Within the first twenty seconds of opening track Divide
and Conquer, it’s clear that Two Worlds Collide, the debut LP
from goth “supergroup” October Burns Black will be a serious contender
for trad goth rock album of the year. Pulsating eight-to-the-bar bass and a no-nonsense
drumbeat drive the song forward, whilst Husseyesque duelling guitars and a
strong baritone vocal complete a musical vision which is not dissimilar to a
more muscular version of The Sisters of Mercy’s Train.
After a brace of EPs, the latter
of which saw Rod Hanna replace Ger Egan on vocals, the multinational ensemble’s
debut LP confirms that the project’s overall sound will incorporate musical
elements from the members’ individual bands – American bassist James Tramel’s
90’s legends The Wake, Norwegian guitarist Tommy Olsson’s current band Long
Night and noughties’ act The Morendoes, German fellow guitarist Lars Kappeler’s
2010’s trad goth stars Sweet Ermengarde and UK drummer Simon Rippin’s goth rock
projects from Fields of the Nephilim to Grooving in Green in addition to
Ulsterman Hanna’s 90’s band Return to Khaf’ji - to create a strong new
development of the now four-decade-old gothic rock template.
If the opener Divide and Conquer acts as a
straightforward statement of intent, second track Black Veil adds a
subtler touch, with a slower intro, a more intricate arrangement and a more
folky, goth lite vibe reminiscent of the middle eight of The Sisters’ First
and Last and Always.
Keeping with The Sisters theme, Tightrope begins with
Tramel’s Lucretia-influenced bass intro before developing into a more straightforward
rocker, albeit with the acoustic folk goth embellishments beloved of The Rose
of Avalanche.
A more menacing bass riff heralds the start of the genuinely
angry Regress, with Hanna somewhat unexpectedly spitting his spite in a
stream of invective, addressing a “Liar, cheat, fabricator … loser, coward,
miserable fool” before telling his target unequivocally “You’re a waste of time
and space and you’re a f*** liar” over galloping guitars and a steroid-enhanced
rhythm section.
The first half of the album closes with a much-needed slower
interlude, with Tramel igniting Fickle with a slow-burning bombastic epic
intro which is not unlike Fields of the Nephilim’s Celebrate, before a
more up-tempo section which sees a clearly still enraged Hanna berating his
interlocutor’s “fickle, twisted, cruel intentions” which “kill the faith I have
in me”. The song changes tempo again for the middle eight, in the style of Last
Exit For The Lost, confirming Fickle’s status as a future trad goth
classic.
The Nephilimistic vibe continues on The Grand Leveller,
with a burbling Psychonaut bass drone and an almost prog goth backing,
building beautifully to a fuller, busier arrangement with keyboard swirls
adding a more atmospheric element, Rippin’s tribalistic drumming coming more to
the fore as the song builds to a climax.
Blind Faith has a more straightforward structure, a
low-key anthemic chorus showcasing the power in Hanna’s lower range, whilst
Olsson effortlessly knocks out another of those classic goth rock No Time To
Cry riffs.
The shimmering Missionesque guitars are also prominent in Consumed,
one of the teaser tracks for the album, with Rippin bashing out a metronomic
beat allowing Kappeler and Olsson’s duelling guitars to build a rich patchwork
for another slab of melodic goth rock.
The up-tempo penultimate track All I Never Wanted begins
with a no-nonsense riff and verse which are very reminiscent of 80’s German
goth rock act Calling Dead Red Roses, leading to an understated chorus
befitting the lyrically downbeat theme, with Hanna at his most vulnerable in a
stripped-back middle eight.
The album is closed by the bombastic title track, Two
Worlds Collide, which starts with the portentous couplet “Somewhere in
time, lost in a void”. The goth cliché book is very much in evidence with “burning
embers” leading to “flames”, “beautiful nightmares” that don’t last, and
unrequited love which leaves the protagonist “dying all over again”.
All in all, in Two Worlds Collide, October Burns
Black have created a perfect album of contemporary gothic rock, with a cosily
familiar vibe, paying tribute to the legends of the 80’s scene whilst never
straying into parody or plagiarism. The professional production values (with Simon
Rippin on production and additional guitarist Gordon Young responsible for the
pin-sharp mastering) which extend to the impressive occult goth sigils created
for each track by Billyphobia, ensure that this release will remain a siren
call to those who still yearn for the powerful yet beautiful melancholy of the traditional
gothic rock sound.
