Genre/Influences: Gothic, Goth-Rock, Cold-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Gothic fans will maybe remember the German formation ALSO, which was quite prolific in the 90s. Alexander Dust was singing and playing guitar in ALSO, but started a solo-career later on. He released several albums under his own name while he set up Painful Scream Records. “To What Is Left” is an album inspired by some existential questions and the beloved theme of French author Albert Camus.

Content: “To What Is Left” is an album covering different influences. It first of all sounds like a Goth-Rock driven production, but there’s a huge diversity between the songs. It takes off with a kind of ballad-inspired song while we next get a pure Goth-Rock piece. Quite progressively there’s a kind of sweet reverie hanging over some songs. I also noticed some passages where the vocals feel like complaining while the rhythm has something martial-like (cf. “The Surface”). There also is a somewhat Eastern sounding, instrumental intermezzo (cf. “They Removed Our Eyes”). The last part of the album becomes darker and more cold-wave driven featuring deeper bass lines and an obscure sphere (cf. “Gods Are Silent”, “At The Foot Of The Hill”).

+ + + : Alexander Dust first of all is a talented singer for these kinds of productions; his grave timbre of voice is fully appropriated for darker Goth-Rock productions. The album sounds pretty diversified and there are numerous aspects I enjoyed. I noticed some elevating choruses while others are more into reverie. Alexander Dust feels comfortable composing sweet and somewhat Chanson-like songs, but also transforms himself into an experienced Cold-Wave musician. Speaking for myself I prefer the darker Cold-Wave driven cuts, but I also enjoyed the short instrumental “They Removed Our Eyes”. Alexander Dust is a talented and passionate multi instrumentalist. Last, but not least I also like the artwork of this album.

– – – : The album is just missing a few absolute highlights. We get several cool songs resulting in a cool album, but without a potential hit!

Conclusion: “To What Is Left” is a pleasant work without absolute highlights, but also without any notable lows.

Best songs: “Gods Are Silent”, “At The Foot Of The Hill”, “They Removed Our Eyes”, “Smile (The Animal’s Threat)”.

Rate: (7).

Artist & Label: www.facebook.com/alexander.dust.90