Artist: The House Of Usher
Title: Pandora’s Box
Genre: Gothic Rock
Release Date: 17th June 2011
Label: Equinoxe Records
Album Review
THE HOUSE OF USHER is a long standing name on the Gothic Rock scene, founded in 1990 by Jörg Kleudgen and Markus Pick. The band’s name is indeed inspired by E.A. Poe’s short story (“The Fall of the House of Usher”). Over the years the line up changed, many releases followed and the reputation grew. ‘Pandora’s Box’ is their latest offering of classic Gothness so let’s see what evils the Pandora box à la THE HOUSE OF USHER yields.
‘Saturn Rising’ is a superb opener. Of course it’s atmospheric, its lyrics are well written and the song captivates from the start, the sound is beautifully thick and at times pleasantly heavy. Love the frantic screamed rhetoric that gives the closing part a manic and intense feel. The next, ‘Not Your Friend’, opens with a heavy piano but soon breaks into a catchy song, soon find yourself your body moving with it, a dance-puller. Things slow down with the next ‘Consecration’, a slower tempo track, more interesting on lyrical and vocal than musical front. ‘Coming Home’ is layered, strong, with a lot going for it, and even more so, one of the best songs here for me. ‘How Far Can We Go’ is darker, and has this oriental timbre to it before it enters into another rhythmic, hook-laden song, that will pull you in, mind, body and soul!
There are few weak songs, in my opinion ‘Love without Grace’ and ‘Where I Belong’ let the album down; they steer into slightly tedious [read clichéd] territory. But the rest of the album goes right back on track, get into the dynamic, atmospheric and darker, catchy shades and dig deep under your skin by their memorable nature. ‘Speak by Tongue’ being the favourite of the later part of the album for me, mostly for its guitars being the outstanding component here; terrific hook again. ‘Finders Keepers’ sounds as reaching out back to the golden era of BAUHAUS or SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES. Overall, this is a brilliant album, a definitely great addition to your collection; it won’t disappoint you on the whole and enthuse by its many wonderful and well-composed songs.
Tracklist
01. Saturn Rising – 6.12
02. Not Your Friend – 4.51
03. Consecration – 5.21
04. Coming Home – 5.31
05. How Far Can We Go – 6.07
06. As Evening Draws On – 6.19
07. To The Glorious Dead – 6.32
08. Love Without Grace – 5.49
09. Where I Belong – 4.40
10. Speak By Tongue – 5.04
11. Finders Keepers – 4.43
12. As It Really Is – 6.33
Line-up
Jörg Kleudgen – Vocals
Tom O’Connell – Guitars
Georg Berger – Guitars
Ralf Dunkel – Bass
Axel Burgard – Drums
Websites
http://www.the-house-of-usher.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/thougothicrock
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9.5
Sound: 10
Total: 9.75 / 10
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