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hatesex_savagecabaret
Artist: Hatesex
Title: A Savage Cabaret, She Said
Genre: Gothic / Batcave
Release Date: 18th February 2011
Label: AliceIn…


Album Review

Benn Ra (Diva Destruction, Scarlet's Remains, Frank The Baptist), gets about a bit doesn’t he? With the afore mentioned bands plus HATESEX, he’s fast becoming Europe’s “Mr Batcave”. And Batcave is the name of the game here. The glammed-up-electrified-proto-goth-rock formula gets a new lease of life thanks to a saccharin kiss from vocalist Krisanna Marie who adds a dark cabaret flair to proceedings.It is immediately evident that the duo have taken their time crafting this collection of songs, and that the time was well worth it. Clumsy title aside, ‘A Savage Cabaret, She Said’ is a melting mot of retro-baiting dark disco floor fillers.

The opening fragment of ‘The Savage Cabaret Of Sins’ provides a nice curveball with its victrola effect before crashing into the brilliant ‘A Rose Without Eyes’. ‘Operetta No. 19’ has a great 80s Indie chart feel to it with it’s strong bass line and sweeping guitars that will get toes tapping and shoulders moving. ‘Wanderlust’ on the other hand, despite its up-tempo drum beats and faster guitars, effectively pulls on the heart strings thanks to Krisanna’s strong vocal performance. ‘The Red Curtain Masquerade’ makes good use of the synths in the intro which are unfortunately swallowed up somewhat by the guitars in the rest of the song. ‘Throe II’ is a nice central instrumental that almost goes a little early 90s martial industrial with it’s marching beat and glockenspiel melody.

‘The Necrokiss Of Melancholy’ sounds exactly as you hope it would from reading the total - a fun and high octane dance floor classic. ‘I Am’ features prominent masculine vocals over a carnival-esque tune that shakes up the album’s formula a bit. Whereas ‘Darling Divanora’ gets nice and experimental with the electronics for a more modern dark wave style track that shows off the versatility of the duo. ‘Forest Of I’ does an about turn and heads straight back to the 80s for inspiration for a somewhat tamer penultimate track. The reprise of ‘The Savage Cabaret Of Sins’ brings things to a close with, what is essentially, an end credits piece that could have been given some serious impact if it had been twice as long and rocked up a bit in the second half.

HATESEX have really shown off their versatility on this album and have taken a fair few chances with the electronics side of their sound. However the production throughout feels very flat and dated considering the skill that went into the writing of the songs, some of which are club classics of the future. It is from beginning to end a strong effort, though fans of dark cabaret may feel a little cheated by the title.


Tracklist

01. The Savage Cabaret Of Sins (Fragment)
02. A Rose Without Eyes
03. Operetta No. 19
04. Wanderlust
05. The Red Curtain Masquerade
06. Throe II
07. The Necrokiss Of Melancholy
08. I Am
09. Darling Divanora
10. The Forest Of I
11. The Savage Cabaret Of Sins (Reprise)


Line-up

Benn Ra
Krisanna Marie


Websites

http://www.myspace.com/hatesex


Cover Picture

hatesex_savagecabaret


Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 6.5
Extras: -
Total: 7 / 10

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