Search - Velvet Acid Christ :: Calling Ov The Dead

Learning to Abhor the Twisted Faces Staring Back at Me

TastyBabySyndrome | "Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Lit | 01/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, let's not kid ourselves about the subject at hand. If you're looking for something that doesn't seethe and loathe while it writhes into your mind, you're probably looking in the wrong place. Velvet Acid Christ doesn't produce sounds that you can tuck your children in with, nor do they manufacture that plastic aroma that entices your lover into loving. In a world drowning in pop ballads and sugarcoated bubblegum rock they are something dark and brooding, screaming "I will kill you" and "I suffer" and "I overload on things you've never dreamed," making it all - real. Instead of the numbing drone we hear all the time that says "we're all fine," VAC creates an ambience that truly denotes the depression and the brutality that the radio leaves off its "boy meets girl" plateau. They ask you to taste the pain, to feel the terror, and to know that there are people out there that want to see what your insides look like. You can dance to their songs, too, moving to the voxed lyrics as they stream demands, and that's even better because it underscores the fact that their songs are enriched by the drug subcultures that birthed them. They even note that in album liners and in their songs, saying that years were spent trying to manufacture things "under the influence," and that sometimes something ghastly comes out.

And, of all their efforts, Calling Ov The Dead is one of Velvet Acid Christ's shining stars.



Normally I single out songs and deconstruct albums because of the flaws within, but this album is harder to do that with because I like so many songs on it. The first time I listened to it I was taken by that fact, noting that it was bleak enough to cuddle with and that it was also a continuous audio stream. Looking back I notice that the sound wasn't mastered to some crisp form of perfection, and later re-releases (Between the Eyes Volumes 1-4) manage to capture the vocals and the sounds and showcase that fact all too well. Still, this was something that angrily exclaimed what it wanted and I loved that about it. I remember everyone I knew talking about the stark contrast within the shadows the album was painting, with songs like The Dead and "Exquisite Stench" dripping with violence and songs like "Timeless Visions" almost somberly dictating that this disease was our own creation. And I liked that. I still do.



Personally I find Calling of the Dead enriching and would tell anyone into EBM/Darkwave to obtain it if they hadn't, but that might not be true for everyone. A person that wants to delve into VAC for the first time might want to (a) sample songs readily available on Metropolis records and then (b) think about picking up Between the Eyes 1-4, wanting remastering and all the songs in the same stroke. These releases cover Calling Ov the Dead and Church of Acid, plus a lot of ground that was left sitting by the wayside. Still, that doesn't mean that this album shouldn't be obtained. I suppose it all depends on how you look at it, really, and if you like intact albums or pieces of albums flowing separately into a whole. When Between the Eyes was manufactured it didn't do the same thing that the aforementioned albums did, not moving in exactly the same fashion, and that changes things. So, its like having a mix tape versus the each album. Regardless, Calling ov the Dead is one of the things that pushed VAC into the limelight, and is worth gravitating toward. Even aged, it seethes.

"

Industrial at its best

M. Randall | Allen Park, MI | 09/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"great cd as always with VAC. this ones most memorable track for me is malfunction. just has a incredible depressive machine feel to it."

REMASTERED VERSION>

CRAZOTOLOGY | Joplin, MO. (USA) | 04/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is to my knowledge either the verry first album by Velvet Acid Christ or it is certainly one of the early albums originnally released...err, probably in the mid 1990's or so. This is the remastered version...and yes it sounds better. Great album loaded with samples from 12 Monkeys and all kinds of Sci-Fi thrillers from the 1990's. Definitly a Terror-EBM/Electro-Industrial band. Uber dark and sofisticated weirdness. Great artwork inside and all of the lyrics are included. If you like spooky techno music that sounds like it was produced in the pit of hell....than you'll love Velvet Acid Christ. Also check out Yelworc...another super creepy electronic industrial band."