V/A Dark Tunes From Czech & Slovak Caves Vol.2 (Album – Sanctuary)

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, Industrial, Gothic, EBM, Electro-Pop, Electro-Wave, Ethereal, Ritual.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: This is the second volume in the series “Dark Tunes From Czech & Slovak Caves”, which was released last year –three years after the first volume. The compilation is mainly featuring Czech artists and we get a total amount of twenty five songs.

Artists: Bratrstvo Luny, Decent Ruins, Novi Lidé, Tear, Love My Science, Stereo Songbird, Das Funus, Výsměch?, Dave Von Tenebrae, Cathedral In Flames, Epadun, Nemuer, Vespertine Soul, Schwarzprior, Mean Meme, The Opposer Divine, Projekt 203, Bolehlav, Isiolia, Project Jara-J, KIFOTH, GoLeave, Last Influence Of Brain, Skrol, Fuj Kluk.

Content: This is an interesting cocktail of very different underground music genres. From Gothic and Post-Punk to multiple artists dealing with different Electronic formats like Electro/Wave-Pop, Dark-Electro, EBM and Industrial to refined Ethereal-minded and even Ritual-driven artists, this album has a lot to offer.

+ + + : I’ve always been very enthusiast when discovering this kind of compilations; it’s an opportunity to get a better idea about underground scenes we’re not familiar with. So it also becomes an opportunity to discover new and/or unfamiliar bands. And there’s a lot to discover on this album. I was impressed by the icy Electro-Wave of Das Funus. Epadun stands for heavenly female/ethereal voices mixed with artistic violin parts. It also has something Gothic and cinematographic-like and definitely appears to be a band to keep in mind. The Ethereal inspiration comes back at Nemuer, which also deals with Ritual elements. The Opposer Divine is a more familiar name and still warrants sophisticated Electronics. Another established formation is KIFOTH dealing with an efficient Dark-Electro format. A last surprising song comes from another familiar project Skrol. They deliver a kind of old-school inspired Industrial track. I also want to say a word about the great digipak format of the CD edition, which includes an informative booklet featuring brief information about each band.

– – – : When you get twenty five artists featured at a compilation it’s quite normal you’ll always find a few less interesting cuts.

Conclusion: This is a compilation I can only, but fully support as you’ll discover some new –and maybe upcoming, talents.

Best bands: Das Funus, Epadun, Nemuer, The Opposer divine, Skrol, KIFOTH, Bratrstvo Luny, Cathedral In Flames.

Rate: (8).

Label: www.sanctuary.cz / www.facebook.com/sanctuarycz

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