Industrial, darkwave and coldwave are worth exploring and have decades worth of releases. Try Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Assemblage 23, Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb.
For modern stuff try Gesaffelstein, Lorn, Forest Swords, Tim Hecker, The Bug, Burial.
Does chonky brutal count as dark? I wouldn’t consider ministry dark sonically.
But either way hell yeah ministry. Also KMFDM, revolting cocks, 1000 homo DJs, and I’d assume NiN goes without saying
Great list, I’m also gonna throw in Hunting Lodge, Ramleh, and Gas (specifically their Zauberbeg record).
The first two artists are strictly Power Electronics, but Gas is more ambient. But very ominous/demented sounds between the three of them lol
I remember your post from the other day about weirdest sounding electronic music, and I'm loving these posts. I'm actually finding some stuff I never heard of from people's recommendations and I've been listening to weird, dark and electronic music for like 30+ years.
And I'm curious if you checked out those tracks from Plaid I linked for you and what you thought of them. Plaid is honestly kind of light and melodic, but super weird and different.
For darker stuff I also second a lot of the recommendations in this thread, especially Lorn, Andy Stott, Burial and many others.
Check out:
[Lorn - Acid Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxg4C365LbQ)
[Lorn - Anvil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqaAs_3azSs)
You might also be interested in dark experimental music from artists/groups like Coil, Nurse With Wound, Halfer Trio, Psychic TV and Throbbing Gristle which can be about as dark and weird as music gets. ( Throbbing Gristle basically invented post-punk Industrial music and basically inspired and kicked off like 40+ years of experimental/industrial music. )
These bands are not pop music or easy listening or easy to get into. They're super weird, dissonant and complex. And Coil and Nurse With Wound in particular have inspired something like hundreds of bands that did use some of their sounds and techniques in more accessible or easier music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_(band)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_with_Wound
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throbbing_Gristle
And about this:
> Does this album even come close to the darkest electronic album, or is this just child's play?
That album is pretty dark, but... music isn't really a competition or contest. There's no end boss. There's some really pop-friendly country music classics that are just as dark as super bleak goth/industrial music due to the lyrics, if you actually pay attention to them. Or even folk tunes. Like check out The Bangles cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter" and it sounds super upbeat and high energy but it's actually really bleak and dark and about the passage of time and regrets.
And some of Coil's songs and tracks are actually really silly and playful even while being dark and weird.
Also, I skimmed over your post/comment history and I wanted to say that you seem like you are exactly the kind of gentle, thoughtful weirdo that would fit right in to the experimental music scene.
The experimental music scene is REALLY small, incredibly friendly and has about the least amount of posturing and "fakeness" of any music scene I've ever experienced because they (we?) are all a bunch of introspective nerds and weirdos that ask big questions about life that are often left unanswered.
You may appreciate this old German word: Weltschmerz. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltschmerz )
> Weltschmerz (German: [ˈvɛltʃmɛɐ̯ts] ⓘ; literally "world-pain") is a literary concept describing the feeling experienced by an individual who believes that reality can never satisfy the expectations of the mind,[1][2] resulting in "a mood of weariness or sadness about life arising from the acute awareness of evil and suffering".
Thank you so much for your comment. Could we DM and talk? It would be cool to have someone accompany me in my music journey. I love talking to people about this sort of thing, but nobody's into experimental music that is around me,
Nice. I actually have the VHS that has the original OVA that the video is taken from. "Neo Tokyo (1987)" [pretty shit dub] but goddamn, you can't find that shit online anywhere. *( https://archive.org/details/neo-tokyo-dvd-phantom you can watch it in Japanese language with what appears to be thai subtitles via the Internet archive.)
Appreciate the suggestion, had missed the "rarities" release by Lorn
Now that you mentioned it I’d like your opinion on [Weltschmerz](https://open.spotify.com/track/5dV8v9sGqh0qt4eGdoJzKg?si=cIs4taQ2SYiyZ0c1qvlY6g&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Awelt) by Klangkuenstler
Now that you mentioned it I’d like your opinion on [Weltschmerz](https://open.spotify.com/track/5dV8v9sGqh0qt4eGdoJzKg?si=cIs4taQ2SYiyZ0c1qvlY6g&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Awelt) by Klangkuenstler
Seconding Tricky (I like [Maxinquaye](https://open.spotify.com/album/7qlZpMib7D0riFPQ5JHDT8?si=7HvvEPF8TYuuvI5C9Ii9qA)) and Gunship! Adding Carpenter Brut as well! His album [Leather Teeth](https://open.spotify.com/album/7fy6Wpnn5NZllJzUXDeDpS?si=xDRLSbncS4qCNIsttE0aJA)is a concept album written as the soundtrack for a non-existent horror film.
