Oh yes. You wouldn’t really expect anything other than quality considering who is behind this, and you will be pleasantly punched repeatedly by superb tracks once you have it. It isn’t all fantastic, but there’s a bright array of stirring encounters to be faced.
NFD are gruff with maggoty vocals and I can’t believe the chittering guitar wasn’t boosted more because they have a real star in their midst and this could have been verging on classic. Dead As Romance are smokily fey, and a touch old-fashioned, while the genuinely old school The Naked And The Dead haunt their classroom happily, and brusquely. Meticulously twilight deviance from The Empire Hideous is almost soothing, as though they were deviant nephews of Wreckage, and there’s spirited nonsense from Murder At The Registry, and deceptive, quality turmoil from The Sins. We also get two very beautiful tracks, with Eternia at their liveliest, and Myssouri offering highly adventurous lessons in stealth

I would be dishonest if I didn’t highlight a few of the weaker tracks. The Deep Eynde appear in fine fettle, but simply don’t sound that cool in this company, sadly, but it falls to Bella Morte to have the weakest track of all, where the pace and agile guitar rescue it, as the vocalist simply doesn’t project forcefully enough. Compare them to Belisha - they are from similar territory - and you see the same thing. Belisha have a real grand strut, and pure terrorist guitar, but they’re missing a vocal dictator on the punchy chorus. Him and Mr Bella Morte need some cardio-vascular work which benefits the lungs enormously. It will allow them to keep up and move ahead rather than being submerged inside the noise. If you can’t project, you can’t compete.

You might think that with Ghoultown we’ve reached the dead wood stage - stop it, I’m killing me! - but no, for while this is seriously lightweight, in that the actual strength of the song struggles to come through, there is a wayward charm about them which is distinctive, just as The Brides carry us, kicking and screaming for freedom, over the threshold in their typically, obscenely catchy manner; destination Frivolity. It is a perfect end.

The feeling which comes out of this record, regardless of the minor weaknesses, is character, which is what every band needs, and what most simply don’t have. This bunch all possess that elusive characteristic, and you’ll surely follow these artists with glee.

A fine record.

Lange war diese CD-Zusammenstellung angekündigt. Zusammen gestellt wurde sie von dem amerikanischen Online-Zine Starvox, dem Internet Radio Hidden Sanctuary und dem englischen Label Darkcell Digital Music, was die Erwartungen an eine Weg weisende Death-Rock Compilation steigen ließ. Um es vorweg zu nehmen: ein Meisterwerk ist hier nicht entstanden und Death-Rock kommt verhältnismäßig wenig vor, aber eine der besten Gothic-Rock Compilations der vergangenen Jahre ist es dennoch geworden.

Die Mischung aus bekannten Bands wie THE EMPIRE HIDEOUS, BELLA MORTE, MURDER AT THE REGISTRY, THE NAKED AND THE DEAD, GHOULTOWN und THE DEEP EYNDE und unbekannteren Acts wie NFD, DEAD AS ROMANCE, THE SINS, BELISHA und einigen anderen ist gut gelungen. Leider zeigt sich dabei, dass die alt bekannten Gruppen die Nase immer noch vorn haben.

Anfangen tut es mit NFD, die sicher gerne die Fields Of The Nephilim hören und bestimmt auch die eine oder andere Metal-Platte im Schrank haben. Ziemlich modern und zeitgemäß klingen DEAD AS ROMANCE. Ihr „Future“-Goth dürfte sicher bei einigen DJs in die Rotation kommen. BELISHA und THE SINS klingen beide recht eingängig nach 90er Jahre Brit-Goth, einmal sehr poppig bei BELISHA und einmal etwas rauer bei THE SINS. Der erste richtige Hit kommt von den Altmeistern THE EMPIRE HIDEOUS, gut und treibend, wie gewohnt und erstmals so etwas ähnliches wie Death-Rock. Richtigen Death-Rock der alten Schule bringen dann THE NAKED AND THE DEAD mit ihrem Klassiker „Cassandra“. Warum sie in den 80ern nicht bekannter wurden, wie beispielsweise Voo-Doo Church oder The Plague ist mir ein Rätsel. Aber zum Glück sind sie ja wieder am Start!

