2006年 Jun 2日 Friday, 14:50
Faith and the Muse is actually my all time favorite band. THEY ARE MY FAVORITE BAND OF ALL TIME. I think they're the most talented band in the world - period. Genre not withstanding. Even if you remove the "Goth" genre from them, they still make some of the most emotional, passionate, intense, dramatic and riveting music in the world. Bar none. Sometimes Folky, Sometimes Rocky, sometimes Ethereal, and sometimes punky, they're always fantastic. One of the best bands to ever make music, certainly.
Albums:
Elyria - Their debut alum, and some would argue, their best. This album contains many many standout and classic F&tM tracks, some of which include the dramatic and Goth Rock track, "Sparks", the pessemistic and enchanting, "All Lovers Lost", the Celtic Folk songs, "The Unquiet Grave" and "Vervain" (which is a masterpiece, by the way), the A-Cappella "Iago's Demise", William Faith's vocal exercise in the deathrock track, "The Trauma Coil", and my personal favorite track, the hard hitting and dramatic "Mercyground". One of their best albums, for sure.
Annwyn, Beneath the Waves - The title track, "Annwyn, Beneath the Waves", seriously could have been done by Shadow Project. Seriously. A brilliant song to start off a brilliant album. More of a concept album, "Annwyn…" is much more atmospheric and esoteric in parts than any of the others. But it does include some of F&tM's most adhered tracks, such as the smash ex-club hit, "Cantus", which is vocalizing genius. Much more of an ethereal album, it includes songs that are hauntingly beautiful that include "Fade and Remain" (one of my favorites on the album), the more haunting "Dream of Macsen", the tribal "Arianhod", and William Faith's intense "Cernunnos" and his deathrock anthem, "The Hand of Man", and Monica's very 1920's cover of "The Sea Angler".
Evidence of Heaven - One of their other great albums, this album, whilst also being a concept album, was much more tangible and had many more "songs" on it. To be dedicated to the memories of Rozz Williams and Monica's father, death and the afterlife were the themes of this CD. And none more beautifully. A very personal album to both of them, and one of their most earnest efforts. It contains the all time anthem and small-scale club hit, "Scars Flown Proud", the VERY haunting "Shattered In Aspect", the dramatic and baroque-esque vocal track, "The Chorus of the Furies", the beautiful acoustic "Patience Worth", the spooky, atmospheric, deathrock track, "Dead Leaf Echo: The Haunted Palace", William Faith's Waltz-y "Through the Pale Door", The Deathrock anthem, "Plague Dance", and two covers - a cover of a poem written by Queen Elizabeth in the 1500s called "Importune Me No More" put to wonderous medieval acoustics and a cover of Paul Williams' blues song "Old Souls" (one of my favorites on the album).
Vera Causa - A 2 disc retrospective full of lives, rarities, demos, covers, and remixes. Includes great covers of Christian Death's "Romeo's Distress", and The Chameleons UK' "Soul In Isolation".
The Burning Season - Their latest effort, and one of their more controversial albums - fans just cannot seem to decide whether or not they like it. The Burning Season brought with it a change in image and a slight change in sound. I like it a lot because I appreciate the experimentalism of it. While it's truly not a classic Faith and the Muse album, it's still great for what it is. While the stylings changed slightly, it still contains many of the same elements of classic Faith and the Muse albums - the deathrock songs still abound, in "Sredni Vashtar", "Relic Song", and "Failure to Thrive", while a much more ROCK feel encompasses songs like "Prodigal". The Ethereal elements still exist, though I have to admit to them not being as good as past Ethereal parts that Faith and the Muse have done - "Boudiccea", "In the Amber Room", and "Willow's Song" (a cover) all bring out the more atmospheric and ethereal facets of their genius. The experimentalism is most evident in the Folk-inspired, dramatic, "The Burning Season", and the electronic, keyboard-full "Whispered in Your Ear" (the club hit that should have been) and "Visions".
Simply put, they're wonderful and everyone in the world should be in love with them.