NOTRE DAME (ABO#397)

NOTRE DAME
THE VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA

Notre Dame was a Swedish metal band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2004. Members included Snowy Shaw and Vampirella (vocals) and Jean-Pierre de Sade (guitar and bass) and Mannequin de Sade (drums) two brothers who claimed to be descendants of legendary revolutionary writer Marquis de Sade. The band mixed black metal with elements of electro, horror, gothic and orchestral themes.
Geemarcus has been able to cook you a simple cd of this unique act. Thanks to him and enjoy the selection while you can.

RIYL: Cradle of Filth, Tristania, Penumbra

PARADISE LOST (ABO #380)

PARADISE LOST
HAVEN

Starting as a Death/Doom Metal band in the late 80s, no one could have ever expected the evolution which affected Paradise Lost’s sound. Culminating on the Host album (their seventh album, released in 1999) where the band sounds kind of like a metal version of Depeche Mode. Alas, their metal fan base didn’t like it and the band was forced to return to something a tad more traditional on their following albums producing some quality melodic Gothic Metal.
This compilation (with a track list crafted by Baker) sums up the great musical adventure Paradise Lost’s career has been up to “Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us” (released in 2009). Enjoy the ride.

My PARADISE LOST Top Three
1 – Host (1999)
2 – One Second (1997)
3 – Draconian Times (1995)

My PARADISE LOST Bottom Three
1 – Lost Paradise (1990)
2 – Symbol of Life (2002)
3 – In Requiem (2007)

RIYL:
Katatonia, My Dying Bride, Type O Negative

TYPE O NEGATIVE (ABO #364)

TYPE O NEGATIVE
THE DREAM IS DEAD

First of all, let me tell you that this compilation has been in the works for quite some time. I first heard of Peter Steele when he was in the metal/hardcore band Carnivore and have been following his career since. So, as you can imagine, the news of his sudden death has been quite a shock to me. Actually, I couldn’t believe it. Peter was only 48 years old and, since he was now sober and in a better mental condition than he had been for the past few years, I was expecting other news from him and his band, a new album for example. Sadly, this will probably never happen as it seems he hadn’t even started working on it.
This compilation is a tribute to a man who has marked the metal scene of his influence by popularizing a genre, gothic metal, which he greatly helped to creating and developing throughout the seven albums he released with Type O Negative.
Due to the length of the albums and songs of Type O Negative, I had no other choice but to make it a double CD and, honestly, I think it’s the least Peter deserved.
May he rest in peace and may his music remain forever in our hearts.

My TYPE O NEGATIVE List
1 – Bloody Kisses (1993)
2 – Life Is Killing Me (2003)
3 – October Rust (1996)
4 – World Is Coming Down (1999)
5 – Dead Again (2007)
6 – Slow, Deep and Hard (1991)
7 – The Origin of Feces (1992)

RIYL:
Paradise Lost, Tiamat, Fields of the Nephilim

THE DAMNED (ABO #360)

THE DAMNED
AS TASTY AS IT GETS

Are the Damned a punk band? Sure, they started as one but their evolution has been so radical one can argue they turned to something totally different. Along these 35 cuts taken from the numerous albums they've released during their long and chaotic career, you'll be able to witness how rich and varied the Damned sound was. From straight out punk rock to gothic new wave, indie pop and more, the Damned have covered so many genres that it's no surprise they became a cult band for some and a complete source of puzzlement for the many others. Just for the record, what would you do of a punk band that's been produced by none other than Pink Floyd's Nick Mason for their second album in...1977. Add to it that on the same album (Music for Pleasure) you'll find the saxophone of free jazzman and improvisionalist Lol Coxhill (Kevin Ayers, Mike Oldfield, Derek Bailey, etc.). Yes, the Damned are something of an enigma in the music world, not that it's a bad thing, quite the contrary actually.

My DAMNED Top 3
1 – Damned Damned Damned (1977)
2 – Phantasmagoria (1985)
3 – Machine Gun Etiquette (1979)

My DAMNED Bottom 3
1 – Anything (1986)
2 – I’m Alright Jack and the Bean Stalk (2002)
3 – Not of This Earth (1996)

RIYL:
Magazine, 999, Stiff Little Fingers

CRADLE OF FILTH (ABO #358)

CRADLE OF FILTH
RIDICULOUS EVIL NIGHTMARE
(TELL ME IT'S A JOKE!)

