(Redland, Annabergstr. 55, 65931 Frankfurt, Germany)

This is the second CD of REDLAND and it looks and sounds much more professional than "Schwarz & Dekadent" from 1999.

Again it is an mostly electronic Gothic-Industrial-Dark Wave-Minimal Electro crossover, which is uncomparable to any known band. The voice of singer Jana is somewhere between Lisa Hammer (Mors Syphilitica, Requiem In White), Diamanda Galas and Stefan Ackermann (Das Ich) and has developed a lot from the first album to this new one. Cover and booklet are well created and the sound of the recordings is mostly okay, but in my opinion, some more guitars would give some songs a more personla note, so the music sounds very cold.

Anyway, there are some really dancable songs like "Schwarz & Dekadent" and especially "Doom", which could become a floorfiller, if the DJs in the Clubs would play it, but there are other great tracks like "Zweigesicht", which is the best song in my opinion.

If you like really ambitious Dark Wave with a great female voice and cold electronic sounds, try "Ich Muß Nun Geh´n" ("I have to go now") out. (A.P.)

REDLAND - Schwarz Und Dekadent (CD)

(Annabergstr. 55, 65931 Frankfurt)

Well, REDLAND are a totally new band to me, I saw them playing live in Frankfurt together with Lore Of Asmoday. I can´t say why, but I like the band´s name very much, it is short, easily to remember and does not give any hint, what kind of music we have to exspect. The three musicians come from various musical styles and so the sound of REDLAND is not to be explained in a few words. All in all it is Dark-Wave, mostly based on electronic sounds, supported with a natural drumset. As far as I know, there will be included more guitar sounds in the future. Over all there is the very many-sided voice of female singer JANA, which can be described as somewhere between Danielle Dax, Anne-Marie (of GhostDance) and the singer of Malaria from the early 80s.

There are also very few Heavenly Voices moments. The music seems to be an electronic version of Inkubus Sukkubus, the songs are really good compositions, but the recording has a real demo-character. I miss more guitars and bass, which would give the songs more power, but anyway, this IS a demo and not an official release, so we have to wait for future recordings with the new guitar-player. I guess, the real qualities of the band are live gigs, JANA is really present on the stage and if the band will have more experience soon, they will be ready for an official CD-release next year or so. Until then, try to see the band live and try to get this soon-to-be-rare-CD with hits like "Schwarz & Dekadent" (really sarcastic view on the Gothic scene), "The Light" or "Ich liebe Dich".

With this CD the band cannot set new standards in dark music, but REDLAND are one of the most promising bands, I heard for a long time. (A.P.)