Bella Morte
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Bella Morte

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Band Alternative Rock

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"Live Concert Review, The Verge, London (2004)"

Bella Morte hurl themselves into their music like a wrecking crew. Songs are set up and gleefully whacked down again, as if the band are wielding demolition balls rather than guitars. The small stage means that the band can’t leap and lurch about in quite the same unbridled manner as they did in Leeds - here, the visual side of the performance is carried by vocalist Andy Deane, who busts his moves in the small pool of red light at the front of the stage like he’s a graduate of the Henry Rollins Frontman Academy. It’s loud and rough, with more than a hint of a ‘let’s do the show right here!’ attitude.

They rock and rumble and bellow through their songs, and then, right at the end of the set, they pull an unexpected contrast out of their musical bag. It’s an endearingly faithful cover of The Penguins’ 1954 hit, ‘Earth Angel’, a fine old tune from the days when R ‘n’ B meant something more than a bland soundtrack to a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption. Bella Morte deliver the song with an affectionate respect...

They leave the stage to a warm and enthusiastic reaction, and London is hereby added to Bella Morte’s list of conquests.
- Starvox Music


"Review of The Quiet (2002)"

Move over Dave Matthews, there's another star coming out of Charlottesville, Virginia. - Philadelphia City Paper


"As The Reasons Die review (2004)"

Pop-inspired darkwave: From the opening dark and sinister dance beats, Bella Morte establish a gothic sound rich in chunky metallic guitars, melody-driven synths, deep heartfelt emotional vocals, and sporadic electronic sampling that embrace the sugar of synthpop and the evilness of industrial.

Breaking out of his sinister sneer in the album opener, "Beneath", vocalist Andy Deane slides into a clean and emotional delivery of self-pitying melody that shows that since The Quiet, Bella Morte have pushed themselves to greater heights. Deeply melodic with the aide of some of the most memorable hooks pilfered from varying genres, ranging from synthpop to gothic, As The Reasons Die maintains a much more rigid cohesiveness than any of their previous releases. The piano work on the ballad "Many Miles" mixes very well with the soaring rock guitar that lingers in the background, while elements of punk and mid-80's new wave are thrust forward in "Forever Grey".

Nothing this band does allows their music to be pigeonholed into any one musical genre. - Outburn Magazine


"As The Reasons Die review (2004)"

Don't be fooled by the death's-head graphics, or by the band photo that shows Bella Morte on stage looking fierce and leather-clad in a soupy morasse of dark green fog. Although there are definite elements of industrial rock and darkwave in their sound, Bella Morte's most distinctive feature is the sweet and surprisingly approachable voice of lead singer Andy Deane; the group's synthesized beats are strong without being martial or overbearing, and most of these songs feature- believe it or not- actual melodies. In fact, the songs on As The Reasons Die are almost uniformly excellent with the exception of a waste-of-time instrumental titled "A Time Before", they offer unique and shifting combinations of funk, industrial, darkwave and EBM elements that always sound familiar but never come across as really derivative. Highlights include the rockish and guitar-driven "Last Days", the darkwave influenced "Awake", and a gently regretful and mildly industrial song called "Undone." Very nice. - AllMusic


"As The Reasons Die review (2004)"

As catchy and radio-friendly (in an AFI-meets-Ramones sort of way) as they come. - Plan 9 Music Magazine


"Beautiful Death Review (2008)"

