Today, I share with you the absolutely stunning piece of music "Summoning of the Muse" by Dead Can Dance. This piece of music leaves me absolutely lost for words to describe the power, beauty and melancholy of the atmosphere it creates. This is such an intense Spiritual experience; music of such Divine power that it is hard to believe it had been created by humans. A piece of music both wondrous and devotional. This is truly the music of the Angels.
Here is a video I found on YouTube where the music has been set to the artwork of Gustav Dore.
I also include the cover version by French Gothic Classical group Dark Sanctuary:
What else can I say?.....this is music which speaks for itself. "The Summoning of the Muse".
Greetings. My apologies for my absence these past few days. This has been caused by having to "job-hunt" due to an imminent redundancy/lay-off. I work for a major travel company (very well-known beginning with "E") who have decided to sell all our jobs out to a cheapo call centre in India. So if you were considering booking with said Globally renowned travel company - please bear in mind what they do to people's jobs, all in the name of a quick buck/pound/Euro. Anyway.my rant over for the day let us return to the world of all things Gothic.
Today, I shall share with you the song "My Lost Lenore" by Norwegian Gothic legends, Tristania. The song has a very Poe-like lyrical quality (as you would expect from the title n'est ce pas?). The song is underpinned by a sweeping piano riff which has this habit of getting inside your head and not shifting. It has a wonderfully neo-Victorian feel to it. There is then an interplay between the soprano vocals of Vibeke Stene and the growl vocals of Morten Veland. The vocals here are very high quality and avoid the extremes of other such genre bands. The interplay between the ethereal and the Earthly is great and creates a nicely Gothic tone. The song is taken from the album "Widow's Weeds" which was Tristania's first major album release way back in 1998 and was a pivotal and highly influential album on the Gothic Metal scene as it stands today with its combination of orchestral, choral and ethereal elements overlaid on top of doom-metal and black-metal elements. The song with it's lyrical content of a mourning and death and love beyond the grave will certainly remind of you of Poe's poem "Lenore" and also his short story "The Tomb of Ligeia"....and to my mind, also Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights".
I leave you with the video I found on YouTube
Until next time, may the wind howl through your bare trees and a fog linger over the tombs of old that exist in the clearing in the depths of a dark and barren wood; may the full moon shine her silvery, beautiful light on your footsteps....and a raven's raucous caw be the melancholic melody that haunts your ears. As always, thank you for reading,
Well to continue the mini Sea theme that has been developing here of late (see the reviews for "The Lovers" by Forever Slave and "The Siren" by Nightwish), today's featured song is "Aquarius" by Within Temptation. Aquarius the water bearer. This song manages to combine the mystery and majesty of the sea itself. Gentle orchestral lines open this song which is soon complimented by a suitably ethereal vocal intro by the band's singer Sharon den Adel and joined by the full orchestra and the rest of the band. The lyrics are the story of a woman who is hypnotised by the wild, untamed power of the Sea itself....and the Aquarian Spirit which the Sea embodies. The Sea holds a hypnotic and seductive power over the song's protagonist.....who is aware that the power of the Sea and its ruling Spirit could overwhelm as easily as it could embrace. The song switches back and forth between power and gentleness with a constant dangerous but not menacing or sinister tone. The music and lyrics go together superbly and I cannot recommend this song highly enough to those who like their Gothic metal with a very orchestral edge.
Here is a video with lyrics I found on YouTube. The song is from the album "The Silent Force" - album which contains many fine songs and remains in the eyes of many fans the pinnacle of the band's work to date.
"You the Sea, set me free".....indeed.....I've a feeling the nautical theme shall be around for a day or two yet.....apologies for my indulgence here. Ah "The Demeter" approaches Whitby......
The Sea........can you hear the waves? But beware the song distant at first.....calling you down into the deep.....a song of such ecstasy that none can resist.
Forgive my vivid ramblings there but today's song combines two things of GREAT interest to me - the Sea and Greek mythology. The song "The Siren" by Nightwish is based on the incident in Homer's the Odyssey when Odysseus must pass the Sirens, demi-Goddesses of the deep whose song lures ships to their doom. This is without doubt one of my favourite songs by Nightwish. It is from their album "Once", when they were at their peak. The song contains not only the pseuod-operatic vocals of Tarja Turunen, but also the male vocals of bassist Marco Hietala (he of the Viking warrior appearance!) as the voice of Odysseus.
