LOST TRIBE
"Solace"
Hailing from some dark corner in Richmond, Virginia, where Deathrock, Post-Punk and Goth Rock meet, Lost Tribe returns ready to shake up the blackest side of the musical spectrum with "Solace", a new 8-track vinyl that is definitely going to push them out from the shadow cast - though they're already quite well-known by worldwide mohicans, black leather dressed melomaniacs. Four years have passed since the band's demo tape "The Dawn" came out and during that time they've managed to polish their particular crossover style, 80s mirrored but undeniably up-to-date and bold to set them apart from their merely retro contemporaries. Certainly, many totemic past ghosts will lurk in your mind while listening to "Solace" - even simultaneously within the same song. I appreciate some hints of Amebix, Anasazi, early Killing Joke, eerily conjured up Theatre of Hate - I could carry on for a while - but you will get your own ones, that is for sure. However, this is more due to the respective musical influences of each member than to a joint premeditated plan, and this also makes a big difference. So the LP has the strength to appeal to enthusiasts of the old school Goth sound, to worshippers of California Deathrock pioneers, to lovers of any gloomy punk derivative and to followers of relatively newer acts from the style of Vancouver's Spectres, Helsinki's Silent Scream and Beastmilk, or Bologna's Horror Vacui, just to mention some. Consisting of Davey (vocals), Kyle (drums), Jonathan (synths), Forrest and Francesca (guitars), and Shravan (bass), Lost Tribe has made one hell of a sinister record with a perfect balance between raw viscerality and icy claustrophobics. Rumbling drums live up to the band's name and the high-pitched bass hammers like a pneumatic drill, marching us into a sort of Wardance. Caught in a guitar crossfire between wailing banshees and scything riffs, the singer cries out his apocalyptical visions with an enraged, ghoulish and sporadicly manic voice. But likely more distinctive of Lost Tribe's sound is the smart use of synths and keyboards; sometimes breathing deathly air into the backdrop, others enhancing the harsh core with drones and creepy melodies. Sounds good, isn't it? "Rise or Fall", "Midnight Rain", "Dungeon of Stones", both instrumentals and thus up to a total of eight placebo-free pills for reminiscing about the seminal pitch-black sounds. Indeed "Solace" has a strong scent to burned gunpowder, which is remnant from every mosh-inducing barrage of gloom fired during the former century. A re-foundation record from a band owing to its very musical evilness.
Review by Billyphobia
- A1. Disease
- A2. Rise or Fall
- A3. Century
- A4. Untitled Instrumental I
- B1. Untitled Instrumental II
- B2. Midnight Rain
- B3. Conquer
- B4. Dungeon of Stones