I'm not that much familiar with the work of Faith And The Muse, even if they are active since early nineties. From their bio I read that their first three albums were kinda ethereal, goth and a little bit industrial and the duo met at a live gig where they were playing with their own projects: Strange Boutique and Shadow Project. William Faith (ex- Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, Sex Gang Children, and Shadow Project member) and Monica Richards (ex- Strange Boutique member) in ten years produced fine tunes and kept the band as a multi level experience including also form of theatre. THE BURNING SEASON is their first album I've got the opportunity to listen to and as I read on the bio it's an important one, as it represent a sort of changement, being the first one to be opened to other influences than only goth ones. As my first experience into the realm of William and Monica I must admit that I enjoyed their album: all the influences are well balanced and it never happened that I got annoyed, as usual it happens to me when I receive an ethereal goth record. All the "relaxed" moments (as on "Gone To Ground" or "Willow's Song") are real classy and are always able to catch the listener's attention and this is for sure a gift. You know, it's simple to play forty minutes of so called medioeval tunes or else, but it's difficult to melt all the various influences into something personal and cool and this is for sure the case. Echoes of March Violets (like on "Relic Song") duets with atmospheres a la Cocteau Twins of "Bouddicea" or with the electronic new wave of "Failure To Thrive". Really impressive.

THE JOY OF GUNZ is the first album of the Icon Of Coil's singer, Andy La Plegua. If you are thinking of this CD as an e.b.m album with melodic tunes, well: forget it. THE JOY OF GUNZ is rough and full of industrial sounds. We can virtually divide the CD in two parts: the tracks with Andy's vocals and the ones without them. The difference on some cases is slighty perceived, as there are only few melodic lines and the rest is based on a techno rhythmical approach. Try to think about it as an e.b.m. / industrial / techno freak and be ready for a real assault with really few moments without tension and buzzing sounds. Also the vocals, where present, have got the function of brain washing the listener as they repeat few alienating concepts. The tracks don't present a wide tange of solutions but this seems to be what Andy wanted it to be: raw and rude.

Take a little it of Depeche Mode, cross it over with latter period Evil’s Toy, and some (though not as many as in the past) And One-isms, and Melotron is the result. One of the more original and best modern Depeche Mode influenced groups to come out in a while, they have a very high energy sound that tends to walk the lines between EBM, synthpop, and electro, while being all and none at once. The vocals this time seem more charismatic than some of the past releases, trading in the monotone talk-singing for a more dynamic range and more experimentation with octaves. But overall this should be pretty familiar to the long time Melotron fans like me (Woohoo! Melotron without the stigma of import prices!!! First Das Ichm now this, bless you Metropolis! Haha) who’ve seen some of their past releases. This one does seem to have more of an emotional edge to it though, and the experimentation has been kicked up a bit..... I got the chance to see and meet them a few months ago here in Chicago, they put on a very energetic show that everyone in the audience says topped even the almighty Covenant. Trust me, there were a lot more American fans by the end of the night! The singer gets totally into the music, dancing and prancing around with a charisma I haven’t seen in a live show since Bella Morte or Porcupine Tree, and the energy grabs you no matter how far back in the audience you are. Plus the keyboardist I talked to is a very nice guy, quite humorous. In short, if you get a chance to see them live, give up the Depeche Mode tickets as your one synthpop show of the year and check these guys out, I guarantee you’ll end up leaving a fan, whether you like synthpop or not. Along with Pulcher Femina and the aforementioned And One, this is one of my favorite modern synthpop groups. It definitely has an energy that a lot of modern synthpop simply cannot touch or comprehend, as well as more complexity. Rating: 10.

