The Other – Fear Itself

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Steve Tovey

The Other is a German band that plays Horror Punk, a brilliant combination of happy Punk, Rock, and Metal music and horror-movie lyrics, and Fear Itself (Steamhammer/SPV) is their sixth studio album. With a line-up change that saw two new band members join the ranks of The Other, the musical styles are more diverse, ranging from Goth Rock and Power Metal to the regular Punk sound. Rod Usher’s vocals, while having a very different tone of voice, as often sung in a style similar to Volbeat.

After the mysterious intro ‘Fear Itself’, the album proper opens with ‘Nie Mehr’, a German-sung Hard Rock and Metal extravaganza, with enough melodiousness that it would make a great sing-along at a concert. ‘Black Sails Against A Midnight Sky’ also has a great shout-along chorus. The vocals, and especially backing vocals, in both ‘Dreaming of the Devil’ and ‘Doll Island’ are slightly on the edge, but this turns out to have rather a good stylistic effect for the genre.

One of my favourite songs on this album is ‘The Price You Play’, which combines Power Metal and Punk to create a cheerful but full sound; the chorus is especially fun with staccato guitars and sweeping vocals, and the bridge has the same kind of creepy vibe that Oomph! is especially good at. Another highlight is ‘Funeral March’, while a lot of the songs of this album can be construed as relatively normal songs, ‘Funeral March’ is really out and out in its lyrics and vocal style.

Throughout much of album the drumming is punk and the guitars metal, but ‘Animal Instinct’ is pure punk with horror lyrics, reminiscent of The Living End in its boundless energy and bass lines. If you like your music loud and energetic and your horror movies cheesy, then you’ll probably enjoy the living daylights out of this album.

7.5/10

LORRAINE LYSEN

NMBRSTTN (Number Station) – Energy and Entropy EP

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Steve Tovey

Since forming in 2012, Sacramento’s NMBRSTTN have been fomenting their post-hardcore smorgsabord into something truly interesting and compelling. Building on their well-received debut record of a couple of years back, and with a couple of new line-up changes under their belt, their latest EP Energy and Entropy (Flossless Audio) suggests a more synth heavy and goth influence to the band’s artistic vision. They’ve added to their spark and arsenal and the result is very positive indeed.

Opening track ‘Folden Unicorn’ follows that well-worn path of quiet-loud-quiet so beloved of the post-hardcore scene. There’s lots of new wave energy running through the song. A big sonic landscape underscored by dramatic lyrical content that is equally political and personal, centred around the themes of change and transformation proves a riveting and invigorating start.

‘Diamond Heart’ suggests the band have been dipping into their goth record collection; at times it sounds like an outtake from the Cure’s 1989 masterpiece Disintegration (Fiction). It’s majestic in its sense of the forlorn and whilst the subject matter is presumably all about heartbreak, the music makes the pain deeply pleasurable.

There’s a post punk and dark rock mood pervading ‘Terror Row’; at any moment you get the idea that Joy Division’s Ian Curtis is going to make some ghostly appearance from the grave. Imagine Interpol getting absurdly angry and you’ll be part of the way there in understanding what the band are getting at.

EP closer ‘Heliotherm’, then, comes as a bit of an aural shock. It couldn’t be more different in tone to the bleak and harrowing sensibility of ‘Diamond Heart’ and ‘Terror Row’. There is a greater sense of optimism allied to the driven rock based, synthy soundtrack. I kept coming back in my mind to early 90s goth meisters Curve with their love of electronica, dark mood punctuated by a coda that simply screamed Cult of Luna. All of these are very good things as I’m sure you’ve already twigged.

As an appetizer for a second album, Energy and Entropy works superbly. If you haven’t discovered this band then this is a perfect hopping on point; it’s rich, layered and richly creative. NMBRSTTN might be magpie like in their approach but as any good chef knows, it’s what you do with the ingredients that really matters and on this evidence, I’ll be ordering a second helping. Darkly delicious.

8.0/10

NMBRSTTN on Facebook

MAT DAVIES

Muse – Drones

Posted on June 8, 2015 by News Team

Muse didn’t become one of the biggest bands in the world by accident. They put in years cultivating their style of smart arena rock, dreamy synthy pop cadences with a super intellectual, cynical bent. Usually once you become to successful, your art starts to suffer. Muse proves on Drones (Warner Bros.) that they have entered their second decade as a band as hungry as ever.

