Genre/Influences: Cold-wave, post-punk.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Hailing from Helsinki (Finland) Masquerade has been active since 2012. A debut album (cf. “Ritual”) has been released in 2016 on Danse Macabre. They also released a few EP’s and finally unleashed their self-released next full length “Where Nobody Can Hear You Scream” in 2018. Later on the opus was released on CD by the Russian label Sierpien Records (2019) while Young And Cold Records this year released a new CD edit plus vinyl format.
Content: Masquerade composes a powerful mix of post-punk and cold-wave music. The songs are dominated by impressive guitar parts and the passionate –and sometimes enraged vocals of the female singer Suzi Sabotage. Her way of singing makes me think of the offspring between Siouxsie Sioux and Anne-Marie Hurst (The Skeletal Family). The work is also featuring dynamic drums and the rather typical low, vibrating bass lines. The tracks are rather short, but always powerful. There’s no break on this album, but just merciless, dark power!
+ + + : I really like this work for its power and rage. It’s the perfect fusion between post-punk and cold-wave, but first of all a great ode to the true spirit of 80s music. The guitar play is absolutely phenomenal and also reminds me of The Skeletal Family. Just pay attention to “Hallucinating”, which is a true masterpiece. This album sounds rough, but it’s a remarkable homage to the legendary 80s decade. The songs stand for passion and rage, for darkness and punch!
– – – : The only negative point –but is it really negative? I can imagine that originality is far to find. But does a band have to be original when composing this kind of music?
Conclusion: If you don’t know yet Masquerade, this album is an absolute revelation!We’re getting back to the darkest hours of post-punk, “Where Nobody Can Hear You Scream” being a little treasure.
Best songs: “Hallucinating”, “Faraway Lands”, “Too Depressed To Dance”, “Russian Roulette”.
Rate: (8½).
Artist: https://masquerade.fi / www.facebook.com/masqueradepunk
Label: https://youngandcold.de /
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