Various - Beauty In Darkness Vol. 5
Nuclear Blast - 2001
By Philip Whitehouse
/images/covers/BeautyInDarkness.jpg
Reviewing a compilation is somewhat different to reviewing a regular album. For one thing, you are usually presented with a wide range of different bands, typically from several different styles of music centering around a particular genre. They are an introduction to a sub-section of the heavy music scene, and so are typically made up of bands you'll love, bands you'll like, band you'll be undecided about and bands you'll hate. This makes reviewing them an absolute nightmare, as I'm sure my cohorts at UM would agree.
So, Beauty In Darkness then. This is volume five of the popular goth/dark metal sampler - a CD whose aim is to introduce people to the more melodic, darker-tinted sonic tapestries woven by the best bands in the scene. As a newcomer to this area of music myself, who better to review it?
The first couple of tracks are two of the highlights of the album, so I'll deal with them first. The first track lightened my spirits, if only through hilarity. 69 Eyes present their song, 'The Chair' and the vocalist 'Jyrki' surely wins the award for 'most straight-faced and accurate Peter Steele impression ever'. He sounds just like the towering Type O Negative vocalist after a sense of humour bypass operation. The song itself isn't bad though, being a typically melodic and haunting Finnish Goth 'n' Roll anthem.
Next up are always excellent black metal heroes, Dimmu Borgir. The track showcased here, 'Puritania', sees DB taking a more techno-fuelled stance to black metal than previously seen. Samples, driving pulse beats and electronically distorted vocals combine with the typically shredding guitar work, demonic drumming and devilish vocals to make a track of true power.
The album continues much in this vein. There's a slightly 80's synth-pop sounding track from Lucifire (the solo project formed by Tiamat singer Johan Edlunds), and a typically odd track from Therion, with a nice driving beat and pulsing bass line coupled with a nice shredding guitar riff and some strings backing it all up.
L'Ame Immortelle provided the first speed-bump in the path of this album's success for me. Although 'Judgement' boasts some fabulous female lead vocals, the synth focused music served to remind me of terrible German dance/pop combos that regularly cropped up at the beginning of Eurotrash. However, Project Pitchfork help to smooth out the course with their brand of industrial metal, featuring simplistic, catchy melodies and huge-sounding beats.
While I realise I hardly need introduce Theatre Of Tragedy and Amorphis to many of the regular readers of UM, I will say that both have come up with stunning tracks. Amorphis in particular provide an edit of 'Alone' which left me particularly anxious to find out what the full thing sounded like.
Nevermore come next, with their crossover power/dark metal sound and an excellent track to showcase it, the emotional 'Believe In Nothing'. Next up are the always-excellent Lacuna Coil, their mix of soft and seductive female vocals with harsh male vocals over goth-tinted melodic arrangements shot through with metal attitude as enchanting as ever.
Out of the remainder of the album, the main highlights are Mandragora Scream's 'Cryin' Clouds', an excellent mix of symphonic string arrangements with crushing guitars and a slightly frightening female vocalist, Tapping The Vein's metallic cover of Tori Amos' 'Cornflake Girl' and Love Like Blood's cover of Paradise Lost classic 'True Belief'.
Overall, this album is an excellent introduction to the darker, more seductive side of the metal and rock scene. Obviously, no-one is going to like every band on the album, but it you're looking to find a pathway into the dark side, this is the best and most diverse one you're going to find. Whether you're looking to get into black metal, darkwave, industrial or goth 'n' roll, you'll find a band or two to satisfy you here.
Nuclear Blast - 2001
By Philip Whitehouse
/images/covers/BeautyInDarkness.jpg
Reviewing a compilation is somewhat different to reviewing a regular album. For one thing, you are usually presented with a wide range of different bands, typically from several different styles of music centering around a particular genre. They are an introduction to a sub-section of the heavy music scene, and so are typically made up of bands you'll love, bands you'll like, band you'll be undecided about and bands you'll hate. This makes reviewing them an absolute nightmare, as I'm sure my cohorts at UM would agree.
So, Beauty In Darkness then. This is volume five of the popular goth/dark metal sampler - a CD whose aim is to introduce people to the more melodic, darker-tinted sonic tapestries woven by the best bands in the scene. As a newcomer to this area of music myself, who better to review it?
The first couple of tracks are two of the highlights of the album, so I'll deal with them first. The first track lightened my spirits, if only through hilarity. 69 Eyes present their song, 'The Chair' and the vocalist 'Jyrki' surely wins the award for 'most straight-faced and accurate Peter Steele impression ever'. He sounds just like the towering Type O Negative vocalist after a sense of humour bypass operation. The song itself isn't bad though, being a typically melodic and haunting Finnish Goth 'n' Roll anthem.
Next up are always excellent black metal heroes, Dimmu Borgir. The track showcased here, 'Puritania', sees DB taking a more techno-fuelled stance to black metal than previously seen. Samples, driving pulse beats and electronically distorted vocals combine with the typically shredding guitar work, demonic drumming and devilish vocals to make a track of true power.
The album continues much in this vein. There's a slightly 80's synth-pop sounding track from Lucifire (the solo project formed by Tiamat singer Johan Edlunds), and a typically odd track from Therion, with a nice driving beat and pulsing bass line coupled with a nice shredding guitar riff and some strings backing it all up.
L'Ame Immortelle provided the first speed-bump in the path of this album's success for me. Although 'Judgement' boasts some fabulous female lead vocals, the synth focused music served to remind me of terrible German dance/pop combos that regularly cropped up at the beginning of Eurotrash. However, Project Pitchfork help to smooth out the course with their brand of industrial metal, featuring simplistic, catchy melodies and huge-sounding beats.
While I realise I hardly need introduce Theatre Of Tragedy and Amorphis to many of the regular readers of UM, I will say that both have come up with stunning tracks. Amorphis in particular provide an edit of 'Alone' which left me particularly anxious to find out what the full thing sounded like.
Nevermore come next, with their crossover power/dark metal sound and an excellent track to showcase it, the emotional 'Believe In Nothing'. Next up are the always-excellent Lacuna Coil, their mix of soft and seductive female vocals with harsh male vocals over goth-tinted melodic arrangements shot through with metal attitude as enchanting as ever.
Out of the remainder of the album, the main highlights are Mandragora Scream's 'Cryin' Clouds', an excellent mix of symphonic string arrangements with crushing guitars and a slightly frightening female vocalist, Tapping The Vein's metallic cover of Tori Amos' 'Cornflake Girl' and Love Like Blood's cover of Paradise Lost classic 'True Belief'.
Overall, this album is an excellent introduction to the darker, more seductive side of the metal and rock scene. Obviously, no-one is going to like every band on the album, but it you're looking to find a pathway into the dark side, this is the best and most diverse one you're going to find. Whether you're looking to get into black metal, darkwave, industrial or goth 'n' roll, you'll find a band or two to satisfy you here.