Die deutschen Vertreter dieser Musikrichtung MURDER AT THE REGISTRY sind auch schon über ein Jahrzehnt dabei und bieten hier einen der besten Songs der CD. Moderner Death-Rock mit toller Gitarre. Kennen tut man auch schon BELLA MORTE, die live ja ganz großartig und schön rockig sein sollen, auf ihren Alben aber nicht immer überzeugen konnten. Hier liefern sie aber einen wirklich guten, rockigen Titel ab. Weniger mitreißen tun ETERNIA, der Gesang ist ziemlich schleppend, während die Musik etwas überladen klingt. MYSSOURI hingegen liefern einen schön ruhigen, akustischen Track ab, der ein wenig nach den Wayne Hussey Solosachen klingt. Ist der an The Mission erinnernde Name nicht nur ein Zufall, sondern bewusst gewählt? Meister Fate Fatal ist mit seiner Band THE DEEP EYNDE natürlich auch vertreten und stellt einen Hit vor, der ziemlich an die 80er erinnert, aber auch eine etwas druckvollere Produktion verdient gehabt hätte. Die Jungs von GHOULTOWN überzeugen einmal mehr mit ihrem Country-Goth-Rock, der es verdient hätte, endlich mal bekannter zu werden.

Beschließen tun das Album THE BRIDES mit einem ziemlich 80er-mäßigen Partystück, das wirklich klasse ist, aber mit Gothic- oder Death-Rock wenig zu tun hat. Ich habe keine Ahnung, ob dass nun ein eher untypisches Stück ist, werde aber mal versuchen, mehr über die Band zu erfahren.

Ein wirklich schlechtes Stück ist nicht auf „Trinity Vol. 1“, auch, wenn nicht alle Songs Knaller sind. Weit über die Hälfte der Tracks sind jedenfalls echt klasse und zeigen, dass Gothic-Rock auch heute noch nicht tot ist. (A.P.)

For a compilation, Trinity Vol. 1 keeps pace pervasively while hitching up a plethora of sound from some of the better bands (or songs) from the Gothic scene. The disc is product of the UK, though the bands are from everywhere, as well as product of Darkcell Digital Media. If your not familiar with DDM, it's pretty much the "Amazon" for various genres that serves up helpings of underground fare without using an MP3 format to sell its' records rather than freeboot.
NFD starts the album out with Darkness Falls which suits the techno area of this compilation well since Dead As Romance follows with Words Not To Be Spoken. The first two tracks feeding the techno fan to press on to a harder progression as the album continues. Belisha fills the third track up with The Fall Of The Evergreen, and the genre switch begins. From Belisha's track on, Trinity is supped up Goth rock with The Sins, Murder At The Registry and The Deep Eynde. If you're craving a female vocalist that doesn't sound like all the others, check out track six by The Naked And The Dead, a song called Cassandra. And a rather mellow, but powerful tune on track ten by Myssouri called Open Road is good as well.

If your not familiar with these bands, this is an excellent way to get yourself an upper hand on what their particular sound is like, I wasn't familiar with a few and found the disc quite a turn on for those few attention grabbers. It's not like DDM picked the bands best songs and slapped it on a disc to showcase - this is more of a get to know the band, or this is what the general sound is like if you choose to purchase one of their albums. Really what a compilation disc should be for the music geeks, and really what it should be for the bands - gathering a few more fans never hurts.

Track Listing: Taboo, Cassandra, Carousel, The Gate.
I can see the headline now “New York Deathrock originators unearthed by scene resurgence 17 years on.” The Naked and the Dead have all the elements that make this 1985 re-release a must have in every ghouly Goth’s collection. They have that sparse and piercing guitar sound that we all love, a tribal drumming style, female vocals and a fantastic production quality all creating that classic Goth vibe. Having recently reformed with The Brides’ Julia Ghoulia singing you can expect big things from this band in the future. Check them out at Mp3.com

