DMSO "Phantom Freakshow" 1999 (67:27)
Deadhouse (5:46)
Night Tweeker (3:47)
Retrograde (3:18)
Trancemorgue (6:08)
Anaesthesia (5:53)
Ectoplasmagoria (5:27)
Devil Doll (6:02)
First Born (6:59)
2000 Years (6:40)
Carnivore (5:31)
Godzdogz (5:45)
Necronomicon (original) (1:29)
Blood Magick (4:42)
DMSO (DRUGMURDERSEXORGY) is Semaj De Sade.
Overall impression: good. This is DMSO's second self-pressed and self-released cd, a full length followup to last year's ep length Halloween cd "Marezine Halloween". Tracks 1-7 are from Oct '97 - Dec '98, tracks 8-12 are from July '95 - Oct '96 and track 13 is from '93. "Phantom Freakshow" is quite a bit different from "Marezine.." in that most of the tracks are instrumentals which have begun to incorporate more elements of electro, drum 'n bass, techno, noise, etc ... but once again the overall sound reminds me of early Skinny Puppy and Thrill Kill Kult. Semaj still does his best mid-'80's Ogre imitation on a few tracks ("Deadhouse", "2000 Years", "Carnivore", "Blood Magick") and his SP fetish is also easily detectable throughout the music. The newer tracks aren't as sonically crowded as they were on "Marezine.." and vocal samples are used much more sparingly this time (there are still several older tracks that use cool and/or humourous TKK/Revco/SP style dialogue and horror movie samples). Most of the songs have dance friendly grooves with layers of synth melodies dancing about the beats. I prefer the '97-'98 tracks, especially "Trancemorgue", "Anaesthesia", "Ectoplasmagoria" and "Devil Doll", but there's nothing here I want to skip. The artwork for this cd is rather cool, especially the trippy mulit-color psychedelic formations on the back cover. I like the direction DMSO is heading and I hope he continues to explore these new sounds and techniques ... the full potential hasn't been reached yet but is coming closer with each new batch of songs ...
Where did I get this cd? - this cd was sent to me free of charge by DMSO for the purpose of review and enjoyment.