tempobet yeni adresi
like this cd review

03/09/2015 : HORROR VACUI - Return Of The Empire

HORROR VACUI

Return Of The Empire

MusicCD
GothicGothic Rock

[95/100]   

Avant! Records
03/09/2015, Luki PUKI

Horror Vacui are a 5 piece Gothic Rock band from Bologna in Italy. They debuted in 2013 with In Darkness You Will Feel Alright and after 2 years of touring, they came back in 2015 with Return of the Empire. The band’s name is an artistic term meaning a ‘fear of empty space’ requiring the artist to fill the whole canvas. This embodies this release as from the cover art to all 8 tracks this is the most complete album I’ve heard in the Goth Rock genre, not a dud in sight.

A listen may convince you its time to retrieve your coffin suitcase from under the bed, chase the moths from your silk vampire shirt, slap on some white powder and blood red lipstick (for the guys) and start backcombing up your Barnett for the next time the HV come to play your home town. Return of the Empire really is like stepping back in time to an 80s Goth Rock night! Think Fields of the Nephilim’s Moonchild without being derivative. 

Every song is a solid belter you could play at a DJ night, but the title track Return of the Empire is my favourite, with the slower Till the Last Drop also deserving a mention. There isn’t a lot else to say as you either like gothic rock or you don’t.

If you do, you can pick up Return of the Empire on Bandcamp for a voluntary donation, but if you just got paid you will want to check out the Marble Vinyl edition, limed to 300 copies, with screen printed insert from their label Avant’s shop (at this point your reviewer dribbles his vampire fangs on keyboard while staring lustily at the lovely vinyl!)

Luki PUKI
03/09/2015


 

Next reviews
MICHAEL SELE (THE BEAUTY OF GEMINA) • Ten Albums That Changed My Life
MONSTER JAW • Your Day Will Come
DRINKS • Hermits on Holiday
SHRIEKBACK • Tench (reissue)
BRUNO SANFILIPPO • Ten Albums That Changed My Life
HOCICO • Forgotten Tears
THE HARROW • Love Like Shadows
GLENN PHILLIPS • Lost At Sea
PIETER NOOTEN • Ten Albums That Changed My Life
METAL DISCO • Unearthly Vices

 

Same combination of genres: GOTHIC + GOTHIC ROCK
ROSETTA STONE • Under The Weather
THE DREAMSIDE • Dreams Beyond The Veil
DER KLINKE • Facing Fate
NFD • Trinity
THE MARS MODEL • Primal Urge
FEATHER TRADE • Dead Boy
THIS VALE OF TEARS • This Vale Of Tears
KILL SHELTER • Asylum
THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE • Fascination
TWO WITCHES • The Undead

 

Same genre: GOTHIC
THE CURE • Songs Of A Lost World
DARK • Nightmare
ANTHONY JONES • Farewell To Flesh
JESU • When I Was Small
DAVID J HASKINS • Missive To An Angel From The Halls Of Infamy And Allure
VARIOUS ARTISTS • DARKSIDE OF THE CON III
THE SISTERS OF MERCY • First And Last And Always
ALIEN VAMPIRES • Evil Twin Ep
SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES • Juju
VIRGIN PRUNES • Hérésie

 

Same genre: GOTHIC ROCK
SUNSHINE BLIND • Scarred but Fearless
AHRAYEPH • The Final Hurt
RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY • Strange Kind Of Paradise
BLACK ROSE MOVES • Death Dance
SUBTERFUGE • Dividing Times
BLACK RAIN • Black Rain
GHOSTING • All Your Dreams
THE FUNERAL MARCH • It All Falls Apart
THE ULTIMATE DREAMERS • Paradoxical Sleep
MEPHISTO WALTZ • The First Release

Music reviews

09
10
NERO/GRIS
Silenci
07
10
SUBATOMIC STRANGERS
Resuwrecked
01
10
BLOKKONTROLL
I-II-III
28
09
SUNSHINE BLIND
Scarred but Fearless
27
09
DARK MINIMAL PROJECT
Pleasure Is A Sin
26
09
PROMENADE CINEMA
Afterlife

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

NEWS

14
10
43 years of “Wahre Arbeit, Wahrer Lohn” by Die Krupps: A Blueprint for Industrial Resistance
09
10
Baby Turns Blue and 43 today!
03
10
BIMFEST XXIII – 2026 - Full Line-Up Announced!
28
09
De Delvers announces third full-lenght album 'Zwarte Siroop'
27
09
CURSE MACKEY Unveils ‘Imaginary Enemies’, A Darkwave Descent Into Grief & Revelation
25
09
Today, exactly 38 years ago The Klinik released 'Plague'!

Concert reviews

17
08
KRAFTWERK
Royal Palace Open Air - Brussels - August 14 2025
22
04
GAVIN FRIDAY
Live at 404 / De Vooruit - Ghent - 01/04.2025
28
11
BELGIAN ELECTROWAVE IS NOT DEAD 3
Belgian ElectroWave Is Not Dead 3

GET A COPY OF OUR MAGAZINE
SEND TO YOUR HOME

INTERVIEWS

27
09
CORPUS DELICTI
''All is quiet, the motion's cold. I face the wind as I'm taking the road.''
18
09
WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW
This album isn’t about bashing religion and faith. That would be a pretty cheap trick.
17
09
ZWAREMACHINE
We were able to secure the support slot for Front 242. Everything was looking positive until Bas’s cancer reemerged and there were complications.
27
08
BEAUTIFUL FREAKIN' WEIRDO
An Interview With UK Industrial Metal Act, Beautiful Freakin' Weirdo
29
07
EX-VOTO
“Decisions. In a modern time. Transmissions. From the inner mind.“

PHOTOS

21
09
KRUPPS
Kulttempel Oberhausen
12
09
ULTRA SUNN
De Casino St Niklaas
12
09
ULTRA SUNN
De Casino St Niklaas
08
09
AUX ANIMAUX SUPPORT SHE PAST AWAY
Kulttempel Oberhausen
07
09
SHE PAST AWAY
Kulttempel Oberhausen
17
08
NEW MODEL ARMY
Summerkultur Dinslaken
23
07
DUCTAPE
Amphi Festival Keulen

ADVERTISE
IN PEEK-A-BOO

VIDEO CLIPS

17
10
ZANIAS
Unseen (Official Video)
16
10
DOPE
Blood Money
15
10
SOFT CELL
Martin (The Hacker 2025 Remix)
14
10
DARK MINIMAL PROJECT
Schlafen !
13
10
PEAK FLOW
Don't Die In Your Sleep (Remix)
13
10
CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE
Flying Turns (Live @ BIM 2009)
12
10
COCTEAU TWINS
Hazel