-----------------Apoptygma Berzerk
wicked bass line, lusty violin, and chilling vocals, it's hard not to fall in love with it. One of my favorite groups-Beborn Beton presents us with a bouncy dance track that conveys a Vampire's boredom with routine in immortality. The Mission gives us a sly dance track that shows no vampiric shame in its lyrics, and a tasty guitar line. Neuroactive is the one truly electronic band on here, but their song has a dark creepy appeal that lets it fit in.(another favorite) Nosferatu fills their role as the fudgesicle of Goth--a classic, always scrumptious and ever present. There is no dispute as to their presence on here. Among the darker and slower tracks are Diary of Dreams, bringing us the familiar brooding sound of Goth-mournful male vocals and guitars. Kristeen Young 's seething voice combines with a menacing beat and doleful clock chimes advance upon us like an impending storm in her track. Carfax Abbey and Seraphim shock have a very gothy/metal edge to them with gnawing guitar riffs and aggressive vocals. Bella Morte, my fav of the slower tunes, is rich and melodic, embued with lovely harmonies and a decent male vocalist. Sunshine Blind walks us through the night with their catchy guitar lines and vampire soul seeking questions. Wench puts before us a more ethereal work with a timeless appeal and tribal sounds. Paralysed Age starts off with a dancey bass line that hooks you, and follows that with the classic sounding male goth vocals and unabashed vampire lyrics. I picked up this release from Dancing Ferret Discs at the local Goth/industrial shop..this isn't something you can come across at Best Buy. If you want to grab this one, check a specialty shop or go to www.ferret .com/discs.
Wumpscut has released a double disc set of work, the bulk of which is previously
unreleased material. You will find tracks on here from some earlier discs, primarily
Small Chambermusicians, Defcon, and MFAST. Among the songs from these three are
cool instrumental versions of Soylent Green, and Default. Also present are two brand
new tracksÉ.Hang Him Higher and Praise Your Fears. While you won't necessarily find
too many clubable tracks on here, you will a lot of excellent experimental and artistic
work. Also, a neat addition to this CD is a multimedia feature which displays a quantity
of album art work, photos, information about Rudy and his career, and merchandise
information.
it is the adorably terrifying bloodchild cartoon. The back cover features a group of them
playing; tossing a skull like a ball, playing with a blood-drip yo-yo, and holding up a
shovel and gravestone with the amusement of a kid in a sandbox. So cute, and so
morbid.This collection is a must have for any hardcore Wumpscut fan. Any newcomers
would probably enjoy this more by first picking up some of the previous releases. The
discs are great for just listening to, playing in the background and letting your mind
wander.
atmospheric charm and often haunting lyricism that is easy to lose yourself in. Wumpscut
as always, provides us with rich melodies, caustic electronics, and harsh landscapes hewn
from the ground of our fears and desires. Some tracks are cold and resonate with
desolation, others grind with heat, power, and fury. Many echo the intangible of dreams
and nightmares. This set is to Wumpscut what the Fragile is to NINÉ..an artistic
outpouring. Music, after all is art. Pick it up, and enjoy every dissonance and harmony
our friend Rudy has to offer.
production. Eight Bands total would be taking the Phantasy stage to entertain the
ghostface masses of the Cleveland Scene. As the promoter predicted, many out-of
towners came for this event. Many of these I suspect came from Columbus to follow their
local heroes Fleshfield and Dubok. The first night lineup went Dubok, Chew's Eye Shop,
Fleshfield, and Assemblage 23....who played there in Feb. despite the lack of Haujobb
who would have been headlining if they had shown up.
Joseph Vargo of Monolith Graphics, who was selling some lovely Gothic wares
including T-shirts, books, CD's, and posters. There was
some very poetic photography, much of which was done in Cleveland's majestic
Lakeview Cemetery, done with some ethereal looking female subjects dressed as fairies,
mourners, or just basking in the glory of their human form. There were some intricate
airbrush paintings, and an exhibit of organic metal sculptures which were lit and crackled
like synapses in the brain, aside some very old apple computers (ooh, scary!!!). The
second night we noticed two men in full fencing garb going at it among the art
exhibit....an unexpected surprise.Crunchy refreshments were provided for the hungry-a
nice touch, really make the whole thing an art gallery type affair. A nice, classy departure
from the usual schlepp some bands in and watch them through a haze of cloves sort-of
deal.
heard was rather pretentious onstage, because DJ Evil C and the Mystery Dancer were
holding us captive downstairs with their cunning and good taste. We did venture upstairs
in time for Fleshfield, who seemed to be displaying a deliberate lack of hair from every
member (even the gals) except for the one keyboard guy. Hair or not, these guys kicked
ass. Every song was a pounding, pulsing maelstrom of electronic fury. They played the
favorites like Cyberchrist, but I wish they had played one of their slower, sadder songs
just for contrast. Had my feet not be bruised from a tight pair of boots, I would have been
throwing myself around the floor to the music this band hurtled at us.
band that knows how to put on a show.Every member is moving, bouncing constantly to their
own music.You can tell they love it and believe in it. The vocal cord shredding tirade of the male
vocalist is beautifully offset by the female vocalists angelic, but powerful lilt. I learned
that this little siren has ten years of vocal training behind her...very obvious indeed. Not a
single complaint about the show...it seems a couple times they may have had some
difficulties, but who's keeping track when you're getting swept away by an Industrial
tsunami.
