Then Comes Silence (SE) // Cold Contrast

Authentically capturing the heart and essence of the trio's live sound, "Trickery" was recorded in just three days at Kapsylen Studios in Stockholm. The two guitarists, energetic punk backbeat and sleaze punk enthusiast Jonas Fransson (since 2015) and Hugo Zombie (since 2018), are based around inventive and danceable guitar themes, while the main focus remains on the band's sole surviving member, lead singer-bassist Alex Svenson, his unique vocals and massive bass playing. In addition, the trademark guitar-centric sound on 'Trickery' is accentuated by the inclusion of retro synths, with the frontman evoking his futuristic wave solo project Neonpocalypse.

Then Comes Silence hails from Stockholm, Sweden, and was founded by Alex Svenson, the only original member since the band's inception in 2012. The inspiration came from frequent touring with the band A Place To Bury Strangers and a fascination with horror and the occult. A few years later, the German post-punk community began to embrace the band and Then Comes Silence found a new home away from home.

Then Comes Silence are known as one of the defining bands of the new generation of goth, post-punk and darkwave. They are renowned for their consistently high quality new material and, as a hard-working touring band, are regarded as one of the genre's leading live acts.

Cold Contrast officially formed from a one-man project to a band at the Fekete Zaj Festival 2022. Marcell Nemesházy, the producer, started experimenting with songwriting during the pandemic, due to the effects of isolation and confinement, and created several songs and song sketches, which were incomplete without vocals and lyrics, so he looked for a singer with a mystical voice to sing vocals, and soon found Melinda Iadar. Melinda had previously been working in the metal genre and on her solo project Tükörzaj, but Marcell's darkwave song sketches got her interested in trying her hand at the genre. Melinda's bassist Márk Baranyai, who had also played metal before, joined the band, but he has always been close to goth-influenced music and the culture itself, so it was no question that he wanted to be involved in the project. Since then, guitarist Miklós "Makó" Pribéli has also been playing with them, who has been playing in several metal bands for many years, bringing valuable knowledge and talent to the band with his great experience.

Budapest and Gyöngyös are the two bases of the band. The Cure, Clan of Xymox, She Past Away and Boy Harsher are among their idols, and they also have a high regard for the local representatives of the scene, such as Last Wave, kékmandarin, Post Analog Disorder, Crow Black Dream or Empty Story.