seven

sleepwalk should be familiar to a lot of you - the band started out back in 1993 and was signed to famous khazad dum/celtic circle back in the days when both were still alive. that's why I was quite surprised to see the return of the band, keeping my expectations low.

I had to listen to the disk several times to overcome the feeling that I'm back in 1996 listening to celtic circle samplers. I guess dated sound is a trait of being a former celtic circle band. the music on the cd is a mix of nice sequencing, pleasantly distorted voice, simple dark and strong industrial rhythms of mid-90s. the synthlines on most of the tracks are really nice and blend perfectly with drum programming - "after life", "mercy killing" (this one is stunningly resembling skylash, but pleasantly dark) are incredibly melodic and resurrect memories of better old mentallo material. "banishment" is a more solid ebm piece with some distorted elements and quite interesting drum programming. vocoder, just like on the rest of the disk, creates a nice "retro electro-classic" feel. "undying" is simply beautiful with twisted medieval echoing vocals and gorgeous dark melodic passages. "no remorse" has more "modern" feel, and could be even compared with some less violent hocico material.

on some tracks the band tries to escape the legacy, "last chance" is good example with its more upbeat and danceable sound and even some distorted elements. but, fortunately, the roots are still obvious, keeping the music "connected" with the past, adding dimensions that many modern bands lack.

overall, it is a very pleasant album that mixes atmospheric tracks with melodic dark electro and some ebm elements. it will inevitably bring back memories of the "good old days", when the genre was young and strong. just forget the fact that it is a recent release and you will undoubtedly enjoy this disk immensely. after all, good music should be timeless, don't let the accusations in lack of originality and innovation and/or experimentation plague your vision.