In typical fashion, the lead track and bona-fide hit single ‘Dead Inside’ is the album’s catchiest ear-worm, yet is highly subversive. I giggle to myself thinking of teenagers bumping this song on the way to school, parents unaware of the lyrical nature of the track. The slick pop rock of the tune aside, you can tell a well written song when you hear one, with clever key changes and great singing from Matthew Bellamy. He shines throughout Drones.

‘Drill Sargeant’ gives way to ‘Psycho’ which could give Marilyn Manson a run for his mascara in the goth-rock swing he perfected so well; right down to Christopher Wolstenholme’s distorted bass rumble. One thing that Muse has done well historically is to infuse their dystopic visions of the future with slivers of hopefulness. ‘Mercy’ is a rousing anthem of pain and possibility. Initially I was put off by ‘Reapers’ weak opening: kind of a slo-mo guitaring ‘Hot For Teacher’, but without the great drumming. But the full track itself is an ass kicker. Punk beats, big riffs and a great delivery from Bellamy again. To say that ‘Handler’ sounds like it could have easily been written by Trent Reznor 10 years ago, is a high compliment. Another giant, ebullient chorus you will be singing for days. The last third of the album is not quite a strong as its opening however, with tracks such as ‘Defector’ and ‘Revolt’ being a little too ELO sounding, even for a nerd like me. This is the part of the album where producer Mutt Lange flexed his muscles, so hard. ‘The Globalist’ saves the day though. Epic in scope, rain drops falling, lonesome Western-themed whistle, despondent protagonist going through an epic transformation emotionally, and all the musical movements reflecting that change. Amazing! The title-track/finale is a gorgeous display of chorale style singing and heart-string tugging words and solid way to put a bow on another release from modern rock’s royalty.

Muse, Photo by Danny Clinch

8.5/10

KEITH CHACHKES

On The Road… with In This Moment

Posted on May 8, 2015 by News Team

Hot on the heels of their hit album Black Widow (Atlantic), Las Vegas rockers In This Moment have brought their impressive stage show to audiences all over the world. Emphasizing the more goth rock elements of the band’s personality, the sound of the group has evolved from their metalcore beginnings ten years ago. Their wild stage show involves elaborate sets, back-up dancers, lights, smoke pylons, props and many evocative costume changes from front woman Maria Brink. Seeing In This Moment live is a veritable circus, with Ms. Brink as the Ring Master. Seen here at the Worcester Palladium, we send thanks to our comrade Evil Robb Noxious of Evil Robb Photography for sharing this photo set with our followers.

In This Moment, by Evil Robb Photography

[slideshow_deploy id=’24964′]

Tragic Idol – Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell

Posted on March 9, 2015 by News Team

“We live a very intense life. Not just with the band, but keeping together families and things like that.” The deep, dulcet tones of Fernando Ribeiro are unmistakable, coated in this thick Portuguese accent, it is little wonder the forty year-old front man of Moonspell still attracts much attention from swooning nubiles. These days the Goth Metal lothario has a young son to raise which is perhaps a factor on the more mature direction Moonspell have adopted on new opus Extinct (Napalm Records). “We like to delve into the unknown. It is important to be creative when we feel inspired to do so. We had six months of touring left for Alpha Noir and Omega White, but we needed to write when we felt the need to express ourselves, to feed that hunger!”

One thing that immediately noticeable about Extinct is the concept is rooted in reality both on a global and personal scale. As Ribeiro explained, the concept came together relatively quickly. “We did not want to split our direction as we did on the preceding albums. The concept came out very early. I was thinking of extinction on a global scale which affects animals but also how human beings place a higher value on their own existence and will often sacrifice other species and the planet to serve our own selfish needs. Sonically, we have been influenced more by electronic music and used more clean vocals. It is a very desolate album.”

Extinct is indeed a dark affair, not least for the shocking image of a mutilated amputee which adorns the cover which is the work of Septicflesh bassist and frontman Spiros Antoniou a.k.a. Seth Siro Anton. “He worked on ‘Night Eternal’ for us.” Ribeiro mused on this comrade’s work. “We feel an affinity with Septic Flesh and look forward to touring with them this year. His work recalls that of Francis Bacon or Joel- Peter Witkin to me. ‘Extinct’ is an album about imperfections. That figure on the cover looks raped and mutilated but it is about the fear of what could happen and the damage that has been done. Amputee’s feel their limbs long after they have had them removed so it seemed to fit with the concept we had.”

