The Gothic Fucking Sounds of Nightbreed, Vol. 4

"Once again, Nightbreed has outdone themselves w/ another awesome compilation that kicks right off w/ the infamous & ever decadent Midnight Configuration covering the Madonna song "Into the Groove" where Trev Ghost's trademark vocal's sound like the bogie man roaming through a fetish festival of terror among the techno music & angelic female vocals. "Devil Dance" once again showcases this popular Nightbreed act crossing the canal's of sound, making a dark dance beat & vision that is supremely all theirs. Pro-Jekt provides their own electronic gothic rock flavored anthems w/ "Next World (edit)" & "Split Emotion (version)" that brings to mind a slightly heavier Intravenus w/ more manic dance beats, yet overall it works quite nicely & w/ intent. Finland's premiere dark rock god's, Two Witches is remixed here by Project Pitchfork on "Spirit Sacrifice" lending it a dramatic, electro backbeat to their timeless vampirism aesthetics. Lupine comes in next w/ two gothic rock gems, where on "Molly Lee" they seem to be mixing in elements of gothic metal into their pallet but w/out using "cookie monster" vocal's, the song remains intact & darkly uplifting. "X" keeps w/ their dark gothic rock using some subtle electronics w/ seductive female backing vocals; a cool, new enchanting band! The dark music scene's favorite goblin makes a cameo here w/ his new musical vision of dark dance electronics on "Smell the Witch (edit)" that's unlike his earlier dark, medieval ambient records but it's a still a much welcome progression from this eccentric artist. The esoterically patriarchs, Garden of Delight give us their brew of magical & mysticism on "Northern Skies (2)" which is nothing short of brilliantly executed Gothic rock that explodes w/ power & radiance. Brother Orchid's "New Religion" is another wonderful song full of angst & emotion that almost sounds like an updated version of Vendemmian w/ subtle programming around the guitars & a dance pop edge while "The Burning Sky" from Sinister Warrior is another dancey symphonic piece of dark romance w/ new wave leanings that should really be a club floor favorite. Katscan´s "Flowest Common Demonator" is a heavily crushing piece of sheer white noise that should please the entire Electro/EBM crowd. Scary Bitches give us "Lesbian Vampires from Outer Space" & while it reads like campy all the way through, this fantastically ear pleasing piece is one of the best surprises on the disc. Synthetic's "The Body Farm (Coroner mix)" is another pouty gothic dance rock anthem w/ catchy hooks, programming, & seductive male vocals. "Every Night is Halloween" from The Beautiful Deadly Children seems to be the bastard child of Future pop & Darkwave in one form or another but a catchy piece of dark hysteria nevertheless. Ending the disc comes from great new band, The Ghost of Lemora w/ "Brides of the Atom" that should please every fan of Gothic rock w/ their sense of dark humor & a hazey, bleak pop styling. Also, Mark K.´s brief commentary concerning the current happenings & trends in the scene seems to be right on the money & I'm glad that Nightbreed is distributed now through Earache, which may be a slightly more mainstream label that should produce more exposure to these extremely talented & obscure artists, & like stated in the linear notes; "Nightbreed Recordings, Supporting the Gothic scene since 1991." Highly recommended."