View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
baobao
Joined: 01 Mar 2009 Posts: 560
|
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:40 pm Post subject: Out Soon/Premier Forgotten Spell - Epiphaneia Phosphorus DLP |
|
|
Out next week on GoatowaRex
Forgotten Spell - Epiphaneia Phosphorus Epiphaneia Phosphorus (Angel,God or Insanity) - DLP
Limited edition of 200 copies, full color jackets with OBI, and full color inserts.
Full album on Premier through: http://www.invisibleoranges.com/forgotten-spell-epiphaneia-phosphorus-angel-god-or-insanity-full-album-premiere/
Not much has changed in the very belly of the black metal underground over the past thirty years. Though a handful of black metal bands have found commercial success, complete with big tour packages, merchandise upon merchandise, albums on all conceivable formats, there is this deep, deep undercurrent of artists who solely make music for themselves and their friends. Much like the more publicized The Black Legions, who released music in exceedingly limited amounts (aside from the Black Legions Metal and March to the Black Holocaust splits), only to be leaked to the public through carelessness, small contingencies choose to remain isolated and maintain control over who hears their music. Privacy is an art form, and these underground acts thrust themselves from the world and hide their art. With a mountain of releases generally limited to the low-double digits in copies, German hermit Angra Malakh’s Forgotten Spell is one of those special acts who, without the intervention of now-dormant tape label Parasyte Curse, would still remain completely under the radar.
Bands like Forgotten Spell are special. With only photo documentation proving the existence of 75% of this musician’s solo evolution over the past thirteen years, we can only stipulate as to what eventually led to Forgotten Spell’s first public release, 2009’s Desecrated, Decayed, and Still Holy. Though the mystery still remains, what was obvious was Malakh’s practiced ear for harmony and orchestration made his take on triumphant, Germanic black metal makes Forgotten Spell a unique act.
Epiphaneia Phosphorus (Angel,God or Insanity), Forgotten Spell’s first fully public release (and first official full-length) culminates thirteen years of work honing his skills and isolated meditation deep within the underground. The long-form, densely-composed black metal found in these near-ninety minutes fuse a grandiose, epic scope with a musical evolution entirely belonging to Forgotten Spell. Though Malakh’s musical lineage can be traced directly back to Moonblood (with whom he has shared a split release recently and was audacious enough to cover on this very release), Forgotten Spell’s meditations and elaboration on the epic, Germanic black metal which was fully defined on Taste Our German Steel and Blut & Krieg launch the punctuated style far into the stratosphere. Angra Malakh’s apparent obsession with orchestration leads to lengthy passages of infinitely layered guitars, dense polyphony, and ever heightening climaxes. Even at its most evil, movements like “Along the Ocean of Funeral Sun,” the choir of acoustic guitars which lead its title track, or the mammoth introduction to “Aesthetics of Necromantic Manifestation,” Epiphanea Phosphorus carries itself with a Wagnerian sense of awe-inspiring pomp.
Of course, though Forgotten Spell’s aesthetic is entrenched in black metal, I wouldn’t strictly refer to the music as such. Somewhere across his lengthy solo career as a hermit, Forgotten Spell took on its own unique character in a bout of musical punctuated equilibrium. Scattered among the blasting black metal trappings and medieval folk touches, there are moments of bizarre uniqueness which truly transcend black metal. Take, for instance, the aforementioned “Along the Ocean of Funeral Sun:” the song is aggressive, sure, but the big, fleshed out chords, cleaner distortion, and staccato strumming seem almost psychedelic in nature. Angra Malakh revels in his own chaotic sense of density which results in a frightening, strangely beautiful ambiance. There is just so much sound happening at once that the triumphant nature of the music transmutes into a trance-inducing ethereality.
Granted, there is a quality found in Forgotten Spell which could very well be a glaring source of contention for the masses. Though Angra Malakh’s unique sense of harmony and capturing catchy melodies is enjoyable, he doesn’t really “have the chops” to pull this kind of music off perfectly. That being said, I really don’t find issue with it. We who listen to black metal have become spoiled by practiced musicians in high-cost studios over the years, but black metal’s roots were never concerned with the concepts of “musicianship” and “chops.” There is an earnestness in Angra Malakh’s scattered drumming and wavering, out-of-sync guitars, but don’t let the concept of “earnestness” be a damnation, because the passion and rage which fuels Forgotten Spell’s music outranks any potential issue with “slop” or “mistakes.” The 90 minutes found within Epiphaneia Phosphorus (Angel,God or Insanity) hearken back to a time where black metal was an isolated affair, where friends secretly traded tapes of their own rehearsals and took corpse painted photos of themselves in the woods. Forgotten Spell’s enraged, enraptured music is made by a complete outsider, someone who doesn’t collaborate with other musicians and, at least up until this point, specifically controlled who could hear his art. Some might refer to this type of behavior as “elitism,” but I can’t think of a stronger example of the spirit which fueled black metal’s impetus, of which musicians like Angra Malakh strive to keep alive.
The beauty and hatred found within Forgotten Spell’s Epiphaneia Phosphorus (Angel,God or Insanity) will see a lavish 2LP release on August 1st via long-standing Chinese label Psychedelic Lotus Order, who you might recognize under their alternate name, goatowa rex, with art by the talented Nicola Solieri and Carla Vignali. In a bizarre turn of events, we at Invisible Oranges are lucky enough to bring you, the listeners, and exclusive first listen to the pure, unadulterated black metal of Forgotten Spell’s first-ever full-length release, in which you will find yourself enraptured below.
Write up by Jon Rosenthal _________________ Bandcamp: https://psychedeliclotusorder.bandcamp.com/music
Online Store: http://goatowarex.storenvy.com/
Last edited by baobao on Fri Jul 22, 2016 6:59 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
imconfuzed
Joined: 04 Oct 2015 Posts: 361
|
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Funny. I just sent a message asking for info on this release a few hours ago, lol. _________________ zensei999 |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
tormentedFist
Joined: 14 Jun 2012 Posts: 957 Location: norway
|
|
Back to top |
|
 |
baobao
Joined: 01 Mar 2009 Posts: 560
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 1:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
track list here
1.Angel, God Or Insanity Chapter 1
2.Angel, God Or Insanity Chapter 2
3.Apórrhoia...
4.Aesthetics of Necromantic Manifestation
5.Medieval Tunes (Moonblood Cover)
6.Along The Ocean Of Funeral Sun
7.Proclaiming Satan
8.Metamorphosis In A Spiritual Spectral Sphere
9.Buried In Time
10.Through Entrails Into Obnoxious Hearts Of An Famished God
11.Epiphaneia Phosphorus _________________ Bandcamp: https://psychedeliclotusorder.bandcamp.com/music
Online Store: http://goatowarex.storenvy.com/ |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
gorilla logic

