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LUCYFIRE By: Jonathan Mariante |
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Lucyfire is the side project of Johann Edlund, singer for the popular Swedish Goth-metal band Tiamat. I am not familiar with Tiamat's music so I can't really compare/contrast the two, but the press release calls Lucyfire "Edlund's alter ego", so I assume this is quite a departure from the Tiamat sound. I would describe it as Depeche Mode meets Aerosmith or Buck Cherry. Edlund sounds very much like DM's singer, singing in a dark, cryptic, low voice, and the music contains a lot of electronic, high-tech keyboards and sound effects, along with some drum programming, and has a dark, moody, brooding feel to it, but this is coupled with hard rock guitars and a driving rock and roll beat. One initially might think that these two opposing styles of music don't mix, but in this case, they actually gel quite well. The music is clever, catchy, and bouncy (as well as having a dark tinge to it, and darkly erotic song lyrics), and the musicians are certainly talented (although, as I mentioned, Edlund appears to be aping D. Mode's singer a great deal). Some songs that stood out are "As Pure As Sin", which could be described as a Goth power ballad, if there is such a thing, and it's quite hauntingly beautiful; "Automatic", a drive-it-on-home rocker; and "The Perfect Crime", a catchy little number that sounds like at 80's new wave/pop tune with driving rock guitars. It is vaguely reminiscent of that ol' Modern English classic "I'll Melt With You". Speaking of classic 80's tunes, there's also a cover of ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" on here. It can't hold a candle to the original, of course, but it was a clever idea nonetheless. This is quite an enjoyable album. Fans of Tiamat, hard rock, techno, electronica, Depeche Mode, and 80's music alike should find something to their liking on this opus. In other words, there's something for everyone on here.
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