This is the latest album from Goth giants Umbra et Imago, formed in 1991 and well known for their fantastic, and extremely sexual, live S&M shows.  This album is a massive departure from the music Umbra et Imago has been making for their entire career.  They have always been known for their electronic-heavy, depressing gothic beats with brooding vocals, and they seem to have gone away from this style on “Memento Mori”.  On this album they have adopted a much more typical sound of an NDH band, there music is now guitar driven and the vocals are not nearly as brooding as they once were.  This is not to say they haven’t ditched the gothic influence, but they’ve tempered the music towards a more widely acceptable format.  From what I’ve seen of the lyrics they have not changed in the least, frank sexuality and large gothic influence.  Also the album is entirely in German, which I think is a first for the band.  This is Umbra et Imago’s hardest hitting and most mainstream work to date.

 Every song on “Memento Mori” follows their new guitar driven sound and the band is much better off for it.  In addition to this sound Mozart’s (lead singer) vocals have become softer and much less abrasive to the ear.  Not to say that they are soft but they have become much more refined and less violent.  This is noticed right away on from the opening to the ending track.  This album is very strong throughout and has no low-points; all songs are at a very high quality.  “Sagt Nein” , the single of the album, has an almost pop-metal guitar riff and a catchy chorus.  “Memento Mori”, the title track reminds of “Lieber Gott” off their album “Mea Culpa”, but with their new style it ends up being one of the best songs on the album.  The almost power ballad “Ein Letztes Mal” will be stuck in your head for days.  I was constantly humming the chorus after I heard it.

This album is a great album for any fan of NDH and is one of my personal favorites at the moment.  However, this album will alienate most longtime Umbra et Imago fans with its very different style from their past work.  Although despite this it is one of my favorite albums and I recommend it to ANYONE who enjoys a darker touch with their music.  Quite possibly one of the best albums I own!.

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Hompage: Umbraetimago.de
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