Band: Atrocity and the Complications
Release House: Bat House Publishing
Genre: Deathrock
One Sentence Synopsis: Music that feels like a beautiful blend of Bauhaus, Christian Death, and Joy Division.
Series: Standalone
Single/EP/Album: Album
Release Date: July 23, 2015
Running Time: 71 min
MSRP: $10.00
Website: Click Here
Sample/Music Video: Click Here
Purchase Site: Click Here
Reviewed by: Reverend Leviathan
Final Score: 4.5 Moons
Atrocity and the Complications is a deathrock band from Lexington, KY. The Atrocity is the drum machine, synth and samples; the Complications are Jo (vocals, 12 string guitar, programming), Lucia (backing vocals, 6 string guitar), Maria (bass) and Kristy (backing vocals, keyboards). Under the Ash Tree is their latest release.
Theme
Drawing upon inspiration from things like the Slender Man, House of Leaves, and the use of Norse mythology (kind of) for the song Yggdrasil, Under the Ash Tree has a lot of different emotion and imagery in different songs. The album opens strong with “Sun and Brambles,” a nice slow-paced track that is very detailed in its lyrics brought to life by Jo’s deep, dark vocals. Moving forward, female background vocalist Lucia takes on the main vocals with the song “Shadow,” giving the album a nice variance. The placement of tracks was done well, as the faster paced songs are placed between the songs that tend to be slower.
Presentation
I’ve been looking for new bands that had the sound of the early Goth rock artists, and I found one! Jo’s vocals remind me a lot of the style of Rozz Williams, and they mesh very well with the music. The female background vocals are beautiful and add quite a bit to the songs. The keyboards and programming were mixed in a way that they don’t overpower the guitars, and the sounds that are used may cause you to have images of old silent films going through your mind.
Atrocity and the Complications live at Al’s Bar in Lexington, KY
Gothic Fit
Lovers of the early bands in the Gothic music scene would greatly appreciate this album. This is definitely for fans of Bauhaus, Christian Death, and Joy Division. (I’m guessing these bands were influences on them.) Lyrically speaking, Jo sticks with dark, poetic imagery and emotion. The song “Lye” has a great chorus: “We walk in darkness. We walk in pain. We walk in smoke. We walk in lights…” Goths could do the classic floor gazing, step side-to-side with hands waving dance to a lot of the tracks on this album.
Closing Thoughts
In a world where the Goth music scene is becoming very electronic and new wave, Atrocity and the Complications gives us the beauty of the old-school!
Theme: 4.0 Moons
Presentation: 3.5 Moons
Gothic Fit: 5.0 Moons
Final Score (not an average): 4.5 Moons
