|
|
Posted:
|
Aural Pressure
God told me to skin you alive. Jesus died for somebodys sins but not mine.** Award yourself a smart arse point if you can name the two artists and songs that start with those words. (Answer at the bottom of the review)
Religion. Where to start. Responsible for countless wars all in the name of God. Whatever God that may be. Scandals over sex allegations and missing money ripped off from the gullible from the so called holy ones continue on an ever increasing daily basis. It never ends. Religion is everywhere. Different denominations vying for attention craving to save your soul. Bodybuilding for Jesus on television for fucks sake!!. Ive seen it. The world of music is a breeding ground for artists wanting to spread the word of God through song. From heavy metal poodle rock in spandex cock bulging trousers to Country and Western good old boys and gals. The list is endless. So it comes as something of a surprise to find an act seemingly steeped in religion plying its beliefs through dark ambient sound sculptures. Surely some mistake? Well Ill remain open minded for now.
This debut release by Order of Melchizedek comes on two 3" cdrs, in a very impressive 12 page Vellum and cardstock piece of packaging, and is limited to 50 copies. With proclamations stating Fall on your knees and pray and Repent sinner only God can save you hitting out from the packaging there can be no doubts as to the veracity of the beliefs on show. The title "Domine Ex Audi Vocem Meam Domine" means Lord, Hear My Voice, Lord and this is where I begin to have my doubts. For the six tracks are very dark and oppressive pieces of music. Touching on the blacker side of ambient and power electronics the music is as dense as fog over old London town and just as creepy. The artist Darin M Sullivan knows how to build on the tantalising atmospherics and his way of holding the attention through his music cannot be faulted. For here doom and gloom is written large upon the stone tablets. The music of tormented souls forever being tortured in Hells bottomless pits. But what is he trying to say? Is there a message to be discovered here? Those are the questions Ive been pondering since playing this dark opus. Is it that by going to the Lord he will guide and protect you into the light? Is it that this is what awaits if you fail to bring religion into your heart? Or is it a mighty pisstake? A joke conjured up over a six pack and some smokes in some run down bar on the bad side of town whilst sticking $5.00 bills down a strippers knickers.* Only Darin knows
and I doubt if hes ever going to let the cat out of the bag.
Therefore the religious connotations remain debatable. Read into the paraphernalia what you will. See the light or remain shrouded in darkness forever or just ignore it completely and sit back and enjoy the music for what it is. Which is an excellent debut that travels the path of bleakness with mature aplomb and is highly recommended. The Lord moves in mysterious ways and none so more than on this release.
* Darin is happily married so he probably hasnt been near a stripper in his life. The sentence was my own artistic licence to get my point across. Best get that in before any dumbass fucker out there starts a nasty email campaign against myself.
**Dead Kennedys - I kill children Patti Smith - Gloria
ANM
Heathen Harvest
The first three tracks on this compact disc epitomize everything about the Dark Ambient genre that one might find tedious or boring. They sound rather like a series of gray clouds, and I was alarmed to find that the Judeo-Christian group name and song titling is not ironic. Order of Melchizedek is a Christian individual exploring the more esoteric aspects of that particular religion and philosophy. As such, it is a rather interesting take on the industrial/noise setting, and on the fourth track, The Want to be God, OoM really sets himself apart a bit, unafraid to trip out into uncharted territory. The following track ...No Greater Sin takes on a sinister tone, with a low-end buzz battling high-pitched squeals of torture chambers. The tense, punishing feel of the track is undercut with a feeling of judgement. This music would certainly work as a more than adequate soundtrack to the activities of the Spanish Inquisition.
Yahweh is a pretty frightening character overall. Jealous, omnipotent, sadistic, and willing to allow humans to mutilate and torture some aspect of himself that manifests as his son, in an ultimate act of masochism. These terrifying synth reverberations call to mind Zionist missile silos preparing to render dead the surrounding Semitic people in all adjacent countries. The concise (and awkwardly titled) The Want to be God (Cleanse the Unbelievers Mix) is a highlight of the album, offering up the best track in a helpfully trimmed-down fashion.
The biblical Melchizedek himself is a rather enigmatic Christian figure overall. He was likely a fallen angel, or spawn thereof, who went on to become a character not unlike Merlin the Magician. Old J.C. himself was said to, in fact, be a priest in the Order of Melchizedek. Sometimes Melchizedek is pictured in statues and etchings surrounded by fish-people, or even with fishy characteristics. Some legends say that he was immortal. So don't expect any Bob Larson type of evangelization here, this is 45 minutes of mystical noise that is as strange as anything else that comes down the pike. Nice to get a different perspective every now and again.
