Fronted by eternal cynic Peter Steele (ex-Carnivore), Type O Negative have evolved from an atmospheric punk band to a melodic gothic metal outfit. The band's breakthrough disc Bloody Kisses blends gothic keyboards, dense guitars, and mournful vocals reminiscent of Sisters of Mercy with metal riffs and surging rhythms that sound like a cross between Black Sabbath and The Cult. The combination is compelling, and on "Christian Woman" and "Black No. 1" (which features the chorus "Loving you was like loving the dead"), Type O Negative's negativity shines through in a way that makes depressed teenage girls dressed in black swoon. --Jon Wiederhorn ... Read more

Asin: B000000H6D
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

1981-1998 reveals why Dead Can Dance was such an influential group and why their music remains very much alive. From the opening notes of "Frontier," the first piece Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry improvised together, Dead Can Dance opened a doorway into worlds at once ancient and alien, frightening and glorious. 1981-1998 compiles the output of Dead Can Dance from their seven studio albums, live performances, and sundry collections. Through their many stylistic shifts, it reveals the music of ecstasy, a state of spiritual release that can be as serene as a Gregorian chant and as intense as a Persian dervish. But then, Dead Can Dance always had two sides. There were Perry's Jim Morrison-meets-Sinatra vocal croons, and there was the uncanny and passionate Gerrard, whose Middle Eastern, Bulgarian, and Gregorian singing styles created a transcultural dialect of the imagination. Perry surrounds Gerrard in a gothic architecture of synthesizers, strings, the Chinese hammered dulcimer called the yang ch'in (played by Gerrard), bouzoukis, and hurdy-gurdys. As ancient as its sources, Dead Can Dance is as modern as the end of time, which is where a lot of this music still sounds like it's headed. 1981-1998 follows the pair from their beginnings in Australia to their final studio album, the African-Indian derived Spiritchaser. Among the gems are their last song together, "The Lotus Eaters," recorded just before their final split, and a Gerrard composition called "Bylar." Performed here by Dead Can Dance, this rapturous piece was previously available only on The Echoes Living Room Concerts Volume 2, in a version by Gerrard. In concert, Dead Can Dance was almost a religious experience and that aspect is nearly captured on the final disc of this box in a DVD of their live concert film, Toward the Within. Also included are some videos. --John Diliberto ... Read more

Features

• Box set
• Enhanced

Asin: B00005R1QG
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Duality is at once sacred and playful. It is both dark and light, organic and refined, masculine and feminine. Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard partners with Pieter Bourke, formerly of Aussie band Eden, to create this compositional dance of partnership that is classical, ancient, and thoroughly modern. Gerrard's voice is multitracked at times, conjuring a cathedral choir and the droning chants of monks. Drums and synth snake from desert to brilliant stormy sky to shaking earth and the bodies that inhabit those spaces. There are lush multiple layers of strings, bagpipe drone, and, quite literally, the laughter of children. The vocals sans "real" words and multicultural instrumentation will be familiar to Dead Can Dance listeners. Yet there is something more exclusive, more womblike about the music of Bourke and Gerrard; rather than two distinct bodies making music, like mother and in utero child sharing blood and breath, they are mutually dependent. --Paige La Grone ... Read more

Asin: B0000062VG
Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Vocals    6. World Fusion   

Violator is Depeche Mode's most mainstream, chart-climbing album. Although it contains only nine tracks, half of them are tailor-made for the dance floor. This album was conceived when dance-club DJs were gaining recognition alongside original composers. Heavily influenced by techno-pop, the singles "Policy of Truth," "Enjoy the Silence," and "World in My Eyes" prove that DM did their homework. A particular highlight on this fantastic album is the bluesy guitar line Martin Gore lays down on top of the synth-dominated grooves on "Personal Jesus." --Beth Bessmer ... Read more

Asin: B000002LK1
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Disintegration is a pop album realized on an epic scale. Most of its 12 songs are long mood pieces that develop slowly around the listener. Anchored by complex drum patterns, the layered guitars, soaring bass lines, and rich keyboards blend to create a lush, evocative soundscape that captures the ear immediately; and for all its length, the album is never boring. The lyrical focus is intensely personal throughout, and, with the exception of "Love Song," the mood is overwhelmingly dark and brooding. Here are songs of remembrance that, through their deep candor, transcend the individual level to explore universal longings and fears. Robert Smith, his vocals plaintive or angry or despairing, unfolds a tapestry of loss. Broken bonds, old lies, missed opportunities, belated realizations. Anyone who has experienced the joy and sorrow--especially the sorrow--of love will find his or her deepest sentiments, noble and petty alike, echoed poetically here. --Al Massa ... Read more

Asin: B000002H70
Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative/Indie-Rock    3. College Rock    4. Goth Rock    5. New Wave    6. Pop    7. Post-Punk    8. Rock   

You can litmus-test yourself with the name alone. If you don't appreciate the stained-glass humor of a trio of corseted female cellists warping the moniker of the Mad Monk, chances are you're going to despise the creepy, Gothic-edged sonatas on this sophomore CD, easily one of the year's most curious releases. Get the gag? Good. You're in for one hell of a strange sonic trip, with campy bandleader Melora Creager as your wisecracking guide. "Strange" as in a nimble plucking of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" chestnut. Or an intensely fiddled send up of the DeBeers jewelry commercial, "Diamond Mind," with Creager commanding: "I want that diamond!/I want that thing!/A tennis bracelet, a ring!" Elsewhere, the disc is alternately jarring ("LeechWife," "Olde HeadBoard") and gentle ("Rose K," "Herb Girls of Birkenau"). Creager's subject matter gets downright sinister at times. Where else can you hear yarns concerning the ancient medical practice of leech application? Heel to shovel, Creager digs deep into the catacombs of the surreal until you have no choice but to dig Rasputina. --Tom Lanham ... Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Asin: B000009NUG
Subjects:  1. Alternative Dance    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Goth Rock    4. Pop    5. Rock   

The novelty was stripmined from ethnobeat pop long ago, and this skin-deep confection is surprising only in its lack of edge and invention. On the plus side, the melodies are textured and lush, the beats entrancing, and a parade of gifted singers--Kristy Thirsk, Jacqui Hunt, and Sarah McLachlan included--bill and coo impressively. Lead single "Euphoria (Firefly)" has spark and spirit, while "Enchanted" and "Duende" are strong vehicles for Thirsk and Camille Henderson respectively. --Jeff Bateman ... Read more

Asin: B000005DCB
Subjects:  1. Alternative Dance    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. Ambient Pop    4. Club/Dance    5. Dark Ambient    6. House    7. Pop    8. Rock