What’s much more amazing is different, however. Thing is, throughout these years, we’ve been following and pretty much worshipping DEAD CAN DANCE for what they are – brave, creative and consistent. Still, inspite of this great respect, we always expect a misstep. You know why – people are getting old, creativity is fading… and it never happened.

 

Just like their so unlikely counterparts LAIBACH, PERRY and GERARD are almost immune to releasoing mediocre records. Years go by, they change, and their music changes, staying fresh and good enough to never accuse them of following a formula, but then again, it’s consistently original and good enough to distinguish them from a thousand DCD clones.

 

‘Dionysus’ impresses. What’s more – this is by fat their most Balkan and Bulgarian album. They’ve always had their thing for Southeastern Europe and the Orient, we know. A quick listen to ‘The Serpent’s Egg’ and ‘Aion’ is proof enough. Still, we’ve never heard our roots music so openly incorporated in DCD by now.

 

Years ago we deemed (and rightfully so!) our friends of ISIHIA and Macedonia’s ANATASTASIJA as the Balkan descendants of DCD but seems now has come a time to turn things around. You can’t really deny the huge, huge Bulgarian influence on ‘Dance of the Bacchantes’, ‘Liberator of Minds’ and ‘The Mountain’ – they boast Bulgarian and Greek paganism and Orphic mysteries all morphed into one. But because DCD have always been a very, very international band, we notive both Brazilian, North African and Slovak instruments used., which is fine and enriching, even.

 

Besides its impeccably reach sound, ‘Dionysus’ comes off as a peculiar DEAD CAN DANCE album thanks to the fact that it focuses not on PERRY and GERRARD voices as usual, but rather on the exquisite, rich instrumental. Their vocals are sound, as usual, but never dominate.

 

These two only seem to get wiser with age and thus we’re humbled to have our vocal and instrumental traditional featured so extensively on their latest album. It’s a truly great experience, no less.