Here’s a few that I find to be exceptionally dark;
Filmmaker - The Love Market
Ital Tek - Outland
Lorn - The Maze to Nowhere
S U R V I V E - Mnq026
Tim Hecker - No Highs
Drone - Dance with the Devil
Alix Perez & Headland - Hellion
Shades - In Praise of Darkness / Black Heart Communion / Better to Reign in Hell than Serve in Heaven
Tsuruda - Rip
Actress - Hazyville
Shlohmo - Dark Red
Clams Casino - Instrumental Relics
Pye Corner Audio - Hollow Earth
Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete
Clark - Death Peak
Forest Swords - Bolted
Distance - My Demons
Burial - Self Titled
> Tim Hecker - No Highs
A friend played this for me on a drive telling me about how good it was and I misunderstood who it was by and thought, wow this guy is crazy talented, makes a fucked up comedy TV show and makes fucked up music?
I'll let y'all put my mistake together yourself so you can laugh.
Always surprised [Blanck Mass](https://youtu.be/QXRJ3V7kFL4?si=pg5wKphvwbJHaT4E) doesn’t get mentioned more in these threads. Some of his stuff is just pure evil.
bobby krlic is great at making atmospheric/dark music - 'excavation' under his haxan cloak moniker is amazing, as well as the soundtrack to 'midsommar'
gassed: https://youtu.be/EaRmow1Dpjg?feature=shared
And of course don't forget their latest album to date Tomorrows Harvest, which mainly deals with themes of post-apocalyptic societal collapse, environmental decay, climate change etc.
There is a certain style of turn of the millennium dnb that’s just insanely dark. May I suggest
[Technical Itch- the rising](https://youtu.be/ISIPeZ3GxOE?si=VczKCoMDrJnxIKoF)
[Submerged- Servant](https://youtu.be/mDR1prJZiNY?si=jK3iaxaabmSQpzOi)
[Faith in Chaos- Possession](https://youtu.be/ThP2ovL2QG4?si=m5TLQxVUvkTPKyJA)
[Dom & Roland - Imagination](https://youtu.be/YAhkmTE-NFs?si=cDfs86bhjczDiMjQ)
Incredible album but far from the darkest.
Have a look at Lorn, Haxan Cloak, Andy Stott for starters. You may class Burial as dark although there's a lot of humanity in it (sounds cheesy but listen and you may agree). Vex'd 'Degenerate' is dark and abrasive. One of the members of Vex'd, Roly Porter does incredibly intense soundtrack-ish music which sort of veers into dark ambient.
Aphex Twin Druqs maybe could be what you're after, but that is a mixture of ambient and drill'n'bass (incredible). If you like the drill'n'bass stuff look at Venetian Snares (start at Detrimentalist).
There uncountable dark ambient artists like Alphaxone, Hilyard, Protou, Dronny Darko (if you like that stuff check out Cryo Chamber label).
Also Fuck Buttons, Blanck Mass, Demdike Stare, Distance, Clark. There are loads.
You may be interested in dark ambient, someone already mentioned Haxan Cloak. Listen to anything by Lustmord, or the record company Cryo Chamber.
Lustmord
[https://lustmord.bandcamp.com/?from=search&search\_item\_id=3870099023&search\_item\_type=b&search\_match\_part=%3F&search\_page\_id=3436534279&search\_page\_no=1&search\_rank=1&search\_sig=8e5e32446068aecdb470cc868d73c749](https://lustmord.bandcamp.com/?from=search&search_item_id=3870099023&search_item_type=b&search_match_part=%3F&search_page_id=3436534279&search_page_no=1&search_rank=1&search_sig=8e5e32446068aecdb470cc868d73c749)
Cryo Chamber
[https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/](https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/)
For dark music, I would say dark psytrance or german EBM. Some Gabber and hardstyle could be kinda dark too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAvrEjSgk-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_HuZFjjWdU
Gotta throw in the "terror" EBM greats as well:
Psyclon Nine, Terrorfakt, Tactical Sekt, old Combichrist, wumpscut, Statiqbloom
iVardensphere is great and relatively approachable too.
I was always looking for darkest shit i can find, i know most of already mentioned stuff, and my journey into depths ends with:
Current Value - Mothman
The Outside Agency, Current Value - They\`re Human
Influx - Cancerous Plague and other minatory artists
The M.S.P. - Loss of Consciousness, Modern Blasphemy speedcore mixed with ambient, see youtube videos for those tracks [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhb02i8UhDU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhb02i8UhDU)
Those are extreme, brutal dancy/bass music, for a bit more normal listenings with full albums i would recommend:
The Haxan Cloak mentioned many times before
Biosphere, Deathprod - Nordheim Transformed not super dark, but weird, ominous. lovely vibe
The Body - I Shall Die Here not purely electronic, but very noisy, produced by Haxan Cloak btw
Techno:
SNTS - N5
Eomac - Spoock (Lucy remix)
OAKE - Paysage Depayse
APHOTIC - Thalassophobia
Also
Aphex Twin - White Blur 2
Scorn
If a gloomy post-industrial dub suits you, then start with albums Evanescence / Ellipsis / Gyral.
