More pages, a bolder layout, more voices from the scene. Issue #2 of the independent synth pop print magazine has 128 pages of slow media for fans of synth pop, darkwave, EBM and future pop. It is packed with track-by-track album reviews, nine in-depth interviews, exclusive specials and, for the first time, the quarterly German Electronic WebCharts. There is no TikTok fast food here, just long reads, large-format photography and honest opinions.
Cover story: Massive Ego
Massive Ego: Symphony Of Flies
(Out Of Line) is reviewed track by track and wins the Electrozombies award for Best Album. In the accompanying interview, Marc Massive and Porl Young talk openly about the band imploding in 2022, the darkest period of Marc’s life, the symbolism behind the fly artwork, and the gear and sound design behind the record.
Track-by-track album reviews
- Diorama: A Substitute For Light
(Accession Records). The eleventh studio album, plus an interview with Felix Marc and Torben Wendt - Beyond Obsession: In My Blood
(Scanner / Dark Dimensions), with a second opinion in “Tom’s Verdict” - Beyond Border: Aftermath
(NoCut Entertainment), produced by Rob Dust - Classic album review: Camouflage: Voices & Images
(1988). The German synth pop milestone, from “The Great Commandment” to “That Smiling Face”
Quick reviews
- Dead Lights: Lash
, an EBM album that thinks the genre afresh - Mylla Issues: (My)Rage
(Wave Records), a striking darkwave debut - Doublespeak: Doublespeak
(London Records), the cover album by Vince Clarke, Neil Arthur and Ben Edwards
Exclusive interviews
- Marc Massive and Porl Young (Massive Ego):
the new album, the band’s comeback, and gear talk - Diorama (Felix Marc and Torben Wendt):
digital life, happy accidents in the studio, and the pre-album tour - Tom Shear (Assemblage 23):
five years between albums, going back to a day job, analogue synths, social criticism and DJing in a goth club - Blackbook (Matthias and Albert):
the winners of Best Album in Issue #1 talk about “Different”, “Technophobia” and their secret sauce - Torben Schmidt (Infacted Recordings):
25 years running his label, analogue hardware versus plugins, his studio setup and guilty pleasures - Markus Schmitz (Black Generation / GEWC):
decades in the black scene and how the GEWC charts work - Newcomer interview: A Thousand Mad Things:
the gothic newcomer behind “Promises” and “Wide Awake”
GEWC charts Q2 2026
From this issue onwards, Electrozombies exclusively presents the quarterly German Electronic WebCharts, with the Top 15 albums and Top 15 singles voted for by the community. Number one albums: Mesh, DeVision Redux, Beyond Border. Number one singles: Diorama, Ultra Sunn, Aesthetic Perfection.
Special: Best Synth Pop Tribute Compilations (beyond Depeche Mode)
The best tribute albums for Pet Shop Boys, Camouflage, De/Vision, Erasure, And One, Apoptygma Berzerk and New Order. These include:
- Very Introspective, Actually
- Strange Thoughts
- Re/Vision
- Sometimes
- Cover sind Cover
- True Faith
and the Electrozombies releases
- Prism
- Love To Cover You
- Anode
- Apop We Love You
Best Synth Pop Songs Q1 and Q2 2026
Over 35 hand-picked new tracks from the Electrozombies Discover section, each with a Spotify code to scan. Featuring IAMX, Frozen Plasma, Hatif, Madeline Goldstein, Parallel Suns, Mutual Shock, Hallows, Celestial Hex, Czarina, Camp Crush, Leipzig:Void and many more.
The Source Code: albums that shaped the scene makers
- Raphael Beck (darkTunes Music Group):
Marilyn Manson, The Prodigy, Mind.in.a.box, Combichrist, the Queen of the Damned soundtrack - Nils Upahl (Beyond Obsession):
Depeche Mode (two picks), Erasure, a‑ha, Kraftwerk
Also inside
- Editorial: “Against the Stream: Why I Choose Slow Media Over TikTok”
- New contributors: Markus Schmitz and Yazid Hami
- QR codes for the official music videos, and Spotify codes for every featured track
