Horror Vacui - Living For Nothing (c) 2020 Bat-Cave Productions Artist....: Horror Vacui Album.....: Living For Nothing Source....: WEB/WAV Tracks....: 8 Genre.....: Darkwave Label.....: Bat-Cave Productions Encoder...: LAME 3.100 Quality...: 280 kbps / 441kHz / Joint Stereo URL.......: http://horrorvacuilegion.bandcamp.com/album/living-for-nothing Tracklist: ---------- 1. Consolation Prize 4:23 2. Lost 4:30 3. My Funeral My Party 4:01 4. Requiem 2:28 5. Frustration 4:22 6. Living In Tension 4:19 7. Eleg∞a 1:38 8. Unreachable 4:39 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 30:20 Total:63.87 MB / 30:20 Release Notes: -------------- Review: Horror Vacui have always had a swagger and attitude which lent classic goth rock atmosphere to their otherwise blistering crossover/deathrock sound. On paper it shouldnÆt be hard to add some heavy pathos to the sorts of themes and issues anarcho/crustpunk has been dealing with for decades (IÆve always taken the bandÆs name to be a subtle nod to the art of Nick Blinko), but in execution maintaining gothic panache and drama within hardscrabble punk anthems is a tricky balancing act. For their fourth LP, Horror Vacui have stripped away some of the bluster and reverb, yielding an incredibly powerful and memorable goth-punk record. Living For Nothing finds the Italian act putting melody and message up front right from the start. ôConsolation Prizeö gallops forward with chiming, instantly memorable drive and a combination of rage and riotous freedom in its anti-religious lyrics. ItÆs the first of many tracks to harmonize the bandÆs goth and punk interests via peace punk, much in the same way Spectres have of late. This isnÆt to say that the bandÆs undergone a total sea change: ôLostö and ôLiving In Tensionö deliver plenty of classic churning deathrock, though the reverb and echo of Return Of The Empire and New Wave Of Fear is dialed back, allowing the simple melodic strengths of the tracks to shine through, and theyÆre all the more memorable for it. KoppaÆs also begun to modulate his vocals a bit, at times moving away from his characteristic baritone bellow to find plaintive and strained tones that suit the more nuanced tracks. The album works best when all of these elements are brought together in tracks the band wouldnÆt have tried to construct a couple of records ago, like closer ôUnreachableö with its majestic and desperate build towards existential crisis. Like a deathrock version of AmebixÆs immortal Monolith, Living For Nothing brushes away some of the bandÆs noise in order to offer a clearer yet more ornate delivery, and the strength of the material backs up the potential risk of ægoing softÆ. I enjoyed New Wave Of Fear well enough for its continuation of the bandÆs well-established brand of deathrock, but Living For Nothing far outstrips it, or any other release in the bandÆs catalog. Highly recommended. Buy it.