Review: Clan of Xymox - In Love We Trust

It's been quite long since I've listened to something new and really good in the whole gothic/darkwave field and I was really hoping that "In We Love We Trust", the latest release by the Dutch Clan of Xymox would break the ice. My hopes were too high, unfortunately.

Not that "In Love We Trust" has poor content or is of low quality, it's just that it offers absolutely nothing new or remotely intriguing. The new material is somehow lighter, easier to listen and less satisfying in comparison to previous albums. There are a few highs, but in no way can they compensate for the rest. Furthermore, "In Love We Trust" is also less club orientated with predominant slow tracks. Probably it will be a wonderful surprise for every fan who is more into dreamy ballads about love and despair.

Apart from the opening track "Emily" the rest of "In Love We Trust" takes another direction exploring the gloomy corners of life, although not as goth sounding as some might be expecting. Sadly "In Love We Trust" has no real potential hits from the rang of "Jasmine and Rose" or "A Day" and could easily pass your ears by, but after a few more listens the good stuff starts popping out. Nevertheless, in love we may trust, but they just had to be a bit more convincing.

Tracks to hear: "Emily", "On A Mission", "Desdemona" and "Love Got Lost"
Personal rating: 6/10

Burn down the disco! Volume 1 - alternative dance

I like dance music! Indeed, and I have nothing against it. I am just annoyed by all the crap that is played in discos, especially those relying on mindless house and distasteful techno and I am so eager for a place where you can listen to alternative dance music without the whole Rihanna - Ciara bullshit on the list. That is why I decided to create my own dance compilations, containing different aspects of the enormous dance genre.

My first choice is alternative dance, which includes mainly EBM, industrial, dark electro and futurepop. Of course, it is impossible to include everything I want, plus this is supposed to be a compilation, not a party set, which has to satisfy the whole evening. I tend to avoid remixes as I have never been a big fan, but from time to time they turn out to be much better than the original version itself.
Click to listen or Click here

1. Laibach - Achtung!
2. KMFDM -Megalomaniac
3. Apoptygma Berzerk - Soultaker
4. Blutengel - Bloody Pleasures
5. Panzer AG - Battlefield
6. Grendel - Harsh Generation
7. Combichrist - Happy Fcuking Birthday
8. Das Ich - Destilat (Club Version)
9. Funker Vogt - City of Darkness (Downtown Mix)
10. Icon of Coil - Remove / Replace
11. Helalyn Flowers - E-race Generation
12. Jesus on Extasy - Assassinate Me
13. Machinae Supremacy - Gimme More
14. Marilyn Manson - Posthuman
15. Rammstein - Moskau
16. Skinny Puppy - Ugli
17. Deine Lakaien - Lass Mich
18. Clan of Xymox - It's Not Enough
19. The Crüxshadows - Birthday
20. The Sisters of Mercy - Temple of Love
21. Diary of Dreams - The Curse (Freak Edit)

Do not forget to hear the compilation and delete the tracks afterwards! Support your favourite music by going to concerts or buying their releases!

Review: Diary of Dreams - (if)

I will skip all the praise about Diary of Dreams and their importance for the dark wave/gothic electro scene and I shall move to the album itself, which if I have to be honest they could perfectly do without. Sometimes performers and bands are so tired of touring, making music or other professional enterprises. However, Adrian Hates released (if) to all the high expectations of their fan base. I am far from being a die hard fan, but I am not impressed at all.

First of all, (if) has nothing new to offer, it contains everything that we have already heard and has absolutely no Easter eggs throughout the record. You should definitely get the special edition, which contains four extra tracks, which happen to be a bit better than most of the original content. Actually two of my favourite (quite a strong word, btw) happen to be bonus, but who knows could be a little act of greediness to make you buy the more expensive edition (I am joking...or not?).

Another thing is that most of the tracks are like material from early releases left for the generations. Perhaps (if) is somehow a return to the roots, but not quite impressive, by the way. It is more like a patch quilt made out of leftovers, although I am pretty sure Hates has put quite an effort...we are talking about sixteen songs. Still, he has quite the experience with extensive tracks, especially when you have the key to creating a dark ballad album, filled with despair and grief.

