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HEXENTANZ
www.hexentanz.us
First released in 2004, Hexentanz’s ‘Nekrocrafte’ is to be rereleased through Agonia Records. A collaborative project, Hexentanz combines the talents of dark dance industrialists Psychonaut 75 with the neo-medievalists Soil Bleeds Black. The subject matter of ‘Nekrocrafte’ is, as you’d probably guessed already, that of witchcraft and necromancy, a subject that could so easily be misunderstood and misrepresented as something involving animal or baby slaughter with some equally questionable attempt at “music”. But Hexentanz have at their helm Michael Ford, the author of a host of books on the subject (check his name on Amazon for a list of works), and Soil Bleeds Black, the Riddick twins who have been producing medieval music for close on twenty years, and so this has been, thankfully, meticulously researched and impressively executed. The dark ambience of the nine songs evoke a real sense of ceremony, introspection, decadence, and, pleasingly, spirituality. Note however, that the spirituality represented here is not that purchased by spiritual weekenders that frequent the tie-dyed high street shops clogged with self-help books thinly disguised as witchcraft and mass-produced trinkets, charms and ornaments labelled as “talisman”. Arcane, esoteric, and eclectic, this album embraces the shadows that those timidly avoid. Composed with actual period instruments, synthetic ritual devices, human bones, and authentic arcane chants of medieval and modern occult practice, the compositions breathe in the minimalist atmosphere and the hypnotic tribal rhythms are trance-inducing, as if an altogether different, not just simply higher state of consciousness has come into view. From the spoken word elements, through the chants and screams to the crooning female vocals and strange, harsh voices, the vocal performances linger in the translucent ether. Akin to the search for true enlightenment, this is deeper, darker, and much more satisfying than the Wicca-lite versions so readily available elsewhere. Whatever your interest level is of the occult, the dark, exotic sounds of ritualistic magic and necromancy contained herein is much better than whatever else you may have heard. This is a dark ritualistic album, richly produced, imaginative, utterly captivating, and highly recommended.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Agonia Records
Album
NEKROKRAFTE
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Review by Jason Guest
RUNNING TIME:
35:47
RELEASE DATE:
24th June 2011
TRACK LISTING
1) Midnight Procession
2) Mark of the Witch
3) Devil's Mass
4) Birth is Through Blood
5) Binding of Shadows
6) Profane the Twelve
7) Bringer of the Luciferian Flame
8) Abjuring the Cross
9) Dirge of the Deceased
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"Composed with actual period instruments, synthetic ritual devices, human bones, and authentic arcane chants of medieval and modern occult practice, the compositions breathe in the minimalist atmosphere and the hypnotic tribal rhythms are trance-inducing..."
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