Life's only living rival - a great EP for you (Liar/Dead Is The New Alive - Emilie Autumn)

Member Name: slinkyindieninja

Product:	Liar/Dead Is The New Alive - Emilie Autumn
Date:	08/11/08 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 14 tracks, varied selection

Disadvantages: EA's not to everyone's taste

Liar/Dead Is The New Alive is the first EP based around tracks from Emilie Autumn's second album featuring vocals, "Opheliac", and is the strongest and best in the opinion of most fans.

The first two tracks are the "Opheliac" versions of 'Liar' and 'Dead Is The New Alive'. They are followed by four tracks exclusive to this EP, 'Mad Girl', 'Best Safety Lies In Fear', 'In The Lake' and 'Let It Die'.

'Mad Girl' begins with a lot of noise, which some listeners may find offputting, but a song follows which is a lot gentler aurally than many of EA's "Opheliac" tracks but similar in lyrical content. 'Best Safety Lies In Fear' would be best described as an instrumental - it's a complex track with broad instrumentation, and the only vocals are a crackly repetition of the words "Best safety lies in fear".

'In The Lake' and 'Let It Die' are acoustic tracks, featuring guitar and vocals. I really like both these tracks although they lack the arrangements and rich instrumentation of the others. Many fans consider them weak points, but they are perfectly enjoyable tracks.

Tracks 7-10 are remixes of 'Liar'. My favourite remix is track 7, the Murder Mix by Brendon Small. Guitars and new effects are added whilst the original structure of the track is mostly preserved. I think 'Liar' has a weak structure to begin with, too much repetition and most of the remixes introduce even more repetition, which makes them boring to me. They have been produced by ASP, Dope Stars Inc. and Angelspit.

11 and 12 are remixes of 'Dead Is The New Alive'. Both are fine but I prefer the Manipulator Mix by Dope Stars Inc. to the Velvet Acid Christ Club Mix. The latter is less exciting and the former adds speed. The Manipulator Mix by Dope Stars Inc. is better in my option than the original version of the track, and Emilie Autumn seems to agree because it is used as backing when she performs the vocals and violin parts live.

The final two tracks are a pretty strange low-audio-quality cover of "Opheliac" bonus track 'Thank God I'm Pretty', by Spiritual Front, and 'Unlaced', a preview for the following double album "Laced/Unlaced". 'Unlaced' is the high point of this album, a fast instrumental track which shows off Emilie Autumn's compositional abilities the way nothing else has done before.

This EP features a generous 14 tracks and is a must-purchase for fans. If you're not fond of remixes there is still plenty here for you.

Summary: Excellent value for fans!