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