Mayhem's Teloch beams down to planet synthwave

Bergeton promo pic 2020, by Nima Taheri — (Image credit: Nima Taheri)

Considering Mayhem guitarist Teloch has been responsible for writing some of the Norwegian legends’ most futuristic-sounding albums – not least 2014’s Esoteric Warfare – the idea of him relocating from the black metal epicentre to the lurid metropolis of synthwave shouldn’t’ be too much of a shock to the system.

Nevertheless, Miami Murder, his debut album under the guise of Bergeton, is all set to hardwire itself to your most illicit pleasure centres when it slithers out from the Meus Records/Darkhan Music HQ on October 15.

Setting the scene with its lurid pink and purple cover featuring a headless body sprawled beside a blood-splattered Lamborghini, Miami Murder is an immersive travelogue through the dark heart of Sin City, albeit it one outlined in a pulsating neon glow. Tracks like Depeche Load, Natasha – K.G.B and The Demon are suggestive of 16-bit endless racers as towering cityscapes and fellow drivers of dubious intent flow past, or bits of malign information flowing along an android’s circulatory system, but the combination of open-ended wonder, dread and tantric levels of adrenaline are a constant throughout.

In appropriately retro-futuristic fashion, Bergeton are offering an exclusive stream ahead of release, and if the synthwave scene has been a bit quiet of late, Miami Murder is proof that its pulse is still as vital as ever.

Visit Bergeton's Facebook page and pre-order Miami Murder from the Darkhan Music webstore

Having freelanced regularly for the Melody Maker and Kerrang!, and edited the extreme metal monthly, Terrorizer, for seven years, Jonathan is now the overseer of all the album and live reviews in Metal Hammer. Bemoans his obsolete superpower of being invisible to Routemaster bus conductors, finds men without sideburns slightly circumspect, and thinks songs that aren’t about Satan, swords or witches are a bit silly.