在这张令人惊艳的专辑中,DCD已经完全的将众多的音乐元素任性的融合在一起,这也是她们音乐生涯的一个重要转折。非常直接的歌特音效替代了音速与幻想。
温柔的二重唱伴着有意识的中古欧洲的声效从这里开始,带着晦涩寓言一般的音乐,有着拉丁,唱诗班的风情,音乐所触仿佛是在大教堂中采撷的。第一首歌"De Profundis" 就将这种风情渲染到极至,支持着钟声和怠惰的人声的是来自gerrad的充满着激情的表演. 此时的DCD已经走出了Dream Pop的藩篱,或许再难找到如此承载着宗教信仰的古老音乐。(From
西祠胡同
)
by Ned Raggett
With this amazing album, Dead Can Dance fully took the plunge into the heady mix of musical traditions that would come to define its sound and style for the remainder of its career. The straightforward goth affectations are exchanged for a sonic palette and range of imagination. Calling it "haunting" and "atmospheric" barely scratches even the initial surface of the album's power. The common identification of the duo with a consciously medieval European sound starts here -- quite understandable, when one considers the mystic titles of songs, references to Latin, choirs, and other touches that make the album sound like it was recorded in an immense cathedral. Opening number "De Profundis" sets this mood so thoroughly, with bells and drones and more supporting another bravura performance from Gerrard, while the immediately following "Ascension" builds on this initial effort with further style and grace. It's limiting to think of either album or band strictly in terms of simple revivalism of old music. While the elements being drawn on are certainly of an older range, the results owe as much to the technologies of arrangement and production and a consciously cinematic feeling as much as they do antique pasts. Similarly, the feeling is not simply European but worldwide, with Gerrard's glossolalia intentionally reaching beyond easy understanding. Perry's vocal efforts are no less compelling, his own high point occurring with the vast-sounding "Enigma of the Absolute," as a steady, massive drum pound echoes behind a similarly treated guitar/harpsichord combination, tinged with a striking string arrangement. The overall feeling is of an ancient religious service suddenly brought to life in a truly modern way, with stunning results.