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December 15, 2005

Happy Holidays! What party?

Besides rumours to the contrary, there will be no Middle Pillar Holiday Party this year. Bah! But a drunk Santa asked me to give this to you. Cheers to you and yours!

Posted by KD at 08:01 PM

New imports in stock

Ataraxia

Arditi

The Moon & Nightspirit

ARDITI, Spirit of Sacrifice
Format:CD Digipak   Price: $15.00  - order here -
In stock now! The long awaited 2nd full-length album by Arditi continues to explore the darker tones of Militaristic Industrial, combining masterfully Dark Ambient passages and Neo-Classical orchestrations.

ATARAXIA & AUTUNNA ET SA ROSE, La Via Verso il Cielo
Format:2 CD Digipak   Price: $20.00  - order here -
In stock now! Borrowing an ancient Wiepking and Co. piano, Ataraxia rearranged a collection of their finest tracks that would fit an entirely acoustic format, revisiting them in a warmer and more intimate form. This selection covers not only tracks from most of their releases, but also titles from the sold-out EPs "Orlando" and "Des Paroles Blanches", as well as two previously unreleased songs and material never before issued on CD. Autunna et sa Rose have used material from their first 3 albums, hereby interpreted on piano and cello, and featuring soprano vocals and poetic recitation. Saverio, the group's mastermind, and his companions bring to live dramatic pieces that push the typically softer tones of Neo-Classical music into a more demanding ground dominated by Contemporary Classical music. Interpretations of compositions by Ataraxia and Tuxedomoon were also part of the concert recorded in Rovigo that evening and included in this release.

THE MOON AND THE NIGHTSPIRIT, Of Dreams Forgotten
Format:CD Digipak   Price: $15.00  - order here -
In stock now! A mystical journey into the amaranthine realm of dreams and beauty, long-forgotten by modern man. A journey inspired by pagan fables and ancient Hungarian folk music; nine songs filled with enchanting female vocals, violins, woodwinds (kaval, low whistle, flute) and piano, accompanied by acoustic guitars and shaman/frame drums.

These titles back in stock:

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE, Born of the Night
Format: CD   Price: $10.00  - order here -
Their first recording. A gorgeous dark ambient CD which transports the listener to an imaginary setting, known as the "Dark Tower", and allows them to journey throughout the eerie corridors of a haunted castle. Wallow in the shadow orchestrations.

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE, Dungeons & Dragons
Format: CD   Price: $12.00  - order here -
Strings, chants, and orchestral percussion accent this melodic score reminiscent of "Conan', LOTR, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the Mummy" soundtracks, mixing fantasy, adventure and horror themes. An excellent neo-classical extravagance that should be appreciated by lovers of all baroque music, beyond just fans of the role-playing title.

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE, Gates of Delirium
Format: CD   Price: $10.00  - order here -
A gothic/horror journey into the macabre world of an asylum gone awry. Pushing the boundaries of the gothic and classical crossover music genres, this release creates a unique mix of dark instrumental storytelling via music and effects and dark whimsy that at times even re-calls Danny Elfman. All M.S. titles are finally back in stock.

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE, Realm of Shadows
Format: CD   Price: $10.00  - order here -
A continuation of the last album's "story", casting the listener into the ruins of a mysterious village that was thought to be desolate... until now. Realm explores the atmospheric essence of mystery with the more bombastic stirrings of horror and suspense to a dark ambient score. Finally back in stock.

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE, The 13th Hour
Format: CD   Price: $12.00  - order here -
The band's sixth musical score, "The 13th Hour", features Midnight Syndicate's haunting blend of horror music, dark orchestration and chilling sound effects that deftly draws the listener into the halls of a haunted Victorian mansion with a sinister history. Through the utilization of audio "imagery" with perfectly paced melodic motifs the listener is granted passage into a frightening and fun (assuming you think horror movies are fun!) expedition through the mysteries that lay beyond this world.

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE, Vampyre: Symphonies from the Crypt
Format: CD   Price: $10.00  - order here -
Set in the catacombs of an ancient graveyard, the new Midnight Syndicate disc blends the horror, beauty, and mystery of the vampire in a gothic-drenched nightmare soundscape of the darkest proportions. In stock now!

These titles and more can be found in our new releases section.

Posted by KD at 01:04 AM

December 14, 2005

the Machine in the Garden named in Top 10!

For their Best of 2005 Special, the nocturnally-themed radio show TheSkysGoneOut picked the Machine in the Garden’s Shadow Puppets to be among this year’s top releases. Show co-host, Jason Pitzl-Waters, selected Shadow Puppets as the number two pick in his Top Ten countdown.

This wasn't the first sign that critic's loved Shadow Puppets! The album has recieved excellent reviews in Gothic Beauty, VIRUS! Magazine, Starvox and others.

VIRUS! Magazine says:
The duo's blend of sultry vocals, electronica, and other instruments creates music that is both haunting and exhilarating, with songs that possess wonderful instrumentation, great psychological depth, and artistic vision. Read more here.

Starvox raves:
Hypnotic beats, swirling guitars, ambient textures, and the powerful voice of Summer Bowman all merge to create a sum greater than their parts. Read more here.

Gothtronic writes:
Simply a beautiful CD, one that is very recommendable. Read more here.

Gothic Beauty wrote in Issue #18:
Summer Bowman's smooth voice gleams like a golden liquor in a curved glass. She sounds best without backing tracks and echo effects, but The Machine in the Garden has come far enough that they don't just settle for a melancholy drizzle of piano and slow synth wave while her voice caramelizes. As implied by their name, Bowman's vitality is met by synthetic music as well as wily and dizzying electric guitar. Only in "Mantra" does she seem overrun, while "Suspend" stands out, reverberating with gothy bass and a low undertow before breaking loose, giving the band resolve to ignite the fuel and shatter the surface. The band's silhouette is cast, a garment of guitar and ribbons of vocals around a structure of dark bass, gathered up in an elegantly confident gesture.

ReGen said:
Delicate yet edgy, The Machine in the Garden manages to create heavenly atmospheres without slipping into sleepy self-indulgence or cloying sweetness. Perfect moody music for goths and shoegazers alike, Shadow Puppets should particularly appeal to fans of This Mortal Coil, Faith & Disease, and Black Tape For a Blue Girl. Read more here.

Posted by KD at 07:50 PM