First up, this Italian lot have released this debut album under the “social pay model”; that is, you can download it for free under the condition that you spread the word via Twitter, Facebook or some sort of social network. On one hand I could say that it’s a tad pointless given we can all head over to Pirate Bay or your torrent site of choice and get most music free of charge, but then again there are some honest people in the world who pay for legal downloads and actually I think bands who do make this kind of gesture deserve some level of respect for what they are doing. That’s not to say that I would go and download everything offered gratis by every bunch of bland student-oriented indie bores but at least it demonstrates a band with the kind of ethic that regards music as something other than a ticket to fame and fortune.
Prior to releasing this album, Deuxvolt put out a 4 track EP of industrial-dance remixes of horror soundtracks, from The Exorcist, Dracula Bram Stoker, The Crow and Deep Red (available on YouTube if you’re interested). This album however is all their own material, and from the opening track ‘Blackheart’ it is evident that this is designed as a soundtrack for some serious hard raving and glo-stick waving action. This is all about those hard beats and hugely danceable rhythms with an industrial clang and infused with the occasional classical sample. There’s a sense of urgency to ‘Dance With Ghosts’ as the synths emerge over a fierce drum march, shrouded in a foggy atmosphere. I can see this one setting the dancefloor alight as the air-raid sirens and machine-gun fire has you reaching for the gas mask preparing for attack. This is probably my personal favourite on this album. As much as there are some great strong tracks here there are also some weaker moments that let things down. ‘From The Stars’ is a tad lacking in substance and it just doesn’t work for me. Vocalist Olympia hasn’t got a bad voice by any means, they project a nice Gothic quality although they just aren’t strong enough to keep my interest during the moments where the music fizzles down.
‘Breathless’ is backed up with a dramatic array of operatic wails as the melody sways and swirls above a stomping backdrop of techno beats. Here I really likeOlympia’s vocal style as she emits a siren-esque chirp that is both quirky and classy. ‘Evampire’ has that classical touch as it initially sinks its teeth in, before all really fizzling out into a mid-paced march that is still danceable but in kind of a getting tired and actually just want to sway a little before crashing out kinda way. Verdi’s composition of ‘Dies Irae’ gets given the techno treatment here too and is very nicely done and a fine addition to the album. Overall this is a very enjoyable album with plenty to like; highly danceable with plenty of dark atmospheres, sizzling synths and strong industrial beats even if there are a couple of weak numbers that let it down.
(7/10 Luci Herbert)
15/06/2012 at 2:21 pm
Actually, it was Mozart’s requiem. You can also see the musician’s portrait on the artworks that go together with the record. 😉