Schkeuditzer Kreuz - Ratchet

A demented, rollicking, hip hop-infused avant-industrial synth crust cabaret; ‘Ratchet’ by Schkeuditzer Kreuz has premiered twice in the last 48 hours, via CVLT Nation (North America) and HEAVY Magazine (Australia). Watch the video on YouTube:

‘Ratchet’ is the new video and digital single from Australian-based “Industrial Synth Crust” outfit Schkeuditzer Kreuz, alias Kieren Hills, and the third and final promo single from latest album, No Life Left. The video is produced and directed by David Xuereb of Sydney’s Grim Reflections. An almost carnivalesque performance, and regular crowd favourite live, Kieren described the origins of the song to Australia’s HEAVY Magazine:

“This song started with the beat that sits under the verse, and it all came together from there: first the kind of bouncy, almost circus-like synth line – I could hear it in my head as soon as the drums came together. And from that, I put the lyrics together: about the show, the performance that is both what I do with music, but also the performance that is life. The whole thing is reanalysing what is going on in my head as I try to throw everything I have into life, whilst always hearing that clock ticking: knowing I am getting older and falling apart, and that it is going to end one day.”

Responding to these themes, CVLT Nation’s Meghan MacRae writes:

“At what point in our lives to we agree to take part in the performance of human society? As SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ‘s beats rain down on me like hammers from the sky and the buzz and hum of Ratchet’s melody interferes with my brain waves, I think about that point where I lost who I really was to the game of getting along with everyone else so I could grasp at feelings of being safe and cared for. To be honest, it wasn’t a game I was great at, but now I’m starting to understand that this doesn’t indicate some deep flaw in me.”

‘Ratchet // Amerika 24’ digital single

‘Amerika 24’, the virtual b-side included with the ‘Ratchet’ digital single on Bandcamp, is a reworking of an earlier track and another longstanding live crowd favourite; originally from the debut Schkeuditzer Kreuz 12” EP, Give Me Nothing (2021).

It’s been a whirlwind twelve months for Schkeuditzer Kreuz: 2023 saw the release of the second full-length LP, No Life Left, and its first two video-singles, ‘Joy’ and ‘Second Life’. A crushing slab of dark, abrasive, apocalyptic, post-industrial music, with deep roots in the crust punk, hardcore and d-beat music scenes of Australia, New Zealand, and Germany; the album garnered excellent international press, and was followed by an extensive tour of Europe, spanning September-October 2023.

The remix release, Second Life: No Life Left Remixed followed in December, bringing together glitched-out breakcore, synth-driven dark electro, and sludgy industrial doom, from guest collaborators Distruster (US), Max Rael (UK), Creassault (NZ), Non-Bio (UK), and Crash-Scan (NZ). January 2024 took Schkeuditzer Kreuz across the ditch to New Zealand, before returning for Australian shows with Striborg, Mortiis, and others during March.

Now in its second pressing, No Life Left is out now on vinyl LP, Double CD, and Cassette, through Bad Habit Records (Australia), and is available directly from Schkeuditzer Kreuz on Bandcamp, along with digital download versions. The CD version also includes the remixes as a Bonus Disc, while the vinyl LP is distributed in the US through Sorry State Records, and in New Zealand by Centennial Conflict.

More touring across Australia is currently underway, with shows in Japan scheduled for August-September.