Vargr Wulf
|
|
|
Posted:
|
Aural Pressure
Its the eyes. The all seeing eyes. You cant run or hide from them. They are omnipresent. Im talking about pictures of Jesus. I fear pictures of Jesus. They stop me from prancing around the house in my dead mother's underwear with a hard on because of those fucking eyes. Any picture of Jesus gives me a guilt complex. Possibly because Im a sinner who externally doesnt give a fuck but who internally fears for his soul at his demise. Believe that shit and youre more gullible than I thought. I just dont like pictures of Jesus. Therefore any release with a picture of Jesus on it
even if on the back cover
fills me a sudden urge to commit a bit of grievous ass kicking during the review. And guess what? "Eye of God" has just such a picture. To ensure a bit of impartiality I came up with a quick fix solution. I stuck a bit of gaffer tape over the offending image. There
no more all seeing fucking eye. I can now review this release with a clear and uncluttered mind.
I am now starting to get slightly concerned about the artist Darin M Sullivan. At first I thought the Order of Melchizedek release "Domine Ex Audi Vocem Meam Domine" [read review here] with its religious connotations was possibly a joke. The follow on release "As death gives way to victory" [read review here] hinted at further religious beliefs but wasnt in your face. I was still sitting on the fence giving him the benefit of doubt, baring in mind he was involved in the excellent Order of Black Vision - "Twenty Minutes Til Execution" release [read review here], until this arrived. Oh fuck!! A bloody God fearing evangelist is all I need to write up about. He practically says so himself. He calls "Eye of God" sonic praise to the Lord. Evidence enough. Nailed to the cross through his own words.
In his defence he doesnt go all preachy, preachy on our lily white sinners asses, and, if truth be told he can hold a tune and a half. But the mere fact hes a happy, clappy pray before breakfast and bedtime type will put many off. The seven tracks are a diverse mix of ambience and sparkling, slightly dull, electronica with hints of experimental subversive material thrown in through the spoken worded passages. Subversive to my ears anyhow. A lot more lighter in concept musically from Order of Melchizedek the tracks wibble and dribble away in a pleasant enough righteous way. He does throw in the odd bit of dark texture here and there
the standout tracks being those where he ventures into the darker realms such as Nailed and 'Abyss (Ad Infinitum)' theres even some minimalist ambient that rears its ugly head . Its so, well, inoffensive that I feel bad for actually using bad language in this review.
I cant get over the feeling that hes trying to sublimely convert us to God's cause. Which just isnt going to happen. He should forego all this religious bollocks and keep his beliefs to himself. God will forever be a turn off for some folks no matter how well executed the message through the satisfying, in parts, music. For the Devil has the best tunes. Always has had. Always will. And at least there wouldnt be a picture of Jesus on the back cover to piss us anti-Christians off big style. The only good thing is that I know he will forgive me for this write up. His God has willed it so. Stick that in your bible and suck on it.
ANM
Heathen Harvest
7 SE7EN 7 seems to be none other than Darrin M. Sullivan, Ambimorpheus Recordings supremo and more familiar to me as part of Lithopaedion, whose self-titled album I reviewed some time ago in these very virtual pages. The contrast between the sleazy, nasty, brutish & harsh character of the latter and this platter is markedly pronounced here Sullivan displays a very different, quieter, and more contemplative aesthetic, but still imbued with strong undertones of darkness and coldness. This album carries with it a musical DNA whose origins and ancestry lie within the space-rock/cosmic-rock that emerged out of Germany in the 70s in the form of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and others, albeit with the addition of that shiveringly sinister flavouring.
Additionally theres a leanness and sparseness in the compositions here, featuring as they do very little in the way of instrumentation; in fact the cover picture of the Helix Nebula seems particularly appropriate here the seven pieces speak of vast and freezing cold interstellar distances between the stars and the inhospitable depths of space, the enormous time-spans only occasionally being punctuated by galactic wonders and celestial bodies. As with a lot of peoples contemplations regarding the heavens both physical and metaphorical, in both the past and present, theres also a distinctly metaphysical dimension to this, hinted at perhaps in the track titles, a kind of clue locking us into the idea that there are huge forces at work behind events, events experienced both here in the mundane and out there in the galactic.
But dont worry, I am not about to get TOO metaphysical on your collective asses, although with a work of this species its difficult not to touch upon this aspect but its the music I am mainly concerned with here and I will leave the deep philosophical musings to those better qualified to pontificate on such matters. Immediately though, Sullivan here presents us with a selection of extended essays, culled from 5 years worth of recordings, on what could best be described as feelings of cosmic isolation and if you take the metaphor of the universe stated above literally, with our present store of knowledge we are to all intents and purposes quite isolated and alone. Employing weightily levitating slabs of rumbling monolithic bass lines and swirling galactic winds, which simultaneously appear to hover, phase and chase each other in and out of hearing and vision, these pieces are dynamic, animated and constantly in motion, just like the galactic maelstroms dotted around out there. Occasionally spoken word samples emerge out of the matrix, like unbidden phantoms of haunting memories, of places and times left behind and forever out of reach, whose only purpose is to deepen the isolation and distance, and to chill the marrow, to make what is already freezing seem even colder. The loneliness of the long distance interstellar trip has never been more chillingly coagulated into sound.
