There has always been an incredibly rich world of music outside of the mainstream controlled by big record labels and national broadcasters. However, the last three decades made the underground even richer. The more artists are pushed outside the main channels we receive music from (radio stations, popular magazines or social media accounts, streaming), the more bands, artists and creators become integral parts of the independent circuits.
Single cover
From alternative pop to dance, rave, rock and metal – the underground music is thriving and recently became so specialized that every music fan can find something for themselves. Actually, I can bet my collection of vintage mix tapes from the 90’s, that fans can now spend a lifetime just browsing through independent catalogs and never look at what is promoted by labels or leading stations. Every sub-genre, no matter how weird, rare or avant garde of every music genre in existence is easily available to you. All you need to do is look a little bit. Indie circuits have their own media too: zines, blogs, artists’ own websites, even published magazines are promoting a huge number of creators. Seriously, a will to look and listen is all one truly needs. Independent artists are just waiting to be discovered.
One of the independent artists we promote on Indieterria is Jade The Nightmare – a very versatile creator who moves like a dancer between rock, metal, gothic and black metal, brewing a truly inspiring musical concoction. We have covered her several times on our blog always giving her the top marks. Jade has released her newest single this month and it is a collaboration with the Ventura based Freakshow.
Freakshow is a rapper, singer, hip hop artist and record producer based in Ventura County, California. He is the CEO of Bio Freak Records, an independent record label specializing in underground hip-hop, horrorcore, grind-core, shadow pop and doom trap. He is also a member of horror-core hip hop trio Demented alongside Blinky and J. Bentley. Outside his work with Demented, Freakshow released three solo albums: “Beneath the Streets”, “Bio Gang” (October and March 2023 respectively) and “Behind Me” from July 2022. His latest single, “Beast” was released on June 1st 2024 and features J Bentley & True2kali.
The single is titled “Why Am I Alive” and is a brilliant cross between emo, heavy metal, rap-core and nu metal. Quite radio-friendly taking into account that Jade usually produces songs that would fit a horror movie soundtrack or at least the newest episodes of The Twilight Zone. Surprisingly, here we have a new incarnation of her, one that I could easily call a Top 40 Jade. We are given a track that wouldn’t be out of place on a national college rock radio playlist, squeezed somewhere between Slipknot and Bring Me The Horizon.
“Why Am I Alive” stands at 3 minutes and 17 seconds. What I really like about the track is that it showcases Jade’s versatility as a singer: from her melodic rapping (quite an old school really) to her layered chanting in the choruses that create an aura of mystery and intrigue.
Jade photographer by Higher Transcendental
Freakshow, as mentioned above, a member of the horror-core trio Demented, gives equally smooth and refined delivery. I sadly haven’t heard of him before penning this review, but I have given Demented a good listen online and it’s completely different. With Demented, Freakshow is absolutely wild, crazy, delightful in a scary way. It’s like Insane Clown Posse meets rapping Dr Demento (pun intended). With Jade – Freakshow is a perfect gentleman. His vocals are strong, raw and precise. He reminds me of Jonathan Davis of Korn at times: a mixture of raspiness, uncontrolled emotions and growl – all in ideal proportions. Freakshow is a great singer, he can sing clearly one moment and then bellow like a wounded beast. Dez Fafara of DevilDriver comes to my mind as well.
The song is played in mid tempo, like Coal Chamber or Avenged Sevenfold: the verses are quicker, choruses slower (mostly on Jade’s parts), guitars and drums are hitting hard in crucial moments. It’s not hard to imagine the crowd jumping up and down and having fun at a live show. I truly envy everyone who will have a chance to see Jade and Freakshow perform live. Living in the UK has its benefits but the downside is we very rarely see independent American artists, unless they have enough money for a full tour. Maybe one day they will come over here, if not, I will be forced to buy a ticket to the US.
“Why Am I Alive” is a great track. It’s very frustrating that we do not hear music like this on national radio-stations. Even metal radios these days are playing tracks from 40 years ago instead of dedicating their time to new, emerging artists. But don’t despair – there is also a wealth of independent radio stations that play only new music. Do me a favour and request “Why Am I Alive” on your local metal/rock show.
Fans have the power too, record labels may have money, but we, dear readers, have true love and passion for music. This is something cash can’t buy.
Please follow Jade The Nightmare online:
jadethenightmare.com
https://www.facebook.com/jadethenightmare/
https://twitter.com/jadethenightmre
https://www.tiktok.com/@jadethenightmare
https://www.instagram.com/jadethenightmare666/
https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialJadeTheNightmareMusic
Follow Freakshow on socials:
https://www.instagram.com/freakshow_5150/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7qwcUDtC8dC2EyL6Em9G9h
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/freakshow/1511932727
Record label:
https://www.instagram.com/bio_freak_records/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Bio-Freak-Records-100063649234857
“Why Am I Alive” is out now independently.
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 