This is the 5th studio album of the Gothfathers, released 2008, 25 whole years after their previous studio release, the classic "Burning From The Inside". And I won't lie, when I heard it was coming I became concerned.

Back in the very beginning of the 1980s, Bauhaus took a hollow, one dimensional music term and breathed life into it. Previously 'Gothic' was used to describe a crude, unpolished sound with a hint of gloom but it became a culture with substance just because Bauhaus provided the image and imagery, the influences and cult references.

When Bauhaus broke up in 1983, they became a symbol and point of reference for Goths to come. And the last thing we want to see these days, is such a powerful symbol to collapse after an unfortunate release.

2008 and Gothic has evolved and changed, and has threatened to become something alien and far away from its true essence. And it is at this very point that Bauhaus decide to release "Go Away White", an album that "was recorded in 18 days at Zircon Skye in Ojai, with singer Peter Murphy, bassist David J, guitarist Daniel Ash, and drummer Kevin Haskins playing together as a band in one room, taking first takes as final cuts". With a photo of Bethesda, the angel of the healing waters in New York's Central Park in the front cover, the symbolism is very promising indeed.

But would Bauhaus in 2008 be able to reproduce the sound, the feeling, and magic of an era long gone? And would the result be as fresh, timeless and original, and yet (preferably) completely disconnected from all contemporary sound influences?

The answer is fortunately ...YES! The album states their intentions with the opening track "Too much 21st century". Exactly! And you can not get a more typical Bauhaus song either! The next track "Adrenalin" follows the same pattern, and now all signs of doubt disappear. It IS definitely Bauhaus. It is the same old gloom and the same old (fashioned) rocking. And direct as ever.

Things do get better as there are a few brilliant moments in this album. The excellent "Undone" would have been a Bauhaus classic had it been released in the 80s, and so would the atmospheric "Saved". "Black Stone Heart" is a potential hit, and the formerly released "The Dog's A Vapour" is by far the darkest moment in the album.

Not a day has passed here. This is a true revival of the post punk sound by the most influential band on the Gothic genre ever. Had it been released in 1984 it would have been a classic today. And 20 years from now, "Go Away White" will be remembered as the final Bauhaus masterpiece.