JGoth.com :: Japan Goth and Industrial Music

Location: Osaka, Japan & UK – Genre Post punk, New Wave, Gothic

Sins of the Flesh deliver two CDs worth of music, the first containing one CD of original songs, and a second CD with remixes of the songs on CD 1. The additional CD’s reworked electro remixes put a very different spin on the songs making you feel like you are getting two albums for the price of one.

Sins of the Flesh or their style of music would be recognizable to the thirty-somethings as their earlier career went from the late 80′s through to the early 90′s. Stealing the blurb from Gothtronic:

Long before ‘darkwave’, back in the days when ‘industrial’ still referred to Throbbing Gristle rather than Nine Inch Nails, SINS OF THE FLESH delivered their first stroboscopic live shows in London. SINS OF THE FLESH was never conceived as a rock group, but rather as an exercise in media-manipulation, as much concerned with presentation as content – wherein music was merely a singular (albeit core) component in a well-structured whole. Inspired by the effective product-placement of acts like Sigue Sigue Sputnik and The Jesus And Mary Chain, and ZTT’s legendary propagandist Paul Morley, SINS OF THE FLESH chose a deliberately provocative name and opted for selective live appearances coupled with expensive advertising copy which effectively replicated that of far larger, corporate-sponsored acts. By the time of only their fourth such performance, such a strategy was vindicated in the shape of the journalists already in attendance, and SOTF duly received the first of their many mentions in SOUNDS, Melody Maker and the NME.[....]

[After 1993 SOTF] became the default headline act of choice for innumerable goth-industrial one-dayers nationwide. Besides their own shows, they also opened for a variety of acts ranging from fellow homegrown advocates of a cultural cut-and-paste aesthetic like Pop Will Eat Itself and Apollo 440, to Spahn Ranch and Switchblade Symphony from the US. After a handful of appearances road-testing new material under the pseudonym ‘star80′ in 1998, SINS OF THE FLESH suddenly disappeared without trace…..

Until 2004/05 when SOTF resurfaced again in Japan. The band’s current permutation sees it spread across Japan and the UK with lead man Jude (Jamie Nova), rebuilding the base of the band from Osaka and gearing it up for a 21st Century audience. This has included performances, new releases and finally, in early-mid 2007, the double CD was released.

As I say, the differences between the original and remixed versions of the songs make for two very different listening experiences. I think the older pre-NIN Goths, Industrialists, etc. will find the original gory material to be a refreshing return to the good old days of darkness, while the younger crowd might tend to find more value in the second CD’s remixes. I have seen two previous reviews of the CD, one loving the release, the other quite a bit less loving. The truth is, either you will love this material dearly or you won’t. Listen to the samples and see if this music floats your boat at SOTF’s Web site – click MP3s to get to the samples (there are a lot of them!).

Igor’s take…
My initial reaction to the first CD (album versions) was mixed – enjoying the old school works, but finding the lyrics quite disturbing, especially tracks like Cutter which makes Linda Blair’s crucifix scene in The Exorcist pale in comparison! The more I have listened to the songs the more I have grown to like them. While the subject matter is fiery, delivered with vitriol, I find it a refreshing sound. The best tracks for me were Judas Kiss, the more synth-popped DeathWish, the biting ballads Image is Everything and Following (in the Company of my Shadow), the mellow but strong guitar-riffed (Song for) the Lonely Ones, Wormwood, The Damned-esque sound of About Time, and the broken industrial sound of Shikan.

The second CD reworks and remixes the songs on the first CD making a much more readily accessible sound with the electro versions of the songs on the first CD. I find myself enjoying all the remixed versions of the songs as much as the originals. For me, the best songs of the second CD would be Be My Enemy, Make Believe, Still Following and Fade Away.

Taken as a double-disk album Death of the Flesh offer quite an interesting journey from the original versions to the extensively remixed material. Considering the price (2,000 yen in Japan, 11.99 pounds in the UK, etc.) it is definitely worth the money to check out Sins of the Flesh. You should get a full feel of the band’s music through the ample samples available at SOTF’s Web site – click MP3s to get to the samples.

Death of the Flesh :: Track Listing (Disc one)
01. Judas Kiss (4:51) – Sample
02. Cutter (4:40)
03. Go To Hell (4:33)
04. F**k #1 (4:52)
05. Death Wish (5:57) – Sample
06. Image Is Everything (4:27)
07. Following (In The Company Of Shadows) (4:02)
08. The Death Of The Flesh (5:22)
09. (Song For) The Lonely Ones (5:09)
10. The Sweetest Poison (4:09)
11. Wormwood (3:24)
12. About Time (4:35) – Sample
13. Shikan (5:01)
14. Woman’s Heart (5:26)
15. The Only Thing Certain In Life Is Death (6:38)
Total Time: 71.19
Beyond of the Limits of the Flesh :: Track Listing (Disc two)
01. Be My Enemy (4:16) – Sample
02. The Unkindest Cut (5:48)
03. Make Believe (5:33) – Sample
04. F**k #2 (3:48)
05. 1000 Times (4:54)
06. Image Is Nothing (6:40)
07. Still Following (5:15)
08. The Death Of The Flesh Pt.II (5:33)
09. The Patron Saint Of Suicides (5:22)
10. Fade Away (3:40) – Sample
11. Food For Worms (5:12)
12. 1 More Time (2:38)
13. The Death Of The Flesh Pt.III (6:54)
Total Time: 68:35

Grand Total Time: 2:19:54

The site includes a list of links to shops in Japan, Europe and Oceania here or you can use the stores that Igor is affiliated with below:

Music Non Stop:

Amazon Japan: