Customer Reviews

One of 18 Angels

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

 

 

Words alone cannot do justice to this truly exceptionalcreation from the powerful & diverse mind's of Diary Of Dreams -especially front man and ex Garden Of Delight vocalist Adrian Hates,however I will try to present my version of it with as much completionas possible. The album starts with a sample from the gothic,Matrix-like film Dark City into a strong smooth litany of what is tocome (Rumours about angels) that, despite the certainty of the lyrics,seems to be as much questions as it is a confident statement of itsmessage - an excellent foundation for the questions to come. Thiscontinues through a myriad of emotions, from the dominating demands ofButterfly:dance through the pleading questions of Mankind & WinterSouls to the anger & regret graphically displayed in Babylon &Colorblind respectively. Colorblind is one of the most moving songs Ihave ever heard, reaching our and giving hope to those who have noneleft. This is not the typical dark, dreariness that most of Goth hasadopted, the smooth, potent flow of the music and the insightivestrength of the lyrics are extremely uplifting and fulfilling over andover again. This album - and indeed much other work from this band -is the key to an unsurpassable musical experience that, once it hastouched you, will bring tears to your eyes, and leave you stunned. Thedeep vocal strength of Adrian Hates is only enhanced by the equalpower of Olaf Schaning, perfectly complementing and being complementedby the electric/classical undertones of the Gothic wave on which itrides. I cannot compare Diary Of Dreams to any other band, but can saythat appreciation for them is definately not limited to the gothicsubculture, more than Sisters of Mercy they have the potential tobring gothic music to those of less alternative appreciations. Youcan gain strength therefrom or realise your inadequacy in the wholescheme of things, but from Diary Of Dreams' point of view, as statedin Butterfly:dance 'you cannot help where your help is not wanted, youcannot escape from your reality'.

I initially bought the Succubus club cd since I was looking to find a new taste in music. I also had been into Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game and was looking for some background music to listen to while we played. I listened to the bands and studied closer onto this band. I bought this cd and was astounded. The cd is perfect for what I needed as ambience, and it's just great all around. Very dark, hard to understand the lyrics, a lot of techno, and the voices are unforgettable. My first cd of this band and definitely not my last!

After 4 good attempts and a compilation, Adrian Hates finally managed to produce the definitive electo-goth album. From the haunting piano of 'Rumours about Angels' to the deeply infectious electronic grooves of 'Chemicals' and 'Butterfly:Dance!', there is not one song on this album which is out of place or in any way a filler. Without a doubt, this was the unexpected 'Album of 2000', blowing Marilyn Manson's latest effort, good as it was, clear out of the water. It didn't leave my CD player for weeks. Their recent tour helped raise their profile massivley, and one can only hope that they continue to play outside of their native Germany again in the near future, as they are quite clearly onto something here.

The latest from Diary of Dreams is fortunately the greatest. DOD is a mixture of EBM, gothic and darkwave. Imagine dark atmospheric keyboards hiding behind electronic grooves with male vocals that have that slightly scratchy gothic feel. The songs almost have a film soundtrack feel, many fast and hard enough to be played in a goth club, others slower, sweeping and engaging. The lyrics are mostly in the nihilistic range, as can be expected.

The album is quite consistent, never really invoking the fast-forward urge. A lot better than much of the mass of 'dark' music on Metropolis. The only thing I would ask for is maybe some live drums (or at least better electronic percussion).

I do have weird tastes sometimes, maybe that is why I like this album. How to describe it? Darkwave keyboard as if you were listening a horror film blend with techno on which the singer does not really sing but recitate poems like a dead guy.

Favorite songs: "Chemicals", "Mankind", "Darker".

It is pretty unusual.

Diary of dreams is god of mixing(in my opinion asfar as i know). His voice is perfect for the music.The musics a mix of a lot of goth and industrial techno and dance...I also reccomend Gridlock for his mixing and voice.

This is definately one of my favorite albums.
Take the darkwave feeling from the music of 'The Sisters of Mercy' and mix it with the beautyful keybord based soundscapes of 'Depeche Mode' then add the brilliant lyrics and vocal work of Adrian Hates, and you'll have a masterpeice-album like 'One of 18 Angels'. Around 70 minuttes accompanied with catching melodies and mind-challenging dark poetry is what you get when you feed this one into the CD-player.

This German band manage to combine darkness, beauty, and depth with intricate and innovative song structures. The perfect blend of orchestral/synthetic music with foreboding introspective lyrics.A must have for any dark-wave fan!

Great album from Diary Of Dreams. If you want to buy this album than I would go for it. However, look for the one that has the track "Rumours about Angels" on it. There are two versions of this album. The first version has the track "Rumours About Angels" and the second has "Now This Is Human" all other tracks are the same on both versions.

Well, I am a Huge DOD fan, don't get me wrong, but this recording just did'nt quite do it for me. With my first hearing of this record, I was amazed, and by the time the first track was finished, I felt tears of JOY in my eyes. It was absolute beauty! But my second time, it seemed to be a little less than what I had last remembered.

I felt shattered the next dozen times I popped it into my CD player. Adrian Hates and his band are a team of very talented musicians I literally worship! But this album was just mediocre once I really gave it a good listen to.

Tracks like Babylon, Butterly: Dance! and Dead Souls Screaming are major highlights on the album, but unfortunately the only ones too. Chemicals and a few other songs like to that are tiresom and repetative with screeching electronic "hormonies" I just cannot stand!

Try buying a used copy of this CD instead so you save the money. One of 18 Angels just gets older and older the more I play it.