This beautiful band is called Versailles. I saw them live in Chicago and they put on a great performance live and have some cute merchandise to boot. I highly recommend to catch them for a show since they are on tour now. The album is called Broken Dolls and it is an ethereal masterpiece that is fresh and innovative complete with rhymes, reasons and rational. One of the tracks that stuck out the most on this album is track two, " Wendy's Razorblades." which is a song about a girl with hidden razorblades and her obsessions. " Singer Dianna sings to us , " Wendy's got razorblades, in a small box with a little latch is her parade." Truly dark, whimiscal and chiling to the bone. Telling the tale of blood and darkness. Another track that called out to me was the last track called, " You're My Disater." which is a morbid tale of a person we all have ran into and experienced at some point in our life. Dianna sings, " " And I run faster through this disaster." Cryptic, demeted and alive and growing stronger and stronger pulling us closer to listen and feel . This is a song that is a crowd favourite and must be experienced live. This band puts their all into what they do and are just plain amazing.Not a song on this album doesn't disappoint. You might not be in Paris but you are as close as it gets. Truly a masterpiece! wrapped up in blue and white and striving to lend a fright and delight ~4 stars

The band is called The Becoming that hails from Nashville, Tennesee. I just saw them live with the 69 Eyes and they rocked out and rolled out in Goth we trust. Truely amazing and energetic dark musicians that got the goth and roll down. We open with track 1, " Dressed in Black ", which is a dark energetic track that got me moving in my seat and groovin when I saw them live. Caleb sings, " Rows of bodies dressed in Black, the sound of death and colored glass." Classic death lyrics wrapped in charm and grace set out to free us from boredom. Heavy guitar and just plain energy is what makes up this band. The all put blood, sweat and tears into everything they do.Track 3, " Our First Sunrise." reminded me alot of HIM, which is my compliment to them. The track is flowing, harmonic and just memorable. Caleb sings, " We are so afraid we will become the thngs we hate." Clever and to the point and in your face. We move to track 4, " I cry." which I feel will be a big hit. " Caleb sings, " My desire is for light to overcome my hate." Beautfiully written and beautifully expressed to the audience that they love,. I truly can see why this band is on tour with the 69 Eyes, you see rarely do you have a band that compliments another, in this case they do. Uniqueness along with positive waves that light up their darkness when they hit the stage. They set it aglow and shine light into the darkness of this world and leave us with something to say. Track by track the element of surprise is there waiting for us to enlighten us and leave us spellbound, making death a little more beautiful step by step. Track 5 is called, " Silent as the Grave" which is a fun track that has awesome lyrics that draws you closer and leaves you with a warm feeling that makes you feel good inside. The Becoming is on tour now and put on one hell of a show you won't be disappointed. ~ 4 stars Michelle Russo

The name of the album is called " Beautiful Death ." by Bella Morte. I just saw them live and Andy Deane was sick and still played and amazing set despite his illness. This album is by far a memorable one and amazing to hear live as well as in the headphones. We go to track 2, " Can't Let This Die ." which is quite amazing first to hear live due to the sentiments it expresses to us. Andy sings, " I can feel your eyes from far away and I can't let you go and I can't let this die." Truly words to live by and words we can all relate to. A beautiful song that rocks out altogether in harmony and grace. We move to track 5, " The End of The End." which is a sentimental song that really pulls at your heart strings tight and won't let go. This song really grips you and tells it's dark tale. Witty lyrics, Andy sings, " Lost, I'm lost with no reason, not reason but you." This is a crowd favorite that everyone seems to enjoy and shed a tear for. The most beautiful track on this album is track 6, " Fade like a Song." which is just chilling to the bone, decadent and delightful. Andy sings, " I lay you to rest, lay it all in the ground, let the past be the past and move on." This song is a favorite to many and amazing to hear live. Track 7, " In the Dirt." is a heavy, emotional song that really gets under your skin. Andy sings, " No time for words and tears, discipline holds the room silent, raising the stakes again, I tear it away." Truly beautiful words to cherish as this whole album shines and speaks to us so softly, so deadly and silently shows us a beautiful death.

I just recently saw Voltaite live in Chicago with the Helblinki Sextet that is a band from North Carolina. Both bands were amazing. They both have albums that rock. First we start out with the album Oratory by the Hellblinki Sextet that is quite unique as their stage performance was. Fully packed with violin, accordion, guitar, mandolin, percussion, bass , trombone and trumpet backed with the most unique vocals from lead singer Andrew. We open with track one called " The End " which is a dark tale about a land below that is dark, witty and cunning as ever. Everything flows nice and rhymes to the core and their is surprises around every corner. Progressing on we move to track 3- Kerosene which is a Southern sounding track that really stands out alot. A morbid ditty about chaos on a Saturday night at the bar. Guns, mayhem and debauchery is what this album is made of. Hellblinki is not what it seems, it creeps, it makes it's move and grows on you track after track and won't let go.

