Morbid Fancy – Sepulchral Serenade (Album – Aliens Production)
Genre/Influences: EBM, industrial.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: Morbid Fancy is a ghost from the past… being active during the 90s, this EBM duo from Bratislava (Slovakia) released a few albums on cassette. The band then disappeared from the radar and now strikes back. “Sepulchral Serenade” is a previously unreleased work featuring fifteen songs that were composed by the band years ago now.
Content: “Sepulchral Serenade” is an album that moves back to the retro style of 90s EBM. It’s a dark sound with numerous industrial components and harsh vocals. The industrial touch is very present and is sometimes accentuated by epic arrangements. The songs are mostly supported with dark strings, which is another typical 90s touch. I also noticed an instrumental song, which makes me think of an imaginary industrial EBM soundtrack.
+ + + : Morbid Fancy already was an interesting, but unfortunately less recognized EBM formation during the 90s. This album is a perfect way to rediscover this formation, which clearly had a nose for dark industrial-EBM. Some passages reveal a heavy and bombastic percussion, which reminds me a bit of Vomito Negro. The opening part of the album is absolutely great. You clearly hear its retro-EBM, but it’s still efficient.
– – – : The main point with this kind of work is that a few songs are clearly suffering from the weight of time. So next to some great old-styled EBM you’ll also get a few; softer and forgettable cuts.
Conclusion: It’s a pity this album hasn’t been released when it was originally composed, but it will ravish all EBM freaks who heard this band during the 90s.
Best songs: “Psychoanalysis 771”, “Die From Pain (Life Is Beautiful)”, “Discouragement”, “I Saw The Corpse”, “Ascend”.
Rate: (7½).
Label: www.label.aliens.sk / www.facebook.com/pages/Aliens-production-label/200028820052578
About Morbid Fancy
Morbid Fancy is a Slovak EBM duo from Bratislava, active during the 1990s, when the project released several albums on cassette before disappearing from activity. “Sepulchral Serenade” collects fifteen songs written by the band during that original run and left unreleased until this 2020 issue on Aliens Production.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