With the modern trend for small labels to reissue everything from the 80's on CD it is almost unheard of now for something truly rare to emerge and delight us all, but recently band members of America's early Post-Punk/Deathrock band The Naked And The Dead have reformed, all through a natural process of their music being given new life via the Internet. Guitarist Greg Fasolino, something of an archivist, keeping everything to do with bands he played in, which burnt out in the 1980's, began by putting some files up for casual listeners to enjoy via mp3com. The result was a great amount of interest, particularly when he also contributed material to Mark Splatter's brilliant Deathrock.com site as well. Ever since, he has gradually heard from more and more people who loved his material.
This is a heart warming tale, but there's more to it than that, because if the music wasn't any good who would care? TNATD sound as fresh now as they did then. You can easily discern their Punk roots, and in keeping with all the early Goth bands (Deathrock in the States), they have that special restless energy. The reason Goth music happened was because people didn't find the themes, moods and ideas in Punk that they wanted, but it still had to be lively. TNATD have the intensity and that stark power you would expect when Greg admits that the band was influenced by Sex Gang, Bauhaus, Iggy, UK Decay, South Death Cult and Birthday Party and, as with other talented individuals at the time, they have their own sound emerging from it all. Thin, fast guitar and 'difficult' rhythms, involving some frantic floor tom activity, are to the fore, with little vivacious vocal bubbles (think Claire Grogan with attitude) and a cool way of applying a wash of sound to the demos, with the guitar as star player. A nice overall commotion to the repeated songs here, including the jittery 'Taboo', plus tough twisters, 'Cassandra' and 'Carousel', which are also shown in their considerably more basic live incarnations. 'The Gate' has a fantastic rhythm going with bass and drums chugging out the same roaring beat there was in the award-winning advert for the Guinness ad where the swimmer awaiting the enormous wave. (Get your lawyers on the case now!) A frothy 'Kisses Like Death' isn't bad and it's a shame there's no demo of 'Faith Floods Down' because that's another one with rivulets of splendour glinting through the tumult.
Oddly you get one and a half versions of UK Decay's 'Duel', the second of which is quite cute, a version of 'Real Cool Time' which I shall charitably call Stooges-Lite and a decent stab at 'Sense Of Elation' where the intricacies prove just a little too difficult. Bit of a shambles, actually. It was all over for them too quickly, which is a shame, because the later material is interesting. 'Cat Of The Nine' is rubbish, but the scrappy edginess in 'Crown Of Thorns' and the effects/vocal symphony that was 'Godfather Grimoire' really impress, especially the latter which was either a fluke, or ahead of its time.
Greg sells this CD for a ludicrously small sum, at just $6.00 per CDR, so e-mail him at gfasolin@optonline.net or send cash to The Naked and the Dead, 70 Cannon Court, Huntington, NY 11743, USA. You'd have to be crazy to miss out if you appreciate great music from a time when people still were pioneers.
Over the past few years Greg has also been reunited with two of the former three members of the band. They have all matured, have families/jobs, and yet something still burns within them, so they have reformed the band, which seems to be going…well?
"Fantastic!" Greg told me. "We have a nice batch of new songs percolating, complementary to the old set of tunes. We hope to start gigging again in autumn, then do a CD EP. Blu, Mark, and some other West Coast folks want us to do a California tour early next year, which seems like a good possibility. We were also asked to consider playing Wave Gotik Treffen 2003 in Germany, but I'm not sure if we can make all the arrangements."
Although they haven't managed to entice back their original singer, Lorianne Oakley, they have acquired the vocal services of Julia formerly singer with Brazil's Sleepless, and currently playing keyboards with the Brides (formerly Brickbats), as well as a solo artist.
Goth is about the mind, the heart and a way of reflecting on emotion. It is the only form of music which also touches on traditionally 'adult' areas of classical music/modern composition, so there is every reason for people in their 30's, 40's, 50's and beyond to still produce music. Hopefully this will not be the last such example we hear of inspired individuals rediscovering their enthusiasm for such adventures.
Mick Mercer
http://www.mickmercer.com

[COMA-eV] (Germany)
Music of the month

The Naked and the Dead –>
"And the dead shall walk the earth and they shall be naked".....Out of all reunions of ‘80s bands this is one to look forward to. Promo stuff contains the old music, some live versions and an interview. I do refuse to categorise their music. I’m sure others will put them into death rock, on their page at Deathrock.com it’s stated NY Gothpunk (which leaves me with the question: what the f** is NY Gothpunk?), as growing up with punk rock and new wave I am not sure what these new categories actually mean and I am convinced most of the people that use them aren’t either. However, their music reminded me a bit of Pain Teens, although they do not have their musical weirdness and consistency. But I thought this is how the Pain Teens might have sounded if trying to make new wave in the ‘80s. If you are interested in what others write about them: http://www.starvox.net/feat/naked.htm. I’d simply say they rock ass ;). And I cannot go along with features that would say “they sound like…” as I do not think The Naked and
the Dead have got something of Alien Sex Fiend (maybe 'cause I do not like ‘em at all) nor of Siouxsie (ok maybe, maybe also along the lines of Skeletal Family), nor ever would they do punk rock, but they do a good job of being themselves. I am looking forward to their new
stuff.
                -suzzane_mayfair

