Ulver-Love in audio form

ULVER – WARS OF THE ROSES (9)

Music is a process of exchange and investment. Devote time to music and receive back unending reward. Musical moments can be definitive, remaining in the mind to become an emotional narrative. Hearing music that makes your heart swell and the hairs on your neck bristle give music a physical validity. These are rare and intoxicating moments, which we all should seek, because when music hits, it stays for life and is a constant, ever there to evoke memory and bring visceral pleasure. So much is temporary, music is eternal. The ultimate subjective passion.

Wars Of The Roses is the latest step in Ulvers progression. Embracing all manner of recording techniques and mediums of sound creation, Ulver proffer an album which bursts above its contemporaries with daring bravado and intriguing vision. Quite simply everything is here, electronic soundscapes haunted by minor key guitar scales, orchestral timbre and an almost ‘musique concrete approach to rhythm. Opening track Febuary MMX borders on a folk feel with its guitar arrpegios and vocals which almost hide their melodic quality, but the more this track is listened to, the more ingrained the melody becomes. Knowing that the more you listen, the more it will give back is very comforting. Tracks ‘England’ and outro piece ‘Stone Angels’ summarising the eclectic mix of source material. The latter stands as one of the most interesting melting pots of sound manipulation you’ll hear this side of John Cage and its simply outstanding song craft. Ulver could so easily slip into pretension, but on Stone Angels they never overstate their abilities, a touch here, a touch there, it’s ultimately considered and a consummate end piece. Wars Of The Roses is so interesting, so beautiful, that come the end, and you’ll thank the gods for music being a constant, because this album will be played again and again.

Ulver are one of those bands which transcend the pathetic borders of genre, which is a tool for those who need categorisation and order. You cannot find anything tangible with Ulver to dissect how they do what they do. You simply have to allow it. Turn off your phone, turn off your inner monologue and see where Ulver take you.

United States Christmas

USX-THE VALLEY PATH (8.5)
Neurot Recordings

So we come to the allure of the concept album. Trepan the skull of any Johnny Two-Shoes musician and you’ll find it. Most musicians harbour lofty aspiration in conceptual music making, though most never make their hopes a reality and simply leave it to fester. Reneging on every self-promise till its very notion causes a self-deprecating shudder at your own ineptitude a concept album does not make. So it’s not oft you find a band that share their respective vision to make theirs a reality. U.S Christmas certainly have some conceptual vision, but a wild dash of temerity to usher in the titular song ‘The Valley Path` as a single track, clocking you out of your shift 38.53 minutes later…

All pretence aside though, USX have indulged their minds desire and in an act of unashamed benevolence, laid out a kingdom of riches for the humble traveller. Firstly, the dynamic here is judged impeccably, the album has an arduous atmosphere that’s as heavy as rogue plutonium, yet the occasional intermezzos carve out perilous crevasses in which to take refuge from the chaos. The contrast is wondrous, unembellished and frighteningly delicate. It’s this dynamic that strikes deepest, but every facet is strength here. The musical factions are so dauntingly heavy, that even when they’re not being demonstrably so, you’ll wish to take a hammer to your head in confusion. Consider the earnest tone of the vocals, the utter yearning in the words and you are yourself made anew…and therein lays the beauty of the concept album - the wresting of control from the listener.

Much is bandied about concerning the Neurisis sound, for better or worse. However, to listen to the naysayers would be to do yourself a disservice and place a barrier where one shouldn’t be, because an epic marvel such as The Valley Path may just pass you by.

