The second verse the same as the first – Absurd Minds
return with their second full-length CD of Project Pitchfork
influenced EBM. It’s a good thing Deception was a really
good CD, because Damn The Lie shows little evidence of
artistic growth in terms of song writing, composition or
thematic. The songs on Damn The lie are well produced,
and well written, but they really just stay the course as laid
out on the previous CD.
While it is an enjoyable album to listen to, it really doesn’t
break any new ground. It’s good, but not great. If Absurd
Minds can just break out of this trying to sound “More
Pitchfork Than Pitchfork” mentality they seem to be set
into, and work towards a more unique sound of their own,
they could be one of the groups to watch in the next few
years. – chris parasyte
Category: Album Reviews
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Absurd Minds – Damn the Lie
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Midnight Syndicate – Gates of Delerium
The third installment from this duo who create gothic/horror
soundtracks for movies that do not exist. For those who
loved their first two releases, Born of the night and Realm of
Darkness, you will not be disappointed. Then again, you
may be, for the same reason. There are not many surprises
on this release, everything is well done, from the production
to the artwork, and yes, even the music! But don’t expect
any drastic changes. This is great background music for
horror houses or anything related to Halloween. – Azriel J. Knight -
Inner Surge – Solus Verum
Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat. When I go to
see a band play live, I want to walk out ofthere saying
“Man, that was great! They played hard, they gave it all they
got, they rocked my world and their shit was together …
fuckin’ cool!” And I’d rather be able to say it without having
to have had the entire experience blurred into enjoyment by
cheap ass draft.
Inner Surge let me do that. I had the chance to check the
band out a few months back at Calgary’s Level 4 Nightclub
(formerly Bourbon Street, formerly Rebar, formerly Dunes,
formerly Gargoyles, etc.) On a cramped little stage, with too
many musicians for the space they had to play in, Inner
Surge kicked some serious ass. The strength of the live
show rests in the rhythm section – a driving combination of
bass and percussion that reminded me somewhat of bands
like Tool and Rage Against the Machine. They’re the only
hard alternative rock band I’ve seen employ a Digeridoo,
which made me snicker at first but won me over soon after.
They played a great set and I wouldn’t think twice about
seeing them again.
At the heart of Inner Surge is one Steve Moore. He’s a
talented guy, don’t get me wrong, but on Solus Verum he
seems to have maybe bitten off a bit more than he could
chew. On the album, Moore composed, performed and
produced the music almost entirely by himself, bringing in
only a handful of guest musicians on very few of the songs.
The music is well written and for the most part well
performed, but Moore’s abilities as a producer are
questionable. The vocals on most of the tracks sound, to be
blunt, pretty awful, and could benefit greatly from the
experience a professional producer would bring to the mix.
The problem is not that Moore is bad singer, it’s just that on
this CD he is pretty poorly recorded. There are places on
the album where the music seems to drown itself out in a
blur of fuzzy bass sounds. Solus Verum would make a great
demo, and it is passable as an album, but I’m afraid it
doesn’t hold up as well as it could.
Despite the points it loses on technical merit, Solus Verum
has more heart and soul in it than anything in the same
vein has shown in years. Steve Moore’s passion for his
music and lyrics shows through on every song the CD.
These songs are some of the most politically motivated
I’ve heard in a long time, especially on the local scene.
Give Moore credit, this is a big project for one guy to try to
undertake by himself. Realistically, he should’ve had more
help with Solus Verum than he seems to have had. If the
live show they put on is any indication of what they’re
capable of, I look forward to hearing more from Inner
Surge in the future.
Live show – 9/10
CD – 6.5/10
-chris parasyte -
Soilwork – Natural Born Chaos
Possibly the best Soilwork album to date, all thanks to the recording talent of Devin (Strapping Young Lad) Townsend. This Swedish band started out in 1995 under the name “Inferior Breed”, producing an album similar to the likes of Pantera and Machine Head. Currently, they have a new keyboardist, Sven Karlson, who is a little more diverse in his playing and effects, than the previous keyboard player. At the same time, the rest of
the band remains as technically proficient as ever. This album is only recommended to people who can deal with a high level of intensity. No wimps allowed. – Brooke Chaisson -
The Cruxshadows – Tears
It took me about five seconds to fall in love with this CD.