Even the pilot single "The Wedding" is nothing special...nothing to hold on while listening, neither the singing nor the music. Actually most of the album just goes into thin air no matter how much I am listening to it, which is quite a pity having in mind their previous three efforts. Of course (if) has a few good tracks, far from being excellent, but are easily spotted and memorized. Hopefully, you can find a gem or two, despite my harsh attitude towards the album. Actually I like all of their songs in German, which is another reason not to leave (if) as a blind spot in my mind. When it comes to singing Hates is the last one to let us down, which actually could go without saying, but I should say a few positive things...shouldn't I?

Tracks to hear: "Requiem", "Wahn!sinn?", "Choir Hotel", "Momentum" and "The Saint"

Personal rating: 5 out of 10

Stuck in my mind: Otto Dix - Belij pepel

Otto Dix is Russian band which came to prominence with its artistic interpretation of modern Gothic music combined with heavy electronic elements. Apart from being one of the groups to make it out of the Russian underground scene Otto Dix happens to present one of the best female vocals sung by...a male. Yes, the vocalist is Michael Draw, who uses his knowledge of operatic singing just to bring the music to a whole new level. What I like about the band, which I discovered just a few months ago, is that they are somewhere in between contemporary classic music and darkwave, taking, probably, the best elements of both styles.

Review: Blutengel - Schwarzes Eis

Chris Pohl and company released just a month ago their sixth studio album "Schwarzes Eis" and they have been on a long vacation and decided to record some stuff in the very last moment and to fill the wholes with some older material. At least that is how I wish it had happened, when they started working on their newest project. "Schwarzes Eis" is one of those albums that you can listen for days and still not be able to point out anything favourite out of it. When "Labyrinth" (their previous album) was released many defined it as too accessible and poppy, probably because of its more radio-friendly and club-orientated sound, but in no time it managed to establish itself as one of their most elaborate works. It will take time before the new album prove as worthy material.

"Schwarzes Eis" may be considered as a return to Blutengel's older material in a rather dissatisfying way. Don't expect to be struck by unique originality or to find any conceptual relations between the songs. There are too few dance tracks and the so called ballads are more emotionless than the album title. For some part of the record Chris Pohl is pretty annoying and if you catch yourself changing the track, don't worry...I am pretty sure even he'd do it. Luckily Blutengel keep on singing in German, which actually makes "Schwarzes Eis" bearable. If there was a scale between boring and satisfying, "Schwarzes Eis" would be somewhere in the middle. Mediocre is too harsh to say, nevertheless not too far from the truth. The filling has the biggest portion in the track-list, which extends to the impressive 15 songs.

The album is available in an exclusive limited addition, which actually is a must have! The bonus tracks happen to be a lot better than most of the content in the standard edition. "Schwarzes Eis" fails to be memorable enough in order to make it to the top of Blutengel's releases and there is nothing really impressive or distasteful to be noticed throughout the tracklist. Honestly Chris Pohl has to decide which project is of greatest importance to him as he obviously cannot concentrate long enough in order to bring out a real smash! Fingers crossed for a better Blutengel album next time...otherwise, just don't release it. Bitte!

Songs to hear: "Dancing In the Light", "Kind der Nacht", Dreh dich nicht um", "Pure Life"

Personal rating: 5 out of 10

Discoveries: The Crüxshadows

It's been a while since I had my first contact with the American electro-gothic/futurepop group The Crüxshadows (pronounced /ˈkru:ʃædoʊz/), but honestly they didn't attract my attention. Time passed by and I started my Bulgarian Wikipedia project on writing articles about darkwave bands and I stumbled upon this group once again. As I was translating their history I found out that they've had three consecutive number one hits in the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sale, which is more like a feat for a electro-group. And moments after I've published the article I was already getting my hands on their album DreamCypher and OH MY! It turned out to be a fine piece of music. Several songs immediately stuck in my head and I've spent some time on knowing more about their music. Despite the fact that the voice of their vocalist Rogue is far from what I like I still find this group very good. I do like the way they mix electronic music with alternative pop/synthpop, without even remotely bearing the sense of poppy crap or similar.

I still haven't heard all of their stuff, but even though I believe they will gradually grow on me and hopefully I'll even see them live. What I find just a bit annoying is the length of some of their tracks, but oh well I'll survive. Plus you never know where the best part of a song is until you've heard it from the first to the very last second.