By Andrew Bansal
Based out of Zurich, Switzerland, singer/songwriter Verena von Horsten has unveiled her second solo album ‘Alien Angel Super Death’, a completely solo effort in the truest sense, written, recorded and produced by von Horsten herself. Composed using piano, synths, drum machines, guitars, and most of all, the voice, ‘Alien Angel Super Death’ was expected to be a strong follow-up to the 2011 debut ‘Mother Tongue’. The new album promised an intriguing slab of heavy synth rock darkness, and does not fail to deliver.
The dark, captivating, haunting vibe is created straightaway with the opening track ‘The Hymn’ and is carried throughout the 10-track, 45-minute offering. The heaviness is unmistakable, the vocal delivery is absolutely perfect for this style, and the synth layers are expertly crafted, reminiscent of old-school ’80s synth but also bearing resemblance to some of our favorite progressive rock artists such as Porcupine Tree, and even female-fronted stoner doom acts like Royal Thunder. The music only intensifies through tracks like ‘All About’, ‘Sweet Lullabye’ and ‘The Monster’, and reaches its peak on ‘Fire’, which may well be the finest composition on offer.
That being said, the album gets even more wildly experimental, adventurous and dynamic in its last four songs, and ends strong with ‘The Believer’. Verena von Horsten has emerged with a stellar set of tunes in the form of ‘Alien Angel Super Death’, and fans of progressive/experimental/psychedelic rock and metal would certainly discover upon listening to this release that there is an undeniable crossover between those styles and von Horsten’s synth-heavy musicianship. This dark, strange artistic expression comes as enjoyable and ironically uplifting, and is quite fitting with the strange times we live in.
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Rating: 8/10
Release Date: January 13th 2017
Track Listing:
01. The Hymn
02. All About
03. Sweet Lullabye
04. Sakrament der Büffelherde
05. The Monster
06. Fire
07. What You Say
08. The Love We Have Forever
09. A Healing Moment
10.The Believer
Verena von Horsten links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram | bandcamp