Shannon Funchess is terrifying. Amazing, yes – beautiful, yes – terrifying, OH GOD YES.

A writer at Coilhouse summed it up better than I can: “O Holy Fuck, that voice. It belongs in a cathedral. Or an abbatoir.”

Funchess is the singer for Light Asylum, a band for whom I have spent 20 minutes concocting a wanky genre-tag for: industrial gothtronica? With an operatic edge. Laid on a bed of synth-pop… look, this is what your ears are for okay?!

Light Asylum have just released a video for the title track from their debut album ‘Heart of Dust’. It is a hard-hitting track: emotional and raw, screechy and desperate. Quick warning: if you’ve ever had a bad experience with mud, you may wish to brace yourself. And even if you haven’t, I still recommend taking a good deep breath before you hit ‘play’. It’s a quite the ride.

The first single off the album, ‘IPC’, got a lot of love on FBi – a battle song for 2012, with Funchess growling at us, “go tell the man we are freedom fighters, fuck ‘em, take it… we want our freedom!” Now maybe it’s just me, but it feels like it’s been a long time since someone made really solid, engaging fight-the-power music – like somewhere along the way our freedom fighters lost their balls. Not Shannon Funchess though, oh no. There is something powerful and addictive about her voice and her presence, almost as if these are the songs of the possessed.

If you’re brave enough, you can feel that presence live tomorrow night at the Opera House. Light Asylum are playing at the VIVID Live party that we’re co-hosting with the awesome kids over at Penny Drop, alongside Zola Jesus and Forces. Go on… don’t be chicken.

WHAT: VIVID LIVE: FBi Radio / Penny Drop Party – Zola Jesus, Light Asylum, Forces
WHEN: 31 MAY – 9:30PM
WHERE: Studio, Opera House
TICKETS: $45
MORE INFO: over here