MABON (21 Semptember 2011)

The musick dedicated to this Sabbat is:

FORSETI

ERDE




Original Issue: 2004 Goeart/Grunwald (No Number)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Do not forget to take a look at the comments section :-)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from Heathen Harvest :

Forseti has presented me one of the greatest reviewing challenges I've faced in years: "Erde." This is a good thing. I've not encountered an album that I've enjoyed so much, so intensely, from the start for quite some time. The last time I enjoyed a release this much, and felt so moved by it, was when I got a demo tape of Michael Gira's Angels of Light album "Mother." Ironically, it leaves me lacking any real adequate words to describe it. Simply: I like it! There's no single reason why I like "Erde" so much. The guitar work is excellent, not presumptuous or incompetent. The voice is controlled, serious, and comforting at the same time. Pacing throughout the whole release is impeccable; there is so much here to enjoy I don't want to break the album down into various analyses or tracks. Doing such a thing, I feel, would be a discredit to the listening experience. I can't help but admit, however, that "Erdennacht" is the best track on "Erde." There is no doubt about this.

Erde's packaging and presentation are superb. Printing, textures, and design are all top grade. I love seeing a product that artist, label, and distributor all take pride in. They all match the aesthetic and the sonic feel of the album. Guests on "Erde" include Ian Read and B'eirth among many others. Unless I miss my bet, with a few more albums and some more exposure, Andreas Ritter—Forseti's creator and core—is going to go places. This album will remain on my player for some time to come. I can only hope his next album is at least this good. If you are going to buy only one Neo-Folk album this year make it "Erde."

FULL STURGEON MOON (13 August 2011)

The musick dedicated to this Esbat is:

CAMERATA MEDIOLANENSE

CAMPO DI MARTE


Original Issue: 1996 Discordia (Disc 093 CD)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Do not forget to take a look at the comments section :-)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from Old Europa Café:

This album was released back in 1996 and is still one of the very best Neoclassic albums ever ! True European music!

The quality of Camerata in their music stile is unique and no other group was able to achieve such results …

Fanfare, Drums, super wonderful Vocals especially the female ones, Cembalo plus other classic instruments, simply majestic sounds and exquisite compositions !

EOSTRE (21 March 2011)

The musick dedicated to this Sabbat is:

TEATRO SATANICO

PAN IST TOD



Original Issue: 2007 Old Europa Cafe (OEMP 012) Buy it here!!!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

To learn more about Teatro Satanico

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from Old Europa Cafe :

Do you think you can foresee how will sound the new Teatro Satanico’s songs ?
Do you think Teatro Satanico plays only elektronic music ?
Do you think Teatro Satanico has not more trick-or-treat to play on you ?
Do you know that PETER PAN was a real soldier and that he is dead and buried ?
Do you know that his grave is located on a mountain in Veneto, the Italian region where Teatro Satanico’s guys live ?
Don’t you believe it? Well, look to the photo of his grave on the cover of the new Teatro Satanico PAN IST TOD album !
Hardly to expect it, but these Italian devils recorded some real neo-folk tunes with a marching, pop touch this time !
And due to its peculiar oddity it will become a very unique feature into the official Teatro Satanico’s discography, since here we are talking about “no-synthesizer musik”, the trademark of the previous Teatro Satanico releases.
Expect the unexpected ! Believe the unbelievable !
Once again Teatro Satanico proves to be one of the more original and unforeseeable contemporary post-industrial project in a post-industrial scene full of poseurs, fake-artists and obvious predictable releases.
Beware of Teatro Satanico, they do bite your certainty!

FULL STURGEON MOON (24 August 2010)

The musick dedicated to this Esbat is:

FALKENSTEIN

HEILIGER WALD
UNDARBRUNNEN



Original Issue: 2008 Kraftplatz (KRPL 01) Buy it here!!!
Original Issue: 2008 Kraftplatz (KRPL 02) Buy it here!!!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Do not forget to take a look at the comments section :-)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from Heathen Harvest:

I was stepping right behind this band since the last year, marauding after it like a hunter behind a magnificent elk through high peaks and somber woods. This image may very well represent the mood of the music contained in “Urdarbrunnen” second album from this fantastic German neo-folk conformation dealing with nature, mysticism and a clear medieval influx in a way that presents them as an original and highly qualified musical compendium of the newest neo-folk breed. The production runs by none less than Axel Frank which adds with his presence a special insight and somehow magical aura. This is one of the best works from 2008 without a doubt, so get ready for the hunt. In the end this magical forest entity represented in the music from Falkenstein submits any hunter to his simple observation and respect, like any creature from Herne’s reign should do.