(In fact, I don't know what post-industrial means, it just fit here).
*Silver Rain Fe-e-e-eel!*
This is a great thread, and it's interesting how people's ideas of what constitutes darkness in music vary.
Lorn and Shades are up there for me, musically, although I find their aesthetics a little too "hey look how dark I am, aren't you scared?". A bit try-hard. But whatever, the music is great. I've watched [this Shades live video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-Yv3FELm80) so many times.
Both Alix Perez and Eprom's solo work are great. Eprom's album last year felt like someone who has completely mastered their craft and knows exactly what they want to do with it.
I saw Lorn opening for Amon Tobin on the ISAM tour and I hadn't heard of him before and it really blew me away, then at the afterparty he was DJing and played some great stuff including my favourite D&B track, Can't Punish Me by Dom & Roland. I chatted to him afterwards and it's his favourite D&B track too, so I'll always have a soft spot for Lorn.
Listen to the artist Arca
Specifically listen to her 2015-2017 run of the albums Xen, Mutant, and Arca. "Arca" is an album where she sings over almost every track and it is an interesting departure from her (at the time) more idm-inspired instrumental stuff she was known for.
If you only listen to a couple tracks to get a taste, I would suggest "Wound" from Xen, "Vanity" from Mutant, and "Urchin" from Arca (one of the only tracks she doesn't sing on for that album lol).
Not quite what you asked for, but if you’re new to electronic music and are interested in the weirder/darker side, definitely check out Boards of Canada. They’ve nailed this weird, nostalgic, occasionally sinister vibe. Like a 1970s stranger danger video came to life and started recording an album. Music has the right to children is a good place to start. In a beautiful place out in the country EP too, especially the eponymous track and Amo Bishop Roden.
I’ll also put another vote in for Tim Hecker. Harmony in Ultraviolet is probably my favourite album, but The Ravedeath 1972 has some of the most unsettling / oh god the world is about to end tracks: namely the piano drop and studio suicide 1980.
Depends what you mean by “dark” sonically dark like deep noises and foreboding atmospheres? Or would like hellish metal-adjecent noisy stuff fit the bill?
I’ve got to recommend Atari Teenage Riot - Live at Brixton Academy. Then take a look at some reviews at Brutal Resonance. For example: https://www.brutalresonance.com/review/sleepless-droids-i-and-ii/
[Psycore](https://youtu.be/r8CTk95BI3I?si=0Sgorv3w6PZI5s0Q) for the faster end of dark. Hard to find psycore that sounds as good as that song IMO. [Dark psytrance](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0fazFsW7B2tokkCHvH7yOc?si=rbJlxDmdQ1-ZNS4dQlvKEg) on the slower end is similar. [Hi-tech psytrance](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5p4ywjX7TaQ8oNRNVIWWTk?si=lYXmF05XQ_WwPdG8HdZbwA) ranges from very dark to fully melodic. [Insector](https://kamino-records.bandcamp.com/track/garden-of-redemption) and Alien Chaos are good examples of the darker hi-tech sound.
Frozen Niagra falls by prurient is probably the darkest album ives listened to although it is definitely on the extreme side, incorporating elements of dark ambient and harsh noise, as well as being on the longer side at around an hour and a half long. If you like more experimental stuff then it's a 10/10 album but it's a difficult one to recommend
ISDN by The Future Sound Of London sounds darker to me than Dead Cities. For something a bit more ambient I would recommend the collaboration between Biosphere and Deathprod on the " Nordheim Transformed" album.
Not so much DARK dark but falling decidedly into the category David Allen Grier once called "spooky ecstacy music" is MARBS:
https://m.soundcloud.com/ditklingtjut/introduction-158-marbs
Everything released by the Desert Hearts crew is amazing, but you're looking specifically for Desert Hearts Black
And in the opposite direction, check out Perterbator. I enjoy his New Model EP in particular:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ngY3r_43MmmgGLAedeAOhDCxGweKR0NNs&si=ph6K0kE8khV0RnBK
Check out Ultimae records. There are some lighter records, if you want to get straight to the darkest depths, check out:
- AES Dana - literally any album, but Inks is a good starting point or his colab with Miktek (Far & Off)
- Scann-tec - Unyt
Juno Reactor - Shango has a very dark and futuristic sound for many of the tracks on the album, most notably Hulelam, Insects, Badimo, and Nitrogen parts I and II
Should be some good stuff in here:
["dark electronic" search results in r/sixthworldmusic](https://old.reddit.com/r/sixthworldmusic/search/?q=dark+electronic&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=top)
Amazing recs in this thread.
