"The packaging is great - a double-wide jewel case with a poster, sticker and liner notes book in a cardboard box. The content is lacking. Cleopatra uses the requisite Bauhaus opener ("Boys" this time), then scatters a dozen good tracks among 50 throwaways. For brevity's sake, I'll just touch on the highlights. Many of the remaining tracks are dull and abstract, or tinny and forgettable. Disc 1:
Corpus Delecti's "Noxious (The Demon's Game)" is a fun shot of overgoth, with acoustic guitar that almost sounds like a harpsichord. Even hardcore black-clad mopes will get a chuckle out of Advent Sleep's "Lookaway My Love." Seraphim Shock's "After Dark" is pretty much the highlight of the whole box, a strong piece of goth-rock sacrilege with good singing.Disc 2:
Play Dead's "The Tenant" lays down some bass-heavy Bauhaus with over-the-top vocals. Great dance track. "Dissolve" is still one of Switchblade Symphony's best songs, an ominous 4:34 of trip-goth. Disc 3:
The Damned's "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" has a great opening guitar harmony. "The City In The Sea" is a nice piece of medieval folk from Love Is Colder Than Death. Is is just me, or does EVERY SINGLE SONG from Inkubus Sukkubus ("Witch Hunt") sound just like Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for A Hero"?Disc 4:
"Caged Bird" (The Shroud) has mellow goth-pop with smooth vocals. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry's "Hand on Heart" is deathrock with some muscle and teeth. Die Laughing has one of the catchiest songs on the whole thing with "Nemesis," like Nephilim with female vocals.If Cleopatra compiles a strong group of songs on ONE disc, it'll make the whole process a lot cheaper."
This CD is a MUST HAVE!!!
06/20/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is absolutely delightful!!! It has most all of the greatest bands such as: Bauhaus, Christian Death, Rosetta Stone,Switchblade Symphony,Gitane Demone etc. I definetly recommend it to anyone who adores Goth music as much as I do!! If you should purchase this album i'm sure you will be at least satisfied if not absolutely pleased with it! Good booklet with small descriptions of all the bands on the album."
This is an outstanding sampling of Gothic Music
Scott Sweet | 09/11/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Goth Box shows a very wide spectrum of Gothic music. It has both contemporary as well as some of the old stuff. The booklet is outstanding in profiling the bands. It has not only expanded my veiw of music, but it has sparked my interest in several new groups. Overally, It is well worth the money I spent; definately one of my better choices."
A good starter set, not for every fledgling batling.
E. Jones | 01/02/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This set was one of the first "Gothic" CD sets that I purchased, and I truly believe that it's an excellent sort of sampler to the different types of music that make up the Gothic music genre. However, it's not for everyone. If you're a big fan of lighter, more melodic goth or darkwave, and would like to listen to some diverse bands that AREN'T on the Projekt label (except for a few key exceptions, there ARE 60 songs in this set), this is a nice little purchase. Admittedly, I'm one of the few blasphemers that think that Bauhaus isn't all that special, and so I'll let you know right now--if you're looking for something that's full of music along the same lines, you'll not find that here. What you will find, however, is a plethora of bands you may not have heard of, with lots of little surprises awaiting you. Some of it seems a little dated, but most tracks won't make you groan with thoughts of Flock of Seagulls hair.My top ten favorites from this album include (in no particular order) :1. Mountain Voices (Remix) - James Ray and the Performance
2. Harmonies - Sofia Run (It sounds like "Popcorn"! Tee hee.)
3. Resurrection Mary - Ex-Voto
4. The Haunting - Nosferatu
5. Holy You - Deep Red
6. The Enochian Angel Of The 7th Aethyr - David J (It's weird, and sexy!)
7. Do You Believe in Angels - The Last Dance
8. Caged Bird - The Shroud (Being local makes me biased, I think.)
9. Religious As Hell - March Violets
10. T-2000(Kokoro) - Mephisto Walz"
Fair and even handed (Like Fox News)...
D. Helms | Lakewood, CA United States | 07/09/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is, for the most part a good compilation of some of the less notable bands of the mid to late 90's goth scene mixed in with some of the big names of the past couple of decades. It may not be worth the 40 bucks cleopatra wants to charge you for it new but it's definately worth the looking for a used copy if its in good condition."