The tranquil melancholy that slips from the very first chord comes as cold breeze, a cloud of delicate drops of water splashing from a huge water cascade(just like the art cover!) marked by the snare that gives a touch of strong spiritual martialness. These following the tradition of classic neo-folk instrumentation: Guitar, dual male chorus and tenor like voice accompanied by delicate snares and a drum that serves as a vivid natural heart beat the music follows its introductory course with “Funkenfeuer” displaying all the awesome quality from Falkenstein at first sight. A quality of mystery derive from the voice at moments and a sense of ritual repetitiveness beautifully accommodates the more enhanced musical parts and chorus, making it more appellative and delicious for the listener, enjoying every bit of each passage represented. “Sonnerkraut” introduces a sweet flute melody that daintily settles like falling leaves in the music cadence, giving this soft touch that slips the listener in a very romantic and inspired pathos, subtle and gently compensated with the tenor tone of the vocals, a vocal set that sounds earthly and revitalizing. “Unter der weide” comes in a more epic Germanic fashion, accentuating the percussive aspect and introducing a synth line that comes as trumpets from forgotten castles while the guitar strolls with strong rhythmic passages, here the works starts to deliver more strength than beforehand just to increase this direction in the following songs. “Erlkoenig” & “Die odaliske” synchronizes both aspects; the melancholic bucolic feeling and some well poured folky martial touch but still able to preserve the subtlety and delicacy that consolidates their composition.

It is on “Grau sind masken” that the music takes again a distinctive turning point that exalts the spirit of any sensible listener, reaffirming the pathos and the vanguard of its unique sound . Slowly the guitar and the flute manifest its peaceful pastoral cadence, a beautifully crafted melody that achieves both the impression of the heart and the spirit aflame and then, right in the middle of the song just like an accidental apparition the rhythmic equilibrium and traditional pace gets switch into a thunderous folk march in a quasi sixties operative outburst fashion, a bit of protest music accent is perceived as influence and the trouvadoresque guitar play is really a vanguard bet in here. This song alone comes as one of the aces from the whole compendium of great songs that constitute the album, truly the pounding heart from the body work.

Now the album steps away again from the predetermined formula from the songs beforehand and the neo-folk tradition. The addition of a violin accompanying the guitar along with the excellent vocal and chorus arrangements transcends the common ground of other neo-folk formations giving the music an almost classic tonality by means of composition. All the elements and turns contained, all the wide versatile musical display of the work shows the outstanding power and capacity from this band and its rather difficult not to get impressed by the music or the spiritual quest inside its core, track by track there is an evident union that adheres to each piece making a wholeness that puts the listener in a position where its a guest and advocator.

“Siegfried schwert” comes as another division this time mixing pastoral like cadence with the epic tone displayed at some sections. It is important to note that the martial tone is never obfuscating or predominant but rather accomplishes a moral accompaniment that diverts the spirit and empower the melody. Not a march but rather an endorsement to the natural cadence of the folk tune. The following songs: “Der sonnwendmann”, “Halfdan, Ragnar’s son”, “Blummentod” and “Walpurgisnacht” accomplish a narrative quest full of mythos and more traditional neo-folk construction respecting the distinctive aspect that defines Falkenstein, particular cadence, use of rhythmic drums, flutes and snare with the Spanish guitar rambling its excellently crafted melodies and everything fusing perfectly in a whole resume of incomparable beauty and ecstatic sensibility. Another surprise awaits the listener with the apparition of “Weltenbaum” a song that originally appeared on the first album takes here a different approach, introducing the flute as prologue to later commence with the chorus and from there on preserving the ritual martialness available on the previous version, comparatively beautiful in its own particular incarnation. This ritual aspect in the drum section marks a rule inside the album and serves a practical functionality for the epilogue as the final song increases this sentiment. “Heiliger holunder” is markedly ritual and remits to strange mountain ceremonies around a gigantic blaze with people dancing at night, the chorus and the rhythm marks an almost tribal cadence while the guitar and the drum join arms in their mighty graceful dance. The reign of Falkenstein is now fully explored in this album with this final ritual.

The sweetness and light found inside this album transcends the common stereotyped notion from standard neo-folk associations, ritualistic and melancholic with heavy influx of classic arrangements, ingrainedly melodic the works centres its magic from the chemical perfection of all these aggregations . Its originality comes from the extremely elasticity and fragility that comes from every piece although preserving a strange modus operandi that allows drums to play their role without devastating the sweet cadence of the melody. The chorus lines made with two male voices, both tenor, one high pitched and the other low adds another special touch to the magic that Falkenstein summons with their music. A band that steps away from the stagnation of the genre by giving mobility and vanguard to their compositions, aside from adding uncommon aspects to the neo-folk aesthetic, who said classic composition and ritual martialness, folky melodies and graceful heathenism cannot coexist together? “Urdarbrunnen” teaches an important lesson in musical heterogeneity and syncretism, the marvellous configuration of apparent dissimilar orders and finalities (just like ritual folklore and classicism joining together and fitting perfectly) that presents a sense of union during the whole work, making song by song and track by track a cohesive and inspiring experience for the listener. Very well worked, highly recommended!

