Raw Jazz-Rock Fuse from Bristol, England-born bandleader Clive Stevens. Recorded in New York City on February 5th, 1972, with reputedly no rehearsals (three months before the demise and official breakup of John McLaughlin's first incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra), why it took over two years for this album to be released is a mystery I'd like to know more about. Seeing this lineup of all-stars, I found myself especially curious--and excited--to hear this.

A1. "Earth Spirit" (5:30) opening with Rick Laird's bass right up front and center, then Billy Cobham's hi-hat, and Ralph Towner's dirty Fender Rhodes before Clive Stevens' soprano sax and the two guitarists join in, taking turns with Clive soloing over the top. Nice R&B-based groove, nice jam, nice melodies, not as nice sound engineering as on the band's next album. (9/10)

A2. "Nova '72" (5:52) the Mahavishnu rhythm section make themselves known right from the opening notes of this one, a fine piece of jazz-rock fusion that seems to suggest that the funk-rock direction might have been the direction half of the MO had wanted to travel when they were falling apart. Billy's drumming is rock solid while Rick Laird's bass play is fluid and attention-grabbing--as is the great Fender Rhodes play of Ralph Towner. Clive is the leader and his tenor sax is awesome though I am not much of a fan of the sax (except in big band horn section lineups); still, Clive's play is more enjoyable than 90% of the other sax players/solos I've heard. I find myself glad for guitarist Steve Khan and John Abercrombie's assignations to background positions. (9.25/10)

A3. "Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow" (6:40) a cool, danceable, almost-Earth, Wind & Fire rhythm track is established with Billy Cobham once again performing in his most commanding, rock channel with Rick Laird holding down the funk while Ralph Towner and the two guitarists literally flail away at their instruments beneath Clive's soprano sax solo. This one is interesting! How Billy and Rick can hold it together while Fender Rhodes and two electric guitars are livin' their best lives above! But somehow the craziness works! It blends, it fuses, it flows! Weird! (9.33333/10)

B1. "Astral Dreams" (9:21) another R&B track is established straight out of the gate while odd percussion instruments are employed with more restrained and conformed rhythm play from Towner, Khan, and Abercrombie. Nice melodies instituted by Clive on a treated soprano sax--solid enough to allow him to wander off every switch in motif into some pretty cool solos before coming back to the main melody. At 3:00 the band moves into a kind of dreamy bridge that allows them to reset before picking right up where they left off. A very melodic, almost STEELY DAN-like jam that really works for me. At 4:55 Steve Khan gets his first turn at an isolated solo--and it's decent (with special thanks going out to Billy Cobham for his awesomely dynamic support)! Rick Laird is just killing it: holding his own melody-production seminar despite all that's going on around him. Ralph is next on his Fender Rhodes before giving it up to Clive again-- with Billy again flailing wildly in the bridges. (Wish his drums were recorded better--and mixed more integrally into the overall mix.) (18.5/20)

B2. "All Day Next Week" (6:50) opening as a sophisticated multi-themed jazz pop piece, the song shifts into smooth jazz-rock at 1:15 for a different motif before coming back to the more sophisticated jazz-pop at the end of the second minute. The laying back for soloing begins thereafter with Fender Rhodes, electric guitars (Steve and John each getting a turn) before Clive gets his say. Again, the play of Rick Laird over Billy's rock-solid drumming is so important! so necessary to the freedom offered to each of the other instrumentalists. The song never really presents us with anything extraordinary (other than Rick Laird's amazing and melodic bass play), but it's still great. (13.75/15)

B3. "The Parameters of Saturn" (5:47) an experimental foray into the crazy world of free-jazz with each and every instrumentalist going off in their own directions, some quite melodically (like the anchoring effect of Clive's calming sax), some more freely without regard for melody or matching rhythms with the others. Interesting and, because of Clive's calming presence in the eye of the hurricane, surprisingly listenable! (8.875/10)

I must say that, despite poor sound representation of Billy Cobham's drums, he and fellow Mahavishnu Orchestra alum Rick Laird put on a clinic on how important the rhythm section is to the confidence and comfort of a band's individuals and whole. It is told that this was Billy and Rick's only studio session outside of John McLaughlin's torrid and demanding schedule during the entire run of the MO. Also, it's too bad that percussionist Harry Wilkinson (Larry Coryell)'s work is mixed so deeply into the soundscapes cuz we all know he can be a force.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of peak Jazz-Rock Fusion This is an album (and group)--like its successor--that deserves more attention with regards to its place in the history of the formation and evolution of Jazz-Rock Fusion.

