Another re-issue from Dark Sanctuary, this time 2003's L’etres Las-L’envers Du Miroir, which was the bands 3rd album. Last year I compared the bands Les Memoires Blessees album, which has also been re-issued via Peaceville to the Autumn Tears Love Poems For Dying Children trilogy. My opinion is very much the same here, although this album has a much more serene, gothic splendour about it. If you've not heard the band before, then you're in for a treat. Dark Sanctuary create classically inspired ambient soundscapes which are topped off by the operatic delights of Dame Pandora. Describing the bands sound in a single sentence is obviously only the beginning as there are a myriad of sounds and textures

Peaceville continue their plundering of the Opera 1X back catalogue with a couple of classics, namely 1998's Sacro Culto and The Black Opera: Symphoniae Mysteriorum in Laudem Tenebrarum from 2000. I have both albums in their original format, with my copy of Sacro Culto being the more graphic Shiver Records digipak. I'm a major fan of both releases, but discovering them once again, having not played them for a few years, my opinion has changed slightly.
Sacro Culto is a very dark album. I think at the time of its release it was marketed as either Heathen or Occult Metal, probably the latter and that tag suits it perfectly. Cadaveria's rasping female vocals fight with the bass heavy, keyboard led Black/Occult Metal tones. The majority of the album has a very oppressive feel, with the only chink of light being the Pagan delights of The Naked And The Dance, which sees Cadaveria singing in a clear, and wonderfully Folk-ish style, accompanied by Medieval style male vocals. The end result is my favourite Opera 1X song and one that was on constant rotation when I first bought the album back in the late 90s.
Over time, I guess my opinion of this album has changed, probably due to the production, which hasn't stood the test of time that well. This was always my favourite Opera 1X

I'm in a real retro phase at the minute, with 80s Metal being the main object of my affection. But I like a lot of different styles from the 80s, from the electronic genius of Kraftwerk to the full-on assault of English Punk. My favourites from the Punk era are the less vitriolic tones of Theatre of Hate's post-punk, the more humorous fun of the Anti-Nowhere League and the politically charged vehemence of the Subhumans.
When these re-issues arrived over from the US, (thanks Dave) the 1st thing I did was to play Subvert City from the bands 1983 debut album, The Day The Country Died, and fuck me, did it still send shivers down my spine. The first two albums, for me, are the Subhumans at their finest. Raw has hell, full of energy and passion, lyrically way ahead of their time with a number of the (song) subjects still relevant today and their progressive brand of Punk, which is equally matched by the bands superior musicianship, on these albums, for me, cannot be beaten. As I first had this album back in the old vinyl days, it was side 1 that got the more airtime, with the classics Ashtray Dirt, Mickey Mouse Is Dead, Dying World and Subvert City (which were all written when the band were in their late teens, early 20s) all blowing me away.
And as much as I like the bands debut, album number 2, From The Cradle To The Grave, will always be my favourite Subhumans album. I still remember buying the album after my cousin coerced me into buying it (probably so he could tape it off of me) but I'll always be thankful for him turning me onto the band.
From The Cradle To The Grave is split into 2 parts. (The old side1) which is 9 songs, including the classics, Where's The Freedom? and Reality Is Waiting For A Bus and the whole of side 2, which is taken up by the phenomenal title track, which clocks in at an impressive 16.51 and detail the possible course of a shit existence. And let me tell you, this is one of the best songs every written, period. I've never really been a lyric junkie, but Dick Lucas is a master wordsmith and you cannot help but admire the amount of work that goes into this song. And I don't think the band took many takes to get this right as the whole album was recorded in 5 days, practically 26 years ago to this very day. If you can only afford 1 of these re-issues or just want to buy one to check the band out, this is your perfect starting point.
My knowledge of the remaining re-issues isn't as good as the first two albums, mainly as I played those two to death, as well as the Subhuman offshoot bands, Citizen Fish and Culture Shock, so this has been a great opportunity to catch up with them again.
Worlds Apart is a much better produced album, although I personally prefer the rawness of their earlier work. Musically, the ska sounds which their offshoot bands, Citizen Fish and Culture Shock would concentrate on, is cleverly utilized, and it's a sound that I love (particularly as I was/am a big fan of the Specials), but is used sparingly here. It's a shame it's not used more as the album isn't the bands finest hour, to these ears at least.
I really like EP-LP, which is a compilation of 4 EP's from 1981 to 1983. The Demolition War EP has a very weak production, particularly on the guitars, but the songs still shine through, with Who's Gonna Fight In The Third World War? still bringing a smile to my face every time I hear it. The production improves greatly for the rest of the album which features another dozen tracks, split equally from the Reason For Existence, Religious Wars and Evolution EP's. For me, it's another highlight of the bands career.
Although I had 29:29 Split Vision on vinyl, I don't remember it that well at all, (I've not had a record player for at least 18 years now) so this is the album I've enjoyed getting to know again the most. Much more accessible than anything they've done before, it still retains the bands anarchist streak, it's just catchier, in a Hawkwind kind of fashion, but punkier... obviously. Highlight for me is the Ska Punk of Worlds Apart, which is worth the