Search - Fear Cult :: Visionary Complex

The Worst Fear Cult ever

e.a. nowakattack | 06/17/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Out of all the Fear Cult releases out there, this is by far the worst yet. It's just a shame that all the others were self-released & now out of print, while this is the only one on a record label & is still available. Fear Cult in no way stays faithful to their old Creepy Organ sound, & instead replaces it w/ nothing short of a radio-friendly type sound that is in no way dark, reminiscent to thier older works, or really even fits into a genre. To be brief, this CD sounds like hard rock w/ an overly dramatic vocalist & electronic drumming; it is definitely not something you would expect a band w/ the name Fear Cult to be playing, especially w/ their full-on theatric look & gothic attire. I personally feel that Matt Riser should have named this as another music project instead of being under the old title Fear Cult that's been around for nearly 10 years now, because not only does it not sound in any way like the older FC, but this new CD consists of nothing but new members (except for Riser). Even if I did like this CD, I personally would still feel that it would've been best to go under a different title name, due to its vast differences from earlier works. There's even 3 cover songs on this one album alone, which is way overdoing it, & they're not even bands to necessarily pay homage to. There's only a few good songs on here, & 2 of them are studio versions of older songs off of the Drop Dead EP (Sleepless Nights, Which Hunt). The studio version of Drop Dead is not worth time to listen to. It's hard to determine whether this vast musical change was due to signing w/ Cleopatra Records, multiple member changes, etc. I've often played this CD for friends just to show how bad this is, & I have no intentions on keeping it. However, don't listen to me, this is just my own opinion. Go listen to it & see if you like it, you just might. If you would like to compare this to old FC to see if you would prefer it more, then Drop Dead EP is still available on mp3.com."

Drop dead...

e.a. nowakattack | Michigan | 09/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased Visionary Complex due to a little magazine called Newgrave. I had picked it up one afternoon when I visited a Tower Records because there was an article about London After Midnight. Either way Fear Cult was the band on the cover and after several months of sitting around on my bum I decided to go on Amazon and finally buy their album. I wasn't exactly sure of what to expect but sure enough two to three business days later it arrived on my door step.

The music is extremely campy as well as the bands image, but over all I enjoy the album. There is an interesting cover of Safety Dance, originally performed by Men Without Hats. The album is a decent, although it is not the best in modern goth."

Eh...

Arianna Aarons | San Jose, CA | 10/02/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Right, so I'm not too into goth-y industrial, but after hearing 'Sex Beat' on some mixer CD I picked up from Hot Topic, I knew the band had to have some merit...or not...really, it's all pretty and repetitive except for Sex Beat, and Girls & Boys, which is the bonus track. I guess those two songs make it worth it, but if you buy it, buy it used..."