Please also check out Boards of Canada. A ton of gorgeous, dark music (Geogaddi and Tomorrow’s Harvest in particular). They also have a solid amount of more uplifting stuff (The Campfire Headphase) for palate cleansers.
For something dark & eclectic, try Wendy Carlos' ["Tales of Heaven & Hell"](https://www.wendycarlos.com/+thh.html), specifically the track "Clockwork Black"
Check out darkstep drum and bass.
Classics I listened to back in the day: Limewax, SPL, EVOL Intent etc.
Check this out: https://youtu.be/qO1HsalLM0A?si=_kZAXtdXwFfxWbGS
Underworld dubnobasswithmyheadman is something you should check out.
Also, bit different, more soundscape-y, but check out the work of Ben Frost, composer of Dark series soundtrack
You all should try Violet Cold - Noir Kid (instrumental), or the vocal one if you are used to growl. It is melodic synthesized death metal. Important with the right album Noir Kid, since it is a big difference on quality and feel of it contra the other one's.
I like this one esp track 2! [https://lofiuppercut.bandcamp.com/album/living-proof-altdark-electronic](https://lofiuppercut.bandcamp.com/album/living-proof-altdark-electronic)
Industrial, darkwave and coldwave are worth exploring and have decades worth of releases. Try Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Assemblage 23, Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb. For modern stuff try Gesaffelstein, Lorn, Forest Swords, Tim Hecker, The Bug, Burial.
👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻MINISTRY 👈🏼👈🏼👈🏼
Does chonky brutal count as dark? I wouldn’t consider ministry dark sonically. But either way hell yeah ministry. Also KMFDM, revolting cocks, 1000 homo DJs, and I’d assume NiN goes without saying
The NIN Quake soundtrack is excellent, and so is the Mick Gordon Doom soundtrack.
Don't forget Every Day Is Halloween. Even if Al Jorgensen would like you to.
Start at the very beginning. ✌🏿
Skinny Puppy’s Last Rites is an audio nightmare.
I would add Ampos by Dark Sector and Coil, "Horse Rotorvator" specifically.
Great list, I’m also gonna throw in Hunting Lodge, Ramleh, and Gas (specifically their Zauberbeg record). The first two artists are strictly Power Electronics, but Gas is more ambient. But very ominous/demented sounds between the three of them lol
Yeah I'm wondering if OP is ready to go that dark 👀👀 😂. Throw in some Navicon Torture Technologies, Genocide Organ, Aub, Pharmakon...
Hunting Lodge? From Detroit?
whoa. you just brought back my middle school/high school years in a big way.
All of this and no mention of Thobbing Gristle. Industrial OGs - https://youtu.be/IZAIrbonUcA?si=AvT23Kjmfl9itmAF
Skeng is pure darknest
[Terra Glitch’s “You Will Be Replaced”](https://open.spotify.com/album/6nFPTepALhEOb3gDHpMhJW?si=uc3sBrINRQOXu-nQcYk-yg)
I’d also throw in Das Ich, Suicide Commando and Moris Blak as well
Awesome lists there! Let’s not forget Modeselektor. In fact most German Electronica has a dark side to it…
I remember your post from the other day about weirdest sounding electronic music, and I'm loving these posts. I'm actually finding some stuff I never heard of from people's recommendations and I've been listening to weird, dark and electronic music for like 30+ years. And I'm curious if you checked out those tracks from Plaid I linked for you and what you thought of them. Plaid is honestly kind of light and melodic, but super weird and different. For darker stuff I also second a lot of the recommendations in this thread, especially Lorn, Andy Stott, Burial and many others. Check out: [Lorn - Acid Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxg4C365LbQ) [Lorn - Anvil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqaAs_3azSs) You might also be interested in dark experimental music from artists/groups like Coil, Nurse With Wound, Halfer Trio, Psychic TV and Throbbing Gristle which can be about as dark and weird as music gets. ( Throbbing Gristle basically invented post-punk Industrial music and basically inspired and kicked off like 40+ years of experimental/industrial music. ) These bands are not pop music or easy listening or easy to get into. They're super weird, dissonant and complex. And Coil and Nurse With Wound in particular have inspired something like hundreds of bands that did use some of their sounds and techniques in more accessible or easier music. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_(band) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_with_Wound https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throbbing_Gristle And about this: > Does this album even come close to the darkest electronic album, or is this just child's play? That album is pretty dark, but... music isn't really a competition or contest. There's no end boss. There's some really pop-friendly country music classics that are just as dark as super bleak goth/industrial music due to the lyrics, if you actually pay attention to them. Or even folk tunes. Like check out The Bangles cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter" and it sounds super upbeat and high energy but it's actually really bleak and dark and about the passage of time and regrets. And some of Coil's songs and tracks are actually really silly and playful even while being dark and weird. Also, I skimmed over your post/comment history and I wanted to say that you seem like you are exactly the kind of gentle, thoughtful weirdo that would fit right in to the experimental music scene. The experimental music scene is REALLY small, incredibly friendly and has about the least amount of posturing and "fakeness" of any music scene I've ever experienced because they (we?) are all a bunch of introspective nerds and weirdos that ask big questions about life that are often left unanswered. You may appreciate this old German word: Weltschmerz. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltschmerz ) > Weltschmerz (German: [ˈvɛltʃmɛɐ̯ts] ⓘ; literally "world-pain") is a literary concept describing the feeling experienced by an individual who believes that reality can never satisfy the expectations of the mind,[1][2] resulting in "a mood of weariness or sadness about life arising from the acute awareness of evil and suffering".
