Sunday 29 April 2012

Brendan Perry – Eye Of The Hunter (1999)


Country: England

Tracklist
1. Saturday's Child 04:30
2. Voyage of Bran 05:33
3. Medusa 06:10
4. Sloth 03:32
5. I Must Have Been Blind 05:07
6. The Captive Heart 04:00
7. Death Will Be My Bride 05:46
8. Archangel 07:35

Debut solo album from Brendan Perry, best known for his work as the male half 
of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.
The album contained songs written by Perry and a cover of Tim Buckley's song 
"I Must Have Been Blind" from his 1970 album "Blue Afternoon".
Boasting lush production sensibilities and a boundary-defying spirit, Eye Of The Hunter offered
an immediate familiarity to fans of Dead Can Dance’s unique sound world.
But there were difference in the manner the music was made, and also how it was presented.
Eye Of The Hunter’s vignettes were written – crafted – using a more traditional singer / songwriter process.
The music, centered around Brendan’s thoughtful and restrained guitar playing, 
provided a backdrop for his deep, gentle vocals.
And while much of Dead Can Dance’s work eluded categorization, Brendan embraced it, making a folk record
in the truest sense: these songs, each one its own story but each also contributing to an overall theme,
 were rooted in his life experiences.
Dead Can Dance’s music often suggested a search for meaning and sense in the world, 
and Brendan has taken up a similar journey.
But instead of looking at the external world, he has decided to explore the inner world of his own private universe.
People have multiple personalities which are always evolving,” he says. 
This record deals with the different facets of my own personality.”
Eye Of The Hunter’s deeply personal songs explore the theme of loss, both of life and love, 
but they are not bereft of hope.
Recorded at Brendan’s Quivvy Church Studio in County Cavan in Ireland and released from 4AD.

Memory

Elend – Les Ténèbres Du Dehors (1996)


Country: France

Tracklist
1. Nocturne 04:51
2. Ethereal Journeys 14:29
3. The Luciferian Revolution 10:57
4. Eden (The Angel In The Garden) 04:17
5. The Silence Of Light 08:05
6. Antienne 06:46
7. Dancing Under The Closed Eyes Of Paradise 09:36
8. Les Ténèbres Du Dehors 04:23

Elend's work can best be described as very dark and oppressing symphonic music influenced by Krzysztof Penderecki, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis, Pierre Henry and Peter Eötvös
Their method of structuring pieces of music does not follow any dogmatic rules and their use of arrangements reaches peaks in terms of orchestral density and vocal diversity. 
They have kept the traditional instrumentation of post-romantic orchestras but taken the limits much further by multiplying the number of instruments in each section and extending it by integrating modern elements 
such as ambient and industrial sounds and percussion instruments.
Les Ténèbres du Dehors is a black haunting release. It is the second in their highly acclaimed, 
very dark and violent Officium Tenebrarum Trilogy.
Elend confirm their originality and their will to gather the Black Metal fans and the fans of classical music. 
Les Ténèbres du Dehors seems to be more complex musically, more refined,
where Iskandar expresses his suffering while Eve and Nathalie haunt that symphony of divine voices, led by Renaud.
Music for the fallen angels.

Memory

Saturday 14 April 2012

Zyklon-B – Blood Must Be Shed (MCD 1995)


Country: Norway

Tracklist
1. Mental Orgasm 02:54
2. Bloodsoil 02:25
3. Warfare 05:35

One of the first Norwegian Black Metal projects to arise in the scene featuring , back then, 
Frost (Satyricon) on drums, Samoth (Emperor) on guitars-bass, Ihsahn (Emperor) on keyboards  
and Aldrahn (Dodheimsgard) on vocals.
The bands only release is this EP and their style of course is straight forward, aggressive and misanthropic Black Metal.
Tracks 1 and 3 consists of inspirations and actual quotations by mass-murderers and serial-killers.
The memory link is for the re-released version and contains one bonus track "Total Warfare (Sea Serpent Remix)".

Memory

Solefald – Neonism (1999)


Country: Norway

Tracklist
1. Proprietors Of Red 06:34
2. Speed Increased To Scaffold 08:27
3. CK II Chanel N°6 03:32
4. Fluorescent (The Total Orchestra) 05:20
5. A Motion Picture 01:56
6. Omnipolis 05:36
7. Backpacka Baba 05:25
8. Third Person Plural 04:03
9. 04.34 PM 03:23
10. The New Timelessness 06:00

In 1999, Solefald released their second full-length, entitled Neonism which is incorporating 
black metal, pop, classical music, punk, and progressive metal.
Neonism also featuring more vocal techniques from each member.
Singing in English and French, Lazare brought back his clean vocals while Cornelius is still using his high pitched shrieks and his lower grunting, but also a style of spoken word singing.
The lyrics are unconventional for metal in general and black metal especially, 
dealing with socio-political issues and pop culture criticism in songs like "Backpacka Baba" and "CK II Chanel no. 6".
Recorded at the famed Sunlight Studios the band stated that they used this quality of sound because of the multi-layered song structures demanding a thinner sound to allow the many facets of the music to shine through. 
Another reasoning was that they wanted to achieve the "old school black metal" sound.
The band coined the term "Radical Designer Rock 'n' Roll", for this release.
A really "crazy" and "enjoyable" album in all terms.
The memory link is for the remastered-reissue and contains one bonus track (Cosmophony).

Memory