FULL BUCK MOON (07 July 2009)

The musick dedicated to this Esbat is:

FINN SIMON

PASS THE DISTANCE


Original Issue: 1970 Mushroom (100 MR 2)

Reissue: 2004 Durtro/Jnana (DURTRO/JNANA 1970 CD) (Buy it here!!!)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

Listen to "Jerusalem" and, just after the last note, please write a comment with your thoughts

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

1 Very Close Friend (1:19)
2 The Courtyard (5:43)
3 What A Day (3:16)
4 Fades (Pass The Distance) (3:39)
5 Jerusalem (6:44)
6 Where's Your Master Gone (3:13)
7 Laughing 'Til Tomorrow (2:54)
8 Hiawatha (4:58)
9 Patrice (2:49)
10 Big White Car (5:48)
11 Children's Eyes (4:36)
12 Good Morning (3:00)
13 Butterfly (3:27)
14 Colonel Bleep (3:04)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from Foxy digitalis:

I normally don't review reissues. Other rags insist on giving precious print space to Pink Floyd reissues. My problem is not with the fact that I simply don't like Pink Floyd. That's fine, I don't like a lot of music. The problem I have with an independent music site taking the time to write a review of the latest Pink Floyd reissue is that it's a complete waste of time and resources. Everyone knows who Pink Floyd is and knows about their records. Trust me, they haven't changed in 20 years. Reviewing said reissues takes away valuable space from some great, lesser-known band that could actually benefit from the press. I shouldn't be surprised. These are the same 'zines who seem to only review things they are paid to, which destroys any remaining credibility they might have. But I digress...

Simon Finn's "Pass the Distance" has a strange and tumultuous past. It was originally issued in 1970 on Mushroom Records, but subsequently deleted because of issues with the artwork. Thankfully, Durtro has rescued this seminal, acid-soaked masterpiece. Remastered from the original tapes, it's been reissued with loads of additional information. I had heard about this album for years and managed to track down a few songs, but was not prepared for the onslaught of hallucinatory genius that it unleashes.

"Pass the Distance" is the forbearer for all the psych-folk that has been proliferating the airwaves over the past few years. All those brilliant Six Organs of Admittance and Fursaxa records you love owe a lot to this record. Finn was doing all the same things they are now, but he did it 30 years ago. That's what makes this album so impressive. Hearing it completely for the first time recently, it holds up. This could easily be mistaken for something brand new. That's a feat in-and-of itself.

The beauty of this album not only lies in the individual songs, all of which are excellent in their own right, but also in how they are pieced together to create the perfect flow. It's as if this record could not have been sequenced in any other way. Each song moves into the next like an aging artist moving through the various stages of his life. As in life, you can't change how time passes, and so it goes with "Pass the Distance." It goes like this because it has to.

But really, the genius is in the songs. Every one of them is worth mentioning, but I don't have the time or space to go through why each track is wonderful. Instead, I'll focus on the three most impressive, and let me tell you, whittling it down to this trio of songs was not easy. First is the short and whimsical "Patrice." It's near the end of the album and offers a breath of fresh air after some heavier tracks. It's like the period of time right after a midlife crisis where nothing phases you. Life is simply beautiful and you are thankful for all the things in it. This song glides along under the sun without a care in the world. With a combination of acoustic guitar, flutes, and other reed instruments, this has vague hints of Nick Drake, but is distinctly Finn's own creation. "My poetry just lives to guide you, my songs to start your day," he half-whispers. It's these heartfelt and sincere sentiments that make this song great. The overall feel is one of someone in love with someone they view as perfect. It's sappy in all the right ways and simply makes you feel very, very good.

Contrasting the darker undercurrents present throughout "Pass the Distance" with the hopeful hallucinatory anthems it?s full of is "Where's Your Master Gone." This melodic track is like Bob Dylan on acid. With the meandering lead guitar track and minimal percussion accenting Finn's guitar, they create an uneasy, somewhat solemn web for him to sing on top of. His words are gorgeous, and in this context, powerful. It brings to mind the most psychedelic Beatles stuff, but takes it even further. "How do you know when you should set someone to go?" Finn asks. "The wizard spoke his piece, the person at least was never to be born." His soft voice floats in the air like a fine mist spewing from overcast skies. His words evaporate as soon as they're released. "You are no more evil now than man was and is and ever more will be," he sings. It's a powerful castigation, and his words are still relevant today. It's absolutely fantastic.