Two Worlds Collide is released today and is available via Bandcamp
May 2022 saw the Cruel World festival take place in
California, certainly the greatest gathering of the alternative tribe this
decade and arguably one of the strongest line-ups this millennium of bands from the original wave, with
Bauhaus stealing the show with a stellar performance. The month also sadly saw
the loss of some leading musicians of the genre, such as Depeche Mode’s Andy
Fletcher and Cathal Coughlan of Fatima Mansions fame. In terms of new music, it was
a particularly bountiful month for new releases in Europe, with most of this
month’s top twenty new releases hailing from “the Old Continent”, and primarily from nations such as Italy, Poland, Sweden, Germany and France, where the alternative scene remains strong.
1.Kill Shelter ft Agent Side Grinder – The
Necklace
Edinburgh darkwave project Kill Shelter shot to the
forefront of the current scene with debut album Damage in 2018, allying
a strong set of songs which combined both the dark electro dancefloor trend
with more traditional descending bassline guitar-based goth, with a stellar
cast of guest vocalists from the current scene. Teaser single The Necklace
from forthcoming album Asylum further refines Pete Burns’ musical vision, allying
his own dark, syncopated rhythms with dystopian, distant vocals from Sweden’s
Agent Side Grinder.
2.Then Comes Silence – Chain
The second single pre-released from July’s sixth album Hunger
sees Swedish post-punk giants at their most creative whilst retaining their
essential drive and melody. Chain, which features Karolina Engdahl from
True Moon on backing vocals, begins with a galloping whirlwind of a riff which
brings to mind The Dead Cry For No-One from their breakthrough album Blood,
but also features some fascinating modulations and dynamic switch-ups on a
track which will only further whet appetites for one of the most
eagerly-anticipated albums of the year.
3.JE T’AIME – Kiss The Boys (and
make them DIE)
Then Comes Silence mainman Alex Svenson also guests on one
of the tracks on a new stand-alone single (with profits going to the Red Cross
Ukraine appeal) from the French saviours
of post-punk, JE T’AIME, who had already in 2022 released arguably the
strongest contender so far for Album of the Year in Passive. Kiss The
Boys features all the same features which made the album such a delight,
strong high-pitched Cure-esque vocals from dBoy, jangly gaze guitars, wonky
sequenced electro dancefloor riffs and an overall ambiance of effortless off-kilter
dark pop cool that fans of bands like Actors will appreciate.
4.The Doctors - Modern
Classic French post-punk from Bordeaux act The Doctors, with
a driving bass backbeat, genius string-bending deathrock guitar in the style of
Der Himmel uber Berlin (is there any higher praise?), and a spoken word vocal on Modern, the title
track from the band’s first new album for six years. “Tout à
fait mortel” is not only the key lyric, but a great one-line summary of this
loud and in-your-face, killer track on a typically excellent Icy Cold release.
5.Cabaret Grey - Cold Calculations
The opening of Cold Calculations by Poland’s Cabaret
Grey takes me right back to the early 1980’s, when The Cure’s A Forest
and the latest 4AD releases were all the rage. A simple backbeat, a busy guitar
and bass backing and a strong female vocal recall the ambiance of that
wonderful debut Second Still album of 2017. Classy driving coldwave post-punk
at its best, Cabaret Grey’s wonderful new LP also features the three excellent
tracks from 2018’s sold out Freezing Point EP.
6.Tasen Tea Party – Fiction Turned Real
The prolific Norwegian act has released a plethora of tracks
recently, all within the coldwave genre, of which Fiction Turned Real is
arguably the most dynamic. Distant reverb guitar, atmospheric keyboards and
low-key vocals all contribute to a powerful third generation post-punk vibe.
7.Ghosting – The Order of Things
Ghosting, like London After Midnight and Suspiria, are
synonymous with the slightly camp cheesy dark disco branch of goth which
sustained the genre in clubs in the latter part of the second generation. Who
amongst us hasn’t sucked their cheeks in and strutted slowly around the
dimly-lit sticky dancefloor of a provincial basement dives to the earworm
delights of The Lion King? Sascha Tayefeh continues his comeback with a
new track which doesn’t stray far from that original blueprint, and although The
Order of Things doesn’t quite have the same epic chorus as some of his
earlier classics, the original dark dancefloor vibe survives intact.
8.IC2 – Bad Moon Light
The one-man Italian project from Italy is back with an
excellent EP which fuses the miserable cool of French coldwave crossed with a
more tribal backing more reminiscent of a mellow Killing Joke. Title track Bad
Moon Light canters along energetically with a strong hook and a
well-developed sense of dynamics.
9.Gallows’ Eve – Death Magic
The Red Lorry Yellow Lorry reminiscent intro to Death
Magic gets Malmo goth rock combo Gallows’ Eve’s new Five Hexes EP off to a very
strong start, and the trad goth vibe continues on the remainder of not only the
opening track but the release as a whole. The languid vocal and driving chorus
has the controlled power and brooding melancholy of early 90’s bands like The
Catherine Wheel.
