Electro-industrial music mavericks Alien Faktor return with ‘Hanging by a Threat’, a hard-hitting rage-fuelled anthem, attacking the news of the day with both emotion and insight. Channeling political disillusionment into a defiant call to resist hatred, intolerance and fascism, this is the first single from ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, the band’s first new album in 28 years.
Band founder Thomas L. Muschitz returned from a lenghty hiatus to confront the issues of the day and shout truth to the world, that something is very wrong here. Heavy guitar accentuates bombastic percussion and stomp worthy synth programming, accentuated by samples of revolution.
Founded in Milwaukee in the early 1990s by Thomas L. Muschitz, Alien Faktor developed a distinctive sound that blends industrial noise, electronic dance rhythms, soundtrack influences, and elements of metal. Following a run of releases on Muschitz’s own Decibel Records and a Top 25 placement on CMJ’s Dance Chart, Alien Faktor went on hiatus at the end of the 1990s.
Now based in Madison, Wisconsin and reunited with bandmate Mike Hunsberger on guitar and programming, the duo has re-emerged with new material capturing the zeitgeist of our modern society. In late 2025, inspired by his work in film and audio production, and disgusted with the state of the world, Thomas Muschitz began writing the first of many songs for their first album in almost 30 years.
Those sessions laid the creative groundwork for ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, ushering in a new chapter, retaining the project’s foundations while directing its creative energy toward the present. ‘Hanging By A Threat’ transforms political despair into a musical act of defiance. Its message is direct: kindness is strength, violence is weakness, compassion is art, and hate is disease.
“I have felt sickened at the state of my nation, and to a larger extent, many of the same issues that seem to be infecting the world at large. Turning despair into anger, and clinging to the vestiges of hope, I did the one thing that i have always done. Create art. It was time to return, to raise my voice and speak loudly,” says Thomas L. Muschitz.
“My deepest desire is that this song is a rally cry among many other voices, a reminder that the power resides in the people, and we need to fight injustice, intolerance, fear, hate and this insidious rise of fascism, each of us in their own unique way.”
On ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, Alien Faktor revisits its classic 1990s sound through dark, cerebral electro-industrial music, shaped by fresh influences and modern production. Hard beats, noise effects, EBM synths, textural guitars, and psychedelic atmospheres expand the project’s abrasive foundations into a broader, genre-bending sound.
Bringing in sonic richness, this album was mastered by the legendary Greg Reely, known for his work with pioneering industrial acts such as Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, numerous artists on the Nettwerk label, and other award-winning acts like Delerium, Fear Factory and Sarah McLaughlin.
Alien Faktor’s recording career launched in 1994 with ‘Abduction’, the first-ever release on Decibel Records, followed by ‘Desolate’ (1995), ‘Final Expenses’ (1996) and ‘Listen!’ (1996). Hunsberger joined Alien Faktor for the 1997 album ‘Arterial Spray… and Cattle Mutilations’, which reached No. 20 on CMJ’s Dance Top 25 in February 1998. Their music was also remixed by such renowned as Joseph Bishara (Drown), Seibold (Hate Dept) and Matt Green (Spahn Ranch).
Recording at Chicago Trax, The Warehouse and their own Milwaukee studio, The Womb, Alien Faktor worked within Chicago’s industrial figures like Chris Randall (Sister Machine Gun) and Van Christie (Die Warzau).
Alien Faktor has also earned recognition for remix work with Caustic, Purr Machine, Pain Station, Collide, Swamp Terrorists, Leather Strip, and Psychic TV, featuring Genesis P-Orridge, in addition to covering Alanis Morissette’s ‘You Oughta Know’ for the compilation ‘Nod’s Tacklebox o’ Fun’, released by Re-Constriction Records. More recently, Alien Faktor has covered MGMT’s synth-heavy hit ‘Time To Pretend’.
At the end of the 1990s, as the music landscape shifted for artists and labels amid broader changes in the music industry, Decibel Records closed their doors and Alien Faktor went on indefinite hiatus.
Tying the band’s future and past, the album art for ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ was created by James Barany, painter and professor at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, who also created the renowned painting for the cover of ‘Arterial Spray… and Cattle Mutilations’.
As of October 27th, ‘Hanging by a Threat’ is available everywhere digitally, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ album will be released on January 15th.
CREDITS
All tracks written by Thomas L. Muschitz
except Track 2, music by Thomas L. Muschitz & lyrics by Matt Fanale
Thomas L. Muschitz – vocals, synths, programming, guitar, metal percussion
Mike Hunsberger – guitars (Tracks 1 & 10) and Bass (Track 10)
Matt Fanale – vocals (Track 2)
Steven Seibold – guitar, bass & additional production (Track 4)
Connie Ward – vocals (Track 8)
Produced, engineered & mixed by Thomas L. Muschitz
Mastered by Greg Reely
Publishing – Faktorsongs ASCAP 2026
Album UPC – 608657002622
CD Design by Henry Ingram
Album cover painting “Nomenclature of Sierpinski” 2026 by James Barany
Photography by Paige Gilberg
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
TRACK LIST
01 Hanging by a Threat
02 Mono No Mono
03 Downfall
04 Glacier Dropsy
05 Bathtub Djinn
06 Love the Sin Hate the Sinner
07 Tainted Flesh
08 Delusional
09 Slave Bells
10 Currency of Victimhood
11 Club Meth
12 End of Man