'Gothtober - Exhuming the Tunes with Christian Death's "Prophecies"

;Not sure why I did not spend more time with this album when it came out. The first track is ambient samples. It is clear on "Is This the Will of God"  that this is not going to be going back to the punk vibes, but a swath of ambient sounds and synths that have very little rock to them at all. I probably listened to this album a couple of times on acid, but its dream-like,  carnival vibes did not stick. It's not until "the Great Swarm of Bees" that we get something that works likea rock song. There are pretty heavy riffs, but it's run through a filter of experimentation. They do lock into an industrial drive on this one. There is also more of an industrial feel to "Into the Shitworld"; there are effects slathered on the drums to create a haze of weirdness. I wonder what drugs were being ingested during this session. They throw a funky bass line at you on this one. 

"Pig Half Man " has a weird chorus, but the weighty stomp of the song sells it. "Conspiracy of Love" finds it working off another solid 80s groove, once again a more pastel mainstream take on the genre. Sure, plenty of current pop artists like Chappell Roan also cash in on this nostalgia, but this is a less corporate vision of that."Thunderstorm" is also a moody winner with an atmospheric tension to it and great vocal dynamics. This is without a doubt a weird album, so I am really only grading it according to the actual songs and then just ignoring most of the sprawling ambient pieces. The last song is more industrial, with multitracked vocals.  The drumming is more metal. I will give this album a 9; there are some forgotten gems on it and if you want to hear their heavier side worth a listen. 

pst497