Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 08/22/2006
Originally slated for release in 2004, theatrical
goth/
glam/
punk/
alternative rock collective
Deadsy third collection of retro-eyeliner anthems is as strangely likeable as it is manipulative and redundant.
Phantasmagore wants to be the best
Ministry/
Sisters of Mercy/
T. Rex/metalcore
Bauhaus reunion album ever made. Frontman
Exeter, who sounds like a cross between
Alice in Chains'
Layne Staley and
Social Distortion captain
Mike Ness, lets himself morph in and out of vocal affectations like a C-list
Mike Patton, painting
"Carrying Over"'s "glammy" pre-chorus with echoes of
Ziggy-era
Bowie before launching it into a full-on
Andrew W.K.-style arena rocker. The band draws a whole lot of comparisons to
Gary Numan, and the
"Cars" synth-patch that gets peppered throughout
Phantasmagore's 11 cuts doesn't help, but for every misstep (the world does not need another big modern
rock version of
the Rolling Stones "Paint It Black") there's the a piercing ray of campy fun that shines through all of the forced doom and gloom (
"Razor Love," "Book of Black Dreams," "Health & Theory") like the mischievous flash of a grin beneath
Marc Bolan's top hat.
~James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
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