Schizoid

There’s a good reason we don’t feature a lot of digital hardcore around these parts. That’s because most of it isn’t worth featuring. Dudes, if there was ever a musical revolution that fizzled out like a wet firecracker of disappointment quicker than the one Atari Teenage Riot was supposed to lead into the frenzied future, then I haven’t been paying attention.

One digital noisemaker I can get down with, however, is Toronto’s J. Schizoid. I’ve been following Schiz’s “powerviolent blackened digital hardcore industrial punk” for a long while now. A handful of the top releases from his D-Trash recording stable have impressed me over the years, but it always comes back to malcontent Jay providing the most violent and uncomfortable listen.

We’re on the eve of the release of his umpteenth recording, the album he’s calling his crowning achievement, The Next Extreme. Jay is releasing this self-everything record himself, and got in touch with me, asking to help him out (And why not? If you ever get a chance to check out Schizoid’s press clippings, look who wrote half of them…) as he’s also handling all promo duties himself. The plan was to run an interview, but the YouTube clip below provides all the answers to all the pertinent questions.



So, I decided to leave it at that and ask the man to provide whatever material he felt anyone who might want to check out his project might want to check out. And the floodgates opened…

“I’m also taping a live album. We’ve been gigging side A (tracks 01-08) and just playing that as a set for practice. We’re recording it July 25th 2012 at Nocturne (in Toronto) along with THE FIRST SEED, NWODTLEM and NINJAH FAREYE. We’re basically gonna play the shit out of the material (I have a live “noisician” now, with a bassist joining next month) and do it perfectly. Then, we’ll repeat this cycle with Side B and at the end of the year release The Live Extremes”

“You know that movie American Movie? Have you seen it. For years when I was sitting around on my ass while this album grew fungus on it, I was watching that movie going ‘I’m that fucking yokel, except of instead of wanting to make a movie I’m wanting to make a disc, otherwise just as pathetic.’ To be an artist a musician these days takes a lot of commitment to even try and get an original thought let alone just play video games or eat or do something. Getting this album finished was definitely great as far as seeing an artistic light at the end of the tunnel. Some songs are even about the album itself and mocking the idea of me even voicing these ‘negative ideas’ and writing songs about them like some kind of asshole or something, and about how the songs won’t even end up getting heard anyway. Like being your own worst critic. I don’t know what led me on that rant but that’s kinda where the anger is coming from in this more frustration with myself instead of FUCK The WTO, Fuck the churches, etc that kinda thing. Grimness.”

Then, he sent two promo videos he’s already had done for album tracks:




Furthermore:
“The new SCHIZOID album will have a limited run of 50 cassettes before the digipacks are ready. Very limited. Cassettes include:
-old school style intro/outro leaders
-handcrafted, numbered and autographed to 50 copies
-all tapes duplicated from original masters (not at high speed)
-cassette release only includes razor blade.”
With photos of what they look like.

The album comes out Aug 1st at schizoid.bandcamp.com
The album comes out Sept 1st on Itunes, etc
The album comes out Oct 1st as a physical release on D-Trash Records

http://schizoiddtrash.wordpress.com/store/
- Decibel Magazine

NTR Interviews SCHIZOID!

It's been a long time since the last NTR interview so we wanted to make the first interview on the new blog a special one! With that in mind we decided to turn our attention to somebody who has been a HUGE influence on Night Terror Recordings, both with his label D-TRASH Records and also as the artist / musician known as SCHIZOID. We are of course referring to Jay Schizoid! So without further ado, let the interrogation commence!

NTR : Hi Jay thanks for agreeing to this interview! For those who have been living under a rock for the past decade or so, why don't you tell us a little about who you are and what it is you do?

SCHIZOID : Hi there everyone both above and under rocks. My name is Jay and I play in a project called SCHIZOID. I also am the guy who runs D-TRASH Records. Both are Canadian extreme electronic-music based vehicles. Influences for both are classic ATR/Digital Hardcore Records stuff, Relapse Records/Earache Records industrial death metal, hardcore Rotterdam gabber, and the bands who made up the 1990s industrial metal scene like Monster Voodoo Machine, Mundane, Soulstorm, Malhavoc, et all. With SCHIZOID throw in a bunch of true black metal as well. Both have existed since sometime in 1998 so we're almost at 15 years of releasing great mind-warping musick.

