The '80s 'electro' revivalism wagon rumbles on down its misty path. Where goth synthsters Freudstein raise the bar is by stirring those ideas into a mash-up of genre-related fare.

Synth-focused horror doodles clash swords with clunky Killing Joke industrialisms. Schlock rocking is sliced with arch spoken word mutterings set to dripping taps (like an uneasy Jackanory), and it even seems the BBC effects library has been raided for some of the howls and throbs lurking in the background.

The overall mood is enjoyably haunting; when they get it right, it's bang on the witch's nail. Instrumentals 'Return To The Old Forest' and 'Laura', especially, could effectively score the lead into any barbed-axe-in-the-eye Argento moment.

The downside for me is the straightforward electro goth that the band seems insistent on. Tracks 'Filthy Little Whore Pt 2' and 'Sister Sleaze' are the chief culprits, standing nigh-on guilty of sounding like a sub White Rose Movement.

Still, this remains a compelling little slab of theatrical misery. Rather like a low-budgeted Hammer gem on record.

www.freudstein.co.uk

*www.wasp-factory.com