By: Chris Stead

Looking for a present for that hard-to-shop-for Goth on your list? We have compiled a list of ideas that will please them all!

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By: Chris Stead

No, this is not an illicit porno ring, this is art. It’s deep. It takes some thought and a little time to get. At first listen, their new CD, “In Goat We Thrust” is a little hard to get into, but after a time you start to gain an understanding of what is being said. Through a series of e-mails with Miriku, AKA Miriku no dj, one of the founding members he gave me some insight into what the band is really about.

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By: Chris Stead

This month Rebecca graced us with a re-vamp of a message board. If you’re not familiar with message and photo boards, they are boards, covered in batting and hung from a wall where you can put messages, photos, fliers or whatever. We are not going to make one from scratch. This would involve machinery that most people don’t keep around their houses. Instead we found a message board at a junk shop that could be recovered, revamped and remade into a Gothy accent piece. Here’s how:

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By: Asherra

In the past few years the gothic community has been relatively blessed with the popularity of classic Victorian Christmas decorations featuring a dark pallet of rich velvets, deep reds, blues, and greens. Simple decorations for elegant holiday décor including white or cream colored lights, velvet table runners with gold or silver lacing, and beautiful velvet bows. Last year I even managed to find a beautiful tree topping angel decorated in silver wings and a black velvet dress (Of course I lost it in my move.) This year our luck is running out! The holiday fad this year is (dare is say it?!?) RETRO! Yes, that’s right folks. This year expect to see strings of large multi colored Christmas lights, kitschy miniature ornaments, and a definite lack of black. While you may still be able to find ornaments and decorations to suit your gothic style, the pickings are going to be definitively sparser. Later on in this article I will give you a few crafty ideas to add to your décor collection however at this point, I’ll start you off with a few general decorating tips.

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By: Chris Stead

Bella Morte
Bleed the Grey Sky Black

Take everything that makes dark music good and combine it in one group. What would you get? Bella Morte. Bleed the Grey Scky Black is an exercise in greatness. From the opening track, On the Edge, to the album closing, Haunted, this is an outstanding album. If there is one CD that you get this year this should be it! Not generally for the dance crowd, Punk, Metal and old-school Goth influences abound. What are you doing still reading this? Buy the CD already.

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By: Chris Stead

Bella Morte, formed by Andy Deane and Gopal Metro, was formed on a shoestring budget in Virginia and has grown to international proportions. From their humble beginnings, Gopal and Andy were close friends with disparate backgrounds, but a kinship in musical vision. They used winnings from a band competition to finance their first album. Their second offering was produced first independently, but later re-released on Cleopatra Records. As time moved along the band grew to include members Tony Lechmanski, Micah Consylman and Jordan Marchini creating a full band presence both live and in the studio.

The latest release from Bella Morte, “Bleed the Grey Sky Black”, is the culmination of the work that they have done so far, but as Andy and Gopal tell us, the trip is far from over. If their new album represents what we can expect from Bella Morte then we can look forward to years of great music created by a very talented group.

Gothic Angst Webzine (GAW): How has the tour been going with Hanzel und Gretyl?

Gopal: Totally awesome, though fraught with peril *grins*. With all the crazy breakdowns, and losing shows and what not, it’s been a hell of a time, heheh.

Andy: The tour was amazing! The crowds were great, and we couldn’t have picked a better band to head out on the road with. Our bus broke down a couple of times, once leaving us stranded in the Nevada desert for 36 hours, and that made us miss some shows. But the good news is that we’re going back out with HuG early in ‘07 to make up the missed gigs. I’m looking forward to the next leg of this tour!

GAW: After you finish the Oktotenfest tour, are you planning on headlining your own tour to support “Bleed the Grey Sky Black?”

Gopal: Probably not in direct support of this album, though we will definitely continue touring. If all goes well we will be back out with HuG in February, 2007 to make up for some of the shows we lost on this last outing.

Andy: That’s up in the air right now. After we do the tour I just mentioned we may head back out on our own in the spring or summer, but we’ll see what happens.

GAW: How did you come to work with Hanzel und Gretyl to do the Oktotenfest Tour?

Gopal: As I understand it, Metropolis Records suggested us to them and they got in touch. Things worked out wonderfully from there.

Andy: Loopy mentioned that while they were out on tour with Ministry a lot of people were coming to the shows wearing Bella Morte shirts, so I think our fans had a big hand in making this happen as well.

GAW: Are you planning on making another pass through Southern California either on this tour or an upcoming one for your new album?

Gopal: As above, hell yeah! If possible we will definitely be there!

Andy: I hope so! We had so much fun in LA in October that we’re certainly going to do our damnedest to get across the country for another show. We still need to get back to San Diego sometime soon as well.

GAW: I remember first hearing you guys on the Vampire The Masquerade compilation with Fall No More. Your sound has changed a lot from then. Do you feel that you have reached where you want to be sonically or is this another step along the way?

Gopal: As a band, and as people, I don’t think it is possible to stop developing, even if we wanted to. Life and experience have a way of changing you. So, to answer properly, I expect this is just another step. I have enjoyed each period of the bands carrier, some more than others, but where we are now… It’s pretty damned fun.

