Dunno,this is a little too 80's to me,like they are trying to live up this whole 80's revival thing. Not too much my style actually,but if you're into that give this a try. It has a little bit of goth element to set it apart too. Not really my thing but not bad at the same time,just a matter of taste. RAting:6. Recommended for Apop fans (except these guys are better. Apop now sucks so fucking bad you wouldn't believe it!)

Gothic metal is kind of a vague term once you see into the metal underground,as alot of bands like to use it in the same way bands like Slipknot use it: to market themselves and nothing more. This band,Rotting Christ, I heard quite a while ago when I had their first CD "Triarchy of The Lost Lovers" and I can safely say this band fits the goth-metal mold. Nice dark imagery devoid of the Dio-esque cliches,and most of all mixing mood with melody and heaviness, not allowing the powerchords and riffing to choke the emotion. Not too far from Paradise Lost, whom I still have a thing for. The opening track "Daemons" starts off with a nice little opera atmospherics before jumping into the sludgy speed section. Track 2,"Lex Talionis" which is sung in Greek I believe,does stumble a little bit on the drumming but clears up easily by the chorus. The speed these guys play at it amazing as well,but again not forsaking the emotion involved. Track 4,"Nightmare" is a good slow one that catches me,and probably strikes me as my favorite for it's slow drawling vocals laced in with the snarling vocal lines. Overall,good slow gothic (black) metal with an intellegence and good use of sampling with the Delerium-like opera vocals. Some good atmoshperics here overall, and should please both black metal fans and goth fans alike. Beats Cradle of Filth,that god awful excuse for music. Rating: 10 Also recommended are Septic Flesh,also from the great land of Greece,though at times they are more death metal.

It's way too rare to hear a good experimental electronic/classical crossover, and I wish there were more of them out there. Alongside Das Ich, this is the fianl word that the two can perfectly mix together, and you can tell just by listening to anything of Deine Lakaien or Helium Vola (or in fact any of their projects) that the classicly trained Ernst Horn puts a lot of time and restraint into each of the songs, playing it note by note rather than just looping. And Alexander's vocals are tenor yet smooth,not becoming a cariacature like Pavoroti, and it's kinda sensual in a Barry White kinda way. You can tell he's also been put hard through the opera boot camp as well and it paid off well, not to mention almost 20 years in the business, and the poofiest and coolest hair in the business. I want hair like that for Christmas! "Wunderbar" is a nice slow number, laced with piano and Alexander's vocals smoothing them out even more. The weird twangs and organic drumming give the single "Generators" a weird dance vibe in a slow, warping way,showing they can definitely dance music with organization rather than 'boom chukka boom kick' like most do. "Kiss" is another great dance single choice, a little more upbeat this time around, and laced with a nice thick bass beat and classical piano and organ lines courtesy of Ernst Horn the mighty. "Lost" is nice and slow yet again, until the minimal,restrained chorus line bounces and pops about,flowing yet catching you by surprise nonetheless. And my favorite,and especially made for suckers of classical like me, "Fleeting", with it's gentle bass beats and violin solos,as teh title says,fleeting. Kind of reminds me of the last song on the movie "Iris" except with tenor vocals. The violin solo in the middle is worth the price of the CD alone,import or no, and should have been the single rather than "Generators". But the latter has more of a club feel, so I think that appropriates the choice. And for you into old school electro ala Chris and Cosey and Anything Box, we have "Hands White" and "Stupid". Whatever language that is on "Hands White" is I don't know. In short,if it weren't for the import prices, I would have damn well owned every Deine Lakaien under the sun. If you love classical,electro-pop,or tenor vocals (not to mention the poofy hair!), and have a few extra dollars for the import prices,then definitely put this on your list. Helium Vola is another great reccomendation as well, as well as Ernst Horn's solo projects. Hell any of their projects,actually. Rating: 10 :) Classical,baby! ooooohhhh yeah dig it!

You hear it here first,the new Covenant almost a month before it even hits the streets here! Telling from this CD,I think Covenant got tired of the backlash it got from the constant clubplay,and people labeling them as a pop group,or even worse the dreaded "Future Pop" label. It seems they stripped away some of the danciness, and traded it for a more funky direction and more serious lyrics to go with the more minimal mood. There are only two kinds of Covenant fans: ones who've heard them on the dancefloor and those who've actually heard one of their CD's. The prior tend to label them as a dance group,just as they do VNV Nation,and forget their meaning completely. "Monochrome" kicks in with a slow ambient backdrop to set in Covenant's signature dance style slowed down significantly. The vocals style is kinda hip-hoppish a bit,firing rapid fire metaphors back and forth. "Calling all Ships to Port" is the club single,but again very slow and drizzled with more of a melancholy mode reminiscent of VNV Nation a bit. My favorite would have to be "Promethius", which has a nice minimal bass kick and very charismatic singing. "We Want Revolution" is like a trip back to the 70's funk era, with a Covenant tinge! Very interesting, kinda sounds a bit like an anthemic Outkast, a song that brings to my mind roller rinks and discos. Or call me weird, but remember Ci-Lo's "Closet Freak"? Yeah the resemblence is there! So in short this is alot closer to Kraftwerk than their "pop-star with dignity" image of "United States of Mind". You can dance to it, but I think alot of future poppers expecting another "United States...." will be disappointed. Those into their progress of sound and style go ahead and grab it October 8! Rating:9.

In some odd way, think of Juno Reactor's "Shango" without the techno dancehall beats,and more emphasis on the trance elements and organic drumming, conjuring images of jungles and gliding across shadowy night cliffs. Or dancing with the Indians in some ancient nocturnal rite now forgotten in these times of technology and strip malls. While not totally revolutionary as the promos might say, as it is goa-trance and not a new genre, it is quite a feast for those into organic drumming. The beats are danceable but for some reason I don't feel like dancing to them so much as I do absorbing them into my mind. And the atmospheres to boot definitely give it that cryptic atmosphere aforementioned above. I'm not quite sure but I wouldn't be surprised if they did a Sepultura and got real tribal drummer(s) in here, which may be the case with our friend Momodou Kah,who provides the driving rhythms therein. And also the ubiquitous Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame is on here, providing his always interesting guitar lines. The guy seems alot more active in his older days than in King Crimson's prime, ever notice? I never heard all too much of their work, but I think it's on my list now... The title track is one of my favorites on here with it's sparse ambient sounds, and "Taking Flight" as well. "Offspring" also has a nice little way of linking together sounds into a nice little symphony, as Roach is known to do. I love the noise effect when it rises up! So I reccomend this for fans more into organic music,goa and African percusion, and ambient styles. It may not be so much for the dancefloor as it is for the mind, but hey give it a shot, I'm sure alot could dance to this given the right mood. I'll try to sometime, and look goofy with my little rave dancing to it. You watch some basement DJ is garaunteed to make a club remix of this stuff! Rating: 9. Also recommended is Juno Reactor's "Shango" and anything of their's for that matter!