LUSTMORD - Songs Of Gods And Demons

Throughout his artistic career, Brian "Lustmord" Williams has enjoyed branching out, with considerable success, into the experimentation of other sonic territories, chief among them industrial and cosmic ambient. Albums like "A Document Of Early Acoustic & Tactical Experimentation", or records produced and released under the pseudonyms "Arecibo", "Isolrubin BK" and "Terror Against Terror", attest to this clearly. Almost the entirety of his long discography, however, which began in 1981 with his self-titled debut, has consistently developed around a shadowy dark-ambient sound. So much so that the world's leading critics consider Lustmord the founder of this modern musical scene, heir to the man who likely planted its seeds and laid its foundations: Basil Kirchin, the esteemed British experimental composer who passed away in 2005.

"Songs Of Gods And Demons" is not far removed from this philosophy. Vaultworks, no stranger to releasing Brian Williams's work, is the Canadian label behind this latest effort. The CD comes in digipack format and contains five unreleased tracks recorded between 1994 and 2007.

Opening this infernal scenario is the sprawling track "Corvus Mysterium"; this composition was used for the soundtrack of a 1994 film, and is marked by obsessive, dark, vibrating sounds reminiscent of Tibetan horns, which may recall the finest sonic passages of the album "Heresy".

Next come "The Blasted Plain" and "Neural Ether", the former originally created for some of the music on the Tool's "Tool" DVD "Vicarious", the latter instead derived from work done for a 2007 video game. Neither bodes well: distant choirs of submission and suffering accompany the listener through the murky, sulphurous waters of the Styx, into the worst of the infernal circles. These two magnificent tracks represent Lustmord's trademark and are the essence, or foundational bedrock, of dark-ambient; in other words, dark sonic harmonies that convey tension, anxiety and a sense of solitude.

"Haze", taken from the soundtrack of a 2002 film, and "Vault", created for a television program, close out this lengthy record. These final two tracks stand out for their harmonic interweaving of typically industrial metallic noises, majestic martial passages and solemn celestial sounds, as if in a kind of sacred depiction of the eternal war between good and evil, or rather between gods and demons. The splendid cover art by Tracey Roberts bears witness to this.

"Songs Of Gods And Demons", once broken down, proves not entirely homogeneous, but despite this minor flaw, nothing in this universe can hinder a bleak and turbulent Lustmord-esque listening experience. Once you press play on your stereo, and with the help of the right atmosphere, his music will pierce through your body and your mind will drift away from the earthly world into complete immersion.

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27/07/2011