NTR : Almost 15 years? - that's some fucking dedication, that's really fucking inspiring! It's been a hell of a long time since the last SCHIZOID album - is this because of the hectic non-stop schedule of D-TRASH releases or have other factors contributed as well?

SCHIZOID : So many factors really! Ones I have excuses for, others were out of my control. Some of this includes going broke, losing a house, getting a stomach disease, losing a SCHIZOID album due to a fucked up hard drive. All of that and as well keeping up the D-TRASH momentum was hard but well won. A lot of those releases required me to compile remixes or do mastering or do the artwork so I was stretched pretty thin. Plus I was in a full Black Metal band DEAD OF WINTER from 2000-2007, we got signed, put out a disc...But yeah, this is the 3rd SCHIZOID album and totally leaves off after "Enough Is Enough" (99) and "All Things Are Connected" (2000). No covers no remixes no tricks, all 60 minutes of original fucked up! hardcore SCHIZOID material!

NTR : One thing I have always really enjoyed about SCHIZOID releases is the lyrical content / subject matter. What are the lyrics on 'The Next Extreme'...what are you screaming at us about this time around? Is there an overall theme running through this release that connects all the tracks or anything like that?

SCHIZOID : Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy the lyrics to SCHIZOID music. This time, it's more introspective than it is commentary on the outside world like on "All Things Are Connected", more personal topics than worldwide worldviews. It's a lot more about my own struggles, kind of in a vague, every man perspective. There's some comments on our culture of celebrity ("Slaviour Saves"), about the inequality of wealth ("Real Evil") and what not. There's a lot of kind of stream of consciousness lyrics where I'm just trying to describe and articulate some of the most mind conquering imagery and negativity, there is a lot of themes of desperation, frustration, apathy. I've had a lot go wrong personally over the last decade and kind of suffered for my art, so I kind of fortunately/unfortunately have a lot of mental fuel for the fire.

NTR : Wow, sounds like you have been to hell and back since your last release...was the recording of this new album in any way therapeutic then? Or do the fires still rage within?

SCHIZOID : I mean I could get into the specifics, but it'd be just another losers "Woe is me" laundry list. Yes, I have been to my own personal hell and returned from it for this release. It's been therapeutic, but in many ways such an artistic albatross for me to complete that I can't really just yet appreciate the entirety of the project that's been completed. It's like playing live. I *try* to give it my 250% live and scream until I'm breathless, strum so hard I break guitar strings, but in a way, there is no true catharsis. It just feels like I'm talking in a loud voice in a way. I love it, but playing live definitely offers less catharsis than it did
when I was a teenager in bands and needed to blow off some steam. I have so much bottled up hatred, angst, anxiety and stress that I'm starting to lose touch with how to properly exorcise it. "The Next Extreme" is one step in the right direction... but what from there?

NTR : Yeah I fully understand what you are saying, the trials and tribulations of life can do my head in at times too and it's not like the society we live in exactly encourages or rewards people who are coming from a hard /darker edged non-conforming place creatively - quite the opposite in fact!

SCHIZOID : Well that's always kind of been the point of SCHIZOID. Is kind of not necessarily an autobiographical venture, but it's definitely been somewhat useful in trying to determine my viewpoints and objectives on things, whether selfish introspection, or criticisms on my worldview. It's not necessarily the most positive thing at all, but not all art should be beautiful. Art should also be ugly, painful, and despondent. If it's any kind of help explaining it, in one song "Final Descent", I yell "I'm positive that this negative's a positive." Yeah, I realize this isn't wake up and feel great music and it never was meant to be.

NTR : But anyway, let's try and lighten things up and leave that dark corner momentarily!

SCHIZOID : If you want to... I've grown accustomed to my dark corner. LOL.

NTR : How has the reaction to "The Next Extreme" been so far? I've noticed it has been generating a bit of a buzz in the underground, people seem to be excited that you are back! What sort of feedback have you been getting so far? Is there a new generation of SCHIZOID listeners as well as all us old-timers?

