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"By Any Other Name Sunwheel" is the third CD sent to us by Tasmanian musician 7 (who records under the name Diable Amoreux). The previous outings ("Horns Used for Butting" 2006 and "Ringstone Round" 2004) were evil/apoclyptic folk affairs laced with a strange sense of humor and an even stranger vocal style.
These two recordings were definitely not for everyone. I loved the pure, honest individuality of their weirdness. Most folks couldn't get beyond 7's Tiny Tim-as-sinister-gnome delivery. There's very little of that on "... Sunwheel" as Diable Amoreux has shifted the sound to gothic rock/industrial.
In his press materials 7 mentions Sisters of Mercy and Psychic TV as influences. You can hear echoes of Psychic TV on this recording but what I really hear is Alien Sex Fiend, perhaps because much of the album is just so strange. But strange in a very good way. There was a time when buying a goth or industrial album was an adventure. You never quite new what you were in for, all you knew was that there would be a mix of traditional and electronic sounds, an evil ambiguity to the lyrics and that it would be odd. Odd enough to send mainstream folks running for the door. But there would also be variety. Before the genre devolved into blandly sterile Future Pop listening to industrial meant hearing an assortment of sounds on any given album. Thus "... Sunwheel" is traditional in its radicalism.
If there's another precursor to be identified on this CD it's Laibach. The second song, "Swing Heil", not only sounds like them but evokes their confrontational (yet amusing) style by featuring anti-fascist lyrics to a driving military sound structure.
You're in for a bizarre ride when you put on this collection. You'll encounter pagan pride (as on the first track) and odes to Dr. Who's villainous Daleks (on "The Planet of the Necros"). You'll get tough guy vocals on one song ("Swing Heil") and high pitched warbling on another ("Once Upon a Time Ago"). The music hear is never static, hearing one song doesn't mean you've heard the whole album.
I like this weird ride, and I can't wait to hear where 7 goes next.
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Diable Amoreux:
http://www.geocities.com/diableamoreux/
http://www.myspace.com/diableamoreux
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