Tuesday 8 April 2014

Dario Mars & The Guillotines - Black Soul (CD Review)


01.Cold Sun
02.Death Is Dead
03.How The Story Goes
04.The Day I Died
05.The Jailer
06.Black Soul
07.Ombra E Polvere
08.Soul Sucker
09.Your Own Page
10.Somebody Else Inside
11.Banned From Ever
12.Forks On The Bird Cage

Renaud Mayeur (Guitar/Vocals)
David Kostman (Bass/Piano)
Vincenzo Capizzi (Drums)
Bineta Saware (Vocals/Percussion)


Dario Mars & The Guillotines were formed in March 2013 after multi-instrumentalist and composer Renaud Mayeur wrote and recorded more than 20 songs in his home studio. Together with Polish multi-instrumentalist David Kostman he started to arrange the songs. In Bineta Saware he found the perfect soulful voice for his compositions and with Vincenzo Capizzi the right man on drums.

Together they re-recorded 12 tracks which Mayeur produced and mixed himself. The albums was mastered by Marcel van De Vondervoort (Torture Garden Studio).

Renaud Mayeur is a unique talent in the Belgian music scene. In the 90's he started his career in underground punk-rock and metal bands and became more known due to his membership of the infamous garage-shock band La Muerte from Bruxelles.

After La Muerte, he founded his own rock 'n roll monster HULK with whom he recorded 2 albums, the second of which, "Cowboy Coffee & Burned Knives", was recorded in the illustrious Rancho De la Luna Studio in Palm Springs Desert, California - best known for hosting Josh Homme's Desert Sessions recordings - with guests Chriss Goss (Masters of Reality), Jesse Hughes (EODM), Brant Bjork (Vista Chino, ex-Kyuss,) and Dave Catching (EODM, Ex-QOTSA).

Mayeur wrote the score for the road movie 'El Dorado' from Bouli Lanners which won a Golden Palm on the film festival in Cannes, and won the annual 'Margritte Award' (Belgian award) for Best Movie Soundtrack for 'Mobil Home"(directed by Francois Pirot) in the same year his soundtrack for "Torpedo" directed by Mathieu Donck was also nominated for a best soundtrack award. More recently Mayeur made his first steps into mainstream French cinema, writing the score for "Dans Tes Bras" by Hubert Gillet with Michele Laroque.


Their music is described as "black and white music for black and white souls",attempting to created a film noir written by Edgar Allen Poe in musicial form.

From the opening guitar on 'Cold Sun' you get this dark, swamp, rock n roll vibe, somewhere between a soundtrack for Win Wenders 'Paris, Texas' and Robert Rodriguez 'From Dusk Till Dawn'.

A little more soulful rock n roll sound for 'Death Is Dead' a very 60's vocal delivery reminiscent of Marsh Hunt or Madeline Bell, with some stunning rock n roll riffs.

The next couple of tracks are more of the same until we get to the soul/blues hybrid of 'The Jailer' very atmospheric.

The mood gets even darker with 'Black Soul' but the ambience created is ruined by the next song 'Ombra' with its horrible twangy guitar and banjo sounds.

Then 'Soul Sucker' comes in with this upbeat funky little sound and all is well again, and remains so to the end of the album.

Well i didnt get the film noir or Poe bit that was in the bio blurb, this is rockabilly with a dark soulful edge, you can tell that Mayeur has worked with ex Kyuss/QOTSA guys and works on film soundtracks, all in all a good solid album.

Rating 8/10
For Fans Of : Nick Cave, Queens Of The Stone Age, Tito & Tarantula, Ry Cooder


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