As hinted at above, this is as much a journey INWARDS as it is outwards though, to that deep inner space that heralds just as many dangers as there will be when the pioneers are rocketing off to the stars. Both instances are explorations of the alien and unfamiliar, and both are peppered with hidden traps and pitfalls, ready to ensnare the unwary and cast them into the eternal void. The sparseness of the compositions, with their quiet rumblings allied to the breadth & depth of the mix, effectively portrays the both the inner and outer vastnesses, the incomprehensibly immeasurable distances involved in order to gain complete and utter understanding of either environment. On some of the tracks the utilisation of brief spans of emptiness further underlines the deep sense of being utterly alone and unreachable this in itself will cause shivers to explore every nerve-ending and pathway in the spinal column.
I am reminded here of the early music of John Carpenter, especially of the score to his cult film Dark Star, albeit this contains less levity. It is a deeply contemplative album, full of a spartan richness despite the leanness of composition, invented sonorities leaping from the imagination and occupying the interstices between the recorded layers of sound. Also, the music, bizarrely and contradictorily, conveys both a sense of overpowering immensity and stiflingly crushing claustrophobia, so that the listener is at once liberated and yet struggling to breathe.
This is a deeply imagined and executed album, full of dynamism on an inner scale as well as a galactic, universal one. Itll appeal those people who are more comfortable envisioning the vast emptinesses and the illimitable expanses of outer space and will serve as both a soundtrack and vehicle for their explorations, but itll equally be comfortably employed by the adventurers of the inner dimensions. Whatever your predilection, you will surely find something here to hitch your thoughts and musings to, enabling you to go who knows where. Recommended for psychonauts and bussing astronauts equally!
S:M:J63
Compulsion Online
Current 93 aside, it's not often we review music from Christians. Darin M. Sullivan, a self-confessed Christian, has been active in the US experimental scene for over a decade. Alongside his own musical projects 7 SE7EN 7 and Order of Melchizedek, Sullivan has recorded with Stephen Petrus as Lithopædion and Order of Black Vision, a collaborative outfit involving members of Murderous Vision and Black Mayonnaise. Sometime ago we received a package of releases from his own Ambimorpheous Recordings.
Eye of God, compiled from 5 years of recording, is described as "An astral voyage of one's own soul, delving out past the self, into the collective conscious to join us all, if but for a moment, in sonic praise to the Lord." As it says, Eye of God travels inwards as much as it travels outwards. Eye of God takes its cues from dark ambient but there's more than a hint of the German cosmic sounds of Tangerine Dream, and Klaus Schulze. The dark droning, that features much more heavily in his work as Order of Melchizedek, figures quite prominently here. From the opener 'Abyss (Intro)' with its swelling cosmic drone and scattered synth chords it is quite apparent that Eye of God is designed for contemplation. Nothing here is hurried. The second track 'Nailed' is sixteen minutes of soft synth layers punctuated, at points, by a swirling buzz drone and passages of silence. Thankfully, Eye of God is devoid of preaching. The titles appear inspired by Sullivan's personal beliefs, with a selection of sound samples chosen to reinforce his 'viewpoint'. The opening samples of the title track manipulate a sermon, before continuing with darker strands of reverberating electronics, above the distant rumbling textures. The same goes for 'A Death On A Cross' which samples some film dialogue before moving into rhythmic percussive clatter. The airy melodic synth work that appears here does veer frighteningly close to new age music but does lend it a more dreamlike quality.
Everything on Eye of God is expansive, none more so than 'Abyss (Ad Infinitum') which runs for 18 minutes with a lengthy buzz drone obscuring distant voices, which breaks into quieter electronic pulsations with fragments of treated voices sliding out on a morass of treated/disjointed voices. It's not all quiet/gentle ... 'Conviction' is much denser and discordant with harsh panning drone, and churning electronics. Set against some light synth chords the entire thing becomes much more cinematic in scope. The opening moments of 'Seeking Truth In Death' is taken up by a sample of a priest and child in confession. It moves through passages of crumbling textures before settling into quieter passages of whooshing and whirring drones punctuated by occasional snatches of voice samples.
The sparseness of sound manages to convey the vastness of the universe, while the use of silence and stillness reflects the insignificance of the individual. 7 SE7EN 7 shares affinities with the likes of Vestigial and others who look to the sky for inspiration. Rightly or wrongly, 7 SE7EN 7 find something spiritual at the heart of their cosmic dark ambient.
Tony Dickie
|
|
|
Posted:
|
Aural Pressure
That age old fear that has haunted man for centuries is celebrated through this second release by Darin M Sullivan (Order of Melchizedek). The big D. Death. The total end of a persons existence or merely the beginning of a bigger journey
depending on your faith and beliefs. A subject that has been written and sung about since communication first came into being. If youve ever seen a National Geographic magazine youll have seen paint daubed on cave walls by primitive man celebrating / fearing this final demise. Not exactly a bundle of laughs then for a subject but one which, as we all advance in years, we know will eventually occur. When I was in my early twenties I felt immortal. Now nearing my fifties its a subject that I reflect on more and more. Fuck!! Im getting depressed just writing this stuff.
