'Gothtober - Exhuming the Tunes with Christian Death's ""Pornographic Messiah"

Though they walk through the valley of the Christian Death, they fear no evil is the theme here, along with god trying to fuck you. They are more commited to industrial and pulling it off in a smoother fashion than the previous album. That is not to say they are not indulging in some experimentation along the way. Of the first three tracks only one is a song. It's not til 'the Lie Behind the Truth' that they are willing to commit to busting out some guitar riffs again. Then there is the darker, brooding thump of "The Millennium Unwinds". It's thump drones on in one sonic color. 

"Weave My Spell" kicks into a more electronic groove that is more like KMFDM thanks to the guitar accents. I am fine with the industrial version of the band. In 19998 death rock was seeing a revival, and there were no bands even making the music, though goth rock has shifted focus over the years. "Washing Machine" is more likea Rammstein song, with lower, snarling vocals and the chug of guitars at the forefront. They cover Soft Cell's "Sex Dwarf," which is an odd choice, but here we are. The guitar adds more beef to the mix. 'Does it Hurt" feels like they are heading in a My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult direction. The almost moaned vocals and pron samples in the background cement the mood. It is not the most dynamic song on the album. 

At this point, I am preferring the heavier industrial sounds over some of the other experimentation going on; "The Obscene Kiss" kinda slaps. It has more of a chorus than the previous song. "Out of Control" is another bizarre sleaze electro-industrial offering, that finds the vocals reaching their peak aggression thus far, and for all its chaos, this makes it work. They take bipolar breaks from this to bathe you in ambient sound. "Die With You" finds them drifting off into a doomy drone. There is a thick, dark atmosphere to this, so it feels pretty on point for their overall vibe. The guitar melody helps it transition from one of the sound baths to almost an instrumental, as vocals do not come in until the final minute. 

"She Never Woke Up" finds them back in creepy industrial mode. They are darker and moodier than Marilyn Manson, but it is intersting to hear what they are doing in a post-Manson era. The vocals obviously picked up on how the tide was turning.  Even with the harder edge to the guitars, this is on brand for them. With a song titled "Pillars of Osiris," I assumed I was getting another weird sound bath and the drums almost made me second-guess myself, but I was right.The last two songs are both weird in different ways one is just noisy chaos the other is more deliberate but the ranting of a child are the vocals . I will give this one a 9, it's great Halloween music and I like what they were going for here even if the experimental elements are a tad overealous.

11.5

pst501