Last Dusk-As the Young Die

Last Dusk is a a Gothic Rock band from Costa Rica formed back in 2010. Over the years they have release two full length albums, an EP and two singles, played countless shows and survived several line-up changes. The two constant members are Vocalist and Bass player,  Carfax Haddo and drummer Stephanie Sabat. Currently they have also added the talents of guitarist Roberto Thomas and lyricist/author, Wayne Reid and singer Eva Red from the band Red Apple Cvlt.(Eva has also worked with Secret Sin designing the cover of the Angels of liberty album, her artwork is amazing)One other contributor is Stuart Harbut from the band "Rain Children" (Composed the music for the song "I Wonder") Also, occasionally the band enlists the aid of DJ Lord Fer to play bass during live shows when in Mexico.

I mentioned before in my "Secret Sin Records" post that prior to the restoration of Secret Sin Records I had not heard of Last Dusk. The first time I heard of them I saw Scarlet Powers from Angels of Liberty wearing one of their shirts and holding up one of their CDs. That was a great introduction to them for me since (as it's well documented by now) I am such a huge AOL fan. Once I started working with them and getting to know them I started listening to their music more and more, each time finding some wonderful sequence, lyric or riff I had missed previously and before I knew it I was listening to their music often and would find myself often humming their tunes. 

 

This brings us to their newest album, released officially by Secret Sin Records in June, "As the Young Die". As I mentioned before, for this album the band enlisted the talents of Lyricist/author Wayne Reid. Not only did he help out with the lyrics but periodically he can be heard reciting relevant passages from his books to set the tone for some songs. It's also the first album to feature Roberto Thomas on guitar and I have to say, I really love the way he plays. Also featured on some of the tracks are the angelic vocals of Eva Red.

 Before I get into describing the album it's self, I just have to say, having gotten to know both Carfax Haddo and Wayne Reid has really been a pleasure, they are truly great guys and a blast to work with and I truly wish them all the success they deserve.

This is Gothic Rock at it's finest. From the opening track "Touch" the band shows their brilliance with a beautiful song, laced with angelic chorus vocals by Eva Red that seem to sing in response to the slowly paced clear guitar lulling you into a calm, only to switch gears later and increase both in pace and intensity all the while never missing a beat. (Eva's vocals are so consistent, I actually thought it was a synth they were using but after talking with Carfax he corrected me.)  As you progress through the album each track takes on it's own identity, yet all of the songs on the album share certain qualities. Rich guitar rifts, traditional Goth-style vocals. If I had to pick a favorite track on the album I believe it would have to be [VI] Principle of Cause and Effect. There is a guitar rift on there that I could just never get tired of. I also feel that "I Wonder" is another stand out track.   

You can pick up any of Last Dusk's releases, including the CD for "As the Young Die" on Bandcamp. Below I will leave links to all things Last Dusk. Please help support these guys, not only is their music great but you won't find more deserving people.

Last Dusk's Official Bandcamp
Last Dusk's Official Facebook
Last Dusk's Official Youtube
Last Dusk's Official Spotify
Secret Sin Records

Secret Sin Records

 So I want to start this post off with a bit of a disclaimer. I work with Secret Sin records. I don't say this as a way of showing off or anything, but rather as an acknowledgment that naturally, I want the bands on this label to do well. It makes sense that I would want to use every platform possible to aid in that right? Well, I want to tell you that even if I were not a part of this label I would be making a post about Secret Sin as well as the bands that are on it. When I did my first post about Angels of Liberty I still wasn't even involved at the time. 

In my Angels of Liberty post I spoke a lot about my experiences with Voe and Scarlet and about the band, however, I didn't go into detail about the label they started. The original bands were Angels of Liberty, Snakedance, Fear Incorporated, Minnie d'Arc and New Zero God. Between 2011 and 2016 music was released by Secret Sin Records. There was always a DIY feel to their releases and they were known to throw in little extras that made every purchase feel special. What happened next is well documented. When tragedy struck Secret Sin was all but dead. Before Voe's passing Angels of Liberty had completed a lot of new material. The plan was to release another album, but of course that never happened.

