Magog Discography

A few weeks ago I posted the one and only release from Sweden's Evangeli. However before they were Evangeli they were Magog. Magog existed from '97 to '06 and during this time they released three demos, one single and finally a promo CD in 2004. Although there were only thirteen songs in total released there is still almost two hours worth of fabulous viking/folk metal music on these releases. These are demos, but the production and overall performance is far greater than most bands out there. This is one of my all-time favorite bands. Discover one of the genres finest who unfortunately just never got the attention they deserved.

DOWNLOAD: Here!

Gris - Il était une forêt... (2007)

‘Il était une forêt...,’ the second album from Gris (formerly Niflheim) is a late 2007 gem that deserves some serious attention. Released on December 20th, this is an album that is ripe with melancholy, ferocity and eeriness beyond words.

Gris’ music is within the framework of black and doom metal or as it’s more commonly called; depressive black metal. The music moves at a mostly slow doom pace with raw buzzing guitars, sluggish percussion, spine-chilling atmospheric keyboards, acoustic guitars, and what I’d have to say is one of the finest vocal performances I’ve ever heard from a black metal singer. Icare screams, howls and roars like none other. However to give an example, they are almost like a mixture between Silenius (Summoning, ex-Abigor) and Varg Vikernes (Burzum). They are longwinded agonized shrieks, but with a strong sense of sorrow ripped into his voice, so much that he actually cries during, ‘Veux-tu danser,’ which is definitely the albums finest song too.

Although all of the bands lyrics are wrote in French, it is said that they center on a balance between joy and depression, and this can be clearly seen within their logo. While the first five songs are within the depressive black metal style, the final song, ‘La dryade’ is actually a neo classical piece with piano, violin, flute, and acoustic guitars that’s just overflowing with melancholy. Truly a remarkable piece and I do hope these elements play a stronger role in their black metal songs in the future.

At just a few seconds short of an hour, Il était une forêt is a masterpiece and surely a band to keep all eyes on.

True Norwegian Black Metal

Peter Beste's 'True Norwegian Black Metal' is by no means another long in depth writing on the bloody rise and now popularization of black metal music and the many interesting characters associated with it. Conversely Peter is a Houston based photographer who made no less than thirteen journeys to Norway to photograph the scenes finest both on and off stage and in some cases during there normal everyday lives.

Two hundred and eight pages deep True Norwegian Black Metal is filled with some of the finest black metal photographs you'll ever see, including members from such bands as Gorgoroth, Darkthrone, Enslaved, Immortal, Taake, Windir, Carpathian Forest, 1349, Emperor and many others too. Many of these photos find themselves being published for the first time through this book, while a few others have already been used as press photos or cover images in recent years. As far as Peter's photos are concerned, I can only say they are of the utmost quality and if you have a passion for both black metal and photography you'll surely adore this book.

While a lot of the photos are overly grim and evil as expected, what I also enjoy is that some of the photos are of the musicians in fairly normal poses, while others catch the gang partying, or just being themselves. In any case it offers a unique look at many of the musicians that have been part of the scene since the early 90's, and while Gorgoroth seems to be the dominant band photographed you can still probably hope to see your favorite Norwegian Black Metal band within this book.

In addition to the musicians photographs you'll also find some great nature/landscape shots, and, yes even a few of some churches (the ones they didn't burn down yet I'm assuming). Lastly in the back of the book is an assortment of old photos, flyer's, fan 'zine interviews, and letters from the late 80's/early 90's featuring the guys from Burzum, Mayhem, Morbid, Immortal, and Emperor, which are surely interesting to see/read, but in a lot of cases are very funny too (you'll see what I mean once you read them).

The book also measures 14.3 x 11.3 inches making it quite large and in most cases unable to fit on your book shelf, though on the other hand it may indeed serve as the ultimate coffee table book and an instant conversation started when friends come to visit.

Alongside the many photographs you'll also find a short writing from Peter Beste detailing on his voyages to Norway as well as a very in depth introduction and time line to black metal wrote by Metalion, which should be of interest if you don't know that much about the history of the genre.

As a whole I can't complain about really anything in this book, and I think if your a long time fan of black metal music as I am then you surely owe it to yourself to check it out.

Burzum - Belus (2010)

Fourteen long and cold winters have passed since Burzum's last black metal masterpiece Filosofem haunted the dark underground in Norway and influenced many people before and after it to attempt to write an album that could skim the surface of its legacy. After Varg Vikerne's renowned murder of Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth , media began to catch on to the Norwegian black metal scene and its following around the globe. Not only were other black metal bands getting exposure in various countries, but ironically enough the mainstream media would help furthermore boost Burzum's reputation as one of the best black metal acts there is, there was and there ever will be. Both Vikernes and Burzum were very important catalysts of a new influential wave of music for anyone who could connect with the themes of such a dark genre. Burzum's newest album Belus is, undoubtedly, the most anticipated record of the year and in metal, for it has already proven to be a masterpiece that shows utter ignorance towards black metal made after '96. Varg walks the lonesome path he has journeyed in the past and takes us back to a time before the scene's commercialization, stereotypes, and fan base of leisurely listeners oblivious of the meaning within the chaos.

After an odd but fitting intro, the attack of true Norwegian black metal begins in the second track 'Belus' Doed.' The song is appropriately reminiscent of the popular 'Jesus' Dod' both in riffs and in meaning. The production is what you'd expect: grainy, muted yet listenable goodness that only a pioneer of the aesthetic could capture. The musicianship is better than ever; structures have been mixed up, catchy finger-moving riffs have been added, bass and drums are highlighted in a few parts, and spoken word from Vikernes has been respawned in a few songs such as 'Belus' Doed,' 'Morgenroede,' and 'Kaimadalthas' Nedstigning.' Those who enjoy Burzum's ambient work more than metal work (very rare) will be a bit disappointed when they are deprived of any in Belus. The shortest of the songs, 'Sverddans' (2:23), is an artistic piece which takes place of any ambient "intermission" and accurately depicts a sword dance with it's musical motifs and finger-moving riffs talked about previously that have been rare to Burzum until now.

