release date: Jul. 1983
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: Bauhaus
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "She's in Parties" (4,5 / 5) (official video) - 2. "Antonin Artaud" (4 / 5) - 5. "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight" (4 / 5) - 6. "Slice of Life" - 7. "Honeymoon Croon" - 8. "Kingdom's Coming" - 9. "Burning From the Inside" - 10. "Hope"
4th and final studio album release by Bauhaus..., or so it appeaared to be at the time, but the band eventually regrouped and released the album Go Away White in 2008.
Some consider this their most polished and their most pop-styled album, whereas others regard it their most experimental release.
It took me some time getting used to it. Initially, I really loved "She's in Parties", and I was ready for a journey into more pop-styled songs in the dark gothic rock universe, and probably found that closer to e.g. The Cure's recent releases, but the album is much more than mainstream, and contains really experimental stuff. The great "angry" punk rock tracks "Antonin Artaud", "Slice of Life", and "Honeymoon Croon" are the one part giving new life to their otherwise 'gloomy' music, only represented in the title track, and then the album also contains some tracks that point in a completely new direction. "King Volcano", "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight", "Kingdom's Coming", and "Hope", are all tracks that have more in common with what was later released by Love and Rockets, a band consisting of all but one member of Bauhaus. After the disbandment, Peter Murphy (lead vocalist) initiated his solo career, and the remainders founded the band Love and Rockets, a band that continued the experimental side of Bauhaus but who also took the style far away from the dark and glam rock-inspired post-punk and gothic rock. After the disbandment in 1983, the band's status has only grown. Bauhaus re-united briefly in 1998 for a concert tour, and again in 2005 continuing throughout 2006 - this time for a longer period, which eventually brought them back in the studio to record new material and the album Go Away White was released in 2008 only to see the band 'finally' split after the release. I think, Burning From the Inside is a better album than the likewise experimental The Sky's Gone Out from 1982. Although, the band incorporate many styles, it remains a whole with the more experimental tracks scattered in between more melodic tracks like small breaks. Initially, I didn't like it, and I would probably only have handed it 2,5 / 5. Nowadays, I consider it one of the band's major albums.
The front cover artwork is by (Daniel Ash' art school friend) Glenn Campling.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]