 This brings us to the current reincarnation of Secret Sin Records. A few friends who have stayed in contact with Scarlet gathered with the purpose of getting that unreleased material out there and continuing the label that Voe and Scarlet had started. Scarlet Powers from Angels of Liberty, Wayne Reid and Carfax Haddo, from the band Last Dusk, along with two long time Angels of Liberty  friends DJ Xiola and June Moyer. I came on board some time later when it came time for a website. Once the ball got rolling word spread quickly and before long Secret Sin Records officially had on it's roster Angels of Liberty, Last Dusk, NU:N and the Stella Project. While getting everything in place for the release of the new Angels of Liberty ,Last Dusk released the first album under the new Secret Sin regime (although officially we are declaring the AOL release as number 1), "As the Young Die". The pre order for the Angels of Liberty album "Servant of the Grail" is under way with the official release coming soon and all is going according to plan.

The next couple of blog posts are going to be Secret Sin Record bands. I will be the first to admit, prior to having started working with SSR I had never heard Last Dusk. I had heard a bit of NU:N ,but not nearly enough to say I was well versed. In the last few weeks I have listened to both bands in depth and although I work with them, I do indeed recommend them as a fan as I have these other Artists I have posted about. That and let's be honest what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't add their music to my blog haha. Below I will post links to all things Secret Sin. 

Secret Sin Records Official Website

Secret Sin Records Facebook

Secret Sin Records Official Youtube

Malefixio-Culto a lo Invisible

Malefixio are a Deathrock band from Barcelona, Spain. The members of the band are Eva Lady Stardust , Jordi Nozin and Mauricio. If the haunting vocals I will talk about later in this post sound familiar it's because Eva was formerly in the band "La Peste Negra" (another band I recommend checking out) before their split.

My first exposure to the band Malefixio was the video for Ritval from their self titled Demo "Malefixio" on youtube. The video is full of witches, demons, devils and rituals as well plenty of other spooky visuals. (Which if you haven't guessed by now is right up my alley) The song it's self was in Spanish, which I do not speak, however the sound of the song it's self left me with little question as to what it was about. The sinister guitar rifts and haunting vocals gave me chills and I found myself listening to the track over and over again. Once I read that the song name translated to "Ritual" and that the lyrics all described a ritual, I was over the moon.. After hearing their second song from that demo "Todos Somos Uno" , which is another great track, I was already a fan. I was also delighted to find out that the band name "Malefixio" translates to "spell", "hex" or "curse", which just added to the over all atmosphere.

This brings us to the album this post is truly about, "Culto a lo Invisible". As much as I already loved the demo from the band, this first album only made me like them more. Both of the songs from the Demo I already liked show up here as well as 7 other original tracks and a cover of a song by another great band Madre del Vizio, entitled "Triviallita". The songs on this album, to use the bands words are about society, Mediterranean Mythology or Paganism in addition to Rituals or Hexes. The artwork on the album cover is also great and I read in an interview that the symbols are a "Defixio", which was "a Mediterranean Curse, before Christ era, written on the graves for wish the worst luck to enemies even after death This way the enemies didn't come back for revenge" (For the full interview please click here: Malefixio Interview )

I mentioned before that the guitar was sinister, which it is, yet it is also quite catchy and the riffs will most certainly get stuck in your head along with the wonderful driving bass lines. If you are like me and don't speak Spanish please don't let that keep you from checking out this album as the vocals are just important a part of the over all sound as any other instrument and are executed wonderfully. The lyrics are also translated for you in both the album Booklet as well as on the Bandcamp site.

You can currently buy either the CD or the digital download as well as shirts, buttons or patches from their Bandcamp or Big cartel pages, which I will leave links to below in addition to their Facebook, Youtube, Spotify and Band Website. 

Click the links below for all things Malefixio :
Malefixio Bandcamp
Malefixio Official Website
Malefixio Youtube
Malefixio Big Cartel
Malefixio Facebook
Malefixio Spotify