Silentum: The Ancients' Wisdom; Ar: The Eternal Circle of Life (Split release)

While the Silentum tracks were recorded between 1988 and 1994 and the Ar tracks were recorded between 1992 and 1999, they are both alleged to have become "a kind of classic" for the Ukrainian electronic Pagan scene. As far as the instrumentation goes, it's just awful. When Varg Vikerens was banged up in the slammer, he had no choice about the instruments he used when writing Dauði Baldrs and Hliðskjálf so he's got an excuse for the sound of those projects. But played out on keyboards that even a 1980s John Carpenter would have rejected as sub-par, the sound does very little for the music. The drama, melancholy, mystery, and the eclectic nature of the music is seriously undermined by the awful sounds. They sound like something you'd hear being played in a crappy high street pseudo-spiritualist new age shop overflowing with candles and self-help books disguised as witchcraft, the occult, or whatever kind of watered-down pop psychology that they can peddle to those that don't need it in the first place. Because of this, they're intriguing enough to warrant a listen or two but after that, there's no reason to return to either of them. Had both bands taken the time to re-record them on more modern equipment that could have given the music the sonic dimension they deserve, this would be so much better. These versions here could have been added as bonus tracks. The music is, largely, good and intriguing, even compelling at some points, but their effect is ruined by both of the bands insisting they remain in their original form. Why either band thought that they had to preserve the originals as if they were sacred is beyond me.

Silentum: The Ancients' Wisdom Track Listing:

1. (Intro) The Forest
2. Dying Nature (Requiem)
3. The Royal Hunting
4. Errata
5. Above The Clouds
6. Nuclear Tears of Hiroshima
7. The Moonlight Lake
8. The Spectrum of Darkness
9. Igni Et Ferro
10. Cradle Of Dreams
11. In Saecula Saeculorum
12. Prelude In Sad Minor
13. Cimmeria
14. Illusions' Kingdom
15. The Hidden By Veil
16. Seas Of Tears
17. Errat (Version II)
18. (Outro) The Forest

Ar: The Ancients' Wisdom Track Listing:

1. The Gates Are Open
2. As Autumn Leaves Fall
3. The Wind That Blows From The Black Sea
4. Snowfall
5. Crystal of Ice
6. Funeral Pyre
7. The Skies Are Silent
8. Broken Silence
9. The Return of the Horned One
10. The Black Mirror Of The Silent Lake
11. Drops Of Moonlight
12. Closing The Gates
13. Occulting Light
14. Crystal Of Ice (Remix by Graham A. Gosnell)
15. Funeral Pyre (Remix by Graham A. Gosnell)

Added: January 12th 2013
Reviewer: Jason Guest
Score:
Related Link: Casus Belli Musica
Hits: 1974
Language: english

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