Following on from the excellent, minus the religious piffle, that was "Domine Ex Audi Vocem Meam Domine", "As death gives way to victory" studies the concept of death, dying and the shredding of the physical cell that traps our soul. If you believe in such stuff. Dedicated to the memory of three departed people that had an impact on the artist this is a 12 track release that attempts, through a mixture of melancholy melodic passages and disturbing experimental dark ambience, to show that the big D is nothing to fear. That final release, although coming with a price, doesnt have to be the end. Or have I read into this all wrong? Hard to say. Im trying to understand it through the artists point of view which goes against every grain in my body. In being subjective maybe its gone way over my head. As you would expect from such an ambitious and serious imagining the music is very haunting and ethereal crossed with terrifying fear inducing moments. The use of drum rolls in parts sounds akin to a heart pumping out the lifes blood for the very last time. A funeral dirge effect prevails, with even the lighter moments tinged with sadness, with the darker ambience reflecting our deepest innermost fears.
All in all a very personal and thought provoking release that has so much going for it. A touch frothy in places (no bad thing as it so happens) with enough black passages to appeal to the more morbid ones amongst you. Perhaps, due to the subject matter, this wont appeal to everyones tastes but to those of us at a certain age it strikes a chord which we dont want to confront. Reality is a bitch. Dont fear the reaper. Id rather not meet the fucker in the first place thank you very much. Listening to "As death gives way to victory" only strengthens that view. Partner it with "Serenade for the Dead" by Leaether Strip, a lesser release by a mile, and you have a frightening musical vision of the ultimate end.
ANM
Heathen Harvest
Order of Melchizedek is the courtesy of Darin M. Sullivan who is also known for his work with 7 SE7EN 7, Lithopædion and Order of black vision. Besides that, he also own the indie label Ambimorpehous recordings, on which this CD is also released. Recorded between 2003 and 2005, As death gives way to victory is surrounded by death and everything that has to do with that harsh subject which is known for the only certainty in life.
As death gives way to victory tells a story, but not a story which is pre-defined by the artist or an influence adapted by the artist. It is completely up to the listener to fill in the blank spaces in the music with his or her own thoughts and feelings. This fact makes As death gives way to victory an excellent ambient release for those moments that you are alone, while being in a serious negative thought struggle with yourself.
With the use of various soundscapes, Darin succeeded in creating a very suitable dark atmosphere, which perfectly fits with the main theme of the release. The release isnt very original, as the Dark ambient scene feasts on dark and negative issues such as the very commonly used death, but it is still worth of recommending. As death gives way to victory can be seen as a piece of art with each and every song being a subtle or harsh stroke of paint on an evenly filled piece of canvas. As the artwork stands and falls on the songs, it is absolutely not recommendable to shuffle the songs or to listen to one or two songs at a time. As death gives way to victory must be seen as a complete piece of art and thus be treated as such.
The droning background soundscapes create a void of emptiness, surrounded by ultra-high tones only heard in the worst nightmares. The songs on the release sound very natural and not electronic in any way. It tends to reminds of Ülf Sodenbergs project Sephiroth, but less rhythmic and slower. It tends to the Doom ambient wave of music that is entering the scene more and more. The release also holds three bonus tracks, the last three, which differ a bit more from the previous music. It holds more rhythm and some drum patterns and is more song-based than artwork-based. Nice to hear some extra work, but it doesnt really add anything to the recording.
After a bit of research I found out that the text written in Greece on the insert says: Happy is the man that lives each day looking toward death which can come over as a bit depressing, but it is also well suited to the music on As death gives way to victory. The sober packaged release is good, and when in the right mood, perfect. This is for the nihilistic Ambient lover, the depressive soundscape fisher or the Doom fan who likes natural electronics.
Gorebatjov
Compulsion Online
Sullivan's main concern is Order of Melchizedek and ...As Death Gives Way To Victory... is the second full-length release following the double 3-inch CD-R set Domine, Ex Audi Vocem Meam, Domine. ...As Death Gives Way... concerns itself with death, dying and the shredding of the physical. Unlike Eye of God, released under the name 7 SE7EN 7, ...As Death Gives Way... is a much darker release, minimal with sound confined to electronics and droning, that makes little use of spoken samples.
The long-titled opening track 'And Then, As Death Gives Way to Victory, I'll See the Lights of Glory and I'll Know He Lives' is wrapped up in melodramatic slabs of gothic keyboards, interwoven with a classical melody. It sets the tone admirably for this treatise on death. From then on it continuously sheds the keyboard chords and percussive layers in the form of rattling percussion and timpani drum rolls that appear on 'Golgotha 1st Movement' and 'Spiritual Euphoria' as it edges towards more abstract territory. That said the opening of 'Feast of Flesh and Blood' resembles the main theme of John Carpenter's Halloween but it quickly disintegrates into silence, reappearing as a series of quietly shuddering deep drones.
The entire middle section of ...As Death Gives Way... is characterized by some experimental drone based material. The rumbling, droning and shimmering electronics of 'Golgotha 2nd Movement' echo the slightly spacey sounds of 7 SE7EN 7. 'Hope Left To Die' burrows much deeper with shrill pierces and quavering electronics, 'Foreseen Conundrum' is much more torturous with an ever increasing series of sweeping drones, amid short noise blasts. 'The End of the Physical' which marks the end of the original version of ...As Death Gives Way... is like a little symphony on death. Opening with looped classical music, it gives way to a somber piece of majestic chords performed on the keyboard.
