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Gothminister - Anima Inferna review



Reviewer:
7.3

16 users:
8.12
Band: Gothminister
Album: Anima Inferna
Release date: March 2011


01. Stonehenge
02. Liar
03. Juggernaut
04. 616
05. Solitude
06. The Beauty Of Fanatism
07. A.I. (Anima Inferna)
08. Fade
09. The Beast
10. Hell Opens The Gate
11. Liar [Goatmanifest remix]

Who doesn't love dressing up as a vampire using make-up stolen from his mom and pretend he lives in a city of eternal darkness? What, that's just me? Well, the joke's on you all, because Bjorn Alexander Brem, better known as Gothminister, enjoys it as well, and his role-playing has managed to produce a satisfying musical experience in the form of a gothic/symphonic/industrial metal album for the fourth time.

Those familiar with Gothminister know what to expect: beat-driven, gloomy music that makes you wonder if you should be headbanging or dancing. Harsh industrial riffs pound on while the background symphonics gently invoke the sense of dread, doom, gloom and similar goth shenanigans. Bjorn then proceeds to put the final touches via his very pleasing voice, which is always somewhere on the line between epic and tragic.

In a sense, the riffs, the vocal lines, the groovy beats, occasional female choirs, all of them are a prelude to a climatic chorus present in every track that brings out that "epic" factor, which, in layman's terms, may be described as "Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack meets goth clubbing music". You might also say how the music is a sonic equivalent of some movie scene where a huge black shroud covers a city with all the dwellers of the night suddenly emerge from the underground and take everything over from us Sun-walkers.

Not that is works 100% of the time, though. "616" and "Solitude" I found pretty weak, lacking that "oomph" factor that other tracks posses, probably due to the fact that the former is too guitar driven and the later suffering from the lack of heaviness. "Liar", "Stonehenge", "Juggernaut" and the tittle track, on the other hand, are must-listens, 4 truly finely crafted catchy and gloomy treats.

If you like some cheese in your goth metal, do check this one out. Just be prepared for the inevitable: as all fairly shallow music, it looses its effect after many listens and should be enjoyed in smaller doses, while preferably clipping out the weaker tracks.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 9

Written by Slayer666 | 10.01.2012




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 36 users
10.01.2012 - 08:24
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Reading this review reminded me that I forgot to apply my corpsepaint this morning.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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10.01.2012 - 12:26
Rating: 7
pagb666

This is a letdown from the previous one :/
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10.01.2012 - 12:26
Rating: 7
Slayer666

Written by Troy Killjoy on 10.01.2012 at 08:24

Reading this review reminded me that I forgot to apply my corpsepaint this morning.


Glad to see someone understood the actual message of the review.
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10.01.2012 - 22:28
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Slayer666 on 10.01.2012 at 12:26
Glad to see someone understood the actual message of the review.

I have a way with reading between lines, since a lot of my reviews involve subtleties that aren't often picked up on.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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11.01.2012 - 01:58
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Troy Killjoy on 10.01.2012 at 08:24

Reading this review reminded me that I forgot to apply my corpsepaint this morning.

I went to a devildriver concert and a guy had corpsepaint on. :/
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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11.01.2012 - 02:05
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Boxcar Willy on 11.01.2012 at 01:58
I went to a devildriver concert and a guy had corpsepaint on. :/

For serious? I'd think at least Gothminister would have more of a corpsepaint-wearing fan base but not Devildriver... :/
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
11.01.2012 - 02:07
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Troy Killjoy on 11.01.2012 at 02:05

Written by Boxcar Willy on 11.01.2012 at 01:58
I went to a devildriver concert and a guy had corpsepaint on. :/

For serious? I'd think at least Gothminister would have more of a corpsepaint-wearing fan base but not Devildriver... :/

I was like :/

he didnt even do anything, he just sat there.
----
14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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14.01.2012 - 18:14
kingeryck

Written by pagb666 on 10.01.2012 at 12:26

This is a letdown from the previous one :/


Agreed. Not awful but the previous two were much better.
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