Thank you so much for your comment. Could we DM and talk? It would be cool to have someone accompany me in my music journey. I love talking to people about this sort of thing, but nobody's into experimental music that is around me,
Sure, go for it. Just be warned I'm old and tired and may not reply right away.
But I can't, because it won't let me. You can DM me if you want.
Lorn Acid Rain is so evocative, I've tried to listen to his albums and found nothing else by him that gives such a feeling. Any suggestions?
Sega Sunset, with or w/out the racing music video
Nice. I actually have the VHS that has the original OVA that the video is taken from. "Neo Tokyo (1987)" [pretty shit dub] but goddamn, you can't find that shit online anywhere. *( https://archive.org/details/neo-tokyo-dvd-phantom you can watch it in Japanese language with what appears to be thai subtitles via the Internet archive.) Appreciate the suggestion, had missed the "rarities" release by Lorn
Now that you mentioned it I’d like your opinion on [Weltschmerz](https://open.spotify.com/track/5dV8v9sGqh0qt4eGdoJzKg?si=cIs4taQ2SYiyZ0c1qvlY6g&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Awelt) by Klangkuenstler
Now that you mentioned it I’d like your opinion on [Weltschmerz](https://open.spotify.com/track/5dV8v9sGqh0qt4eGdoJzKg?si=cIs4taQ2SYiyZ0c1qvlY6g&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Awelt) by Klangkuenstler
Shades. https://youtu.be/QmSDSMmjaHA?si=FdKD7G8PWC5XiM1B
came here to say this. from a vein is the perfect dark album
They get better and better and I don't know how haha
Because it’s Alix Perez and EPROM, that’s how hahah
Tricky - Pre-Millenium Tension or his whole catalog. Gunship as well and all 3 of their albums.
Seconding Tricky (I like [Maxinquaye](https://open.spotify.com/album/7qlZpMib7D0riFPQ5JHDT8?si=7HvvEPF8TYuuvI5C9Ii9qA)) and Gunship! Adding Carpenter Brut as well! His album [Leather Teeth](https://open.spotify.com/album/7fy6Wpnn5NZllJzUXDeDpS?si=xDRLSbncS4qCNIsttE0aJA)is a concept album written as the soundtrack for a non-existent horror film.
Speedy J- A shocking hobby, a dark industrial classic. Pye Corner Audio- The black mill tapes.
Here’s a few that I find to be exceptionally dark; Filmmaker - The Love Market Ital Tek - Outland Lorn - The Maze to Nowhere S U R V I V E - Mnq026 Tim Hecker - No Highs Drone - Dance with the Devil Alix Perez & Headland - Hellion Shades - In Praise of Darkness / Black Heart Communion / Better to Reign in Hell than Serve in Heaven Tsuruda - Rip Actress - Hazyville Shlohmo - Dark Red Clams Casino - Instrumental Relics Pye Corner Audio - Hollow Earth Oneohtrix Point Never - Garden of Delete Clark - Death Peak Forest Swords - Bolted Distance - My Demons Burial - Self Titled
> Tim Hecker - No Highs A friend played this for me on a drive telling me about how good it was and I misunderstood who it was by and thought, wow this guy is crazy talented, makes a fucked up comedy TV show and makes fucked up music? I'll let y'all put my mistake together yourself so you can laugh.
Headland is the goat https://youtu.be/PneXA61jK3I?si=ORTKnnkAAUr9ZRfW
Lustmord comes to mind
Always surprised [Blanck Mass](https://youtu.be/QXRJ3V7kFL4?si=pg5wKphvwbJHaT4E) doesn’t get mentioned more in these threads. Some of his stuff is just pure evil.