...As Death Gives Way... was released with variations in the track list in two different forms: a private and public issue. This public edition features three tracks, including the original version of 'Distant Promise', not available on the private issue. The best of which is 'Lessons of Faith' that lets loose some torturous churning electronics punctuated by short piercing keyboard stabs.
Tony Dickie
|
|
|
Posted:
|
Aural Pressure
Take a shotgun. Single, double or pump action - doesnt matter which. Load it up. Aim it at your shoe. Pull the trigger. That my friends is how to shoot yourself in the foot. There are easier less painful methods. You could follow the way of Ambimorpheous Records for example.
Ambimorpheous Records, a label set up I believe by the artist Darin M Sullivan to promote his and his friends work, sent in 5 releases for review. Two by Order of Melchizedek (one exceedingly recommended, the other highly), Order of Black Vision (an essential must have) and 7 Seven 7 (so, so to put it mildly). Taking up the rear, which sounds painful and probably against Darins beliefs, is this release by Lithopaedion - another joint effort with Mr Murderous Vision himself Stephen B Petrus (who still hasnt forgiven me for a review I once wrote). What separates this from the other four releases (apart from musically which well soon come to), is that it was sent on a diabolical piece of shit CDR whereas all the others came with their complete artwork. Not a major sin in itself you may think, but, considering that this release is on equal par with the awesome Order of Black Vision release Im flabbergasted that he hasnt seen fit to include the full packaging for this review. An oversight that borders on rank stupidity. The toes are missing and the blood is a pumping.
This 4 track release features the artists venturing into the Power / Death Industrial genre - and boy is it one bumpy ride. The first track is a sub-10 minute visceral vision featuring the sampled tormented tortured screams of a man and a woman having horrible things inflicted on their bodies over a suitably bleak electronic backdrop. Voices mumble in the background as the screaming and music slowly intensifies to breaking point. The second track features a low-fi meandering piece of black electronic soundscaping which slowly takes form like an encroaching abominable force. Track three starts with a sample before descending into further chaotic unspeakable electrifying sounds. Track four finishes on a high octane blow out of scrambled vocals and ear splitting full volume noise. Aghast ridden horror fest be thine calling.
I could write more but I wont. I could have given you the track listing but as they are stuck on the CDR which is still playing in my computer I cant be arsed. Contempt shown as contempt given. Suffice to say though that this is a monumental powerhouse of a release that will appeal to fans of Megaptera, Propergol etc fucking etc. Theres nothing more to add.
ANM
Heathen Harvest
This has got to be the most determinedly, depressingly and relentlessly downbeat and nihilistic CD I have yet heard in my short time on Heathen Harvest. Additionally theres also a nasty brutish sadistic streak a mile wide very much in evidence throughout the entire album. Power Electronic and Death Industrial albums are often touted as being brutal and uncompromising; I have myself described a number thusly in the few reviews I have done of releases from within this genre but I can truly and accurately say that this is indeed the epitome of those descriptors.
Lithopaedion (stonechild) is Stephen Petrus (Baal Berith, Husk, In Deaths Throes, Umbra, Order of Black Vision) & Darin Sullivan (7 Seven 7, Order of Black Vision, Order of Melchizedek, Order of Black Vision) and together they have created an album of death industrial of considerable power and ability to affect. What they present here is truly a vision of death on an industrial scale, exercised and expedited with a clinical precision and efficiency. I hesitate to use the word masterpiece but in terms of sheer spite, hatred, bile, misanthropy and rejection of humanity and the hope that it as a species insists on clinging to I would say that it certainly comes close to attaining those dizzy heights and is on a par with the best work of Gruntsplatter, another master of sonic bitterness aimed at the cancer that is homo sapiens.
In one of the other Ambimorpheous releases I reviewed recently (Order of Black Visions Twenty Minutes til Execution, which incidentally was a collaboration between the very same Petrus & Sullivan) I talked about the anonymous dealing out of death through an impersonal force (in that case justice) and this has that same soulless quality about it, but present in even more emphatic quantities. And its all created through layered blasts of cold electronics and overlaid with sampled and treated voices, a smattering of understated rhythmic pulses and walls of static adding up to a freezingly cold atmosphere that blows through you like a wind from the bitter white Arctic expanses, cutting through to your very bones. The pair successfully marshal everything at their disposal and hone their attack precisely to devastatingly maximum effect.
Its hard to say that I enjoyed this album in the accepted sense of that word appreciated would be a vastly better way of saying it. However the sentiment behind enjoyment is there, since this is a finely constructed album that sets out with a purpose and achieves it admirably. Its an impressive album by any consideration of the term Ill be marking this one as yet another CD cut out for repeated visitations.
