Band:	Die Verbannten Kinder Evas
Album:	Dusk And Void Became Alive
Style:	Ambient, Darkwave, Neoclassical
Release date:	2006
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Dusk And Void Became Alive
02. Mistrust
03. Winters Night
04. Unquiet Thoughts
05. Cease To Breath
06. Praise Blindness Eyes
07. Virtues Cloak
08. Moon Muse
09. Catharsis

2006 seems like a golden year for Protector, both Summoning and Die Verbannten Kinder Evas released their new albums showing that he was in an utterly creative phase, casting a spell from the past into nowadays and enchanting the world in the way only he knows. Around 7 years have passed since the release of their previous effort, "In Darkness Let Me Dwell" (1999), and their almighty return after such a long pause should be something worth-checking and keep up the beauty of their legacy alive. Well, yes, they succeeded into creating another fabulous album , DVKE are back and "Dusk And Void Became Alive" enslaves in a prison of sounds emotions/spiritual phases like solitude, sadness, melancholy, darkness etc, presenting them in a mature and esoteric way that will captivate your whole existence.

This time Richard "Protector" Lederer's companion in the shadows is Christina "Lady Of Carnage" Kroustali, a young, charismatic and deeply promising female vocalist from Greece. The nature of the compositions remains dark, devout, esoteric, mystic, beautiful and sorrowfilled with both Richard and Christina pouring their souls in their common cause, to keep the flame of DVKE alight amidst the ancient woods. Their dark neoclassical/medieval style harmonizes in a succesful way with an ambiental touch, something that is mainly present in terms of feeling/atmosphere. Protector composed 9 esoteric pieces of inner expression that will keep the interest of the listener to the higher levels, with tranquility being the main atmosphere factor, yet without forgetting the more intense moments! There are times that, despite the fact the keyboards evoke a serene floating feeling in the air, the bombastic kettle drumming that sounds like an ominous timpani in moments of mourning or war conseals all tranquility and lends the ideal power the music deserves in order to escalate the "monotony" of solitude with some imposing passages. The piano/keyboard work is marvellous, the piano passages are high quality and deeply emotional, caressing like autumn falling leaves your tear-filled face, whereas the keyboard passages offer a more minimalistic face (without being afraid though to show a more affected face here and there), but this isn't something negative, on the contrary, this simplicity creates in such a wonderful way in the background walls of sound that form the surrounding atmosphere that welcomes the vocal lines of Christina and Protector. The music at times is sligthly reminicent to the epic passages of Summoning, like on "Unquiet Thoughts", but i guess this was something unavoidable since half the heart and mind of Summoning is the mastermind of DVKE. Christina proves through the whole duration of "Dusk And Void Became Alive" the majesty of her ethereal voice, she's highly gifted and can sing in various scales with her enchanting aura seducing slowly and steadily your senses. The male vocals are deeply expressive and have a devout sound, they echo like chants in the dark and cleanse and entrance the soul of the listener in the most gentle and expressive way. A remarkable part of the album are the polyphonic passages; a variety of different vocal scales, especially from Christina, is almost always present to offer the ethereal beauty the compositions deserve.

The album flows definitely as one if you want to completely understand it and lose yourself in its olden charm, don't try to seperate the album in favorite tracks, it won't work this way, just stare at the oblivious and dark cover and then press the "play" button, then everything will flow the way it has to, in melancholy and nostalgia. Just allow yourself to dwell in a "winter's night" under the "moon muse" in a time "when dusk and void became alive"...