Liste des groupes Metal Industriel Gothique Lycosia Midnight Rock Celebration

Lycosia is a band that approaches the genre from a romantic angle, which seems to revolve around themes of intimate relationships between living people. That makes a lot of sense, since they formed in Paris 15 years ago, bestowing them with the status as Gothic Metal veterans in the European markets. Five years after Apokalipstik, they finally released the long awaited album entitled Midnight Rock Celebration.

I was immediately interested in this album right from the first listen, because I thought that it sounded like modern new wave music. The title track, Midnight Rock Celebration, features catchy yet glittery guitar picking like David Evans did with U2 in the early 80's. Sly plucks his bass with deep and rich melodies similarly to those played by Roberta Sammrelli of Verdena. Christi Scythe sings with an artfully suave voice, that's as smooth as that from the late Freddie Mercury. It gets slightly raspy during the times of elevated intensity, like the fashionable manner of Rod Stewart. All of these constituent parts merge for a marvelously soothing sound. Which comes across more as glam rock influenced new wave, than it does melancholic tinted dark wave, which would be more typical with Gothic music. The only hint of melancholy that I can detect is an early reference to crying in the lyrics. From which, the person is urged to go to the Midnight Rock Celebration, to be cheered up.

The track entitled Love is played at a less than usual speed. It is very delicately arranged with melodic xylophone music, that is complemented by piano notes , and a subtle keyboard ambiance. This sparkling brilliance is accentuated with slow flowing waves of bass playing and light drum beats. But it's especially driven by the emotionally moving lyrics. Some of which run like this;

I need you beside me
I need you around me
I need you above me
Let me be over you
Or maybe just above you
Let me tell you something
You know I need you

So this composition seems to be about the morning glory of waking up with your partner. Some people may speculate or debate about the directions that these lyrics go towards, but I don't think that they're too sexually explicit. Regardless of that pretense, this is arguably one of the best songs on the album.

Most of the album's lyrics were written in English, but Stareie Kachtane wasn't. Many listeners presume that it's in an undetermined Slavic language. A few people have surmised that it was written in a Russian dialect and then spelled out through a Western European alphabet. Whichever the case may be, the singing with the foreign accent sounds fancy enough to be a catchy hook in itself. That is underscored by the Eurasian song structures, with the gentle strumming of the foreign folk instruments, which resemble the Turkish style of Almora. While the mysteriously unusual arrangements of the synthesizer music can be compared to what John Paul Jones played on the Led Zeppelin song Kashmir.

They return to their original roots of an Industrial style, within a couple of the later tracks on the album. For instance, Burn Da Bitch features melodic bass chugging, that seems to set the groundwork for a dance club atmosphere. This is joined by choppy synthesizer rhythms, to yield an industrial sound like Nine Inch Nails. The choruses are distorted and sound like singing robots. Sw arm of Needles is a heavier and more Metal song, with a mysterious ambiance like Lord Vampyr. The vocals are angrier and more intense, than most of these other songs are. The guitars are distorted and the solos are highly distorted. The synthesizer music is played with subtle sound effects, like robots shooting their laser guns. There are also some Middle East flavored reverberations, during the chants "god is money".

Not a whole lot of metal seems to be involved with Midnight Rock Celebration. It sounds mostly like a mix of New Wave and glam rock, as the title connotes. The music has a diminished share of Industrial components, compared to most of their foregoing releases, particularly than what Apokalipstik exhibited. The lyrics are generally melodramatic, but not distinctively mournful. From time to time they blend in some folk music with banjos and bongos, along with some unfamiliar instruments from overseas. Overall this is a very illustrious release that radiates a variety of vivid colors, resulting in music that's both pleasant, and soothing. This is the most beautiful album that I've bought since Pink Cream 69 - Live in Karlsruhe.