SCHIZOID : To be honest, with important releases, especially ones that you self-finance and self-distribute it is a bit hard to guage the interest. Any of my good friends who've heard the disc really really like it and are proud of me for finally getting over this life hurdle. Any one who either remixed a track, or collaborated on a track with me
seems to like it. Digital hardcore black metal noise is a hard sell. I'm aware it's a fringe genre. With all D-Trash releases I've tried to reign in my expectations for fear of disappointment. Not in the reaction to the release, because I stand behind everything I/we release. But I just wanna know that people have heard it. Whether they love it or hate it atleast they've heard it. To the old school SCHIZOID'ers I have played this stuff and it's blown their minds. This was always the type of disc that the doctor ordered. The shift between Enough Is Enough to All Things Are Connected to Covered In Metal to...It's very logical how this disc ended up this way. I'd like to hope that the 'new generation' of kids/music fans who are into metal and extreme electro genres that blossomed over the last 10 years could get into this. I live kind of a solitary life so I don't have a wide wide support network of People lining up to tell me the disc is great. I know that I think that it is and that's all that should matter.

NTR : Call me biased or whatever but I new it was going to be great before I even heard it, hahaha - but then I was privy to that advance DO NOT SHARE copy you sent out a while back, and yeah it IS fucking great, it's fucking relentless in it's brutality! And inspiring too, really fucking inspiring!!

SCHIZOID : Thanks man. I know you know your shit so I'm glad to hear.

NTR : I can't wait to hear the finished product / final mixdown! Which brings me to the all important question : how do we get our hands on a copy? Spam away to your heart's content mate!

SCHIZOID : I'm not sure which version I sent you or when. Right now the disc is: Available for MP3 download at http://schizoid.bandcamp.com. In this one you get a 41 page bonus E-book based on The Next Extreme. It's also available to buy through www.schizoid.ca. The store, specifically is HERE. It has also been released for 12$USD plus shipping on CD Digi-pack which comes with a 11x17 poster (one side is the cover image, other side is the entire album's lyrics), for 5$USD plus shipping for Limited to 50 Copy Run on Cassettes (normal speed dub, cassette comes with J card, hand numbered/autographed, tapes
have tracklist stickers) and all cassettes come with a razor blade. [Thanks Acid Enema] You can also get it through all the corporate schmaltzy sites like iTunes, Napster, EMusic et all. We have acquired distribution for it and hopefully through our partners stormingthebase.com and code7music.com we'll get it out there in some retail stores by year's end. Interested distributors who might be reading can contact me and we'll make a distro deal at reduced rate if you want multiples.

NTR : Fucking awesome, so cool to see so much effort put into a release and to have a choice of so many different formats! I've been saying for a long time that there is still life in online releases and CDs, that there just has to be more effort to be put into releases - for too long many people have thought that a few mp3 files and a couple of jpegs can pass off as a release, I mean it may cut it for a free release but even for free it's getting kind of redundant and tired! Same goes for CDs, so often I've browsed through CD racks in record stores going through disc after disc that are basically just a bunch of tracks with a basic 2 page cover
flogged to the hapless consumer for $30, oftentimes even pricier here in Australia - it's really lazy and kind of mocks the purchaser I reckon! Showing my age a bit here but I remember back in the day when purchasing a record was almost an event - when holding a record in your hand was like holding a work of art! I'm thinking specifically of old hardcore punk 7inches & LPs that were always packed with intense, confrontational artwork, thought-provoking lyric booklets, flyers, stickers - and that was before you even got to listening to the thing! Again I have been saying for a while now that with today's technology and the options of various music formats that there is no reason why people can't be doing this today with their releases & it's fucking great to see that you have gone beyond talking and actually gone out and Done It Yourfuckingself! And added kudos for the cassette release! It's this kind of approach that is going to break the back of the mainstream recording industry mafia, not just ye olde file sharing, but also making releases something special, something that you want to own an actual copy of! A mass produced product just can't compete with that - neither can some bland pirated mp3 copy...what are your thoughts on the matter Mr. Schizoid? Do you share my enthusiasm?

SCHIZOID : Thanks, yes, I share the enthusiasm, and want a lot to incorporate this a lot into the promotion of the record.
It's specifically a multi-faceted attack. No matter what format it's on I just want people to HEAR it. I'll put it on laser-disc, VHS, 8-track if there's a requirement for it. I've spent so long on this disc that I don't want it marginalized by it just being a set of files someone forgets they even leeched. It was very important to have hardcopies of this album, not only for myself, but for the audience.
I'd LOVE to have it repressed on 2XLP. Anyone reading want to get in touch with me about that? Yeah I run a net label D-Trash Records and the mp3 thing IS important. Sales of digital files is up in the mainstream music industry. Although having said that we've always offered our entire catalogue, except the DTECH releases, for free full length MP3 download including album art. There's an undeniable usefulness to the MP3 thing, it'll always remain a part of what we do with D-Trash. And I've had many free Schizoid releases available on the label. This time it was very important to do something really special for these tracks. And this is not an EP either, it's 16 songs....1 hour of music. No covers, no remixes. There's a lot to go through. Getting back to the approach of the next year we also plan to release a live EP based on the album called "The Live Extremes". I have also had the digital hardcore underground remix every song of the album front to back, "The Remixed Extremes" which is coming out around year's end. So yeah my plate is full and if it's a matter of providing a "product" if we're talking about it like that, 12$USD is not a lot to ask for something that looks bad ass and comes along with the lyrics.

