Hehe I always love data tracks, esp. when they have videos on them, as is the case with this one (do download a Quicktime Player if you don’t have one though). Add to that it being a video with yet another deadly gorgeous Italian lead singer (they’re everywhere around me nowadays. I’m not one to complain though ;-) ! ), all set to a gorgeous black and white Euro style video, and I am a happy man. Their sound to me is akin to La Floa Maldita, which is no small compliment considering that LFM is one of my fave groups. The classical style of playing though in this is just as apparent, if not totally by sound. And the lead singer’s voice has a cool, relaxed tone to it, not trying the harpy call of a lot off ethereal style singers. Track 4,"Space White Roses" is my favorite on the CD, with a laid back ambient feel to it, ala Chandeen, and it’s whispered and reverbed vocals. Even some sax in this already healthy mix. Track 5, "Daphne" has more of the same cool night ambience, with some sax and sensual vocals layered on top of it. Pretty good CD,overall. Rating:8.

The latest from Shikhee and her band of merry men dives, as you could tell from my interview with her (my first ever!), into more organic territory versus the infamously cold and desolate world of AL. At times compared to Oneiroid Psychosis, this can be quite misleading, as her atmosphere is not as dense or as desolate as that of Oneiroid, but more danceable. Live drumming is the most obvious addition to the sound as well as untreated vocals this time around (I actually found her distorted vocals quite charming! uuurrrgh). I’m still bigger on the older work of AL, but this is not a bad choice, though. If you complained before about them being too cold (which I love about them), then this is a good start to converting you over to their sound. My favorite on here is "Another Void" which is the darkest track on here, following with Shikhee’s innocent sounding screams of pain. Rating: 9.

After hearing the name of the record company, I started to think of Cold Springs, the section of Cincinnati where I stayed for a good while. Thankfully it has nothing to do with that place! Anyhow the first track, done by Ignis Fatuus (is that the guys name, b/c that does mean "absorbing fire" in Latin?), has an epic march rhythm to it, kinda of reminding me of the beginning track to the new Arcana CD (I only got to track 3 on that CD b/c it got cracked in the mail, but damn do I ever recommend it from the tracks I’ve heard so far!). Kind of reminds me of the Braveheart soundtrack just a little bit, except a bit more rhythmic. Folkstorm I have heard of before, but I always thought by the name they were a death folk group. But the track on here sounds very quiet and slow, done by electronic reverb, and no signs of death folk here. Track 3,"Cortege", done by Mark Snow sounds like it could have easily came from a Cold Meat Industries sampler, which in my terms is a compliment. It is the kind of music where I start to think of cryptic monasteries at night, with moss guiding the raindrops down the pillars at night. Slow, operatic, just how I like my classical tracks. And to all our surprise afterwards is the appearance of our Croatian friends, Laibach, with a new working of the classic "Die Liebe" ("Love" auf Deutsch), their most famous tune. And perhaps their most chaotic, much to the surprise of lyrics that chant angrily in German "Love is the greatest inspiration, the all-sleeping". The mood of this CD, and perhaps the sound of the label, is akin to Cold Meat Industries. Very dark, classical music done with godloads of atmosphere, all very skillfully done. This is music you have to wait until nighttime to listen to, though, not the type to listen to on a sunny day searching for bunnies to take pics of. Well, maybe for those autumn days out on the countryside and dusk has set. But on the same hand the sound has that Cold Meat Industries ambience of evil sound about it in some artists (Megaptera is a great example), exemplified in tracks like Band Of Pain’s "November 1970" (yeah I know the name is kind of corny) and it’s nether worldly musical limbo. But after that Benedikt Middler (any relation to Bette?) and his gentle Baroque rhythms soon bring you back to the surface. My fave would have to be Von Thronstahl’s "Mitternachtsberg" ("Midnight City") and it’s dense-as-lead Das Ich-type sound. Overall a pretty solid buy and something great for gothic and opera fans alike... ... ... .Rating: 10. Also this is free when you buy two Cd's from the Cold Spring folks. :)

This artist does the perfect to me, combining the pop elegance of the new styles of modern synthpop, and combining it with the ambient qualities of the synth at the same time. My roomie and I played this in the car, since she has a thing now for synthpop (esp. Spock), and she was saying the voice of the singer was too low for the songs. She would have preferred Marian Gold, but I say the guy’s vocals do a great job of making the music much more emotional. This is a more emotional version of synthpop, not a floorfiller CD though it could do a great job at that. The synthlines on this CD remind me of sound effects on the old videogame "Guardian Legend" (my fave game!), very simple, monologue yet very trancy. The synthlines on my favorite song on here, "Take Me’ are ones I had to hit the rewind buttons on again and again walking down the street. This group is to me par excellence of when the modern synthpop style is done right, not to mention being produced by Volker Lutz, who is in another fine example of futuristic synthpop, T.O.Y (formerly Evil’s Toy). No boom chukka, no whining about tenderness, and just pure trancey melancholy done via synth. I cannot sing this CD’s praises enough, even with my reservations about some of the new synthpop out there like Beborn Beton (grossly overrated outside of their live shows). But I’ll let the proof be in the pudding on this one. This is definitely one of the finer releases of the year so far, and I think this man may well take the now experimental ?futuristic synthpop’ sound to it’s realized state. Rating: 10. Also recommended is the latest T.O.Y. CD, "Space Radio" and Evil Toy’s "Silvertears". For more synthpop info ask our resident synthpop expert, Mauri. I’m gonna have to pass this one to him, he’ll flip! PS, don’t forget the gorgeous Italian women on the lyric sheet (never underestimate the power of Italian women!).

The beginning track "Swamped" displays the graceful flow of chords on the CD, flowing from one gorgeous power chord to the next, getting metalheads and Goths alike to moving. Even the Sarah McLaughlin types can get into this one. The song shows their power to be both heavy and graceful at the same time, which was well displayed on the last CD, Unleashed Memories. Gliding along side it is "Heaven’s A Lie", which can be considered both a pop song and a metal-ethereal song at the same time. Throughout the CD, power chords paint an atmosphere for both male and females both masterfully done. The sound seems to be going towards a more This Ascension-type style of ethereal rock, with very tight playing and the occasional keyboard adding to the atmospheric mood. And for the fans of their Italian sung songs like me, there is the closing track "Comalies" (the promo pack says it’s sung in a dead language. When did Italian die?!? Did I miss something and Italy just disappeared?!?!). My faves on here are Swamped, Heaven’s A Lie, Self Deception , Tight Rope, and Unspoken, though this whole CD is meant to be listened to all the way through for that good trance effect. The entire CD is pure delight for both Goths and metalheads out there to enjoy, getting these two different and often opposing groups together. And to me, with my found again love of metal I put his band as my top ethereal outfit, led by some of the best guitarists in metal and one of the most gorgeous and talented women in music (she sings not with classical training like some would think, but just on sheer heart). Stay tuned for the posting of the Lacuna interview soon! Rating: 10.