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"Electronomicon" The Electric Hellfire Club |
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I'm proud of myself because before even looking at the opening "Into Thee Abyss" sequence that leads it off, I likened the audio effects to being an audio abyss that offers its "warm" greeting upon first entry… well fitting enough-then it dawns on me, look where it was recorded. This is one of those bands that you either love 'em or hate 'em and I'd imagine with their bizarre style, interesting, yet bizarre, even wretched to wicked extremes, well they mix modern technology with Black Metal and some very unusual effects ensue-not Gothic by any means, but dark, gloomy, dreary, explosive, and strikingly odd. Their obsession with evil and all things Hell is well founded, if even a bit laughable at times, their over dramatization, Venom-like parlayed into percussive techno-beats and gloomy atmosphere, and please, a warm welcome for Black Circle Chucky bleeding the keys! Theirs is a title that tells it all. Building upon "Witness The Millennium" from last year, "Electronomicon," a name which bears repeating though my typing skills will limit such repetitive allusions, furthers their evil intent, scraping beneath the surface of sickness with the likes of "Sons Of The Serpent," "Hypochristian," "I Dream Of Demons," and a whole plethora of underground exploits. "Underground" being an operative word all around, they draw from any and all types from Dark Wave, to Club, to Industrial, to Black Metal, Venom, to White Zombie, to Ministry to a living breathing childhood nightmare when the lights go out. Bask in the glory of sin with the
"Whores Of Babylon," one of the albums best In league with Satan with designs of out-filthing Dani and co., EHF's an acquired taste that'll leave a bad one in your mouth for sure, a good or bad thing contingent on your upbringing I suppose… cool cover art and some impressive internal contributions headed by a guy named Tagtren and there you've got "Electronomicon." Definitely one to add to the collection
where even if you don't listen to it much, you'll still be talking about
it years later. Released by Cleopatra Records Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] P.O. Box 20252
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"Witness the Millennium" The Electric Hellfire Club |
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I have witnessed the new millennium… and all I can say is God help us! The name says it all - I mean, what are you gonna expect with a name like The Electric Hellfire Club, an all night prayer session? Yes, dear Lord please deliver us from every evil and look after us in these trying times… Forget it-this is dark, dramatic and absolutely soulless-and this LaVey guy quoted on the back provides for a fitting theme in the overall despair quotient all throughout this demonic discourse that "Witness the Millennium" is bound to preach! Who's this "Kirk Carrion," anyway-Devil's disciple bound to extract his ill gotten will on the unsuspecting outerworld? Oh, it's actually known as "Church of the Dead." And there's a pretty good story behind this whole thing that'll unquestionably amuse those of the supernaturalism variety! It's music for the madness… or masses as the case may be, and an education in pure evil too! I don't know if we're
talking growing pains here but there's definitely more than enough for
maximum human consumption-with their fourth full length, the history of
EHC is one of infernal intrigue-but the important thing to note here is
that "Witness the Millennium" was produced by none other
than Black Metal legends Venom, and is not This time, the band chose to blaze an even more fiery trail through the dark, bursting out with blunt-ended riffs to define their already booming industrial firepower-effectively draining the electrical power and trading it in for what amounts to a full on nuclear attack! Amazingly, and this
has as much to do with the gothic surroundings the band found themselves
in during the recording process as anything, "Witness the Millennium," With barely a hint
of mixology or melody, EHC roars forth like a possessed blast furnace, "The Monkey's
Paw," however, right away brings you back to their impenetrable
past, where the driving beats assimilate with blood fed moments of sinister
synthetics showered And by the end, at which point you've abandoned all hope, there's a shuddering cover of the Maiden classic-you guessed it-which just fits the overall theme and while it's a bit quirky at first, has a cool vibe that presents our winged hero in an almost unimaginable light… "Witness the Millennium" tells a foreboding tale of tragedy with a wicked new twist for a group that's made plenty of their own dark waves in the past… and now bringing their own brand of Apocalyptic terror out of the dark and into the blackening hearts of lost souls forever waiting for their savior… Released by Deadline Records Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] P.O. Box 20252
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