Christian Death
Atrocities

This is the second Christian Death album without Rozz Williams. After the previous and well-executed The Wind Kissed Pictures, Valor and his team, once again accompanied by Barry Galvin (Bari Bari), produce a well-crafted and polished album. Just for the record, I must point out that Bari Bari is present as a guitarist in the post-Rozz lineup in the albums The Wind Kissed Pictures, Atrocities, and the single Believers Of The Unpure (obviously, this list does not include the reissues A Catastrophe Ballet With Rapsody Of Youth And Rain and Past, Present And Forever).

The idea of changing the moniker, after Rozz's departure, to The Sin And Sacrifice Of Christian Death was already abandoned some time ago, and they have now reclaimed the more successful (and better-known) Christian Death. Why change something that is already, so to speak, well underway and synonymous with guarantee? As the famous saying goes: ''Who leaves the old road for the new one knows what they lose but not what they find''.

Returning to Atrocities, the year is 1986 and the first version of the album is a 12'' by the German Normal (Normal 18). The vinyl's front cover is matte black, with silver lettering, and shows, in the background, an image of surgeons operating. Conversely, the back shows a scene from a painting by Otto Dix. In the original vinyl version that I am currently describing, there was also a large foldable poster of the band titled Returning To The Womb.

However, in the 1999 reissue by the English Candlelight Records, the remastered CD version, the front cover contains violet shades, and the image of the surgeons at work is more in the foreground. Additionally, inside the CD box, there is the same painting by Otto Dix, but now the face of one of the characters in the painting is covered by an image of Hitler's face. I draw your attention to this kind of comparison between the two aforementioned versions of the album because, by now, the more common and easier version of Atrocities to find is precisely that of Candlelight Records. However, for those who decide to purchase the original vinyl as well, they will notice that it is a bit different and more detailed than the current 5'' CD version.

The album opens with the fitting ''Will-O-The-Wisp'', introduced by a fragment of Capriccio No.5 by Paganini, and continues with what is, in my opinion, the centerpiece of the work: ''Tales Of Innocence''. This track is sung by Gitane Demone and, believe me, the listening is worth the purchase of the entire album. The piece will become one of the highlights of Gitane Demone's solo career: the original version of the song is also included in the album Life In Death '85-'89, while an enticing rearrangement can be found on the live album With Love And Dementia.

The listening continues with ''Strapping Me Down'', which is certainly another well-aimed strike. Tracks that stand out significantly are the beautiful ''Strange Fortune'' and the equally interesting ''The Danzig Waltz'' and ''Chimere De-Ci, De-La''. As for ''Silent Thunder'', I admit it is certainly well-made, but the Mephisto Walz cover (featured on The Eternal Deep) is decidedly better. ''Ventriloquist'', on the other hand, I find a bit over the top and gaudy: I consider it the least incisive and interesting piece among all those included in this work.

The penultimate track of Atrocities is the fascinating cover of a sadly well-known Hungarian song written by Laszlo Javor and composed by Rezso Seress: ''Gloomy Sunday''. The leitmotif of this song is suicide and the piece is sadly known because it seems to be associated (or, rather, the cause) of tragic events in the 1930s. The CD version of ''Gloomy Sunday'' is sung by Gitane Demone, and her angelic and incisive voice perfectly aligns with the song's mood (although, I can't explain why, but I prefer the version sung by Diamanda Galás).

The album ends with ''The Death Of Joseph'', a piece that reflects the classic closure of many CD works: from Catastrophe Ballet and Ashes onwards, the last track is often an instrumental/ambient/noise piece, where Valor's vocalizations and musings dominate. However, the last track of Atrocities doesn't seem all that successful; in fact, in all honesty, I find it rather dull and lackluster.

Perhaps (but this is just my conjecture) the CDs attempted to match, in their forthcoming albums, the same intensity and beauty of ''The Fleeing Somnambulist'' on Catastrophe Ballet, but not all efforts succeed, and ''The Death Of Joseph'' is a valid example of that. All tracks (or almost, anyway, most of them) included in the album Atrocities are, in my opinion, well executed and interesting, and the production is serious and professional.

I certainly believe it is possible to say that this is one (of the few) well-made works by Valor's CDs. It belongs to a time when it was still possible to have respect for the band, even if they proposed material quite different from what was published during the Rozz Williams period. Valor's CDs can never, even remotely, approach the grandeur of Rozz Williams' CDs or reach his genius, but in some (brief) moments, it was possible to consider them a true band. 

Tracklist:

1 Will-O-The-Wisp

2 Tales Of Innocence

3 Strapping Me Down

4 The Danzig Waltz

5 Chimere De-Ci, De-La

6 Silent Thunder

7 Strange Fortune

8 Ventriloquist

9 Gloomy Sunday

10 The Death Of Joseph