In Strict Confidence is back, after three years, with another solid release; La Parade Monstrueuse is an album with a mood.

"My Despair" is a down-tempo, melancholy piece, full of dark, sweeping orchestral accents, definitely sets a mood. Dennis' voice had certainly improved in quality over the years, and this song highlights that. "Silver Bullets" is a very catchy song, and was clearly the best choice for a single for the album - clear, simple lyrics, catchy refrain, uptempo music.

"Set Me Free", "This is All" and "I Surrender" have very complementary lead male and female vocals, which is a nice change of pace. "Ewige Nacht" is an almost strictly piano-driven piece for the first half, full of thoughtful expressiveness, but expands into a fuller sound towards the end of the song.

"Snow White" is yet another surprise, with actual acoustic guitar, almost lending somewhat of a country sound to the song, though the analog electronic sounds add a nice juxtaposition. The album finishes off with another down-tempo piece, "Golden Gate".

La Parade Monstrueuse is certainly a progression of quality and complexity for ISC, full or emotive tracks and is certainly worthy of purchase.

As a side note, the limited edition version of this release comes with a second cd of remixes, as well as videos for "My Despair" and "Ewiger Nacht".