Beseech
Drama (Napalm)
by Daniel Lukes
I can’t quite explain the Transatlantic phenomenon that is HIM: Type O Negative, Tiamat, and Sentenced have all peddled this pompous Goth rock shtick to far superior results over the last decade, without any of them really reaching the heights of notoriety offered by Ville Valo and his faceless chums on a silver platter. Somehow it doesn’t seem good enough to blame Bam Margera and his rather dodgy devotion to the chain-smoking androgynous Finn.
For the most part, this is a love-it-or-hate genre, let alone album. The male-female vocal interplay here works, but only if you like this kind of thing. Otherwise, file under “extremely annoying.” Ultimately, though Drama is a solid enough album as a whole, Beseech doesn’t really offer enough in the way of individual character to bother going out of your way to investigate them this time around, unless you’re the kind of person who needs every Goth metal CD released, or you want to impress your Goth girlfriend with something obscure. But HIM fans (bless their souls) hankering for more, after they’ve checked out albums by Tiamat and Sentenced, might find this Drama sufficiently compelling listening.
(www.napalmrecords.com)