In addition to its gruesome cover art, Extinct also has some of the most personal lyrics Fernando has ever penned. “Gothic metal has always been very fictional but we have gone through many changes in our lives. ‘The Future Is Dark’ is one song which exemplifies this. Jens and Pedro opened the studio up specially one night for me to do the vocals. It had been a difficult night at home for me and I wanted to get the lyrics on the track straight away.”

The track in question see’s Ribeiro addressing his son with the brooding chorus refrain ‘Without you there is no tomorrow’ it’s a touching moment. “Jens told me it was one of the best personal songs he ever recorded. He is a workaholic who never gave anyone a day off but he was a real team player and supportive of everything we did.”

Adding further depth to the seductive melodies on ‘Breathe (Until We Are No More)’ and ‘Medusalem’ is the use of a Turkish orchestra. “It was a big challenge to get them involved because they do not speak English nor I Turkish so we had to have a mediator in between! Portuguese music has always been influenced by the Arabic scales so we wanted to incorporate that. We didn’t go for these big Wagnerian arrangements most Metal bands use we wanted something more seductive.”

Another highlight is album closer ‘La Baphomette’, a track which sounds positively vaudevillian with its swing feel and elegant piano. “Our bass player Aires wrote this piece with the brass section but Pedro helped with the arrangement. When I listened to the melody I thought of Burlesque and Tom Waits – I love French poets like (Charles) Baudelaire. I was at the French quarter in New Orleans on our last tour and I wrote the lyrics about a burlesque dancer who evokes cosmic chaos. It is a very romantic song and a great way to end the album.”

WORDS BY ROSS BAKER

Publicist UK – Original Demo Recordings 7”

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Steve Tovey

Publicist UK are an intriguing combo which see Dave Witte (Discordance Axis, Municipal Waste drummer) joining forces with Revocation bassist Brett Bamberger and team up with Distant Correspondent’s David Obuchowski and former Fresh Kills mouthpiece Zachary Lipez.

It would be natural to expect pounding rhythms and adrenaline fuelled blasts, especially considering the rhythm section. Only that couldn’t be further from the agenda. Instead gothic post-punk is the order of the day, with the spectre of the late 70s looming largely over the two tracks present here. The sound of the band is decidedly British in its choice of influences, reeking of decaying Chameleons and Fields Of The Nephilim records. “I love it when you talk real politics!” Lipez pines like Andrew Eldritch reciting the works of Fredrik Engels.

Original Demo Recordings (Static Tension) is the kind of effort fans of recent death rock troubadours such as Beastmilk may lap up, although Publicist UK are more retrospective in their style and the reverb and treble heavy production; Spiralling melodies are interwoven amongst the effortless performance of Witte, who provides a solid backbone, largely sitting back to support the song. His pulsing sixteenths accenting every nuance of ‘Slow Dancing To This Bitter Earth’ while Lipez repeats the hypnotic mantra of a chorus over jangling riffs to great effect.

They also use the music as a platform to hit out at faux social rebellion. “Wave a red flag and decorate your handbag” snarls Lipez on the latter number, clearly using it to take a swipe at insincere political campaigners who do much complaining but little to change the systems in which they live.

Since this tempting morsel has been delivered, the group have taken up residence on Relapse Records and are working on a full length. Given the murky depths this release mines, it will be interesting to see if they can progress as strongly as they have started.

7.0/10

Publicist UK on Facebook

ROSS BAKER

On The Road…. Avatar

Posted on January 19, 2015 by News Team

Hailing from Sweden we have Avatar a twisted combination of dark circus theatrics and heavy metal. Being a fan of their music but not having witnessed them live I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The room grew silent as I waited for Avatar the tension slowly growing within the crowd. The silence was suddenly broken by the sounds of anticipation and one by one approached the stage silently greeting the crowd with a cold malicious stare from the centre of the stage robotically and dutifully moving to stand in their place. Waiting like a caged animal upon the call of their master and then came on stage greeting the crowd like a ringleader inviting them all deeper into their circus of madness and all that tension in the crowd, all that malice within the band exploded into one.

And it didn’t stop there followed by ear piercing guitar solos, and an impressive vocal range drawing you in with a soft almost frail voice. But smashing into a powerful bone shaking shrieking tearing its face off in front of you to reveal its true nature.

