You can support Terra Relicta by donating! Please, do so, and thank you!
Band: Bella Lune
Album title: Ophelia
Release date: 22 September 2011
Label: Aetheria Music
Tracklisting:
01. Ophelia (Video Mix)
02. Ophelia (Riddles & Rhymes Mix)
03. Blissful Escape (Daniel Myer Mix)
04. This And The Other (Dystonix Mix)
05. The Dolly Pop Song (Deviate Mix)
06. Silent And Still (The Alacrity Mix)
07. Dead Souls
08. Ophelia (Ask For Joy Mix)
09. Underwater (The Captives Mix)
I must admit that I'm always afraid when I get a release with remixes and remakes of already published songs, but my fear was needless this time. Bella Lune put out quite an enjoyable set of those. This American combo has already two full lenght albums on the market and they gained a lot of sympathies from goth scene all around the globe. Their music is centered around the ethereal and calm voice of Fuchsia, melancholic guitar work from Kal3id and pleasant use of electronic sounds. This band is stuff for fans of bands like The Cure, Switcblade Symphony, The Birthday Massacre, Curve, Joy Division and the likes, as their sound is a mix of some gothic rock, synthpop, dreampop, new wave, even some post punk, etc.
On this disk you can find three versions of their hit song "Ophelia" from their 2010 album Synesthesia and each one has it's own mood as it's for vocal or instrumental parts. Video mix has even some heavier sounding guitars, what it's not a standard in Bella Lune's music. Then again some nice vocal experimentations and synthpop elements in Riddles and Rhymes mix, what adds even some more atmosphere in this already atmospheric song. Third version of this song is centered more around drum beats and it's minimalistic approach.
The first highlight of this CD must be Daniel Myers (Haujobb, Destroid,...) mix of the song "Blissful Escape" from their debut album Abstracted Visions (2007) with amazing atmosphere and some industrial vibes which gets really nicely along Fuchsias vocals and guitar parts. And the second one it's "Underwater ( The Captives Mix)", again with some distorted guitars and captivating gothic rock drive and even some shoegaze elements. I can't forget to mention the only one new song on this release "Dead Souls", which is a well known Joy Division cover, made in a way that reminds me of Michael Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails, How To Destroy Angels,...) works.
The rest of Ophelia maxi single is also an enjoyable listen, especially the weird remake of "The Dolly Pop Song" in a kind of psychedelic erotic manner. The other two tracks will find their sympathies among lovers of EBM and synthpop music in some dark clubs, I'm sure about this.
Bella Lune did a right thing with this maxi single as it offers 45 (!!) minutes of interesting music, full of variety and a lot of dynamics, still you can't expect any energetic outbrakes here. Production side is without mistakes, crystal clear, nothing to add here. These songs with their haunting melodies, diversity and atmosphere will certainly bring some more attention on this band and I hope that they will use some elements featured on this release also on their future works, because they give a lot of depth and dynamics to their music.
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 8/10
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
