No. 2 - Monster In Me EP (2011) - Angels of Liberty

(Over a series of twenty short posts – one per week for the remaining weeks of this decade – I am aiming to highlight in vaguely chronological order some of the most important and influential releases in the goth/post-punk/darkwave genre of the 2010’s).

Apart from Leeds (home of The Sisters of Mercy and The March Violets amongst others), the British town most associated with goth culture is also in the county of Yorkshire, the seaside port and resort of Whitby. With its Dracula associations, dramatic hilltop ruined abbey and a jewellery industry based on the goth’s natural mineral of choice (jet), the town was an ideal location for Jo Hampshire to organise what became an annual (and later bi-annual) goth festival in 1994. Whitby Goth Weekend quickly became one of the genre’s major annual events (although smaller than Leipzig’s Wave Gotik Treffen which began three years earlier), as not only a rendez-vous for aficionados of gothic music but also showcase for goth fashion, crafts and other aspects of the culture.

It was in Whitby that the idea spawned for our second choice of key goth artists of the 2010’s and arguably the UK’s most successful band in the genre during the decade, Angels of Liberty. Some of the bands featured in this countdown might have some fans questioning whether or not they belong to the genre, but Angels of Liberty are Goth with a capital “G”, although many would claim (with some justification) that they are strictly a well-produced late era Second Generation band rather than part of this decade’s dark revival. The duo (lead singer Voe and synth player Scarlet, along with the obligatorily-monikered drum machine Echo von Hammer) released their debut EP Monster In Me in 2011, setting the template for a sound which would quickly establish them as one of the genre’s leading new bands.

Strongly influenced by 90’s bands like London After Midnight, Cruxshadows, Nosferatu and Suspiria, theirs was a dark and theatrical retro-goth sound firmly aimed at the dancefloor, with an electronic sound based around a strong backbeat and epic, repeating choruses with nagging hooks that would reel in even the most reluctant of listeners. Soaked in the visual tropes of vampire films, the video montage for Monster In Me, with stereotypical lyrics in overtly gothic typefaces, became the nec plus ultra of gothic imagery and has been much copied subsequently. Candles, graveyards, satin, velvet and lace, ruined mansions, dry ice, religious iconography - no-one seeing the video could be in any doubt as to the target audience. The 2012 debut album Pinnacle of the Draco on their own Secret Sin records featured new tracks alongside the best moments from the Monster In Me EP and its follow up The Black Madonna EP, and established their trademark but highly derivative sound which was reminiscent of some of The Sisters of Mercy’s club classics from the Floodland/Vision Thing era such as Dominion and More, with Voe’s strong, deep vocal carrying strong melodies over an uplifting, syncopated chorus. 

The blueprint was further refined on 2015’s Telepathine album, with catchy tracks like Leda and Love Still Remains helping to spread the band’s name further, and another exquisitely-produced single Innana in early 2017 seemed to herald Angels of Liberty’s move into the upper echelons of contemporary goth music.

Sadly, the shock news of the untimely passing of the band's singer Voe Saint-Claire in April of that year has brought a sudden end to one of the UK’s premier gothic bands of this millennium, although the excellent posthumous album Serpent of the Grail has finally now been released, an album regarded as their best by some reviewers and a fitting epitaph for a group who will forever remain in the hearts of those who have kept the old school gothic faith over the past three decades.

Most Angels of Liberty albums are still available via their own Secret Sin record label, and are highly recommended to those seeking the guilty pleasure of high quality, uncomplicated formulaic dance-oriented old school goth.

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If you like Angels of Liberty, in addition to the 90's bands mentioned above, why not check out Blind to Reason, the 2017 comeback album from excellent 90's Australian band Subterfuge.