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Athanor

Ernte * Zu Den Sternen (7″ 2013)

I actually thought that Ernte did not release anything since the 1996 compilation “Mysteria Mithrae” and this was actually the reason to get this 7″. Discogs has two previous 7″s listed though. “Zu Den Sternen” contains a nice, somewhat experimental track (the title track), a song that was already on the mentioned compilation (“Stolze Herzen”) and a rather awfull cover of an Allerseelen track (“Santa Sangre”). Not as surprising as I hoped… Nice artwork by Markus Wolff though and Annabel Lee is also present in the title track.
Links: Ernte, Athanor

Tribe of Circle * Rien Ne Disparait Jamais Vraiment… (cd 2000 athanor)

The first full length of this French band comes on a French label. Earlier the band could be heard on Albin Julius’ Hau Ruck label with a 7″ that I don’t have. Musically the band fits in the dark ambient/industrial corner. The band is recommanded to those who like bands like Der Blutharsch, Blood Axis, Turbund Sturmwerk, etc., but actually I think lovers of CMI sounds should (also) have a listen to this cd. For the largest part “Rien…” consists of dark ambient, but the difference with the usual CMI sound is that there is quite a lot of rhythm. There are also marchdrums and some bombastic tunes which probably make the comparison with the earlier mentioned bands.
The length is a little minimal (43 min), but the digipack looks great and musically this is a very promising debut. <31/10/00><4>

Blood Axis / Les Joyaux De La Princesse * Absintha Teatra (cd 2004 athanor)

If my memory doesn’t fail me there was a special recording sold only at the 2001 Portugal show. Later this special recording was released together with live-recordings in a very expensive box. I have neither of these two releases. The normal “Absinthe” split cd is from the same year and now it seems that the box has been rereleased on a normal cd for a normal price. The first 11 tracks seem to be older versions of the “Absinthe” tracks and then you get live recordings from the Portugal show. The music isn’t better than on the normal cd, but different versions make this cd a nice archival release.

Blood Axis & Les Joyaux De La Princesse * Absinthe, la folie verte (cd 2001 athanor)

It has been a long wait since “Blót” and even longer since “The Gospel…”, but here is new material of Michael Moynihan. It was recorded together with the well-known French industrial act LJDLP, who had much influence on the music. Therefor “Absinthe” doesn’t contain the orchestral bombast that we came to love Blood Axis for, but more minimal industrial and ambient with here and there Michael’s voice and sometimes a short moment of bombast. The lay-out and lyrics were found in the “musée de l’Absinthe” in Callé, France and are an hommage to liquor. However I find the lay-out nice and original, the music is a bit too LJDLP for me. Still quite nice, but I like Michael on his own better.