Amen to that https://youtu.be/Afymin3h1mI?si=v1sBBov-NARl7CDG
Excavation by The Haxan Cloak.
I went a bit white off K listening to ''the drop'. The noose as the pic didn't help.
bobby krlic is great at making atmospheric/dark music - 'excavation' under his haxan cloak moniker is amazing, as well as the soundtrack to 'midsommar' gassed: https://youtu.be/EaRmow1Dpjg?feature=shared
Geogaddi by Boards of Canada is a burner
And of course don't forget their latest album to date Tomorrows Harvest, which mainly deals with themes of post-apocalyptic societal collapse, environmental decay, climate change etc.
Christoph De Babylon. If you're into it I'm out of it.
Amazing and incredibly dark. "My Confession" has to be one of the best tracks there
There is a certain style of turn of the millennium dnb that’s just insanely dark. May I suggest [Technical Itch- the rising](https://youtu.be/ISIPeZ3GxOE?si=VczKCoMDrJnxIKoF) [Submerged- Servant](https://youtu.be/mDR1prJZiNY?si=jK3iaxaabmSQpzOi) [Faith in Chaos- Possession](https://youtu.be/ThP2ovL2QG4?si=m5TLQxVUvkTPKyJA) [Dom & Roland - Imagination](https://youtu.be/YAhkmTE-NFs?si=cDfs86bhjczDiMjQ)
_The Ape of Naples_ by Coil, _Bloodsport_ by Sneaker Pimps, _Metanoia_ by IAMX (anything by IAMX, really), _Lushlife_ by Bowery Electric.
Incredible album but far from the darkest. Have a look at Lorn, Haxan Cloak, Andy Stott for starters. You may class Burial as dark although there's a lot of humanity in it (sounds cheesy but listen and you may agree). Vex'd 'Degenerate' is dark and abrasive. One of the members of Vex'd, Roly Porter does incredibly intense soundtrack-ish music which sort of veers into dark ambient. Aphex Twin Druqs maybe could be what you're after, but that is a mixture of ambient and drill'n'bass (incredible). If you like the drill'n'bass stuff look at Venetian Snares (start at Detrimentalist). There uncountable dark ambient artists like Alphaxone, Hilyard, Protou, Dronny Darko (if you like that stuff check out Cryo Chamber label). Also Fuck Buttons, Blanck Mass, Demdike Stare, Distance, Clark. There are loads.
ANDY STOTT Also Demdike Stare.
Perturbator - Dangerous Days
You may be interested in dark ambient, someone already mentioned Haxan Cloak. Listen to anything by Lustmord, or the record company Cryo Chamber. Lustmord [https://lustmord.bandcamp.com/?from=search&search\_item\_id=3870099023&search\_item\_type=b&search\_match\_part=%3F&search\_page\_id=3436534279&search\_page\_no=1&search\_rank=1&search\_sig=8e5e32446068aecdb470cc868d73c749](https://lustmord.bandcamp.com/?from=search&search_item_id=3870099023&search_item_type=b&search_match_part=%3F&search_page_id=3436534279&search_page_no=1&search_rank=1&search_sig=8e5e32446068aecdb470cc868d73c749) Cryo Chamber [https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/](https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/)
For dark music, I would say dark psytrance or german EBM. Some Gabber and hardstyle could be kinda dark too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAvrEjSgk-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_HuZFjjWdU
Gotta throw in the "terror" EBM greats as well: Psyclon Nine, Terrorfakt, Tactical Sekt, old Combichrist, wumpscut, Statiqbloom iVardensphere is great and relatively approachable too.
Necropsyco
tomorrow's harvest
Try Andy Stott. So dark. So bangin.
Came here to say this Mmmmmmm so good
I was always looking for darkest shit i can find, i know most of already mentioned stuff, and my journey into depths ends with: Current Value - Mothman The Outside Agency, Current Value - They\`re Human Influx - Cancerous Plague and other minatory artists The M.S.P. - Loss of Consciousness, Modern Blasphemy speedcore mixed with ambient, see youtube videos for those tracks [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhb02i8UhDU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhb02i8UhDU) Those are extreme, brutal dancy/bass music, for a bit more normal listenings with full albums i would recommend: The Haxan Cloak mentioned many times before Biosphere, Deathprod - Nordheim Transformed not super dark, but weird, ominous. lovely vibe The Body - I Shall Die Here not purely electronic, but very noisy, produced by Haxan Cloak btw Techno: SNTS - N5 Eomac - Spoock (Lucy remix) OAKE - Paysage Depayse APHOTIC - Thalassophobia Also Aphex Twin - White Blur 2
Could I DM you? Would be cool to have someone along with me and my musical journey.
