Search - Christian Death :: Sexy Death God

Forbidden Fruit

Nick | UK | 01/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1994 Valor returned after a two year hiatus with a collection of songs, billed by himself, as 'a deviation towards things more serpentine, whilst preparing for the year 1999'. Indeed, the themes reflected here are evident in the title of the album: Desire, Apocalypse and Religion. The beauty of decay and the lure of forbidden lust is evident at every turn. 'Sexy Death God' wallows in a decadent aura and lush instrumentation. A hitherto hidden masculinity is conveyed via snaking, tribal rhythms and rocky guitars. The violins and celli, meanwhile, are played with more expression and virtuosity than ever before. Particularly charming is the plethora of percussive diversity, not to mention the heart-rending orchestrations. This is what 'death rock' should always have been about, and it redefines the term in an archetypal fashion. Tragedy, sweetness and beauty are balanced by anger and aggression. Valor and Maitri produce a masterful ride through the human psyche. One of the greatest."

Back To Doing Their Best Work - The Beginning Of A New Era

Ken | Youngsville, LA USA | 05/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There was a period of Christian Death's career that didn't seem to sit too well with many fans. From about 1989 until 1993, the few proper albums (except the awesome "Insanus, Untio...")that were released were a far cry from what we'd come to know and love from the gothic and death rock pioneers. The line-up was nothing resembling stable during this period - in fact, with every LP, new names were chalked up for various duties while Valor made most of the instrumentation responsibilities his own. The writing became more skeletal and one-dimensional - gone were the grand orchestrated compositions and layered, serpentine guitar melodies. Don't get me wrong, Valor is one extremely talented musician, but much of the output from this time seemed... uninspired. Basically, and perhaps this was all Valor's intent of having the music represent and compliment his bleak messages and concepts, Christian Death became simplistic. Finally, to the cheers of Valor's long-time fans, Christian Death made a triumphant return to fine form with "Sexy Death God". Although much of the record is hard-edged like the ones before it, there's a sense of substance here that wasn't really present in the few years prior. When "Kingdom Of The Tainted Kiss" comes roaring out of the speakers and sets the tone for the rest of the disk, you can immediately feel Valor's triumphant return to what he's always done best. Stylistically, Valor nodded in favor of his past success with "Heresy Act Two", a revamped version of the original from "Sex & Drugs & Jesus Christ". "Temples Of Desire", "Eternal Love", and "Upon The Sea Of Blood" definitely show the band hearkening back to much-missed gothic territory that Valor partially developed the mid-80's. Juxtaposed against the mellower aforementioned tracks are harsh, militaristic numbers that in some places border "industrial" (for lack of a better term), most notably of these is "Drilling The Hole". Finally, to round out this diverse collection are "The Serpent's Tail" and "Invitation Au Suicide" (probably my favorite single track of the CD). Both of these are decidedly death-rock with some peculiar variations, like unexpected double kick-drumming and truly heavy, sinister, plodding rhythm guitar riffing that puts anything on the "Sex & Drugs..." CD to shame. On its own, "Sexy Death God" was an absolute success. It put to rest a very shaky period of the band's career and finally established the team of Valor and Maitri as a promising and dominant partnership that, in my humble opinion, rejuvenated an entire genre with this CD and the handful that followed it in the years to come. In short, "Sexy Death God" was the start of an entirely new era of Christian Death. And instead of simply forgetting their early 90's metal-tinged output and regressing to their successful 80's style, they made a very convincing combination of the two... and as a result, made something totally new and invigorating. A job well done..."

Bad Title; GREAT CD

Matthew | Pittsburgh | 01/03/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Indeed, "Sexy Death God" is a rather ludicrous title for an album, especially if the artist would like their material to be taken seriously. But the title is just a strange glimpse into the grotesquely humourous world of Valor Kand and this conceptual release was the last REALLY great Christian Death album, second only to the "Atrocities" and "Wind Kissed Pictures" EPs. After some mediocre experimentation on the "All The Love/All The Hate" releases and the apocalyptic gloom of "Insanus Ultio...," Valor returns to form with a driving and solid release that is pure Gothic Rock from start to finish, with a very *slight* metallic edge. Valor's classic trademark guitar sound is in full flanged effect, with lulling bass lines and crisp precise live drumming to provide the rhythmic core. Valor's vocals are brooding and more reserved (as on the earlier releases) and Maitri's punkish howls compliment his voice nicely.There are some devilish violin passages, at their finest on the breathtaking "Serpents Tail" and the mischevous "Temples Of Desire." Additionally, there are some subtle and tasteful orchestral and choral samples that really thicken the atmosphere and create an epic tone to the music. There are some drawbacks, the absurdity of songs like "Drilling The Hole" "Deeply, Deeply" and "Kingdom Of The Tainted Kiss" - but though the lyrics are somewhat trite and probably primarily written for shock value alone, the music is still pretty cool and more organic than most 'gothic' releases championed today. In a nutshell, they are acceptibly guilty pleasures! The reworking of "This Is Heresy" is a hit or miss - some fans like this harsher arrangement better, others prefer the claustrophobia of the original. But again, it is a good song and fits in perfectly with the well-crafted flow of this release. This album should still be available from Cleopatra, but if for some reason it has gone out of print, it is definitely worth tracking down a used copy. For what its worth, the original Nostradamus release had very cool packaging comprised of various Pre-Raphaelite artwork and vintage erotic photography. I am not sure if the Cleopatra re-release packed the album the same way...just something for collectors to keep in mind."