The album is scattered and does not follow a linear path to it's conclusion which is ultimately Belus's return. It has been explained on Burzum.org that Belus is Vikerne's nickname for the god of light and beauty Baldr and not a symbolic translation for any racist viewpoints. The myth "The Death of Baldr" tells the tale of a feared assistant of the gods Loki and his act to kill Baldr. Loki, jealous of the affection the gods give to Baldr, magically alters a mistletoe that was said to be too weak to harm Baldr. After giving the mistletoe to the blind god and Bladr's brother Hodur, he shoots the god of light and beauty and kills him. Hermod (Kaimadalthas in the album) is sent down to Hel with Odin's horse Sleipnir to rescue Baldr and return light and beauty back to the gods. Some could argue that the story has parallels to the silent feud between Aarseth and Vikernes hence the concept all together. Nevertheless, the music portrays the story perfectly in a lot of the songs: The opening tremolos in 'Belus' Doed' depicting grief and hopelessness of the gods while reflecting Loki's wickedness in the slower darker chords of the verse; the fast paced riffs in 'Kaimadalthas' Nedstigning' depicting Hermod's ride into the depths of Hel; and the slow, emerging sound depicting Belus' triumphant return to Asgard. The symbolism can be found anywhere.

I'm still finding it hard to believe that this album was just written and recorded in the past two years. Whether or not Varg recorded this before prison and hid it away somewhere to release it once he was finally free, Belus is a very special album; a masterpiece so great that we forget about the latest metal records and get lost within the world of Burzum. Needless to say, anyone truly appreciative of meaningful, majestic music should look no further than Belus.

Bergraven - Dödsvisioner (2007)

I guess it must have been the cover artwork that dragged me towards this album. I kept seeing it every time I went to the local record store and I thought it was totally brilliant and definitely something different. So I bought it.

Bergraven is essentially the solo project of Swedish musician Pär with session drummer Perra alongside him. Bergraven is hard to pinpoint. It’s a fair mixture of doom metal with a black metal voice, and often times with ambient and experimental tendencies. The closest band I could think of that comes close to sounding similar is Shining, but Shining generally has some faster parts to their music while Bergraven is almost always slow and doomy.

The music is interesting because it often shifts between the doom sounds to suddenly a short purely acoustic or ambient section, and then quickly brings back the doom sound full force. The music is actually considerably melodic most of the time with some dark riffs and even a few solos, which is best displayed on, ‘Känsla av livets nästa skede.’ Pär’s vocals are also well performed and sound diverse throughout the record, though he writes all of his words in Swedish so I can’t comment on the lyrics. However the album’s title translates to ‘Death Visions’, so I’m sure the lyrics don’t speak of anything peaceful.

I’ve found that this is a tricky record, but once you give a few spins it really starts to grow on you. You’ll notice a lot more of the riffs and really start to feel the darkened mood that Pär has created. Definitely worth seeking out, especially if you like the idea of doom & black metal with ambient parts.

Dormant - Beneath the Mighty Oak (2007)

Formed after Todd Paulson's previous project (Uvall) had reached its end, burned and charred black; from within the still smoldering pile of ashes arose a new project called Dormant.

Dormant unlike his somewhat more straightforward previous solo projects is a very striving undertaking that combines black metal, post rock, ambient and neo folk music to form a unique sound.

‘Black Ashes,’ one of my favorite songs on this release opens the album on a rather melancholic note with lightly plucked acoustic guitars, softly spoken vocals, and what sounds like a trumpet or trombone in the background. This song which features Andrew Curtis-Brignell of Caina fame on vocals for the most part stays rather calm throughout its near six minute duration expect for the distorted electric guitar in the background that pops up about half way through. ‘I am the Wind on the Horizon’ sounds somewhat influenced by Agalloch’s ‘The Mantle’ as it has a sort of progressive black metal/post rock sound to it, and similarly it starts out slow and eventually gains in speed and continues on for over twelve minutes alternating between fast and slower sections. Todd’s vocals are first heard on this song and they come in the form of a black metal voice, though not nearly as harsh as the voice he used in Uvall, and in fact easy enough to understand.

‘Sighs’ is a neo folk sounding piece based around an acoustic guitar, violin, and spoken vocals that tend to remind me of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, but it may just be the vocals and the lyrics. ‘Beneath the Mighty Oak’ at least in the beginning shows off the strongest black metal influences with fast guitars, percussion and orchestral keyboards leading the charge, but quickly segues into acoustic and post rock sections which leads to a hammered dulcimer part played by Celestiial’s Tanner Anderson; eventually the song closes out with more acoustic guitars, dark ambiance, and wolf howling samples at the seven minute mark.

At nearly seventeen minutes, ‘Ever More Darkening Earth’ is the longest song on the album and definitely one of the best, featuring basically all the sounds and influences from the previous songs, but all nicely packaged together on this admirable lengthy progressive song. ‘The Creation of Hell (Alli's Song)’ is another neo folk sounding piece but with a somewhat more militant edge than the previous one and with a more stern voice. Curiously the album then ends with over six minutes of bugs chirping and fire burning, but on the other hand the album does have a very ‘woodsy’ feeling to it so maybe it isn’t entirely unnecessary.

Suffice to say, ‘Beneath the Mighty Oak’ is indeed a grand debut release from Todd Paulson. There’s very little if anything negative at all to say about this release and if you’ve found yourself enjoying a lot of the folk influenced black metal acts that have been rising around North America in recent years then you’d do well to check out this release.

Celestial Sea - Deep Inside the Cold (2008)

Celestial Sea is a new project spawned fourth by Todd Paulsen (Uvall & Dormant) who handles all compositions and instruments on this debut with Andrew Curtis-Brignell (Caina) adding his voice to the songs.

Musically this four song debut offers up post rock music in a somewhat similar vein as bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mono, and Mogwai. When listening to this thirty three minute album you can expect to hear plenty of calm dreamy music, which is fairly common for post rock music, though there is plenty of synth used as well, and of course the vocals which don't always make appearances in every post rock band. Andrew's voice is fairly well performed and compliments Todd's music quite well, although its only heard on two of the songs. Its also worth mentioning that the music mostly remains calm throughout the recordings entire duration and there's only one dramatic build which leads into a sudden burst of speed.

If your a post rock fan that enjoys the calmer moments of the genre then this is definitely an album your going to want to check out. Do hurry however as its limited to just 300 copies.

