What has surprised us the reviewers, is the quality of third wave Goth/Post Punk that has come from Greece. The passion that all of the bands we have so far listened to demonstrates an ability to be faithful to one of the original, recognizable post punk/goth sounds, whilst incorporating their own ideas to deliver a twist on the genre. This is truly the case with Drama Queen.
Formed in 2002 and after enduring numerous changes to their line-up, they finally hit upon a group of musicians that worked well together in 2009. Entering the studio in 2013 they worked on the tracks they had, the result of which is debut album ‘Artificial Galaxy’ released in 2014.
As soon as this album was put on our stereos, it has been played relentlessly and has us chomping at the bit to see them live at Sacrosanct 2015, where they will be Saturday’s opening act at the Reading’s Face bar venue.
In the 8 tracks that this debut opus delivers, the music is reminiscent of the darkest version of The Cure, with pondering basslines and pounding drums at the forefront of the sound, all backed up by the classic twiddley ‘The Cure’ guitar sound. It even careers into early ‘The Mission’ territory on occasions, but one of the most refreshing things is Cleopatra’s vocals, which add a different slant to this familiar sound.
The album begins like the start of a horror movie soundtrack, with spine chilling footsteps leading you into the first track “This Room had lights” It was said that the historical Cleopatra just had to walk into a room and men would fall in love with her. As soon as this latter day Greek goddess started singing, we fell in love with her passion and delivery: Indeed, on occasions she sings as if her life depends on it!
The album has us split over a stand out song with all tracks actually being strong contenders, however we have two tracks vying for this accolade. In ‘Echoes’, it truly feels like Cleopatra is singing directly to your heart over the beat of the drums which match the heartbeat of the listener.
Whereas with the ever reliable track 3 (which is nearly always a great track on any album) ‘Questions to be answered’, the catchiness of the chorus has you singing along with the chorus after a couple of listens. So, we have an album of pure quality that will surely seal its name in Greek goth history as one of the stand out Goth/Post Punk albums of the 21st Century and rightly so we say! ► by Raven and The Gothicfox
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