Well, what can you really say when you’ve grown up with these rivet stomping industrial gods? They’ve influenced most of the industrial and EBM bands out there, as well as a lot of the industrial metal explosion, they move forward with their projects at a speed that is mind-boggling, and their mindset about music works like a whole universe of sounds mixing and intermingling (I’m scared to know how many soundfiles these guys have). This is the new song and single for the upcoming CD "Civilization", this is one of the hardest hitting songs they’ve done since "Millennium", considering the latest CDs have dabbled more into the techno and EBM genres. This is more akin to "Caustic Grip", but more of a modern version, involving raw, stomping industrial (yep, we mean OLD SCHOOL industrial to get you stomping!) And more controlled and skilled use of guitars (versus "Millennium", which used one or two power chords) and a lot more layered sound structure this time around. Promising new song for a promising return back to FLA’s hardcore industrial roots. Rating: 10.

I’m yet to see this film, since I’ve gotten a bit of a theater burnout from having worked and managed one in the past (I totaled easily at least 2 movies a day, some the same ones). Judging from the pics in the sleeve and on the site, though, I don’t think I’d really get into it at all, given the uber-goth atmosphere (no insult to the goths out there, of course, but it’s not always my cup of tea when it’s overdone), bringing back to mind some of those awful films the magazine Propaganda made way back when. I could be wrong, since I’m judging a movie by it’s promo ad, though. I’ll take these songs one by one: (1). Claire Voyant-"Pieces". Got the pleasure of seeing their singer (swoons) as HMB a month or two ago, all I’ve really heard of this group, though. Pretty good little track though, smooth and ethereal without a lot of the vocal showing-off. (2). Diva Destruction-"Talk To Me". Easily one of the worst groups I’ve hear in this day and age, and this songs reflects just how painfully bad, redundant, posturing and bland the group is. *Insert cop voice* Nothing to see here, folks, move on! (3). The Cure-"Doing The Unstuck". Neat little Cure song, what else can we expect from them but good tunes? This one is a bit on the poppy side though, I believe it is one of their earlier songs. (4). Karen Black-"Walking In The Jungle". Good vocals, but the music sounds a lot like Sade. The lounge mood of the whole CD tends to offset the rest of the tracks on this CD, but it is a nice little addition considering. (5). Magenta-"Eccentricity". Silly name for a song, but pretty good track from this group, reminds me of This Ascension with a more driving beat. I actually look forward to hearing more from this group, they show promise. (6). Mechanical Caberet-"Nothing Special". Sounds like Rosetta Stone, not as dancey though. Sounds a little too much like Rosetta Stone..... (7). Claire Voyant-"23 Years". This is a slower song which showcases the vocal aspect in a more traditional way for ethereal, on top of the slow, sliding guitars and lower C chords known so well in ethereal music. Awwwwww those vocals are magic! (8). Karen Black-"I Want A Lip". Slow, boring, still sounding way too lounge. (9). Bauhaus-"Severance". The only "new" Bauhaus song we’ll ever hear, and it’s a cover. Arrrrggggh! But it is a good track though, giving that Peter Murphy edge to a classic Dead Can Dance song. (10). Velvet Acid Christ-"Dilaudid". One of the slower tracks I’ve heard from VAC in a while. Still pretty hard edged, thankfully. This CD could use more hard edged material like this, but that’s just me. I think any CD could use more of an industrial edge a lot of the time. ;-) (11). Apoptygma Berserk-"Suffer In Silence". *Grabs barf bag*. Ughhhhhhhh I’ve learned how to really hate this band since their last CD. I remember the days when they used to be industrial and almost nothing but. Now they’re.....roller rink disco "make the little girls wet" kind of music?! Grothek can’t sing more than one octave, the music sounds like disco, and the lyrics are something Barry Manilow would make after a stroke. Sorry, Apop fans, if I sound harsh but this turn-coating is inexcusable! ;-) (12). Claire Voyant-"Iolite (Francis A. Preve Mix)". Proving the be the stars of this CD, this is a dancey yet dreamy remix of one of their songs. A mix of energetic and dreamy. (13). Sarah Rue-"Voice So Sweet". Ughhhhhh, what kind of limp-wristed whining is this? It’s some folk tune with some bellowing lady caterwauling like Melissa Etheridge. This is not good at all! OVERALL RATING: 7.