Death in June - Rose Clouds of Holocaust (1995)

Death in June has been the main musical vehicle of UK musician Douglas Pearce since the bands formation in 1981. While the earliest material from the band was in a post punk vein similar to Joy Division, by the late 80’s (along with Current 93 and Sol Invictus) Death in June began creating music of an entirely different variety. Around this time the term neo folk arose to describe such music as DiJ’s, and while the band has explored different musical avenues since these early days it seems Douglas has always returned to a folk related style in the end.

It’s often been hard for me to pick a favorite DiJ release since many of them are of sublime quality, but at least for me, ‘Rose Clouds of Holocaust’ has always stuck out either because it was the first one I bought or simply because several of the songs on the album are among my favorites from the band.

Released in 1995, RCoH was DiJ’s last neo folk related album released in the 90’s before taken on a more experimental approach for the remainder of the decade. The sound of this album although simplistic is very effective. Basically consisting of slow acoustic guitars, highly atmospheric keyboards and Douglas’ lead vocals with the occasional extra instrument here and there is what this album represents.

At least for me I’ve always found the music to be highly emotional, at the onset of the album it sounds joyful to my ears, but as the album progresses and nears its end the music seems to move towards a depressing and very grave direction. It’s also quite remarkable how catchy these tunes are even though the lyrics are a bit askew and seem to be very personal in their qualities.

I first heard this album a little over seven years ago and still to this day it remains one of my favorite neo folk releases as well as my favorite Death in June release. Never once has it lost its effectiveness or become boring for me either. Truly a masterpiece and a must hear within this genre.

Werkraum - Early Love Music (2008)

Considering it's Valentine's Day, I suppose it's only fair to post an album that has the word love in its title.

Anyway, Werkraum is the project of German musician Axel Frank who on every release so far has surrounded himself with diverse talented musicians from around the world. Once again the familiar faces of Antje, Nicholas & Robert (from Changes), Chris & Nick (from Lady Morphia) join Axel with new appearances by Herr Wind, Haju and Max Percht of Sturmpercht fame.

With all introductions wrapped up nicely let me just say this is indeed Werkraum's finest hour. 'La Marmotte' has absolutely breathtakingly beautiful music with one of the catchiest chorus' I've ever heard in a folk song. Antje's vocals are gorgeous and the words although not in English become trapped in your brain for repeated hours after listening to this lovely song. Similarly, 'Ein Lied von Lieb und Treu' is another stunning piece of music with Axel handling the vocals this time around. 'Santy Ano' is something a bit different for Werkraum since its a bit faster paced song with wonderful lead vocals from Nick, whereas its followed by, 'Slâfest Du, Vriedel Ziere,' which is a considerably slower piece invoking a calming perhaps somewhat melancholic mood. 'Song for Erik' is another dreamy melancholic song at eleven minutes its clearly the longest song on this album. Lead vocals and lyrics are handled by Nicholas this time around with just beautiful music to go with it. The final song, 'Sanctity and Steel' is a lovely closer with fantastic vocals from Nick.

In the few years since this albums release its wondrous tunes have entered my ears constantly and just like I said at the beginning of this review, this is one of the best folk releases both I've and probably you'll hear for a long while to come. Whether or not it actually falls into the neo folk genre is entirely up to the listener, but regardless I adore this album. Absolutely essential for both folk music and Werkraum fans alike or those that wish to discover delicate beautiful folk music of the most pristine and high quality.

Of the Wand and the Moon - Sonnenheim (2005)

Of the Wand and the Moon is the ongoing neo folk/experimental project of Kim Larsen from Denmark. Since 1999 Kim’s work has appeared on numerous compilations, released several 7” records as well as four full length albums, his most recent and probably strongest is 2005’s, ‘Sonnenheim.’ However before Kim entered the neo folk world he was known for his lead guitar and composing skills in Dutch doom/death metalers, Saturnus (’91-’98). He’s also played with The Loveless, Blazing Eternity, Solanaceae and just last year he made his return to the metal world with funeral doom newbie’s, Black Wreath. A busy man, no doubt.

At any rate, for those that are not familiar with Kim’s music it usual features fast acoustic guitars, backing keyboards for additional atmosphere and Kim’s whispery lead vocals with occasionally a few additional instruments here and there. His music is sometimes lively and joyful sounding but at other times it can be as dismal as any Sol Invictus or Current 93 song. Furthermore his lyrics generally revolve around nature, Pagan religions and personal struggles.

The album opens with the ritualistic ambient piece, ‘Black Moth,’ which then goes into the upbeat and mighty catchy folk piece called, ‘Nithttime in Sonnenheim’ that features Andreas Ritter of Forseti on accordion and backing vocals. The album continues on with two more great folky pieces before ending up on, ‘My Black Faith,’ which is my personal favorite of the album. In a way it’s the basic Of the Wand and the Moon styled song, but it has a very epic structure and great lyrics to it that I absolutely adore. Continuing on the album mostly stays in the dark folk vein and only strays on, ‘Camouflage,’ ‘Lieblos Bis Zur Dunkelheit’ and ‘I Shall Feast,’ which are more ambient/ritualistic/experimental songs. Finally after thirteen wonderful songs the album nears its end with, ‘Winter Solstice’ that again has a beautifully epic atmosphere to it.

In general Sonnenheim didn’t bring many new features into Of the Wand and the Moon, (save for the accordion) but you could simply say Kim perfected his craft with this release. All of the songs are very good; with catchy melodies and fantastic musicianship and in the nearly five years it’s been since its release it’s proven time and time again to be one of my favorite neo folk releases.

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Additionally I’ll rip open the Lunar Hypnosis vault once again and present you with a brief but informative interview I did with Kim on February 12, 2004. Enjoy

J.M.: Greetings Kim. Why don't we start off by having you tell our readers about the formation of the band, your music style, and anything else you fell we should know.
Kim Larsen: I started out in the doom/gothic band 'Saturnus' as guitarist and composer. While playing with them I heard the Current 93 album 'Thunder Perfect Mind' and felt that this was the music I had been looking for. The other members didn’t have that big interest in this genre as I did, which eventually made it important for me to do :OTWATM: on my own. Also to get that certain purity to the music I was/am so fond of.

