Band:	Catastrophe Ballet
Album:	...All Beauty Dies
Style:	Gothic rock
Release date:	May 2006

01. Consequently (Inconsequential [2 version]
02. Descending (Towards The Sky That Has No Colour)
03. (I Lost) The Key To Your World [Dying Beauty version]
04. Failed (To Live Your Life)
05. You Stole The Thing That Means The Most To Me
06. I Have Been Here Once Before
07. The Lover's Delight [ABD Edit version]
08. 2057
09. (Am I) Afraid Of Losing A Life
10. A Thousand
11. Licht In Meinen Traumen
12. ...All Beauty Dies
13. What Do You Want?

Catastrophe Ballet are not new to the gothic scene, they have been aroung since the very birth of the 90s and they were one of those gothic rock acts that would blossom soon and become more well-known.

And so we reach 2006, "The Seed Of Beauty" EP comes out and prepares the audience for the next full-length attempt of these German gothic rockers. The name of it is the poetic and hopeless "?All Beauty Dies" that seems to pace beautifully with the artistic cover of the album on which a ballerina bathed in white light lies in utter darkness and desolation. But what someone may notice after he has listened to the whole album is that both the title and the cover of "?All Beauty Dies" pace in a beauteous way with the heart-felt melodies the band-members managed to dress their compositions with and offer them soul so as to speak to the heart of the listener.

The music of Catastrophe Ballet on "?All Beauty Dies" is highly emotional and introspective. The compositions are intense and high quality, breathing gothic rock through a modern prism in terms of sound and production, but musical additions as well, without forgetting to sound heavier and escalate the emotional charge of the compositions whenever it is needed. The album balances between more emotional and more upbeat passages, you may find this variety almost in every song of "?All Beauty Dies" with the softer passages lending a more fragile approach and the more intense ones lending to the song the heaviness and the groove it deserves. The keyboard passages are always present with their atmosphere-evoking role, sounding either dreamy/softer or intense/nightmarish or even adding an electro approach to the sound of Catastrophe Ballet, whereas the rhythm section holds tight the songs and interprets its role really well. Eric Burton's expressive vocals haunt the listener whether he sounds more threatening and intense or offers a more emotional interpretation, the important thing is that his vocal abilities harmonize with the exceptional guitar work (incorporating even flamenco guitars) in an ideal way. As I said the guitar work is really good, yes, it's true and it moves in gothic rock soundscapes in terms of structure; in terms of sound they vary from soft guitar chords to more gothic rock driven typical guitar distortion or even approach a metal-oriented sound.

"?All Beauty Dies" consists of 13 compositions and I'm pretty damn sure you'll find enough fabulous and inspired compositions to accompany some esoteric moments of yours. "What Do You Want?" with its heart-rending and devout ending, the modern gothic rock approach of "Consequently" and "Descending", the nostalgic and emotional "(I Lost) The Key to Your World", the haunting "Failed (To Live Your Life)" and the soft/intense "I Have Been Here Once Before" won't disappoint you.

If you're searching for some quality modern gothic rock that tends to sound heavier then Catastrophe Ballet's new effort can always be a part of your collection.