Artist: Various Artists (1998)
Label: Cleopatra Records
Style: Goth
Songs: 12

Reviewed by: Darklight

This is a great compilation album that compiles covers of Dead Can Dance songs done by popular gothic bands such as LEÆTHER STRIP, THE LAST DANCE, RHEA'S OBSESSION, DEEP RED, SURFACE 10, EXP, THE PROPHETESS, EVIL MOTHERS, EX-VATO, IKON, JARBOE & PBK and DECIPLES OF ASTAROTH. Anyone familar with Dead Can Dance know that they create very dark and beautiful music unlike any other band out there. This album captures all of their beauty with a slightly different edge as it's delivered by various bands. What is given here are dark, haunting, soothing and mesmerizing gothic songs with a melodic and cold feel. Each band manage to bring in their own little touches that show respect to the original songs, but still deliver a fresh flavor to them. Some of the tracks are more distant from the original versions than others, but they all do have that patented Dead Can Dance feel to them. Some are done so closely that I thought I was actually listening to Dead Can Dance as the music presentation and vocals sounded exactly the same. Others obviously have a style to them where you have to listen very closely to recognize the original song in them. The music delivered here is created with guitars, synths and drum machines for the most part with the occasional electronic programming depending on the band doing the cover. Some have a good dose of male and female vocals while others are more instrumental with chanting in the background. While most of the songs are mellow and slow paced, there are some that do actually rock with energy. This adds a lot of variety to the album. If you're a Dead Can Dance fan, or a goth music fan in general, you will enjoy this album a lot.