Sol Invictus – Lex Talionis (1993)

Country: England

Tracklist

1. Blood And Wine 01:32
2. Lex Talionis 06:01
3. Black Easter 04:29
4. Kneel To The Cross 04:47
5. The Ruins 02:50
6. Tooth And Claw 06:52
7. Blood Against Gold 04:24
8. Fields 03:56
9. Abattoirs Of Love 05:23
10. Heroes Day 02:39
11. Rex Talionis 02:25
12. Wine And Blood 02:29

13. Black Easter (Live Bonus Track) 04:15
14. Reynardine & Abattoirs Of Love (LP Version) 05:10
15. The Hammer Or The Anvil (From Original DAT) 03:25
16. Fields (Originally Released On The Yangki Vinyl) 04:07
17. Abattoirs Of Love (Edit - Originally Released On "V/A - Sacred War") 03:18

Sol Invictus is an English neofolk band fronted by Tony Wakeford and formed in 1987

after the disbanding of his project Above The Ruins.
The name Sol Invictus (The Unconquered Sun), derives from the Roman cult of the same name.
Wakeford has been the sole constant member of the group since its inception,

although numerous musicians have contributed and collaborated with him over the years,

including Sarah Bradshaw, Nick Hall, Céline Marleix-Bardeau, Nathalie Van Keymeulen, Ian Read and Karl Blake.
Wakeford repeatedly referred to his work as folk noir.

Beginning with a mixture of a rough, bleak, primitive post/punk/industrial sound and acoustic/folk elements,

the band's music gradually evolved toward a lush, refined style,

picking up classically trained players such as Eric Roger, Matt Howden, and Sally Doherty.
In the mid-1990s, Sol Invictus spun off a side project called L'Orchestre Noir (later changed to Orchestra Noir)

to explore an even more classically influenced direction.
2005 saw the departure of longtime contributors Roger and Blake,

leading to a new line-up including Caroline Jago, Lesley Malone and Andrew King.
In 1990, Wakeford formed his own label, Tursa, to release his material and the music of other artists. 

The World Serpent Distribution previously distributed this material worldwide, followed then by Cold Spring Records.

In 2009, Sol Invictus signed to Prophecy Records and in June 2011,

they announced the end of their partnership both with Cold Spring Records and musician Andrew King.
The band's imagery and lyrical content, in its early days, was influenced by traditionalism

and antipathy towards the modern world and materialism.
A superficial interest was the Italian philosopher Julius Evola while a more serious influence was the poet Ezra Pound.
The band also had considerable interest in heathen and Mithraist themes, often with an explicit antipathy to Christianity,

reflecting the involvement of Wakeford and other members in neopagan groups.
The 1997 album "The Blade" incorporates an Odinic chant, Gealdor, into its varied laments.
Wakeford tended to write from a melancholic position of doomed Romanticism,

which lamented the loss of beauty, love, and culture.

He saw the American influence on global culture as very damaging to Europe.
The later albums have seen a turn to a more personal writing style, as interest in,

what Wakeford calls, "knee-jerk anti-Americanism and anti-Christianity" has been rejected.
Sol Invictus album artwork has often showcased the expressionist paintings of American artist-musician Tor Lundvall.

Memory