Sanguis et Cinis LIVE at The Gig in Hollywood, California.

Review by the Virtual Night Angel and Travis Baumann

Photos by Travis Baumann

Sanguis et Cinis play Los Angeles. When we were first told that Sanguis et Cinis were going to play here, it seemed too good to be a reality. Not many European bands make the accomplished excursion across the Atlantic to play shows for their fans here in the United States. We were so anxious to see the “New Gods of Death Rock” that they were one of the primary reasons we flew over to see the Wave Gotik Treffen fest this last year in Leipzig, Germany. Seeing them in Europe was a great experience for us and they were really awesome live. It was with great pleasure that we would be able to see them again and this time on our own turf.

First off, it must be said that as epic and expansive as the United States is, the Goth scene is stretched far and wide and a gathering on the level of the Gotik Treffen festivals has not yet been seen. In Los Angeles, Gothic and Industrial remain very much an underground scene with the large record labels forming corporate machines that roll over the top of everything good, either passing it by or crushing the coolness and life out of it. The latter occupies the majority of LA so we still cling to the smaller, intimate clubs for our shows.

Sanguis et Cinis were presented in a small venue right in the heart of the trendy Melrose shopping district called “The Gig”. It was Sunday, August 26, 2001. They were originally scheduled to play with Diva Destruction and the Australian electronic act “Snog” but Diva’s drummer broke a rib either earlier that day or the day before. They were unable to play but Debra was present and played keyboards for Sanguis et Cinis as well as loaning their band’s equipment to Eve and the group as they weren’t able to bring all of their own instruments. The club was dark and barely lit with red tones. Sanguis et Cinis attracted some individuals we didn't recognize from other events.

Sanguis et Cinis have a sexy, natural attitude that gives a unique international iconic appeal. Their serious but extreme talent complements their music quality and individual fashion sense. Sanguis et Cinis consisted of Eve Evangel and Celine Cecilia Angel on vocals with Wayne and Adore on guitars and finally the attractive addition of Debra “Diva Destruction” on keyboards. Eve introduced the band and explained how they were from Austria, “a small piece of shit on the other side of the world”. He was very personable and introduced songs, giving a much more intimate vibe fitting for such a club and the band looked very picturesque on stage.

The sound system lacked in quality and the sound engineers themselves seemed asleep a lot of the times, feeding Adore’s guitar into Celine’s monitor and a lot more heinous acts but despite an incompetent club crew, they sounded great. I really love their newest CD “Amnesia” and hearing my favorites off that album played live is a great treat for me.

Instead of the Elvis theme we were given as an introduction in Germany, a very electronic and cool "experimental" sound-scape provided their intro this night (The theme from UFO). Eve is a sentimental musical genius. He was adorned in a long white robe/dress article of clothing with various other drapings and accessories. The white of his outfit played nicely in the club lighting giving it brilliant magenta hues as the lights were turned on Eve. Celine Cecilia Angel sings so sweetly dressed in beautiful white like an ice princess with her trademark feather head-dress and sensually alluring lingerie.

Throughout the set Eve would roll around on the stage and be overtaken by the music or be grasping onto Adore and Wayne as they played their pieces. Wayne looked wild with his hair standing on end playing guitar, he seemed to being going crazy - really getting into the songs and making it a really rock’n show by guitar standards. Adore was leaping around with his guitar, creating a stimulating mood and adding to the intense wall of sound . Debra added a nice presence as well, constantly moving and bobbing to the beats and her attractiveness just added to the impact of the already ungoddly beauty of Celine.

The crowd reacted most emphatically to their cover of “Amadeus” as well as “Hey Fuckers” which seemed to get the greatest response with people singing along with the chorus. Sanguis et Cinis handled the tuff-to-satisfy L.A. crowd very well. The band looked vivid, colorful and lively. Musically, there were classical elements mixed with rock, goth, industrial, alternative and some added glam. It’s hard to place our favorite song as there were quite a few great ones. Eve and Celine were professional and didn't get too pissed even though there were some minor technical difficulties. Even with some sound disturbances the duo kept singing. Sanguis et Cinis are great at creating a very intriguing mood with their musical introductions. Their interesting and intense creations motivate us to keep listening to their CD's all the time.

It was really great getting to see Sanguis et Cinis in Los Angeles. I wish other bands from Germany, Austria and other Central European countries could make it here more often. I also wish that better venues as well as dedicated sound-systems could be developed (The Gig was too small of a venue but was across from LA's best music store at least). We really appreciate the dedication and the extra step for the fans, Eve and Celine gave the freaks of LA something to think about. Decked out in white and dressed to kill!

Sanguis et Cinis’ latest release, "Amnesia" is available through Sad Eyes a division of Trisol Music Group GmbH. We recommend picking up their other releases, "Tragic Years", "Madrigal" and "fremde Federn" all through Sad Eyes. http://www.trisol.de/index_d.html

Many more photos to come
Check out the more extensive coverage of Sanguis et Cinis' performance at this last summer's Wave-Gotik-Treffen festival by clicking on the logo above
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