Reviews
- The Fire of Becoming
The Fire of Becoming
- Black Metal .Com (Germany) 17-7-02
Ethereal electronic
Gothic/Neo-Folk & Dark-Ambient music with female vocals from Australia!
Melancholy and intoxicating, with touches of doomy serene moments! Three
dreamy female vocalists (Karina Eames, Bonnie Radbratovic, & Sarah
Manthey) alternate to present solemn & plaintive, but beautiful
songs recalling the ''Heavenly Voices'' compilation series from Hyperium
Records Germany, or pioneer Goth/Doom bands on C'Est La Mort records
such as AREA, BEAUTIFUL PEA GREEN BOAT, CLAIR OBSCUR, & other bands
that have appeared on the C'Est La Mort's classic ''Doctor Death'' compilation
series!
With guy-member Paul Handley handling the instrumentation (guitar, bass-guitar,
synthesizers, rhythm, etc.) BELTANE is a worthy match to complement
similar Australian bands such as CHALICE & ELEGION!
10 Songs; 56 minutes! Import on Definitive Recordings 2000, South Australia.
www.blackmetal.com
The Fire of Becoming
- Cyberpunk Zine (Hungary) 18-6-02
Beltane redefines
"shivering" in the most positive sense of the word.
The Gathering reconfigured for a decent amount of electronics
and drum machine. Let's add the energetic and subtle moments of Lacrimosa
and Devil Doll, sometimes spicing the vocals and the overall
mood to Faith and the Muse, and when we've got the whole mixture
ready, let's say that it is a work of two only, that is why their music
is not a dense curtain of sounds but polished and intimate, very much
intimate indeed. From the lyrics, the artwork and all the things their
name implies I'd say that the album The Fire of Becoming is Wiccan
ethereal gothic, in which the narrative and the melodic vocal parts
give a strong pulse to the story the notes and the tunes unfold, how
does a woman love when she really loves.
Reviewed by damage.
http://cyberpunk.pardey.org/zene
The
Fire of Becoming - DB Magazine (Australia) Dec. 20 2000
A somewhat amorphous
and enigmatic entity (having, as it does, no fixed line-up), Beltane
is a local band which first made itself known during the course of last
year through the release of a five-song CD-EP entitled 'Dionysian Blood'.
'The Fire Of Becoming' the follow-up, represents their first full-length
recording and contains almost an hour's worth of some fairly unusual
and original material which defies easy categorisation. Very melodious,
with the odd bit of faster and or heavier material thrown in here and
there to keep things interesting, the music of Beltane makes use of
a diverse range of musical styles - something which results in a fairly
unique sound overall. Among the styles employed are Gothic, industrial
and electronic; the last being one of the most significantly used and
one that is noticeable throughout. Interesting back-ground sound effects
and tribal sounds are also used to great effect (the latter particularly
so in the tracks 'The Enchanted Ocean' and 'A Self Willed Commission'),
as are some sections of rather pleasant keyboard music which make an
appearance in a couple of the tracks. All of the song lyrics and music
on 'The Fire Of Becoming' were written by the band's founding member,
Paul Handley, who also takes care of all the keyboards, electronic programming,
and bass guitar music on this recording. The vocal side of things is
handled by three female singers (one of whom, Karina Eames, also plays
guitar on the title track) who do a very good job in their depart-ment;
providing, as they do, clean, melliflu-ous vocals that prove to be the
perfect vehicle for the song lyrics, heavily steeped in New Age themes.
Well-known local musician Aaron Hewson (Prototype, ex- Mark Of Cain)
also makes an appearance on the album, playing guitar on four of the
tracks. Of the ten tracks that make up 'The Fire of Becoming', four
- Angel Of May, Kinship, Spell of Harmony and Dionysian Blood - also
appeared on the aforementioned 'Dionysian Blood' EP. While one of these
four tracks, Dionysian Blood, is pretty much the same, the other three
all differ markedly; being, for a start, significantly longer in each
case (con-siderably lengthier intros). In addition, the newer version
of Angel Of May is somewhat less heavy and aggressive than before (disap-pointingly
so, I feel) and also does not make use of a didgeridoo, an instrument
apparent at varying points during the course of the other version. Notable
differences between the two versions of Kinship include the use of a
different vocalist and the absence here of a section of distinctly Middle
Eastern-sounding music that was particularly prominent. Overall, these
minor disappointments aside, the material on 'The Fire of Becoming'
is very enjoyable to listen to and imaginative listeners may well find
it transporting them to unusual realms of the imagination. Ap-parently,
during the time it has been performing live, Beltane has attracted a
pre-dominantly Gothic following but given the diversity of musical styles
used in producing the material on this CD, its music really should appeal
to a far wider audience. James Brazel
Russian Gothic
Project (Russia) Dec. 2000
"The Fire of Becoming"
/ (p)00 Definitive. I got used to dark shades of goth/industrial CDs
and to gothic /calligraphic fonts on their covers. And I was rather
alerted by the yellow/red spectre, more often attributed to pop/techno
dance aestethics. Strangely, the music turned to be quite pleasant melodic
gothic rock with female vocals - a bright example of how the design
of the CD goes in contradiction with its contents. Beltane is a bright
representative of Australian goth scene. It's not a secret the goth
scene of this continent is very strong and original, even though it's
mostly local and not widely known in Europe. The general style, as I
have already mentioned, is gothic rock. There are tracks with more mainstream
sound, there are more electronic/new age ones, but most of them are
close to English gothic rock in the vein of Inkubus Sukkubus or Die
Laughing. The specific feature of Beltane is three (!) female vocalists.
