The Soil Bleeds Black is a band lead by the Riddick brothers (Mark and Michael). Together they are also responsible for the gothic/wave label The Fossil Dungeon. With their band they play medieval music in a raw and unpolished way.
Lots of bands (among them Estampie) play often a very smooth and polished version of old (European) music. Although the result of this is often very beautiful music, it is the question if this kind of music has ever sounded that way.
Maybe The Soil Bleeds Black has a more authentic sound, but we will never know for sure what way medieval music really sounded back then. One thing that is for sure is that the acoustic guitar the band uses is not a medieval instrument. So this band is also not truly authentic. But it has to be said that The Soil Bleeds Black has found a sound of their own within the genre.
The highlights of the album are ‘In Taberna Quando Sumus’, which is taken from Carmina Burana, and the enchanting ‘Jubilation of Earthly Delights’. The remix of the well known song ‘Palastinalied’ didn’t need to be on the cd. Lots of groups playing traditional music make use of electronic beats nowadays, but not always this really adds something to the music. Besides this the Mirror of the Middle is a very fine album.
