Mark E Moon – Old Blood (Album – Cold Transmission Music)
Genre/Influences: Cold-Wave, Gothic.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Hailing from the Isle Of Man, Mark Sayle and Phil Reynolds strike back with their second full length. The work appears to be an engaging album about the human condition and the fight against fascism, which stands for the title “Old Blood”.
Content: “Old Blood” holds on the music influences revealed on the debut opus “Refer”. The music remains driven by some good-old 80s reminiscences, which might remind you of legendary formations such as The Mission and The Sisters Of Mercy. The guitar playing, by its typical mewing and melancholic sound, brings these memories alive. The songs have been accomplished by Electronic arrangements, which are often injecting a melodic and heavenly final touch to the composition. The production of the vocals has this deep timbre, which is perfectly matching with the music.
+ + + : Mark E Moon didn’t change a successful formula, but clearly remains a band devoted to the 80s Cold-Wave style. They perfectly know how to bring this dark era back alive. I get the impression that the songs feature more electronic arrangements than the previous work, but it creates a complementary effect with the guitar. There are several cool songs featured, but I would especially recommend “Salvation”, which sounds pretty The Mission-like, “Human” featuring excellent female backing vocals and “Goodbye” for its more explicit melodic touch.
– – – : I didn’t get a similar surprising effect as for the debut album, but Mark E Moon remains a great ambassador of contemporary Cold-Wave music.
Conclusion: I personally prefer Mark E Moon’s debut album “Refer” although I still recommend this work, which is a great one as well.
Best songs: “Salvation”, “Human”, “Goodbye”, “The Eye (The Picture Fades)”, “Oblivion”.
Rate: (8).
Artist: www.facebook.com/MarkEMoon1
Label: www.coldtransmission.com / www.facebook.com/coldtransmissionmusic
About Mark E Moon
Mark E Moon is a band from the Isle of Man, formed in the autumn of 2018 by Mark Sayle and Phil Reynolds. The project mixes dark-wave and post-punk with a growing electronic streak. The debut album “Refer” was released by Cold Transmission Music in 2019 on CD and as a download, and the band appears on the label compilation V/A Spotlight (2020).
“Old Blood” was released by Cold Transmission Music on 2 April 2021 on CD in a four-panel digipak, as a limited LP and as a download. The ten tracks are “The Eye (The Picture Fades)”, “Animals”, “I, Robot”, “Salvation”, “The Failing”, “Old Blood”, “Human”, “Event Horizon”, “Goodbye” and “Obliviana”; the CD adds “Animals (Single Version)”. Mark E Moon wrote and recorded the album, Dan Ankers and Phil Reynolds produced and mixed it and Reynolds mastered it. Kieran Ball and Steve Leach perform alongside Sayle and Reynolds, Simon Pott plays the Simmons SDS8 drum machine and Hazel Walsh painted the cover. The band describes the album on Bandcamp as covering leaving religion, love, toxic relationships and the fight against fascism.
The EP Lux Vindictae (2022) was followed by the ‘Click Interview’ with Mark E Moon: ‘I’m Constantly Battling My Demons’ in November 2022, the album Resist (2024), the digital EPs “From The Inside”, “Ten Thousand Years” and “Fading” (2025) and the album Pop Noir (2025), all on Cold Transmission Music. “Old Blood” is the band’s second album and its first Side-Line review.
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