Reviewed by Sam Thor Rhodes

Septic Flesh “A Proclamation of Esotericism: The Teachings Of The Great Mass”

Do we ever truly consider the grandiose? Who amongst you allows the mind to consider its position, relative to all about us, to all that affects us and by connection, all we in turn affect. Every action and reaction, cause and effect, however fleeting in our lives is perpetually affected by three things. Firstly would come the constants, the laws of physics, constants used as a yardstick to explore the most expansive of subjects. Secondly, that which is cyclic in nature. Tides rise and ebb, our planetary orbs rotate with a calming accuracy, immutable matter comes together to create something much greater than the sum of its parts-life, only to eventually destroy this greater part and return once again to these elemental building blocks and so repeat the process. In fact, it is claimed that every human has some atoms that were once Elvis’s, which is a troubling thought, but leads to the third and final parameter, which in consideration against the whole scope of the aforementioned, seemingly miniscule, but dependent on your viewpoint, possibly the most pertinent which is our rash, indifferent and seldom considered decisions.

This may all seem a little too much metaphysical furore and not very much music. But music is inherently elemental. Music is waves, vibrations, oscillations combined with endless possibilities. Only our constricted minds place boundaries on such things, because we do not consider the grandiose. A concert pitch note of A vibrates at 440Hz, that’s 440 times every second. Electricity to your house resonates at a mere 50 Hz. Step it up a notch and you reach the area of visible light and cosmic rays, which illuminate and penetrate your body every single moment millions of times a day, vibrating at millions of times a second, travelling at over 2.998.10 to the power of 8m/s. Start thinking about your place in the world, take into account everything about you and soon you realize you are nothing. Come to this, you can start to be something.

Septic Flesh, purveyors of the most extraordinary music approach, have been something for some time. A career stepping over twenty plus years, give or take a hiatus, have managed to consistently extract the beauty from chaos time and time again. The musical progression of the band seems all too natural, not a human one, but one drawn from nature. A slow, considered evolution, a truly revelatory journey. Travelling through their back catalogue is a must for fans of music from all corners, because you can chart this evolution so succinctly. They have something to say in the current culmination of their music ‘The Great Mass’ and it is grandiose in breadth. You don’t listen; you experience this, given to simply meditate on everything that affects you. Brutality churned with sweeping rushes of orchestral majesty, percussive diligence marred with string attack and all peppered with the musings of Septic Flesh. Intrigued beyond words and shocked at how they have managed to become even more epic, Soundshock is hell-bent on finding out more with that most Ancient Greek of methods, simple dialogue…it has to be known…”Just what is the inspiration for this work?”

Sotiris Anunnaki V: Esotericism was always the primary source of our inspiration. Eso in the Greek language has the meaning of “the inner things”. There is a dynamic and chaotic interaction of the inner worlds of all the members of SEPTICFLESH that produces this result. All of us contribute compositions and provide a point of view and something characteristic and essential. The result this time is grandiose in a dark and epic level. I think that the title of the album is very indicating


This statement is perfectly summary of what’s on offer with ‘The Great Mass.’ That mixture of spiritual meanderings and thoughts on our relevance. But this album didn’t just occur, the band have tweaked and crafted endlessly and on listening to this album and comparing it with Communion, the follow on is evidential of musical maturity, but the difference between them seems to be an evolutionary change rather than revolutionary change. We asked “Apart from the obvious touring cycle from Communion, It would seem that there aren’t any major differences for you as a band between the two albums? Is there a thematic follow on with The Great Mass?”

Christos Antoniou: I believe that is our best and most mature work. I know it sounds cliché but it has all the elements from all our albums. We worked months after months and our biggest “weapon” the orchestra its use is unconventional that gives a new breath in Symphonic Metal not only to album. Communion led the path for The Great Mass. We are in our best shape and moment and I am very optimistic regarding our future. On thematic structure the new album like communion deals with different subjects from sacred symbolism, hidden meanings, personal experiences of Sotiris who is responsible for all SEPTICFLESH lyrics.

A first time listener to Septic Flesh would be entranced by its dynamic, the blend between what would usually remain a tight knit death metal troupe, but flanked by what seems to be the most Wagnerian of orchestras and this dynamic is sublime. Each on their own would feel out of place, but together, they’re so complimentary it begs a question of whether either existed before the other. “A slightly more obvious question would be to enquire into the orchestral arrangements. So what is the process for sourcing the orchestra, it’s not something that happens too often?”

