There were quite a few bands I was keen to see on the Sunday of the festival including SITD and Suicide Command which I didn’t get to see. This was due to distance between venues coupled with them being scheduled at the same time as other bands I wanted to see.

We decided to miss Lola Angst in order to have a chilled out morning so went back to the Pagan Village it was then a short walk over to Agra for Italian Goth Rockers The Lovecrave.

I came to hear about The Lovecrave after hearing their rather catchy Metal inspired Goth Rock tune “Little Suicide” on the compilation “Fuck the Mainstream“. After looking them up on Spotify I found a couple of albums with the catchy pop-rock track “Vampires (The Light That We Are)” and “Tru Blood” (presumably inspired by the series of the same name).

The band put on a decent performance but never particularly engaged with the audience. Lead singer Francesca Chiara has an interesting vocal quality with plenty of passion. The songs were a little repetitive in type but the performance was fairly well put together.

The Lovecrave performing “Little Suicide”

Rating: 3/5

The Lovecrave‘s recent release Soul Saliva is available from Amazon. This and their back catalogue is also available from missjade’s alternative music & culture shop

After killing a few hours around Agra it was time to see a band I had been wanting to see for almost a decade: Faith and the Muse. Despite my recent enthusiasm for Faith and the Muse waining, the band are definitely one of those few bands that are highly talked of on the alternative and gothic scene and they did not disappoint.

Their show was incredible and very theatrical. They opened with the appearance of two of the dance troop Serpantine (called Aradia and Lucretia) dressed in white gowns with beaded headdresses and unbelievably long, branch like fingernails.

The rest of the band then appeared with Monica Richards at the front wearing an amazing red and gold gown with glittering horns and antlers.

Monica’s voice was deep and resonant and filled the Agra halle beautifully. The rest of the live band including Steven James and Marzia Rangel of Christ vs. Warhol, percussionist Julia Cooke and of course William Faith (among others) were also fantastic.

Serpantine’s Aradia and Lucretia returned to the stage in white bellydance outfits to dance to a former favourite song of mine; “The Burning Season” from the album of the same name:

The best track from the setlist had to be the live performance of “Nine Dragons” from their most recent album “Ankoku Butoh“. William Faith‘s war cries accompanied by Julia Cooke and others on Taiko was just amazing!

Faith and the Muse‘s recent album : Ankoku Butoh : is available from Amazon. This and their back catalogue is also available from missjade’s alternative music & culture shop.

Rating: 5/5

I missed Diary of Dreams (who I’m not a big fan of) but did want to see Lacrimosa.

Although not a huge fan of the band, I did enjoy the darkwave duo in my youth. The first point I would make about their set is that a two hour set by any band at any festival is too much even if a band is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary, although I guess I should have taken a hint from Lacrimosa‘s self indulgent style of music from vain lead singer Tilo Wolff. The problem with Lacrimosa is that they take Gothic Pretentiousness a little too far and do not produce particularly good music either. I find their songs extremely repetitive and this, coupled with a particularly aloof performance meant that I eventually got bored and went to find some other fun.

Lacrimosa performing at Agra Halle

Rating: 1/5

Lacrimosa‘s best of album Schattenspiel is available from Amazon. This and their back catalogue is also available from missjade’s alternative music & culture shop.

I received a phone call on my way out from the gig from a friend who wanted to see if I was interested in going to a “Mittelalter Night” in a venue I had not heard of or been to before – the Speigelpalast (Mirror Palace). Mittelalter Rock (Medieval Rock) is a type of gothic rock that is popular in Germany but has yet to really take hold in other parts of the worldwide gothic and alternative community. I had initially heard it and felt that it was not to my taste so I had my reservations about going. However with much encouragement and pleading I gave in and went along.

Am I glad I went! The evening I later found out was called “Eine rituelle Zusammenkunft” (A Ritual Meeting) and was amazing as it seemed that many of the fashionistas who made their own historically accurate period clothing turned up here. Despite feeling hideously underdressed, I didn’t feel that I was being looked down at or in anyway despised because I was underdressed. I had a great time “people watching” and the music was better than I remembered it. The Mittelalter Rock was also mixed with some other related gothic rock.

Here are some pictures of some clubbers at “Eine rituelle Zusammenkunft“:

What made the cub even better was the venue. The opulent mirrored walls and red velvet drapes of the Speigelpalast transported you back in time and gave the atmosphere of a sophisticated party. It was a truly excellant venue which matched the tone of the club perfectly! By the time the club was closing down at 5am, I felt like I could have stayed there longer.

Rating 5/5

You can hear some Mittelalter Rock in London on 23rd October at Mittelalter Night at Zeitgeist pub. Further information of London’s Mittelalter Night here.