Sopor Aeternus- Es Reiten Die Toten So Schnell

"This is the latest endeavor from one of the most innovative groups ever. The album title translates to "The Vampire Sucking at His Own Vein". For those not familiar w/ the graceful euphony's & gloomy fragments that these seclusioned German cult group summons w/ each stunning release, you're truly missing out. Much in the same manner where artists like Dead Can Dance, In the Nursery, & more recently, France's Rosa Crux concocted unique & embellished original arrays of work; S.A. follows this path as well. The androgynous, ghostly specter & founder, Anna Varney is the crown prince (ss) of darkness, who along w/ an ever rotating cast of musicians seam a refined, renaissance gothic montage of the highest order. The vocals at times come in unassertive, crooning fashion, and then morphing into howl's & screams of a demonic hag, adding only more to their already despairingly, haunting body of baroque distinctions & not surprisingly, it's mixed by John Rivers of Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, & 4AD fame. Five of the tracks are reworkings of already classical S.A. tunes that lengthen the ballads original versions, digging deeper into the esoteric motifs of dream dimensions & symbols that's so familiar in plenty of they're lyrics & art. As usual, outstanding album cover, outdoing themselves w/ each release, & not to mention the fantastic photography & art. Any fan of dark music must hear this powerfully eccentric living legend. Like devising a somnambulist's journey into the great abyss, beyond the living, & beyond the dead. A real piece of art. www.soporaerternus.de