Christos Antoniou: I studied Classical Music in London. As I am familiar working with orchestras we don’t have to give our “themes” to orchestrators. This plays important role in the whole symphonic creation. We built the majority of our music on that and I know exactly how will sound, this solves many issues and we have unlimited options to experiment.
“How do you set about creating such a large sounding album, it has so many facets/parts to it that it appears to the listener be a daunting task. Is there a writing process you stick to each time?”

Sotiris Anunnaki V: Each member composes music and then we reach to a point that all of us decide about which ideas will form the foundation stone of an album. Then we focus on that direction through a long creational process. Various ideas are combined and a lot of experimentation takes place. When we feel that the songs are ready, then we enter studio for the recordings. So during the actual recordings we rather focus on the performance factor and are not trying to compose songs. It is necessary to be well prepared on the field of composition, as there are so many elements on our music. Especially the symphonic parts cannot be left for the last moment. Fortunately the driving force behind the symphonic parts is a member of the band (Christos Antoniou) and we don’t have to depend on someone else for the arrangements. And he has collaborated enough times with the Philharmonic orchestra and choir of Prague, to obtain the result we demand and within a logical period of time.

When taking into consideration the implementation of the orchestra into the album and the vision of Septic Flesh, the listener will in time come to consider just how does the relationship between the two camps work? You would be forgiven for thinking that the two have very little in common, but there are some that consider metal, or at the least certain elements of it to be a natural progression of classical music. Certainly the scale of Emperor strike at this and on a more precise scale, the perception of Metals musicality has much in common with classical music, striking bass, movements combined with narrative of the human condition. Yet it is Septic flesh who appear to have most taken to the association, employing the combination to colour their music in a musical form that is so starkly different and yet so richly complimentary. We asked them to elaborate on this. “The two seem so symbiotic, that neither was meant to be without the other. Do you get a chance to compose your parts with the orchestra at the same time, or does the two have to remain separate?”

Christos Antoniou: I composed the majority of the orchestral themes and then the other members added their parts on top of the orchestra. As you can see the orchestra is our main base and plays a vital role in our composition. It is the first time that we worked like that on Communion I have orchestrated and composed the orchestra after the metal part.
“Just how involved is the band as a whole with writing the orchestral parts? Do you bring in any particular conductors/have any particular requests from the musicians?”

Christos Antoniou: No we don’t need them at all, I write on scores with as much information as I can in order for the musicians to have a clear picture of what I want in our music. I will have also exchanged some emails before our recording sessions in Prague with the conductor to see if everything is fine. Obviously, it has to be clear otherwise we will lose so much time that might end ruin the session and the project. I am responsible for the orchestral arrangements, the other band members have to add their “metal” colour and then as a team we will decide what is best for the band.

“Is there any particular tech items or instrumentation that you feel is integral to the band’s sound?”
Christos Antoniou: I would say the full Orchestra and Choir; I can’t say any specific instrument or family. It is so unique and rich, the sound of an orchestra, that everything next to it would have a disadvantage. Of course some ethnic instruments that we used for the Oceans of Grey and The Vampire from Nazareth although added, I can’t say that they are irreplaceable.

It’s at this point that some people will be led to ask the question and it begs to be asked, with the orchestration being so important to Septic Flesh, how is the sound of an orchestra a hundred strong taken on the road? Whilst it is not impossible, MONO, the troubadours of delicate post-rock from Japan now gearing up for an important performance with a full orchestration at the Koko in London soon, will Septic Flesh be able to perform a similar venture. It doesn’t take much thought to imagine the logistics would make this an impossibility. “How do you intend to implement the full sound of the albums live? Are there plans to do a performance of The Great Mass with full orchestration, or any chance of perhaps getting a smaller outfit to take out on the road?”

Christos Antoniou: It is impossible to have an Orchestra on stage for obvious reasons. Firstly it will cost a fortune and secondly are too many musicians involved for this sound. There is an offer to perform with an orchestra on stage in Athens but this will be for special occasion and will need a lot of effort from all of us. On our shows we will have the orchestra via laptop, is the best we can do as if we had to hire a keyboard player the result would be very poor.

