Der Blaue Reiter: Le Paradis Funebre II / L'Adieu Du Silence

Der Blaue Reiter takes its name from a group of artists who opposed an influential art organization in Munich, Germany. I won't go into the details—the history of the group, its sources, legacy, and so on, is easily available online. Look it up sometime—it makes for an interesting read.

As for the band, it creates sometimes melodic, sometimes dissonant, music that is best described as a mix of neoclassical and darkwave. From start to finish, most of the album sounds like it could accompany the end of the world. No, I'm not talking about the loud, booming, destruction of something like an American summer blockbuster. Instead, I'm talking about music that observes destruction from the perspective of the fallen, the lost, the despairing. Listening to this album is a bit like staying in the most suspenseful moment in a movie, the part where a monster is stalking its prey and is likely to succeed in trapping and devouring him.

I'm serious. This is dark stuff. It also seems engaged in political reflections from time to time. At one point, I heard a sound clip of George W. Bush attempting to convince Americans about the purposes of the war on terror. Several of the song's titles also point to perspectives on the modern world: "Under Deadly Rain," "Requiem for a Dying World," "The New World Order, Conspiracy," perhaps even "L'Adieu Du Silence." Yes, this is dark material.

As for the album, I was interested in its musical ideas, intrigued even, but I never quite felt sucked in to it. There were a few melodies I liked; I also liked some of the dissonance and some of the sound effects. Nevertheless, it never quite grabbed my attention like other projects like this have done in the past. Readers who already know what they are getting from Der Blaue Reiter will probably enjoy it. It's darker than the band's other work and certainly succeeds in creating a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

Track Listing:
1. Underworld Dreams II
2. Anthem for Doomed Youth
3. Conquest of Glory
4. L'Adieu Du Silence Part I
5. Il Tempo La Disperazione
6. The Beginning of the End
7. Under Deadly Rain
8. Requiem for a Dying World
9. The New World Order
10. Conspiracy
11. L'Adieu Du Silence Part II

Added: December 3rd 2014
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1575
Language: english

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