Here's the musical bargain of the year--for $6 you get 21 tracks and a piece of musical history. The Naked and the Dead were part of the booming post-punk scene in New York in the '80s. Naming themselves after a Sex Gang Children song; The Naked and the Dead employed all the stylings of old school goth rock fronted by a Siouxsie-ish siren and backed by tall-haired, lanky musicians. What's captured here on this CD is the entire recording history of this band--short as it was--but amazing nonetheless.
Starting with rehearsals in July of '85 and continuing on through live shows and finally a studio recorded demo in September of '85--you can actually hear the amazing progress of their music. It's an amazing study if you're into that kind of thing--picking up on the subtle changes and improvements from one recording to the next. It's no wonder that this band was off and playing CBGB in an instant. They were electric and seemed almost inspired by inhuman forces because they made it look so easy.   
"Taboo" was one of the crowd favorites no doubt due in part to Lorianne Oakley's enthusiastic vocal delivery. The guitar slithers and snakes along in exotic melodies and the bass plods out counter melodies while the drumming is nothing short of tribal. The thing that really strikes me about this song is its structure. It starts at a slower, grooving beat but shortly thereafter works up into a frenzied instrumental break between choruses and then drops you back down into that original bass-driven tempo like a comfortable pair of boots. It works well as a contrasting element that keeps the song from sounding repetitive.
"Cassandra" is quite possibly my favorite if I had to choose. It starts out with a classic bat-cave sounding guitar--distorted, haunting and distant. The bass thunders in the lower registers, drums come in with a punch and the vocals sail over it all effortlessly. Near the end the drumming is really outstanding - some of the runs are just incredibly fast and complicated. As an added bonus - listen carefully to the lyrics--it's quite a twisted tale they tell! (Reminds me somewhat of an obscure documentary called Gray Gardens).
Darker in tone, the brooding "Carousel" also employs powerful drumming enhanced by distorted guitar and sing songy bass lines that ends in almost a march-like cadence. "The Gate" is another memorable song which opens with outstanding bass work. (I'm a sucker for melodies carried on the bassline.) The bass sings and the guitar adds atmospheric aires in a long instrumental intro finally broken by thundering percussion and seductive vocals.
The live recordings and the cover songs are icing on the cake. To hear a set played at CBGB or Subway in 1985 is priceless to me. I find myself dazed and lost in imagination. I cannot recommend this highly enough to anyone that really cares about this musical genre. This is part of its history--its roots.   
Listening to this CD is almost as if someone handed you a time machine destined for Where It All Started, covered in torn netting and spray paint and said: here are your keys to gothdom--go forth, learn something and be inspired…        

Ghouls and Creeps, here is a fab find for you!! I stumbled onto The Naked and The Dead during one of my “Gimme some new stuff!” MP3.com sessions and gawd, what a pleasant surprise!! Well, for one thing I had never heard of this band and secondly, they were Old Skool (they split in 1985!!) How did I manage to miss them?! Their influences go from Siouxsie and the Banshees to X-Mal Deutschland, from March Violets to Joy Division, nonetheless, The Naked and The Dead have their own musical identity. Songs like “Cassandra” carried by Lorianne Oakley’s vocals will bring you back to those days when all there was was Death Rock (where did those days go?!!), those days when all the gothies had their hair up! This record is a little jewel that will (more than) appeal to you all Post Punk/Batcave/Death Rock lovers out there!! Get it or DIE!!! Highly Recommended!
Score: [5 skulls]

Death rock definitely (if you haven't already guessed). Overt Siouxsie influences. Recommended for all them "Living Dead Zombie Children of Perdition" who usually hang out at the Fetish, Seance, TVC 15, and Melrose Avenue.

Mid 80's death rock, resurrected on the Internet. To all those naysayers who claim that the Internet won't save the world, I thumb my nose and present this song.