Album Review: Inkubus Sukkubus - "Lilith Rising"

Goth/pagan rockers Inkubus Sukkubus have been doing the rounds for over three decades now and honestly, it's a bit of a surprise that they're still very much an underground band. Especially when you consider that bands such as Evanescence and Nightwish essentially took their formula, drained it of all subtlety, whacked a load of brickbat guitars on it and successfully sold it on to the mallrat-metal crowd around the turn of the millennium. It's a real shame because on the evidence of this, no less than their twenty second album, they're a far superior proposition to both of the above.

As you'd expect, Lilith Rising is all tales of mist-drenched forests, dark moorlands, witches, vampires and soothsayers but before you start sniggering, it's actually pretty impressive stuff musically with the swooping strings on the title track being followed by the subtle acoustics of Wise Woman. It's this mix of light and dark that sets the tone for the album with the driving likes of Destroying Angel, Who Made The Monster and Among The Stone Angels being balanced out by more restrained moments such as the ominous funeral march of On The Blood Red Sea, the haunting At The Tree At The Lonely Place and the hypnotic Back To The Wild Woods which is the strongest track here to these ears.

To be completely honest, my previous experience of Inkubus Sukkubus had merely consisted of hearing the odd track on goth compilations here and there but Lilith Rising is an impressively strong effort and has made me keen to check out their stuff in more detail. For those into the more melodic end of the goth spectrum who aren't familiar with this band yet for whatever reason, I'd heartily recommend you do the same. Good stuff.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌖🌖🌖🌖🌖🌖🌖🌖🌑🌑 (8/10)