PLACEBO EFFECT

EN

Of course not a new release, but a review that I actually wanted to do at the end of last year. Far from new, because originally released by Danse Macabre in the golden 90s, 1992 in particular, but only available on every relevant streaming platform since the end of last year. In the distant past, on the old Dark Entries website, relevant CDs from a distant and not so distant past were sporadically reviewed in our CD section under the heading 'gold from old' (although it may have been something else). In this context, I would also like to briefly discuss the, in my opinion, dark electro CD of the 90s and perhaps also the decades after.

I am talking about the masterpiece "Galleries Of Pain" by the German Placebo Effect who are now also among us live again (in 2023 at Bimfest with a brilliant performance) and released the album "Shattered Souls" independently in 2020. Placebo Effect was founded in 1989 to pioneer in 1992 in the then still budding genre that would later be called dark electro.

Their debut “Galleries Of Pain” immediately hits like a bomb, also here with us, and is in my opinion leading in the genre with electro, ebm and horror that are masterfully knitted together seamlessly to create a very ominous atmosphere. An album with 14 songs between suppressed tension, existential fear and life pain of which about half would grow into hits on the dance floor. Let me sum them up for you: “Mystress”, “Poison Tree”, “Galleries Of Pain”, “Move”, “Devoid Of Soul”, "Dawn And Death" and “Agony Of Mind” are and remain cult in the genre in 2025 and excel in their intensity and uncomfortable sitting atmosphere, which nevertheless encourages you to move with body and mind.

In other words, an album that should be in your collection, even though it may not be easy to get your hands on physically anymore (a physical reissue would be in order in my opinion), if you still get the chance, don't hesitate for a second to do so because you will be getting an essential album that would set the tone for the later dark electro scene. What's more, this album is much more than 'dark' in my opinion, listening to it is exceptionally exciting and cinematic and the perfect translation of horror in the living room. My absolute favorite song is the brilliant "Devoid Of Soul" that I will add here again with the help of a clip. Essential album in the collection of every Peek-a-Boo/Dark Entries reader!

Kurt INGELS
18/02/2025

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NL

De Nederlanstalige versie van deze review kan u HIER lezen bij onze collega's van Dark Entries Magazine!

Kurt INGELS
18/02/2025

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