For many years, ASP has been known for high quality releases, which are worked out perfectly. Fortunately nothing has changed with the fourth album "Aus der Tiefe", because it all looks beautiful again: dark and atmospheric artwork, a bonus cd with different versions of several songs and remixes by Blutengel and Umbra et Imago and a full colour booklet with all the lyrics.

But there is obviously more than the artwork; the music is what's most important and it is once again made very effectively with the same high quality standard we are used to from ASP. Of course in the typical ASP style, so you get to hear a well-balanced mix of (danceable) darkwave, gothic rock and beautiful ballads, sometimes swinging, sometimes solemn and enchanting, but always very good. Next to that, the songs are bound by short atmospheric tracks to make "Aus der Tiefe" a fluent album.

The album opens timidly with "Beschwörung", but after that ASP comes up with three very catchy songs: "Schwarzes Blut", "Me" and "Hunger"; especially "Schwarzes Blut" has great hit potential. Fortunately there is also room for a wonderful, epic ballad again in the form of the nine-minute piece "Ballade von der Erweckung", whereafter the album slowly heads towards the last chapter: "Spiegelauge", which exists of five parts and lasts about fifteen minutes. The whole album takes seventy minutes, but as ASP writes such catchy songs, you hardly notice it anyway.

I hope that ASP will keep making great, pure gothic albums like this for years, for "Aus der Tiefe" has become a little masterpiece.