Caustic is the the primary creative force for producer Matt Fanale, a central figure in the North American industrial scene since the early 2000s. Built around hard-edged electronics that move between EBM, industrial, and power noise, the project pairs aggressive rhythms and stripped-down intensity with a sharp sense of humor, self-awareness, and DIY punk energy. Known for their outspoken personality and fiercely independent spirit, Caustic’s music balances confrontation with tongue in cheek humor, delivering club-ready impact alongside themes of frustration, resilience, and personal reckoning.

His latest releases, the companion double album Fiend I and Fiend II, present a deliberately split emotional landscape, with Fiend I capturing a manic, past-facing intensity, while Fiend II explores a more depressive, present-tense introspection. These two interconnected records together form one of the most intimate and thematically unified statements of the band to date.

Chris recently got the chance to catch up with the widely beloved industrial music icon from his home in Madison Wisconsin. They discussed at length the newest Caustic double albums Fiend I and Fiend II, his perspective on working with labels vs being fully DIY, his songwriting and recording process, and Klack's surprisingly popular recent cover of the Gordon Lightfoot classic "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".