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Signs of a Vacant Soul
Home > Complete List of "v-w" Artists > Virgos Merlot > Item 2
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Signs of a Vacant Soul
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by Virgos Merlot
Sales Rank: 150038
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$0.29
At Amazon
on 9-8-2008.
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Had it garnered more recognition upon its release, "Signs of a Vacant Soul" would have probably melted into the grooves of all the other modern rock that was coming out in 1999, and Virgos Merlot would have been seen as just another generic alternative goth-rock band. And knowing how record execs are, they would have been pressured to produce more of the same formula, and Virgos Merlot would have lost their originality. So maybe it's for the best that "Signs of a Vacant Soul" didn't immediately gain the success it had the potential to reach (though 'Gain' was moderately successful on the Mainstream Rock chart). Listeners can now analyze the album by itself, without any other "standards" set by critics to compare it to. A textbook-perfect recording for 1999, "Signs of a Vacant Soul" is an album rich in melody and accessibility, and boasts a careful detailed production ethic for a band in their debut...or for any band for that matter (the vocal spots are particularly well engineered). What's most remarkable though is despite the fact that the instrumentation is narrowed down to a vocal-guitars-bass-drums formula, there is an amazing amount of flexibility in the music. The material of course benefits from this, opening with 'The Cycle' and demonstrating irresistible but layered textures on songs like 'Winning' and 'Trouble,' which has a chorus of simple catchy lyrics which sound like those of 70s classic rock, while there are more complex elements elsewhere; there is a (perhaps intentional) themed interplay between 'More' and 'Knowing Burns,' neither of which seem complete without the other. The musical body and form of 'Beautiful Lie' hints at a prog-rock influence, but the album's two best tracks are also its most beautiful and inspiring; 'Gain' and 'Kiss My Disease' contradict Virgos Merlot's spooky-looking image as seen in CD's foldout. 'Disregarding' meanwhile spots an amazing, driven guitar sound that closes the album. The music of the five-man Virgos Merlot can best be described as a battery of heavy rhythms and crunching guitars, out of which emerge beauty, bravery, and a driving force. "Signs of a Vacant Soul" is a top candidate for an album that could become a true "lost" album in ten to twenty years.
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Signs of a Vacant Soul
Available from Amazon
Price: $0.29
Updated on 9-8-2008.
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