Ask any fan of Emerson, Lake & Palmer what was the worst album they released in the Seventies and the answer will be the contractual obligation, 'Love Beach'. Not long after, Palmer formed his own band, PM, and even though there was no official announcement it was obvious ELP was over. Given their huge success, it is no surprise that in 1984 talks were held about reforming, but by then Palmer was in the hugely successful Asia and did not want to be involved. After auditioning a series of drummers, Emerson asked his old friend Cozy Powell if he wanted to be involved, which by happenstance also allowed the band to retain the ELP abbreviation. Their sole album was released in 1986, going Top 40 in both America and the UK, but after a disastrous tour, during which they fired their management, they split up. Palmer would come back to the fold and with Keith Emerson would form the new band 3 with Robert Berry, who would also last for just one album, before the classic line-up came back together in 1990.

I have always felt the two trio releases involving Emerson in the Eighties are somewhat overlooked by fans of ELP, yet they are both excellent, as this new 3-CD boxed set displays so well. What we have here is the album (with three bonus tracks), their live album, 'Live In Concert' and a CD of rehearsals, 'The Sprocket Sessions'. All material included in the box set has been re-mastered by renowned engineer Andy Pearce which also includes an enhanced booklet with sleeve notes written by Prog Magazine editor, Jerry Ewing.

I fully remember this being released and picked up the pre-recorded cassette (those were the days) as soon as I could. I did not know what to expect but was fully aware of Powell's work with Rainbow and Whitesnake, and even remembered him performing "Dance With The Devil" on TOTP. I certainly did not expect an album which commenced with classic ELP sounds and styles with "The Score", and when Lake got to the chorus and sang "It's been so long you're welcome back my friends, To the show that never ends" I was ecstatic. It didn't matter we had a different "P", the band were back and playing classic music, linking back to "Karn Evil 9" for their fans. The music had shifted in that it was more commercial, especially "Touch and Go", yet not so overtly as Asia, somehow bridging the Seventies and Eighties. Emerson was also convinced by Powell to undertake a recording of "Mars, The Bringer of War" which is one of the standout tracks, albeit the style being somewhat different from other classical covers the band did in the past.

Years after this was originally released I went to see the wonderfully bawdy musical 'Sinderella' featuring Jim Davidson, and I was somewhat surprised to hear some of these songs played during the performance (Davidson and Emerson were friends, hence the use of "Karn Evil 9" for 'The Generation Game'), yet I was also pleased as I felt this album was overlooked by many. The rehearsals and live recording add to the overall story in that we hear Cozy performing on some classic numbers (his style is very different indeed to Palmer), and overall this set brings back to life an album from a band who deserved to be around for much longer than the short time they were.

"Digital Noise Alliance" is the sixteenth full-length studio album by US power/heavy metal act Queensrÿche. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2022. It´s the successor to "The Verdict" from March 2019 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Parker Lundgren has been replaced by Mike Stone (who previously played with Queensrÿche in the 2003-2009 period), and drummer Casey Grillo has been added as a permanent member after Scott Rockenfield didn´t return (he didn´t play on "The Verdict" either, where the drums were recorded by lead vocalist Todd La Torre, who also happens to be a capable drummer). Rockenfield took a longer paternity leave, but his status with the band was uncertain for quite a few years, before lawsuits between him and the other two remaining founding members Michael Wilton (guitars) and Eddie Jackson (bass) put an end to his time in Queensrÿche.

"Digital Noise Alliance" is the fourth La Torre fronted Queensrÿche studio album after he replaced Geoff Tate in 2012, and it further cements the musical direction which Queensrÿche returned to after they fired Tate. The last couple of Tate-fronted Queensrÿche studio albums weren´t well received and many fans felt that the band were going through the motions...and in retrospect that´s probably exactly what was happening, and change was needed and ultimately happened. The 2013 eponymously titled "Queensrÿche" album introduced a more power/heavy metal oriented style, where it was obvious that the band were searching for a sound closer to their late 80s/early 90s heyday, and with the new energy and strong vocals of La Torre they arguably succeeded in giving the fans what they had been craving for a number of years. Melodic and catchy power/heavy metal with an occasional commercial edge, but still not mainstream in a pop/rock fashion.

