I reviewed so far every album from Suicidal Romance, a great band from Estonia and I couldn't miss this one: a mix of remixes and demo's! Time to unveil all about it:
Exactly 10 years ago in Estonia, a totally unknown duo was proud to release their first (and actually last!) demo which constitutes nothing but the foundations of today’s well-established alt-pop act Suicidal Romance, known for their unique blend of dual male/female vocals, catchy melodic tunes and noir elektro synth arrangements with an edge.
To celebrate this 10th anniversary and to thank their supportive fanbase, Dmitry Darling (also known as frontman of Freakangel) and Viktoria Seimar decided to release this special 10-track collection of previously unreleased material, including exclusive remixes as well as 2006 early versions of the now classic songs of the band in the likes of Not Alone, Poisoned Kiss or yet Prince Of The Darkness which gave the opportunity for the duo to sign a deal with their first record label and initiate the first steps in their ascension to the top of the darkwave / electro pop scene… While the opening and title-song of the EP Your Name is an exclusive sound blast from the past plunging us back to SUICIDAL ROMANCE’s very early roots…
Your Name is a nice blast from the past: a mix of the best from the past: harsh and clean vocals are well mixed, the music sounds pretty modern and clearly properly worked out. I sense some Blutengel influences in it (anno 2016). The beats are cool, just as the backings and the floating sound. The Cutoff:Sky remix of Ecstatic feat. Felix Marc is not bad, just a bit sad that the vocals do not blend in with the music as the music sounds richer and louder. Felix Marc’s vocals and the computer animated effects gives it a clear retro 80’s touch. Viktoria sings like a nightingale, for sure: she’s the star of this song! Remember Me sounds like a bitter sweet duet in the A7ie remix. Prince Of The Darkness gets a richer sound in the Derma-Tek remix, but puts the vocals a bit more in the dark (I hear like a bathroom effect), whilst Viktoria’s vocals need sunlight. Somehow I prefer the purity of the original track. Poisoned Kiss sounds louder, warmer and sharper (with more bass) in the Misery remix. So far for the remixes, after this we’ll get the original demo’s!
Not Alone is the first demo from 2006, it’s also their most played track on Spotify. It sounds a bit raw, but in the end there is not much of a difference with the official and final version. The beats are nice and Viktoria’s vocals are just great! Angel Of Love shows how little difference there is between a good demo and the final album version. I can clearly feel that these folks already did most of the work on their demo’s and that the studio work was nothing more but some polishing. I can say the same thing from Poisoned Kiss and Prince Of The Darkness. The last track has undergone some improvements on the album version, cleaned from errors and sounds that don’t match. Still, it’s cool to listen to the first version.
It was cool to listen to all this track, listen to the original versions and check which one sounded better. I can’t wait to hear more from them! Luckily I will see Dmitry for the first time on stage: at Dubhfest in Belgium!
For more info check this page
TRACK-LISTING
01. Your Name
02. Ecstatic feat. Felix Marc (Cutoff:Sky remix)
03. Remember Me (A7ie remix)
04. Prince Of The Darkness (Derma-Tek remix)
05. Poisoned Kiss (Misery remix)
06. Not Alone (demo 2006)
07. Angel Of Love (demo 2006)
08. Poisoned Kiss (demo 2006)
09. Prince Of The Darkness (demo 2006)
10. Lonely Tears (demo 2006)