Sure, go ahead, but i think i found a bit of peace in my life But i still enjoy dark arts
Scorn If a gloomy post-industrial dub suits you, then start with albums Evanescence / Ellipsis / Gyral. (In fact, I don't know what post-industrial means, it just fit here). *Silver Rain Fe-e-e-eel!*
Oh yeah. Super Mantis is pretty good too!
This is a great thread, and it's interesting how people's ideas of what constitutes darkness in music vary. Lorn and Shades are up there for me, musically, although I find their aesthetics a little too "hey look how dark I am, aren't you scared?". A bit try-hard. But whatever, the music is great. I've watched [this Shades live video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-Yv3FELm80) so many times. Both Alix Perez and Eprom's solo work are great. Eprom's album last year felt like someone who has completely mastered their craft and knows exactly what they want to do with it. I saw Lorn opening for Amon Tobin on the ISAM tour and I hadn't heard of him before and it really blew me away, then at the afterparty he was DJing and played some great stuff including my favourite D&B track, Can't Punish Me by Dom & Roland. I chatted to him afterwards and it's his favourite D&B track too, so I'll always have a soft spot for Lorn.
By The Throat By Ben Frost
Maurizio Bianchi - Fetish Pinksha Throbbing Gristle - Hamburger Lady Those are very dark
you probably know this but immunity by jon hopkins has some pretty dark tracks
Listen to the artist Arca Specifically listen to her 2015-2017 run of the albums Xen, Mutant, and Arca. "Arca" is an album where she sings over almost every track and it is an interesting departure from her (at the time) more idm-inspired instrumental stuff she was known for. If you only listen to a couple tracks to get a taste, I would suggest "Wound" from Xen, "Vanity" from Mutant, and "Urchin" from Arca (one of the only tracks she doesn't sing on for that album lol).
Not quite what you asked for, but if you’re new to electronic music and are interested in the weirder/darker side, definitely check out Boards of Canada. They’ve nailed this weird, nostalgic, occasionally sinister vibe. Like a 1970s stranger danger video came to life and started recording an album. Music has the right to children is a good place to start. In a beautiful place out in the country EP too, especially the eponymous track and Amo Bishop Roden. I’ll also put another vote in for Tim Hecker. Harmony in Ultraviolet is probably my favourite album, but The Ravedeath 1972 has some of the most unsettling / oh god the world is about to end tracks: namely the piano drop and studio suicide 1980.
My Life with The Thrill Kill Kult, Lords of Acid.
Salem - Trapdoor https://youtu.be/8GVl4vduI8A?si=NEuVC765lIf-pNRG Salem - Sick https://youtu.be/qnh4M2BL6c8?si=vgIW2sUNFeghy9k0 Barnacle Boi - Gossip https://youtu.be/iloHedqCYKw?si=iZf9BkyBHoD0iLeQ
Suicide Commando is some of the darker material that i like.
Depends what you mean by “dark” sonically dark like deep noises and foreboding atmospheres? Or would like hellish metal-adjecent noisy stuff fit the bill?
Both
Coil, Psychic TV, Molchat Doma
There's Coil, Death In June, Haxan Cloak...
Ask the Dust by Lorn.
Youth Code Spit Mask Lana Del Rabies OAKE — Auferstehung Haus Arafna Xiu Xiu Deutsch Nepal Belief Defect Pact Infernal These Hidden Hands
Listen to JVY+Y3’s “Petrichor” trilogy of e.p.’s
The Caretaker’s “everywhere at the end of time.” Set aside 6 hours for the listening experience, and another hour to just lie in a fetal position.
you may better delve into industrial. start with Buried Dreams by Clock DVA and see where it goes from there
I’ve got to recommend Atari Teenage Riot - Live at Brixton Academy. Then take a look at some reviews at Brutal Resonance. For example: https://www.brutalresonance.com/review/sleepless-droids-i-and-ii/
[Psycore](https://youtu.be/r8CTk95BI3I?si=0Sgorv3w6PZI5s0Q) for the faster end of dark. Hard to find psycore that sounds as good as that song IMO. [Dark psytrance](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0fazFsW7B2tokkCHvH7yOc?si=rbJlxDmdQ1-ZNS4dQlvKEg) on the slower end is similar. [Hi-tech psytrance](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5p4ywjX7TaQ8oNRNVIWWTk?si=lYXmF05XQ_WwPdG8HdZbwA) ranges from very dark to fully melodic. [Insector](https://kamino-records.bandcamp.com/track/garden-of-redemption) and Alien Chaos are good examples of the darker hi-tech sound.
Don’t forget slambient!