The song is underpinned by a decidedly Greek influence combined guitar and violin riff, over which are laid the aforementioned vocalisings. For me, however, the best part begins at approximately 01:55 into the song when the Eastern Mediteranean tinged violin solo commences leading into some ethereal, Siren-esque (unsurprisingly enough) choral-ising. If this doesn't fill your nostrils with the salty smell of the sea and make you wish you were at the wheel of an ancient trireme then you're a lily-livered land-lubber.
Here's a video I found on YouTube:
Until next time....you can take the wax bungs out of your ears now...and for the love of Poseidon will someone untie me from this damn wheel!!
10 years ago a most terrible tragedy occurred - caused by the sort of true evil that can only exist and be born through the hearts of dark, twisted, murderous fanatics. A day of sorrow and unnecessary death of innocents which has served only to bring more war and death to humanity.
We shall not forget. Let peace be brought forth to all in this world who are innocent. May those whose hearts are full of death, murder and fanatical dark evil be stopped.
You who died shall not have died in vain - may the horror of that day remind us all of what needs to be done - that the evil that exists in the dark heart of Man must be destroyed and peace and understanding born from its ashes.
The music clip is a YouTube video I found for the song "Host of Seraphim" by Dead Can Dance. I have included two versions, the one above and the one below:
Only when we embrace peace and destroy those whose souls are full of darkness and war can we avoid further days like the one of 10 years ago, and eradicate the inequality seen in the second video above.
Today's post is simply a song dedication to my beautiful, lovely Wifey-Cat. The lyrics speak greatly......of lives lived and reunions to be made....and of the sea which now lies between us......
The song is "The Lovers" by Spanish Gothic Metallers, Forever Slave.
Today's song review is a song about a subject that is, shall we say, a little bit....special. The song is by the band Therion. The title is "Melek Taus". The song's subject matter is (bizarrely enough) Melek Taus - the great Peacock Angel.
The song is underpinned by Therion's trademark symphonic gothic sound with an underlying Middle Eastern theme, highly suited to the song's subject matter. Melek Taus is the central figure of the Yazidi faith. Melek Taus is an angel of the Most High who chose to fall to the Earthly realm to protect and guide humanity. It is he who created the Cosmos from the "Cosmic Egg" of lore. It is said that the tears he wept would one day quench the metaphorical fires of the Hellish plain of thought. Only when all others had ascended to a higher plain of existence would he himself then leave and ascend back to his Higher realm. For those of you who are 'initiated' into certain levels of knowledge you will recognise his story as being reminiscent of other such divine figures in other faiths, spiritualities and mythic cycles. This song's lyrics pay homage to this mighty, wondrous, Angelic being.
"Fly, Great Bird Taus - Fly to the sunrise
Your feathers and the crown, the symbols of your strength
Taus, your follower's dance
The offspring of Azrael - Accused as apostates
But they're blessed by Mele al Kawat, ask whose guest shall the Sanjak be?
Melek Taus
Sheik Adi, Yezi - Say Hol hola!
The Peacock Lord is here, the Serpent King will rise
Seven angels, seven Sheikhs - Waiting on Mount Lalesh
Until the day they hear you pronounce: "As behre Azide Sarum!"
Hear the Peacock Lord declare: "Don't say my secret name!
I was, am now and shall have no end...you will know me as Melek Taus"
Melek Taus"
I found this video on YouTube with some nice imagery.
I hope you enjoyed that....and hope that you are intrigued enough by the great Peacock Angel to investigate further...and to see if you can recognise recurring motiffs. Until next time my dear readers.....
Today's song review is from Portuguese Gothic Metal act Moonspell. The song is "Luna" - ahh the beautiful Moon, where we would be without her influence? Moonspell often have a somewhat esoteric/occult edge to their lyrics....though of mixed basis - sometimes Light, sometimes Dark...but then Dark does not always necessarily mean evil as the hoi-poloi would perhaps see it - eg "I am Dark and comely" (go look it up if you don't know the quote!!). I like this song precisely because it is about the Moon and so consequently reminds me of all the powerful Lunar Gods and Goddesses of antiquity, Isis, the mighty Thoth, Diana, Artemis...to name but a few of course.