J: What does ‘Of the Wand & the Moon’ mean, and why did you choose this name?
KL: The wand represents the Magick, the music, art and the moon represents the inspiration of the night-time. The wand is also the masculine representation and the moon the feminine... Well, there are a few approaches towards this.

J: What’s a typical live show from the band like? Is there a certain feeling you hope to achieve or do you just go out and play? Also will there ever be a live release from the band?
KL: Hopefully we deliver some kind of essence to people when we play live... Something pure and authentic. Hard to explain.

J: Speaking of live shows if I'm not mistaken the bands played with some more famous neo folk bands. I thought I remember reading that you had a gig with Sol Invictus a while back. If so what was this like and what type of person is Tony Wakeford?
KL: Well, the show you are talking about was actually the debut concert for :OTWATM:, so it was really nice to play with a fine musicians as Tony, Matt & Dorothy. I don´t recall sharing many words with Tony. He was also quite ill at the concert so... But I’ll have the chance to say hi to him again here in Denmark in April, the 17th to be exact, where :OTWATM: will be playing support for his band in Kolding.

J: Something I've been wondering for awhile now is what made you, Brain, and Jesper leave Saturnus? Was there some sort of argument within the band or did you just get tired of playing that type of music?
KL: There were quite a few different problems with that band. It’s a long story with lots of incidents so I’ll try to make it short. Firstly the lead singer stole a rather large amount of money from the band, money we had borrowed from our record label to go on a small 3-day tour with Moonspell. Unfortunately we gave him the money after the tour to give to our label. It was not until we were at a meeting at their office 3 months later that they asked where the money was. On top of that our singer hadn’t paid his part of the rent for our rehearsal room. So that evidentially also sucked an amount out of the bands funds.

I also had a problem with not being able to get credit for the work I did for them on the albums. I composed all the music for them plus did 99% of the lyrics on the last 2 releases, but they could only let me have credit for the lyrics. It wasn´t a money issue, just plain credit on the albums. Then the last straw for me was when we did 3 shows in Belgium, where I got a nasty ear ache when I got back, due to a cold, because of the lousy conditions of the bus we were driving (one window couldn’t close properly), and we had to do a show in Belgium a week or 2 after, and I had to cancel.

Then I began to hear a lot of shit behind my back and then I finally had it, so I left. Later Brian & Jesper gave me a call and asked me if I would come back to Saturnus in order to throw the other ass wipes out but I’d rather go on with some music in a different direction and under a new name, which became The Loveless. As an addition I was also tired of the lack of engagement in Saturnus, it was far more satisfying for them to do nothing instead of working for the progression of the music. The 'fame', money and prestige was more important for them.

J: I'm curious to know how you got into neo folk music? It seems to be a genre of music that's really kept secret, but in my opinion is some of the best music I've ever heard. Bands like Sol Invictus, Current 93, Death in June, and well Of the Wand & the Moon are amongst some of most amazing bands I've ever heard. What was the first neo folk band you heard and who are some of your favorites these days?
KL: As I mentioned previously, Current 93´s 'Thunder Perfect Mind' was the first thing I ever heard in this genre, and it blew me away. Nowadays I think that Death In June is my all time favorite band. Douglas P., among others has inspired me immensely. It was also a moment to remember when :OTWATM: played a warm up show for Death In June here in Copenhagen recently. Also to exchange a few words in person after years of mail correspondence.

J: Now what about religion? I'm guessing you’re into some type of older pre-Christian religion like Paganism or Asatru. But then again having the new album titled ‘Lucifer’ makes me wonder.
KL: I feel drawn to the runes. It feels quite natural, as it is part of my heritage. My girlfriend and I sometimes join an Asatru group here in Copenhagen at the Solstice feasts they arrange. But at some point I don´t feel quite home in a group of people or associations. But I’ll take the Asatru/Paganism before Christianity any day. Christianity has nothing to do with my culture or where I’m coming from, as well as Islam and what have you. Fortunately Asatru religion has been 'acknowledged' as a religion here in Denmark, so that people can get married and buried by a 'pagan' priest legally now. Better late than never....

J: You play in a few other bands besides (Blazing Eternity, The Loveless, Sonne Hagal, and Unveiled). Can you tell our readers a little more about these bands and the style of music you play with them?
KL: Blazing Eternity started out playing black metal, but nowadays it’s more dark rock/metal. Saturnus and Blazing rehearsed in the same building, and after a while we became friends and drinking partners. Well, one thing leads to another and I joined as a session guitarist and helped them out when they played live and a bit in the studio. Morten, the guitar player (and singer these days), also plays in :OTWATM: at live shows. Recently I had to part from them due to my work in :OTWATM:.

The Loveless was formed on the ruins of Saturnus, and the music was, as in Saturnus, written by myself. The style is dark rock...the best I can explain it.... We did the debut album 'Star Rover' in May 2002, recorded in the Sweet Silence Studios, produced by Flemming Rasmussen the Metallica producer. Unfortunately Brian & Jesper got the 'Saturnus syndrome' and left due to disputes about who made the music, and who should get credits etc., the same old song. Again it wasn’t about the money, but about prestige and hurt pride. Tried to tell them, that just because Ringo Starr played on a song by The Beatles, didn´t mean that he wrote it. But little did it work, and I had no intentions of repeating the Saturnus story again, so.... Nevertheless I have already done about 5 new songs for the 'The Loveless' project so hopefully there will be something out in 2005.

As for Sonne Hagal, I met Oliver, the front figure of SH, in Glachau/Germany while doing a tour with :OTWATM:. As he’s a good friend of/and playing with Forseti, he was there and we began to talk and one thing led to another. So I helped him out with a song that I did the music for. He also helped me out with some recordings for my new album 'Sonnenheim', and so did Andreas Ritter from Forseti. As a side note, I wish I’d live closer to these 2 guys, as I really feel they´re long lost friends and at some point we have known each other in some foreign life.

Unveiled is a project from a Danish guy called Hansen and I helped him out with a bit of vocals for his project.

