• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Sep 04, 2014 Web Exclusive By Mack Hayden

Peter Murphy first made his name as the frontman for Bauhaus, the prototypical goth rock band. All these years later, Murphy still sings like David Bowie’s evil twin and can erect a cemetery of darkened synths, guitars, and drums like nobody’s business. On that level, Lion is another fun ride through Murphy’s haunted imagination. The problem is his fans already know this cemetery very well and Lion doesn’t really show us any new graves of significance.

Murphy enlisted Killing Joke bassist Youth to produce his tenth full-length studio album. Given both men’s positions as post-punk and goth progenitors, Lion sadly isn’t up to snuff with the black magic these two have been so capable of creating in the past. This may be the first record he’s done in a while which harkens back to his early years. But if you’re looking for tracks as provocative and powerful as Bauhaus’ “Dark Entries” or “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” you won’t find them here. (www.petermurphy.info)

Author rating: 5/10