Alien Vampires - Harshlizer

Alien Vampires have never been particularly interested in subtlety. Originally released in 2010, Harshlizer is a relentless collision of distorted electronics, pounding EBM rhythms, and the duo's trademark fascination with the darker extremes of industrial music. Now receiving its first-ever vinyl pressing, the album returns as part of Alfa Matrix's 25th anniversary celebrations.

Formed in Italy by Nysrok Infernalien and Nightstalker, Alien Vampires emerged from the harsher end of the European electro-industrial underground, combining the mechanical aggression of classic EBM with the abrasive intensity of aggrotech, distorted vocals, and deliberately provocative imagery. Their music draws from industrial's confrontational traditions while maintaining the relentless rhythmic momentum of underground electronic dance music.

Harshlizer marked an important turning point for the project, establishing its relationship with Belgian industrial label Alfa Matrix. Following earlier releases that had already earned the duo a following within the dark electro scene, the album pushed their sound further into punishing electronic territory, balancing aggressive programming with an unmistakable sense of theatrical excess.

Opening track “No Way Back” sets the tone before “Evil Bloody Music” and “She's On Drugs (More Than Me)” plunge deeper into the album's abrasive electronic assault. The title track, “Harshlizer,” reinforces the project's uncompromising aesthetic, where distortion, aggression, and club-oriented rhythms become virtually inseparable.

One of the record's defining moments is “See You In Hell,” a collaboration with Suicide Commando, the influential Belgian dark electro project led by Johan Van Roy. Bringing together two of the scene's most recognizable names, the track embodies the particularly aggressive strain of European industrial music that flourished throughout the 2000s.

The second side continues with “Lies,” “Control The Universe,” and “Nothing To Lose,” before “Far Away” and “Her Blood Into My Veins” complete the album's ten-track sequence. Throughout, Alien Vampires maintain their distinctive balance of abrasive electronic production, distorted vocals, and driving rhythms.

Although closely associated with the aggrotech movement, Alien Vampires have always drawn from a broader industrial vocabulary, incorporating elements of dark electro, harsh EBM, and extreme electronic music. Harshlizer captures those influences at a pivotal point in the duo's development, when their sound was becoming increasingly recognizable within the European underground.

This special Alfa Matrix Essentials edition marks the album's first appearance on vinyl, strictly limited to just 300 copies worldwide. Featuring newly adapted artwork specifically designed for the LP format, the pressing presents ten tracks from the original album across two sides. Alfa Matrix has confirmed that no repress is planned.

More than fifteen years after its original release, Harshlizer remains a particularly uncompromising document of the era when European dark electro was pushing its aggression to new extremes.

Unapologetically abrasive, relentlessly rhythmic, and steeped in industrial darkness, Harshlizer is a welcome vinyl debut for one of Alien Vampires' defining early albums.