Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

Leper are an industrial and gothic rock band from Chicago. The band comprises Skot Shaw (lead vocals, guitar and drum programming), Dan Feldstein (bass, synthesizer and lead guitar on "God Hater") and Joby Morey (cello and accordion). The 2005 album title, 'Kreischen', is a German word meaning 'the shrieking'. Their sound is heavily influenced by Wedding Party and a mixture where The Sisters Of Mercy meets Nine Inch Nails. "Glass" is a seven and a half minute epic with mournful male vocals, a long atmospheric opening before slamming down an industrial beat. "In Love With The Fall" is a more upbeat gothic rocker, probably due to the two guests, Chris Wood (rhythm guitar) and Rachel Shaw (spoken word). "Scar" has recurring soundtrack excerpts "(Man) I love you, you belong to me/(Woman) No, people don't belong to people/(Man) Of course they do/(Woman) I'll never let anyone put me in a cage/(Man) I don't want to put you in a cage, I want to love you/(Woman) It's the same thing/(Man) No its not!". The most disturbing and discordant track is "God Hater" with the lyrics "They blame God for all the death and destruction/That they have brought upon themselves/They are too far out of reach because they choose to be/And not because the Church is as human as they are/Society will not rest until there is not one moral left standing". There are beautifully clear vocals by Hilde Bialach in the balladic "If Everything Was Green". They finish with "My Friend The Ghoul" about God calling to someone sunk in the depths of despair. The drums tend to dominate most of the tracks, which you would expect where it's industrial, but I felt this detracted from the guitar in the goth rock songs.

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