Since then they´ve continued down that same path and with a couple of more good quality studio albums under their belt with La Torre fronting them, it´s no surprise that "Digital Noise Alliance" is more of the same high quality melodic power/heavy metal which Queensrÿche have been exponents for in the last decade. La Torre is still an expressive and skilled singer with a voice which sounds like a combination of Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson (which are definitely not the worst singers to be compared to), and the band are as well playing as ever (lineup changes or not). This is sharp, melodic, catchy, hard rocking, and clear sounding power/heavy metal, which is packed in a detailed and polished sounding production, which suits the material well.

It´s maybe a bit too nice sometimes and I´d love to hear this incarnation of Queensrÿche really let loose and cut some of the polished production values and atmosphere enhancing keyboards. When they are most raw and heavy metal oriented (like the verse section of "Sicdeth" or the heavy riffs and rhythms on "Behind the Walls") they sound incredible. On the other hand they are still masters of producing beautiful harmonies (both with guitars and vocals) and it´s a big part of their sound, so it wouldn´t be Queensrÿche without the melodies and the polish.

Upon conclusion "Digital Noise Alliance" is another good quality power/heavy metal release from Queensrÿche. There are no surprises here and if you enjoyed the last couple of albums this one will be right down your alley too, and that´s maybe the only complaint I have with latter day Queensrÿche. Their will to experiment and try out new things are pretty much gone and although they arguably produce high quality music, they´ve locked into a groove now and their albums sound a lot alike. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

I was very excited to make this review, I haven't listened to this one in a while, and I think letting it sit for a while has helped me gain more appreciation for it. However' I think this album still has some major issues, it's certainly not all bad, but not my favourite by any means. This album was especially difficult to review based on how it's formatted as well, and just how much goes on musically and in the story. This was an ambitious project, and I can commend them for trying this approach and at least partially succeeding. But it just feels like this one didn't quite stick the landing for me. This was made at the point where they had promised 5 albums by the end of the year, and possibly by this time constraint had pushed this album out maybe a little too early. I want to emphasise that I listened to this album maybe 4 times in total to really try and dig into my feelings on it, and this album especially is one that's better listened to in full (which proves to flounder and thrive in various ways). To make this easier on the formatting, rather than organising by songs, I'll organise by parts.

Altered Beast: This section has some really great bits however the focus is all over the place. Considering there's sometimes melodies, counter-melodies, 2 different drums, synths, narration/vocals sometimes all at the same time, it can be a tricky task to balance. I think it does well in some cases like Altered Beast I, II, and IV, but in III especially when yet another melody is added onto the pile it gets difficult to follow what's happening melodically. Because of how this section is chopped up in various sections, there's just a lot happening plus the addition of the bouncing between the narration and the vocals, the section can't pinpoint exactly what it wants. Also because the section continuously jumps back to the Alter Me theme, you kind of just have to go along with its peculiar formatting. This is further pushed by the fact that the songs aren't very individual and have to be listened to all-in-one to even understand what's happening in the lyrics. I enjoy concept albums a lot, however this one just has too much going on. Now where I think this section shines is the blending of the instruments. If you approach each individual section and riff, they are genuinely really cool. The section at 1:29 in Altered Beast I is awesome with how it uses the really aggressive synths to play that melody. The mix of using distorted guitars and clean guitars (sometimes palm muting or using various pedals/effects) is a really cool effect I haven't really seen done simultaneously before in metal, though that might just be me. I also really enjoyed the use of synths in this entire album, even just the intro "A New World" uses the 'I think I see an altered beast by the tree' melody but using only synth, which works great as a setup. As well as that song introducing the aggressive nature of the rest of the album. The double panned drum kit will always be a favourite of mine, especially in these complex time signatures. Finally, the harmonica trading in Altered Beast II at 1:46 is a great highlight and I think adds onto what Nonagon Infinity did really well, incorporating the instrument in a more aggressive setting (also the ending of that song kicks so much ass). Rhythmically speaking this section definitely has the most interest, with it flipping between various time signatures and themes. They definitely challenged themselves with this album to work with more difficult rhythms and time in a hard rock context, using a lot of 7, 9, 11 based time signatures across the album. Altered Beast II is based in 9/8 and 9/4 generally and has a really fun continuous rhythm that plays nearly throughout. The riffs in the entire album don't give a lot of breaks, and are always doing something, which keeps the intense feeling for a while but can get pretty draining especially near the end of the album. Sometimes we get tempo changes like in Altered Beast III, but I'm not a fan of those particularly. The stop and start again in Altered Beast IV however sounds great using the guitars to build back up. I think that this is an issue that only partially crops up during this section, but the Alter Me theme gets tedious to me especially when getting to Alter Me III. What saves it partially is the dynamic change near the end of II and into III, which digs into Stu's falsetto, which I hold very dear to my heart. The story and narration are certainly front and centre in this album, and has something very similar to I'm in Your Mind Fuzz with the idea of mind control and corruption. I think the narration works to some extent during this section, with the voice done by Leah Senior, it can be very amusing to see her talk about such gruesome ideas happening in the story. It can be very distracting however from the melodic ideas happening in the background and vice versa. I'm pretty torn on whether I like or dislike it because of how it's placed in the context of the songs. The outro 'Life/Death' is one of my favourite bits because it hones in a lot more on the narration, and uses some cool effects to accompany it, like the sound of the altered beast dying which sounds awesome.

