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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most emotional Christmas cd's ever made!,
By
This review is from: Dark Noel, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)
For anyone who is not familiar with gothic or etherial music,This cd is a wonderful place to start. Many of the styles represented on each song is the normal stylings of each band and since I have many cd's from the bands that appear on the compilation I wanted to make a quick review highlighting the best songs that appear on the cd. The first few songs really makes the cd start off slower then it should, The disc really doesnt kick in until the track by This Ascension which (as always) is a huge highlight on this mix as they always seem to brighten any sampler release that Projekt seems to do. Thier version of Carol of the bells should be sampled but even the samples doesnt do this gorgeous song the justice it deserves.This Ascension's other material is also just as wonderful as this track. Area is a newer one that Im not as familiar with but the haunting female vocals here is almost tear jerking and extremly beautiful. LoveLiesCrushing sounds like what would happen if Skinny Puppy would get ahold of an etherial song and distort the music slightly. Im still not sure what I think of the song but its unusual to say the least. Black tape for a blue girl keeps thier haunting sound and style on Oh Chanukkah, the backing chants and lush guitars remain in pace. This is a wonderful addition to the cd.Sorrow's version of The little drummer boy is perhaps one of the most impressive I have ever heard. Complete with howling wind,gothic keyboards and of course the drumming. Perfect. Lycia teaming up with The unquiet void was something I kind of expected a little more from but it stays up to par with the normal stylings of the Lycia cd The burning circle. I usually am not the biggest Eva O fan but she is slightly better then usual with this version of O Holy Night. The remix of Stille nacht i am still somewhat unsure of as well. Its interesting and not quite what I expected. Attrition ends the cd with a wonderful rendition of Silent Night. One of my main complaints honestly falls in with some of the artists that was missed over on the compilation. Sadly Projekt artists like Voltaire and Mira are missing from the release. The reason it also got 4 instead of 5 stars is the fact that is also using a few of the same songs used more then once without adding much else extra to make the songs differant & also with the cd starting off so slow without anything really standing out just does not appeal to me. Exelsis is definatly a great Christmas cd to play when needing background music or hosting a holiday open house but dont expect to start a party with this cd.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...,
By
This review is from: Dark Noel, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)
I've been wanting to check out the Excelsis compilations from Projekt records for a very long time now but I always seem low on cash around the holidays (gee, I wonder why?) and never end up buying them. However, this year I was lucky enough to find 'v1 - A Dark Noel' used for a reasonable price. I did the smart thing and started emptying my wallet early; thus finishing my shopping before Thanksgiving so I was finally able to get this.It's not that I don't like Christmas music (quite the contrary, actually) but I usually try and restrain myself from giving in and purchasing any since you can't listen to it whenever you want. But, then again, I do find myself enjoying the few CDs I do own that are festive. They're like hidden gems I get to rediscover every year and this is no exception. I'm glad I have this album in my collection but I am disappointed in 'A Dark Noel'. I think it's safe to say I find half the songs pleasurable and the other half intolerable. In all its many forms and styles, Goth is definitely my favorite genre so I thought it was a brilliant idea to select a bunch of artists that fit into that category and have them put together their own spin on some classic tunes, giving the usual approach to this joyful season a gloomier appeal for us lovers of the night. But while some were successful, others failed miserably. This type of music isn't supposed to be cheery so I was expecting and even hoping for a darkened tint to be cast over the melodies but some fall a little too deep into their shadowy vortex. I do find the eerie "We Three Kings" by Lycia to work but I can hardly stand the extremely low baritone of Padraic Ogl on "The First Noel" by Thanatos or the annoying static noise with faint, uninspired singing in the distance on "Jingle Bells (Snowblower)" by Loveliescrushing. There are, however, a few songs that save this record as otherwise resulting in disaster, such as the lovely orchestration of "What Child Is This?" by Balderas & Osborn, the somewhat upbeat "Welcome Christmas" from Dr. Seuss' "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" by Love Spirals Downwards, the ethereal vocal layerings of This Ascension's "Carol Of The Bells", and the pagan dance of "A Winter Wassail" by Faith and the Muse, which sounds very similar to Blackmore's Night. But even Black Tape for a Blue Girl's "Chanukkah, Oh Chanukkah" was pretty lack-luster so 'A Dark Noel' only receives an average rating. Despite my slight disappointment, I still hope to check out 'v2 - A Winter's Song', and 'v3 - A Prelude', which is only available at projekrecords.com, where you can also purchase the box set featuring the entire Excelsis collection.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected, but certainly not bad.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dark Noel, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)
What I expected to hear was various gothic bands administer the atomic drop to various Christmas songs (and one Chanukah song). Some of the songs fulfill that expectation. A lot of them are just good solid renditions of the original songs ("A Winter Wassail", by Faith and the Muse, is a good example of this), which are probably much funnier if you're familiar with more of the band's own miusic. All told, a solid album, but not exactly what I had in mind.
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