Skeptical Minds: Omega-Thanatos

Hey hey. Something different than a regular CD! A CD with a comic book... Both the CD and the comic tell the same story... an unusual approach, but one we can fully support, certainly if it's done as well as Skeptical Minds en Alain Poncelet did here.

A girl has a weird dream. She asks herself questions about its meaning. The girl is lonely and desperate. Fortunately, there is nature, where she can find rest and consolation. But a walk in the forest unfolds as a real nightmare. All sorts of monsters surround her and confront her with her deepest fears.

We're not going to tell you the full story, but there was a real interaction between the group and the artist. The songs and the script were already finished when Alain Poncelet began to draw. However, there was heavy discussion about the significance of the songs and how they would fit into the whole, so much so that some songs were re-recorded and edited during the process.

Skeptical Minds had previously collaborated with Alain Poncelet. Poncelet already processed the song ‘Broken Dolls’ in a comic for the live DVD ‘Watch Your Live’. And the concept behind the album? I guess it erupted out of the mind of singer Karolina Pacan. She had previously released a collection of poems with drawings by Helcanen Val, that bathed in the same melancholy fantasy atmosphere as this comic.

Musically, the album is very diverse. Of course, the main style of the group is gothic metal, and preferably supplemented with a dash of electronics. But But they are using a lot of styles to tell the story well. A lot of pieces are more atmospheric, with a lot of piano and strings, and some songs don’t have guitars at all. But rest assured, sometimes the lady and gentlemen are rocking with a vengeance.

‘Omega-Thanatos’ is a bold concept, and in my humble opinion, one that has proved a total success. Music and image fit perfectly together. And we actually have to add the beautiful clip for the song 'Emptiness' on, which was also created in collaboration with Alain Poncelet and completely fits into the concept of ‘Omega-Thanatos’. A hit!

Xavier Kruth

Skeptical Minds: facebook / website

Upcoming concerts:

• April 17: Haunted Sky Festival II, W2 Poppodium, Den Bosch
• April 23: Reanimacji Centrum Kultury, Wroclaw, Poland
• April 29: With Anwynn, L'Os à Moelle, Brussels
• May 1: Opener of Leave's Eyes, The enlightened mind, Roeselare
• May 7: Electro-Metal evening, with Bak XIII and Obszön Geschöpf, Taverne du Theatre, La Louvière
• September 17, Rock Classic, Brussels (free)