Alaska’s Cliff and Ivy return from the edge of the map with Angels Eyes, a ten-track descent into goth, deathrock, post-punk, and metal. Released August 7, 2026 on the duo’s own House of Extreme Darkness label, the album carries the cold, stark atmosphere of the Alaskan wilderness into a sound rooted in goth’s darker traditions. “The Raven and the Wolf” and “Tidalwaves” evoke the feel of lost late-’80s cult-film soundtracks, while “Propaganda,” “The Healer,” and the deathrock charge of “Kiss of Death” push the record into heavier and more emotionally charged territory. Ivy Silence’s commanding vocals cut through chugging guitars, ritualistic textures, and shadow-drenched lyrics, giving Angels Eyes the feeling of something vintage unearthed rather than merely recreated.
At the center of the album is “The Raven and the Wolf,” a darkly romantic invocation shaped by Arctic mysticism and the primal landscape surrounding the duo. “We wanted to capture the feeling of love that’s wild, eternal, and a little dangerous,” says Ivy. “It’s about finding someone who sees your shadow and still chooses to stay.” Elsewhere, “The Healer” transforms grief into a gothic elegy, while “Kiss of Death” embraces the theatrical menace of classic deathrock. The result is an album that understands goth as more than an aesthetic — it is ritual, darkness, resistance, and a way of turning isolation into something powerful.
Originally from New Jersey, Cliff Livingston and Ivy Silence have been making music together since the 1980s, moving through hardcore, post-punk, and experimental territory before relocating to Anchorage in 1993. Cliff and Ivy emerged in 2011 and have remained fiercely independent ever since, cultivating a cult following through their DIY approach, haunting imagery, and refusal to stay inside genre boundaries. Their work draws from synesthesia, ritual magic, and the severe beauty of Alaska, with collaborators including Martin Atkins, Paul Roessler, and Tom Coyne. On Angels Eyes, Coyne (45 Grave, Kommunity FK) provides drums, Roessler (Nina Hagen Band, The Screamers) contributes his multi-instrumental talents, and Grammy-nominated Maor Appelbaum handles mastering. This is goth music from a long way outside the usual borders — cold, theatrical, strange, and very much alive.