Lord of Lightning/Balrog: I think that all in all this section has some similar issues with focus, but it's not as bad as the first section by any means. The themes are more solidified with specific songs generally, and the songs are longer so there's a lot less intense back and forth juggling of themes. It's just the narration once again infiltrating the song a little bit too much for my liking. This section sets up in a similar way with the song The Reticent Raconteur using synths to do the theme before actually singing it, in this case it's the Lord of Lightning theme. There's some fake throat singing happening in this section, which I do like how it bookends the first and last songs of this part. The lyrics in this part are some of my favourites like the 'You made the atom split, it caused a massive rift!' line in Balrog that I love. Floating Fire as well has some cool descriptors like the 'Sky is bleeding hair' line. The lyrics are certainly very well thought out, and are very detailed in their descriptions, which I do enjoy just reading them like a poem-story more than anything. The effects on this part in particular are used really well with the synths and guitars doing a more show don't tell approach. For example the guitar feedback plus the spam tapping makes for a really cool lightning sound effect throughout the songs. That distorted effect is just so neat to listen to honestly, it adds to the intensity in a clever way while aiding the actual story. There's an organ used in Balrog that adds some new colour to the songs interlude as well, giving a very unholy vibe to what's happening. Also the end of Balrog with the callback to Trapdoor using a really strange sound effect I can't even name, but it sounds sick! Speaking of, there's a ton of references to other albums in this album. I didn't mention it, but the Evil Death Roll bass happens in the first part. This part features references to Nonagon Infinity in some really subtle and very obvious ways. The first song of this part 'Some Context' is literally just People Vultures, Lord of Lightning also just straight up has the lyrics 'Nonagon, Nonagon, Nonagon Infinity!'. However, as I mentioned in the Nonagon Infinity review, that line in particular actually uses the same melody as a small section of Big Fig Wasp, just slowed down. That was mind blowing to discover initially, and will still be one of my favourite callbacks they've done. Lord of Lightning also has a bass line from I'm in Your Mind Fuzz at the end. And of course the Trapdoor reference at the end of Balrog. Side Tangent: I'm really curious why the Trapdoor theme was placed there of all places because in this section they talk about the beginning of the battle and not the Balrog itself. I would presume that they kind of shoehorned Trapdoor into the storyline seeing as how ambiguous the lyrics are and how the video isn't particularly relevant as far as I can tell. I think having a returning theme like this was really cool to listen to as a fan, but to me it seems a bit weird to place it on this part of the song specifically. I can brush it off because it actually is a really sick reference. The reason I mention all of these references is to dictate how carefully they will approach these albums. Callbacks are some of my favourite things to hear in music, especially cross-album stuff, so props to these guys for just going at it and adding a bunch in this section for story reasons. Another reason is that they very rarely use the themes head-on (besides Some Context) and will usually change them slightly to be a little bit more difficult to see on a first listen, if you know their other music well.

