Reviewed by: Darklight

Since I didn’t really care for Switchblade Symphony’s previous release ‘Bread And Jam For Frances’, I was rather skeptical about this follow-up. Thankfully, the band has decided to leave their recent experimental, trip-hop, acid jazz, funk sound behind and have gone back to creating cold, dark and somber electro goth music similar to what gained them their popularity in the first place.

This overall album sounds very much like their superb ‘Serpentine Gallery’ release. While there are slight trip-hop funk elements here at times, they are layered well into the music adding more variety to them without ever sounding out of place. While there’s a dark beauty to the songs presented here, this album does feel a little less haunting when compared to ‘Serpentine Gallery’. Basically, the rhythms and beats have a more bass heavy sound to them, and the melodies are more bright and beautiful.

What makes this album good is that the music is well layered and textured with a lot happening in it. Even the slight addition of guitar is a nice touch. Also, Tina Root’s singing is unique and different than most other female singers. She sings in a soothing melodic fashion with original vocal harmonizing.

The problem with this CD is that all of the songs sound somewhat similar, and there’s never a lot of energy in them. It would have been nice to have a few upbeat club songs. As it stands now, this is rather relaxed and romantic music meant to be listened to while you’re taking it easy. If you’re a fan of Switchblade Symphony, and were turned-off by their previous release, you will be happy to know that this release of theirs is good going back to their original darkwave sound.

Reviewed by: Darklight

This is a remix collection of Switchblade Symphony songs taken from ‘Serpentine Gallery’, ‘Bread And Jam For Frances’ and ‘The Three Calamities’. While I have always enjoyed the music of Switchblade Symphony, I felt that they were a little too mellow. Their songs were a tad too slow for my tastes. This album is for people such as myself who want to hear Switchblade Symphony songs given a boost. Basically, most of the songs here are given an industrial/EBM kick in the pants that make them sound a lot more interesting. Actually, the manipulation to these songs is a little more than what a remix usually entails. A lot of the songs here have been tweaked quite a bit with experimental industrial noise crunch and club beats. While you can still hear the original song buried beneath it all, they definitely have a new twist to them that makes them almost sound like different songs.

The remixes here are done by: Apoptygma Berzerk, Razed In Black, Kevin Haskins, Meegs Rascon, Gregory Butler, 6AM Eternal, Keith Hillebrandt, Endanger, Julian Beeston, Temple Of Rain, Nine Inch Elvis, Rosetta Stone, Enrapture and Susan Wallace. They each do a good job of adding new twists to the existing songs. However, I would have preferred more big name industrial/EBM bands doing the remixes than what is offered because the remixes done by Apoptygma Berzerk, Razed In Black, Endanger and Rosetta Stone are the best in my opinion.

If you are interested in hearing some of your favorite Switchblade Symphony songs given a new twist with EBM and experimental noise touches, then this is a CD for you. Some of the tracks are more interesting than others, but there’s not a bad one in the bunch.

Reviewed by: Darklight

Switchblade Symphony made quite a splash with their first album "Serpentine Gallery". It combined well orchestrated dark and haunting gothic music with a beautiful female singer. Now the band returns with their second full length album which, in my opinion, is very disappointing. The first song "Witches" is rather uplifting and cheerful with a somewhat commercial pop sound to it. It's pretty, melodic and catchy. Song two "Dirty Dog" has more of a funky upbeat techno/trance vibe to it. It's medium paced and could work on the dance floor. Song three "Roller Coaster" is soft, soothing and melodic. It's a beautiful and relaxing song. Song four "Situation #58" is just a filler track with some old man babbling for 54 seconds. It's out of place on this album. Song five "Soldiers" mixes a techno/trance feel with jazz elements and silly sampled noises. It's too funky for my tastes. Song six "Sleep" is a melodic piano/synth driven track with a touch of guitar and violin that are a nice addition. The singing is very good as well. It's too bad the song only lasts three minutes. Song seven "Funnel" combines electronics, heavy guitar and drums with beautiful singing and a catchy rhythm and beat. Song eight "Insect" includes funky sound samples, bass guitar and whispered voice. High pitched singing comes and goes throughout the song. This track is actually very boring and rather annoying. Song nine "Rampid" combines electronics, guitar, drums and a combination of both beautiful singing and annoying high pitched singing. Song ten "Situation #9" is simply an instrumental filler that plays for 40 seconds. Song eleven "Sheep" is a bit funky with acoustic guitar, jazz horns, drums and a mixture of different singing styles. Song twelve "Fractal" mixes heavy guitar with malfunctioning electronic sound effects, drums and choir style singing. I actually like this song a lot. It's a shame that it only plays for about two minutes. Song thirteen "Sick Mary" is a mellow and melodic instrumental that plays for 56 seconds. Song fourteen "Episode G 15" is a sound sample filler that plays for 46 seconds. Switchblade Symphony has lost their dark, cold and haunting edge with this album. Not one song delivered here even comes close to matching the quality and creativity found on their previous release "Serpentine Gallery". While that was an emotional and passionate expression of art, poetry and imagination; this is a lackluster effort at best.

Reviewed by: Darklight

This band has a very unique sound. The music is created with electronics, haunting synths, drum machines, and a touch of guitar. It's all very dark and moody with beautiful female vocals. There are some electronic dominant songs that are very upbeat and catchy. There are also some slow haunting songs where synths are the dominant instrument. This is not your typical goth music. There is a lot of variety to be found here. Every song is extremely melodic. Nothing is very fast paced. It's all pretty slow for the most part. This is the type of music that you will just want to seclude yourself away from others, and listen to. You will absorb its emotional harmonies. But this would also be great music to make love to. Light some candles, and play this album to set the mood.