Fields of The Nephilim

"Goth" was a much maligned '80s genre, often deserved thanks to overtly gloomy pretentiousness, but just as often artistic, dark, bracing music. In addition to those outfits that still keep it going, this double CD is smart enough to include some of the long forgotten, unsung English practitioners who left behind stunning moments, folks such as UK Decay (see their brilliant singles and 1981 LP For Madmen Only), Theatre of Hate (too bad no "Westworld" or "Nero" here), Play Dead (thought no one remembered them!) and even Southern Death Cult (who became internationally famous a few years later when they changed their name from Death Cult to the Cult). One imagines Cleopatra couldn't get the rights to include such seminal bands as the Cure or Sisters of Mercy, but those groups don't need this kind of introduction, and the omission of the March Violets aside, this is an intelligently selected guide.

Paris-based Soror Dolorosa creates raw and hungry gothic rock inspired by post-punk, death rock and cold wave. French for ‘Sister Pain’, Soror Dolorosa was formed in 2001 by vocalist Andy Julia. Taking its name from the novel “Bruges-la-morte” by Flemish symbolist writer Georges Rodenbach, Soror Dolorosa channels its inspiration’s strong undercurrents of passion, nostalgia and mourning, transferring those powerful emotional states into its music and live performances. These signature elements of the group’s sonic formula are heard in its muscular songs, jangling guitars, overdriven bass lines, driving rhythms and Julia’s distinctive, dramatic vocal style.

With the release of Skeleton Skeletron, Tiamat have effectively crossed over. Whereas early efforts such as Clouds and Wildhoney found the Swedish deathsters taking heavy metal in new and exciting directions by integrating elements of electronica and goth rock, their sixth album begs the question: have they gone too far? With its female backing vocals, lead-off single "Brighter than the Sun" sounds too much like Sisters of Mercy for its own good, while "Dust is our Fare" features a synthesizer intro borrowed straight from Bronski Beat's "Small Town Boy." Sure, both songs are excellent and display a biting guitar tone which not even heavier goth-rock bands like the Sisters or Fields of the Nephilim ever attempted, but the results may still be too extreme even for long-time Tiamat fans…

With the release of Skeleton Skeletron, Tiamat have effectively crossed over. Whereas early efforts such as Clouds and Wildhoney found the Swedish deathsters taking heavy metal in new and exciting directions by integrating elements of electronica and goth rock, their sixth album begs the question: have they gone too far? With its female backing vocals, lead-off single "Brighter than the Sun" sounds too much like Sisters of Mercy for its own good, while "Dust is our Fare" features a synthesizer intro borrowed straight from Bronski Beat's "Small Town Boy."…

Solstafir is an Icelandic outfit who, perhaps due to outgassing of volcanic vents on that geologically active island, have managed to cross epic metal with psychedelic influences and even a smidge of Fields of the Nephilim. Sólstafir has been around for quite some time, but Köld is only the band's third full length album. With song lengths ranging generally in the eight to twelve minute mark, one naturally would assume it takes quite a bit of time to write such long, epic numbers.
The word "epic" shall be used liberally throughout this review. Sólstafir fortunately avoids the dark side of epic, which is extremely long songs that have poor structure, too much noodling or no sense of when to knock it off…

CLOAK have named DISSECTION, DEEP PURPLE, and FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM as main influences, but their harsh yet groove-fuelled sound has invited critics to draw comparisons with such acts as TRIBULATION, WATAIN, and YOUNG AND IN THE WAY. Their debut full-length, 'To Venomous Depths' is a perfect amalgamation of Nordic black metal with catchy hooks and melodic rock. And while the Americans are not claiming to be reinventing the wheel, their outstanding song-writing is catapulting this album to the top.