Here’s the break down for you
Track One: Tears
I really enjoyed the synth work on this, and the voice of Rouge is very pleasant. As well, the chorus is very uplifting. You’ll love it right off the bat (if at all) and it will continue to grow on you with every listen. Very goth-electro, very cool
Track Two: Tears (Apoptygma Berzerk re-mix)
There are still vomit stains on my carpet from when I heard samples of APB’s Harmonizer. Lucky for The Cruxshadows, APB pulled off a decent remix of Tears. It has the typical progressive layered build up for the first two minutes and the super synthy overdose we have come to expect from APB, but I didn’t add any more stains to my
carpet, so it must have been good.Track Three: Within
My personal favorite. As with the original version of Tears,
the beat is catchy and Rouge’s voice is soft and follows the
synth in perfect sync. This is a fantastic choice for DJ’s –
easily danceable. By now on the CD I notice that the lyrics
on this CD are very spiritual and very metaphorical, more so
than most lyrics I pay attention to. The violins in this track are a nice touch, they follow you throughout the song but just under the level of being noticed, at least at firstTrack Four: Tears (Robbie Tronco/Knobhead remix)
This begins with violins, the violins stop and synth replaces it. Then the violins decide to play along, and somehow the total effect gives a very Egyptian feel. This is my favorite remix of Tears – I’ve always been a sucker
for a violin.Track Five: Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky, which means basically gibberish, starts out with some thunder and a narrative from our man Rouge, and some creepy gothy sounds. I didn’t enjoy this track a lot, but still enjoyed it, I suppose I am a bit partial to Tears on this CD, but that’s just me. If anything this track is creative, but also very short, just under three minutes.
Track Six: Tears (Fictional remix)
Rouges vocals are teched in this track, some will like it, some wont. The synth beat gives off the same aura that APB’s remix did – good, but generic.
Track Seven: Heaven’s Gaze (acoustic tears edit)
I am indifferent to this, it’s definitely different from all the
others, mainly for it’s lack of synth. It’s goth, its got
pianos, and hard to hate. Wait, I changed my mind, the
chorus just came on, I like it! Yes, because of the violins.
Bonus CD Video Track: Tears Recorded Live (Artifact
Tour 2001 , Philadelphia, PA)
This was fun to watch, Rouge’s vocals were pretty good, and he wears one of those head set deals, which allows him to roam about on stage, and even off stage, he actually walked into the audience during the song, I found that very cool. -
Lacuna Coil – Unleashed Memories
This is the fourth and latest release from this Italian
sextet, consisting of fifteen tracks, including five bonus
tracks from their Halflife EP.
Overall, this band is about as progressive as Nightwish
of Finland, but not as intense. At the same time, they’re
not as lame and boring as The Gathering either.
Lyrically, the album can range from being well put
together, to semi-intelligent, to exceptionally dull.
According to Century Media Record’s bio of the band,
they have an ability “To lure the listener into a
thunderously dark and passionate landscape of
soulfulness.” It’s a cheesy phrase, but I’ll actually admit
that a number of tracks, (i.e.: Tracks 1, 4, and 10) have
done so for me, while some others were just typical
boring goth-metal. – Brooke Chaisson -
Fracture – Killernet
My first introduction to Fracture was their single Terror Eyes
featured on Off Seat’s [CLASS IX] compilation. Now, Terror
Eyes took me somewhat by surprise. The track takes about
half the song to build up to full momentum and new and
modified layers are constantly being initiated. My surprise?
It worked beautifully. Despite its sluggishly progressive
timeline, there is nothing sluggish about the material and its
toothiness remains a constant throughout.
So, on to hazarding the originating album. Killernet does not
seem to disappoint. It is a curiously diverse album in that
Fracture did not attempt to duplicate the sound of Terror
Eyes in any other track. I could rant for hours regarding the
hideous redundancy that occurs in so many projects –
sometimes it works, sometimes not. The absence of
redundancy in this project, however, has proven to be a
brilliant stroke. The unvarying quality throughout is welcome
as a constant and I am pleased to find that each track did
offer a comparable level of sophistication and layered
exploration.
Let me explain a little by what I mean when I refer to this
album as being ‘diverse’. Fortunately enough, the vocals
(male) also go in stride with each track’s mood – usually
under a consistent distortion: not too hot, not too cold – just
right.
Soak this album up. Their only other release, Hell is a real
pain to get a hold of. Hell is actually a concoction derived
from Killernet so don’t be too disappointed if it is nowhere to
be found. As for new upcoming material, who knows. But if
this is the only real album Fracture releases, better leave it
at that rather than with a follow up that may never exceed
the expectations put fourth by Killernet – Sarah Cassady -
Econocon – Business Solutions For The Active Terrorist
Straight from the boys of MZ.412 comes Econocon.