J: You have a few vinyl releases and I'm wondering will these ever be released on CD or maybe in a vinyl box set together?
KL: A vinyl box set is being put together at the moment containing the 3 first albums (Nighttime Nightrhymes - :Emptiness:Emptiness:Emptiness: & Lucifer) plus an extra CD with live material and rare tracks that was released on vinyl. It should be out shortly on Prophecy Productions. I have also plans of re-releasing the 'Midnight Will' 10" EP on CD, perhaps in some slight different versions plus bonus material, on my own label 'Heiðrunar|Myrkrunar' and distributed via Tesco.

J: Your lyrics are very depressive, but I like them because its something I can totally relate to. Can you explain some of the lyrics and what they mean to you?
KL: I like to keep the mystery alive with not explaining too much about them so I hope you’ll understand.

J: The cover artwork for the 'Lucifer' cd is kind of strange. I guess that's a cat on the front of the cover? How come you used this cover artwork?
KL: I work intuitive in these matters. The title was taken from the song by the same name. The picture was taken by Jesper (The Loveless) of his cat licking his shirt. Just thought it was a really weird picture. Funny and a bit eerie at the same time, and it went well to the title of the album. Don´t know if you know but I was (like almost everyone in the neo folk genre) accused of being a nazi by some German left wing people some time ago, and I thought that if I already had 'provoked' these left wing people why not have the Christians at me as well. Henceforth the title also....:)

J: I know your currently working on the new album so I'm curious to know does the new material sound similar to the past albums or are you doing something different with this album? Will the same session musicians be used or have you recruited some new people? Finally do you have any idea when the new album will be released?
KL: Yes I am indeed working on a new album, which will be titled 'Sonnenheim'. I really hope to have it out this year on my label 'Heiðrunar|Myrkrunar' and distributed by Tesco. Hopefully it will be out soon, as I can’t wait to present it to people. The stuff already sounds great. At the moment I have about 25 songs to choose from. For this album I was helped on some tracks by Andreas (Forseti) & Oliver (Sonne Hagal). At the moment Albin Julius (Der Blutharsch) is also adding stuff for some tracks. I also hope that Matt Howden will be adding strings too at some point when the songs are about to be finished. Niels Rønne (Swimwear Catalogue) from my live staff has also helped me out a lot in technical matters. I Think there also will be more guests on it, but it is still a bit uncertain... I think lyric-wise the album will be a bit more aggressive and outgoing, (as outgoing as an introvert person as myself can get), than the previous albums... But we´ll see.

J: Do you feel Prophecy productions are the perfect label for the band? How have things been going with this label thus far?
KL: Things have been going well with Euphonious rec and Prophecy so far I think. Just thought of having a change with starting my own label and see what happens. Maybe I´ll release something with them again. Who knows...

J: Are any 'Of the wand & the moon' t-shirts going to produced in the near future?
KL: T-Shirts as already been produced by Prophecy Productions so... Maybe I’ll do some myself some day. We’ll see.

J: Aside from creating music what other hobbies and interests do you have?
KL: Aside from the music, which takes up most of my time, I spend my time with my girlfriend, watch movies, read books, sometimes play PC games such as 'Thief 1+2' or 'Baldurs Gate'...

J: Well I know hard at work with the new material so I don't want to waste any more of your time. The final words are yours and I wish you the best of luck with all your future musical endeavors. Take care.
KL: :HAIL HAIL HAIL - THESE RUNES THEY WILL PREVAIL - IF NOTHING ELSE:
Have a splendid 2004
Yours,
-Kim Larsen

Current 93 - Thunder Perfect Mind (1992)

Released in 1992, 'Thunder Perfect Mind' is often considered one of the finest creations in Current 93's vast discography and surely Louis Wain’s bizarre cartoon artwork depicting some startled cat will make some people instantly wonder about this albums contents. Although C93 had already begun exploring a folk-ish side in the late 80's it wasn't until this point in 1992 (after Michael Cashmore joined) that the band released something proper and fully satisfying too.

The sound of this album generally revolves around intricately played acoustic guitars (by Douglas Pierce & Michael Cashmore) with accompanying instruments like flute, violin and piano and David Tibet's lead vocals with backing vocals from Rose McDowall. The feeling of the music is also generally of a more subtle and depressing nature, plus Tibet's lyrics only make things even more vague, but it works, it works wonderfully. Songs like, 'A Song for Douglas after he's Dead' or 'A Silence Song' are simple songs, but very effective with their atmospheric qualities.

The album mostly runs in a calm neo folk style, but as usual Current 93 has also been a band to experiment and they add a few surprises as well on this impressive release. After the first twelve songs The album suddenly shifts to a more experimental side with the two part self-titled album tracks, ‘Thunder Perfect Mind.’ These slow ominous songs have some vague droning ambiance in the background while Tibet speaks solemnly over the music.

After that we come to track fifteen the sixteen-minute epic ‘Hitler as Kalki.’ In the booklet Tibet explains, 'Some people think that Hitler was Kalki the tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu who comes on a white horse to destroy the cosmos at the end of each world cycle.' Tibet’s lengthy lyrics do a nice job of explaining this concept to the listener yet parts of the lyrics are very strange. The music portion holds sort of a slow trance inducing progressive rock feeling to it accompanied with some well-played violin, and acoustic guitars and strange howling in the background, but its really impossible to describe fully. Probably one of the weirdest songs from Current 93, but I absolutely love it. As the album ends it returns to the folk style with a very melancholic song called, ‘A Sad Sadness song.’

Taken as a whole ‘Thunder Perfect Mind’ is one of the most ambitious, melancholic, weird, hypnotic and utterly enjoyable albums from Current 93. The album is more or less broken up into three different parts with each piece sounding extremely interesting. From the lovely folky songs that start the album to the bizarre latter parts, ‘Thunder Perfect Mind’ is another masterpiece in the large discography of Current 93.

[Note] A couple of years ago it was re-released in a digipak, completely re-mastered as well it contained an entire second disc of songs recorded during the TPM sessions, but songs that the band ultimately left off. Those that are interested should definitely pick this version up since the original pressing suffers greatly from poor sound quality.

Sol Invictus - In the Rain (1995)

A friend was asking me about neo folk recently and since there's not much of it on this blog yet I figured it was time to change that. So the next couple of reviews are for you, Kristel.

