{"id":14577,"date":"2025-07-31T09:59:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=14577"},"modified":"2025-07-31T09:59:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:59:58","slug":"weve-always-been-at-war-schkeuditzer-kreuz-nsw-australia-unleashes-the-new-single-and-video-sirens-of-death-from-the-forthcoming-album-swan-grinder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=14577","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019ve Always Been at War\u201d Schkeuditzer Kreuz (NSW, Australia) unleashes the new single and video, \u2018Sirens of Death\u2019, from the forthcoming album, Swan Grinder"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1015\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-KreuzCD-1015x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14578\" style=\"width:561px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-KreuzCD-1015x1024.jpg 1015w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-KreuzCD-297x300.jpg 297w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-KreuzCD-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-KreuzCD-768x775.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-KreuzCD-1522x1536.jpg 1522w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-KreuzCD-2029x2048.jpg 2029w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1015px) 100vw, 1015px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Australian \u2018Industrial Synth Crust\u2019 outfit Schkeuditzer Kreuz a.k.a. Kieren Hills has this week premiered the new video for \u2018Sirens of Death\u2019, the lead single from the forthcoming third album, Swan Grinder. The new video is shot and edited by David Xuereb at Sydney, Australia\u2019s Grim Reflections, who also created the previous Schkeuditzer Kreuz video for \u2018Ratchet\u2019. Kieren says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSirens is a relatively slow and heavy song, almost a synth version of industrial metal, albeit with some weirdness thrown in. \u00a0Lyrically it takes a bleak and blunt look at the eternal war we have been a party to for as long as anyone can remember. \u00a0The video tells that story with equally harsh and ugly visuals interspersed with my own vocal howls of rage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"nv-iframe-embed\"><iframe title=\"SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ - SIRENS OF DEATH\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pP0OK5pwCrA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Premiering the \u2018Sirens of Death\u2019 video on CVLT Nation, Meghan MacRae wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith industrial synths that make my skin itch in the best way possible, eerie sirens, and gritty, rasping vocals, \u2018Sirens of Death\u2019 demands we break the endless cycle of war that\u2019s lasted thousands of years\u2026 It\u2019s the one thing we haven\u2019t made progress on, and SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ is holding our faces in it with an industrial synth punk beatdown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first couple of advance reviews for the Swan Grinder album are also in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJust when you think every genre hybrid has been done, and are feeling worn and jaded by everything, someone chucks you something unexpected\u2026 Swan Grinder is as ugly and intense and industrial as its title suggests. Spasmodic drum machines sputter and blast all over, underpinning pulsating electronic basslines and ear-shredding blasts of noise and distortion. And all of this provides the backdrop to raw, rasping vocals. In some ways, I\u2019m reminded of really early Pitch Shifter \u2013 but with the wall of guitars replaced by abrasive squalls of electronic noise\u2026 While there are elements of the construction which share common ground with, say, KMFDM, or PIG, the overall sound is altogether dirtier, gritter, rawer \u2013 and then there are the vocals, which are pure metal. As such, the result is a different kind of hybrid \u2013 hard, abrasive, and as nasty as the image the title conjures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2013 Aural Aggravation, UK<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u2026Hills presents his most focused assault yet on societal complacency\u2026 Hills has carved out a distinctly antipodean take on industrial music, one that marries the confrontational spirit of crust punk with the mechanical brutality of EBM and harsh electronics. Swan Grinder\u2026 finds the Australian artist refining his \u201cIndustrial Synth Crust\u201d formula whilst maintaining the politically charged urgency that defines his work\u2026 The project\u2019s ethos\u2026 recalls the confrontational man + machine solo endeavour of Author &amp; Punisher, whilst the samples and social commentary echo the energy of Ministry\u2019s peak-era provocations. Yet Hills has forged something uniquely his own in that of a grinding, mechanised form, channelling environmental and political rage through distorted synthesisers and pummelling rhythms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2013 Discipline Mag, Australia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kieren is meanwhile gearing up to embark on the second Schkeuditzer Kreuz tour across Europe, from September to October 2025, in support of the new Swan Grinder album. Tour dates are currently booked through Central Europe, South Caucasus, Spain, and UK, with more to be confirmed. Released on 30 August 2025, Bandcamp presales for the forthcoming Swan Grinder album also come with a bonus remix CD and denim patch. Kieren says of the album and tour:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve taken everything I have learned from previous records, and from previous tours, and put it all together to take Swan Grinder on the road across as much of Europe as I possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Variously termed \u201cIndustrial Synth Crust\u201d, \u201cD-beat Raw Synth Punk\u201d, \u201cTrans-Positive Anti-Fascist Synth Crust\u201d and \u201cOne human and some machines making noise, in the face of it all\u201d, Schkeuditzer Kreuz is a mutant post-apocalyptic hybrid: an intersection between harsh, confronting, mechanical noise and the comparatively raw, organic materials of hardcore, crust, and d-beat punk. It is a noise wrought from the anguish and despair of Antipodean punk veteran Kieren Hills, from a cabin that he built in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2020, Schkeuditzer Kreuz has released two full-length studio albums: Isolated and Alone (2021) and No Life Left (2023), alongside a raft of singles, videos, EPs, split-releases, compilation tracks, and remix collaborations. As a live act, Schkeuditzer Kreuz remains in constant live demand worldwide: touring extensively across the UK and mainland Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and recently touring Australia with pioneering UK industrial legends ATTRITION (Oct-Nov 2024) and US anarcho-breakcore outfit, DECIDE TODAY (Dec 2024-Jan 2025). Kieren has since become a touring live member of ATTRITION, with ATTRITION \/ Schkeuditzer Kreuz tour dates together in 2025 including shows in Thailand, Hong Kong, and England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Swan Grinder is the third full-length Schkeuditzer Kreuz album, mastered at The Cage by ATTRITION\u2018s Martin Bowes, and scheduled for release in August, followed by the European tour in September and October 2025. Full tour dates are listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"724\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-Kreuz-TOUR-724x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14579\" style=\"width:580px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-Kreuz-TOUR-724x1024.jpg 724w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-Kreuz-TOUR-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-Kreuz-TOUR-768x1086.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-Kreuz-TOUR-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-Kreuz-TOUR-1448x2048.jpg 1448w, https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Schkeuditzer-Kreuz-TOUR-scaled.jpg 1810w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>www.schkeuditzerkreuz.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australian \u2018Industrial Synth Crust\u2019 outfit Schkeuditzer Kreuz a.k.a. Kieren Hills has this week premiered the new video for \u2018Sirens of Death\u2019, the lead single from the forthcoming third album, Swan Grinder. The new video is shot and edited by David Xuereb at Sydney, Australia\u2019s Grim Reflections, who also created the previous Schkeuditzer Kreuz video for&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=14577\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\u201cWe\u2019ve Always Been at War\u201d Schkeuditzer Kreuz (NSW, Australia) unleashes the new single and video, \u2018Sirens of Death\u2019, from the forthcoming album, Swan Grinder<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14577"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14580,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14577\/revisions\/14580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}