Bella Morte are certainly not strangers to alternative rock music fans as they have been at it since the mid-90's, however with their latest effort "Beautiful Death," they have taken a huge leap musically and seemed to have found the perfect sound to suit the band much due in part to working with producer Andy Waldeck, who perfectly capture what they were going for. From the opening notes of the album I really wasn't too sure if I was going to dig this or not as it had a industrial, Depeche Mode, style going on, but as soon as the first 30 or so seconds past, and the chunky, riff heavy, guitars kicked in I was hooked. The vocals proved to be incredible, and surprisingly with music that is on the heavier side in today's day and age, there was no screaming, but rather the vocals were real smooth and powerful as displayed early on in this album on "Can't Let This Die," a trend which continues throughout. Musically, Bella Morte took a wide range of ideas and influences to the studio with them. With an indie rock feel mixed together with goth and industrial flare they have managed to put together a sound that throughout the album finds the right moments to slow things down and just when you think you know what direction they are heading, you get hit with incredible rhythms that pound through you. "Beautiful Death" is great album to say the least as Bella Morte steps outside of the box and takes daring chances to create something that is unique, but at the same time not so out there that it isn't listen able like so many other bands these days. - The Guestlist


"Beautiful Death Review"

For Metropolis recording artists Bella Morte, having a self-titled release called Beautiful Death (the Italian to English translation of the band’s name) doesn’t signify a “return to its origins” as it would for some bands. Instead, they named their album Beautiful Death, which will drop on October 7, 2008, to symbolize the band coming into their own and becoming the band that they have been striving to be. Bella Morte has built a very loyal and devoted underground following with their brand of dark alternative rock, blended with equal parts metal and goth. With Beautiful Death, the band’s growth over the last twelve years makes itself more apparent in the album’s cohesiveness and strength in songwriting. - Sound Collective 8/23/08


"Incoming Artists (2006)"

The bastard sons of scene-inspirations the Misfits with a heavy sprinkling of gothic rock. - Metal Hammer


"Bleed The Grey Sky Black review (2006)"

Incorporating elements of punk and dark electronics, this rock outfit have outdone themselves. "Bleed" is heavier than anything they've released but it still maintains the overall feel of their past while looking to the future. It will leave the competition bewildered. - Interpunk


Discography

Beautiful Death
Metropolis Records, October 7, 2008

Bleed the Grey Sky Black
Metropolis Records, 2006

As The Reasons Die
Metropolis Records, 2004

Songs for the Dead EP
Metropolis Records, 2004

The Quiet
Metropolis Records, 2002

The Death Rock EP
2001

Where Shawdows Lie
Cleopatra Records, 1999

Remains
Some Wear Leather, 1997

Photos

Bio

New! The video for Find Forever Gone is currently on demand on the FUSE channel.

For Bella Morte, having a self-titled release called Beautiful Death (albeit the Italian to English translation of the name of the band) doesn't signify a "return to its origins" as it would for some bands. Instead, they named their album Beautiful Death (release date: October 7, 2008) to symbolize the band coming into their own and becoming the band that they have been striving to be. Bella Morte has built a very loyal and devoted underground following with their brand of dark alternative rock, blended with equal parts metal and goth. With Beautiful Death, the band's growth over the last twelve years makes itself more apparent in the album's cohesiveness and strength in songwriting. "We consider it the definitive Bella Morte album," Andy says. "It's less schizophrenic than our other releases. We've created something completely new here by combining elements of what we've done in the past."

Bella Morte have been a sought-after opener for KMFDM, The Misfits, The 69 Eyes, and Mindless Self Indulgence and have performed on the Vans Warped Tour. They have also toured Europe, the UK, Canada and the US extensively.

Early in their career, Bella Morte entered the Virginia Battle of the Bands, where their dark sound bested a host of rock bands for first place. The cash prize funded their first album, "Remains". After self-releasing their second release, "Where Shadows Lie", the band got a major boost when Cleopatra Records re-released it with bonus tracks, including a cover of Berlin's "The Metro". After selling thousands of copies of "Shadows", Bella Morte caught the attention of a larger label, Metropolis Records, who signed them in 2002 and has since released four full-length CDs and one EP to great success.

By combining electronics, graveyard ballads, emotive storytelling and unique guitar riffs, Bella Morte have developed a style that is solely their own, which is aided by the talents of Andy Deane, who studied opera for five years to strengthen his vocal capabilities.