It’s at this point that something has to be expressed, something which some will find contradictory to their preciously held beliefs, that electronic music, music composed through digital means holds no merit. Whilst this is no time to elaborate on the discipline and patience required to become proficient when composing through digital means, to be proficient in the organic process and yet be able to transfer this ability to extoll your vision through manipulating methods of sample and synthesis, is something involving true mastery of the musical arts. Some people would call using a laptop for orchestration ‘cheating’…or merely a sideline gimmick, there merely to have continuity from album to show. These people are purely, purely ignorant. The line between musical forms is ever blurring and to turn away from this is to deny the full world of music. With this said, an obvious follow on is to the production and technical side of Septic Flesh to explore…
“Are there any engineers or producers you particularly wish to work with in the future?”
Sotiris Anunnaki V: So far, we have managed to work with two of the most talented producers in the business, Fredric Nordstrom and now Peter Tagtgren. As the result of The Great Mass is still fresh on my mind and I am extremely pleased from the production Peter created, I cannot think about working with another producer for the near future.
“Who in your mind would you say is firmly pushing the boundaries of music at this time? Are there artists that you admire/would like to tour with?”
Sotiris Anunnaki V: Some bands that have made quite an impression to me for the fact that they are pushing the limits of extreme music are Opeth, Dodheimsgard, Mastodon, Deathspell Omega. Considering a tour, there are so many old and new bands that we admire and we didn’t have the chance to play together. Morbid Angel is one of the names that come in my mind, as they were always among my favorite Death Metal bands and they will release soon a new album.
“What could you say is the ethos of Septic flesh? What would you like to see the band achieve?”
Sotiris Anunnaki V: Our aim is to make music that will stand the trial of time. A unique place, for the mental and emotional forces, a “place” for the restless souls. Also it is more important to us to belong among the pioneers of extreme music, than to be among the top selling bands of today and then disappear.
“Thank you, for taking the time to answer these questions.”
Christos Antoniou: We thank you for the interview and your support.

Hopefully from this feature, you might take a chance and investigate Septic Flesh, hopefully, you may consider your life in more depth, perhaps something beyond your own life and look out and consider the grandiose, the epic, because it’s there and there for everyone to partake in. Find your white whale and don’t stop until you have it. Life is full of moments that bring such abhorrent terror, but interest, majesty and perfect beauty lie all around. Septic Flesh with ‘The Great Mass’ provide a way of discovering this insight into that which is chaotic and beautiful. We at Soundshock sincerely wish them all the best and look on to that performance in Athens with the full orchestra with furious envy.

The Great Mass is out now on Season Of Mist.
Interview written and conducted by Sam Rhodes for Soundshock.com.

My favourites, the two I love to make noise, tis Anaal Nathrakh

ANAAL NATHRAKH-PASSION (9)
Candlelight Records

There’s a wry sense of contentment that enters the mind when it’s known Anaal Nathrakh are releasing a new album. Their music stands as an allegory to the rise of the Industrial Age, born in the Ironbridge Gorge mere miles from where this terror-struck duo had their formative years. To this day, that industrial legacy has left a strong and sometime bitter impression upon the landscape and its inhabitants. Midlanders are often harangued by the rest of the country for their linguistic tone and inexcusably ignored in their contribution to cultural history, which cannot ever be justified, but leaves little wonder as to how the area gave birth to Metal and its bastardised progeny Anaal Nathrakh, back with new release ‘Passion.’