Frankly speaking, their voices sound rather alike and there's not much
of a contrast between them. Still, such attention to female voice is
pleasant. Although all main musical work was carried out by Paul Handley,
the leader of the band, who at the same time does programming and synths
and plays bass, thanks to lots of female vocals the album turned to
be very "female" and sincere - excellent gothic rock, beautiful and
rather original.
4/5 Coroner www.gothic.ru
Chain D.L.K.
(Italy) Dec. 2000
The Fire Of Becoming
Definitive Recs CD, 10 tracks, 56' From Australia a couple of months
ago Beltane sent me their first CD titled THE FIRE OF BECOMING. From
that land I know only the classic bands like Triffids, Dead Can Dance
to name the few I remember and to be honest here in Europe it's difficult
to be informed of what's going on there (my uncle lives in Melbourne
but he's quite old and he likes only operas). Beltane music remember
me someway some 4 AD bands of the past. You know, that kind of oblique
rock/wave mid tempos… The band's sound is based on synth sounds (like
on Kinship where you can find a bass guitar along with a synthesizer
doing most of the work), drums, a particular female voice, some ethnic
influence (some tribal percussion and flute on Dionysian Blood for example)
and an intangible personal touch. The ten tracks doesn't have a particular
melody that makes you remember the song immediately: it's a slow process.
I don't like all the track the same way (specially because for the way
of singing) but the band's sound it's interesting and make's you wanting
to listen the CD different times.
Maurizio Pustianaz
www.chaindlk.com
Recycle
Your Ears Webzine (Germany) Nov. 28 2000
The Fire of Becoming:
"The fire of becoming" is the first full length album of the South Australian
Beltane. On this CD, they use 4 tracks of their "Dionysian blood" single
and add 6 new ones. There is not a huge evolution in Beltane's sound
between this album and the previous single, except that the sound recording
has improved, with a nice emphasis on accoustic percussions (even though
a slightly annoying old-goth drum machine is to be heard on some tracks,
like "Until the new moon"). The pace has also slowed down a little bit.
But people who liked "Dionysian blood" should enjoy "The fire of becoming"
as well. Beltane's music is a mystic/new wave minded flowing goth rock
with a happy female voice (getting almost childish in some choruses)
that focuses on rituals and magic. The rhythms, however, are more rock
oriented that the classic ritual drumming of similar releases. The sound
is very clear and doesn't have the lush edge of the american or counterparts
of this band. In a way, with its mixture of odl synths and accoustic
sounds, this is closer to the enlgish goth things and the bands Nightbreed
used to release a couple of years ago. I haven't been highly enthralled
by "The fire of becoming", but this is still well done and honest mystic
goth-rock, and may appeal to the usual fans.
Nicolas
www.recycleyourears.com
Prospective Magazine
(Finland/Norway/Sweden) Nov. 15 2000
The Fire of Becoming
CD, Definite Recordings 2000 I have a long time felt that good Australian
bands are completely missed out of by the European audience. Bands such
as Ikon and now Beltane are just too good to miss out on so here is
your chance to do something about it. Beltane reminds me of Claire Voyant
and sometimes Dead Can Dance, which is a good thing. The female singers,
there are three of them, are not the best there is but quite good enough
for me to listen to for hours. The album is very well balanced, though
not overly well produced. The slow ambient tunes mix with harder surrounding
soundscapes and gives a very enjoyable overall impression. There are
a lot of different genres here all mixed together but thankfully it
is done with some sense and most of the time the musical elements takes
the back seat in favour of the vocals. The one real problem I have with
the album are the more world dance oriented songs which I feel to be
all misplaced and should not have been included here. I liked The Fire
of Becoming very much. It is just the kind of music I like. Female vocals,
gothic moods and ambient elements. This one will stay on the CD player
for a while to be sure. Andreas Ahlgren [7/10] http://www.prospective.nu
Dark-Wave Radio/E-zine
(France) : Oct. 1 2000
The Fire Of Becoming
(Definitive Recordings, 55'37', 10 tracks, atmospheric gothic music)
:The first full Beltane's CD, released few days ago, brings something
to the gothic scene from Australia and in the world I guess. The reason
is the band does a mix between several musical styles such gothic, industrial,
new age or electronic music. First of all, all these musical styles
are a great crossover but we feel more the gothic and new age influences
with some industrial and electronic touches, so Beltane isn't an electronic
or industrial band but more a gothic band. The use of experimental sounds
gives a deeper approach to the songs ("Mysterium") and we can notice
only female vocals, not male vocals but only vocals done by 3 girls,
full and backing vocals. Not a band such The Gathering, not as Theatre
of Tragedy without male vocals, just a very good debut album, very original.
