| Over the
past two decades, goth music has grown and redefined itself a countless amount
of times. Most will agree that it started off as a sub-division of punk. People
were looking for something dark yet hard, and bands like bauhaus and the
sisters delivered. Through the years, goth music established it's own unique
sound, coined by bands like Fields Of The Nephilim and the such. As well, it
branched off into different sub-genres. Following in the footsteps of Front
242, groups such as Puppy and Ministry put a different, more evil spin on
synth-pop. Today, most say goth music is dead, while others say it is merely
fusing with a number of different genres of music, more than it ever has been
in the past. In my humble opinion, i think this is exactly what the people
behind this compilation are trying to say.
Featuring fourteen goth "anthems", The Gothic Sanctuary disk is the
perfect crash course in classic goth tunes. The first three songs,
"Haunted" by Love and Rockets, "Go" by Tones on Tail, and
The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" are all must haves for anyone who's
tastes lean toward the type of music in discussion. The fourth song,
"Collage" by a band called Vital Sines, is a typical '80's goth-rock
tune, and is actually quite catchy. The cd continues to kick arse with fotn's
"Moonchild", Alien Sex Fiend's "i walk the line", and one
of the sisters best tunes imho, temple of love (1992), featuring one of the
most respectable artists within the genre, Ofra Haza R.I.P.
Between SP's "Smothered Hope", Killing Joke's "Love Like
Blood", Ministry's "Everyday is Halloween", and a live version
of Bela Lugosi's Dead at the very end, the cd features some very rare and
unique tunes from more different, underground artists. The second (the first
being the above mentioned Collage), "Cry Little Sister (theme from the
Lost Boys)" by Gerard McMann, is a pretty decent track, although the vocal
stylings don't seem to fit the feel of the song. As well, The Vampire Beach
Babe's "Gothic Surf-a-Rama" can be found on the disk. This song alone
is a perfect example of goth crossing-over and experimenting with different
sorts of sounds. Whether or not the band is actually worth checking out is
irrelevant, since my personal preference is not the issue. Nevertheless, their
sound is definitely one of a kind, and they are quite talented for the type of
music they play. Lastly, a band by the name of Images In Vogue are featured on
the disk with a track called "Lust for Love". The group has more of
an 80s mainstream, light synth-poppy feel to them, and the song is nothing i'd
go out of my way to own. The liner notes feature a small write-up from Savage
Garden owner dj Lord Pale. His views on gothic lifestyle and the music are
brushed upon, and a quick synopsis of goth music from '79 to today is
discussed.
However, now comes the question that i've been wanting to know all along - why
buy this disk at all? Anyone even remotely into the scene most likely owns at
least three quarters of the album, so why bother picking it up? A valid
argument would probably have to be that it's just pretty kewl to have all these
songs on one disk, instead of having to rummage through your cd collection to
find that fotn song. As well, the comp itself is more like a story or a piece
of history than just a bunch of tunes. The way the songs are compiled and the
amount of difference between each makes listening to the album quite
interesting.
So, even though the disk does lack other obviously influential musicians within
the scene such as siouxsie, the smiths, the cure, joy division, etc., i'd
recommend picking it up, and in the words of Paul Samuels, "place this cd
into your stereo, turn the lights down low, light several candles, turn the
volume up and press 'Play' ".
-review by -flipps
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