GOTHMINISTER – Utopia

Label: AFM Records

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Rating: 9/10

Reviewed by: ToddStar

I love when I get music from bands I have never heard of.  Sometimes it makes me appreciate what I normally listen to and other times it gives me something new to add to my normal rotation.  This is the case regarding the latest from Gothminister.  “The New Beginning” opens the disc with a musical and sound effect interlude.  “Someone Is After Me” comes along and gives you a taste of what is to come.  Industrial beats along with heavy guitars and soaring vocals ensues.  Soon you are treated to a chorus that features cool guitar hooks and catchy lyrics.  “Utopia” is next and gives you more of the same with a stronger vocal line.  The vocals are matched only by the combination of guitars and keyboards.  The eerie background vocals add to the track and make this stand out a bit.  “March” is another interlude that helps tie tracks together through the use of music and horror sound effects.  “Horrorshow” is next and features less of an industrial feel than the previous tracks.  When the chorus kicks in, we are treated to a catchy chorus and some killer industrial guitars, which return this track to the darker side that was featured on the previous songs.  “Nightmare” is more of the synth and guitar heavy industrial sound we are now accustomed to.  This track features a heavier vocal than the previous tracks, but it seems to fit the musical track.  The drums on this track are working overtime, as are the keyboards.

“Afterlife” continues the onslaught of great industrial metal that uses different sound effects and textures to help tell a story.  After hearing this track, I cannot wait to check out the accompanying DVD.  The song is the most mainstream, but fits within the mold of the rest of the disc.  “Helldemon” is an interlude that helps ties the two halves of the disc together, with more noise and effects that seem to add a little more horror to the disc.  “All Alone” opens with a light musical track that soon morphs into a killer (pun intended) song with a mellower tempo, but all the key components that tie this disc together.  The guitar work really stands out if you listen for it.  There are some cool runs and fret work buried beneath the keyboards and vocals.  “Purgatory” is the final interlude on the disc and features some great eerie orchestration coupled with sound effects.  “Eternal” opens with a great riff and monstrous drums.  The vocals tear the song wide open and really take this song to the next level.  This disc has been solid from top to bottom and this track is one of the better presented.  “Raise The Dead” has a cool feel to it that mixes a great rock riff with really good industrial beats and sounds.  The vocals are completely different in tempo and sound from others on the disc.  The chorus has a very regimented feel, but that doesn’t mean the track is sterile at all.  “Boogeyman” closes the disc and raises the bar with its different sounds and textures.  The track really helps tie this disc together from beginning to end.  Be sure to listen to this track to the very end.  What a great piano outro.

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Category: CD Reviews