(7,5/10) http://www.dark-wave.org
Review
- Beltane 'The Fire of Becoming'
-Album through Definitive Recordings
Beltane means (at least) two things: an ancient Celtic celebration of
May-eve; and an Adelaide based Ambient World-Dance Gothic/Industrial
duo whose debut album "The Fire of Becoming", four years in
the making, is now available through Definitive Recordings and Beltane's
website.
Paul Handley is the founding member and basis of this outfit which involves
not a definite number of musicians including vocalists Karina Eames,
Bonnie Radibratovic & co-founder Sarah Manthey. Like many artists
within the Dark Wave of the music spectrum, tracks on this album average
just over 5:30 with moods varying from despair to hope and themes including
Ancient Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Gothic-Industrial Artists that come to mind while listening to "The
Fire of Becoming" include Portishead, The Cure, aspects of Dogmachine,
Rammstein, MOLG and Thrill Kill Kult. It is probably a good place to
start if you were considering an interest in this style of music - it's
not too heavily Industrial but has just enough of the flavour to perhaps
seek more out; it's not too electronic although more human input could
add warmth to the almost-clinical synthesized bases to these tracks;
it has enough pop to keep the punter hooked; it's going to prove difficult
to follow-up given this took four years to make!
PG (Jacky) Gleeson
Necropolis Webzine
(Spanish Translation)
"The Fire Of Becoming"
2000 DEFINITIVE RECORDINGS CD
Beltane is an Australian group whose visible head is Paul Handley, the
person in charge of the programming, the low one and all the referring
one to sintetizadores. This gentleman four people more of those than
next we will speak give form to a band that we can fit in a gothic-ete'reo
style (the odiosas labels although it is necessary to use them to understand
to us).
From the Antipodal ones of Becoming arrives east titled album to us
"The Fire", made up of 10 musical pieces. First from them
it receives the same name that the album and is the unique one in which
it appears the smooth voice of Karina Eames. Peculiar it turns out to
see the presence of three different feminine singers, although always
it predominates the voice of Bonnie Radibratovic, with fragile tones
near the voice of any quinceañera (without being inferior its
work, of course, but something him lack).
Next to the voice there is an obtained rate of guitars smooth and stumped
boxes of rates. That is to say, it is not a this group in which one
is going away to find thousand effects hidden in each song, although
the production is, everything is necessary to say it, obtained well.
At the time of choosing the some subject, perhaps less etéreo
and more rythmical it is "Dionysian Blood" (with exotic and
tribal sounds) in which conducts us to a thematic one of youth and carpe
diem:
"Young spirit to move embraces the night
Electric passion of the moment "
Other subjects and
images that appear in this album are the water, the moon, the search
of a peace place, the call of the passion, the search of the love impossible
and other many impossible ones to enumerate in this commentary.
The main voice according
to the subject is accompanied by also feminine choirs, which makes this
disc quite linear as a whole, which by a side helps to identify its
songs... but also it causes that it is difficult to differentiate them.
In the criticizeable part we can say than the voice sometimes seems
not to get to give the note, is mixed and it abounds in whispers, choirs,
spoken voice, etc. On the other hand art-work very is not worked, and
is work of the own Handley.
Really, not to comment
out this too long we were before a band that has an interesting quality
in the instrumental part although the voice remains a little left behind.
The "intros" of the subjects very are worked and the rate
of the subjects is not boring but it is not either for throwing rockets.
For sample the fifth cut "Kinship".
A certainly recommendable
album for that they please of the gothic-ete'reo mestization, with an
affluent battery and box of simple rates, somewhat fragile voices and
"musical intros" and developments that as minimum are worth
the trouble to dedicate part of our attention. As personal recommendation
I indicate the subject "Dionysian Blood".
Rafa Cros
Necropolis Webzine-www.terra.es/personal/sogonz