many a club-goer. They know how to play their instruments and mesh the noise with
energy and melody in such a way that it doesn't get lost in a vacuum of sound. This band
uses noise with a purpose in mind, not just for noise's sake. That, it something to be
praised. The infectious nature of their performance got everyone geared up for A23's
impending onslaught.I had heard some of A23 before, though I didn't know any song
titles.
would feel well into the next week. The bald lead singer was all over the stage, thrashing
as much as the crowd did. Among the favorites, like Purgatory, which had the audience
in a dance crazed frenzy, they slipped in two covers: Love My Way (Psychadelic Furs)
which they performed very true in form to the original, and a volatile, angry version of I
Ran (Flock of Seagulls) which I was completely blown away by. Love My Way sounded
a little stiff though, and the vocalist was a little flat. He seemed much more in the groove
with I Ran, however. A23 are a sort of angry, synthy Industrial/Electronic band. The
Synth-poppy edge is evident in Purgatory...not that I mind a bit.
machines, canthrow such power at you during a show and keep you entertained in their
performance. Pounding rhythms, and wicked instrumentation buffeted our happy ears. They
even hadan onstage dancer...no, not a floofy goth waif swaying to a mysterious breeze -but a
solidly built, amazonian,vinyl clad, rivet girl with shocking red dreds and fists that were
looking for some pizza dough to punch down. The crowd received them well, chanting
and stomping for them before they went on their encore. The whole production was very
well done. While the final act didn't finish until 2:30am or so, the crowd still had plenty
of vigor to spend on the dancefloor. It was nice to see such a good turnout with so many
people who cared about the music. It's a shame that more people don't make such an
effort more often for some other deserving musicians that have come through. I was
happy I went, it was a pleasure all the way around.
day festival of bands. I attended the second night only to see the opening act, Thou Shalt
Not, #1 because I hadn't seen them since long before their recent spring tour, and #2
because I was tired, having to work the next day and didn't have the energy to spend an
evening weeping for the black emptiness of my soul. So, this is a review of the opening
band only.
to hear a couple practice songs-always a cool thing. The lineup was Alex, as himself,
Sara on keyboards and drums, the drummer who I think goes by FOO on the
ohio-gothlist, and the celloistÉ..whose name I unfortunately do not know. It was obvious
that the group was excited and more confident this time around. They seemed to have
taken some hints from their fellow label-mates Noxious Emotion. Not only was the
drummer standing up this time, but there was a bit of custom percussion action going
on.......I noted a cymbal over a garbage can lid among the percussive arsenal. And let me
tell you, the drummer used it like an arsenal too......very energetic. Much more aggressive
than I remember. The added drums for Sara were a nice touch too, giving her more
to do musically and on stage (not that energy onstage is a problem for this bouncy,
powerpuff girl emulating musician)
looked very acoustic, although he chose not to tune it until later in the set.(heehee) His
voice, however was nicely tuned, as always. It's good to hear a vocalist who really knows
how to sing, instead of having to rely on vocal filters to cover up faults. The return of the
live cello was something I was very happy to see. After all, there's always room for cello.
(please don't hurt me.) One thing that I must stress about this group is how truly musical
they are. You can be a band, but not really be musicians. Just look at the crap that pop
culture fawns over, and you won't have to even question what I'm talking about. You
have four people, who use their talent to really play together and show to us that they are
interested in the music, not just their image. What's very apparent at the live shows is that
Thou Shalt Not is very much into what they do, that the musical expression is first and
foremost to them, and they enjoy every minute of it.
I have to listen through the new CD to learn the name. From there, they slipped into
Falling Sky-my personal favorite, an extra-angstful cover of Shout (Tears for Fears),
Adem, Sand and Wax....and a peculiar cover that took
me a few minutes to recognize. I believe it's called something like Bad Moon Rising, by
Creedence Clearwater Revival? I can pick out the original version in two seconds, the
happy, bouncy thing that it is, but this slower, brooding version was so Gothed out that it
took me entirely by surprise. In the end, it made more sense that it should be played that
way. Singing "Don't go out tonight cuz I'm bound to take your life" in a perky manner just
doesn't cut it anymore. The set was finished with the song that is worth the price of
admission alone....If I only were a Goth. Always a hit with me.
was very fleshed out and much more spirited than before. The band made some nice
additions to their work, which was already well on its way to begin with. Thou Shalt Not
continues to walk the Goth/Electronic/Industrial line with such ease. The combination of
intelligent songwriting, talented performing, and an original sound is what sets this group
apart from the rest of the local acts in this scene. Distinctiveness is important these days,
when so many bands are vieing for attention. The classical elements and electicism that
enter into Thou Shalt Not's style is what makes them so unique. We spoke to Alex on the
night before they played, and he told us how much of what he's working on goes in so
many different directions, but he's trying to make it all a cohesive package. Well, so far
he's made us believe that it can work. It takes talented artists to meld together such
eclectic things such as melody, noise, poetry, feeling, and energy. More power to them
for that.
a nice change. Thou Shalt Not got most of the floor twitching their feet happily. The
band was well received and well respected, as it should be. I just think it's a shame that
they couldn't have been moved into the Sat. night line-up. It's not a surprise that ASDR
Musicworks signed these guys as fast as they did. Sadly, as Alex said to us, and as is
apparent with the scene, they are a local band who is not fully appreciated by their home
town. It frustrates me to see talented people not get the credit they deserve (speaking
from experience..grrr.). I hope that in the not so far future, people will make more of an
effort to see these guys. Thou Shalt Not is a fun group, that is sure to please with it's
catchy, danceable style and artistic leanings. I feel sorry for those who missed this.
Visit the yet unexplored regions of my GUESTBOOK!!! MUHAHAHAHA!!!!
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