British black metal band Cradle of Filth were formed in 1991, originally comprised of vocalist Dani Filth (born Daniel Lloyd Davey), guitarist Paul Ryan, his keyboardist brother Benjamin, bassist John Richard, and drummer Darren. After recording a demo dubbed Invoking the Unclean a year later, the group recruited guitarist Robin Eaglestone, who quit soon after recording a second demo, Orgiastic Pleasures; however, when Richard exited the band a short time later, Eaglestone stepped back in to assume bass duties, opening the door for guitarist Paul Allender. Following a third demo, Total Fucking Darkness, Cradle of Filth — now with new drummer Nicholas Barker — signed with the Cacophonous label, issuing their proper debut, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, in mid-1994.
The lineup changes continued when the Ryan brothers both departed to form the Blood Divine (and Allender left as well), making room for guitarists Stuart Antsis and Jared Demeter and keyboardist Damien Gregori to debut on the 1996 mini-LP Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein. For the full-length Dusk and Her Embrace later that same year, Gian Pyres took Demeter's spot, and afterward, Gregori was replaced by keyboardist Les Smith; at any rate, the album substantially expanded the group's growing cult following. Cradle of Filth's next effort, Cruelty and the Beast, appeared in 1998, amid the group's steadily growing reputation for elaborate Alice Cooper/Marilyn Manson-style concert theatrics. Two years later the group returned with From the Cradle to Enslave, an EP that featured new drummer Adrian Erlandsson (formerly of Sweden's At the Gates and the Haunted), as Barker had departed to join Dimmu Borgir.
The band's dizzying lineup changes continued apace as Paul Allender rejoined the group and Martin Powell (ex-Anathema and My Dying Bride) replaced Smith on keyboards for the full-length Midian, which was appropriately released on Halloween 2000. Bitter Suites to Succubi was issued on Spitfire in summer 2001. The group added a choir and orchestra to the lineup for 2003's Damnation and a Day on Red Ink, and moved to Roadrunner for 2004's Nymphetamine. Thornography followed on Roadrunner in 2006, a year that also saw the release of The Cradle of Filth Box Set. Eleven Burial Masses, a collection of live material, arrived in 2007, followed by Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder in 2008. (allmusic)
- thanks to Diod for the selection and original artwork -

CRADLE OF FILTH Top 3
1 - Damnation and a Day (2003)
2 - Midian (2000)
3 - Godspeed's on the Devil's Thunder (2008)

CRADLE OF FILTH Bottom 3
1 - Nymphetamine (2004)
2 - Thornography (2006)
3 - Vempire (1996)

RIYL:
Dimmu Borgir, Anorexia Nervosa, Theatres des Vampires

CRANES (ABO #302)

CRANES
JUST LET THE PRESSURE GO

Cranes were one of the major trance-pop/shoegaze groups of the early '90s, combining ethereal vocals and melodies with loud, droning guitars. Cranes were formed by brother and sister Jim (drums) and Alison Shaw (vocals) in 1988 in Portsmouth, England; guitarist Mark Francombe and bassist Matt Cope joined the band two years later. The group independently released its first album, Fuse, on cassette in 1990; a small local label released Self-Non-Self the same year to good reviews. Both sets of music led to a record contract with Dedicated, an English record label. Later that year, they released their first EP for the label, Inescapable, which earned them a lot of attention, including a Melody Maker cover story; a second EP, Espero, also earned positive reviews, including a Melody Maker Single of the Week. The following year, the band released its first album on Dedicated, Wings of Joy, which received favorable reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as earning the band a sizable cult following, including the Cure's Robert Smith; Smith picked Cranes to open for the Cure on their 1992 world tour, which earned them a larger audience. Forever, the group's second album, was released in 1993. It expanded their cult slightly, yet 1994's Loved found the band in a holding pattern commercially. After releasing the limited-edition Tragedy of Orestes and Electra in late 1996, Cranes returned with Population 4, which was greeted with mixed reviews and found the group's cult shrinking. A reissue of Self-Non-Self followed the next year, but a new studio album didn't arrive until 2001 with Future Songs — a relatively straightforward departure from their former material, with Alison Shaw's vocals higher in the mix than before. Particles & Waves (2004) and Cranes (2008) incorporated electronics with sparse arrangements to good effect. (allmusic)
[selection, artwork, rip & upload by DIOD]

RIYL:
Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star, This Mortal Coil

PAVLOV'S DOG (ABO#285)

PAVLOV'S DOG

NO REACTIONS

(1975-1995)

I've got to be honnest. I've long been thinking that Pavlov's Dog had always made only three albums, from 1975 to 1977 and that their 1990 try with Lost In America, was just a mistake that no one would nowadays pay attention to.

My first mistake was that P'sD made another album in 1995 under the name of Pavlov's Dog 2000. This (a bit) silly name surely came from singer David Surkamp opposition to bear his loving band's name. David indeed wasn't a part of that band that most people will easily argue the legality. But for the simple reason that they were the only surviving Pavlov's Dog at that date, I have included that rare EP in this baistophe (and also because there was plenty of room left).