Joined: 24 Sep 2013 Posts: 74
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 1:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
CD version? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
doedsbo
Joined: 03 Feb 2012 Posts: 465
|
|
Back to top |
|
 |
gangrena

Joined: 25 Jan 2015 Posts: 235
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
Beautiful artwork, totally underrated band... Fuckin' finally! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Cryptus

Joined: 15 Jul 2015 Posts: 88
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 5:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
Absolutely incredible both musically and thematically
Exceeds my expections in every way possible
The tracks from the Moonblood split fit in very well glad they are here.
Its going to takw many listens in order to take in everything going on on this record |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Wolfram

Joined: 17 Jun 2007 Posts: 4430
|
|
Back to top |
|
 |
bearsbearsbears

Joined: 17 Mar 2012 Posts: 3136
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 8:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
Were the Moonblood split tracks rerecorded for the full length? _________________
Scum wrote: | When I listen to fucking evil I read satanic bible in a fucking grown. |
Check out my sale-thread HERE! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
fromthebackofthetaperack banned
Joined: 14 Apr 2016 Posts: 65
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 8:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
bearsbearsbears wrote: | Were the Moonblood split tracks rerecorded for the full length? |
all the tracks seem to flow into each other like he recorded each side instrument by instrument in one long take so I guess so |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
bearsbearsbears

Joined: 17 Mar 2012 Posts: 3136
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
Er, oops. Forgot there was a full stream up. I can just listen for myself...
Anyways, if that's actually how he recorded this, then that's pretty awesome. _________________
Scum wrote: | When I listen to fucking evil I read satanic bible in a fucking grown. |
Check out my sale-thread HERE! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Cryptus

Joined: 15 Jul 2015 Posts: 88
|
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 10:17 am Post subject: |
|
|
I forgot to ask will lyrics be included with this release? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Närxhen

Joined: 07 Jan 2013 Posts: 211
|
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Day one ! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Pestkrieg
Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 1320
|
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Sounds fantastic - is there likely to be a CD version? If not, any EU distros likely for the DLP? _________________ Good trades/deals with: EK Nacht, Piotr Sargnagel, s.charlach, bienenboss666, PeterVenkman, lordblack666, etc. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|