For quite a while now, I’ve been heavily into the band Black Magnet. I absolutely love the way the industrial, punk, metal, and bits of post-punk are put together. The last two albums, Body Prophecy and Megamantra are modern industrial classics. What I have to share with you all today is the first of two new Black Magnet songs. “Room Full Of Hammers” was written as an outlier song during the Megamantra sessions. After working and focusing on a full length, James Hammontree wanted to write in a more free-form way without any lofty goals or in the focus of an album. The end result is bone crushing and pummeling. This song is very loose sounding but full of attitude and bite for days. There’s even a really fun punk energy to this song that feels like it’s straight out of Ministry circa 1988-1991. Make sure to crank your volume up loudly for “Room Full Of Hammers!”
Welcome to 2026 and another fantastic year of Audioeclectica! While 2025 was quite the interesting year for the world, musically it was a solid year of great albums from bands new and older. The amount of new music I heard, the shows I saw, I’m pretty stoked on what 2025 was for music. That being said, 2026 is already shaping up to be a great year for music. Before we start the fun of 26, here’s the results from the 2025 Readers Poll. Thank you to everyone that reposted, shared stories, told friends, and of course voted at the end of the day! Below are the results based on comments left and messages sent.
Cheers To A Wonderful 2026!!
See you all on here or at a show! Brian
And Now The Results Of The 2025 Audioeclectica Readers Poll:
Best Bassist: Sunny Faris- Blackwater Holylight
Best Drummer: Art Quanstrom- The Owling
Best Guitarist: Kal Michael- The Owling
Best Guitar Duo: Mike Repasch-Nieves/Joel Reynolds- SOM
Best Vocalist: Sean Ingram- Idle Heirs
Best Producer: TIE: Josh Barber- Idle Heirs and James Hammontree/Sanford Parker- Black Magnet
Best Album: TIE: Idle Heirs- Life Is Violence and The Owling- You Don’t Bow, You Will Learn
What a great year 2025 has been for music. So many great albums, tours, songs, you name it. And now the time has come for…
The 2025 Audioeclectica End Of The Year Lists begin with the list for Best Producer. As always the stipulation for this is that an Album or EP had to be released in 2025.
Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
01) Josh Barber- Idle Heirs 02) Jade Puget- AFI 03) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross- Nine Inch Nails 04) Sanford Parker and James Hammontree- Black Magnet 05) John Rojas- Machinekit 06) Steve Evetts- Deadguy 07) Jordan Olds- Blood Vulture 08) McKeever and GOSTEFFECTS- Heavy Halo 09) Sonny DiPerri- Blackwater Holylight 10) Pete/Sam Loeffler and Kemble Walters- Chevelle
What a great year 2025 has been for music. So many great albums, tours, songs, you name it. And now the time has come for…
The 2025 Audioeclectica End Of The Year Lists begin with the list for Best Guitar Duo. As always the stipulation for this is that an Album or EP had to be released in 2025.
Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
01) Mike Repasch-Nieves/Joel Reynolds- SOM 02) Cassidy Fleeman/Isabella Broersma- The Anti Groupies 03) Josh Graham/Dan Hawkins- Guiltless 04) Chris Traynor/Gavin Rossdale- Bush 05) Chino Moreno/Stephen Carpenter- Deftones 06) Claudio Sanchez/Travis Stever- Coheed and Cambria 07) Chris Corvino/Keith Huckins- Deadguy 08) James Hammontree/Ryne Bratcher- Black Magnet 09) Patrick Jensen/Ola Englund- The Haunted 10) Jesper Stromblad/Niclas Engelin- The Halo Effect
It’s with great excitement to bring you the second episode of Audioeclectica Interviews with James Hammontree of the very awesome, Black Magnet! Their album Megamantra, is one of 2025’s best albums and is for sure in my top ten of the year. You can check out the review of this great album HERE! Black Magnet is one of the best industrial bands out today! I very much look forward to what’s to come from Black Magnet! Make sure you put them on your radar! Enjoy this very fun conversation and remember to “Listen Eclectically”
Over the last couple of years, Black Magnet has been a band I’ve become quite fond of. Each album has upped the ante of not just creating great industrial music but, has breathed new life into the genre. Which brings me to the album of the week, Black Magnet’s new record, Megamantra. If you are a fan of classic industrial a la Ministry, Godflesh, Broken/Downward era Nine Inch Nails then you will absolutely love Megamantra.
Black Magnet’s Megamantra is an album not for the faint of heart. This album is a hard charging, pummeling piece of work. The dark yet lush dynamics found on this record really captivate the listener. While the subject matter on the album is chock full of heavy and harsh realities, the songs are layered with an anthemic sensibility that packs obscene amounts of energy into each track. The guitars are razor sharp and the riffs hit you like a ton of bricks. The synth work on this album is on par with the likes of Nine Inch Nails and it creates an additional mood that compliments the hard driving riffs and thunderous drums (which are live- thank you Noah!!!). Throughout the 9 songs on the album, you can most definitely sense that this is a “complete album.” The whole album is a standout track. I implore you to listen to this album from start to finish.
James Hammontree, the bands founder, guitarist, and vocalist has put together a lineup for this album that truly explodes upon first listen. Compelling is a great way to describe this record. After listening to this album, one, you’ll more than likely want to start it over, because it’s that good, and two, you’ll really want to go see Black Magnet live. The way these songs flow into one another as well as the very direct approach in writing makes Megamantra one of the best albums of 2025. Black Magnet is a band for now and the future so make sure you connect with this one!
A couple weeks back the very awesome Black Magnet released “Endless,” the first single from their upcoming new album, Megamantra (out July 25 via Federal Prisoner). “Endless” was just the beginning though as Black Magnet have released another song, “Better Than Love.” If you thought “Endless” was a kick to the teeth, “Better Than Love” expands upon their already punishing industrial sound and adds a great left turn to their style that immediately pulls you in and doesn’t let go. I’m quite stoked for this new album. 2025 looks to be a great year for Black Magnet!!
The other day I heard a song that was absolutely pummeling and punishing and it put a giant smile on my face. That song is called “Endless” and it’s by the mighty, Black Magnet. If you aren’t familiar with Black Magnet you should change that. Black Magnet have been a favorite of mine since I heard them a few years back. Their 2022 album Body Prophecy, is an unsung masterpiece and they are one hell of a band. Black Magnet are one of a handful of industrial metal bands that have really put the genre back on the map. This new song “Endless” is as relentless as it is raw. It reminds me of Broken era Nine Inch Nails and Psalm 69 era Ministry. It’s heavy and chock full of electronic goodies to discover with each listen. Black Magnet’s new album, Megamantra, is set for release on Federal Prisoner June 27th, 2025. I know I will be picking this up for damn sure!
Today is Bandcamp Friday (when they wave their fee for 24 hours) and why not showcase some great bands and their albums/singles that are out now! Check out these bands and show them some support! There’s a ton of great bands and albums on this list. Take some time and discover something new! Enjoy! If I missed your band, let me know and I’ll add it to the list!
Today is Bandcamp Friday (when they wave their fee for 24 hours) and why not showcase some great bands and their albums/singles that are out now! Check out these bands and show them some support! If I missed your band, let me know and I’ll add it to the list!