Andy: I think that this band is always evolving, though I do believe that our music has finally caught up to our live shows. Our next CD will very likely be similar to “Bleed…” in tone, though it may be a little harder.

GAW: Describe the sound of the new album. With the single “Another Way” you seemed to be leaning toward a rock sound where as some of your other tracks tend to be more synth driven. Does “Bleed the Grey Sky Black” reflect the more rock sound?

Gopal: I would say so. Though there is definitely a dancey-synth element in quite a few of the tracks, the rock element is far more present. It is the first time that every element of the band has had a live presence, and I definitely appreciate the energy that Micah and Jordan have created in this recording. Not to mention the fact that this is the first recording that Andy and I stepped back and let Tony just rock out *grins*. There are more guitars on this album than any previous Morte release (including the DREP and SFTD) by far and hands down.

Andy: Yeah. “Bleed…” shows a heavier, darker Bella Morte than anyone’s ever seen. As I said, we were aiming to capture the energy of our live shows on this album, and I think we did a good job of it. We’ll never lose our synthetic element, but Micah made the synths more sinister on this album, and Tony turned his guitars up a few notches. “Bleed…” allowed my metal roots to show through a lot.

GAW: What inspired the title of the new album?

Gopal: I’ll pass that one on to Andy

Andy: I noticed the color grey recurring in my lyrics, so I wanted to make it the theme of the album. I wanted a title that wasn’t completely straight forward, something each fan could interpret in their own way. For me, it’s about things going from bad to worse, and still living through it.

GAW: Is there a theme to the songs of Bleed the Grey Sky Black?

Gopal: In my opinion, the same as on all of our albums: tragedy, loss, suffering, sorrow, and the desire and ability to survive through it all. Not just survive, but thrive in the hurt and the chaos.

Andy: The lyrics cover a lot of area on this album. Loss has always been a prominent subject on our albums, and it is well represented here. There’s also a dose of hope in our songs. And of course, and band that calls itself “beautiful death” has to bring some tragedy to the table!

GAW: What can your fans expect to see from you over the next year? More
tours? New material?

Gopal: Assuredly both. Andy and Micah have already begun work on the next album, and more tours are in the works, hopefully including another full US, and maybe some dates in Europe.

Andy: We’re already working on the next album, and I’m very excited about the material! Of course, can’t get ahead of myself, because we still have a lot of touring to do to promote “Bleed…”!

GAW: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Good luck with your
new album!

Gopal: Thank you and good luck in everything as well!

Andy: Thanks back at you! Hell yeah!

Find out more about Bella Morte:

Bella Morte on MySpace
Official Bella Morte Web Site

Listen to Bella Morte:

Dust
Grey Skies Black
On the Edge

By: Chris Stead

Cindergarden, a musical act out of LA, may be new on the scene, but Jaymie Valentine, the creator and artistic developer, has influences that span ages even beyond her years. Cindergarden represents years of inspiration and work that Valentine has poured in. Reminiscent of music that came out of decades past, Cindergarden is still a forward-looking artistic statement that is sure to endure as their popular reach grows beyond the bounds of Southern California.

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By: The Gothling

Shoes. One word, one syllable. Seems like a small thing, but the right pair of shoes can make or break the look of your club wear. Don’t believe me? Picture this: You got your hair to fall just right, for the first time in weeks, your eyeliner did exactly what you wanted it to. Your collar, cuffs, and belt match perfectly, and your top and bottoms show you off at your very best. On your feet… a pair of black $1 flip-flops from Wally-World.

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By: Elizabeth Winters

She sat by the simple fire pit, night cold and quiet about her. The others around her chatting in hushed voices, but she was alone in her thoughts. The flames illuminating her face brought her memory back to long before the end, before the war, before the Gods had descended, even before her transformation. It was a night, as any other, yet entirely singular in experience. She realized it had been precisely 8 years since that night, but she remembered it to every last detail. It was most certainly a night she would never forget.

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By: Asherra

Nothing says anarchy like a post apocalyptic sex goddess in a silver PVC dress! When I started out in the Goth scene, I came from a world where band t-shirts and black jeans meant you passed as a Goth. I absolutely LOVED the cyber punk style with its tough yet super sexy style however I had no idea how to bring the whole outfit together. Here are a few things that I have learned over the years of investigation into this futuristic fashion.

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By: Asherra

I was scrolling through a few dark culture forums the other day, reading posts here and there and I came to a forum where someone had posted a picture. The picture was relatively artistic in nature with high contrast and deep color saturation. Obviously this picture had been professionally taken. At first glimpse the content was of a “naughty nurse” however that description proved to be an understatement. There was latex everywhere! The woman was leaning over, her white latex corset came just under her breasts and her nipples were taped over with white pasties in the shape of a medical cross. In her left hand she held a needle and on her face was a smug, yet seductive smile. My first opinion was that the picture was the epitome of what *I* knew to be ‘gothic’ style but to my surprise, peoples comments did not reflect my assumption.

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By: Chris Stead

Welcome to the world of dark arts and crafts. Welcome to the land on which the preschool macaroni crafter would not dare tread. This is the realm where Denialle Chabot lives. Call it functional art or dark crafting, but either way this is not your mother’s hand-crafted home decor.

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