Han-Tyumi and the Murder of the Universe: Another synth heavy intro, which seems to continue the formula they've set up here in the three parts. It's strange how something so chaotic could be considered predictable under these circumstances. I enjoy it, but hearing a very similar setup 3 times in a row feels like it's pushing it a bit. This part definitely feels a lot better organised, with some songs dedicated to Han-Tyumi, and some to Stu's vocals. The riffs are a lot more consistent, and granted they're not my favourite, the songs tend to hold their own pretty well. The highlight of this section is certainly the bionic voice using the text-to-speech 'UK, Charles'. Han-Tyumi (anagram for Humanity) closes off the 3 parts with a story about vomiting and accidentally killing the entire universe. Honestly, I was kinda disappointed with this ending a little bit. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly an interesting concept, especially with how it delves into the bizarre mentions of sex, pleasure, and galaxies from a self induced munting session. I just think personally it goes on too much of a tangent, and after about the 5th time they mentioned various descriptions of vomiting, I got the point. This section had some really strong moments especially in the beginning of the title track 'Murder of the Universe' and songs like 'Digital Black'. It's just that in comparison to the other sections, it feels somewhat lacking in something new. The voice is great, but it's not enough for me personally. It reuses a lot of the sound effects and synths already heard, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but that's another thing that's holding me back from liking this section as much. Okay I will admit though that the Soy Protein Munt Machine is absolutely hilarious, and especially when the voice kicks in.

Issues: This album tried to do too much in too little time. It can be incoherent and distracting at times with just how much stuff it's trying to accomplish. It somehow also manages to be tedious with its themes on top of everything. To me, especially nearing the end, it just doesn't manage to stick the landing with its final act. This album is great in concept, but they certainly did the best they could under the circumstances.

Strengths: There were some pretty strong melodies on this one, maybe like a 60/40 good to meh ratio. The lyricism could be really interesting and unique at times with how expressive they were. There was really great use of synths and mixing as well. From a purely storytelling point of view, it's really cool! Just maybe needed more fine tuning.

Overall this album has some good and some bad, but it's certainly an accomplishment of the band nonetheless. It was a difficult thing to pull off, and if anyone could even come close to doing something as intensely creative and experimental as this in a hard rock setting, it's these guys. I'm giving it 3 stars, though for me it's somewhere in the 3.4 stars range.

HECENIA were a trio from France releasing two studio albums before calling it a day. The vocalist was from the band ELOHIM who released one album in 1983. His brother was the guitarist in that band and it says here that they used his pre-recorded guitar parts on three tracks here. And since the vocalist only sings this is essentially a duo instrumentally with the keyboardist using the drum machine and the bass player adding some guitar parts.

Vocals are in french and the music is a symphonic/neo blend but the fake drums are such a negative for me. They did get a real drummer on their second and final record from 1994 an album I also gave 3 stars to. I consider 1987 to 1991 the dark ages of my music and that was actually one of the reasons I picked this 1989 release up as I was hoping for a hidden gem that might make my top five for that year. Nope.

"Legendes" is not a bad record at all despite my comments but it's not one I'd recommend either despite it having it's fans. 3 stars.

SILHOUETTE are a Dutch band who formed back in 2004 and they released their first record in 2006. This is their most recent from 2017 and the majority feel this is their best release so far. This is album number six and they have also released a DVD in the same year of 2017. This is a warm, melodic album with nice vocals and they certainly added some new flavours here with guests adding violin, oboe, french horn, flute and even some soprano vocals. I would call this a Neo/Symphonic mixture.

A 50 minute recording with six tracks including the 18 minute "Symphony For A Perfect Moment" which is certainly the big attraction here, the best thing they have created according to many. I also really dig the shortest piece on here under 3 minutes called "Sakura" which is an instrumental with guitar and atmosphere mostly. But those first three tracks before the epic really set the tone to this album. Neo prog is very much hit and miss for me, mostly the latter but here is a fine example of doing Neo right.

As an aside I actually knew a guy who was convinced that the Earth is flat and the reasons why etc. and he certainly wasn't shy in expressing this view despite the evidence to the contrary. This album is the real deal though and one I think Neo fans should track down. A nice record.

