Nightmares and succubi are demons that, at night, visit first the young maidens and then the young men, sneaking under their sheets and taking advantage of their unconscious state to carnally unite with them.

Besides these sex-hungry demons (but who isn't, after all), Inkubus Sukkubus is the name of the English gothic rock band, perhaps the most famous in recent years. The main characteristic of the group is the love for paganism, the Wiccan culture and everything that revolves around the natural esoteric cult.

All their discography is, in fact, permeated with witch prostitutes, magical experiments connected to nature, vampirism, satanism but not for its own sake and used as bait to attract teenage sympathies, but meant as a doctrine to be adored with related dogmas and rituals attached. In short, in the age-old dilemma that periodically arises regarding the numerous groups that deal with these themes, asking if they are serious or just pretending, for Inkubus Sukkubus the answer is obvious: they're serious.

And this is, in my opinion, the big limitation of Candia Ridley, the charming vocalist and seductive succubus who moves sinuously with her mini black dresses on stage, and of Tony McKormack, a versatile musician and lover, like Candia, and scholar of neopaganism. The two seem so convinced that, in the long run, they end up losing credibility. In short, after more than a decade, it seems time to vary the themes of their lyrics a bit and refresh the group's image.

Musically speaking, the same considerations could be made, since all their albums, in the end, seem very similar to each other. Talking about one, I would practically be describing their entire production.

"Vampyre Erotica," for example, is definitely a good work characterized by intense gothic rock rides ("Heart of Lilith", the title track, "Hail the Holly King", "Wake of the Christian Knights"), with backgrounds of threatening bells and horror keyboard carpets, and with more classical and symphonic pieces ("Hell-fire", "Whore of Babylon"). Very beautiful and the album's pinnacle for this writer, then, is the sweet folk ballad "Sweet Morpheus", where the melodious singing of the demon-siren Candia Ridley excels.

In the long run, however, the songs end up, as already mentioned, sounding all alike, just as the continual reference in the lyrics to demons, fairies, vampires, and more becomes tiresome.

In short, for those who love the genre, it is definitely a band to keep an eye on, but in all honesty, I would not recommend them to novices to get into this type of music.

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   Heart of Lilith (03:23)

Heart of Lilith

She has come from the shadows of the dream world
A dark angel from the darker side of love
Across a sea of tears
A hundred thousand years
Come with her and dance in the moon light
And you are lost to this world evermore
Put your hand in her hand

Come and fly now with the angels
Rise again now like the phoenix
Your the love that lives forever
In the heart that never dies, never dies
Heart of Lilith!

Come and drown in the lake of her passion
Come and die so you can be reborn
Hear the siren sing
Hear the death knell ring
She's a witch a siren and a vampyre
She has come from the distance stars
To take your heart
To break your heart

Come and fly now with the angels
Rise again now like the phoenix
Your the love that lives forever
In the heart that never dies, never dies
Heart of Lilith!

Come and kiss, kiss the lips of Lilith
Come and kiss and you will be no more
Feel the fire
Of desire

Come and fly now with the angels
Rise again now like the phoenix
Your the love that lives forever
In the heart that never dies, never dies
Heart of Lilith!

Come and fly now with the angels
Rise again now like the phoenix
Your the love that lives forever
In the heart that never dies, never dies
Heart of Lilith!

02   Woman to Hare (03:54)

03   Hail the Holly King (04:40)

04   Wake of the Christian Knights (04:39)

05   Paint It Black (03:19)

06   All Along the Crooked Way (04:54)

Underneath the darkened sky
All along the crooked way
The same story once again
Of sorrow and of pain
One fool in a dream
One black-hearted queen
A tale of unrequited love
That's written in tears, written in blood
She smiles, he cries
He begs, but she denies
As tonight becomes tomorrow
All joy will turn to sorrow

This is a tale of a succubus
A tale of love, pain and lust
Cheating heart and broken trust
And death, and death

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Where there's love, there is lust
Where there's a boy to give his heart
There's a woman to tear it apart
Where there's giving, there's taking
There's faking, and there's breaking
Where there's trust deceit's right there
The dream becomes the nightmare

This is a tale of a succubus
A tale of love, pain and lust
Cheating heart and broken trust
And death, and death

To despair she'll take him
A shadow she'll make him
Before him, the open grave
On his wrist, the razor blade
Young man, hang your head and cry
It's time to suffer, it's time to die
Abandon you the dreams of youth
Abandon love, and hope and truth

This is a tale of a succubus
A tale of love, pain and lust
Cheating heart and broken trust
And death, and death

She will crush you, she'll excite you
She'll destroy you, she'll ignite you
She'll take you to a world of darkness
And death, and death

On a night of dread and wonder
Hear her heartbeat turn to thunder
Now's the time for soul surrender
And death, and death

07   The Witch of Berkeley (04:40)

08   Danse Vampyr (04:10)

09   Vampyre Erotica (04:50)

10   Wild Hunt (05:27)

11   Sweet Morpheus (06:03)

Falling downward, your face I see
Falling downward, you can see me
In this madness I reach out for your hand
Two souls in union, spiralling to the ground
Child of Morpheus
Take me to your sweet euphoria
Child of Morpheus
Hold me in my dreams
Tranquil angel
Falling with no fear of landing
Child of Morpheus
Close my eyes for me
I've touched your beauty, tasted your poison brew
You've held me closer than any man could do
Now come, sweet Morpheus, there's lands we've yet to see
Unfold your comforting arms, and we'll fall endlessly
How I love you, Morpheus, my soul has ached for you
You gave me comfort while life was so cruel
Your time is precious, I'll waste not what you share
Let's fall again now, as far as we would dare

12   Hell-Fire (03:54)

13   Whore of Babylon (05:35)

Loading comments  slowly