My second mistake was to have underestimate Lost In America. Although it's a forgettable album, it sure still has a couple of great songs that, even in 1990, reminds of the glorious past of the band.

"The Glorious Past". The word is a bit too strong for that one-hit wonder (who does not remember Julia ?). But the two first Pavlov's Dog LPs are just what any classic rock fan has to own.

How such a band, who finally fell rapidly in complete oblivion has managed to bring wonderful, ex-Yes, ex-King Crimson, drummer Bill Brufford? How such a band made two astonishing first Pop-Rock albums and couldn't sign any contract for their promissing third album so that this one had to be published as a bootleg, until it was officially released not long ago?

Maybe their Progressive Rock filiation which caught them much more problems in that Punk wave... Or maybe probably of David Surkamp voice which was very close to Rush's Geddy Lee, and finally was a bit too strange to catch a massive audience....

Pavlov's Dog reformed in 2004 for new gigs and it seems to really work fine!

My Pavlov's Dog TOP

1. Pampered Menial (1975)

2. At The Sound Of The Bell (1976)

3. Third (1977)

4. End Of The World {Pavlov's Dog 2000} (1995)

5. Lost In America (1990)

THE CULT (ABO #272)

THE CULT
SUN KINGS

The Cult are an English rock band, formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk and gothic rock band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love Removal Machine". The band fuses a "heavy metal revivalist" sound with the mysticism of The Doors, the guitar-orchestrations of Led Zeppelin, and the three-chord crunch of AC/DC, while adding touches of post-punk goth rock". Since their earliest form in Bradford during 1981, the band has had various line-ups, and the longest serving members are vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, the band's two songwriters.
This baistophe covers their 8 studio albums adding it two non-album tracks (B'side Resurrection Joe and Painted on My Heart from the "Gone in 60 Seconds" soundtrack). Enjoy.

My CULT List
1 - Love (1985)
2 - Sonic Temple (1989)
3 - Dreamtime (1984)
4 - Born Into This (2007)
5 - Electric (1987)
6 - The Cult (1994)
7 - Ceremony (1991)
8 - Beyond Good & Evil (2001)

RIYL:
AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, U2

THE GATHERING (ABO #265)

THE GATHERING
TRAVELS

It was a tough choice to make but logic dictated it. The Gathering, when Anneke Van Giersbergen was part of it, was a band unlike any other. Lead by a muse, this regular doom/goth metal band turned its music into art.
For 13 years and 6 albums, The Gathering became a band that could shift his music from quality goth metal to something ethereal and dreamy that took all of us on landscapes we weren't expecting. Sadly, it came to an end when the band and its angelic lead vocalist parted ways after what had been their most disappointing album ("Home"), not a bad album, just not up to the quality standards they used to reach.
Anyway, there still was enough material to fill up two full CDs and it's really all you have to know. Just close your eyes and...Travel.

mStanzas' The Gathering (Anneke era) List
01 - Souvenirs (2003)
02 - How To Measure A Planet (1998)
03 - Mandylion (1995)
04 - Nighttime Birds (1997)
05 - If Then Else (2000)
06 - Home (2006)

RIYL:
Cocteau Twins, Lacuna Coil, The 3rd and the Mortal

(tracklist and rip by mStanzas/artwork and text by S.F.P.)

THE SISTERS OF MERCY (ABO #035) [REPACKED]

THE SISTERS OF MERCY
SOME KIND OF STRANGER
[REPACKED]

The Sisters of Mercy are an English gothic rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output as a strike against their record company. Currently, the band is kept alive as a touring outfit only. The band's symbol was inspired by a common illustration in Anatomy textbooks, namely that illustrating the anterior and posterior triangles of the neck. Specifically, it was noticed by Andrew Eldritch in the early medical student's bible Gray's Anatomy.
The group has released three original studio albums, of which the last was released in 1990. Each album was recorded by a different line-up; singer and songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machines called Doktor Avalanche are the only points of continuity among the line-ups. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in The Sisterhood, a side-project connected with Eldritch's dispute with former members.
The group ceased recording activity in 1994, when they went on strike against their record company Time Warner, which they accused of withholding royalties and being incompetent. Although Time Warner eventually let the band go in 1997, they have not signed to another label, and have chosen not to go the independent label route, despite showcasing numerous new songs in their live sets.
Since 1985, when the other original members left, The Sisters of Mercy has become the artistic vehicle of Andrew Eldritch. Ex-members of the group established the bands Ghost Dance and The Mission.

Pierre's SISTERS OF MERCY List
1 - First and Last and Always
2 - Floodland
3 - Vision Thing

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(cover art by SFP, rip & selection by Pierre)