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December 19, 2011

2011: A Music Year in Review (Viva Music version)

2011 was a great year for our scene. Just a quick roundup of the acts and artists who released new material this year is sufficient to give you an impression, however fleeting, of the great tumult the scene has caused and the important additions 2011 has brought to our playlists. New releases from VNV Nation, Apoptygma Berzerk, Haujobb, Sopor Aeternus, Covenant, Kirlian Camera and Diary of Dreams kept music lovers on edge and numerous other releases made their days worthwhile throughout the year.

In 2011, Viva Music had the pleasure and honor to listen to and review some 100 albums. In order to read our reviews, you can go to the menu and pick Album Reviews from the Interviews & Reviews section, or navigate using the right-hand visual cover flow. Pluses between brackets in the article lead you to the featured reviews.

Readers’ choice in terms of number of Facebook likes indicate Apoptygma Berzerk’s “Black EP vo.2” (+), Global Citizen’s “Nil by Mouth” (+), Haujobb’s “New World March” (+), The Cruxshadows’ “Valkyrie” (+), Ghost and Writer’s “Shipwrecks” (+), Autodafeh’s “Act of Faith” (+), Tenek’s “EP2” (+), Shiv-r’s “This World Erase” (+) and Covenant’s “Modern Ruin” (+) as top favorites. We have no doubt it was the beauty of the respective albums and not of our reviews that kept them up in the charts!

With numerous releases, the appreciation of the public was unanimous. It was an honor to have around VNV Nation’s “Automatic” (+), Kirlian Camera’s “Nightglory” (+), Diary of Dreams’ “Ego:X” (+),  Sopor Aeternus’ “Children of the Corn” (+), Aesthetic Perfection’s “All Beauty Destroyed” (+), KMFDM’s “WTF?!” (+), And One’s “Tanzomat” (+), Sin D.N.A.’s “Afterlife” (+), Lowe’s “Evolver” (+), IAMX’s “Volatile Times”, Imperative Reaction’s “Imperative Reaction” (+), Necro Facility’s “Wintermute” (+), Amduscia’s “Death Thou Shalt Die” (+), and System Syn’s “All Seasons Pass” (+ ).

No less impeccable and listenable in a loop proved to be a set of albums which, should you have missed them, are up on your shopping list next time you hit a record store. Ad Inferna’s “There Is No Cure” (+), The Pain Machinery’s “Surveillance Culture” (+), God Module’s “Seance” (+), Mona Mur & En Esch’s “Do with Me What You Want” (+), Leaetherstrip’s “Untold Stories” (+), Vic Anselmo’s “In My Fragile” (+), Solar Fake’s “Frontiers” (+), Mina Harker’s “Bittersuess” (+), Lahannya’s “Dystopia” (+), and Lord of the Lost’s “Antagony” (+).

Special mention should be made of Romanian wonders LeVant’s “Beyond the Masque of Eden” (+) and Brazda lui Novac’s “Dizzy” (+).

Let us not forget the beautiful events we were invited to attend, and had the pleasure to experience in 2011. We provided detailed footage both under the guise of reviews and photo galleries at Amphi Festival (+), Nordstern Festival (+), and Nocturnal Culture Night (+). In 2012, we intend to attend to more such events and keep you posted on our beautiful and dynamic scene.

As Viva Music we also organized our own events in Bucharest. You can take a look at the feedback we received for the third edition of our Darkwave.ro Festival (with Tenek, Rabia Sorda and Project Pitchfork, +), for our Combichrist (+) and Kirlian Camera (+) concerts, as well as for our support for the first Nine Inch Nails Tribute in Bucharest (+). We do our best to keep our scene alive and the response we get is always heart-warming and positive.

 

What was your favorite release in 2011? And what are you looking forward to in 2012?

December 7, 2011

Amduscia “Death, Thou Shalt Die”: Viva Music Album Review

Tracklist: “Damn Punks” * “Desequilibrio Mental” * “I’ll Hate You” * “Seduccion es mi placer” * “F*** the F***ing F***ers” * “Solo Maquina (Antihuman Remix)” * “R.I.P.” * “Creepy Life” * “Adicto al dolor” * “How I Hate You” * “Wild Girls” * “Battle in Paradise” * “Creepy Life (Cid Project Remix)” * “Creepy Life (Eelectrovot Remix)

About Amduscia – “Death, Thou Shalt Die”:

After the tragic untimely death of sound wizard Edgar Acevedo in March 2010, it was not clear whether the fourth studio album of Amduscia was ever to see the light of day. His brother Polo, the band’s shouter decided that there could not be a better legacy for the Mexican band, completed the album by himself and had it produced in a German studio. “Death, Thou Shalt Die” has become an album that is hard to top in terms of intensity. Amduscia have not sounded this compact, aggressive, striking and club-compatible since their debut. Now, the band rises like a phoenix from the flame, with a record that sounds like a challenge – a challenge to the grim reaper himself!

Amduscia “Death, Thou Shalt Die” – Viva Music Album Review:

Out on Dec-02 with Out of Line Records, the new album from Amduscia takes its title from the remarkable and memorable last line of metaphysical poet John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet X”, one of the most commonly referred to verses about the individual’s revolt against implacable death. The title reference is even more evocative if we take into account its history of bereavement and the fact that it is added to a band name so full of meaning such as Amduscia, after the demon whose voice of thunder is heard during storms, accompanied by the sound of trumpets of medieval lore. (more…)

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