Artist: Christian Death
Title: Evil Becomes Rule
Genre: Gothic Rock
Release Date: 6th May 2022
Label: Season of Mist
Album Review
American Goth Rock veterans CHRISTIAN DEATH are back with a new album. Their 17th release ‘Evil Becomes Rule’ opens with ‘The Alpha and The Omega’ and the band welcomes the listener to hell with a quote by Dante. As soon as you hear the words “Abandon all your hope, all who enter here. If you’re not dead and cold, then you’re the enemy.” Performed by Kand’s unique voice, you know, that this is gonna be Goth. Some guitar elements remind you of early BLACK SABBATH and Maitri’s backing vocals give the whole thing a touch that might send goosebump on your skin.
‘Blood Moon’ was already released as a single, and the bassline will attract fans of THE CURE. Some synths take you back to the 80s Goth anthems and the combination of Maitri’s high and bright prone vocals and the contrast of Kand’s extremely dark vocals gives the songs some really interesting aspects. Some guitar shredding opens for ‘Abraxas We Are’, a quite rare opening for a CHRISTAIN DEATH song. Soon, a fast bass line takes over and a rather slow drum part becomes audible. Pay attention to Kand’s amazing performance of the lead vocals, while Maitri echoes the vocals over and over. The ultimate highlight is their duet in the final part of this quite versatile love song.
The band’s third single from ‘Evil Becomes Rule’ is called ‘The Warning’ and opens with a spoken word part that gives you the chills. Some TV noises, light strings and a monotonous piano line slowly blend in and slowly more instrumentation becomes audible. “I’ve been warning you for all of your miserable lives; now it’s come to pass, what are you gonna do?” Kand asks the listener and just imagine MORISSEY ask you this question, while Kand gets angrier and angrier while performing the lyrics and the song gets faster and faster to end up in a bridge part that gets pretty Goth with the background chanting and Kand’s lamentations. An amazing guitar solo blasts you back to the world of Rock and hear Kand and Maitri singing the chorus part together. The song ends with a spoken word outro that gives you the chills all over again. Definitely essential CHRISTIAN DEATH.
‘Beautiful’ was also released as a single previously and it starts with a bird singing, then it gets Goth as you hear funeral proceedings and Kand’s beautiful violin and cello work blends in. Tribal drums become audible and a single guitar performs a riff, that sounds like very early The Cure. Maitri takes over and performs wonderful vocals until the chorus gains power and the guitar performs riffs that almost feel like as if the listeners ears are climbing a spiral stair. The album’s title track ‘Evil Becomes Rule’ is one of the weakest songs on the album. There are so many layers of sounds and effects, that it is best called noisy and unnerving.
The album ends with two wonderful tracks called ‘Who Am I (Part 1)’ and ‘Who Am I (Part 2)’. While the first part is dominated by an acoustic Spanish guitar and some synth effects, and Kand asks the listeners essential questions, part II comes with preaching, few instruments and reciting. If you love Goth, this is album is for you. Lyrics about darkness and evil, underlined with various styles of instrumentation, from Post-Punk, over 80s Synth to ornamental orchestration makes it a timeless masterpiece of the genre, just skip the title track.
Tracklist
01. The Alpha and The Omega
02. New Messiah
03. Elegant Sleeping
04. Blood Moon
05. Abraxas We Are
06. The Warning
07. Beautiful
08. Rise and Shine
09. Evil Becomes Rule
10. Who Am I (Part 1)
11. Who Am I (Part 2)
Line-up
Valor Kand – lead-vocals, guitar, violin, cello, piano, percussion
Maitri – vocals, bass
Pao - drums
Website
https://officialchristiandeath.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 8
Total: 9 / 10
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