But on this album, there are nine amazing songs and then there is "Jerusalem." I would rate this as one of the ten best songs I've ever heard in my life. For a song about Jesus and his impact on the world, Finn's lyrics cut like a knife. Brilliant is the understatement of the year. This hallucinatory tale is as moving as anything you'll ever hear, and when Finn lets go with his acid tongue, even the staunchest cynics will be impressed. "And Jesus was a good guy who lived on figs and wine. A political revolutionary out to let you have a good time," he wails. This is somebody who has a true grasp on Jesus the man, which is oft overlooked by Christians. As the church organ drones build in the background, the intensity is turned up notch after notch. It's almost intimidating. "Did he imagine at that moment that 2 million hypocrites would praise his name? And were he now to come down, those hypocrites would crucify him again," he screams. It's biting commentary, and paired with this stunning music, it will do nothing but blow your fucking mind.

If there ever was an essential record to own, "Pass the Distance" is it. This is influential work and for any avid reader of this website, I urge you to go out and pick this album up today. Every word I can use to describe it doesn't do it justice. You have to hear it. You have to experience it. You have to let it run through your veins. Some of these songs are more lighthearted than others, and some take you on an emotional tailspin that you'll never fully recover from. "Pass the Distance" is an album that should have never been in the vaults for 30 years. This is an album that will make you see music differently and pay closer attention to the intricacies therein. Simon Finn's innovative work will stand up with any of your favorite records, and will likely nestle itself comfortably at the top. Absolutely essential. 10/10

Brad Rose

RUNIC MOON (nordic musick)

ORCHIS

A THOUSAND WINTERS


Original Issue: 1997 Cryptanthus (CYT 03 CD)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 4,5 moons / 5

Über-rare pagan folk muzak from one of the co-founders of the important World Serpent Distribution label

p.s. fans of The Iditarod...DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!!!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

1 The Horseman (0:14)
2 Blood Of Bone (5:40)
3 Blackwaterside (3:42)
4 The Hare / Jennet (2:58)
5 Gallows Man (5:00)
6 Arcadia (4:28)
7 The Horn (0:23)
8 He Walks In Winter (6:14)
9 Magaera (3:21)
10 Winter (1:02)
11 Risen (6:13)
12 From The Iron Wood (7:49)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from http://www.myspace.com/orchistheband:

ORCHIS is an English Dark Folk band consisting of Tracy Jeffery (who also sings with Cunnan and J Greco's SQE), Amanda Prouten and Alan Trench (Cunnan, SQE, Twelve Thousand Days (with Martyn Bates), Temple Music).

We have so far managed to release four albums to date starting in 1994 with The Dancing Sun (cryptanthus /World Serpent), which was more a collection of formative pieces than anything else, then in 1997 the concept album that was A Thousand Winters (cryptanthus / World Serpent). Mandragora (Trisol), an alchemical album based around the themes of life, death and the transmutation of the soul followed in 1999 and in 2001 Trait (a ‘best of’ released through the Russian Brudenia label).

Relocation and various tedious problems put ORCHIS on the back burner for a while whilst we buried ourselves in other projects like the busy bunnies we are; we raised our heads out of the mire again in 2007 with the ‘Other Days’ download ep via the (now sadly defunct) Woven Wheat Whispers legal folk download service...

There have been numerous compilation album appearances over the years, with some tracks turning up on the ‘Trait’ album. We like to think, as the Fairports had it, that we are Nicely Out Of Tune - there was the odd perfect take, but those were never the ones that went on the albums - rather it was the ones that kept to the True Spirit.... ORCHIS, the Ancient Kingdom of East Lindsey, 2009...

BELTANE (01 May 2008)

The Musick dedicated to this Sabbat is:

COIL/CURRENT 93/NURSE WITH WOUND
ENGLAND'S HIDDEN REVERSE

Original Issue: 2003 World Serpent (LM 4716)

Margot-meter: 4 moons / 5

Please click here if you want to discover which are the personalities represented on the book cover

Limited edition hardback including CD containing:

Nurse With Wound: Pre-Menstrual Music For Merry Maidens (re-worked tracks: Soliloquy For Lilith, Strange Play Of The Mouth, Sea Armchair, Great Balls Of Fur, Two Shaves And A Shine, The Schmürz, Mummer's Little Weeper, Rock And Roll Station)

Current 93: The Great Bloody and Bruised Veil Of This World, Niemandswasser, In The Heart Of The Wood And What I Found There, The Frolic

Coil: Are You Shivering?, Chaostrophy, Amethyst Deceivers, The Lost Rivers Of London

from SAF Publishing:

Birthed in the fall-out from legendary 'Industrial' units Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV in the late Seventies/early Eighties, David Tibet's Current 93, John Balance and Peter Christopherson's Coil and Steven Stapleton's Nurse With Wound represent the real English underground in all its sexual, cultural and artistic variety. For reasons of social inadequacy, or because their work was deemed too damned perverse, decadent or mad, such artists frequently went unnoticed in their own lifetimes.

