Dance the Marble Naked (Century Media)
by Scott Hefflon
Dance the Marble Naked is filled with all the Gothic sadness, romance, bitterness and triumph alluded to by the cover photo of Stonehenge. Mysterious, somber, and dreary, the music is filled with majestic sweeps of mood and tempo. It’s description of “monolithic doom metal” is primarily accurate, but needs a few amendments. Paul Jones’ voice really takes some getting used to if you’re not expecting it. At first his voice may sound like a giant troll or ogre bitching about a toothache or a stubbed toe, but the suffering and despair that pour forth make it touching and human. There are also elements of fantasy woven in that paint pictures in the mind of traveling through a breath-taking landscapes and confronting manifestations of evil, innocence, beauty, and death. It’s difficult to describe how music can drift from sub-human growling to the dreamscape textures of Tangerine Dream to joyous and uplifting melodies that could be the theme songs for Top Gun and make it seem coherent. Dance the Marble Naked is filled with conflicting emotions and a personal search that is both monstrous and beautiful.