Origin:	Poland
Genres:	Gothic Metal

Desdemona

The enigmatic Polish group Desdemona has been around for at least a few years. Reviewed here is the second of their three albums, 2003's _s.u.p.e.r.n.o.v.a., an album combining some traditional gothic tones with a heavier dynamic along with spacey techno influences, quite a unique combination. In some senses Desdemona is a bit like fellow Poles Artrosis, though with a difference. While that band transformed from a traditional (though quite distinctive) gothic metal band to a electronica-based band, Desdemona sounds more like a band that mixes the two styles -- they aren't a prototypical gothic band, and while the electronic elements are there, they aren't quite a techno band either. The excellent vocals by Agata Pawlowicz are also a bit in the Artrosis camp, or perhaps a bit like Madder Mortem's Agnete Kirkevaag -- not soprano, but more in the alto range, emotional, steady, and entrancing. Desdemona apparently hasn't made a lot of headway outside of Poland (at least, judging from a lack of information about them that isn't in Polish), but _s.u.p.e.r.n.o.v.a. is an excellent album for those that like a touch of techno with their gothic metal. It appears that their debut, Stagnacja, is more in the traditional gothic camp, and one might guess that Version 3.0 furthers the electronic angle.