| Artist |
| Prospective |
| Title |
| The Dark Side Of Life |
| Format/Cat |
| CD FZ 005 |
| Label |
| Firezone |
| Style |
| Dark Melodic Electro |
| Date of review |
| 3rd June 2008 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 6/10 |
|
|
 |
|
I'm not sure why but I was certain I'd heard of this band when I saw their name, thinking they were a US synthpop outfit. God knows where that idea came from but, anyway, they're not (& a good thing, too, if you ask me!). What they actually are is a male/female duo from Germany (Carola Muller & Marco Thomachewski, to be precise) & their music is a kind of dark, melodic electro that sits somewhere at the darker end of synthpop in a manner not unlike Blutengel (even down to the title in the case of 'Angel Dust' & I'm sure 'Deadly Sins' is one that Chris Pohl's must have thought about at one time or another!). They even go for a similar 'sex/blood' subject on 'Taste My Flesh' where some insistent rhythms add to the established sensual mood to good effect. It has to be said that the opening 'God Of Hosts' doesn't make the best first impression as, aside from the Dubya sample which, as pertinent as it still may be, has been done to death by now, Carola seems to sing out of her range on the chorus which is a tad off-putting & makes the track sound more like a demo. This problem crops up here & there throughout the album although she finds her niche in the more romantic tracks 'Guardian Light', where the regimented percussion actually adds to the beautifully romantic atmosphere & the nicely reflective closer 'Path Of Life' which impresses further through the use of more organic sounds that give the track a more human feel. The duo's musical qualities come into their own during 'Silent Memories' where a mix of fine piano & some slightly abstract chords make for an offbeat atmosphere that even the pacey thudding rhythms that make their mark later cannot change. It seems that this more atmospheric style is where their strengths lie & while the spoken vocals of the poppy 'Bloody Blade' & the more ugent mood of 'Environmental Hate' are worth lending an ear to, the more up-tempo tracks don't quite reach the same heights. Overall, however, this is a reasonably promising debut with enough good qualities to suggest that, with greater experience, they could yet fulfill their potential & make more of a name for themselves.
|