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November, 2006
 
The Rockier Face of Goth
The Faces of Sarah Lament by Ed Johnson The Faces of Sarah are a British goth rock band that I covered as one of the bands found through Myspace. U.S. listeners might have a hard time accepting a band like the Faces of Sarah due to the heavy proliferation of electronic bands like VNV Nation, Assemblage 23 or even Cruxshadows. The Faces of Sarah are classic goth rock, and even have Paul Miles of the Nephilim producing and playing much of the guitar on their latest album, Lament. Lament is a very well-produced and excellent-sounding album. It is hard to describe if you are not familiar with their particular sound. If you like more rock-oriented goth music like Fields of the Nephilim, the Mission, Inkubus Sukkubbus or even a little Killing Joke, Lament features powerful vocals, strong live drums and powerful guitar, especially for a goth CD. There is a lot to like here. The CD varies things between the harder songs and the more ballad-type tracks. They remind me a lot of the early goth bands that I started with, like a harder-edged Sisters of Mercy, Marionettes, Rosetta Stone and such. Check them out at www.facesofsarah.com or myspace.com/thefacesofsarah. I made an interesting find on Myspace while writing this month’s article. Coy Impact are a self-described EBM/Darkwave from Germany. I had never heard of them before. I found them from a random search and they are really good. Fans of Wolfsheim, Assemblage 23 and Cruxshadows should definitely check them out. They have a very clean, danceable and well-produced sound, especially for an independent band. Coy Impact are currently unsigned, but they should get snatched up anytime. Check them out at myspace.com/thecoyimpact. Upcoming CD Releases And One - Bodypop November 7 System Syn - The Mourning Ritual November 21 Imperative Reaction - As We Fall November 7 The Retrosic - Nightcrawler November 7 Seabound - Double-Crosser November 7 Battery Cage - A Young Person's Guide To Heartbreak November 7 Apoptygma Berzerk - Black EP November 21 Snog - Planet Of S--t (digital-only release) November 7 Battery Cage - Single (digital-only release) Bella Morte - Bleed The Grey Sky Black KMFDM - Naive November 21 Psyclon Nine - Crwn Thy Frnicatr KMFDM - Money November 21 Hanzel Und Gretyl - Oktotenfest 2006 KMFDM - Angst November 21 And One - Frontfeuer December 5 And now a rant. How come when a school shooting occurs and the shooter wears black, listens to metal music and posts to a vampire-related website, he is labeled a goth by the media, and no other motivation is even looked for? Then, a few weeks later, another shooting takes place, but since the shooter wasn’t remotely comparable to goth, THEN they look into his background, find out he was molested as a child, etc. Ever since Columbine, it seems that simply being goth (as the media defines it, incorrectly) is enough of a motivation for random acts of violence. I would have thought we learned this back in the 1980s: Music in and of itself will not force someone to commit homicidal or suicidal acts. The shooter in Montreal was just as disturbed as the shooter at the Amish school, maybe for different reasons, regardless of how they dressed or what music they listened to. I have already been on ABC News to help explain this, but if it takes another appearance, I am happy to do so. Got me, CNN? |