Sol Invictus (Latin for 'Unconquered Sun')is the long running neo folk/neo classic group of British musician/composer Tony Wakeford. Back in the late 80's after leaving Death in June, Tony formed Sol Invictus in '87 with Ian Read and Karl Blake, but by the early 90's Read distanced himself from Tony and since then Sol Invictus has been more or less the solo project of Tony with various enlisted talents on each release.

For all intents and purposes, 'In the Rain' is the best Sol Invictus album, and not only that one of the best albums I’ve personally ever heard. Tony Wakeford’s voice and guitar playing is accompanied by Sarah Bradshaw on cello, David Mellor on piano & keyboards, Karl Blake on electric guitar and bass, Nathalie Van Keymeulen and Céline Marleix-Bardeau on violins, Eric Rogers on trumpet and Nick Hall on drums and percussion.

In the Rain was the first Sol Invictus album with a mini orchestra, while the more simplistic neo folk sound of previous albums was left behind at this point in Sol Invictus' history. In fact the classical instruments make it almost a full on orchestrated album since both the acoustic and distorted electric guitars are used more sparingly. These instruments at times provide a very beautiful tranquil feeling, whereas at other times can be quite sad and at other times present an extremely chilling feeling.

Another appealing characteristic about this album is the lyrics, which are easily the best Wakeford has ever written. The lyrics seem to mostly deal with love or rather the lack of it and all other things negatively relating to it. My favorite track from this album is, ‘Believe me,’ which has got to be one of the most haunting and depressing songs I’ve ever heard. The lyrics are extremely touching and very disheartening and when combined with this haunting orchestral music and Wakeford’s morose vocals the results are simply extraordinary. Similarly ‘In the Rain’ is about a double betrayal in a relationship, ‘Fall like rain’ deals with humanity, ‘Oh what Fun’ with suicide and ‘An English Garden’ is a bit hard to grasp but still it’s a brilliant song. As a whole all eleven songs on this album are perfect from start to finish, and it's one of those albums that’s so dark, frightening, and sad, that it’s almost impossible to find the correct words to describe it.

‘In the Rain’ truly reflects what a genius Tony Wakeford is for songwriting and composing music. ‘In the Rain’ is easily the best neo folk album I’ve heard to date, and as I said in the beginning of this review one of the best albums ever composed. Consider experiencing it with a glass of red wine, on dark rainy night, while in a melancholy mood.

Frostmoon Eclipse - I Am Providence (2008)

Chapter VI in God is Myth Records 3” CDr Lovecraft series comes from the Italian black metal band Frostmoon Eclipse. The first two songs are black metal songs themed around two of Lovecraft's stories while the final song is an acoustic piece inspired by Lovecraft's death, collectively nearly nineteen minutes are present on this release.

'In the Vault' is a mid-paced song with some very catchy riffs present and both spoken and black metal vocals telling the story (I'm assuming). For the songs entire duration it stays within the same pace, and just features superb musicianship the whole way through, but it forgoes Frostmoon Eclipse's usual tendencies to splice in some acoustic parts. On the other hand 'The Thing on the Doorstep' is a nearly nine minute instrumental that again is a mid-paced black metal song, but thankfully here some acoustic guitars are used, and much like the previous song there are some absolutely colossal guitar riffs making an appearance here. Lastly is 'Providence, 1937-03-15, which in case you didn't know is the day H.P. Lovecraft died. This particular song is an acoustic piece with some spoken vocals and while you might expect the music to sound mournful to me at least its sounds fairly ominous.

Although this EP was limited (100 copies) and long sold out now, it was re-released last year as a part of Frostmoon Eclipse's split with Chaos Moon and Benighted in Sodom.

Balmorhea - Constellations (2010)

I first got into Balmorhea a little over two years ago, through an ambient/post-rock-centered compilation album. I immediately fell in love with their simple, lush, piano-centered instrumental music. They have stayed busy since signing to Western Vinyl, releasing at least one album each of the last three years (including a full length and a remixed album last year), and each one is an amazing example of how this band constantly grows and changes, yet still stays true to the sound that sets them apart from the rest of the instrumental scene.

Last year's “All is Wild, All is Silent” featured a branch-off into a lighter, more folk-sounding terrain. “Constellations” is a much darker album; to me, at least, it feels more meditative, less rejoiceful and more subdued. And this isn't a bad thing; far from it. The album winds through each track purposefully and beautifully.

Most of the tracks on “Constellations” features subtle acoustic guitars, unaccompanied piano motifs, and/or light strings to bring whatever mood is trying to be conveyed. One standout track is probably 'Steerage and the Lamp': dramatic arpeggios on the piano and the dark sounds of a cello set a foreboding tone, weaving through each other until the piano seems to clash with itself, in a strange combination of dissonance and melody.

Another standout is the final track on the album, 'Palestrina'. The reverberating sounds of a cello and violin lay a background for beautiful, haunting choir singing. Eventually, the singing is replaced by the simple strumming of a guitar, moving deliberately from one chord to another, before the choir comes briefly back and the song fades out.

For those who got into Balmorhea only through their latest album, “Constellations” may be a slight letdown, as it is much more of an melancholic, meditative piece than the more upbeat sound of “All is Wild...”. However, this doesn't mean if you loved their last album you won't enjoy “Constellations.” I simply suggest preparing yourself for a more ambient journey. And if you have never given Balmorhea a try, there's no time like the present to be carried off on the waves of their sound.

Sturmpercht - Schattenlieder (2009)

I first heard Sturmpercht back in 2006 through their debut album, ‘Geister Im Waldgebirg,’ and since then I’ve gone on to hear two more Sturmpercht releases. I think the one thing that always comes to mind after hearing the band is just how to describe them since there so diverse and basically indescribable as far as genre placement is concerned. In one hand they are a folk band, but this is certainly not your average Douglas Pierce brand of simplistic neo folk, rather they dub themselves alpine folk and as far as I know it’s a creation of their own.

Although all of the lyrics are in German apparently the words revolve around alpine mystic, heathen legends, forest tales, hunter sagas and probably alcohol since some of these songs would really hit the spot with a good lager in hand, but since I don’t understand German I guess it doesn’t matter much what they sing about. It is however very interesting the way the songs change from upbeat folky songs to more serious, epic, atmospheric or slightly melancholy sounding to even completely bizarre and fun tunes at times. It’s really remarkable how diverse this band is and the amount of instruments used is beyond count. This is just one band but after spinning, ‘Schattenlieder’ you’d honestly think you just heard at least a dozen different bands.