S:M:J63
|
|
|
Posted:
|
Industrial.org
This special release from fellow ohioans Lithopædion had a run of 20 copies, so it's safe to say that since I've had it for more than a few months it is probably well out of print. But there is a different version of the release available with different packaging that doesn't seem to be limited, so don't blow your brains out because you can't get it or anything.
The material on "S/T" clocks in at a longish seventy three minutes, which is spread over 8 tracks. I'm not sure if it was intentional or if it was the result of an error with the cd-r or what, but the first track on this disc just doesn't play for me. I've tried to play it many times and I just got nothing.
All of the material on this disk could adequately be summed up as dark ambient, which isn't much of a surprise considering that half of the duo is the guy behind cool dark ambient project Murderous Vision. Like MV, the material on this disc is full of dark ominous pads and sweeps, as well was many cool backwards sounds, down tuned noises, drones and reverbated sinewaves and synth sounds. But whereas MV use samples as more of a paint brush, there are points on this record that totally use them as a crutch. But overall everything sounds nice, it's floaty but active enough to keep you interested.
To my ears a lot of this sounds computer based due to the compressions on a lot of the sound, but I could be wrong. Either way at times the production sounds kind of stiff, kind of second generation. Not horrible mind you, but noticeable.
All in all this is a pretty good dark ambient disc, and if you can snag a copy, I recommend you do it for sure.
Royce Icon
Club Debil
Die CD beginnt wenig appetitlich mit Kotzgeräuschen, die zum Mitmachen animieren. Aus dem Hintergrund schiebt sich langsam eine wenig variable, leicht romantische Keyboardmelodie hervor, die dann wieder von allerhand unangenehmen Geräuschen überdeckt wird. Dazu gibt es ein seltsames Knistern, wie von einer völlig übersteuerten Tonspur.
Der einmal begonnene Weg setzt sich auch bei den folgenden Titeln fort. Alles wirkt seltsam zurückgenommen, ständig erwartet man einen Ausbruch, doch das Album bleibt sehr ruhig. Das sorgt für ein gewisses Unbehagen beim Hören. Wohlfühlmusik ist das wirklich nicht. Kein Wunder, schließlich steht Stephen Petrus von Murderous Vision hinter Lithopaedion . Wie bei seinem Hauptprojekt erschafft er auch hier mit sparsamen Mitteln akustische Horrortrips, kalte, fast leblose Klanglandschaften. Nur das letzte Stück "Depression #3" bricht aus diesem etwas aus, indem es wesentlich heftiger daherkommt.
Insgesamt ist zu konstatieren, dass Lithopaedion nicht unbedingt als Musik im eigentlichen Sinne zu verstehen ist, sondern wohl vielmehr als Soundtrack zu einem sehr finsteren Film. Zu "You have no control" wird der auch mitgliefert. Tierexperimente und andere medizinische Versuche treffen auf afrikanische Rituale und Bilder von Impfkampagnen - alles in Schwarz-Weiß. Was der "Sinn" dahinter ist? Schwer zu sagen, wirklich angenehm ist es nicht.
Club Debil
|
|
|
Posted:
|
Aural Pressure
The subject of the death penalty in the UK raises its ugly head every few years
normally after the latest public outcry over some heinous crime committed by the scum of the earth. We had it once, a long time ago, until the wet eared liberals in government succumbed and had it removed as a form of punishment. Now we happily jail the scum for a couple of years before releasing them back into society to murder and rape again at will. Justice the British way. In the USA they have a different take on the subject. Theyve been shooting, hanging, gassing, poisoning and sending the scum to old sparky with a gusto to has to be admired. The fact that they also allow their scum easy access to guns with which to perpetrate the crimes hasnt quite sunk in yet. Gun lobby 1. Innocent bystanders 0. Way to go land of the free and trigger happy.
Order of Black Vision consists of members from Order of Melchizedek, Black Mayonnaise and Murderous Vision (easy to see how they came up with their name) and "Twenty Minutes Til Execution" is a 20+ minute single track release that is possibly one of the most intelligently thought provoking pieces of music Ive heard that covers all the bases regarding the execution of a criminal in America. Using the simple premise of dark experimental electronic ambience as a backdrop over which every side of the execution is covered by spoken worded samples taken from the victims family, executioner, press, priest and others involved in the act of taking that one persons life. The music has a suitable haunting black alien feel that never intrudes on the shudder invoking words as the realisation dawns that the death penalty affects so many different people who partake in the final act of retribution and justice. The listener becomes a voyeur with a front row seat as the perpetrator gets to meet his maker. The crowds outside singing hymns to God for a good job well done.
All of which raises the question of how valid is the death penalty in todays age? To some it reduces us to mere barbarians still living in the dark ages. To others its a means to an end. The ultimate deterrent to protect the populous. Although, with Death Row permanently filled with those awaiting execution in the USA, just how much of a deterrent it is becomes itself questionable. "Twenty Minutes Til Execution" is not only a recording of great depth but it actively encourages debate over the merits of this eye for an eye punishment. Consider it a companion piece, or the missing link, between "Buyers Market" by Peter Sotos, "Green Eyed Demon" by Vond and "Prisonblood (murder 1,2,3)" by I:Wound. An incredible release, conceptually and musically, that is, quite frankly, beautifully executed (excuse the pun) and absolutely spellbinding. Your views may change forever after hearing it.