So on with the song review. The song starts with a gentle jangly guitar riff and some soft baritone male vocals - almost like being caught in the soft silvery light of the moon itself. This contrasts with the heavier guitars, choral interludes and ethereal female vocals of the chorus. OK....imagine what would have happened if the late, great Pete Steele of Type O Negative had laid down some seriously esoteric jams with Lacuna Coil....there you go.....now you get the picture. This is one of those songs that is damn good....and is almost great....I can't quite put my finger on what is lacking to my humble tastes....I think to capture the Lunar mood I would have liked a little more etheriality....but...they're close to making a great song.
Well....without further ado here's the video I found on YouTube. It's a strange little cartoon video but with some interesting occult references for those with ears to hear and eyes to see (heh heh, notice the little goth character's lunar ascent at the end before they merge with the Moon's Light - interesting pose she adopts huh? Note the barren land which flowers anew when the sword is drawn from the stone - allbeit a very Gothic landscape, a very Gothic stone {a tomb stone naturally} and a sword that looks almost like a kris knife):
Greetings. First up, my apologies for my absence for the past few days - this was due to a medical emergency for my beloved Wife. She is now out of hospital and back home. I humbly ask if you could offer her your prayers and well-wishes to whatever form that the Great Ineffable Divine One takes which you offer your respect and devotions to.
Today I shall offer my views and opinions on the movie "Prophecy Uprising". This is the fourth instalment in the series - though it is a sort of reboot of the series and does not follow on directly from the first three movies. The movie is set in Romania and has a somewhat bleaker and darker tone to the first three movies which were excellent vehicles for Christopher Walken as the archangel Gabriel. In the future I intend to revisit these three movies and review them also. However, on with this review.....
The movie opens with a street drug-dealer called Serban being pursued by an unseen assailant. At one point he halts and looks down into a rain puddle, a faint shadow of something flying above is reflected in the water. He is eventually caught by a cop, Dani Simionescu (played by Sean Pertwee). Dani is an embittered and troubled man. He takes the dealer's ill-gotten money and later leaves it in the collection box at a local church. Returning to his car he find a young man in a long black coat leaning casually against the vehicle. The young man introduces himself in very clipped English tones as John Riegert (played by the aptly named John Light - for those who have ears to hear), an Interpol agent, who has been assigned to investigate a number of murders in which the hearts of the victims are being torn out. The pair get off to a strained relationship.
Back at the church we are introduced to the young heroine of this movie and its sequel, Alison (played by Kari Wuhrer) - who discovers and becomes the guardian of a sacred book called the Lexicon - a book which continues to write itself and will be the final revelation of God - revealing the very name of who shall be the Anti-Christ. Her angelic spirit guide Simon guides her in protecting both the book and herself. She is Dani's estranged sister.
So who, you may ask, is the antagonist? Well that would be Belial a body-jumping dark angel who seeks to obtain the book so he can create a new Hell. The bodies he abandons are the reason for the heart's being torn out. His final form being acted by Doug Bradley of Hellraiser fame.
John seems a strange and mysterious character. Dani goes online to find out about heart's being torn from corpses and at an Internet chat room discusses the situation with "Joseph_1995" (a reference to Joseph the coroner from the original trilogy). He is told that this is to prevent the corpses being possessed by entities.....angels....and that "all angels are terrifying". He is startled when John appears from nowhere behind him and asks for a ride somewhere. Eventually he takes Dani out to an abandoned and decaying mansion which was once a haunt of Romania's infamous Securitate. He uses the building itself and the very energies and ghost that exist there to force Dani to face his personal demons - that as a child he betrayed his parents to torture and death at the hands of the Securitate - his baby sister being spirited away to safety by a nurse. Dani is left extremely shaken and we are left in no doubt that there is much MUCH more to John than meets the eye.....yes he is an angel.....a particularly (in)famous one shall we say....and announces that right now he is "the lesser of two evils".
After a confrontation with Belial at the police station we are set for the final showdown with Alison, Dani and John, and Belial all headed to the abandoned Securitate mansion.
