Band: Guillotine Dream
Release House:
Genre: Goth Rock
One Sentence Synopsis: Mysterious Goth band that has a sound similar to Sisters of Mercy or Christian Death.
Series: Standalone
Single/EP/Album: EP
Release Date: October 28, 2016
Running Time: 28 min
MSRP: £2 (about $2.59)
Website: Click Here
Music Video: Click Here
Purchase Site: Click Here
Reviewed by: Reverend Leviathan
Final Score: 4.0 Moons (out of 5)
From their origin to the members, an air of mystery surrounds UK Goth rock band Guillotine Dream. According to their Facebook page, they’ve been around since 1987 but no previous releases can be found (Weird). It is also very unclear as to who they are, since the members wear costumes that cover their faces. All we really know is that the band consists of Arc (vocals and guitars), Lake (bass) and Mapk (drums), and they seem to have appeared out of nowhere with their new EP Lemuria set for release at the end of October.
Theme
Lemuria opens with the title track mixing doom metal influenced vocals with deathrock music. I was expecting the rough vocals to run throughout but the next track “Darkling Rooms” had much cleaner vocals mixed with the doom metal style, with a good mix of distortion and acoustic guitar. The band does a good job mixing these influences with some pretty dark lyrics. The final track, “Ghost Walk,” is interesting in that it’s ten minutes long (like a doom metal song) but has more of the deathrock style vocals and music.
Presentation
Guillotine Dream’s first(?) EP is a great introduction to the band (though we still don’t know who the hell they are), and their style of Gothic rock with the doom metal influence makes it very enjoyable. It doesn’t get too heavy or too mellow; it stays between the two genres. Arc’s vocals have a dark beauty to them, getting rough occasionally for the heavier sound then reverting to the clean style singing that exists in doom. Combining all the different guitar parts (heavy, acoustic and bass) were done very well, so you can enjoy them all at once rather than trying to focus on one or the other. One of my favorite songs lyrically and musically is “Signs.” The song talks about terrible signs that are occurring in the skies, dreams and nightmares, all leading people to believe that it’s the end of times (something that has been happening for thousands of years).
Lake (bass), Arc (vocals and guitar), and Mapk (drums)
Gothic Fit
I think fans of Sisters of Mercy and/or Christian Death would very much enjoy Lemuria. Picture those bands with some doom metal influence, and that pretty much describes Guillotine Dream. Lyrically speaking, they paint a picture of the darkness that is both beautiful and something you want to escape.
Closing Thoughts
Despite the name of the band, Lemuria did not make me feel like I wanted to be decapitated. Guillotine Dream should definitely continue this doom/deathrock fusion and I look forward to their future LP.
Theme: 3.5 Moons
Presentation: 4.0 Moons
Gothic Fit: 5.0 Moons
Final Score (not an average): 4.0 Moons
