| DARK SIDE COWBOYS
HIGH ALBUM NANGIJALA RELEASE: SEPTEMBER, 1999 REVIEW: OCTOBER 8, 1999 
It's people like Dark Side Cowboys that make you wonder whether the despicable moralists who claimed role playing games to have bad effects on the youth might have been right after all. Looking at the booklet pictures and reading the lyrics, it's easy to suspect that "High" is the result of way too many late nights spent with "Dungeons & Dragons" or "Warhammer". It's all gothic types, pseudomedieval clothing and evil demons. "High" is the follow up to their previous album "Disclosure", and is thereby yet another minidrama with a story running through all the songs. Not a very exciting angle, really. David Bowie tried it on "Outside", but honestly, how many did really have the patience to bother about the crime story on that album? Dark Side Cowboys are firmly rooted in the gothic movement, but the only thing really gothic on "High" is the dark vocals. Instrumentally they're a lot more diverse. Which unfortunately doesn't help much when most of the music sounds like horrible eighties metal or even more horrible symphonic rock. It's so pompous it literally makes me nauseaus. Elements of death metal and annoying female wailing doesn't help the music up. The only part of the album I want to hear again is the few jazzy minutes in the middle of "The Ritual". Dark Side Cowboys obviously have both talent and ambition. It's a shame they waste it on projects like this. KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN |
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