Customer Reviews

Atrocities

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A lot of people have the habit of dismissing the work Valor Kand did with and for Christian Death. Rozz Williams, god rest his soul, was indeed an exceptional lyricist, musician, and artist and without him, their probably never would have been such a thing as Death Rock. However, I have to say that without Valor, Christian Death would have ended after "Ashes" was released and though some believe that it should have, it certainly would be a shame if some of the releases that Valor was responsible for never came into being, as many open minded people do enjoy them for what they are - good Gothic Rock records. This means no disrepect to Rozz Williams. "Only Theatre Of Pain" is a classic, as is the two releases he worked on with Valor. However, I would rather listen to "Sexy Death God" or "Wind Kissed Pictures" over Shadow Project any day ;)

The initial three recordings that Valor released under the name Christian Death are some of the most influential and powerful Gothic Rock albums ever recorded. And though Valor hit a *very low* period in the late 80's and early 90's and released a few albums that have no more than one or two good tracks, he still is a remarkably talented musician with more insight and vision in one eye than most Gothic performers. He and Bari-Bari (Mephisto Walz) are basically responsible for the 'Gothic' guitar sound as it was throughout the late 80's and into the 90's.

So with all that said, I have to recommend this 1986 release, the 2nd recording Valor did under the name Christian Death. A conceptual release that explores the 'atrocities' of WWII, the album is a stark and melancholic descent into psychology and emotional trauma. Besides the upbeat, Post-Punk/Death Rock brilliance of tracks like "Will O' The Wisp," "Silent Thunder" and "Strapping Me Down," you also find the acoustic mediaeval nostalgia of "Strange Fortune" and the haunting gloom of "The Danzig Waltz," an eerie piano driven track with ghostly vocals and creepy violin effects.

As well, "Atrocities" captures Gitane DeMone's most powerful and memorable moments in Christian Death. First with the dark and sensual classic "Tales Of Innocence," an unrivaled example of atmospheric Gothic Rock. And of course, Gitane's rendition of the infamous Billie Holiday lament "Gloomy Sunday." Though these tracks are available on various live compilations, absolutely nothing compares to the original studio versions of these songs which appear on this release alone.

If you are a fan of the albums "Catastrophe Ballet" and "Ashes," then "Atrocities" will definitely appeal to you. Though it does not feature the voice of Rozz Williams, I hope that more people will be open minded and check out this fantastic and seminal Gothic Rock release. There are few Gothic Rock albums that feel as complete and satsifying as this one.

Apparently, the Cleopatra re-release has some technical glitches, not to mention a rather poor lyric booklet. If possible, try to seek out the original Nostradamus release which has a much better lyric booklet and sounds just as good.

Atrocities finds Christian Death somewhere between the departure of Rozz Williams and Valor's turn towards metal. The result is arguably the best release by Valor's Christian Death.

Still fueled to some extent by the musical tendencies of earlier Christian Death material as well as occassionally imitating Rozz's vocal style, Valor manages to create a truly emotional and atmospheric album. Distinct guitar and bass driven gothic rock melodies fuse with classical ambience and instrumentation. Valor's lyrical skills also seem to have peaked here, with emotional and poetic lyrics that don't resort to the religious preaching or often amusing vulgarity and sexuality that would plague much of his later body of work. Gitane is also in top shape here with wonderful vocal work on the beautiful "Tales of Innocence" and an original take on the classic "Gloomy Sunday"...

This album would also be of special interest to fans of Mephisto Walz. Central Mephisto Walz songwriter and musician B. Galvin appears here as bassist as well as co-writer on several songs. The atmospheric sound on many of the songs here is almost completely identical to Mephisto Walz's signature sound. In fact, this album contains the original version of "Silent Thunder", which would later be released in re-recorded form as a Mephisto Walz track.

The only complaint I have about this album is Cleopatra's remaster. Like their other Christian Death reissues, the disc won't play right in some portable/car CD players and there are volume/clarity issues with some speakers. However, despite the faults of the record label, this album is still a must have for fans of Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, or atmospheric gothic rock in general.

Before I really knew anything about Christian Death, for some reason the album I would always hear about was "Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ", which is quite puzzling since it's probably one of the worst Goth (or whatever you want to call it) albums I've ever heard. The album they should've been telling me about (well, as far as Valor oriented material) is this one, which is a truly the post-Rozz Christian Death masterpiece. Each song really stands out on it's own, however they're all connected by the strong emotions they project. Put on "Gloomy Sunday" and I guarentee it will move you, Gitane sounds absolutely incredible in that song! And the lyrics are also quite stand out..it is quite apparent that Valor can crank out some quality work, it's a shame about some of his later stuff ::shudder::

Released in 1986, 'Atrocities' remains one of Christian Death's greatest works. With lyrics centred around the theme of the 'Holocaust', it is no surprise to find human emotion here in all its forms. From fragile classical pieces such as 'The Danzig Waltz' to the frantic punk of 'Ventriloquist', one also encounters a myriad of musical forms. Whatever the style, however, this record possesses a deliciously ominous atmosphere that seals the whole togther. 'Atrocities' is at once a work of exquisite beauty, terrifying ugliness and - most of all - deep profundity. This was the first work I heard to meld deep lyrics, dark rock and elegant classical music together, and it still stands in a category of its own. Superb.