And at the end of the show each band member silently as before walked to the front of the stage and one by one thanked the fans. After they gathered together placed their arms around each other and took a final bow, a class act. To me it was more than a genuine and heartfelt send-off great things are rarely made of one thing, it’s when you have all the elements whether it’s Kungen and Tim Öhrström’s rock and roll sound the technical solos and hard hitting riffs. Henrik Sandelin’s rhythmic and groove inspired bass. John Alfredsson’s smashing the drums providing the heart attack rhythm to the machine. And Johannes Michael Gustaf Eckerström’s impressive vocal range entertaining and almost sadistic showmanship. Only by combining all these elements together you can only produce something as unique as Avatar.

[slideshow_deploy id=’15652′]

Avatar on Facebook

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY LUKE DENHAM

Revocation/Municipal Waste form Death Rock side-project PUBLICIST UK and confirm limited edition 7″

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Steve Tovey

Publicist UK, featuring Dave Witte (drums – Municipal Waste), Brett Bamberger (bass – Revocation), David Obuchowski (guitars – Goes Cube) and Zachary Lipez (vocals – Freshkills), have confirmed their debut release of a 7″ limited edition single, Original Demo Recordings.

The single features the songs ‘Slow Dancing To This Bitter Earth” and “Never Gone To School”, and will be released by Static Tension Recordings on 17 February 2015.

Most surprisingly, considering the day jobs of some of the members, there is nary a hint of distortion in the sound, with Publicist UK plying a Death Rock trade with strong Goth and Indie influences.

The band had never actually met prior to forming, nor had, apparently, discussed direction before writing the songs which will make up their as yet untitled debut album, released on Relapse in the Spring of 2015, with further details being announced in the new year.

Steve Tovey

Unbreakable – Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil

Posted on June 17, 2014 by News Team

Currently weaving their way across the U.S. on the Revolver sponsored “Hottest Chicks In Rock” tour, Italian Gothic Metal act Lacuna Coil and co singer Cristina Scabbia in particular, has forever received plenty of attention for their passionate and dramatic music and high energy live shows. On the phone from Reno, Nevada Cristina is remarkably chirpy considering the gruelling tour schedule the band have lined up in support of soon to be released new album Broken Crown Halo (Century Media).

“It’s a long tour, people don’t see that it is a lot of hard work to do this, being away from our families and friends for most of the year is difficult but this is what we do. I’m not complaining about it because I love playing live and connecting with our fans but it’s not all glamour.”

It is this fearless work ethic that has propelled the Milan act to the forefront of gothic and mainstream metal scenes. One look at Lacuna Coil will tell you how important family and togetherness is for them. From the uniform stage gear the band dons each night to the way the band interacts with each other it is clear that friendships between the band members run deep. A fact that made the recent announcement by drummer Cristiano “CriZ” Mozzati and guitarist Cristiano “Pizza” Migilore that they were “retiring” from the band after sixteen years, all the more shocking.

“We have known this was happening since December (2013) really. We sat down to discuss the tour schedule this year and they let us know it was time for them to do something different. It was readily apparent that they were not into the touring lifestyle and that’s fine. There was no fight or anything like that. We are continuing on our path and they are on theirs. It did not affect the album and there was still a very friendly atmosphere when we were recording the album together. Cristina recalled. “Marco our bass player is our main songwriter anyway so nothing much will change writing wise.”

As anyone who follows LC across various social media platforms can attest, Miss Scabbia is an avid user of social media helping promote her band but also to give fans a real glimpse behind the veneer of magazine covers and photo-shoots into the real world of a touring rock band. She may be characterized as the glamorous and sexy diva of Gothic Metal but a pampered princess she is not.

“People think you are becoming a millionaire touring all the time but bands have to tour now more than ever just to pay their bills! I posted a status on Facebook the other day looking for an outlet to buy something and some girl wrote “Why don’t you get someone to bring you that? You are a millionaire you can afford it. People seem to think you get on a couple of magazine covers and all of a sudden you are super rich but it is really not the case. The fact that people seem to think things like that makes me want to post more on Facebook and Twitter and show people what our lives are really like. It is a luxury to have this job but we also spend a lot of time working our asses off! That’s a reason why I wrote a column for Revolver Magazine so I could show people what life was really like for bands.”

Sadly just a couple of days before this interview took place we learned of the tragic passing of GWAR front man Dave Brockie a.k.a. Oderus Urungus a moment Cristina acknowledged on her Twitter account. “That was really sad. He was a very cool guy with a sarcastic sense of humour. I loved their cinematic style and he was a very cool guy when I met him.”

