Shadow Project
Dreams For The Dying
{XXVII A.S. Triple X Records. Rozz Williams: Vocals, Guitar, Piano / Eva O: Voices & Guitars / Jill Emery: Bass / Paris: Keyboards & Samples / Peter Tomlinson: Drums.}Evocative, nefarious, morbid...
If the cover is any indication to its content, DFTD is truly a darkly psychodramatic creation accessing all those subconscious fears in a melancholy horror-oriented style, definitely eviliving up to its aesthetic presentation. I first became familiar with this opus from an acquaintance, and remember it being quite harmonically morbid, at once graceful and chaotic, truly embodying the essence of so-called "Death Rock", yet with a rather theatrical 'satanic' bent, in this case.
Dreams For The Dying combines hypnotically-Gothic melodies with a moderate Metal influence, blended with haunting lyrics and vocals from both legends Eva O and Rozz Williams {RIP}, remaining a veritable Musickal sin-thesis of L'Air Epais / Messe Noir whose successive chapters lead to Luciferian liberation through sacriligeous stimulation:
I. Static Jesus II. Days Of Glory III. Funeral Rites (With Equestrian Sympathies) IV. Zaned People V. Thy Kingdom Come VI. Knight Stalker VII. Holding You Close VIII. Lord Of The Flies IX. The Circle And The Cross X. 23-13Beginning with the strains of the organ as if to begin a sinister service, Static Jesus admonishes the nazarene ideal's odious characteristics, providing an apt starting point by identifying the stasis inherent in the delusional anti-life foolosophy.
Thy Kingdom Come carries the classic elements of The Black Mass by modifying the 'Our Father'. A ponderous piece worth contemplation.
Knight Stalker [sic] is deadicated to one Richard Ramirez, complete with quotes. The infamous devil-worshipping serial killer whose bloodlust claimed numerous victims.
The remarkably imaginative Holding You Close is actually quite a deeply dark romantic canticle, at the point of view of a lovelorn coffin 'embracing' its occupant.
To Me, Dreams For The Dying grants the impression of a sort of demonic Addams Family perspective set to Doom Rock, complete with shilgne backward masking...
Blasphemous anthems, nefarious diatribes, heavy guitar work, the pervasive ghostly organ, classical instrumentation, evocative melodies with diabolically-potent samples accentuate these gloom-laden orchestrations to create quite a memorable album, which manages to manifest an ambiance akin to flickering candlelight casting ghastly shadows and reflections of dancing devils.
"Devils at your doorstep..." 5/5 tombstones.
Shadow Project was an outgrowth of Christian Death, which defined the Gothic genre and released the infernal trinity of self-titled 'Shadow Project', 'Dreams For The Dying', and 'From The Heart':
