British punk rock, which was built from American blues, soul and early R&B, gave birth to many forms of music. For children of the 80s across the pond in rural America none were more important than post-punk, goth and, eventually, industrial and metal. Even saccharin pop acts like Spandau Ballet started out as aggressive, groove-oriented bands playing dancehalls in London. Thus, the goth movement is built on more than just pale faces and platform boots. The bands are not only talented and compositionally sound but also inspirational and, for the most part, they sound happier than their genre would imply. Alaric lean heavily on the post-punk school of British goth-tinged rock for their sound and on End of Mirrors they achieve a rebirth of the genre not seen in America since 1980s Christian Death or 1990s Switchblade Symphony. Continue reading →