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Darkhaus - My Only Shelter


Stefan

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I couldn't decide in which forum this should be in so I put it in the Other Music Styles forum.

This is great. Very Finnish sounding. I love the track Ghost and I think Jez will like this...

 

 

Album review from reflectionsofdarkness.com:

 

Founded in 2011 they now released their debut album. DARKHAUS is a five piece intercontinental band coming from Scotland, USA, Germany and Austria. Head of the band Rupert Keplinger is a multi-platinum songwriter / composer, well-known for his collaboration with top selling German artists like PETER MAFFAY, EISBRECHER, STEPHAN WEIDNER and some more. Some might already know him as bassist of EISBRECHER. Co-creator, bassist and main lyricist is Gary Meskil, is also the founder of the US hardcore band PRO-PAIN. Another member coming from PRO-PAIN is the guitarist Marshall Stevens. The drummer Paul Keller and the lead singer Kenny Henlon complete the band. Their music can be allocated to the Synth-Rock genre.

After listening to the album it is quite clear that not absolute beginners have created this album but musicians with lots of experience. The first track is already a start-up for a great Synth-Rock album. It started like a Synth-Pop song but turns into a song that definitely rocks. Most of the songs start this way but before they appear to be too nice and sweet, driving beats and catchy guitar riffs make it quite clear that it is still Rock music. Kenny Henlon’s solid vocal performance proves this as well. Even after listening to the album several times I could not find a weak song. DARKHAUS successfully combined elements of Synth-Pop with Rock and created an energetic album.

The album contains fourteen songs and two remixes. The remixes by Noel Pix of EISBRECHER and Kinky J are really remarkable as they made ‘Breaking the silence’ and ‘Life worth living’ suitable for the dance-floors by exchanging the drums and some guitars parts with the drum machine and keyboards. I find it quite hard to write about an album that emerged to be a little gem. It’s melodic, energetic and diverse. So I can only recommend you to buy it. With this promising debut I’m quite sure that we will hear more of DARKHAUS in the future. The album is available as standard version and download version.

Line-up:

Ken Hanlon (vocals)
Rupert Keplinger (guitars, synth)
Marshall Stephens (guitars)
Gary Meskil (bass)
Paul Keller (drums)

 

 

darkhaus-my-only-shelter-cd-.jpg

Tracklist

01. Life worth living
02. Grace divine
03. Ghost
04. Break down the walls
05. Our time
06. Don’t close your eyes
07. Breaking the silence
08. Hour of need
09. Looks like rain
10. Apostle
11. Son of a gun
12. Drive
13. Angelina
14. Hurts like hell
15. Breaking The Silence (Eisbrecher Club Cut) by Noel Pix
16. Life Worth Living (Kinky J-Mix) by Kinky J

 

 

 

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Nice Stef, this is really good..'Ghost' is excellent, great chorus, and the other tracks are quality too. The band as you say have that definite Finnish sound to them. That's more £ spent..thanks alot ;)

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Nice Stef, this is really good..'Ghost' is excellent, great chorus, and the other tracks are quality too. The band as you say have that definite Finnish sound to them. That's more £ spent..thanks alot ;)

 

You're welcome...big spender :D

 

You missed it first time around: http://heavyharmonies.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=31551&do=findComment&comment=681902

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Got the album this morning Stef... Best bits so far 'Ghost', 'Life Worth Living', 'Breaking The Silence' and the superb 'Looks Like Rain' ,but the standard of all the songs throughout is top class. Very excellent my good man

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Glad you liked it Jez. This disc is getting pretty good reviews. Here's another one.

 

From uberrock.co.uk:

 

This really is an interesting little number, from a bunch of musicians as diverse in mix up as Gogol Bordello!!! The two mainstays coming from vastly different backgrounds, Rupert Keplinger known for his work with a number of German industrial synth based Depeche Mode-esque bands including one I reviewed here on Uber Rock, Eisbreicher. This doesn’t bode well as I think I called them second rate Rammstein at a push….oh well? The other partner in crime being, Gary Meskil from U.S. hardcore masters Pro-pain a band that I do rate. Let’s hope it evens things out and we get a decent LP as between them somewhere middle ground could be potentially very interesting.

 

Opening track ‘Life Worth Living’ actually reminded me of one of my favourite discoveries from last year, What Now, albeit a more synth led version. As I listen to the LP for the umpteenth time I realise that I’m singing along, not necessarily a good sign, (but It actually got ‘The Wrong Ian Watkins’ out of the repeat cycle my brain had put it in, so praise be), but this album is a real grower especially if you like bands like Pendulum, Thirty Seconds to Mars and at times a touch of Rammstein Lite. This is not so much the German techno band I was half expecting, and this must be the multi-cultural influences (the band featuring band members from Scotland, US, Germany and Austria).

 

The more you listen the more the band begin to pull you in, and ‘My Only Shelter’ has that dark romantic undertow so favoured by Him, including the polished arena sound, pop hooks and sensibilities all underpinned by a stunning lead vocal.

 

My only complaint is that it’s a bit samey. Each track alternating synth and guitar throughout and as equally as strong as what has gone before it, but (and it’s only a small but) I long for a change. The overall variety is just a bit lacking for me. Don’t get me wrong or let me put you off though, ‘My Only Shelter’ stands head and shoulders above a lot of bands I’ve heard in this particular genre and I can quite easily see them on a bill with any number of magazine favourites and giving them a hell of a run for their money. I would love to see how these tunes come across live, I think the music needs the intensity of the crowd.

 

Darkhaus are certainly well worth checking out.

 

 

Yep. This is definitially on my shopping list...

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  • 9 months later...

Still a very very strong album after having it for over 10 months. Not sure if this falls into a 2013 release or 2014. If it's the former, a shame I missed it at the end of last year as it would have featured strongly. if it's the latter, it will be a top 10 contender this year for sure

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  • 4 months later...

From FB:

 

Here it is, the final master of our EP "Providence"!
We are very proud, it's really heavy and 100% DARKHAUS!
You can pre-order "Providence" here:
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00TSIT09C

 

 

providence_announcement.jpg

 

Tracks:

 

1. The Fire Within

2. Side Effect Of Love

3. Providence

4. Throwing Away

5. Drive (Live In Cologne)

6. Life Worth Living (Orig. Acoustic Version)

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Is this it, or are we getting a full album as well? Excellent band, so will definitely get this

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