LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT

Reviews By Draconis Blackthorne.

Wolves howling, hearts beating, thunder crashing. The Story-teller opens the large book of fanciful cover. The pages sweep you inside the dark realm of vampires, werewolves, maidens, succubi & incubi.........
Suffice it to say, these gentlemen are of the "Gothic" persuation. They know the value of psychodrama, as evidenced in their stage shows, which becomes a vitrual gallery of horrors. Gargoyles, tombstones, crypt edifices, autumnal leaves strewn about, skeletal trees, & their own personal costuming ----- like they crawled their way right up from those very graves. The vocalist appears morbidly emaciated, rather like Lestat of Anne Rice fame, after being submerged in the lake. The bassist looks like Lurch, & the others present their own ghoulish attire. They definitely preserve the Halloween spirit wherever they play.

The music is best appreciated by candle &/or moonlight. These nosferatu are brilliant musicians, perfectly timed, perfectly chosen. This is haunted music. In My opinion, LAM just may be the best Gothic Rock that has ever been. LAM is devoid of the annoying whining, but instead, the melancholy voice herein is more powerful, somewhat more robust, & definitely, much more talented. They will go far.
The songs are filled with theatric energy, deep feeling, & tragic romance. They bring the cemetary right into your room. The music tends to touch you on an emotional level. They stand out in the sea of Gothic bands. Thanatos & Dracula themselves seem to speak through the music. The Gothic-Horror myths come to life.
So come take a trip to London After Midnight, & unto Transylvania, where it is more than just a place, but a state of mind.

London After Midnight
P.O. Box 1377
Hollywood, CA, 90078-1377

email: LONAFTMID@aol.com

The Black Earth
London After Midnight July 25th, XXXVIII Anno Satanas, The Roxy, 8pm.

The sun goes down on this balmy night, revealing fetishistically elegant phantoms gathering this evening at an icon of haunted Hollywood decadence, one of many in this "Sin City". A shadowy vampiric cave known as "The Roxy", which in its history has hosted the faintly echoing strains of many a devilsih minstrel. Yet this Nocturne is graced by the malefik musick of etherial creatures "London After Midnight" - veritably, four "Dark Angels" of The Apocalypse to sound the trumpets of ghostly wails and tales of darkened erotica calling forth the spechtres which reside in the deep abysses of the mind.

I found My way to the seated section where I ordered provisions for Me and My Lady with a wonderful view of the stage proper. The opening band remionded Me of an amalgam of AC/DC, Quiet Riot, and The Misfits - indeed, they even performed a cover of "Static Age", and the crowd reacted lukewarmly.

At about 10:30, the lights dimmed, and the multi-colored lights shown in the darkness as the dissertation began with a Soviet-style Propaganda film projected upon two screens located as a backdrop on the stage, which reminded this reviewer of the presentations of what gore group "My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult" would present in their hey-day. Images of Victory, slavery, and death arrayed the screens with various images of Nazi footage included now and then. The introductory message went as follows:

JOIN THE R/EVOLUTION
{Written by Sean Brennan}
Greetings Comrades. We are living in a time of great despair. Where our government is run by the corrupt and by corporations whose goal is to keep you ignorant and apathetic. Our media is controlled by these entities with profit driven agendas. These agendas run contrary to our healthy development as a country, and as a species.
Vast numbers of people live in great poverty while the privileged few manipulate world events for their own gain. Media sells you what they want you to buy and oppresses any opposition- and oppresses the truth. A handful of large mega corporations own most news and media outlets, limiting our choices and suffocating free speech. We are being manipulated and lied to.
We are sold images of life that prop up old, dead and dysfunctional societal concepts and only feed the wallets of the power hungry elite. Our elected officials are ineffective, and many of us do not even care. Most of the people eligible to vote do not vote. Many choose to remain ignorant rather than discover the truth about the world they inhabit, which prevents them from effecting change.
We are living in a pre-Fascist state, comrades, just steps away from becoming another Nazi Germany, and many people welcome this New World Order, having been brainwashed to worship self and vanity above the pursuit of truth and evolution. We are sheep being led to the slaughter.
Do you want to be told who to hate, who to love, what is true, what is false, how to feel, what is art, what music to listen to, what to wear and what to think? Do you want others to make your decisions? Or would you like to help shape the world you live in and help build the future? We have power.
We are headed down a dark path and salvation seems hopeless. Unless we the people join together and take control, beat down our oppressors, make our voices heard, and base our existence on the concepts of freedom, intellectual enlightenment and evolution, we will be doomed.
So comrades, the time is now to overcome our Fascist leaders. This is our last opportunity to change the world for the better. You can make a difference if you try. If the people unite, the Fascist Power Elite will be faced with overwhelming opposition and will be forced from their self appointed thrones.
The time has come for the R/EVOLUTION!"

However, the band themselves are neither Neo-Nazis nor Communists, but are presenting this production in order to send a deeper message via shock tactics, to revolt in your own mind and life against the big-wig corporations propagating a virtual soma through the Media, which fosters mediocrity and complaciency . In short, to remove oneself from this cultural zombification, thus stimulating evolution; thus, the combined words "R/Evolution", or Revolution are meant to initiate personal Evolution. LAM performed a wide variety of their gracefully haunting musick that would cause The Devil Himself to dance.

Needless to say, LAM contains all three elements of The Infernal Trinity of Malefik Musickal conjuration. It is a pleasure to behold and hear.

Next Review: LEATHERSTRIP

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