It also must be noted that some well known German (and one Austian) musicians like Gerhard Hallstatt (Allerseelen), Axel Frank (Werkraum) and CZ (Vinterriket) make considerable contributions to this album. So therefore fans of said bands may want to investigate this release for that fact alone.

However at seventy eight minutes and twenty songs strong this album can be a bit much to swallow all at once, but I’ve generally found that once I give the band’s releases a few listens they really grow on me and Schattenlieder is surely no different.

All in all if you’re into the more diverse and at times wacky side of folk music than definitely give this album a try since it’s a total gold mine if that’s what you seek within your folk related music.

Stroszek - Life Failures made Music (2009)

Released in late 2009 (December 10th), ‘Life Failures Made Music’ is the second full-length album from Stroszek and while I greatly enjoyed the debut and the following EP, I must be honest when I say this sophomore release is simply beyond belief in how absolutely breathtaking it is.

Similarly to the debut with its mix of highly melodic acoustic guitars, vibrant bass work and light percussion, Life Failures Made Music follows the debut but generally everything is vastly improved and far more appealing. For example the guitar work (both acoustic & electric) is just gorgeous in it delivery with so many wonderful riffs and amazing solos. During the softer songs the melancholy being strummed from Claudio’s fingers is at times almost overwhelming, but as it is so well played its hard to resist. The electric guitars also seem to make a greater presence on this recording, and at least in my opinion some of the songs on this album remind me of the softer Alice in Chains songs from the early half of the 90’s.

As mentioned in my previous review, Claudio’s voice conveys an introverted and depressive quality, but it’s genuine all the way and that’s just one of the things that makes Stroszek all the more enjoyable for me. Honest musical art that’s straight from the heart.

The other two members, Davide and Richard also contribute a great deal to this album with their performance. Richard’s drum work is fantastic and I really enjoy the way he shifts from normal beats to tribal and even militaristic playing. Davide’s bass work is also well done and gives the album a perfect low end sound.

As for favorites, well, honestly now this is one of those albums where just every single song truly stands out. All of the songs seem to have a melancholy vibe to them, but others are more intense than others, while a song like, ‘The Unlucky Ones’ is powerful in its delivery and keeps the misery more buried. And then there’s, ‘Nighthawks and Underdogs,’ which is just perfect to say the least. Regardless of approach or emotional qualities I find this album to be just stunning.

Assuming you enjoyed the first Stroszek album, Alice in Chains or even the softer Opeth songs you may just find that this is the album for you. Truly one of the highlights of 2009 and for the curious this album can be purchased at God is Myth Records for a mere $9, which is an absolute bargain. Go get it!

Blakagir - Carpathian Art Of Sin (2007)

For a moment picture yourself as a character in one of your favorite epic medieval movies. You’re standing on the battlefield with sword and shield in hand. The enemy is gazing at you ready to attack at a moments notice. Your heart is beating a mile a minute and sweat from within your helmet is dripping down into your eyes. But no matter what happens you’ll keep on fighting till the last breath of air leaves your body. Why? Because you’re a warrior, ready to defend your empire against anyone or anything that dare try to overtake it. That’s the feelings this album invokes as you listen to it.

Blakagir is the epic medieval neo classical war music solo project of Hellveto mastermind L.O.N. 'Carpathian Art of Sin' sounds fairly close to the many instrumentals that have augmented each Hellveto album, MCD, demo and split release, though this album is his most engaging work in this field of music so far.

Commonly each Blakagir song holds a strong epic feeling through stunning orchestral synth work that surely bares a resemblance to music found in medieval era movies, but a fair amount of piano and acoustic guitar are also added to the overall sound for something which gives this mans work a unique flair. Most of the songs are quite bombastic and faster paced, surely giving the feeling of a heroic event, though the song 'Mystery from Grave' is slower and holds a strong melancholic theme to it, while 'Voice Before Battle' is a more straightforward ambient piece which surely gives the feeling of an army awaiting their imminent battle.

Perhaps the only differences to be found on this release compared to the debut is the lack of vocals (though some sampled voices appear on Voice Before Battle) and the fact that the song titles are all in English this time around, thus saving me the trouble of trying to translate Polish song titles on translation sites that don't work anyway.

Carpathian Art of Sin is another triumph for L.O.N. and his ongoing musical journey, and while I'm sure some people might feel that he tends to repeat himself a bit, I'm at least still not sick of his music.

Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde (2007)

Alcest is the solo vehicle of one Neige, whom has experience with some of France’s finest and most curious underground bands, namely Peste Noir, Mortifera and Amesoeurs. As for Alcest, the band was originally formed as a trio back in 1999 and heavily focused on creating raw black metal, but soon after the bands demo release in the same year things were put on hold and Alcest became Neige’s own project. In 2005 the ‘Le Secret’ EP was released and finally in 2007 the debut album, ‘Souvenirs d'un autre monde’ was released by Prophecy Productions.

Souvenirs d'un autre monde (Memories of another world) is a conceptual album of sorts which deals with Neige’s memories of a fantasy world he created as a child. He describes it as, “A plane of existence bathed in a pearly light, beyond all terrestrial beauties, which could perhaps be described as a sort of intermediate stage; the soul would rest there between two earthly lives and would for some time be freed of the burden of incarnation.”

Musically Alcest is one of the most novel bands I’ve heard in recent years as it shows influences from black metal, shoegaze, post rock and Neige’s own matchless imagination. The feeling on this recording is both heavenly and dreamy but at the same time there is a plainly melancholic underlining within the framework of this music. The opening song, ‘Printemps emeraude’ is a good example as the song is so absolutely beautiful sounding that it makes my heartache, but as it is such a gorgeous song its hard to put it out of memory. The title track is perhaps the albums highlight since again it’s just stunning and blissful but somehow at the same time melancholic in its overall structure.

The guitars on this album generally move at a mid-pace with one guitar having a typical black metal rawness to it while another has clearly melodic riffs being played and oftentimes acoustic guitars are layered over all of this too. Neige’s vocals are all clearly sung and his voice is absolutely magnificent too. His voice has this sort of echo effect placed on it that makes is sound very surreal and feminine in character, but it really works perfectly with the music presented.