ANM
Sothzine
American artist Darin Sullivan illustrates with Twenty minutes til execution a dark surreal vision, a fragment of life, a moment of crushing despair. Order of Black Vision ravels here threads of madness to form a canvas of darkness, an image of the condamned inner thoughts, bruized by mental noises. Occasionally, speeches ponctuate the slow evolution of the story, adding an enigmatic sense to its already strange ambience. As do some sounds that seem futuristic or out of context bringing a little confusion, strengthening the description of what could be the atmosphere before an execution or even after. Impressing dark ambient.
Industrial.org
Order of Black Vision is a three way collaboration between Murderous Vision, Black Mayonnaise, and Order of Melchizedek. For the most part I am not super familiar with these groups, so I can't say if the sound of "Twenty minutes 'til execution" is much different than the groups normal imput. I can say however that it is pretty fuckin cool.
"Twenty minutes 'til execution" is a 20 minute "3 disc that combines dark ambient with digital noise. The layout of the disc implies that the contents inside wil be strictly cold dark ambient, and it is rather cold, with the expected dark drones and sweeps, but the bubbly noisy sinewaves mixed with the constant samples about executed killer Sean Sellers make add an original edge that pushes it out of standard dark ambient terrirory. There isn't a lot else to say about the disc in that it more or less paints the same dark ominous landscape for it's entirety, but it's a damn effective landscape, and one that is perfect for the 3" medium. If you are even remotely interested in Dark Ambient music, pick this thing up if you still can.
Royce Icon
Blood Ties
Overall Rating: C-
Composition: C-
Sounds: D+
Production Quality: C
Concept: A
Packaging: C
Order of the Black Vision is a collaborative project with members Order of Melehizedek, Black Mayonnaise, and Murderous Vision. This is a quick, roughly 15 minute track with a very interesting concept: documenting and interpreting the feelings and happenings preceding an execution. I'm not sure where the source material was derived from, I would guess a documentary, but the subject matter is certainly very interesting. Despite it however, I wasn't really able to get into the sounds.
Immediately presented are some very thin sounding squirmy digital synth sounds that remind me of what kind of uninspired drivel might squirt out of a circuit bent casio. These sounds persist for the majority of the track and stay relatively constant. While they do change the production quality of them is so bad, it's sound thin and small, like I'm listening to them through a telephone. The persistence of this layer is enough to ruin the track.
While the other layers don't make matters any worse, they aren't effective in making up for the aforementioned sounds. Low howling drones that stay subdued, there are sometimes subtle melodies presenting themselves, but it's not enough to really get interested in.
The thought provoking samples are great, providing emotional insight and some details into what the actual event might be. The editing and integrating of the samples into the piece however feels like they were just slapped over it with a little bit of reverb to blend it into the background sounds. There isn't much editing, or effects applied to all and there is so much material presented in such a short amount of time it is hard to take it all in. I guess the most dissapointing thing about the way they are presented is that you don't learn much of what the artist's interpretations of the source material are, perhaps if certain phrases were repeated or one part was louder then another I would gain some insight into what Order of the Black Vision is attempting to bring to our minds with this release. It seems they may have just wanted to present us with this information because they is basically what they have done, but it's unfortunate this wasn't more because it could have been quite a profound journey if they had pulled it off.
xdementia
Kaos ex Machina
Order Of Black Vision powstał w wyniku współpracy muzyków bliżej mi nieznanych Murderous Vision, Black Mayonnaise oraz Order of Melchizedek. "Twenty Minutes Til Execution" jest ich pierwszym i jak dotąd jedynym wydawnictwem. Poświęcone ono zostało Sean'owi Sellers'owi - sataniście straconemu w 1999 roku za morderstwa popełnione jakoby za namową demonów.
Zawartość muzyczna została zamknięta w jednym, dwudziestominutowym utworze, mającym za zadanie zobrazować nam emocje towarzyszące egzekucji. Aby pomóc nam w odczuwaniu tej szczególnej atmosfery wykorzystano fragmenty rozmów i wypowiedzi dotyczących Sellers'a, zapożyczone zapewne z jakiegoś materiału dokumentalnego i to właśnie przede wszystkim one przykuwają uwagę słuchacza spychając pozostałe elementy muzyki na dalszy plan. Tło stanowią typowe dla dark ambientu drony i różne "ponure" odgłosy potęgujące nastrój osamotnienia, rezygnacji i poczucia nieuchronnego końca, odczucia jakie towarzyszą skazańcowi, przenosząc je w ten sposób pośrednio na słuchacza.
Sztukę tą można by uznać za udaną gdyby nie jeden szkopuł. Otóż w muzykę wpleciono dźwięki, które mi osobiście przywodzą na myśl raczej mroczną odyseję kosmiczną niż rozważania na temat życia i śmierci czy różnie pojmowanej sprawiedliwości i jedynie wspomniane wcześniej wypowiedzi przypominają nam o koncepcie jaki towarzyszy temu wydawnictwu. Nie uznaję tego za jakąś szczególną wadę jednak mimo wszystko odgłosy te rozbijają nieco spójność muzyczno - tematyczną.
