I got the pleasure of seeing this quartet at the Wale the Dead 2 fest in Los Angeles. This band is one of the most Goth Rock bands I have ever seen, they hail from New Orleans and are not to be missed live! The cd is "Doloroso" and it is pure Goth Rock at it's finest. We open with Track one ~ Seven Sisters . a Gothic masterpiece with Larry singing.in a dark haunting voice, " They run, they run, they run, someone watches over me." This track is sure to tear up a dance floor for sure. We proceed on to Track two ~ " Spiritual Lies " which is one of the hardest sounding tracks on the album. Guitar driven and full of speed. Larry sings, " Why can't you see, why can't you listen to me, spritual Lies, spiritual compromise. " A kind of I told you so lesson to be learned that we can all relate to. This track has some kick to it to get you moving and grooving. The next Track three ~ Clean on the Outside was the most amazing track to me on this cd. Larry screeches , " So clean on the outside, Jesus Christ what a mess on the inside." making us think of all that have hurt us in the past. This song should be an anthem to the ones that wrong us. Super Goth Rock guitars blasting with heavy beats beating hard with the heavy expressions that match this song. With lyrics and uniqueness all around. Larry sings again, " My world is crashing, sound the alarm." Once again, clever as it gets. We then proceed on to Track seven ~ She Got it Big which is another great dance floor hit. This song truely Goth Rock at it's finest. Larry sings, " She got it big, she got it hard, knife in her back, right through the heart." This song tells the tale of animals that can tear you up and take your soul. A no hold barred in your face track that has fury and gets under your skin to warn you of evil that is making itself known. A track we can always keep in the back of our minds to have a tale to tell. Then next is Track eight~ Not a Single Tear which describes myself to a tee. It was a track that I had too much in common with and made me laugh a bit. Larry sings, "A black dress and spider webs, crucifix around her neck." Track after track they are all unique and awesome in their own way but Track nine ~ I Can See Right Thru You is by far my favourite track on the whole album. This track was embedded in my mind from the first time I ever heard it. Too damn cool and making me a believer that Goth Rock still exist I got up from my chair and starting dancy in a frensy when I heard it agaiin for this review. Larry sings so dark and so savage, " Your lies will crucify you" Your lyiing ways, your cheating days, and yourself my friend." A tell all, tale that once again is a thorn in our side, that we all bear of the ones that have betrayed us. Everythng about this song I love and will always cherish. It is a new song that I will put up in the high ranks of my favourites. The rest of the album is pure Goth Rock Elegance at it's best and everyone should buy this cd and give praise to " Doloroso " ~ 4 stars Michelle Russo

Containing eight tracks exploring the dark ambient/industrial realm, ECHOES OF THE PAST... NOT FAR AWAY isn't properly a new album by :Wulgata: as it gathers tracks which previously have been released on the MCDr "Echoes of 3rd", one remix of a Multipoint Injector track included into their "Altered states album" plus two compilation tracks (basically this is a CD reissue of the "Nag Hamadi - Unfinished Story..." CDr released by Mizantrophy Label back in 2005). Of the lot I appreciated most the five tracks coming from "Echoes of 3rd", because they are able to span through different dark ambient/industrial ambiences trying to diversify the sound. So, if "Abyssynthia" is based on minimal sounds/noises with bells and water noises that suddenly break in, "Le jour du soleil noir" has a strong mid tempo rhythmic section (a Middle Eastern kind of rhythm) with distant distorted guitar rumbles and a synth joining in after a while, enriching the atmosphere. "R.otten I.ra P.uryfication", instead, has a background of vocal and drum machine loops and creates a total different mood. The compilation tracks are nice industrial ambient tracks with ethnic references (this concerns "Gange flows") but they kinda stick on the same ground.

Goth music doesn't interest me lately and generally I kinda always preferred post punk to it. Today I received from D-monic the debut album by Ahráyeph, titled MAROONED ON SAMSARA. From their website I read that that M-tronic sub-label is focused on goth music and I started to be afraid about its content. Born as a solo project of Raf Jansen, ex member of Belgian metal/death metal bands Crucifire and Ancient Rites, Ahráyeph started to gather interest on the local musical scene and as a logic consequence Raf found himself in front of people and friends asking to join in. After a bit of rehearsing the band started to work at this album. At this point you'd be ask yourself the reason of all this introduction for a genre I'm not interested into, well... the fact is that Ahráyeph's music is goth but to be true it is more dark than properly goth. It is dark music blending metal, goth and post punk. If on some track I hear influences of Type O Negative, on some others there are light traces of Cure (very feeble). In any case I can't clearly point out influences and similarities because MAROONED ON SAMSARA sounds like a nice blend of genres with good atmospheres, well working synth samples and guitar riffs.

This new album by Atum is titled HITWA and it's divided into five movements. The main concept behind this work is represented by a question which can be read also as an experiment: if the effect created by the contemplation of symbols is a whole different experience for each of us, how much powerful can it be if in conjunction with sounds? The three panels of the CD package contains five different symbols you can use at this purpose while you are listening to the trembling sounds created by Atum. Sounds which tend to create apparent calm dark ambient suites (see the use of acoustic guitar with synth pads) where choruses, bells, and reverbered industrial rhythms come back an forth destabilizing the whole sound. Influenced by the early Cold Meat Industry sound of Megaptera and Desiderii Marginis and helped out by Infamis, Dead Factory and Equus, Atum succeeded into the creation of a hellish microcosm.

Great album of electro funk music with some lounge moments plus some instrumental extravaganzas. Mathias Modica opens the album with the cool single "Live fast! Die old" where Asia Argento gives her intriguing vocal performance (as well as on other two tracks: "No milk" and "Il gatto") and after that he puts in a row great catchy electro funk pop songs like "Down in L.A.", the r'n'b/soul influenced "You never see me back down", "The rat race" (this one and "Psycho magic" have The Rapture's Matty Safer as guest on bass) or "No milk" (an electro mysterious sounding song with Asia Argento on vocals, singing funny lyrics). The album doesn't contains only cool accessible and danceable tunes, on other ones (see the three "Interludus" or the closing "The knights of Heliopolis" and its flute lines) Mathias experimented with sound solutions by looking for new ways of creating new musical interesting blends. Check some of these tracks on his myspace page and get the record.