NTR : Digital Hardcore - it's two words that you don't hear that much these days. Are you still repping digital hardcore to the fullest and if so why? A lot of people I talk to say to me that the whole movement ended as a big disappointment for them - many of the original torch bearers seem to have dropped the torch and headed for more commercial pastures. Do you think digital hardcore still has any relevance today?

SCHIZOID : First off - What was it that was disappointing? A lot of people made a lot of great music that touched a lot of people who were open minded musically and perhaps politically.
I think that the connection it made helped shape a lot of people who might be reading this particular interview, whether it's "Cool" or not to still say that. I think that 9/11 came and happened, and a lot of things culturally changed in the civilization. Perhaps you didn't see some of the same demonstrations politically that you were really seeing come to a head in like 1999 with the Seattle WTO thing. But that doesn't mean that it went away. I guess what I'm trying to say is that digital hardcore was like that in a way. Driven a bit more underground, but still just as tenacious. As for DHR specifically, there's releases from past and from the "last days" so to speak that I like. The thing with things that are great is you have to be at peace with the fact that everything like that can't last forever. They used to at digitalhardcore.com have a F.A.Q. saying "Can I work for DHR?" and they wrote "We don't need more employees, we need more soldiers in the field." I read that Loud! and Clear! I don't think it's glib or inappropriate to say that concentrating on the proliferation of digital hardcore music over the past decade has been a priority of mine, perhaps even at Schizoid's expense. For as much it sucks as there's no new DHR, there's no new EC8OR or Shizuo yeah, but there has been a fuck load of D-Trash Records releases if we're talking about "Digital hardcore" sounding music so to speak, there is a lot of old AND recent material in the style's back catalogue. Not to take anything away from them at all. I think we have our share of releases that approached the strength that some of their greats had. Has it any relevance today? Empire said that it has become more a "Musical language" so to speak, that makes sense. Many people have their different ideas about what it's supposed to sound like, me included. Some people don't care about genre names and make breakcore or h/c gabber or industrial metal and white noise, it's all I think under the dhc umbrella, at least in my own head's categorization. Getting back to the question though, does an aesthetically cyber punk genre of music fuelled by anger at world affairs worsening, while using innovative cutting edge production technologies have relevance in the 21st century? I'd sure hope so!

NTR : Yeah I'd definitely hope so too! The reason I think that some were disappointed on where DHC ended up was that they saw it as the second coming of punk & it just didn't pan out how they thought it should! I see it as the first generation maybe died out in some respects but also spawned heaps of mutations - all these different genres and sub-genres and more importantly - reviving the idea that anybody with something to say can make music...I think it has been a much huger cultural influence than people give it credit for, possibly it is too early too even try and measure it's influence as in the scheme of things DHC is still a relatively new musical movement...any further thoughts on that?

SCHIZOID : I guess there's some bigger concepts of this time period we're in now which have a role in it, the technologies we have available. I mean hell I'm a dinosaur by using the old versions of the programs I use on a desktop computer, when there are kids out there now making music on their phones and stuff. I know those old posters in ATR vinyl that show basic hook up instructions for how to make digital hardcore was pretty mind blowing, maybe that is even more dinosaurish at this point? with that technology? As far as D-Trash "digital hardcore", I can see how the cultural affect documentary would go over the 2001-present period, especially how there was a lot of crazy angry anti Iraq War II/anti GWBush sentiment on a certain time era of our releases, and definitely the "Pick up the ball and roll with it" as far as these really different kind of bands starting to snowball influences together. I mean, the literal DHR scene as/when it happened (just as an observer) was only a handful of people from Germany and like a private thing and scene, a way of speaking musically and it went worldwide and was out of their hands from therein. Just like Black Metal ended up, something some Norwegians made, and at this point with communication with how it is, there can be anybody over here in Yankiestan or Canuckistan doing what they think is "black metal". Does it need given credit? I mean bands like ATR were never made for the sake of winning awards. They are putting new CDs out so I'd suggest buying 'em if you still yourself "Support Digital Hardcore" or whatever if you want to give it some credit. Or I guess download some software and try to make something for you that's better and more extreme and relevant to yourself if so inspired, like you and me both did.

