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Reviewed
by: Darklight
Since I am not the biggest fan of goth rock music , I never had an interest
in Inkubus Sukkubus. But it was upon hearing this release playing
in a local independent record store that prompted me to purchase it.
The music here is a mixture of guitar, bass, keyboards and drum programming.
It’s the excellent use of haunting melodies and driving beats that gives
this music a darkwave sound more than a rock sound. But while the music is
great, it’s the singing performed by Candia that steals the show. She has an
enchanting mesmerizing voice that compliments the music perfectly. She sings
with tremendous range and emotion releasing both power and melody. I really
enjoy a quality female singer, and Candia ranks up there as one of the best
I’ve heard.
While a lot of music in the goth genre is rather slow paced and somber,
Inkubus Sukkubus has energy and releases great paced melodies. But not
all is well with this CD. The problem is that it starts off extremely
strong with the songs “Supernature”, “Lucifer Rising”, “Take The
Kiss”, “Fey” and “Hang Around”, but then starts to sound
more typical from track six “Concubine” to track nine “Wings
Of Desire”. It’s not that these four songs are necessarily bad as
much as they just sound less creative and interesting. They are more
heavy rock and less orchestrated. Candia sings rougher and more aggressive
which doesn’t suit her voice as well. Also, four fast paced rock songs
in a row is a little too much before the slower break comes in with
“We Belong With The Dead”. Basically, there should be more moments
like “We Belong With The Dead” featured here. The last two songs “Preacher
Man” and “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” are good closing songs.
When Candia’s vocals sound seductive and passionate such as on the song
“Take The Kiss”, I am literally lost in her words. But with the
faster more energetic rocking songs with too much up front guitar, I
am just bored not hearing the true talents of this act coming through.
Overall, this is a consistant album. Nothing is bad or out of place. But I
admit that I would have liked more keyboard driven mid-tempo songs with
Candia’s spellbinding singing as opposed to the rather sizeable batch of
heavy hard rocking guitar driven songs with Candia delivering her lyrics
basic and straight forward.
Speaking of lyrics, everything here mainly deals with nature, magic
and witchcraft, but this is to be expected since this is a pagan band.
So don’t expect any social issues to be touched upon in these songs.
This is the type of CD you would find at a renaissance fair. It’s medieval
dealing with mystical topics. But the lyrics are well written like stories
and fit with the music. It’s all quite enjoyable if you have any interest at
all in this sort of thing.
Since I haven’t heard any previous albums by this band, I’m not sure how
this CD compares to their older material. But I do know that I like it a
lot, and that it’s something refreshingly different from my usual steady
diet of electro-indusrial/EBM/synth-pop music.
If you enjoy goth rock and darkwave music with female vocals, this CD is a
must for you.
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