FAUST

Like their "Nosferatu" album this is a film score they did for a silent movie. In this case the movie "Faust" was released in 1926 and like "Nosferatu" this too was directed by F.W. Murnau. As per usual Gerard Hourette and Thierry Zaboitzeff share in composing these tracks right down the middle.We have the pleasure of having Daniel Denis (UNIVERS ZERO) on drums, keys and samples.Oh and happy "Logan Day" everybody. See my review for Jean Claude Vannier's debut for an explanation. This particular album sure sounds like an ART ZOYD album and I found myself saying after almost every track "cool song" and the words "that's insane" came up a lot too(haha).

"Down" has this atmosphere that fills the air early on then experimental sounds arrive before 2 1/2 minutes but they leave just as quickly as they appeared. "Gates Of Darkness" has these loud percussion sounds with horn-like sounds as the vocals join in.Yes vocals ! A change 2 1/2 minutes in then these rough sounding spoken words come in after 3 minutes. A calm after 4 minutes then it becomes intense. Great track !

"Flask" opens with atmosphere as sounds pulse and hover.The loud outbursts late are alarming. "Plague" has these insane drums that pound relentlessly throughout. "Faust" is appealing to me because of those spacey synth-like sounds. "Marais" opens with thunder and rain followed by nature sounds.This is unreal, it sounds so good. "Parole" has these sounds that echo as the atmosphere looms like the devil himself is standing near. "Pact" has these sounds that slowly pulse in and out as other sounds come and go.

"Bruissement" is experimental with spacey sounds and church bells. Birds are chirping to end it. "Essaim" has so much going on and what sounds like a bass horn of some sort. "Irruption" is a short piece that is an eruption of loud sounds. "Gates Of Darkness 2" is cool sounding but quite strange too. "Pavan" opens with thunder and rain then the percussion and atmosphere follow.Loud sounds come and go 1 1/2 minutes in then it builds. "Dies Irae" has some spacey atmosphere then the percussion comes in around 1 1/2 minutes as the soundscape slowly disintegrates.Vocal sounds too in this one.

"Procession" is pleasant at first but it builds to a wall of sound. "Easter" has these vocal expressions and it's very experimental too. "Marthe" is mostly percussion and a classical vibe. "Games" is again percussion but with an eerie background this time. "Intrigues" is dark then it kicks in before 2 minutes. It turns dark again before 3 1/2 minutes.This is actually scary. "Accelerando" has these powerful outbursts with loud bells.The outbursts speed up and take over. It settles back before 7 minutes and a calm follows with spoken words before the loud outbursts return and speed up again.Here we go !

Easily 4 stars. Listen to this with headphones at night for full effect.