For once, all that praise seems justified: this is one hell of a live album! Hate Rick Wakeman? Then don't bother. Like his best albums? Then by all means give this a spin, since Rick really takes his old tunes to a higher level. Admittedly, his new approach does not ALWAYS work. In THE SIX WIVES, there's the odd passage where the original studio recording sounded subtle and moving while the new one merely sounds brash. Nevertheless, most of the new interpretations happily carried me along. On the CLASSIC YES disc, 'Starship Trooper' is drawn out too long - but don't let that deter you: 'And You and I' gets played so beautifully it brought tears to my eyes. To a large extent, the success of that Yes disc (and of this 4-CD set as a whole) is due to the vocal talents of Hayley Sanderson, a very soulful singer whose voice reminded me a little of Tina Turner's. Take JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, for example. In its original 1970s incarnation the album always sounded amateurish to me, partly because the two male vocalists were so melodramatic. Hayley Sanderson, on the other hand, sounds wonderfully earthy, and it's bizarre-but-highly-exciting to hear her against the background of the (sometimes eerie, sometimes rather churchy) English Chamber Choir. (Together with that same choir, she also gives a wonderfully rousing performance of 'Lancelot and the Black Knight'.) Another thing that makes the new JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH so special is the fact that Mr Wakeman's 'English Rock Ensemble' rocks harder than ever! Throughout JOURNEY Dave Colquhoun delivers the most amazing power chords (I also find it gratifying that he gets the chance to deliver some blistering solos), Lee Pomeroy is probably the most gifted bassist Rick ever used, and because there are TWO virtuoso keyboard players in the band, there's no need for the strings or brass of an old-fashioned symphony orchestra. You might even say this new JOURNEY sounds proggier than ever, just because an entire orchestra is expertly 'realised' by a five man rock band.

The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home (Theinmostlightthirdandfinal) EP

The final chapter of the Inmost Light Trilogy, the 22 minute plus single track THE STARRES ARE MARCHING SADLY HOME (THEINMOSTLIGHTTHIRDANDFINAL), this apocalyptic grand finale proved to be the most experimental as well as the most stripped down with only ambient minimalism providing any musical backing and set to eerie loops and layered vocal effects that narrative a continues poetic prose by David Tibet with the guest vocal contributions of Andria Degens, Roxanne Stapleton and the even the legendary Shirley Collins leaving her traditional folk musical career behind fro a taste of the avant-garde.

Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton is back in the mixing engineer's seat and David Kenny offers some processed guitar sounds otherwise this is a swirling dark ambient excursion through some of the most most apocalyptic poetic recitals that one could ever hope to experience! The music itself is making to the abstruse musique concrète which utilizes recorded sounds as the source material and then processed through audio signals and tape music techniques that result in an otherworldly effect of sound collages and in the process creating some of the most alienating sound back possible. The Louis Wain painting on the cover art perfectly depicts the overall effect of this strange journey into the bowels of poetic prose hell.

More of a lyrical experience than a musical one per se, THE STARRES ARE MARCHING SADLY HOME in many ways provides a summary of the mood setting of the previous two installments of the trilogy with a recap of the thematic bleakness and abstruse esotericism that was all the rage in the post-industrial esoteric movement that swept the English underground by storm with CURRENT 93 emerging as one of the top acts to engage in it. A swirl box of ceaseless subtleties in the turbulent atmospheres finds the various vocal performances adding a new dimension to the overall feel of the EP with Collins' traditional singing a calming motherly lullaby thus offering a resolution to the nightmarish three installment set of some fo the 90s darkest forays into the world of experimental intersection of neofolk and electronic music.

The only full-length album in the Inmost Light Trilogy, ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE HORSES was released in 1996 between the two EPs, "Where The Long Shadows Fall (Beforetheinmostlight)" and "The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home (TheInMostLight ThirdAndFinal)." The most diverse soundscapes of the trilogy are found on this 14-track release that adds up to about 55 1/2 minutes. One again David Tibet is joined by Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton on percussion and strings as well as sitting in as producer and mixing engineer with John Balance returning for vocals on three tracks and CURRENT 93 counterpart Michael Cashmore plays guitar, bass, glockenspiel and piano. The album features many other guests including Nick Cave making a cameo on a couple tracks.

Revolving around an adhesive label on the original packaging referring to the album as a Hallucinatory Patripassianist's Philosophy which apparently in Christian theology is an Eastern concept of modalism that God The Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are three different modes or emanations of one monadic God. A lyrical rotisserie of various themes of pain and death along with the overcoming of such through the light or inner soul is the primary theme of this esoteric and heady excursion through an apocalyptic folk based soundscape steeped with varying vocal narrations with a post-industrial mood setting. The album focuses on the usual neofolk acoustic guitar strumming of this chapter of CURRENT 93 but also heavy on droning, electronic experimentalism.

Graced with the same Shirley Collins inspired folk intimacy of previous releases only set to the world of eschatological esotericism and the mysticism of poets like William Blake, ALL THE PRETTY HORSES goes for the jugular with its bizarre post-industrial bleakness that seems to come into full fruition with the collaborative forces of Steve Stapleton and John Balance by his side. The album features lush lullaby type folk as heard on the traditional title track (which makes an augmented reprise at the end) as well as offering piano-based bleakness with TIbet's most sinister vocal narrations on "The Inmost Night." While mostly narrating his poetic prose in a most exaggerated spoken manner, on tracks like "This Carnival Is Dead And Gone" Tibet almost succeeds in a full-singing effect but offers his utterly distinct methodology of always sounding like he's speaking even when technically hitting the notes that would indeed qualify him as a singer!

