Lolita KompleX - Le Cabaret des Marionettes

First thing that struck my mind by the time I saw the album with the characteristic Japanese style, was how bored I was to review this, as I expected something extremely dull, to be honest. In this, there so many different musical styles that I ‘m completely lost! What can one first mention?! Metal/ punk/ gothic/ industrial/ glam/ alternative/ etc, anything one may seek should be here!

Starting off with “You Misery”, and its metallic, solid riffs, amazing male vocals, some bizarre female ones, all in all, a wonderful composition! On with “Kurushumi” – I’ve been waiting for a Japanese lore, but once again the raw riffage, the metal – punk mood, the Marilyn Manson-esque singing, a sweet touch of female vocals, random guitar soloing without meters or balance, render this piece bursting, savage, storming! “Dollhouse”: a little bit of glam, low tones with female vocals in the beginning, then the male vocals kick in, everything  takes a turn, hardcore riffing, and again, from scratch! Balanceless, bulldozing, these guys are in for an asylum, I have never heard such music in my life! “Vienna in Hell” (LoL), we are definitely off the road here: it’s a waltz, then the heavy metal soloing kicks in, 80s influences nip in from everywhere, this is a party till fall. “Lausbub” is an industrial rock tune, just for a pleasant change I guess, reminiscent of Rammstein, the musical craziness meets no stops. Next is “Mori Ni”, a Japanese touched ballad, Kill Bill-esque aesthetics, and on with a passage to a more Motley Crue based section! A melodramatic chaos, which I don’t really get, but never mind! The result sounds so good I don’t need to get it! “Lol–Lee”, featuring hardcore outbursts, mad rhythms, an overall party atmosphere, limitless; this shit is sincere. On with “Bakteria”, a somewhat “logical” composition for their musical standards, this is raw, punkish, with nice singing. “Dance with me”, a mix of Punk and alternative musical style, this could be their best song so far. And yes, this song has distinct structural features! “Les Marionettes” is a composition with characteristic, weird female vocals for once more, that are erotic, mad! The music is, for the first time during my listening, less chaotic than before (I got used to this beautiful chaos, and now this sounds simplistic to me), with nice keyboards performance, emitting a flawless musical color. “Demon Child”: Am I listening to Pantera or what?! Thankfully we are back to chaos, with some breaks of reason with the female singing; the male ones are otherworldly, in a way, the music actually shatters one’s brain with the relentless hammering, an all-out musical war. “Inside”: reason is summoned once more to conclude the album.

If we want to put things straight, it just ain’t possible! This album is raw, mad, chaotic, bizarre, and beautiful, by an astonishing musical fellowship, that, even if you ask them about their own music, I wouldn’t imagine how they would categorize it. An attempt of bulldozing anything standing in their musical way, a direct face spit to all mainsteam products, a spit that bears their unique mark. Maybe we are dealing with a musical step forwards, kind of a’ back to the future’ music. Regarding my personal evaluation, this is the most different mix I’ve ever listened to, a party free of rules, like the old times. If they had aborted their Japanese stereotypes, they’d have had themselves a 10.

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Your Misery
3. In Fremder Schrift (Kurushimi)
4. Dollhouse 
5. Laus Bub
6. Vienna Is Hell
7. In Fremder Schrift
8. Lo-Lee-Ta! (Theme)
9. Bakteria
10. Dance With Me
11. Les Marionnettes
12. Demon Child
13. Inside

plus: Les Marionnettes (Videoclip) (Data Track) - Lolita Komplex / Zin-Francois Angelique

9,5/10  Kostas Sotiriou