Diary Of Dreams
Freak Perfume
Metropolis
The eighth full-length release from Diary Of Dreams succeeds in placing the German outfit somewhere beyond the often, dreadfully static generalization of “goth music.”
A collection of twelve highly sophisticated and intelligent, electronically-driven dirges released under the banner of Metropolis Records, Freak Perfume presents a round-trip excursion through the entirety of the gamut of darker emotions applicable to the human condition and to being alive. Madness, hatred, vengeance, and dark transmogrification are the canvasses used by Adrian Hates for the sonic portrait he has painted, using conditional love, regret, obsession, and dismay as bleak, brushstroke washes.
The lyrics and the music blend seamlessly, with Hates’ vocal styling throughout the duration of the CD harkening back to the glory days of way back when, to a time when Andrew Eldritch was mysterious, unflawed, and less human to the core of his audience. More of a dark, psychopathological explorer than an icon of narcissism, the sounds and inflection inherent to the patented, Eldritch’s style made The Sisters of Mercy what they were. Hates’ vocals are equally as impressive, while staggeringly professional and beatific in their range, and exude an emotional involvement and a depth that escaped Eldritch through pretty much the entirety of his career as a frontman.
Some CDs in our respective collections are for the dark moments; the moments when we need to think about ourselves, those around us, take inventory of our histories and our futures, or just to enjoy the melancholy of a cloudy, thunderstorm-riddled afternoon. Freak Perfume is most definitely one such CD. At the same time, evolution is apparent in Hates’ most recent work. The formula that seems to entrap the majority of music that is maligned as “goth” is transcended by the depth of motion and feel from track to track on Freak Perfume, and there is most definitely a change in audible feel between DoD’s 2000 release, One of Eighteen Angels, and Freak Perfume. The perfectionist attitude with which Hates approached the production of Freak Perfume is readily apparent to any listener who is familiar with his past works, and for the new listener who has never experienced DoD, all I can say is Freak Perfume is an excellent junction to jump aboard the midnight train that Adrian Hates engineers throughout the shadows of the subconscious and the gray areas of the heart of a man.
Metropolis Records: http://www.metropolis-records.com • Diary Of Dreams: http://www.diaryofdreams.de/