NTR : Yeah and like we are both still doing! Just glancing around the world even on a local level I think there are more reasons than ever to be extremely fucking angry so I'm hopeful that all that anger will start to generate some awesome music projects, perhaps it already is but it's slipped under my radar - which brings me to the next question...as far as recent music; be it DHC, Breakcore, hardcore, black metal or whatever - both on your own label and elsewhere - who are some artists / acts / projects that you are getting excited about these days - and perhaps more importantly - think that both myself and the readers of this interview should be getting excited about?

SCHIZOID : I mean, is it narcissistic to say my new disc, "The Next Extreme"?

NTR : HAHAHA! No, not all!

SCHIZOID : Personally, I have just been listening to Agnostic Front "One Voice" and Guns N Roses "GNR Lies" and Discharge "Shootin Up The World" pretty much lately, the same albums, over and over again for months at a time. Throw in Motley Crue's old discs and then Alec/ATR albums. I'm a music fan and excited about music but I don't know, not a lot of albums coming up "excite" me. There are favorite bands who will always have new discs and hopefully they won't suck. I bought the new Manson this year and hated it. It will be hard to come up with a 2012 best of list, it will basically be for me stuff from the 1980s, stuff like what I listed and like Bananarama, Sex Pistols, Mayhem, Madonna. I like Iggy Azalea, I saw her this year and it was fun. I just bought the new Garbage and I like it. Some acts coming up tho? I'd have to mention D-Trash bands. DK Dance are a great black metal meets breakcore band, with a chick singer. Chic Gala just did two releases on our label, she kind of brings a bit of a harsh pop sound to us. No Brigade are crushing digital hardcore and there's an album I'm excited for, their 3rd album, same with The First Seed who I played a lot of shows with this year. Yeah as far as acts who cameo'd on my disc, Babylon Disco, Dirty Fingers Licked, Drugzilla, Angel Enemy, Luna Seaux, especially Junkie Kut! He is gonna blow up soon man. Anyone who got to do backup vox on my disc is kind of on the short list of bands I'm paying attention to, or any of the bands that produced remixes for "The Remixed Extreme" JP Anderson (The Named/The Shizit/etc) has always produced awesome music. Same with Babylon Disco, Phallus Uber Alles, Hansel, Robot(a)...

NTR : Yeah totally agree with you re : Junkie Kut & also Angel Enemy! Showing my age but I actually knew somebody down here who dated one of the members of Bananarama for a while, hahaha! Looks like I've got some catching up to do with the D-Trash catalog! Ok then, back to 'The Next Extreme' - I already asked you this before but once more for those who weren't paying attention : how do we get our hands on a copy? Spam away!

SCHIZOID : Okay you can get the new album on all like the iTunes, amazon.com, etc sites. More easily you can get it through my site at www.schizoid.ca. There is the new album on CD and cassette. The CD is a Digipack that looks awesome and comes with an 11x17 poster. I've just posted a new trailer about the release. You can watch it HERE and see it. You can also get it through http://schizoid.bandcamp.com. Bandcamp is a cool site for bands to release stuff through! As well our distributor in North America carries it, Storming The Base, at
www.stormingthebase.com. Same for our distributor Code7 Music in Europe at www.code7music.com. That probably means your local record store could special order it in.

NTR : Plenty of options there then, so no excuses for anybody not getting a hold of this album! Ok Jay, thanks a lot for taking the time to allow me to interrogate you, I reckon we could keep going with the questions for ages but as you mentioned already, all good things inevitably come to an end - so, any final thoughts, shout-outs or anything else at all that you would like to add?

SCHIZOID : Electronic musicians, back up what you're working on so you don't lose it in a hard drive crash!
Posted by Night Terror Recordings at 07:53 - Night Terror Recordings

Canadian Blackened Industrial Metal and Hardcore three piece SCHIZOID have unleashed their eighth full length studio album entitled ‘The Next Extreme’. This years release marks the follow up to ‘Trashed’, an album of remixes released all the way back in 2005, and whilst there has been an EP and a compilation released in more recent years, there has been a hell of a long gap between albums despite the bands prolific early years! For those of you now wondering if you know the band name but maybe not where from, they also featured on ‘Visions – A Tribute to Burzum’, with the song ‘En Ring Til A Herske’.



