CoC : Korova - Dead Like an Angel : Review

Korova - _Dead Like an Angel_
(Napalm, 1998)
by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10)

Korova described their 1995 debut album _A Kiss in the Charnel Fields_ as "northgoatified cyberbaroque". While this is a rather cheesy description, it does capture most of the salient features of that album, which consisted of a unique blend of black and death metal, some goth, and a general weirdness along the lines of Thought Industry and Master's Hammer. _Dead Like an Angel_ continues in this tradition, but shows the band leaning more toward electro-experimentation. At times, they remind me of such bands as Therion (whose female vocalist also sings on this album) and Dark Reality, but they really have a style all their own. The album starts off as reasonably heavy and straightforward industrial-tinged death metal, with keys used as accents. As the album wears on, it gets progressively lighter, more symphonic/gothic, weirder, and more electronic. The song "Trip to the Bleeding Planets" (a redone version of the one on Napalm's "With Us or Against Us" comp) appears as the middle song, bridging the two halves of the album. There are both black metal raspy vocals and clean male and female vocals. The clean male vocals could use some work, as he doesn't quite have the range to hit the highest notes. He also has a goofy/silly way of singing that takes some getting used to. The playing is much better this time around; it's tight, but there are still a few weak spots. The production is clean (a big improvement over their last album), but there are some places where the guitar tones could be better. In all, this is an excellent, diverse, and truly unique album.

(article published 7/6/1998)