About the Band:
L'ame Immortelle, which translates into the immortal soul, is an Austrian darkwave / electrogoth band that was founded in the late 1990s. The band became popular in alternative dance clubs around 1999 and 2000, in large part due this album, for its mix of Sonja Kraushofer's soothing vocals mixed with Thomas Rainer's keys and often distorted vocals. Many of their songs exploited the extreme differences between their two styles of vocals, exploring both ambient and harsh themes by bouncing between the two vocalists. Though the L'ame Immortelle line-up has featured the talents of several other musicians, Sonja and Thomas are the core of the band.
About the Album:
Originally released on Germany's Trisol album, Wenn der Letzte Schatten Fallt, was the album that really aided to the bands success. The new release features three additional live tracks. Despite originally being offering only 45 minutes of original music, the album's balance between female and male fronted vocals backed by dynamic and catchy keys will offer something for most electronic music fans to enjoy. With a mix of English and German tracks, I preferred the German tracks, such as Ich gab Dir alles, Gefallen, and Stern. Though the English track Changes also is worth checking out.
A previous reviewer pointed out that Thomas's vocals sounded a bit like Rudy Ratzinger from Wumpscut, and while I will agree with her that both Rudy and Thomas make extensive use of voice distortion, I personally liked the contrast between Thomas and Sonja afforded by his use of distortion. However, I want to point out that on some tracks, such as Changes, Thomas's amazing voice is unaltered. In other words, sometimes he relies upon distortion in order to distance himself from his partner, and for other tracks the two sing together. This general style of mixing vocal styles is something that has become more popular with darkwave music, and can be heard with musicians such as In Strict Confidence's Dennis Ostermann.
Recommended Tracks:
- Gefallen
- Ich gab Dir alles
- Stern
- Changes
Both Sonja and Thomas have had their own side-projects, which might be worth checking out. I didn't like Sonja's band Persephone. It wasn't that it was bad, but rather it was strikingly similar to the softer L'ame Immortelle tracks such as "Another day". If you like the tracks featuring Sonja, please check out her side-project. Thomas had a band named Siechtum, which served as a vehicle for him to explore even harsher themes. I really enjoyed Thomas's solo project. In either case, this particular album really allows me to explore a variety of moods, thus earning the album a spot on my all time favorite list. I'm glad that the album was reissued and hope that it may find its way into new homes.
Similar Artists:
- Blutengel
- Tristesse de la luna
- In Strict Confidence
- Dust of Basement
- H.M.B.
- Pilori
- Sophya
- Helium Vola
L'ame really embodies by contradictory attitude towards "goth" electronic music in general. Their lyrics (the German lyrics, anyway) are brilliant and haunting, and the female vocalist heard on Schatten is amazing. But the album suffers from rather unimaginative composition. The electronic hooks are interesting but they're simply minor filler in between words, and get boring halfway through the album.
The highlight is definitely Gefallen, a woman singing / man growling duet with evocative lyrics that escape the normal "blut der ewigkeit" cliche syndrome of German language industrial. I'd have to place the low point at the end of "Ich gab dir alles", which is supposed to be some kind of crushing angst noise but comes off as a poor imitation of a bad Wumpscut song. The male growling vocals are awfully lame, though on the other hand he sounds even more lame when he sings for real, so maybe it's no complaint.
Over all, it's worth picking up if you follow the genre -- your impressions might differ radically from mine. But a real classic this is not.
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