For all that, the three groups of friends have maintained a symbiotic, yet uneasy relationship with the mainstream of popular culture, even as their beliefs and practices repel them farthest from it. Their impact goes deeper than is usually acknowledged. Their early pioneering work with samplers, tape loops and electronics has been soaked up and assimilated via the fringes of dance culture and through close friends and collaborators such as Nick Cave, Bjork and Marc Almond, they retain a loose connection to contemporary pop. That said, they'd be the last people to deny that theirs remains very much a secret history. Until now.

SACRIFICE MOON (offering musick)

kindly donated by Craig S.

REVOLUTIONARY ARMY OF THE INFANT JESUS
THE GIFT OF TEARS

Original Issue: 1987 Probe Plus (PROBE 12)


Margot-meter: 4,5 moons / 5

1 Come Holy Spirit (9:29)
2 Tales From Europe (4:06)
3 The Miller (4:09)
4 De Profundis (3:37)
5 The Singing Ringing Tree (2:06)
6 Beauty After The Fall (9:16)
7 The Dream (4:47)
8 Lament (Ashes In The Water) (3:11)
9 Transfiguration (5:31)
10 Communion (3:14)

from Opuszine (find more here and here!)

“Mystery”, “whimsy”, “confusion”, and “otherness” are all words that could easily be applied to the strangely-named Revolutionary Army Of The Infant Jesus (indeed, if the name alone made you roll your eyes, you may just want stop here).

The Liverpool-based RAIJ is often lumped in with the rest of the “apocalyptic/experimental folk” genre, alongside groups such as Current 93, Death In June, Sol Invictus, and The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud.

Like those artists, RAIJ’s music is a blend of folksy, acoustic instrumentation, cryptic lyrics full of sacred/apocalyptic imagery, and trance-like vocals that seem more like invocation. However, the band also incorporates ambient and industrial sounds a la Les Joyaux de la Princesse, as well as plenty of samples from European films (Andrei Tarkovsky and Jean Cocteau seem to be as big an influence as anything), old Russian speeches, and tattered radio broadcasts.

from Amazon

This record is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. It's proof of an unjust world that this album has scarcely been available over the past ten years. Except those rare copies offered at prices of an arm and a leg.

Eschewing economics, the beautiful music of RAIJ has bucketloads of passion, mystery, innocence, and is rife with an adventurous spirit of experimentation. You can literally hear the joy in their musical discoveries, from track to track. In it, you'll hear a valid attempt invoking the spirit of Europe: From otherworldly Gregorian-style chants to madrigal acoustic guitars/flutes to echo-chamber percussion and floating electronic soundscapes, even excerpts from Cocteau's movie ORPHEE. That is, a musical journey from medieval times to our electronic era. And it's breathtaking to hear such imaginal leaps through their sound.

It wouldn't be too off the mark to consider their music in the "apocalyptic folk" tradition of, say, Current 93, Death In June, etc. And like this style, it takes acoustic instruments and collides them with electronic manipulations. But this collision is done in a way that is totally singular and without peer.

Only an anarcho-Christian collective like them could have brought all of these elements together: Acoustic-electronic, innocence-wisdom, lucidity-confusion, Christian-pagan.

Michael Thomas Jones

BLUE MOON (musick by request)

VARIOUS ARTISTS

TERRA SERPENTES

Original Issue: 1996 World Serpent (WSDCD 016)

Margot-meter: 3,5 moons / 5

1-01 Arkkon T 2901E
1-02 Martyn Bates Bahnhofstrasse
1-03 Chris & Cosey One Minute More (Serpent Mix)
1-04 Coil Heartworms
1-05 Current 93 Frolicking
1-06 Bryin Dall May You Never Be Alone Like Me
1-07 Death In June Presents Kapo! Only Europa Knows
1-08 Roger Doyle Dark Scenery Court Games
1-09 Elijah's Mantle Wise Words Of Eve
1-10 In Gowan Ring Still Water Bonne
1-11 Lemon Kittens What The Cat Brought In
1-12 Loretta's Doll Love Is Regret
1-13 Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud, The Untitled

2-01 Nature And Organisation By A Foreign River (The Longing For Mercy And Happiness)
2-02 Neither/Neither World All's God's Dogs
2-03 Nurse With Wound Window Of Possible Organic Development
2-04 Orchis Come Unto Me
2-05 Boyd Rice Experience, The Music From The Movie Pearls Before Swine
2-06 Sand On The Corner (Alternative Version)
2-07 Death In June Presents Scorpion Wind Some Colossus
2-08 Shock Headed Peters Oblivion Extract
2-09 Sol Invictus Did You See
2-10 Somewhere In Europe Oblique Realities
2-11 Strength Through Joy Ways To Strength And Beauty
2-12 Tiny Tim The Garden Of Your Heart, Turn Back The Universe, You Can't Get Loving Where There Ain't Any Love, A Thousand Love Songs
2-13 Zone The Scavenging Soul

from Fluxeuropa:

Terra Serpentes is WSD's first compilation album. GREG BEAR writes: It seems I have been writing myself hoarse extolling the virtues of this fabulous British record label when I could merely have sat back and waited for this incredible release! 26 artists of considerable and varied talents are represented here in order to help you make your acquaintance with World Serpent.

Some names ought to be familiar: Chris and Cosey, Coil, Current 93, Nurse With Wound, Sol Invictus and even the inimitable Tiny Tim are pretty much part of the contemporary musicologist's psyche.

Other artist's whose presence is included for those who have delved a little include: Martyn Bates, Elijah's Mantle, Lemon Kittens, Boyd Rice and the inevitable Death In June/Current 93/Sol Invictus associates: Kapo!, Nature And Organisation, Scorpion Wind, Somewhere in Europe and Strength Through Joy.

Some of the remainder of the bands inhabit the arcane end of the musical spectrum, and, as such are a learning experience for this journalist: Arkkon (an exercise in drones), Bryin Dall (an acoustic piece of moribund beauty), Roger Doyle (a collage of quiet noises) et al.

As all the tracks are "previously unheard and unreleased" completists will simply have to own Coil's excellent 'Heartworms', Current 93's sublime 'Frolicking' or the Shock Headed Peters' 'Oblivion Extract', with its unrepentant boisterous rockism.

BLACK MOON (the dark side of musick)

DEATH IN JUNE
ROSE CLOUDS OF HOLOCAUST

Original Issue: 1995 N.E.R. ( NER BAD VC CD 38)

Reissue: 2001 N.E.R. ( NER BAD VC CD 38)


Margot-meter: 4,5 moons / 5

1. Lord Winter
2. God's Golden Sperm
3. This Omen Filled Season
4. Symbols of The Sun
5. Jerusalem The Black
6. Luthers Army
7. 13 Years of Carrion
8. The Accidental Protege
9. Rose Clouds of Holocaust
10. Lifebooks

I KNOW THAT THIS COULD BE QUESTIONABLE BUT THIS IS MY FAVORITE DIJ WORK EVER! MOSTLY ACOUSTIC MUSICK, SOMBER VOICE, DAVID TIBET PRESENCE AND ASTOUNDING LYRICS...HERE'S A FEW EXAMPLES:

Like Luther's Army
And Abel's Brother
I Woke to Find
Only to Smother
An Angel Fat
At Satan's Feast
Where Falsehood, Childhood, and
Loneliness Cease
---------------------------------------
Symbols of The Sun
Symbols of The Snow
For Those Who Go Beyond
For Those Who Go Below
If Blood is Another
Colour of Hope
Then What Is Love
What Is Love?
---------------------------------------
Paranoia Is An Icy Start
But a Start Nonetheless
A Convenient Memory
Is A Gift From God
A Gift From Life
And Sodomy
---------------------------------------
Festivals end
As festivals must
From the hooded crows of Rome
To the falcons of Zagreb
Oh, mother victim of Jesus
Lie down in Sydney's dust
For, festivals end
As festivals must

---------------------------------------

from Amazon:

Rose Clouds of Holocaust is, in my opinion, the best Death In June album -ever- released. Along with others, this album features guest vocals from Rose McDowall and David Tibet.

Very dark, yet peaceful enough to put you in a trance leading you towards the valley of never never land. It's another work of art that flows well from start to finish, with soothing acoustic guitars, other atmospheric goodies, and Douglas P.'s almost monotone voice - this is not only just a great album, but it's a MUST HAVE.

If you're a DIJ fan, you have it.

FULL SNOW MOON (20 February 2008)

The Musick dedicated to this Esbat is:

(CURRENT 93 PRESENT)
COLLINS SHIRLEY
FOUNTAIN OF SNOW

Original Issue: 1992 Durtro ( DURTRO 010CD)


Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

1. All Things Are Quite Silent
2. Cambridgeshire May Carol
3. Polly Vaughan
4. The Cruel Mother
5. Streets of Derry
6. Brigg Fair
7. Higher Germanie
8. George Collins
9. Down In Yon Forest
10. The False True Love
11. The Sweet Primeroses
12. Down By The Seaside
13. Adieu To Old England
14. I Sing Of A Maiden
15. One Night As I Lay On My Bed
16. Lancashire Lass
17. Never Again
18. Lord Allenwater
19. Gilderoy
20. The Moon Shines Bright
21. The False Bride
22. Locks and Bolts
23. Rambleaway
24. A Blacksmith Courted Me

Here you have a true gem, a really magick collection of english folk songs sung by the (unearthly, otherworldly, pure, austere, resonant, dreamy, sincere, ancient, crystalline) voice of Shirley and aptly accompanied by the spectral sounds of her sister Dolly.

