Clan of Xymox never made the big time in the UK Goth scene, but this is a superb album, full of haunting atmosphere and gloom, but without the usual cliched references to graveyards and blood that can make Goth pop sound so adolescent. As a result, the album has not dated at all, the songs are beautifully produced, with dark and forbidding crescendos in the fast numbers, and elegaic melancholy in the slow tracks. The production is refreshingly danceable, especially the title track, without the distortion and noisy guitars favoured by other bands of this type. The inclusion of the last 4AD produced ep songs( A Million Things and Blind Hearts) as bonus tracks make this an excellent purchase, as these versions are far superior to the watered down remixes that appear on "Twist Of Shadows"

For their second 4 AD album, Dutch band Clan of Xymox have taken the most effective and attractive elements

of their mosaic of sound (as witnessed at intervals on their debut long player) and produced a work which, at times, achieves the beauty and ambience of label mates like The Cocteau Twins or DCD.The playing here glistens and shimmers, especially on the opener 'Theme 1'. 'Michelle' on side one, is a good example of the new approach, powerful and melodic, harnessing the aggression and momentum that would once have pulled the song into a brutal climax.

Medusa is a vibrant soundscape that really saw Clan of Xymox reaching a larger and more appreciative audience.

Medusa is, quite simply, beautiful listening and of course a classic in many books and so it is in mine.

Louise is just a track I will never ever get tired of.

From the research I've done on Xymox fans' favorite album, this one seems to dominate along with Twist of Shadows, which are pretty different. This one is more melancholic, like other reviewers have pointed out. It's not as dancey as Twist of Shadows, & really the only danceable track is the last one, "Scum". I think I also remember reading somewhere that that song was added later & wasn't originally on the album (but I could be wrong). The best song by far here is "Louise", which dangerously grew on me. I didn't really know what to think about it at first, but then 1 day I was upset over several things & when he started singing "louise...louuuuise....louiiiiiise...", I had to fight back tears going to my eyes, & had to give up & let it go. Heh, sappy I know, but I don't remember any other songs that have ever done that before. The aching sorrowful mood of the song might seem overdone to some people, but it worked for me, so that's all that matters. The 1st theme starts off the overall tone of the album very well, esp. when the recorder comes in. Some other favorite tracks of mine are "Medusa", "Agonised by Love" & "Masquerade". "Michelle" & "Blind Hearts" seem to be the more upbeat tracks on here. I also seem to have to be in a certain mood to hear this album, compared to like Twist of Shadows & the self-titled, where it doesn't matter what mood I'm in. Overall, it's 1 their moodiest albums , verses dark like 'Creatures' or more on the synthpop pop side like 'Twist of Shadows'. If you're just getting into Xymox, I would suggest starting with 'Twist of Shadows' & decide from there which route you wanna go... but a must-have for all Xymox fans.

this is clan of xymox's best effort. always has been, always will be. twist of shadow got all the hype but fell short to capturing the athmosphere of this album. it flows, it is complete and it stands alone very well. louise is a very nice track that pops into my head every now and then years later. i am not a huge fan of gothic music and even though this album is "gothic", it fits nicely in just about any intelligent collection of music. take a chance and grab it. i think you'll agree.

Clan of Xymox's Medusa is a classic...Richly textured sounds layered into incredibly beautiful melodies..it's hard to describe..each songs takes you into a different dreamworld. Medusa was probably the bravest album to come out of the 4AD era back in the eightees..becuase their is nothing 'eightees' about it...it is timeless. Like their debut self-titled album, Xymox continued to break new ground and redefine "Goth" or 'Darkwave'..Medusa is both sad and euphoric at once..with incredible use of strings and samples that will send you dreaming. Albums that followed were good..Twist of Shadows was a nice blend of more accesable pop while maintaining beauty and class. Unfortunaly, without Anke Wolbert and Peiter Nooten, much has been lost..and recent albums sound (for the most part) so bland and typical of 'goth' it's painful to listen to. I'm waiting for the X-band members Peiter (a keyboard genious) and Anke to produce. Medusa will remain my most cherished album of all time.