This is a good introduction for anyone interested in that genre that had been labelled 'goth' by music journalists. This album came out in 1986, when the gothic thing was really starting to crystalize into a distinct sound and this album sums up that sound well. Some songs are mellow with piano and guitar with lots of reverb, others are more rockin, and all of it is filled with atmosphere and the bass guitar is prominent. Valor's vocals on this album are what was becoming standard goth style while Gitane Demone's vocals were much more powerful than his. It is a shame that she only sung on a couple of these songs.

Like most Christian Death albums, this one is controversial because none of the people involved in its making were in the original line up of Christian Death. They weren't even on the first album. It's a totally different band with Valor Kand (who joined the group on the second album) assuming leadership. This album, along with the Wind Kissed Pictures EP (1985) were the first Christian Death releases after the last original member had left the group (Rozz Williams:vocals). It contains three members from Pompeii 99 (a really good and poppy eclectic band yet unknown and underrated) and two guys from Mephisto Waltz. The synergy between these musicians made for some really good music but unfortunately the latter two members left the group after this album was made so they could concentrate on their own Mephisto Waltz project.

The Pompeii 99 members would continue to release albums under the Christian Death name but these albums could never match up to this one or the Wind Kissed Pictures. This is why Atrocities and Wind Kiss Pictures are the only albums without Rozz or any other original members that I would recommend. Among albums with Rozz Williams, I would recommend their first album Only Theatre of Pain (1982), especially if you like bands like Samhain (back before goth was clearly defined, more eclectic and experimental, and more post-punk, when it was given labels in the US like 'death rock', 'horrer rock', 'ghoul rock', and 'death punk'). But this is the only Christian Death album without Rozz that matches the power and creativity of Only Theatre of Pain even though these two albums sound nothing alike.

For those who are cautious of buying this album on the grounds that they refuse to support Valor because he stole the Christian Death name from the original group, bear in mind that Valor wasted no time in taking copyright control of all Christian Death releases with Rozz Williams after Rozz died (though I don't know if Only Theatre of Pain is included). So not only do you end up supporting Valor anyway if you only buy the albums with Rozz, but you miss out on a very good album here.

This was and still is a great album, each song is a pure classic. This is Valor at his best and this is probably one of the top 5 Christian Death cd's. Songs like Chimere, Tales of Innocense and Glooly Sunday are just great. The problem is this is a remastered re-issue by Cleopatra and they have had their problems in the past but this last one just is the worse.

I played the cd in my computer, fine, I played it in the stereo in the house, fine. I put it in my car player and can we say fast forward? I don't even have a fast forward on my car player. Now it would be easy to say this is my player but I played about a dozen other cd's to test it and everything was fine. It does this with cdr's to but I really hope this isn't a cdr. I know they've done that with one of their other releases.

So all in all it's a great album but try to track down the original.

Like alot of people, i think Rozz was better. But i don't have anything against Valor either. This is a good album, it shows what a great singer Valor is. Valor just moved on with the band after Rozz left, and he didn't do half bad! The best songs here are Gloomy Sunday, Strapping Me Down, and Chimere De-Si De-La.

I gave it 3 stars because I love this album. I really do. But the fact that I can only play it on my rickety old CD player (that's gasping its last breath as it is) and not on any other CD player I own is a huge disappointment. I've noticed that there's only a problem on players that read CD-R and CD-RW. So, if you plan on listening to it on one of those, stay away from the Cleopatra release.

I can't very well carry the vinyl version I've had for years with me so hopefully I'll be able to track down the Nostradamus version of this CD eventually. It's a shame, really it is.

Just Kidding!

First off, I'd like to say that I don't give a damn
about Rozz Williams. This contoversy sickens me. Valor carries
the name because there is a thing called "survival of the
fittest".

I got into Christian Death in the mid 80's and I Believe this was my first purchase of them. I also gladly enjoyed Catastrophe Ballet, The Wind Kissed Pictures, Scriptures, and then Sex, Drugs and Jesus Christ. All these albums are great and should be considered classics in the death rock/gothic genre. Valor is a true Rock and Roll singer like Jim Morrison, Elvis, etc. He is my gothic version of Jesus.

Will o' the Wisp is a great song. One of Christian Death's best. The album is pretty strong overall and I'll listen to it
any day over and against Rozz's punk krappola.

After this, try the Wind Kissed Pictures. The song, "The Lake of Fire" is great. It is experimental for the time and truely evil. Listening to the billions of souls in hell can be envigorating! I'm sure Rozz is there sucking on the devil's
left testicle.