'Gothtober - Exhuming the Tunes with Christian Death's ""Sexy Death God "

And now, with the Rozz era over, we are back to the Valor Kand era. This must have been a difficult time for them. When breaking writer's block, I am guessing they went back to the drawing board to rework songs that already worked, as the first few tracks were just atmospheric weirdness. The second part of "Heresy" rocks out harder when it kicks in, but is basically the same song. It is a re-recorded version, as the vocals are the same lyrics but a ballsier performance. There is a poppier beat to "Damn You," but everyone else is more aggressive. It falls kinda awkwardly together. Those bass punches feel more like Rage Against the Machine. They were at least paying attention to where music was going at the time. 

Two songs, then it's back to weird atmospheric interludes. There is a more driving beat for "Eternal Love"; the bass line that falls in behind it is pretty cool. There is more of a rock vibe that is colored by the trappings of who they normally are. The bass line is kicking it on this one, but the vocals are a little dialed in, though they work well enough. They are again bringing more metal elements to the table on "the Serpent's Tail," which works for me. The more syncopated verse is pretty cool. The bass playing on this album is great. There is more of a sensual slink to the bass line for "Temples of Desire" that brings this one into the sweet spot that we want for this band, no matter who is fronting it

Things begin to get a little wonky on "Deeply Deeply" as the vocals on the chorus are silly. Then it's a less focused chaos for "Drilling the Hole"; I am not sure if it is supposed to be industrial or not. "Upon the Sea of Blood" has more conceptual continuity and feels like a Christian Death song even if it has a bit of a metal drive; it's not as over the top as where they go earlier. The last song 'Invitation Au Suicide," gets off to an uncertain start, but the rock riffs ground it . I will give this album a 9.5; it is not Valor's best, but there are some pretty strong moments and I like this version of Christian Death has some metallic balls to it. 

8.6

pst494