MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH

Diamanda Galás is a NY avant-garde / performance artist from Greek origins. Next to a battery of electronic sounds and piano, her main and most powerful instrument is her unique and astounding voice, covering an impressive range of 3.5 octaves. She goes whispering, shrieking, singing and terrorizing through song material that ranges between modernist piano compositions and abstract experimental horror soundscapes.

This boxset is a compilation of three earlier albums that made up her Masque of the Red Death trilogy around the AIDS epidemic and all the agonies and drama that it brought forth. At that time, AIDS was still very much hushed by the government and Galás wanted to provoke people into a consciousness around the topic. Galás's brother became infected with HIV and died during the recording of the trilogy. It must have injected the music with an added personal angle.

The three albums are very different in approach. The Devine Punishment is the most experimental, Saint of the Pit is more digestible due to its shorter separate compositions and grown melodicism. You Must be Certain of the Devil is the most accessible for rock fans, at least, if the avant-punk of bands like Foetes, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten and Laibach sounds welcoming to you. Eventually, once you have warmed up to her spine-chilling witch vocals, you will want all of these albums.

This item might be hard to find as a box-set, but the separate albums are readily available and probably also the cheaper option. Depending on your taste, you better start with the album that you might connect with most easily. I'll try to cover which album that might be for you with separate reviews of each of these works.

And oh yes, never play this if any of your family members are around. 4.5 stars