06-20-2005, 11:14 PM
Imperium
Occasionally credited as the most depressing Current 93 album, Imperium is
indeed a deeply melancholy work. Supposedly, David Tibet was ill and possibly
near death when the album was recorded, and I suspect it's a reflection of his
thoughts, at that time, on life and mortality. It's also an extremely Biblical
album, quoting extensively from Psalms and Ecclesiastes. Some of the concepts
(and titles) are most likely inspired by the book Imperium (by Francis P.
Yockey), which deals with the life-cycles of civilizations. There are no lyrics,
and actually, no real liner notes of any kind.
A mixture of low rushings, melodic strings, and eerie flute, IMPERIUM I is a
powerful beginning. Tibet's vocals are mostly whispered over the melancholy and
morbid background music, mixing his lyrics with words from the Bible.
Continuing on in the established theme, IMPERIUM II is (for me) the darkest and
most depressing song on the album. The music is mostly acoustic guitar, with
some low electronics in the background and classical-style music meshing in
towards the end. Tibet's voice is particularly emotional in this piece, and the
lyrics are dreadfully melancholy (mostly dealing with how everyone ultimately
dies).
IMPERIUM III has some rather experimental overtones, as the background contains
some very slowed-down vocals. The background music in the early part of this
piece sounds as though it's being played on an old record player, while the
latter part is a partially-distorted choir.
IMPERIUM IV is somewhat of a letdown after the first three parts. The guitar is
a little too simplistic, and the lyrics a little too (pointlessly) Biblical for
my taste. It's not a bad song, it's just not as good as the previous three.
BE is a short and very odd piece. Music consists of strummed guitar and a loop
of a high-pitched voice saying "lalalala." Despite the rather upbeat music, the
lyrics remain quite depressing.
The sixth track, LOCUST, is kind of a rock-ish song, complete with drums and
guitar (and some nice low background electronics). Lyrically, it mostly deals
with the concept of "only the strong survive." Quite a nice piece.
The beginning of OR is mostly David Tibet sedately reading prophecies over a
choir and a solo male singer (who sounds to me like he might be singing a
military tune). Later parts gain a lot of intensity, and include bass and drums
and various electronics, with Tibet rabidly yelling things like "annihilation"
and "take me to my dead christ" and offering a few obligatory wails. There's a
sort of brief sampled loop in here as well, but is pretty unintelligible.
ALONE, rather more mellow than the passionate OR, is a mixture of very simple
bass and electronics, with Tibet sharing more of his thoughts on mortality. The
lyrics are really the important part of this song, very powerful and with a
sense of finality, almost as though he's summing up the previous tracks and the
meaning of life at the same time. The music is somewhat simplistic and
repetitive.
TIME STANDS STILL is the perfect ending to the album. Tibet's great vocals are
meshed with those of Patrick Magee reciting a text from the play "Marat/Sade."
The music is a mixture of simple, but very effective violin, drums and bass, and
in fact sounds almost as though it's a traditional melody (which it very well
may be). Naturally, the lyrics continue to be depressing.
Epilogue (on unlisted final track): (David Tibet) "Once the Buddha smiled. And
by the wondrous radiance of that smile, countless worlds were illuminated. But
there came a voice that said, "it isn't real; it cannot last." And the light
passed."
Copyright Š 1998 Satya Palani. All rights reserved.
Occasionally credited as the most depressing Current 93 album, Imperium is
indeed a deeply melancholy work. Supposedly, David Tibet was ill and possibly
near death when the album was recorded, and I suspect it's a reflection of his
thoughts, at that time, on life and mortality. It's also an extremely Biblical
album, quoting extensively from Psalms and Ecclesiastes. Some of the concepts
(and titles) are most likely inspired by the book Imperium (by Francis P.
Yockey), which deals with the life-cycles of civilizations. There are no lyrics,
and actually, no real liner notes of any kind.
A mixture of low rushings, melodic strings, and eerie flute, IMPERIUM I is a
powerful beginning. Tibet's vocals are mostly whispered over the melancholy and
morbid background music, mixing his lyrics with words from the Bible.
Continuing on in the established theme, IMPERIUM II is (for me) the darkest and
most depressing song on the album. The music is mostly acoustic guitar, with
some low electronics in the background and classical-style music meshing in
towards the end. Tibet's voice is particularly emotional in this piece, and the
lyrics are dreadfully melancholy (mostly dealing with how everyone ultimately
dies).
IMPERIUM III has some rather experimental overtones, as the background contains
some very slowed-down vocals. The background music in the early part of this
piece sounds as though it's being played on an old record player, while the
latter part is a partially-distorted choir.
IMPERIUM IV is somewhat of a letdown after the first three parts. The guitar is
a little too simplistic, and the lyrics a little too (pointlessly) Biblical for
my taste. It's not a bad song, it's just not as good as the previous three.
BE is a short and very odd piece. Music consists of strummed guitar and a loop
of a high-pitched voice saying "lalalala." Despite the rather upbeat music, the
lyrics remain quite depressing.
The sixth track, LOCUST, is kind of a rock-ish song, complete with drums and
guitar (and some nice low background electronics). Lyrically, it mostly deals
with the concept of "only the strong survive." Quite a nice piece.
The beginning of OR is mostly David Tibet sedately reading prophecies over a
choir and a solo male singer (who sounds to me like he might be singing a
military tune). Later parts gain a lot of intensity, and include bass and drums
and various electronics, with Tibet rabidly yelling things like "annihilation"
and "take me to my dead christ" and offering a few obligatory wails. There's a
sort of brief sampled loop in here as well, but is pretty unintelligible.
ALONE, rather more mellow than the passionate OR, is a mixture of very simple
bass and electronics, with Tibet sharing more of his thoughts on mortality. The
lyrics are really the important part of this song, very powerful and with a
sense of finality, almost as though he's summing up the previous tracks and the
meaning of life at the same time. The music is somewhat simplistic and
repetitive.
TIME STANDS STILL is the perfect ending to the album. Tibet's great vocals are
meshed with those of Patrick Magee reciting a text from the play "Marat/Sade."
The music is a mixture of simple, but very effective violin, drums and bass, and
in fact sounds almost as though it's a traditional melody (which it very well
may be). Naturally, the lyrics continue to be depressing.
Epilogue (on unlisted final track): (David Tibet) "Once the Buddha smiled. And
by the wondrous radiance of that smile, countless worlds were illuminated. But
there came a voice that said, "it isn't real; it cannot last." And the light
passed."
Copyright Š 1998 Satya Palani. All rights reserved.