Music review: Dead Can Dance - Within the Realm of a Dying Sun (1987)

The neoclassical darkwave album. By far the genre's only "must hear" for anyone serious about music, will probably remain untouchable in its realm. I'll try to find some stuff to say about it, but I'll state this from the start: it can't receive less than 10 from me.

Beautiful, dark and flawless are the first words coming to mind. But the following thought is that these adjectives are too tame: this is downright otherworldly music, something I can picture being used as burial music by Tolkien's immortal elves.

I'd even say that it's part of an important style, but one without many modern champions: the side of Gothic aesthetics that takes itself seriously (think more Bram Stoker's Dracula or Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and less caked up tramps listening to Bauhaus).

It basically took what their previous album, Spleen and Ideal, had going on on its first three (also percussion-less) tracks and turned it into a complete LP; except for the quite out of place "Cantara" which is basically a clone of "Mesmerism" and "Avatar".

So yes, almost perfect, but this weaker track clearly isn't enough of a misstep to bring down the whole.