SHE'S THE QUEEN OF CELTIC FOLK MUSICK and I love her!

from CD Liner Notes:

This CD is a re-issue of most of the music recorded by my sister Dolly and me for Topic Records from 1963 to 1978. Listening again to these tracks confirms my love for English traditional music, which I believe has two important functions: firstly it links us with our past in a way which is both mysterious and powerful, and secondly, it is the voice of countless generations of labouring people whose work was exploited but not acknowledged, whose welfare was neglected, and who were rarely honoured in our history books. I find it remarkable that people who lived such hard lives had the spirit to produce songs of such beauty and subtlety, but it is small wonder that so many of the songs are melancholy.

It seems like a miracle to me that these songs survived at all, having been passed down for centuries by word of mouth alone. i was fortunate enough to be born into a family that in everyday life sang songs which were to me a perfect expression of what I thought and felt. I was privileged, too, to have heard several old traditional singers in the '50's. Listening to them I learned to understand and respect the music, and, like them, to sing with my natural voice.

I would like to thank David Tibet for making the whole venture possible and for his faith in the music.

Shirley Collins

Since I first heard Shirley some seven years ago, I have been captivated by her voice and her approach to the songs she loves. These songs remain everfresh in her, and it is an honour to have been able to release this compilation.
The True Love Knot lives on...

David Tibet

BLACK MOON (the dark side of musick)

DEAD RAVEN CHOIR
DEATH TO DEAD WOLVES

Original Issue: 2004 Jewelled Antler (jacd01)


Margot-meter: 3.5 moons / 5

1 October Tragedy
2 Do Not Brood For Long
3 Red Sky At Morning
4 These Are The Ravens
5 Fog Days
6 A Canticle To The Waterbirds

My infinite respects to Mr. Smolken which I consider a real music GENIUS!
My nightmares have not been the same from the first time I've listened to a Dead Raven Choir album containing the word "Wolves" in its title.

Foxy Digitalis Review:

Dead Raven Choir is mainly the endeavor of one Smolken the digger, a Polish immigrant living in Texas. "Death to Dead Wolves" is his second non-CD-R release and is my favorite Dead Raven Choir album yet.

After messing around in harsher, noisier tones on two recent releases ("Sturmfuckinglieder" on Battlecruiser and "Sevenfold Songs of Death" on Pink Skulls), this album is back to the lifeless, acoustic, black metal-tinged recordings most of us know and love.

I've recently learned that if an album title ends in "Wolves," then it is a "quiet" album. Except for the fact that there's nothing quiet about Dead Raven Choir other than volume; the intensity in these tracks is turned up to 50. This is music with all the light removed; it's dark and desolate and is not a place you'd dream of venturing alone.

"Death to Dead Wolves" is also the first non-CD-R release from the Jewelled Antler imprint, and Dead Raven Choir is the perfect place to start. This is a release that was commissioned by label heads/free-folk gods Glenn Donaldson and Loren Chasse.

Smolken often takes somewhat obscure poetry and puts it to music, and this is the case here. Donaldson and Chasse asked him to tackle select poems by one of their favorite poets, William Everson. The results are stunning in their desolation as Smolken makes Everson's words his own. Instrumentation is sparse; acoustic guitars rise from smoke like dead trees reaching toward a black sun on the banks of the River Styx. But the real stamp of Dead Raven Choir authenticity, as always, comes in the vocals. I'd say the vocals are over-the-top, but that'd be selling them short. He sings every song as if he's on stage in front of thousands. This is drama like you've never heard it before.

Whispering the lines that open "Red Sky at Morning," Smolken comes off as a hooded demon tempting your better judgment by offering up all your worldly desires at the low, low cost of your soul. His voice is so full of contempt, it's spine chilling. As an acoustic guitar is rapidly strummed at random intervals, I feel like the entire world is falling down in ashes and flame around me. Everson's words come off as those from an angry God who has so much disdain for the world he has created, he sees destroying it as the only possible solution. This is the stuff of horror movies, and Smolken is the perfect narrator.

Most of these tracks are similar in approach and delivery, but they do not sound repetitious. Each is its own worst nightmare. While they all evoke similar imagery, the subtle differences keep them fresh. "Fog Days" uses a fast-picked acoustic guitar that makes me think of a person being stretched to their limit on a rack. It's delightfully twisted, and only Smolken could pull this off so perfectly. It's also amazing to me that something so dark and harsh could be created with mostly just an acoustic guitar and vocals. This is not the kind of music anyone would think of when using the phrase "singer/songwriter." Smolken is much more than that. He is a performer. He is an artist.

