Dead Can Dance is one of the gothic culture's most precious gems; a band that dared to explore European folk music and cultures long since forgotten like no other, in an unsurpassed way, till this day. Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry were the core of the band.
Unfortunately they don't create their enchanting melodies together anymore. Perry is composing and Gerrard is contributing to soundtracks. You will surely recognize her haunting voice in the Gladiator one.
In order to honour the contribution of Dead Can Dance, The Lotus Eaters was released, with covers from well known bands and artists from the dark side of metal. Even though I am not a big fan of covers, I was anxious to listen to this album.
With names such as The Gathering, Danny Lilker, Trail of Tears, Liv Kristine, Danny Cavanagh, Sarah Jezebel Deva, Nightfall and more, who wouldn't?
I was thrilled with most of the covers. Besides The Gathering's amazing "In Power We Entrust The Love Advocated from the Kevin's Telescope EP, you won't find any other song anywhere else. I especially enjoyed The Lotus Eaters by Imperia and Windfall/Summoning of the Muse by Hortus Animae and Liv Kristine. I hope they do notice that on the track list they misprinted it as "Windall by the way, because the booklet is simply excellent with a beautiful cover.
Most of the covers range from really nice to great and the production is superb. There were a couple of times when I hit the "next button, but that's bound to happen in two and a half hours of material from various artists.
If you like the kind of music that travels you to mystical places from another age, you are bound to know Dead Can Dance and you will be thrilled with this excellent tribute to this great band.
If you don't know a thing about them, this is a wonderful bridge and a great opportunity for to begin the exploration of their world.
An excellent release from Black Lotus records; well done. "The dream remains a nightmare, which haunts our memories...