The music aside, the album also comes in a beautiful digipak with wonderful surreal forest photos in the booklet, which perhaps can help the listener visualize the world he’s created through this wondrous music.

I’ve listened to this recording under different moods, in unusual environments and under diverse levels of consciousness and each time it proves to be absolutely stunning. Above and beyond the already previously mentioned songs ever thing else on this recording is a goldmine and basically all I can say is if you crave any sort of courageous incomparably dreamy melancholic music than Alcest is surely the band to add to your musical library.

Teresa 11 - Smoky Heaven (2004)

These days it really isn’t that often to come across a truly original sound. It doesn’t even matter what genre you’re dealing with, there just isn’t that many people out there willing to try new things it seems. Maybe people are just out of ideas or perhaps there afraid of change, but honestly I ask you now, when was the last time you heard a band that made you say, ‘My god, this is freakin’ different!’? Teresa 11 is one such band that made similar words come out of my mouth when I heard them for the first time back in 2004.

Teresa 11 is an exceptional Japanese band chiefly lead by Rie Lambdoll with small contributions from Miyazaki, Ann Muramats, and Simon Joe. But what makes Teresa 11 such an exceptional band you ask? Well the answer to that is not an easy task for me to make clear. Somewhere between malformed trip-hop, dark classical, mutant ambient oddness and traditional Kabuki rhythms is where you’ll find this outstanding Japanese band. For example, a song like ‘Blue Shine’ has light electro beats, the beautiful sound from a 22 stringed harp, unusual synth sounds and Rie’s distinctive echoie chanting female voice.

‘Smoky Heaven’ takes my soul to a different world when I lie down and listen to it. I find myself floating through the clouds on a dreamy soothing abnormal voyage to the orient. Birds fly backwards here, dragons hum witty words to me, further on everything is hazy, frantically shuffling around only makes things go slower, I’m seeing double, maybe even triple here, is it a dream or is this just one of the coolest records ever?! It’s like a bizarre drug induced trip that I don’t want to ever come down from.

I can’t with words easily describe to you how unique this record is, so believe me when I say it's worth hunting down. Naturally this album gets my utmost recommendation and is a must for anyone looking for something novel and inimitably cool to chill out with.

Devil Doll - Eliogabalus (1990)

Devil Doll, a Slovenian band who at one point in time was almost completely unknown to the world are quite possibly one of the most unique and artistic bands ever conceived. In essence the band is the creation of one man (known only as Mr. Doctor) with tons of enlisted help on each output. What’s interesting about Devil Doll is that there is no single genre you can place them in. The band exhibits such a large variety of influences that they exist in their own genre. You could say the band is a theatrical Gothic rock band, but even that wouldn’t fully describe these guys. The band has a large orchestral influence present plus a wide usage of a choir within their music. In addition to the usual guitar, bass, and drums the band also uses a wide selection of stringed and brass instruments plus there seems to be a very strange vaudeville and classic horror movie influence within the bands music. But to put it simple, Devil Doll is a band you really can’t describe you simply just have to hear their godliness to understand it.

A common trait of Devil Doll releases is having the entire recording being one long song or as is the case with this second album titled, 'Eliogabalus' just two twenty plus minute songs which total in for and even forty five minutes of music. This particular album carries on in a similar Gothic rock/theatrical/orchestral vein as the first album, but seems to really expand in certain areas. Mr. Doctor still uses a variety of different voices and vocal styles, but by and large uses one style to sing most of his lyrics. Moreover it seems this album is not as Gothic rock laden and begins to show the listener the even more weird side of the band, the side that would be seen on all subsequent albums. Still this album features some of my most favorite Devil Doll moments ever. In particular from 5:50 to 7:25 in the song, ‘Mr. Doctor’ the listener is treated to a really beautiful neo classical section with violins, piano, militaristic drumming, and Mr. Doctor’s always interesting vocals. In fact I would even go so far as to say this is one of my all-time favorite moments in music altogether. This was actually the first Devil Doll song I heard, and after hearing it I immediately rushed out to get all their albums, which coincidentally proved to be quite a challenge.

Another fine moment in this album occurs in the second song at about thirteen minutes in, there’s very fast violins that remind me of something found in a horror movie that strangely then segues into this strange vaudeville section complete with tuba. Yet these are just a few of the really exciting moments on this release. I mean any band that combines Gothic rock with violins, piano, accordion, tuba, e-bow, celesta, and an entire choir has got to be capable of creating one very attention-grabbing album. Right? Yes indeed.

Personally I first became aware of and got my hands on the bands discography back in late 2004 but for whatever reason I've found myself neglecting the band in recent years. A mistake. There’s no way I can fully explain this great band to you, but if you have eclectic tastes in music than you should immediately order anything you can find from this band. ‘Eliogabalus’ is a perfect progression from the first album and seems more refined in its ideas yet some people will still say the subsequent albums are greater. I however am inclined to think everything Devil Doll has released is great. Give 'em a try.

Atrium Carceri - Seishinbyouin (2004)

Since 2003, Simon Heath's personal project Atrium Carceri has grown from obscurity to becoming one of the most well known names in the dark ambient genre. His second album, 'Seishinbyouin' does however remain my favorite among the five other albums he's released.

Simon creates an unbelievably dark atmosphere with this work that’s haunting, oppressive, sinister and mysterious sounding. Through out the recording we get treated to the usual dark bleak semi melodic ambient style, but there are lots of other things in this work that makes it appealing. One of the things that gives it such an unsettling feeling is the usage of odd sound effects, samples and voices. It makes me feel like I’m all alone in some dark dungeon or basement and the freaks of nature are nipping at my feet. There's also sampled conversations from Japanese movies and other aspects of interest are that at times the music does display more of a slight industrial sound mixed with the ambient style that we see best displayed on track six ‘Warden.’ Furthermore Simon also splices a little piano into the mix on a few songs, and every so often the album takes on a more bombastic martial approach too.

With ‘Seishinbyouin’ Simon has created one of the best dark ambient releases I have personally ever heard. Honestly you'll be hard pressed to find an ambient release so addictive, poignant, spooky and in general just excellent sounding.