Dla miłośników mrocznego ambientu propozycja Order Of Black Vision nie będzie niczym zaskakującym. Z kolei osobom nie obeznanym z tym rodzajem dźwięków mógłbym polecić "na start" wiele innych, odpowiedniejszych (czyt. ciekawszych) albumów. Pozostaje więc potraktować "Twenty Minutes Til Execution" jako ciekawostkę. Ciekawostkę, należy przyznać dość "słuchliwą".
Zortan
Heathen Harvest
Music, in whatever form, has always included elements of the political and social dimensions within it, whether its designed to encourage us either to think about a thorny issue or to dig deep into our pockets. Here Order of Black Vision (featuring members of Order of Melchizedek, Black Mayonnaise and Murderous Vision) invite us to ruminate on the emotionally-charged subject of the death penalty, its place in modern society and to evaluate our personal stances concerning it. In an age where crime is seemingly on the increase and the media bombards us with daily reports of death and destruction the issue has taken on an urgency in some quarters that seems at times out of all proportion to the reality that affects most of us.
OBV use sampled conversations from a selection of involved people such as victims relatives, an executioner, a priest, hymn singers on a vigil outside a prison and others set against a background of industrial machine noises it tells the story from everybodys side and leaves it up to us to decide where we stand. Confronting these voices and the stories they tell, however disembodied, can be disturbing enough; I felt though that the most ingenious aspect was the background machine storm accompanying the recorded conversations, strongly and perfectly describing an anonymous process of dealing out death in the name of a so-called impartial justice (perhaps based on the biblical injunction of an eye for an eye...). I felt there has always been a flavour of the industrial about the carrying out of the death penalty and that somehow the fact that the worlds most advanced, civilised and christian nation in the Western world (alone among them all) still indulged in passing the ultimate sentence seemed an awkward and distasteful anachronism. Plus, I always thought it odd that the executioner is always hooded and anonymous, even though the reasoning is entirely sound why they are thusly garbed. I guess you could say I have some reservations about the whole thing. Yet, I admit there are certain instances where I would gladly see someone fry, someone convicted of child abuse or child killing for example.
However I digress, I am here to review the music; and as I said, that industrial machine and factory complex background is the perfect foil for the various voices employed here. It gives us a taste of some vastly impersonal and unyielding mechanical construct specifically designed with only that one task in mind the dealing out of judicial death. The bright glint of finely honed steel; the acrid fumes of noxious gases, chemicals and other poisonous substances; the steadfastly unemotional mask of the executioner; the doctor checking to see whether the object of societys righteousness and wrath has indeed expired. It exudes a grim oil-stained atmosphere perpetually cloaked in obscuring darkness, the process itself kept behind a screening wall to save us the worrisome trouble of seeing something that runs counter to our very basic tenets of humanity and to shield us from bearing guilty consciences.
The phrase thought-provoking is often applied ad hoc to efforts such as this but I would venture that the epithet is well-earned by this twenty minute piece that disturbing cacophony and barrage of background sound, coupled with those voices of the closely involved, conspires to fire up our neurons and get our grey matter wrapped around the issue. Its not one thats going to go away anytime soon and I cant imagine that there are many who claim to hold to a neutral stance but even if you have this may just tip the balance.
S:M:J63
|
|
|
Posted:
|
Compulsion Online
Sullivan's sound constructions aren't too complex and while not formulaic there is naturally a crossover in sound between his different musical projects. Sullivan could really reap dividends by producing more varied material with more emphasis on editing, a fact borne out by the live performance CD, Beeinflussingsapparat Mass.
The topic of Death reappears on the opening track of Beeinflussingsapparat Mass, a live CD-R recorded live at The Church in Painesville, Ohio on July 9 2008. With heavily distorted vocals Sullivan kicks off with a sermon like introduction namechecking the title of ...As Death Gives Way To Victory... over recorded bagpipe music. It gives way to the blistering harsh electronic noise of 'The New Minority', with lashings of distorted vocals. "Stand and Fight" commands the recorded sample. The distorted vocals continue onto 'The Blood of the Lamb' over somber keyboard melody and wavering electronic drone before continuing with the reverberating electronics and cosmic effects of 'A Sickened Course', which comes close to the gliding electronics of 7 SE7EN 7. It gets progressively more rhythmic, with noise becoming somewhat rubbery, as Sullivan continues with a narrative around viruses. Respite comes with the 'The Magdline Whore', a brief moment of classically inspired sounds before returning to crushing and rumbling textures, and closing the varied set with the bagpipes performing 'Amazing Grace'.
Beeinflussingsapparat Mass is much more effective, bringing together the different facets of Sullivans output, with some power noise thrown in for good measure. Unless your interest has been piqued by the themes of Eye of God or ...As Death Gives Way... this is the one I'd go for, as it stands as a useful primer to the work of Darin M. Sulllivan.
Tony Dickie
|
|