Don’t expect the MZ.412 flavour in its purest form, no,
no. Expect harsh electric power noise and harsh vocals
to match. Some interesting material here … not all of it
portrayed with the greatest of tact but definitely some
high points (thank you Old Europa Cafe!). The lack of
tact comes in when the noise element actually becomes
unbearable according to your eardrums and not
necessarily to your taste. Other than that, the material is
arranged in a most reasonable manner and almost
comes across as ‘coordinated experimental’ at times.
There is some variation in tempo, sound, and even style.
And I don’t lie when I say that the vocals are well-suited-very in-your-face with lyrics that give the bird by
themselves. Honestly, I cannot think of another noise
project that melds the vocals so well! If you want to take
a chance, and feel kind of angsty, Econocon seems to
be a good direction to head in. – Sarah Cassady -
Collide – Beneath the Skin
Release Date: 1996
Genre: Gothic Electronic
Similar Artist(s): Diva Destruction
Band Members: kaRIN, Statik
Instruments Used: Synth, Vocals (female)The album begins with a powerful, knock you off your ass, wanna play this while drag racing song called Violet’s Dance. I conjure up indescribable images of power and electricity when this song plays upon my ears. “Violet’s Dance is the feeling of my own perspective of life,” says kaRIN, singer/songwriter of Collide. “I have always been able to see my life from the inside as well as objectively from the outside as an observer, so that I am both passenger and driver…ride…restless violet’s dancing.”
This is Collide’s first album, released back in 1996 with an already formed personality, where most bands don’t really find themselves till their second or third album, this California-based dynamic duo come across as if they have been playing for decades.
The most memorable tracks besides Violet’s Dance are Pandora’s Box which kaRIN says “conveys the emotion of knowing something is bad or harmful to you, but wanting it anyway.” and Dreams and Illusions was the first song kaRIN and Statik (who does all the wonderful “noise”) did together “. . . before there was a Collide, or even the thought of starting a band together.” kaRIN explains. “It’s the feeling of wanting something that you can’t attain.”
Beneath the Skin is a nearly flawless album which is a phenomenal achievement for a first release. The song speaks of sorrow, need, passion, enchantment and power. it will pluck at the strings in your heart and will keep your mind scanning images of your own past. “The basic theme of anything I do artistically is a subconscious flow of what’s going on in my life.” kaRIN tells me. “I like to channel through vocals and words… a diary of sorts, pin pointing my thoughts and emotions. A lot of what I was actually going though at the time was the sickness of someone really close to me.”
Be sure and check out Collide’s Official Website and the all new Club Collide now with over 60 members, chat will other fans of Collide and the band members themselves! – Azriel J. Knight
Review Originally Published in 2001
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Tapping the Vein – Undone
Release Date: 2000
Genre: Goth Rock
Similar Artist(s): Garbage, Stabbing Westward
Members: Heather Thompson, Eric Fisher, Joe Rolland, Mark Burkett
Instruments Used: Female Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, SynthesizerHorror Online Magazine stated Vocalist Heather Thompson combines the intensity of The Sugarcubes, Bjork with the discipline of The Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Frazier. Thompson’s voice also has a quality which neither Bjork nor Frazier can claim: the capacity to fly from one emotional and auricular extreme to another in one second flat – believably and without strain.
I couldn’t have put it better myself. Tapping the Vein’s “Undone” combines a near perfect mixture of the classic euphony, basic instruments (guitar, bass, drums) with just the right dosage of programming and sampling from Drummer Eric Fisher who was also the man who decided to come up with the band name “Tapping the Vein” because of his appreciation for Clive Barker.
This 6 song EP is more than enough to attract to attention. A hard rock feel that has also attracted some attention to the goth scene for it’s tragic theme. Each song has it’s own creative life to it, with a song like crushing, it begins with an acoustic guitar and her voice, it seems to come from a distant radio, and suddenly the static and distance clears and the other instruments kick in with a pinch of Spanish flavor which may have been done on purpose, no idea, but great none the less. The album starts off with some synth guitar sounding deal that is difficult to describe and almost immediately after the drums come into play but this “sound” always remains and it sticks in your head. Song after song, a steady beat with a catchy chorus.
This is Tapping the vein’s second EP release and a full length album under the Nuclear Blast record label on the way, this alone is indication enough of the talent of the band. Being under the same label as bands like Theatre of Tragedy, Dimmu Borgir, and Children of Bodom should give them the recognition they need and deserve – Azriel J. Knight
Review Originally Published in 2001
