On August 7th, 1993, I drove into deepest Oxfordshire to see my first ever Legend gig, but before I experienced Debbie, Steve et al, I was treated to the latest signing to Pagan Media, Incubus Succubus. Back then they were a full band (there were even two bodhran players), but what impressed me most were the wonderful vocals from Candia and the crunching riffs from Tony, and I came away that night with my ears ringing from “Pagan Born”, “Church of Madness”, “Burning Times” and so much more. Needless to say, I saw them again after that and I also reviewed some of their albums while Tony even kindly provided some artwork for Feedback fanzine. However, I have been in New Zealand for 20 years now and it is easy to lose touch, so I was both pleased and surprised when they turned up in my FB feed the other day, where they announced the forthcoming release of their 28th studio album (on the festival of Ostara) , so I knew I had to get back in touch.
These days the band are a trio, with bassist Roland Link joining singer Candia and Tony, who appears to do absolutely everything else. I smiled when I saw the cover as his artistic style stands out a mile. Candia’s voice made a huge impact on me more than 30 years ago, and I am very glad indeed to say she does not appear to have changed at all, as she has an emotional connection with the listener which wants us to hear more, and a style which at times becomes a chant as lines are repeated, drawing us into a hypnotic state. Tony is a master arranger, knowing what needs to be done to make the music even more dramatic, rhythmically pumping at times, crashing solos at others, while Roland keeps it all together. Would I prefer a real sweating drummer as opposed to a machine? Of course I would, but here it has been programmed as close to the real thing as possible, and together the band have lost none of the magick they had when I first saw them all those years ago.
Candia, Tony and Adam Henderson (the other founder) created Incubus Sukkubus more than 35 years ago to be the vehicle in which the celebration of the Pagan experience could be conveyed. Members have changed over the years, and there was also a change of spelling in 1995 (for numerological reasons), yet the music, passion and objective are still there as much as they ever were. The last time I saw them play was at the old Marquee (gone, but never forgotten), and they still sound as powerful today as they did back then. Listening to this album has taken me back in time, and I have found myself revisiting ‘Wytches’ and blasting “Church of Madness” as if it were 1993 all over again. True icons of the Goth and Pagan worlds, Inkubus Sukkubus have released an album which will certainly please their fans both old and new. Their site is highly informative, while all their albums are available on their Bandcamp site, and if you have yet to come across them, surely you would be intrigued to hear a “zombie version of Fleetwood Mac” (Mick Mercer, ‘Hex Files: The Goth Bible’).
Rating: 8/10
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Track list:
1. She’s a Killer 05:41
2. Fall to Darkness 06:21
3. Give to me the Fire of the Night 05:58
4. Vampires of the Sea 04:37
5. Angel of Your Love 04:40
6. Eternal Monsters 04:41
7. Now She Has Fallen 04:05
8. The Easy Way Out 05:33
9. Harvest Time 04:12
10. Dragged Away by the Vampires of the Night 05:24
11. In the Field of the Living Dead 05:29
12. Lovers & Monsters 06:38
13. The End 04:58
Links:
https://inkubussukkubus.com/