Single review by KevW
This article also appears on http://www.soundsxp.com
Where better to retreat to in order to record the follow-up to an acclaimed goth-punk debut album than a former mental hospital by a cemetery? It may be a little clichéd but it's worked for London quartet Cold In Berlin who did just that for new tracks '...And The Darkness Bangs' and 'The Lie', both of which share a macabre aura that reverberates back to the hairspray and eyeliner-heavy post-punks of 30 years ago. They should be considered revisionists rather than revivalists though, as theirs is a weightier, less clangy update - a sound that's nicely suited to the witch-house makeover given to it by Heretics as a B-side here, adding a different dark dimension to the one offered by the original.
'...And The Darkness Bangs' rumbles portentously into action with spidery guitar underpinned by broken drum thumps, and a chorus which sees singer My howling like a Banshee - both the band and the mythical harbinger of death. They're aiming for a grand power and they manage to reach one, teetering on the overblown without ever quite overstepping the mark. 'The Lie' is the best track here, all chugging guitars and spiky vocal shrieks. It seems that Cold In Berlin had their sights set on something less epic with this and it works better, containing just as much force with less histrionics. The quartet don't seem short on raw power and reports suggest that in the live arena they really excel. Given the ferocity of what they've laid down here we've little reason to doubt it.
Cold In Berlin's website
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