Various Artists Sex, Death & Eyeliner: The Soundtrack
- reviewed by Mike Ventarola
This present compilation is the soundtrack to the "gothumentary" of the same name, whose accompanying video is available through Dark Future Music, Amazon or CDnow.
The present CD is the premier and launch of the new label, Dark Future Music, and if the quality and standards from this work is any indication, they stand to become a leader in the dark underground community in the not too distant future. At the opening and closing of some tracks are bits of anecdotes and commentaries from the film. These annotations round out this project by providing multiple ideations and concepts from those entrenched within the scene. Not having seen this film as of yet, these bits of dialogue manage to whet the appetite to want to acquire it as well. Included with the CD is an enhanced, exclusive live video footage of Godhead from the Endless Night Festival in New Orleans.
Xorcist's track Nomad is simply one that seems to have a subliminal enticement built into it. Each time it is played, it draws the listener in on a cloud of dark gauze and seductiveness. This track plays much better in an open room than it does on the headset as it seems to have been designed to echo correctly from the corners of the wall. There is an exotic, electronic Middle Eastern, Medieval base line that is driven by a sensuous flow of percussion that is nearly impossible to get out of your head. All of this is underscored by understated vocals that are simply magic.
St. Eve is an artist whom Mistress McCutchan of Morbid Outlook Magazine fame has touted time and again. This New York artist enters with No Human Words, delving into the dark smoky registers of her voice that is reminiscent of Annabel Lamb. Her enticing voice is seductively powerful and well delivered over the layers of percussion and electronic effects. For those who have not yet sampled her work, she can also be found on MP3.com. This track will make you a fan after just the first few bars are sung.
Godhead immediately follows the previous track with the industrial-goth rock tune GIMP. The vocal compression is minor because, quite frankly, they donıt need to mask a very well executed male tenor lead-vocal the way other more popular bands do.
Mindless Faith, who have scored many kudos for their previous work, bring electronic seduction to the next level with Open Up. The track is something of a hybrid that one could describe as Tears For Fears meets The Cure. The vocal effects belie a surreal quality that is given a bit of compression to deliver a sense of midnight surrealism.
The Razor Skyline push the beat in the phenomenal track Hanged Man that MUST be on every DJ playlist. The style is a harder version of Moonchild meets Lena Lovich and is simply incredible for its infectious energy, well intoned vocals, and driven beats. Can anyone say major HIT?!
I Parasite tone things down a bit with Piety. It is a blend murky spookiness of electronic energy pulsations which veer into a mid-tempo trip hop groove that just seems to envelope your senses. Despite this reviewers aversion to compressed vocals, they are very well done in a macabre fashion which actually enhances the song quality. Utilizing any other style of vocals would have just detracted from the musicıs inherent dark beauty.
Soil and Eclipse immediately follow with Thief Of Always. The opening intro sets the scene for a midnight graveyard romp which segues into a trip-hop percussion which combines deep male vocals and a wonderfully infectious and tightly delivered chorus.
The Machine In The Garden provides a track that is magnificent beyond compare. Summer Bowman harmonizes with herself on Miserere Mei with 6 vocal tracks, sounding like a choir of dark angelic harmony that is absolutely brilliant and entrancing. The opening anecdote from the film emphasizes the element of "beautiful sadness" and "dark but not evil" which clearly describes and illustrates this Gregorian style ethereal work. One could easily equate this as the band's magnum opus.
Xorcist are featured again with Spiritual Angles, a Middle Eastern style romp that once again is darkly sensual and reminiscent of the first track. After being lulled into the beauty, the percussion kicks up, which makes this a sonic seduction of the highest order.
Kommunity FK have thankfully reformed to garner the time and attention that their great work deserves. Having been among the leaders of the goth music movement during its early inception, it is more than fitting that they are included in this documentary. 23rd Psalm is their contribution, which has a touch of Celtic nuances, space age electronic effects and just deeply driven sensual grooves that seem to effervesce in order to keep the dance floor hopping all night.
The Winter Chapter is included with their phenomenal track Blinded. Some may not have heard of this band yet, but make no mistake, their full CD, Time Of Faith, is a wall to wall hit. If you like this track, you will just adore their full CD. As with many bands in the underground, much of the sales are generated by club play and word of mouth, and sadly, too many bands are not being given the time and attention they honestly deserve. Their style is early Goth rock with the obligatory powerful, expertly sung, male vocals which are vibrantly sieved through great guitar riffs and steady drum beats of pounding ecstasy.
Noxious Emotion is part of the ADSR Musicwerks Group who seem to be cornering the market on great electro-industrial bands. The song Entropy continues to deliver on the reputation of the parent company. This finishes this disc with a driven rhythm underscored by an element of morose background keyboards that entwine perfectly with up-to-the-minute electro-chords.
By now, it is evident that the current financial element in the States is rather abysmal. Those in the goth underground, particularly the artists, seem to be the hardest hit because there is no main company helping to foot the bills during this economic crisis. In light of this situation, one can still get more bang for their buck from this compilation and the many CDıs offered from the artists on it.
This particular compilation clocks in at 59:52 and also includes a live video from Godhead. While most major studios push out CDıs that run between 38 and 50 minutes, the majority of music by these independent artists run from an hour to even longer.
As far as compilations go, this is one that I just don't want to take out of the CD player and was rather hesitant about reviewing it, simply because it would mean I have to move on to other work. The producers of this CD made sure to line it up with 12 of the best songs they could find for a wide diversity of tastes in the underground. It is a musical repertoire of our lives as part of this great beautiful dark art form.
The cost was half of what I would pay from a major studio and it provided MORE music, a video, and a desire to NOT want to stop listening to it. As a premier release for the new Dark Future Music company, they exceeded this reviewers expectations regarding a compilation.
There isn't a dud in the bunch and is worth the money. Highly recommended!
