Tag: The Ghost of Bela Lugosi

Review of Kid Saint Nothing album “Above_Below”

on By

Members: Reggi “WereWolf” Paige

Hometown: Kalamazoo (Secret goth haven of the midwest)

Label: Self Release

https://www.facebook.com/Kid-Saint-Nothing-110214880442459/

https://kidsaintnothing.bandcamp.com/releases?fbclid=IwAR13DrtvXyC2-aniMOEBJpE0rNQo3C__IwaeLKYvk2FTszYf9bOk6gqzH5A

Shameless self promotion of Reggi in an Amaranth Tshirt 😉

I really couldn’t be more excited for this release. I just don’t do enough to promote the amazing Kalamazoo Music scene and Reggi has been a mainstay of it for over a decade. With Kid Saint Nothing‘s new album Above_Below they have truly their opus with a mature beautifully crafted dark edge synth wave. It shows a maturity of sound and a tender adolescence of feeling. Capturing his pure and tortured soul with pin point melodies and nostalgic themes. I know I am having trouble hiding that feeling of proud big brother from my voice, but I am genuinely blown away by what he has created here. These songs are haunting and ran through my mind all day. The drum fills are explosive and the simple feel of the rising keys put me in mind of Mr.Kitty. A compliment i do not throw around lightly.

Reggi and Buddha

This album has such a diversity of sound but all fits together like pieces of a puzzle. They have a soulful voice and lyrics that cut a vein and spray it all over you. Something I feel like modern music could use a healthy dose of. Reggi croons and drones in equal measure with a lot of Emo sensibility measured with 60’s surf. I’ve heard them sing in a few projects but never with this control and clarity and it left me wondering why not until now. The styles are a little all over the place, but they are every place I wanted to be.

Top Tracks: Fuuuuuck how to pick, listen to it all….but

Let’s Fall In Love: This beautiful bumpy synth lets Reggi croon like 80’s solo Peter Murphy. It’s tender and heartfelt. I love the 50’s doo wop feel on the chorus. This song built a home in my head and lived there all day.

Save Myself: Yummy yummy drum beats. Call to me from beneath the sea. This dark wave builder is full of imagery as it slithers and winds. The lyrics appear as a whisper and make you lean in to hear. Reminded me a bit of my friend Vin from Ghost of Bela Lugosi. (Reggi is a fan). Even the angels can’t save you from yourself.

This Is Not Your Home: It’s like a movie I saw but can’t remember the plot of. I like his lower register build to the vocals. The tender sliding synth pads creating this solitary house. One you are looking at from outside.

Maniac On The Floor: This cover of Michael Sembello is just must hear, trust me

Look I know I got a bit gushy on this one. I am just so proud of the album a dear friend has created. I know i am pretty close to this but after hearing music all over the world for this review page. I feel pretty confident this isn’t just connection. It’s not the cleanest constructed record I have heard this year. Yet it is definitely one that made me feel as much as anything. I really can’t recommend it enough. You will be glad you gave it a try. I can’t wait to have Amaranth play with them.

Review: Death Loves Veronica – Concept

on By

Review by : Katy Knal May

Band: Death Loves Veronica

Label: Cleopatra Records

Members: Live act includes Jamie Cadaver on synths, Chase Bats on drums, Detra on bass, Veronica Campbell on vocals and synths.

Home Base: San Antonio, TX

https://deathlovesveronica.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/deathlovesveronica/

Concept is the latest release by Death Loves Veronica. The album is industrial, cosmic, electronic, symphonic, cinematic, and synth-heavy. You’ll feel an array of emotion as you listen, but it won’t fill you with hope.  This Sci-Fi film inspired album is dark and may make you feel like you’re aimlessly lost somewhere far from the home you know.

It’s not often that I find myself listening to such ambient music, but this was truly a pleasure. This album is visual, deep, and thought provoking. When I first heard it, I felt elevated and emotional. 

Concept is hypnotic.  From the moment the first track, “Overdose” begins I felt taken somewhere else. The tracks flow together and form a story arch that is so intense I couldn’t help but write my mental movie to play along with the screen.

Something about how this score is laid out makes it feel like the setting is in a distant future where Earth is just a memory.  I personally felt like I was on a spaceship where everyone is sleeping in pods, waiting for a signal to awaken.  Suddenly, something goes horribly wrong and the ship has to make an emergency landing on a foreign landscape.  In the end, when “The Process of Sedation” finishes, the feeling of resolve and relief is huge.

