Read the original review by Pete Woods at http://www.metalteamuk.net/cdreviews-magenta.htm

As far as I am concerned there are one hell of a lot of accidents in art. I mean, it must have been an accident when somebody decided that Tracy Emin was an artist and as for the Turner prize and the obscene amounts of money given out for things that are often as artistic as a messy bowel movement… anyway I have gone off track before I begin and rant over. There is nothing messy about Magenta and in fact if anything the waft they exude is sweet as nectar. Formed by Anders Odden who has done time in Cadaver and Apoptygma Bezerk as well as live guitarist with Satyricon, Celtic Frost and Ministry you might have this pegged as being a right extreme beasty but you would be wrong. In fact the blurb here lists a huge array of musical genre influences and metal is only really a passing reference. It is the caress of vocalist Vilde Lockert that really defines this. She has apart from the Bezerk ones contributed to both Arcturus and Fleurety in the past, so perhaps when I say that a light of recognition has popped on in your head.

Speaking of pop, this is perhaps where we should start as these songs do have a commercial appeal that should, if there were any justification, have them heading for the top of the charts. Whilst this may not appeal to the hardened metal head it should go down well with those who have a bit of a broader listening scope. The first few tracks really sum things up here. ‘Darkest Dream’ grooves with an Americana, driving through Marlborough country kind of guitar twang, one that is completely infectious. There is a hint of EBM in the backbone and vocals are sultry when they join in and obviously retain a Gothic feel. Once the chorus hits and repeats ad infinitum you are hooked; there is no way you are getting this tune out your head for the next week. Just in case you do decide to try and eradicate it there are remixes of this and some of the other tunes at the end of the disc.
‘Untouchable’ is pretty lovely with a real pop laden Eurovision ballad type of feel but delivered with a conviction to make you melt and send a shiver down the spine. It’s rather dreamy really and again will have you singing along. Ok as I said this isn’t going to be to everyone’s tastes but boy they do it damn well and I certainly cant help but really enjoy this. ‘To Die For’ an evidently Gothic title is one that sounds guitar wise a bit Sisters Of Mercy and certainly does not detract from this idea when the eldritch vocals of Gothminster join in and cadaverously accompany Vilde.

It has to be said these first three numbers are tough ones to better but the rest of the hour long running time does its best to expand upon ideas and offer more bittersweet song-craft. ‘The One’ is a really strong love song with some great guitar lines flowing through the melody. The high energy dark dance club vibe hits ‘Fallen Angel’ and will no doubt get people out of dark corners and dancing round handbags clutching snakebite and black. ‘Wasted Heart’ is slower by comparison and sinuously twists and turns, drawing you in and there is plenty of variation here to keep the album interesting.

This is probably not the sort of thing I would have heard if it had not fell through the letter box and I am really pleased it did and will certainly not be shelving this but coming back to it again and again. It is really interesting the amount of extreme musicians that do decide to go down other paths like this and they all seem to prove they are damn good at it (recent examples include Ava Inferi and Unsun). Magenta musically send you to heaven and for once it makes a pleasant change from getting thrown to hell.