Post-2000 Squaremeter is very dark and brooding.
winter is coming - vitalic lobby - the killiminjaro darkjazz ensemble
Check out the label "deep dark and dangerous". Anyone who's released on that label is dark AF.
The Stranger - Watching Dead Empires In Decay Puce Mary - The Drought
Frozen Niagra falls by prurient is probably the darkest album ives listened to although it is definitely on the extreme side, incorporating elements of dark ambient and harsh noise, as well as being on the longer side at around an hour and a half long. If you like more experimental stuff then it's a 10/10 album but it's a difficult one to recommend
Vatican shadow
From my personal preference POV check out Clement Meyer.
Dj Tron might be what you’re looking if you want dark electronic music.
Heavy Water Factory & Hanzel und Gretyl
ISDN by The Future Sound Of London sounds darker to me than Dead Cities. For something a bit more ambient I would recommend the collaboration between Biosphere and Deathprod on the " Nordheim Transformed" album.
Interesting. I just listened to that album today because it was recommended to me. I'm not sure which one is darker. I can't really tell.
The first 6 Delerium albums,88-91.
Not so much DARK dark but falling decidedly into the category David Allen Grier once called "spooky ecstacy music" is MARBS: https://m.soundcloud.com/ditklingtjut/introduction-158-marbs Everything released by the Desert Hearts crew is amazing, but you're looking specifically for Desert Hearts Black
And in the opposite direction, check out Perterbator. I enjoy his New Model EP in particular: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ngY3r_43MmmgGLAedeAOhDCxGweKR0NNs&si=ph6K0kE8khV0RnBK
Svdden Death - Voyd II
Current value. Have a blast
Haus Arafna - Today You Died
Check out Ultimae records. There are some lighter records, if you want to get straight to the darkest depths, check out: - AES Dana - literally any album, but Inks is a good starting point or his colab with Miktek (Far & Off) - Scann-tec - Unyt
Can you give me links to some of these?
- [AES Dana - Inks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmfW9qfWHVQ&list=OLAK5uy_kbd979Xcx-n21qCYgInfzKNukncUBhEUQ) - [AES Dana feat. Miktek - Far & Off](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CigsLws1tdA&list=PLRpXl5QdzSqW2TlHz_EOOEUmwokCtjqxw) - [Scann-tec - Unyt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS4aN_MsKMo&list=PLRpXl5QdzSqXiDn4ur2p3XtwYihzwmsYS)
Svdden Death, Marauda, Muerte, Hol! Are some of my favs
Juno Reactor - Shango has a very dark and futuristic sound for many of the tracks on the album, most notably Hulelam, Insects, Badimo, and Nitrogen parts I and II
Should be some good stuff in here: ["dark electronic" search results in r/sixthworldmusic](https://old.reddit.com/r/sixthworldmusic/search/?q=dark+electronic&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=top)
DEad CIties is a classic. Not many like it.
She Past Away and Boy Harsher are two that first come to mind.
Amazing recs in this thread. Please also check out Boards of Canada. A ton of gorgeous, dark music (Geogaddi and Tomorrow’s Harvest in particular). They also have a solid amount of more uplifting stuff (The Campfire Headphase) for palate cleansers.
Celine by Madeon is an incredibly dark EP and completely different from the rest of his discography
For something dark & eclectic, try Wendy Carlos' ["Tales of Heaven & Hell"](https://www.wendycarlos.com/+thh.html), specifically the track "Clockwork Black"
Check out darkstep drum and bass. Classics I listened to back in the day: Limewax, SPL, EVOL Intent etc. Check this out: https://youtu.be/qO1HsalLM0A?si=_kZAXtdXwFfxWbGS
Mezzanine by Massive Attack, the Einhander soundtrack, and the Shadows EP by Floating Points come to mind. Gesaffelstein, Justice’s Cross as well
Rezz has some sick dark dubstep if you’re into bass music.
Slambient and psycore. Start with Cindervomit’s Endless Knot sets and go from there.
Underworld dubnobasswithmyheadman is something you should check out. Also, bit different, more soundscape-y, but check out the work of Ben Frost, composer of Dark series soundtrack
Go find Tripomatic Fairytales v2. By Jam and Spoon. Love thqt album. So moody and dark. Same era as FSOL
burial - untrue ...
Time by mr. Kitty
Try Polar Inertia and Ancient Methods!
You all should try Violet Cold - Noir Kid (instrumental), or the vocal one if you are used to growl. It is melodic synthesized death metal. Important with the right album Noir Kid, since it is a big difference on quality and feel of it contra the other one's.
I like this one esp track 2! [https://lofiuppercut.bandcamp.com/album/living-proof-altdark-electronic](https://lofiuppercut.bandcamp.com/album/living-proof-altdark-electronic)