Some favorite tracks

Process – There is only one song that has lyrics, “Process,” and it is my personal favorite.  What I liked the most about it was how the track teases as it slowly builds.  The track has a tension and darkness that gave me an odd sense of comfort by the end that was so relieving.  Not to mention, Campbell’s lyrics are perfectly ominous and her voice is airy, like she’s standing right behind you.  

The Process Of Sedation– Close your eyes and find yourself encompassed by darkness. The void feels lonely, but there’s a pulse keeping you going. While this is the longest track on the album, it’s also the most cinematic. It has a story arc of it’s own. One second you feel like you’re in a room with a malfunctioning motherboard, then some tribal beats come in and it’s like you’re reflecting on your own existence. Then there’s a part that’s so human, it’s like you’re back home on earth. By the end, that chilling effect that’s filled this album comes in and leaves you with a haunting feeling.

Probably my favorite aspect of this album is only one song has lyrics out of the five, so it’s the music alone that gave me a reaction. No one is narrating the story, which makes the plot more subjective.  A room full of people can listen to this album and get similar feelings at similar times, but have a completely different mental image of what’s going on. That’s fucking art, y’all.

If you’re interested in learning more about this album or artist, check out their website at  https://deathlovesveronica.bandcamp.com/. “Concept” will be available on September 13, 2019.

Hot new releases in October

on By

It has admittedly been tough to get behind the keyboard in October. I have had a lot of focus on my band and lots of shows I needed to see. However I wanted to take a moment to call out a few important releases this month.

First and foremost is a new single from goth legend Caroline Blind of Sunshine Blind. Sunshine Blind was so important to many of us that fell in love with goth industrial music in the 90s. It really opened my mind to how something could be both delicate and beautiful at the same time as ferocious and intense. The album, ” Liquid,” was a CD I played until the scratches looked like grooves on a record. I just had the pleasure of seeing her open for Stoneburner in Detroit, and it was like being transported back in time. This first single in far too long is a cover of my favorite Swans song, “Godamn the Sun“. It is moving in it’s nihilistic humor and gloom. I feel like this version takes everything wonderful about the original and adds a level of stark contrast from the gorgeous soul of her voice. The ringing acoustic guitar and timed delivery has an almost Leonard Cohen feel in it’s poetry. This is a must hear for lovers of dark music.

https://carolineblind.bandcamp.com/releases?fbclid=IwAR1rsGgTNAF389aEwZHX6GsxmGgHndN7w_zEe8v1iOSn3XnFWU3zxqk586c

The lovely lads from Texas Twin Tribes have done it again. Their first single from a sophomore album, Ceremony’s, shows another level in the electric progression of one of post punk musics fastest rising stars. There is a smooth synthesis to the flow and texture of these singles that is surpassing the already brilliant Shadows. Each song is a Ceremony that brings you inside it’s ritual and core. The personal connection created from these songs makes it a contender for album of the year.

Our dear friends in S Y Z Y G Y X have unleashed a Halloween single called, “Samhain”. They always have a spooky, atmospheric edge, spurned on by Luna’s truly unique vocals. For this cemetery dance jam, they turned the danger up to 11. Feast on the nightmares in sonic explosive form.

Ghost of Bela Lugosi, the man too intensely punk rock to ever hold between the lines, unleashed this searing napalm of a single. I am always surprised how much every song he releases is so different and so good. This one is an unapologetic throat punch of melodic fury. It’s hard to sit still just to write about it.

https://ghostoflugosi.bandcamp.com/album/colombian-neck-tie?fbclid=IwAR1qjVVV1w7Q3MnaUwArvsjK7Lkb5aRrwaITUVC6y5Z_YoIO9WByeAicirw

Carrion N.O released a new single, “Through the Eyes of Flys.” Another Halloween sinister noise assault in the vein of the Goblins. Full of atmospheric terror and slow building tension. I don’t want to run into this song in a dark alley.

https://officialcarrion.bandcamp.com/track/through-the-eyes-of-flies?fbclid=IwAR1586Qxl4ezaItvoa0jMgUWkWwaMD8rpeY2U9X7BpWuFOsDOCBF18zaFAY

And Screw it, a band named Amaranth I am pretty fond of, made a new single, and I think it is peachy keen 😉

https://theamaranth.bandcamp.com/track/my-turn-again?fbclid=IwAR2pJtCXNtaUCdzW5SgY3GHFRDjiTLi4qfySKvuZ5gjmRW0k7-JmrkIYZWc

