5:11am Sanctify Yourself by Simple Minds from Once Upon a Time
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

#music #simpleminds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SiGnAi845o

"Alive and Kicking" is a song by the Scottish rock band #SimpleMinds, released in September 1985 by #AAndM and #VirginRecords as the lead single from their seventh album, #OnceUponATime (1985). The song reached number three on the US #Billboard Hot 100 and number four in Canada; it peaked within the top five of several European countries including Italy, where the song reached number one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljIQo1OHkTI

@pemar wieder mal zwei Bands, bei denen man sich als Fan entscheiden musste: #simplyred und #simpleminds .
Früher mochte ich beide nicht, heute von beiden den einen oder anderen Song!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Simple Minds "Sweat in Bullet" – 1981

Blends rock instrumentation with electronic elements which makes the tracks energetic and expansive so they reflect Simple Minds in their early, more experimental and rhythm-focused phase...

#simpleminds #newwave #alternativerock #scottishmusic #vinylcommunity #vinyl #music #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #vinylcollector #nowspinningonvinyl #nowspinning #nowlistening

6:19am Promised You a Miracle (Remastered 2002) by Simple Minds from New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

listen along... #SimpleMinds

https://music.apple.com/us/album/silver-box/714237387

Pulling together the #shownotes in #ChapelHill while rocking out to #SimpleMinds for Monday’s posting of @gamesatwork_biz episode e546 with @andypiper, @michaelrowe01 and yours truly. Stories and discussion on #LEGO’s new #SmartPlay brick, this is a human brain (cells) on #Doom, #OrcAudio for #vibecoding, #LiquidDeath’s @Spotify #urn for playlist #immortality and a whole lot more. Check out earlier episodes, chock full of #AI #metaverse #AR #VR #gamification & more - https://www.gamesatwork.biz

5:35pm Glittering Prize (Remastered 2002) by Simple Minds
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

9:08am Chelsea Girl by Simple Minds from Life In a Day
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

40 years ago this month, Simple Minds released “All the Things She Said” (1986), the third single from their Once Upon a Time album. #80s #80smusic #SimpleMinds

12:52am Alive and Kicking by Simple Minds from Once Upon a Time
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

9:23pm Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) [Remastered 2002] by Simple Minds from New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

6:29am Life In a Day by Simple Minds from Life In a Day
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

3:18am New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) by Simple Minds
#KJAC #TheColoradoSound #SimpleMinds

Alive And Kicking ⛹
#SimpleMinds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GsbCeyDx8Q

Don't You (Forget About Me) 😶‍🌫
#SimpleMinds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A

I love black metal, but it certainly has a reputation for taking itself too seriously. Now and then, though, a few bands remember that this is the genre that gave us pseudonyms, corpse paint, and grown adults pretending to be forest demons. Acts like Old Nick and Ordo Vampyr Orientus have been a welcome slap in the face, embracing black metal’s inherent goofiness and piling on the camp without collapsing into total self-parody. Which brings us to Night of the Vampire, the latest addition to this batch of kitschy kvlters. This is the handiwork of one “Astral Shadow,” whose 2022 EP hinted at something genuinely fun—a danceable, blackened darkwave hybrid that didn’t sound like it hated the listener for existing. Now our Gothic overlord returns with a full-length debut, modestly titled The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade. The question is simple: can this gloriously silly idea survive album-length scrutiny, or is it doomed to be background noise for a vampire-themed goth night attended by six people and a fog machine on its last legs?

Night of the Vampire’s take on blackened darkwave is oodles of fun. Across Enchanting Winds, songs are led by gaudy synth lines atop simple distorted guitars, classic 80s drum patterns, and finished with a blackened rasp. This is an effective formula that’s as fun as it is addictive, evoking the playful jubilance of vintage synth-led sounds and sharpening it with black metal’s frostbitten cudgel. The result is campy and over-the-top, but Astral Shadow has plenty of tricks up their satin sleeve to make this formula more delectable. Whether it’s adding tasteful lead guitar and campy clean vocals (“Children of the Immortal Blood”) 1, going full Simple Minds with a driving synth pop rocker (“Sacrificed to the Night”) or deploying some ignorant mid-tempo chugs underneath the ocean of synth (“Casting Shadows in an Ocean of Time”), there’s no shortage of clever adornments to spice up the core blackened darkwave sound. Night of the Vampire might sound more like Depeche Mode than Darkthrone, but that’s fine when this pernicious platter is this delectable.

The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade by NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRE

Enchanting Winds provides meaningful variety in its execution, keeping this rave from getting too stale. Night of the Vampire goes full Blade nightclub with “The Cosmic Darkness Calls me,” a delightful goth rager which ditches the guitars for a throbbing synth bassline and icy, programmed drums. The faster tempo of “Mother Moon of the Astral Dawn” is a nice, energetic break from the dancefloor, utilizing effective drum pullbacks to keep its forward momentum, and “Misty Illusions” is a solid dungeon synth closer that eases you out of the whole vampiric experience. With relatively short song-lengths and a curt 30-minute runtime, this is also a record that doesn’t overstay its welcome, allowing for repeated spins without running the risk of blood withdrawal. Enchanting Winds is an enjoyable, blackened journey from start to finish. I only wish it set its sights a little higher.

The main thing preventing Night of the Vampire from reaching sanguine ecstasy is the relative lack of ambition in Enchanting Wind’s songwriting. Astral Shadow’s approach is simple: latch onto a catchy synth melody and then ride it for the song’s entire duration, with minor variation for choruses. This works exceedingly well on shorter pieces or in conjunction with more inventive additions, but falls a bit short when it’s the only tactic on display. As a result, songs built almost entirely around a single synth line, like “The Prince of Many Faces and the Lady of the Night” or “Beyond the Howls of the Celestial Wolves,” end up feeling one-note, with little development or variation. Once you notice this pattern across the record, the impact of individual tracks diminishes. That’s especially frustrating given that “Children of Immortal Blood,” with its contrasting choruses, proves Astral Shadow is capable of writing dynamic, multi-part songs with distinct elements. As it stands, the straightforward songcraft doesn’t prevent these tracks from being exciting in the right context, but it does keep Enchanting Winds from evolving beyond its initial premise.

The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade is a charming debut from Night of the Vampire. The essential idea of “black metal meets 80s synths” is effective, entertaining and often moves beyond the simple proposition, even if the straightforward songcraft detracts from my enjoyment at times. I’ll gladly place Night of the Vampire alongside their unserious contemporaries in my “kvlt cheese-maxing” playlist and look forward to whatever Astral Shadow produces next.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore Records
Website: nightofthevampire.bandcamp.com | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026

Der Klang von Glasgow: Die Geburtsstunde einer Legende https://xenopolias.de/2026/02/21/der-klang-von-glasgow-die-geburtsstunde-einer-legende/ #CharlieBurchill, #DiskografieSimpleMinds, #DontYouForgetAboutMe, #JimKerr, #Musikbiografie., #NewWave, #SimpleMinds, #Stadionrock, #Tourdaten2026

Happy anniversary to Simple Minds single, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. Released in the US this week in 1985 (and later the week of April 8, 1985 in the UK). #SimpleMinds #DontYouFirgetAboutMe #TheBreakfastClub