Close your eyes and relish the terror-vomit polluting your ears. As the introductory moments of ‘Volenti Non Fit Iniuria` impress on you, erupting into V.I.T.R.I.O.L’s abominable hatespeak, watch for the perceptible shuffle as you realise you’re feeling a little sick in your own skin. Merely two songs later track ‘Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria` will deliver you into your very own, richly deserved bath of brimstone. The incredible production talent of Kenney ever furthers the illustrative sonic nature of Anaal Nathrakh, here outlying his intent to guarantee they are, in perpetua, the most horrifyingly heavy prospects of sound in musical history. Their incremental aesthetic and structural changes take them ever further from their purist Black Metal roots of ‘Codex Necro’ towards their unknowable aim. Critique based upon past works is anathema, but there exists no yardstick to judge A.N with but themselves, so on that, this exists as their most balanced work…albeit a balance of pure, unadulterated hatefuck. It could just be that ‘Passion’, an aural cacophony of bile soaked spite is truly the elixir of heavy. It surely has intent to destroy you. The sky burns, the sky has indeed been set aflame.

Reviewed by Sam Thor Rhodes

Belong: Shimmering beauty in a cup, goes with the photo I took I guess

Belong-Common Era (8)

Belong, an eclectic duo of sound abusers comprised of Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones, have been creating soundscapes for a steady eight years now, producing high fidelity experiences with abstract sound and experimental concepts in sound design, winning them plaudits and devotees alike. In a nod to the absolute majesty of the artist Christian Fennez, Belong source sounds from a six string, whilst bolstering their palette with real world samples, all manipulated with their mastery of the digital sound design process.

Common Era is the first offering for five years from Belong, which for any person whose preferred bands aren’t entirely prolific in their output, this can be frustrating. This considered however, it tends to be this refusal to pepper the annals of music with continual albums can often be a band that doesn’t provide quality. It’s not always the case, just often the case. In this situation though, the wait has been painful, but the payoff so much sweeter. Absence really makes the heart grow fonder

Here is an album dripping in sound. The haunting vocal lines, slightly flattened and residing in a minor key are a welcome addition into a musical subset that usually rejects or buries vocals to the back and bottom of the mix, but here they’re given due position. There is a common held fallacy that digital music isn’t real, that the artists don’t actually play anything. It’s an immature notion espoused by those with a tenuous grip on what constitutes aptitude for music. Belong possess a mastery of a guitar envied by all that ‘know’ what they are doing and push the boundaries of just what can be wrought from the instrument.

For those looking to spread their wings a little, Common Era will not change your world, but it’ll go a long way in educating it.

Across Tundras

ACROSS TUNDRAS-SAGE (8.5)
NEUROT RECORDINGS

Well this is a many headed beast. Ancient Greeks called it the Hydra, a mythical creature that sprung two new heads for every one severed, impossible to destroy, until Hercules put paid to its immortality. Today though, our Hydra is Across Tundras and welcome are their many elements. In lieu of venomous heads we have thoughtful minds melded, all creating mindful songs, each harbouring veritable qualities expounding on a modern mythology.

Sage opens with ‘In Name Of River Grand` and it strikes a delectable balance. Part American Folk fighting with arpeggios reminiscent of a mid-tempo Mastodon, it’s a sound that brings the listener face to face with the raw beauty of the Old West. Drawing upon the well of America’s frontier folklore, to find the musical and lyrical facets to accompany their vision is an accomplished talent. Sage is nine months pregnant with psychedelic groove, fattened on the violence of Indian war drums and has grown to be damn heavy, but in a perceived emotional sense, rather than an obvious, visceral manner and as a unit, they never overbear with technicality to steal your attention. It’s this understated power that gives Sage an innate ability to inundate the imagination. So much so that album closer ‘Shunka Sapa, ` an instrumental piece, has an unmistakeable intent, even without the lyrics as a guide. In this case, it’s not what they say; it’s what they don’t say that does the trick.

Psychedelic music is very much in vogue right now and this is a wholly unique album in a well-trodden area. Eschewing the usual “swamp sound” associated with the aforementioned style, they have created an expansive album. It propels your mind to thoughts of dry arid deserts, flanked by stark, oppressive mountains and put simply; it’s the ultimate in panoramic vistas. Across Tundras…very apt, very apt indeed.

Reviewed by Sam Thor Rhodes