Beseech
Sunless Days

Though I really only regard this album as a competent and solid entry into the female fronted Goth rock album category that I will rarely listen too, I will concede that it is one of the sexiest albums I’ve heard in a while.Beseech has undergone a considerable lineup overhaul since I last heard them on their doom/death tainted …From a Bleeding Heart with many of the founding members no longer in the fold and Erik Molarin and Lotta Höglin being the new vocal duo to deliver there more somber Goth rock tones. And pretty good they are too, especially Ms. Höglin, who has the vocal equivalent of ‘take me to bed eyes’. As with most Goth rock, Molarin simply provides a somber male accompaniment to her sultry hues. Also, in the production department, Beseech are arguably the beefiest Goth rock band I have heard with a super down tuned crunchy guitar tone undulating under the expected ivory tinkling.

Of course the main focus of the themes are the usual lovelorn, tragic ballads of loss and sadness (“A Bittersweet Tragedy”, “Everytime I Die”, “Emotional Decay”), and the overall sound reminded me of Mandylion era the Gathering (especially “Every Time I Die” and “Restless Dreams” where Höglin sounds a lot like Anneke Van Giersbergen) with a bit more emphasis on the guitars. The vocal interplay between the two leads is, while contrived, effective, with Molarin’s deep croon taking a rightly deserved back seat except for the well done cover of Danzig’s “Devils Plaything” where he does a pretty good Glenn Danzig impression. Their version of the song also fits in with the sensual nature of the rest of the tracks’ atmospheres to the point where in my Danzig-less musical existence I was unaware it was a cover song until researching the album on the internet. The tracks run the usual balance between pounding catchy rock riffs (“The Outpost”, “Last Obsession”, “Emotional Decay”) and tear jerking ballads (“Lost”, “Restless Dreams”). Only the needless outro “Reversed Mind” seemed out of place.

With the stout guitar tone and expected stellar female vocal presence, Sunless Days is a slightly above par, sultry Goth Rock effort with a little more of a sweaty, gasping, rolling in the sheets ambience that, in a pinch would make it my Goth Rock album of choice for luring the ladies into my Gothic love pit.

[Visit the band's website]
Written by Erik T
January 6th, 2006

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