Considering she grew up in the glare of media attention, one could hardly blame Cristina if she was bored of the Metal “Sex symbol” tag she inherited. While the she may be wearing similar attire to her male counterparts onstage these days there is no doubting the 41 year-olds charisma and ability to turn heads where ever she goes. “I think it’s cool to use social networks to show people your real personality. I can be a tomboy on the tour bus! I don’t ware high heeling and make up all the time and I want people to see that. A teeny tiny girl from Italy, a size three! I’m not perfect and I’m not a model. I think if I can give any message to the younger generation it is that you can be confident without having to fit into that mould. I’m not surely what people mean when they say hot. For me someone needs to be more than just good looking. For every photo of me all dressed up there is an image of me in jeans and a hoodie. I like to show the real me online but I like to keep the lives of my family, my friends and my partner private. If you show too much then you don’t have any privacy. I take the sex symbol tag with a pinch of salt because it doesn’t affect my life. I know who I am and I would never do anything I was not comfortable with. I don’t feel doing tours like this (The Hottest Chicks In Rock) as anything other than empowering for women. I am showing that you can be successful on your own terms. I’m 41 and have an album in the charts and make music with people I love. I can’t think of anything better than that.”

Being sexy and provocative is something rock bands have been doing for years, yet strangely it’s only remarked upon when the protagonist is a female. “The funny thing is bands like Mötley Crüe have been taking their shirts off and selling an image of sexuality for years but no one pays attention to men doing that!”

Lacuna Coil have yet to choose a replacement guitar player, but the drum stool has seen the rapid appointment of former The Agony Scene sticksman Ryan Folden. As Cristina explains this was an easy choice. “He started as our drum tech and filled in for Criz when he and his partner had their baby girl. He’s a great musician and a perfect guy to have on a tour bus. It was really important for us to have someone we felt comfortable with and who understands the touring lifestyle. As for the guitarist we are carrying on with just Maus for now but the response from musicians expressing interest in becoming part of our band has been phenomenal. As soon as we put a status online we were inundated with emails and video auditions. We really appreciate it but we aren’t auditioning anyone right now. It’s going to take some time for us to decide on what the right thing to do is. I think it’s really cool with one guitar too. It gives the band a more rock vibe which I think is really interesting.”

Lacuna Coil may cautiously be soldiering on with one guitar player for now but this is not the only change in the LC camp. After working with producer Don Gilmore for a few years, the Italians felt it was time for a change drafting in Jay Baumgardner (Papa Roach) to helm the mixing desk for Broken Crown Halo. “Jay owned the studio we recorded the last couple of records at so again it seemed a natural choice. We met Jay through Don but they are completely different. Don is a really hands on guy who wants to get every aspect of the recording right where as Jay stands back and looks at the whole picture. Our engineer Kyle also was really helpful. He has a lot of great ideas and plays many instruments. I am very happy with the results.”

Indeed Broken Crown Halo feels like a very natural progression from Dark Adrenaline. There has even been talk of Lacuna Coil taking inspiration from legendary horror director Dario Argento and soundtrack masters Goblin on this new record. “Yes very much. We grew up with these movies. They left a mark on us as kids. We wanted to combine those atmospherics with our music as a lot of themes fit well with the record. We haven’t written about Zombies and Vampires, but only used them as a metaphor for the destruction and horror we see in the world today. I think the record has such a spirit of defiance. We have been through a lot of things as a band in the last couple of years, couples splitting up and other conflicts, but whenever you touch the bottom you always rise to the top. It’s about facing all the adversity over the last fifteen years and still coming out on top. The song we released the video for “Nothing Stands In Our Way” is a great example of that. It tells of how we overcame the adversity life has thrown at us and we are still going strong today.”

Lacuna Coil on Facebook

ROSS BAKER

Emilie Autumn Live At Dynamo Eindhoven, NL

Posted on September 19, 2013 by News Team

Emilie Autumn04 On the night of August 27th Emilie Autumn had a show in Eindhoven. It was a warm night after a sunny day, and the sun had not even set yet because the concert was due to start very early. Our photographer had to solo it and also review due to unforeseen circumstances, and was on her way to what proved to me a dark twisted fairytale telling of a crazy story with a lot of neo-Victorian sauce on it.Continue reading →

Ghost Cult Magazine

Music News, Interviews and Reviews that matter.

Tag Archives: Goth Rock