Voltaire ~ Down at the bottom of the Sea is quite the album to remember. Pirate lore, krakens and the beast from Pirate bay not to be forgotten. Voltaire opens with track one, " The Industrial Revolution " Voltaire sings, " It came into our lives and gave us uniformity by taking choice away from you." Witty, charimning and to the core. We move to the classic track 4 called " Happy Birthday a clever song about the problems of getting old. Voltaire sings, " You're so old you smell like dust and now your bones begin to rust ." This could by far be the future Gothic day anthem for all future generations to come and go. Truely a crowd favorite and to be remembered and not forgotten. The next track 5 called " Coin Operated Goi." which is a parody from the Dresden Dolls song, " Coin Operated Boi ." Truely a club favorite and the best parody of a song I have heard of in a long time. Voltaire sings, operated goi, can't hang with the Moyles, he ain't got the curls. I say we convert him, it ain't gonna hurt him." We'll maybe down below." Voltaire follows this song exact to the original style just made it goi instead of boi. Voltaire is truly a genius when it comes to turning things around and making them better than ever than the original was. Moving to track 7, called " The Beast of Pirate Bay." a clever tale about the beast that lay in the bay and how all should beware. The song has a nice ring to it and really speaks to you, at least it did to me. We skip to track 10 " The Ship's Going Down reminds me of the band that played till their death in the movie Titanic. This song is unique, dark and amazing. Voltaire sings, " Though we'll drown, there's no need to frown, cause we're all going together. " Truely a dark tale and one not to forget. Trak 12, is called " Death, Death" is the song to remember, dark, witty, charming and a song we can all relate to. Voltaire sings, " Death, death, devil, devil , devil, devil, evil, evil songs, hell, you know that's how I get along,. " The rest of the album calls to you as the sea does and draws you down deep and encompasses you, consumes you and forever possesses you to listen.

One of the most difficultly reachable goal of a plenty of ebm-gothic and electro dark bands consists mainly not only in finding a personal style, but keep on developing it without appearing banal and repetitive and carefully avoiding clichés and boring imitations. That's the goal Life Cried, the electro act led by the American musician Chris Reject (what a guessed nickname for such an artistic identity!), seems to have been reached in spite of the apparent stasis of the genre and that's maybe the reason they're not so prolific as other bands crossing the same musical fields: Banished Psalms is just their second full length album issued on the renowned German label Noitekk added to their discography even if the band's active since 1999 as it was necessary some ears to refine their sound which looks quite recognizable nowadays even if some tracks remind repertoires belonging to acknowledged mile stones and new levers of the scene such as Combichrist, Hocico, Dawn Of Ashes or Psyclon Nine.

The spellbound play of these banished psalms begin with a catching seraphic chorus and a tonal fragmentation on pianos introducing on the desperate self-tribulation of Another Sacrifice, which seems to narrate the psychological drama of an evil person divided between consciousness of guilt and the impossibility to avoid evil. Some chunky metallic screams and a bulldozing snare and bass-drum sequenced march of Bloodstained looks more accessible than similar electro-dark movements by other bands, while you'll easily appreciate the controversial between the harsh "rotulation" of kicks as well as the dirty percussive sets and the lull traced by piano and atmospheric sounds on the lush Dressed In Filth as well as the well-crafted hybrid of traditional Industrial style and brutal metal splinters exhibited in Bound In Hate, a track featuring the appearance of Nero Bellum (Psyclon Nine) on the keyboards (you'll get aware about the fact you should learn the art of refusing from Mr Reject when you're going to listen the scratchy guttural way he uses to sing "Hey, is this what you want from me? Oh that isn't enough, now bleed nut I said no, but I said No, this isn't what I want.."... really freezing and persuasive!!!). The evocative piano pieces Alone with realistic and dramatic samples of a weeping woman looks like a sort of prelude for the smashing fury of Preacher, whose infernal aura spitting fire and violence from a metallic 4/4 techno groove perfectly fits the ferocious and conscious '“stricken tormented words of the song reaching the peak when the shouting screams of the singer sing "we are crawling in ruins/ripped up inside/I've seen me insane/I felt my head fall/it took me to bleed"... words which look copied from a page of an imaginary notebook describing a fatal but temporary irritation. It seems the singer abandons its ferocious mood in the more melodic More To Tarnish, even if the lyrics oozes with desires of revenge and destructive purposes ("I used to hate myself for what I have done/Now I save myself from what went wrong/I destroy everything that comes my way"). Procession, Rigor Mortis stands as another prelude of the hard-hitting 5-minutes long Solemn, while Forbidden walks on the same path of the mentioned moods standing like an execration of the damages caused by despair and blind fury deriving from a blinded reason ("you fight the disease but you're causing the war/you fight the disease but you're causing more" are praiseful and prophetic words!). The enchanting and more experimental moody Derelict ends an interesting album which is going to disclose something deeply embedded in your memory!