Review of The Ghost of Bela Lugosi: Das Vamp

on By

Lable: Self Release

Members: Vin Price (The Ghost of Bela Lugosi) Songs/Instruments/Music. Various guest vocalist including: Zeke Sporn (Winter Corpse) Kevin Srednep (Psyclown), Sandra + Shawn Mortis (Alter Defection) Jak Taylor (Dream upon Tombs) , Owen Gillett (Ice Cocoon) , Ken Magerman + Collin Schipper (Amaranth 🙂

https://ghostoflugosi.bandcamp.com/album/das-vamp-album

https://www.facebook.com/ghostoflugosi/

Featuring….Me 😉

Ok our last glorious trip down the musical rabbit hole was for a band who is on the rise with critical acclaim. So I wanted to get back to a criminally under discussed band and personal friend Austrailia’s own The Ghost of Bela Lugosi. This has been a review a long time coming as I struggled with how to find the right words since I did have the honor of being a part of the project. Vin is a true tunesmith and multi instrument producer extraordinaire who much like a previous review Kill Shelter created an idea I am fast becoming enthralled with in modern music. A single songwriter combining a wide range of songs and styles with a different guest vocalist for each track to create an eclectic yet consistent album. A fan of the horror genre Vin created an homage tapestry to the campy, spooky, sexy concept of retro film monsters. It’s ambitious, it’s sinister, and has an unapologetic artistry that takes chances and hits the mark. For being such strange taboo concepts these songs are held together with such a beautifully woven pop sensibility. The drum beats are atmospheric and layered. The keyboards are nostalgic and dynamic. Each song has such a unique competition ranging from Ministry, Killing Joke, Devo, Shreikback, and of course Bauhaus. It’s a dance album with a lot of disco flavor. A sensual club dance feel. Just not that club that everyone can go to. That forbidden dangerous club you have to be in the know to find with no sign. The lyrics of these songs encapsulate these monsters. The ones from the 80s you found yourself drawn to.

Vin incorperates so many styles in this music but one aspect that bleeds through in all is that sense of punk rock defiance. Not in the actual sound but in the screw off I will never succumb to corporate mainstream feel of every track. While every song has a engaging hook they also lash out with a lo-fi aggression of piss and vinegar that most modern music lacks the courage to undertake.

Because there is so much to say about the individual tracks due to the different vocalist I am going to break protocol a bit and do extra stand out tracks. I won’t use my own because that is just weird but I will say I love the song I did with him Asphyxiation and think it is an incredible song that was way outside the wheelhouse of what I usually do. I really cut loose vocally in a way I rarely do with Amaranth. You should listen to it. In particular the video he did of Fright Night footage is outstanding. So here are some stand out tracks.

Berlin – This is the song that first introduced me to GOBL. It’s incredible. It’s a smokey room in a foreign land with these marimba like keyboard sounds that roll and remind me of The Cure. The guitar lines are very post punk and enthralling. It has themes of desire and obsession. A femme fatal song that has incredible pop hook and seductive whispers. It features his own voice and words which I think gives this song a particular genuine feel. I could listen a million times and still come back to this song.

Vampires of Hollywood – A sinister 80s synth build up draws you into this song. It’s lurking on the endge of your imagination. Sandra + Sean Mortis have a seductive spoken word vocal style with a creppy resonating reverb. Reminds me a bit of Tina from Switchblade Symphony. It doesn’t attack, it lures you into a dark place where you are her captive.

Videodrone – Holy creep dance burner. Owen Gillett has such a vast range and poetic style on this song. Again it is subtle and gentle like a beautiful ballad with David Gahan sex drip and Tones On Tail synth swells. The lyrics are so dangerous and forbidden. When he opens up in his high octave reaches it swells with emotions. “Like Ribbons sliced by razors, blowing in the wind” The bassline here walks a tightrope edge and gives this song motion.

Stockholm Syndrome – What an intricate club jam. The vocals have a terrifying otherworldly monster effect but delivered with a smooth crooning beauty. It’s one of those tracks that attacks you at multiple angles and never lets you get comfortable. I love this feeling and effect. It’s unnerving and unquieting.

Die With Your Eyes Open – Such a great concept for a track. The opening guitar riff is a classic. It’s a post punk throw back to old Killing Joke or Daniel Ash. The vocals are a little background but delivered with a reserved passion that fits the style.

Overall this album is such an unapologetic artistic expression. It’s full of danger and forbidden desires. It is one of the albums I love to play for people and say why do more people not know about this? Maybe it is to risque, too dangerous to make it’s way to the standard charts. I think that is part of it’s strength and I don’t think it is something Vin could change if he wanted to. Step outside the cycle of everything you are hearing and give this album a real try. You won’t be sorry. I’m proud to be a part of this record.