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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Fields of the Nephilim - Elizuim


Ahhh Fields of the Nephilim, a personal favorite of mine. What I have brought for you today my little Maggots is their goth magnum opus, Elizuim. The album simply reeks of the occult and supernatural, all the while providing a very ethereal and goth fabulous sounding production. Lead Singer Carl McCoy's crooning voice and dreary lyrics only help further the ghostly feel one gets while listening to this album in the wee hours of the morning. The rest of the band on this album is fantastic as well. The bass is your typical 1980's goth style, playing simple, catchy bass lines that never seems out of place while the guitar and drums concentrate on putting the listener into a dream like state. Almost all the tracks are in the 5+ minute range and the tempos rarely get above mid-paced but that of course only adds to the over-all feeling of sadness and longing the album is obviously trying to achieve. There are, of course, your more "radio friendly" tracks, such as the catchy as hell opener For Her Light, but those moments are few and far between and more often than not you are left defenseless against Mr. McCoy and Co.'s relentless assault of gothic dirges filled with redemption, sadness, and loneliness.

Dead But Dreaming

Thursday, January 26, 2012

An Evening of Horror (Three Soundtracks)



For our first post here on BFM I've opted to give you all three fantastic Horror movie soundtrack gems, perfect for those nights when you need some eerie mood music to go along with your grave digging/love making.


The first two come in one file together and, in my opinon, offer the most emotional depth despite being incredibly minimalistic. They are soundtracks to the films Nekromantik and Der Todesking. Despite the controversy and subject matter of the films (both films depict Necrophilia and graphic Suicides with Nekromantik still banned in some European countries) each films score is beautifully eerie and fits its subject matter perfectly. For example, when you listen to Nekromantik's synth and piano driven soundtrack, you almost forget what type of movie this belonged too. Instead, you begin to listen to each track as the emotions they represent with their sound. The compositions for this movie are all wonderfully done and as I said each gives off it's own specific emotion, which only amplifies the film itself if you are familiar with it. From powerful, woeful strings arrangements, to romantic and soothing piano passages this soundtrack tries its best to capture an alienated mans emotional trip through being shunned by society, finding bliss and ending ultimately in tragedy. A soundtrack that can definitely be listened to on it's own and takes no prior knowledge of the film to enjoy. Instead of being a piece of the film, the score itself is its own entity and story that uses the film to accentuate it's parts just as much as the film uses it.

The second
soundtrack included is for the film Der Todesking. Following the same vein as the Nekromantic soundtrack this film favors string arrangements with dark ambient sounds over the piano laden Nekromantik. The result is less beautiful and more "constructed" but gives a much more sinister sounding soundtrack perfect for a film that focuses on the topic of suicide. However, there are passages reminiscent of Nekromantik (both films are by the same director) and as such they fit perfectly together seemingly flowing into one another as a single, macabre piece of music.

Finall
y, the third soundtrack I have brought you to feast on my little Maggots, is from the classic George A. Romeo film Day of the Dead. While not nearly as emotional (or beautiful for that matter) as the first two soundtracks, John Harrison's musical arrangement is a Horror movie lovers treat as he pays homage to the classic Italian horror themes made popular by bands and Directors such as Goblin and Dario Argento. The whole soundtrack oozes Goblin worship as new-wave sounding synths flow with the mood of the characters in the film. Compared to the first two soundtracks, this one may sound tame and even a bit comical to some but that's just part of its charm. In reality, what you get here is a very ominous sounding album that does a fantastic job of outlining the events and emotions of the film with it's music. And it's catchy as hell too.

Day of the Dead OST
Nekromantik & Der Todesking OST