The album's greatest strength is the varying soundscapes at hand with alternating folky passages mixing with bleaker electronic-based industrial bits that evoke an earlier age of CURRENT 93. Many tracks are nothing more than short little ditties whereas others such as "Twilight Twilight Nihil Nihil" capture a full apocalyptic industrial soundscape approach and eke out a sense of impending disaster for over eight minutes thus making the album feel like a seesaw ride of uplifting little folk pieces of innocence to full on climactic nightmares in musical form. Followed by the 9 1/2 "The Inmost Light Itself" which offers a continuation of the bleak detached and depressive subject matter only reverting back to the apocalyptic folk with not only Tibet's particularly whispered vocals but by a scattering of sound samples of children in the background. The album ends with Nick Cave offering vocal performances, first on the reprise of the short but sweet title track and followed by the closing "Patripassian" which finds cave in spoken word narration reading text from the Pensées of Blaise Pascal over a loop of English 16th century choral music.

Considered a fan favorite many are unaware that this album sits smack dab in the middle of a conceptual trilogy which is not surprising due to the fact Tibet's esoteric connections are more conceptual than on a musical footing that makes it all easy to connect. There is really no reason why any of t these three chapters cannot exist on their own and the listener will not diminish the experience one little bit if any of the EPs are simply glossed over. Overall a great apocalyptic dirge through the many musical forms of depression and bleakness that Tibet sought out with great fanfare. I absolutely adore these intersecting creative forces where the masterminds of CURRENT 93, Coil and Nurse With Wound bring the best of their worlds to one work table. A triumphant display of dark ambient and apocalyptic folk at its finest.

Where the Long Shadows Fall (Beforetheinmostlight) EP

After releasing one CURRENT 93 album and three EPs in 1994, David Tibet followed in 1995 with no full-lengths and only one EP which is this strange 19-minute track titled WHERE THE LONG SHADOWS FALL (BEFORETHEINMOSTLIGHT). Once again Tibet is back to offer a muffled poet prose only this time over a looped sound bite sampled from "Domine Salvum Fac Pontificem Nostrum Leonem" to be found on Alessandro Moreschi's compendium The Last Castrato (Complete Vatican Recordings). While castratos were fairly common before 1861, Moreschi who was born in 1858 in Rome, Italy (where it was most common) emerged as one of the very last castrato and the only one who ever made solo recordings.

WHERE THE LONG SHADOWS FALL (BEFORETHEINMOSTLIGHT) was the first part of The Inmost Light Trilogy which was followed by the full album "All The Pretty Little Horses" and the one track EP "The Stars Are Marching Sadly Home." Once again Tibet is joined by Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton in the mixing chair and also contributing some bell sounds as well as Coils John Balance on vocals and lyrical writing. Also on board is guitarist / engineer David Kenny from the Aeolian String Ensemble and guitarist / bassist both of CURRENT 93 and Nature And Organization.

Like the 1994 EP "Lucifer Over London," WHERE THE LONG SHADOWS FALL (BEFORETHEINMOSTLIGHT) is a dark and creepy album that evokes CURRENT 93's earliest days as well as keeping you ponder the ethics of castrating pre-pubescent boys simply to pimp them out as opera singers in previous eras. While the entire track is basically a looped piece of Moreschi's famous recording recorded in the first years of the 20th century. The track offers a 17-second excerpt of "The Frolic" as a hidden track which finds a barrel audible John Balance narrated an improvised phrase.

This one is quite interesting on my levels. The castrato parts will surely evoke a historical reality many have heard about but probably never actually experienced while the creepy atmospheres and idiosyncratic poetic prose of Tibet's whispered and spoken lyrics will offer a continuity of not only The Inmost Trilogy but of Tibet's experimental neofolk approach in general that had usurped the dark collage like ambient and industrial soundscapes of his 80s releases. Overall i find this one to be a fascinating clash of varying ideas and a brilliant sampling job that offers Moreschi to shine again for a brief moment some 90 years after the original recording. Another example of Tibet's wild and unorthodox approach.