Porn
The Ogre Inside

If you are thinking that we have now gone down the road of reviewing Porn, you’d be very correct but not in the way you think. The French band porn don’t do Shrek-related pornography, they make gothic/industrial metal/rock and have done so for quite a while. Still, one can wonder what is going on the member’s screens considering that Philippe and Erwan from this band also released an album under the An Erotic End of Times-moniker earlier this year – could it be that erotic stuff plays a too big a part in their lives? But lets not dwell on that and not on the “enjoy Porn, facing your most wicked desires” quote that I found in the press release, lets instead look at this album that has a very dark cover and pretty poor pictures of the band.

It also offers gothic metal/industrial rock with a dark and industrial sound. Typical slow tempo and the typical gothic low-key vocal style is also found throughout the nine tracks that make up this album. The songs are of the typical variety for an album of this genre and the material doesn’t really feel very pornographic, more like typical of anything in the genre. The inner journey described in the press sheet, towards the darkest corner of my inner self can’t really be heard either. But it is a good production and the performances can certainly be described as very solid, one cannot really have too many complaints on the handiwork behind the album – it is solid craftsmanship from start to finish.

And it is good, better than the Erotic End of Times they released earlier in the year, and there are some ear-catching moments. The fifth track called Close the Window is one that I often end up repeating when I listen through this album. However, that is a rather lonely highlight in what is otherwise a collection of solid gothic tracks, there are no weak tracks and they certainly know their craft. The problem is that they don’t really dare to do something that stands out; the album’s weakness is in the lack of fresh ideas and fresh thinking. Perhaps that is just a reflection on their band name because how much fresh thinking is there in pornography? And why chose a name that doesn’t stand out or is very searchable if you make music? Try to write porn in a search engine and see if you find anything about this French band.

In the end I can’t complain too much, it is a good album and quite enjoyable to listen to even though it doesn’t stand out much. If you are a fan of the gothic metal or the industrial side of music I am sure that you will find this an entertaining and good album – you should certainly check it out. In a more general view though, I would conclude that the album is rather good but it doesn’t have enough originality or quality to really stand out.

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