s a n c t u m

new york city bluster - CMI.76

"New York City Bluster" is the first release of Sanctum since the "The answer to his riddle" 10'', except for the instrumental 50 minutes track "Parca Pace". The band is still on the legendary Cold Meat Industry label and, surprinsingly, releases here a live CD, which is quite rare for an industrial band. This CD, recorded live on the 12th of July 1999, is a testimony of the tour in North America that the band did last year.

The first thing that you notice with this CD, is that only half of the band was actually playing during this tour, the female half being stuck in Sweden. In consequence, none of the more "heavenly" songs of the bands are played here, and the whole disc is rawer and harder than was "Lupus in Fabula". However, the soft and melodic parts of the songs are played, for example on the incredible "In Two Minds" (the version played here being the one on "The answer to his riddle").

Being objectire about this release is hard for me, since Sanctum is one of my favorite bands of all times. Anybody who liked their previous productions will be delighted by this live interpretation of their old tracks (including the beginning of the Parca Pace CD). I repeat myself, but this "In Two Minds" is one of the most beautiful and sad song ever written. The new tracks, which are said to show the direction the band is taking for his second album, are excellent. They sound more industrial and feature less lyrics than before, but this may be caused by the absence of the female lead singer from this recording. Another good point is that their live sound is rather different from their studio productions. This is not just karaoke over a playback tapes (and, believe me, this is a great live band).

How to explain Sanctum's music? First, they don't sound like anybody else. Piano and cellos melodies, extemely sad, distorted and crushing drums, a mix of rough violent male vocals and heavenly (but not boring) female singing (not on this record, though), and a huge amount of talent. Each track is different from the previous one, and this band is very far from repeating itself. Without any gimmicks, Sanctum easily play some of the most fragily dark music I know (if you don't believe, me, try to stay cold-hearted while listening to "Madalene" on "The answer to his riddle").

So I think you should stop reading this, and go to the next CD store or on-line mail order and just get this live CD. You won't regret it, and you'll discover a band that will redefine your definition of "dark industrial". Come on, get it!

Nicolas, April 16, 2000