Gothminister: The Other Side (AFM)

I have to say I wasn’t really familiar with Gothminister before now. I mean, they look kind of weird and as an AOR guy I don’t venture into gothic industrial territory as a rule. A copy of their latest album – The Other Side – crossed my desk though, and I actually found myself enjoying it a lot more than I expected.

Gothminister is a Norwegian band that’s apparently big in Germany, so I was expecting something vaguely Rammstein-like. There’s definitely a nod to Rammstein here (and a smattering of German lyrics here and there), but listening to The Other Side brought me back to another gothic metal title I’ve been revisiting lately: One Second by Paradise Lost. This has way more of an industrial vibe, but the vocals and the combination of melodies and dark atmospherics are very similar to that underrated Paradise Lost era.

The Other Side is very catchy, very melodic, industrial without getting too “noise for noise sake,” and gothic without being too depressing. It’s a fun album overall, and underneath the industrial and gothic trappings it is just a really solid melodic hard rock album.

Obviously fans of Rammstein, Type O Negative and early 2000s Samael will dig the Gothminister sound, but fans of the gothic Paradise Lost era (I can’t be the only one) should enjoy The Other Side as well. I’m glad I gave this one a chance.