The journey of John and Dani to the mansion has two of my favourite scenes. In the first their car turns down a side street only to be blocked by a crowd of people. The following dialogue occurs:
John: "Just shove them out of the way"
Dani: "They're human beings John, not sheep"
John: "If you insist on splitting hairs"
Dani: "I do actually" The car edges past the crowd.
John (in a most deadpan tone): "That one looks like a sheep"
The second is when Dani asks if he will ever see John in his "true form". John assures him that eventually he will. Dani asks if that's a promise. John assures him that it is. Now then....bear in mind Dani's past and his somewhat corrupt practices as a cop (beating suspects etc).....so who could John be? OK.....SPOILER ALERT.....
John is Satan!! The weirdest odd-couple buddy cop combination ever huh? A Romanian cop with a shady past and Satan. The dialogue between these two throughout the movie is priceless.....Pertwee and Light's performances are priceless.
So on to the final showdown. We learn that Alison was chosen specifically by the angel Simon to be the guardian of the Lexicon....the fate of the Cosmos lies squarely on her shoulders....this young man haunted by her past, because as John points out "broken people make the best pawns".
First Alison arrives at the mansion...and is confronted by the dark energies in the place. John and Dani arrive.....swiftly followed by Belial. Belial and John/Satan engage in some verbal sparring. Belial expresses how he is fed up that the Universe has become nothing but "endless shades of grey" and yearns for the old days when there "were saints and true demons". He demands the Lexicon. John/Satan says he wants Alison to keep it as the book repulses him. Belial chastises his former master for "going for the draw". John retaliates that there is "always tomorrow". John offers Alison his protection but points out that this can only apply whilst she remains in the mansion which as he points out is "Because this house, forgive the overused metaphor is Hell on Earth. It was ceded to me by virtue of the deeds committed here which makes it my domain. My house. My rules". Dani, who has been quietly observing proceedings now steps up and confronts Belial. He has emptied the magazine on his pistol of all but two bullets - one to kill the human vessel Belial currently occupies and the other to shoot himself when Belial possesses him (Alison of course now being under John's protection). John smiles wryly at this Mexican stand-off. Belial tries to rush Dani - BANG. Belial's human form crumples with a bullet in the head. Belial's spirit is not seen but we hear the fluttering of wings. Eventually Dani lets down his guard and Belial rushes in to him causing Dani to drop the gun. Dani is now possessed by Belial. Alison is forced to shoot him. Belial's spirit, with no-where left to go rushes headlong into John. John steps outside.
Alison eventually exists to a new morning. The sun has just risen. She sees John stood with his back towards her and approaches him. Arriving next to him we see that his eyes are now entirely black. He explains that Belial is now where he belongs, back with him. He explains Belial's motives and that there are some amongst the angels who fear what humanity may one day become and despise them for it. She asks him if he despises her. He says nothing, simply tenderly puts his hand on her face and in so doing gives her a flash-forward of what she will face. She is extremely shaken by this. John quietly walks off and then explodes into a flock of ravens...ahhhh, wonderfully Gothic n'est ce pas?...thus ends part 1 of the story.
This film is excellent and I much prefer it to the original trilogy, which were also classics, but somehow this one feels better. The storyline is stronger and grittier and sets up the next movie very well. In the sequel, Prophecy Forsaken, we concentrate much more on Alison and her role as the Guardian of the Lexicon. The acting in this movie is great and John Light is superb as john/Satan. Sean Pertwee is, as always, excellent. As I have stated the interaction between these two is worth watching the movie for on its own. The Bucharest setting of crumbling Communist era concrete blocks, ancient Orthodox churches and the decayed Baroque splendour of the old mansion add an excellent bleak Gothic back drop which suits the story of Angelic wars brought to Earth so well.
If you have not yet seen this movie than I strongly recommend you give it a try. This is an overlooked and underrated classic. Too many people dismiss it out of hand because of the absence of Walken and the lower budget.....but trust me.....this movie is a gem.
Here is an expanded clip of part of John and Belial's confrontation:
I found this on YouTube which shows John explode into the flock of ravens....and includes the very nice end credit music....which has a nice, Gothic, Within Temptation/Evanescence feel to it.
