Violet Black Orchid

Violet Black Orchid signed with German goth label Dion Fortune Records in 1997 and the first release was the "Dion Fortune Sampler 5"...featuring one gothic track bordering on Gabba entitled "Unforgivable Lie". A record label that seemed very inconsistent when it came to releasing samplers and this, their fifth compilation was no exception. Musically, it is the most diverse and non-linear of any compilation I've ever experienced. Yet, instead of being sequenced in a order that makes sense according to the flow of the music, it is arranged in the most thematically jarring manner as possible. This meant that you can be listening along to a very upbeat dance tune when you suddenly stumble into the most morose Gothic track you have ever heard within the span of seconds. The highlights of this release are the unreleased and relatively unknown artists. Fading Colors gives us 'In the Garden of Mine', which is one of the most beautiful darkwave pieces I've ever heard. The vocalist sounds remarkably similar to Bjork, but with the ability to actually sing. Violet Black Orchid provides an uptempo piece with 'Unforgivable Lie' that proceeds along at a breakneck pace bordering almost on Gabba. Finally Ned Kirby's Stromkern gives us a taste of his debut release on Kodex Records with 'Metatron'. Overall the musical selection of this sampler is above average, but it's the out of order of the track arrangement that makes this compilation so interesting. In 2005, Violet Black Orchid signed to Killer Sex Machina Industrial Record Label just in time to appear on the compilation Black Planet. Now with their release in July 2007 of a brand new album entitled "Unforgivable Lie", featuring 10 tracks, VBO is back into the limelight again.