For longtime Damned fans, "Phantasmagoria" and the follow-up album "Anything" were not welcome creations from the band that started the punk scene (they beat the Sex Pistols and Clash with the first record contract).

By 1985, the band's sound was more gothic-pop than punk (Fans of The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, or Clan of Xymox take note). The album cover itself reflects the dark undertones found throughout many of the songs. Plenty of synths, organs, harpsicords and a touch of wind and howling here.

"The Shadow of Love" is a haunting song with David Vanian's howl-like vocals and a driving bassline in the fashion of Killing Joke's "Love Like Blood" or Sisters of Mercy's "This Corrosion."

"Is It A Dream" and "Edward The Bear" are pure pop and about as commercial as The Damned would ever become while "Grimly Fiendish" is a classic and humourous Halloween-flavoured track with a great harpsicord intro. The final track, "Trojans" (before the two bonus mixes)is an almost romantic instrumental and a perfect end to a very good album.

As I said before, this album is not for early Damned fans so keep that in mind if "Smash It Up" and "Disco Man" are favorites. If you are a goth or darkwave fan, you must must must add this to your collection. There is a reason why this album is one of the band's hardest to find. If you like The Cure, Xymox, Sisters of Mercy or mid-80's Killing Joke and The Cult, then grab this CD and the equally dark follow-up "Anything."

I love it. Sanctum Sanctorum is haunting, and though someone on The Offical Damned Message boards said "I like the song, but Dave overdoes the Vic Reeves impression", I disagree - Mr Vanian is at his best! There is also the wonderful Grimly Fiendish, which has continued to irritate me (in a nice way, if that makes any sense) every day since I first heard it "Bad lad, bad boy, bad lad, bad boy...". You get the idea. Some other good songs on there include There'll come a day and The Shadow of Love. At first I was confused when I heard "Edward The Bear". "Surely this isn't Dave Vanian singing?!" I asked myself. In fact, it's actually Roman Jugg providing the vocals, so if anyone is confused, there's your answer. Phantasmagoria may not be liked by every Damned fan. If you're obsessed with their first album, Damned Damned Damned, then this may not be your kind of thing. But personally, I love everything The Damned do, and this is one of them.

The Damned did not "abandon" punk for "goth" in 1985. They had already gone beyond traditional punk rock as early as 1979 when they released Machine Gun Etiquette. The Damned were the first on many levels: The first English punk band to release a single, the first to release an album, the first to tour America, the first to break up, the first to re-form, and ONE of the first to take punk beyond it's artistic limitations, and then to brand new uncharted territories.

The Damned had talent in spades. Had they been so inclined, they could have been a self-indulgent prog-rock band. However, they chose to channel their talents into having fun and reinventing themselves on each successive album release. Had the term "gothic" been used in the music industry in 1980, then I'm sure it would have been applied to that year's Black Album... even though that would have been unfair, as it was more influenced by psychedelia. I think it is also unfair to apply that term to Phantasmagoria. The fact that "gothic" music was the newest thing in 1985 has more to do with this categorization if you ask me. Most people were so quick to literally judge the album by it's cover rather than it's true nature, which to me was simply trademark Damned-pop (in other-words, uncategorizable).

Phantasmagoria signaled a new era for the Damned. It was the first proper album to be released without Captain Sensible's input, for one... and it was also the first Damned album to be released on a major mainstream record label. These 2 factors have more to do with the more slick, tame sound. There are other more punked-up recordings of some of these tunes on live albums and BBC showcases (see "The Radio One Sessions"). MCA wanted something a little more "radio-friendly" here. Phantasmagoria did attract a new audience to the band though. I remember the crowd on this tour sporting a lot more black eyeliner and black lace than previous tours. Times change.

Overall, this isn't a bad album... and it's just another chapter in the ever-evolving story of the Damned. The reason this band has remained my favorite band for almost a quarter of a century now is because they never let themselves get stale by making the same old albums over and over. Some albums may be better than others, but no 2 sound the same. I would say Phantasmagoria rates about a 5 on a scale of 1-10 where the Damned's catalog is concerned.

If you're a hardcore Damned fan like I am, then you already know this. If you are a fan of "goth", then you may like this. If you think that the only good album the Damned ever did was "Damned Damned Damned", then you should avoid this one at all costs.

So, they would save the ultimate cheesetasticalness for Anything, which even the most devoted Damned fan probably couldn't sit throught without cringing.

Phantasmagoria sets up ubergoth with kitschy pop songs and melodramatic instrumentals (with "Sanctum Santorium" being the zenith of dramatics). It seems like they are poking fun at themselves in some songs and their appearance, giving in to Dave Vanian's wannabe vampire image (did he get fang implants or are they just removable caps?).

Anyway, for the first video they did, "Grimly Fiendish", all of the Damned members are wearing late 1700 puffy shirt (always reminds me of that 'Seinfeld' episode) and coats in a dirty alleyway sort of setup. In their live tv performances, only Roman Jugg seems to be comfortable in those clothes, while Brynn Merrick and Rat Scabies ditch the garbs for their own clothes. Why am I talking about what they are wearing, and why should anyone care? I get the feeling that it was the record company's idea to market them as a great new wave/goth band and wanting to get far away from their disruptive punk days. ANd it worked. They would hit the charts with Grimly Fiendish and early the next year with "Eloise", which they performed about a millions times or more just in that year alone. And it doesn't help the fact that on their video promo release "Light at The End of the Tunnel", we go from the video for their great punk anthem "Smash It Up" to "Grimly Fiendish", a poppy happy little ditty that seems out of place. You need some sort of footage from The Black album to Strawberries to fill in the gap. But i'm going way over my head here, this is a review for "Phantasmagoria".

I don't mean to sound cynical about this album, I do enjoy it. Some of great songs on here are Street of Dreams, Shadow of Love and There'll Come A Day. If you are a hardcore fan of their punk days and too elitist to think otherwise, maybe this album isn't for you. If you want to be curious about this album, buy it. Really, you'll enjoy it, it might take some time, but it is a good one.

Phantasmagoria is an albumn for those who can appreciate the dark side of the 80's. Anyone who fell in love with The Cure's "Pornography" or Sisters Of Mercy "Floodland" must have a copy of Phantasmagoria.

This is what goth should be!