The most interesting piece here, though, is the 23-minute rendition of Everson's best known and most dissected poem, "A Canticle to the Waterbirds." I was caught completely off guard when a piano was used in place of an acoustic guitar. The birds in "A Canticle..." are mediators between humans and God. To hear Smolken play in such a context is impressive; I consider this one of his best pieces. This track is so affecting because of the great use of silence. Interspersed between the sparse notes on the piano, there is great space. "A Canticle to the Waterbirds" shows us that there is a great deal to be learned from these birds, and in these quiet moments, we are left to reflect on Everson's words. It's executed brilliantly.

Dead Raven Choir has become one of my favorite projects in the past year. Smolken is as unique and interesting an artist as there is in independent music, and his art reflects that. "Death to Dead Wolves" is his finest outing yet, and he only gets better with each subsequent release. There is something going on here that transcends music. I feel like I can cleanse my own demons through these jagged, twisted fables. Exhume any skeletons you've been hiding and offer them up to Dead Raven Choir. Let the wolves consume them until you are free.

Brad Rose

FULL COLD MOON (23 December 2007)

The Musick dedicated to this Esbat is:

BLOOD AXIS & IN GOWAN RING
WITCH HUNT AND THE RITES OF SAMHAIN

Original Issue: 2001 Private Release (No Number)


Margot-meter: 4 moons / 5

1 Welcoming By Harold McNeill
2 I Lay Stretched On Your Grave / Morning Dew
3 Two Magicians
4 Sea Ritual
5 Dead Men's Slip-Jig
6 The Rolling Of The Stones
7 The Black One
8 The Rolling Of The Stones
9 The March Of Brian Boru
10 Follow Me Up To Carlow

CDr limited to 100 copies in special hand-made fold-out sleeve with maple leaf.
Sold only at selected Blood Axis concerts in Portugal.

A Review:

"Witch-Hunt: The Rites of Samhain" consists of a live section played by In Gowan Ring with the support of Blood Axis' members Michael Moynihan and Annabel Lee and three studio tracks. The live pieces had been recorded some years ago in the woods of the northwest USA at a concert under the name "Witch-Hunt" on Samhain (=Halloween).
In the accompanying booklet, Annabel Lee describes the event as follows:
"At nightfall, an elaborate ritual took place outside in the cold and rainy forest air: the participants traveled to the underworld which they entered through a blazing arched gate, after first having been anointed with oil of deadly nightshade for passage and protection by the guardian of the gate. A beautiful corpse was unburied and brought back to life, demons were invoked, oaths were made and sacrifices presented to realm of the underworld. (...) For this performance, Witch-Hunt played traditional songs from the British Isles and Scandinavia, and original music from Blood Axis, In Gowan Ring, and Waldteufel. All of the music was chosen to celebrate the ancient rites of Samhain. The songs were lovely little melodies of murder, necromancy, infanticide, executions, and the affairs of the realm beyond the living."
Though the live recording that, according to Lee, wasn't actually intended for release doesn't fully live up to this vivid description it succeeds in capturing some spirit of the event. Sound quality is rough troughout the recording and crowd noises are hard to overhear. But still, the performance remains very charming and intense. After a short introduction follows the passionate I am stretched on your grave which already is one of this record's high-lights among Two Magicans that bears a strong resemblance to Current 93's Oh Coal-black Smith and a wonderful performance of the exceptionally beautiful Rolling of the Stones that originally appeared on the Pact of the Gods -Compilation. The live section is rounded up with a short witty piece entitled The black one with Harold Mcneill sounding a lot like Tibet hissing and howling excessively apocalyptic phrases and a whole lot of giggling and laughter from the audience.
The studio tracks consist of the afore-mentioned Rolling of the Stones, Blood Axis' The March of Brian Boru and the formerly unreleased Follow me up to Carlow. This is quite a powerful hymn most likely to please the Blood Axis fan community and yet another adaption of a famous Irsih traditional written by Patrick Joseph McCall (1861-1919). This song's tune is said to have been played by the pipers of Feach MacHugh O'Byrne when he marched against Carlow after he defeated the forces of the Crown in 1580.

Dirk A. - Heimdallr

Correction: Mr. McNeill wrote me the following and I wholeheartedly send him my regrets for the error: "Greetings, a brief note as I came across your review. I left after the brief spoken intro for Witch Hunt I was asked to do, so your comments are totally in error. I shall assume was due to misinformation from others and will be corrected".

Thank you, Harold, anyway for being part in one of my favorite records!!!

Love,
Margot