Bella Morte- Bleed the Grey Sky Black

ARTIST: Bella Morte

ALBUM: Bleed the Grey Sky Black

LABEL: Metropolis Records

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 8-4-07

The only thing Bella Morte has been adding faster than band members is influences; lucky enough, there's still enough of their signature melodic goth sound in place to hold their newest album together. At the core of their sound are sing-along choruses and moody wailing guitars sitting on a bedrock of driving bass lines and slick dance beats, but after that, it's anyone's game. Guitarist Tony Lechmanski really comes into his own this time around, lending enough sleazy Sunset Strip glamour to "As the Storm Unfolds" and "Bleed Again" to make Motley Crue proud, and Jordan Marchini's thunderous drumbeats bring a heaviness to "Ghost Land" that the programmed rhythms of previous albums could only aspire to. Keyboardist Micah Consylman and bassist Gopal Metro's contributions are subtler, but their minor-key pianos and driving bass lines bring a common element to such otherwise disparate tracks as raucous punk stomp "The End Ahead" and the aptly-named, melancholy "Haunted." Lead singer Andy Deane, for his part, seems to have been listening to more hardcore lately, as evidenced by his fondness for aggressive, shout-along vocals and the occasional staccato growl, but it's his croon that he's most famous for, and nowhere is that more evident than on the band's surprisingly faithful cover of doo-wop classic "Earth Angel," long a favorite at live shows. His best vocal work, though, comes on album highlight "Dust," a languorous duet with singer/songwriter Lauren Hoffman that recalls the '80s collaborations between The Mission's Wayne Hussey and All About Eve's Julianne Regan. Break it down by ingredients--punk, metal, doo-wop, synthpop, electro, and of course goth and rock--and you've got enough music to fill three CDs and then some, but thanks to what must be an amazing studio chemistry, the Bella Morte boys distill it all into 50 minutes or so. How do they do it?

Check out the latest Bella Morte news at www.bellamorte.com.