Notre Dame - Creepshow Freakshow Peepshow
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The Bells Of Notre Dame |
| Genre | Horror Metal |
S. Shaw, Vampirella
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 13 |
Jean-Pierre De Sade
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Guitar
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| Runningtime | 67 Min. |
Snowy Shaw
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Guitar
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| Label | White Trash Records |
Snowy Shaw
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Bass
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| Release | 12 Sept. 2005 |
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Drums
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| Country | Sweden |
Marcus Englund (guest)
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Keyboards
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| Similar artists | Cradle Of Filth, King Diamond | ||
Notre Dame, the shock rock act based around Snowy Shaw, started their career in 1997 and has now put their cult band to rest. Snowy Shaw himself is probably known to all of those that claim to know anything about metal, with a past as a drummer in bands like King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Memento Mori, Illwill and still in Dream Evil his reputation has spread far and wide. In Notre Dame he has left the drums and taken a position in front of the stage as a singer and string bender. With a limited edition of 999 copies Notre Dame release a live recording from the millennium New Years Eve recorded at Sticky Fingers in their hometown of Gothenburg. Notre Dame is considered among many as a cult band and even if I didn't really dug into the band just about the time for their disseverment they are nevertheless fascinating.
Cradle Of Filth, Rob Zombie, Misfits, Bronx Casket Company and not least King Diamond are comparisons that you could draw with Notre Dame and Snowy's past in the latter seems to somewhat have put a mark on the sound of Notre Dame as well. This is a band that it is hard as hell to describe, they are simply one of a kind and, well I don't know, but Notre Dame feels like the Adams Family of metal. This is a theatrical band to say the least with lots of ambitions and if you only hear them much of their greatness is lost according to me. Unfortunately I missed the occasion when the album was recorded but luckily enough I managed to catch them on their last live appearance ever and know for a fact that Notre Dame shall be seen just as much as to be heard.
The sound is not the best I have heard from a live album, although it is heavy and fat and the instruments come out clear enough not to make the dark and roaring sound disturb too much, but it tend to sound a bit claustrophobic. Snowy shares the vocal duties with Vampirella and when those two join together in duet parts it is where Notre Dame is at their best, as in the track Le Nostradamus De Notre Epoque as well with the track Dusk, with the more balanced songs that have not as much fury and aggression. Snowy's voice comes out best when he is not trying to sound as Dani in Cradle Of Filth or as King Diamond but when he has a more settled approach, otherwise it often turns out to sound as croaking instead of singing. It is better then with sensual voice from Vampirella that makes a good balance between the two.
Good or bad choice of songs? I can't be any good judge
of that since my knowledge of the bands' past isn't the best. But the
Accept cover in Son Of A Bitch could have been left out while a track
like Vlad The Impaler with the heavy groove and Vampirella's voice is
of a kind that I would have liked more of. But then a short track with
filled fury and aggression like Bouffoon Bloody Bouffoon can be pretty
good as well. But it is with the tracks that are like old black and
white horror movies this theatrical band show their greatest assets
but you have to see them to fully enjoy Notre Dame.
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Production
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Vocals
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Compositions
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4 |
6 |
5 |
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Summary
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5 chalices of 10 - Thomas |
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