Daniel Graves is a perfectionist. Over the last 3 years he nearly drove himself to the edge of insanity and really did suffer to make this album the best it could possibly be. In his own words “I always set out to raise the bar and push myself to the very limit of my abilities. Going into this I knew it would be very difficult, but I think it has to be that way, otherwise you risk repeating yourself. In all reality if I had decided to make “A Violent Emotion 2” I could have had the record finished in a matter of months. I love making records but I also really f***ing hate it. It’s always a classic bipolar situation of euphoria and loving every minute and every note of what you’re doing, to be followed by the inevitable crash of writers block and insecurity.”

So how do you go about writing an album then? Well if you’re Mr Graves the creative process seems to entail the two extremes of constantly touring and locking yourself away in a sound-proofed sauna, in your cellar, under 3 feet of snow. (Anyone else thinking of “The Shining” here?) Daniel’s problem was that he was too happy; he had nothing to moan about. So he “decided to look inward and dissect my personality and why I do the things I do. I’ve simply personified sides of myself and written about them as if they were a separate person. Like always it’s dark, satirical and humorous though like always I’m pretty much the only one who gets the joke. It’s been an extremely introspective couple of years. I honestly didn’t expect to find such darkness. I may be a personable person on the outside but inside I’m pretty bitter and hate filled. Hopefully now that I understand myself a bit better, I can put some of that aside”

Having already heard the 2 singles “The Devils in the Details” and “Inhuman” I was hoping the rest of the album would be as good as these tasters. So what do we get? Well it certainly IS the album of two extremes. All that love/hate, pleasure/pain, euphoria/self-doubt and the conflict of work verses fun has combined to give us twelve totally different, strong, stunning songs. There are no fillers or instrumentals here. Daniel Graves is definitely an artist. The album is full of light and shade. The contrast in his vocal styles between the devil-like, rasping, growling screaming and the almost angelic singing is astounding. From the stomping electo dance beats we have come to know and love to the slow, haunting cappella of “Under Your Skin” where Daniel has composed a simply pure but complex song showcasing his voice as the instruments. With lyrics ranging from the pleading I’ll change to be a better person to the tormented but beautiful “I’ll cut your throat” and spiteful, hate filled, screamed “I hope you die, you motherf***er!” The lyric which for me best sums up the whole album is the opening verse “Welcome to your Hell….What’s so tragic about giving up your soul?” Daniel given his all, he has bared his soul and presented it to us in all its flawed glory. No taking the easy route of fobbing us off with 7 or 8 mediocre songs just for the sake of getting another album out. He has truly suffered for his art. He says he wants to provoke emotions, a reaction. He doesn’t care if you love or hate his songs as long as they make you feel something.

There HAVE been some haters. Daniel finds it funny and has started publishing the “Hate List”. But it’s not the fact these people don’t like the album that bothers him; it’s the way they think its perfectly acceptable behaviour to go onto his social networking sites and personally criticise him and his music. I really don’t know what they want, they obviously don’t like change. I’m guessing they’re the ones who want the safety of “A Violent Emotion 2” or even a “Greatest Hits” album. Someone commented that “All Beauty Destroyed” is “different.” To which Daniel replied “Of course it is” I love “A Violent Emotion” and now I also adore “All Beauty Destroyed” precisely because is IS different. New. Surprising. Although all the songs are completely varied in style and content they blend together to create a thing of beauty.

My personal favourites are “The Little Death” – this just gets me every time. I love the contrast between the deep electro throbbing and the singing in the chorus. I’ve seen the perfectly placed, climactic title track “All Beauty Destroyed” described as an “Industrial lullaby” but to me it’s more of an Industrial ballad. The piano is exquisitely played by Lauren Krothe who is possibly best known from Andy La Plegua’s project “Panzer AG” This has all the power of one of Freddie Mercury or Lady GaGa’s epic ballads (take that as a compliment lol). I can just visualise it being belted out on stage accompanied by a giant piano. I’d love to see this released as a single cos I’m dying to see the video. After I heard it once it was stuck in my head so be warned.

You can’t help but dance along to “The Devils in the Details” – also I can’t help imagining Mr Graves as a devilish, synth playing Pied Piper leading us all dancing to Hell (and if this IS Hell take me there!) Aesthetic Perfection are just about to embark on their UK and Europe headline tour. If you’re lucky enough to have them visit a venue near you I implore you to go and see them. Their live shows are amazing. You will not stop dancing. I also really hope you buy this album (and I do mean “buy”, after all the suffering that’s gone into making it I think Mr Graves is fully deserving of a few pennies of your hard earned cash). Daniel I’d love to be on your “hate list” but it ain’t gonna happen. The only thing I’ll hate is if you don’t sing “The Little Death” & “All Beauty Destroyed” live.