Starting with a dialogue segment from a film I cannot place, Schizoid then kick into their music with a sound that describes the bands name to the letter, Schizoid! With a frenzied Industrial beat forming a protective undertone and back bone, Schizoid then proceed to batter and beat their way through what can only be described as a sonic, technological barrage of undulating, throbbing and distorted chaos! ‘The Next Extreme’ is right, from order comes chaos and the band who laid down what they hoped to achieve in an orderly fashion have then proceeded to open the floodgates and reek havoc with their almost anarchic sound!



One problem I found with ‘The Next Extreme’ is that it is fairly one dimensional, a highly industrialised Metal beat down from start to finish that whilst done with talent and energy, does tend to out stay it’s welcome after a while. Despite that though this may be the perfect album for some, the right amount of adrenaline, aggression and mental imbalance, what more could you want? - Destructive-Music

Schizoid is the owner of the American label D-Trash Records, but the man also is a musician active under the Schizoid moniker. “The Next Extreme” is the 3rd full length of Schizoid and a new exploration of harsh, merciless and disturbing musical styles.
D-Trash Records remains a prolific ground for ‘extreme’ projects dealing with hardcore, trash, cyber-metal-industrial and related genres. Schizoid definitely is one of the heaviest pieces in the genre. Schizoid defines his sound as ‘blackened industrial noise metal’, which is a clear indication about the content. The album is featuring 16 songs and an impressive list of guest artists like members of Babylon Disco, The First Seed, JP Anderson, Phallus Uber Alles, Angel Enemy, Alex B, No Brigade, Jul!e D:stroy, DK Dance, Luna Seaux, Junkie Kut, Hansel, Drugzila and Celebrity Dead. The vocals are like reflecting evil forces and other enraged demons screaming like hell… or is it just the desperate scream of lunatics? It sounds like terror and rage!
Musically, Schizoid is moving in between hardcore rhythms, trash and grindcore. Guitars and electronics have been abused and raped to get a vision of hell. It’s dark and merciless, furious and desperate plus heavy and disturbing. When torture turns into pleasure tracks like “The Next Extreme”, “Pained”, “Fret, Regret” and “Another Go” are just a few examples to get you in a state of total aggression. The lyrical themes aren’t maybe reflecting a similar state of terror although it all sounds desperate and without real perspectives.
On his very own, Schizoid is clearly symbolizing what D-Trash Records stands for! The vision of future will be dark and hopeless so what will be the next extreme?
(ED:6/7)ED. - Side-Line

The one man wrecking crew that is Jay Smith's Schizoid keeps steamrolling along, destroying woofers and tweeters and creating aural mayhem by relieving himself of any responsibility to write "a song" and making as much psychotic noise in the process. This new release from Canada's favourite sonic terrorist has progressed to the point where a definite style is beginning to rear its head. Schizoid takes all things electronic (keyboards, samplers, effects, drum machines) and combines it with the cold, harsh and abusive sounds of murderous black metal and uses a combine harvester to piece it all together. The result is coursing power electronics butting heads with a bunch of skinny rich kids from Norway with no respect for traditional values concerning music or the listeners sanity. Whitehouse and Dissecting Table butting heads with Emperor and Darkthrone as written by Kid 606 and Carl Crack. I still can't listen to this album in one sitting without images of straitjackets and sedatives popping to mind. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be.
-Kevin Stewart Panko - Exclaim

“Alec Empire must be wondering what he has started. After several years of exuberant noisemaking from the dour German's Digital Hardcore imprint, people on the other side of the Atlantic are beginning to join in on the fun. Demented Canadian technology-abuser Schizoid makes music that sounds like Empire's least commercial moments mixed with the quirky experimentalism of Digital Hardcore artists Ec8or and Shizuo. If you like a nice tune and a toe-tapping beat, then 'All Things Are Connected' will have you running for the hills. This is no-holds-barred sonic terrorism with a wicked, shit eating grin on its face and an utterly punk rock, snotty attitude. Virtually every song sounds like a large consignment of hi-tech equipment being kicked down the stairs. Fantastic. 4/5. ”
— Dom Lawson, KERRANG - Kerrang