Assassinate Me
Nuclear Bitch
Drowning
Neochrome
Second Skin
Alone
Puppet
Holy Beauty
Nowhere Girl
Reach out
Assassinate Me (KMFDM Remix)

Dorian Deveraux - Vocal X-tasy Synths, Samples
Chai - 6-string X-tasy, Backing Vox, Synths, Programming

Alicia Vayne - sinfully attractive guitar X-Tasy

Ophelia Dax - Synthetic X-tasy

     Drakkar/Sony BMG            

promoted by Focusion Promotion & Marketing

All music  written & arranged by Dorian Deveraux and Chai Deveraux except 2nd skin and Nowhere Girl

review  by   dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo____               

But is this the stuff 

dreams are made of?

Straight in face presentation:  Jesus On Extasy is the band of "Assassinate me", the hit of this debut album: "Holy Beauty",  bright new in stores.

Assassinate me (something to do with Kennedy or what?) is included in the samples cd's of German magazines as Zillo, Orkus, Sonic Seducer, while the band is placed within the first 10 of the famous  German alternative charts (DAC). Ok, the German Alternative charts have sentenced, the Goth/Industrial adepts have chosen a new star of their  firmament.  After having listened with much attention to the promo, i can say that there is actually a reason for this emerging success.  But my attention was not caught by Assassinate me, song that opens the album and closes it through the KMFDM remix version, on the contrary. I don't like Assassinate me at all.  What interests me is the presence of 3 songs that, for me,  are the pillar of the album and precisely: Neochrome (also available for listening, together with Assassinate me,  at the band's myspace), Puppet and Reach out, followed and supported by other 3 good tracks: 2nd Skin, originally by The Chameleons, Alone and Holy Beauty. Also not bad Drowning. In those songs where the pulse of the dark, obscure gothic force and the ambience of the synthetic industrial  frame are of quality the band expresses its best. Unfortunately a couple of other songs presents the use of a certain Rave/techno/Trance danceable technique, and this is a negative aspect, in my opinion. Such techno/ trance incursion in foreign territory literally devours the B-Movies cover Nowhere Girl  (written by Steve Hovington and Ricky Holliday) and surfaces in 2nd skin (written by the Chameleons) and Alone too. But providentially, there are also moments of intense attraction and great musical construction without techno entrance. Indeed the songs not affected by the  disco tendency (hook for the young masses?) and with a melody that makes the difference are enslaving, like Puppet and Reach Out. On the whole, Holy Beauty is for all who love Gothic Rock with raids of strong metallic guitars and electro/synthetic /Industrial noise creating a futuristic athmosphere. We will see that, so as personally detect, there are even traces of Kreator's Endorama. One thing is constant: although  modern and opened to external influences, Holy Beauty always swims in dark water. Vocals are not too low and bombastically filled, are clear, not angry,  quite natural and agreeable. And now let's see what, for me, shines and what doesn't. Pity that Assassinate me shows such poor and common musical ideas,  whereas the lyrics could be interesting. Nuclear Bitch is nothing but pure low pop disco to forget. Drowning is enough stereotyped,  but is a nice song . It doesn't deliver that touch that amazes, but is good with a promising  electro/synthetic intro followed by the incoming force of the guitars. Noticeable this lyric concept: that everything in this world dies at the moment that is born. 

And now things become more exciting: Neochrome, has an  irresistible rhythm with raw incursions in the metal realm. The synthetic part adds such a blur effect while the drummachine shows a kind of  dry simple authority and a good vanishing final "cymbal" effect . Interesting is the slow absinthian parenthesis. Although this song may appear a bit simple, in reality it lets the dead rock'n rolling full of new fresh energy. 2nd skin is propelled by a great rocking groove, a great pulsing and cadenced rhythm and an electroframe that underlines and extends the ambience around the song. This cover fills the air and let us fly over the globe. The bass finds bridge - moments of great pulse. Alone brings both slight industrial noise, arpeggios, and nice melodic feelings. The fact that both 2nd skin and Alone present from time to time a surfacing techno support disturbs me but it cannot switch off  the value of the musical structure. And now little flame: Puppet. Puppet is so a damned beautiful song in his genre: in ambush awaits you, dark as hell, with a melody that hits immediately, with  an awesome piano that lets fall drops of water and blood, slow and strong, obscure. Not completely funereal, but mysterious. Somehow the motif lives on influences but develops an unpredictable path , you can even wonder if this is some cover, but guess? yes, i couldn't care less.  In a minor and slowered timbre has the same fascination of Kreator's The chosen Few (Endorama era) and the same determination of a very dark gothic metal song. There is even some touch of Nickelback-ian memory in the bridge. 

Holy Beauty sounds more sophisticated and lively, the  nice and very catchy chorus makes this song grow immediately. Ears are crossed at once. The cover of the retro' Nowhere girl is too danceable and intercheable in  a disco, nonetheless never forgets the dark vein. I would say more. It is this song that inexplicabily gets a vivid  "German" mark. 

Reach out, the other champion here,  is a sorrowful song, slow and melancholic. It has something of  Wolfsheim melodies but with  futuristic flavor.  The re-take of verse and chorus in a stronger manner with  strings à la Darkseed  bites us after the previous  infinite sadness . A goodbye from grace and love in a cosmic embrace. 

 All in  all the album is nice, very good prepared concerning the production. it seems absurd but JOE is open to a lot of inputs, from the 80's, from Rock in general , from Gothic, from Metal, from Electro, from Industrial, from EBM (ahia ahia, what a pain,  from techno too)  picturing also a possible future. But this collage is then well glued in one only soul and style. In particular, programming and sound are very well forged.  The artwork by Kai Hoffmann is truly expressive with that mix of gothic with classic, cold funereal decadence, peaceful holy spirit and a strange kind of Madonna. 

If all songs would have been "like" Neochrome, Puppet and Reach out", we would meet somehow that promised "holy beauty". But ...is this the stuff dreams are made of?

"But is this the stuff dreams are made of?

If this is the stuff dreams are made of 

No wonder i feel like i'm floating on air 

No wonder i feel like i'm floating on air"

rating: 7.9/10  

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