10.Bells of Soul – Your Name in the Sky
(single remix)
The Brazilian act’s latest release has a spooky intro motif
which re-appears through this somewhat unsettling song, a sparse arrangement
and a meandering vocal adding to the b-movie vibe of a song which in an earlier
form featured on Bells of Souls’ debut album in 2005.
11.Yakutian Cult – Downpour
Rough and ready deathrock punk from Poland that rumbles
along in a vaguely menacing manner. Their Bandcamp strapline “gloomy people who
make gloomy music for other gloomy people” is a perfect description of their stark
sound, which features barked vocals over a distorted guitar and burbling bass backing,
a metronomic beat propelling the song ever onwards.
12.Air Midnight – Dance of the Vampires
More gloomy goth rock from Poland, this time with more trad
goth rock vibes, with a baritone vocal intoning a tale of the “dance of the
vampires at the masquerade”, one of the most derivative lyrics I’ve heard this
year (and there has been plenty of competition). This track, and others
including previous single Rise from the Grave (are you spotting a theme
here?) are compiled on a new five-track from Air Midnight which is now
available to pre-order.
13.Cemetary Girlz – Eternal Night
Great occult goth guitars dominant the lush dark soundscape
of the great new single from Parisian goth trio Cemetary Girlz. The haunted
house claustrophobia of first-generation goth pioneers UK Decay combines with
the gloomgaze deathrock of contemporary acts like Vazum on the seven minute
epic Eternal Night, the first track to be released from this Autumn’s LP
L’envol du Corbeau (“The Crow’s Flight”).
14.Lords of the Northern Sky – Selene
The latest of a regular series of single releases, Selene
combines the one-man Scottish project’s usual unashamedly retro atmospheric gothic
rock with a more uplifting pop sensibility, giving the new release more of a
Bunnymen vibe at times.
15.Bleakness – Dancing with Darkness
The teaser track from the Lyon (France) band’s forthcoming
album Life At A Standstill is a cracking slab of grungy gothic punk
metal, with an energy not unlike that of The Wraith. Whilst some goths’ coping
mechanism is to withdraw into moody introspection, others man the barricades
with polemical fury, and Dancing with Darkness places Bleakness firmly
in the latter category.
16.Rammstein – Schwarz
I hesitated before including Rammstein in this month's round-up, as they are widely considered to be more metal than goth, but their latest album Zeit will surely once again be the biggest-selling goth-related album of the year, and musically-speaking, they feature here on merit. Despite the occasional frat boy lyrics, puerile videos and live show pyrotechnics, underneath the schlock horror Rammstein have delivered another varied but impressive album of dark, doom-laden gothic metal, of which Schwarz is arguably the most interesting track to the wider gothic community. As might be expected from the title, Schwarz is an ode to nyctophilian melancholy, with a suitably slow-burning epic gothic chorus, with Till Lindemann's trademark distinctive vocal delivery adding significantly to the overall impression.
17.Christian Death – The Warning
The legendary West Coast death rock band’s latest album Season
of Mist dropped this month, with The Warning the latest single from it.
After a spookily chilling intro made all the more shocking by the Jimmy Saville
footage in the video, the song veers through an impressive range of styles from
full-on Manson/Ministry neo-industrial goth metal to more subtle, almost ambient
passages.
18.Red Moon Macabre – Ages
The latest single from Renzo Tellez’s one-man project is
another powerful piece of doomy trad goth rock. A lolloping bass line, great
guitar lines and a strong, deep echoing vocal intoning a tale of “paradise
lost” make this a real treat for fans of occult gothic rock.
19.Attic Frost – Happy Faces
Hailing from Bremen in northern Germany, “DIY-goth-wave” act
Attic Frost create a real impression on Happy Faces, the lead track from
new album A New Kind of Hopelessness which features an echoing vocal
amongst an ambiance of melancholy claustrophobia, with the kind of disquieting
soundscape twists and turns that fans of The Soft Moon and Vlimmer will
probably enjoy.
20.The Low Room - Nevermore
Formed by former members of the trad goth UK act The Hearse,
who put out an excellent debut album on Oskar Terramortis’ Gothic Rock records
in the mid-2010’s, The Low Room released their debut track Nevermore right at
the end of the month. Fans of The Hearse will recognise the song as a different version of the closing track from that band's album, with the band’s guitar-based 90’s style Nephilimistic no-nonsense gothic rock sound slightly beefed up on a song building superbly
through an extended opening sequence.
