With Dewdrops Fanzine, you get not just one, but TWO reviews! Check out what Brant and Pat had to say about about the newly released Ravensong cassette.
The first song on this demo tape will quickly have you doing a double take. And you thought you had all the songs Tones on Tail ever did… Seriously, “The Calling of Bacchus” has the same odd, playful melody in minor chords characteristic of that post-Bauhaus, pre-Love and Rockets band. The vocals are even creepy in a Peter Murphy kind of way. I’d welcome more in this style, but the rest of the tape mostly dabbles in electronic ambiance experiments, phantasmagoria (what else would you expect from the title?), and the supernatural aspects of Twin Peaks (lots of samples from the TV show). Some of their influences that become notable later obviously include O Yuki Conjugate, Lycia, and Dead Can Dance. Nothing wrong with that at all!
7 lilies – bn
Dark gothic chants or Friday the 13th, Part 18 incidental soundtrack music? Perhaps a little of both as they come together in a rather unsettling blend of foot-tapping/demon summoning fare. These are the ruminations of one Justin Johnsen, whom I envision as a guy with several keyboards and a walk-in closet full of black. I do have to hand it to him, though, because he has the distinction of being living proof that Peter Murphy lives! And can Justin write haikus and sonnets that not only comprise the entire lyrics of “Exorcism,” but fit amazingly well with the music? Yes, just call him the Master of Meter from Hell! This brings a new meaning to the term “iambic penta(gon) meter.”
“The Calling of Bacchus,” from the first listening, conjured visions of walking through a dark, cold forest and approaching a strangely bright bonfire where animals, women and men dance in an arcane ritual. The really odd thing is that I envisioned all this before reading the lyrics, which just happen to be talking about some of those very same elements.
“The Jackal” is a carnival ride in the dark, with more than just a hint of Tones on Tail. “The Hanging” and “Lament for Ileysia” combine metallic horror, sirens and synths. “Capuchin” sounds like George Harrison doing Halloween’s soundtrack, while “The Long Road to Bellgrave” reminds me of Ryuichi Sakamoto doing the same. And to top it all of, “Into the Black Lodge” drags us back to the set of Twin Peaks for another bout with the Dark One, this time with tons of samples straight from the last episode of the series. Gothic? Umm, oh yes, I think so…
8 lilies —pm