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English Heretic is a collective that is dedicated to investigating and revealing the "psychohistorical environment" of England. And yes, this is as occult and esoteric as it may sound. These people have a nose for all sorts of mysteries, legends and rituals that might be connected to some place in Britain, and they seek them out, and do something with it. Every now and then, they release reports of these activities in several forms, most often a combination of music and text. The 2006 Annual is such a report, and it is full of juicy esotericism from Albion.
Musically, English Heretic practice a mixture of folk songs, samples and loads and loads of sound manipulations. The two live tracks on this album, "The Besom Maker" and "Mystic Art" show the folk side of the project, with straightforward acoustic guitar songs and slightly strange vocals. It reminds me a bit of how Death in June sounded on their acoustic tracks in the 1980s. The other tracks reveal the experimental side of the collective, incorporating many samples, noises and narratives into quite interesting soundscapes. "Ephialtes", for example, contains a very effective mix of movie samples, keyboard melody, voices, and the recital of a poem.
These tracks would just be a bit of a strange hodge-podge, however, if consumed without reference to the 14-page document that accompanies the album. Only when you listen to these tracks and read about their origin at the same time, do you discover the many references and their esoteric significance. Each of the tracks is related to a pagan festival, and you can read about the origin of each track, as well as that of the audio material used. You'll find out that this 2006 Annual is all weirdness, but with a profound background. For example, the short "Don't Let Them Immanentise The Eschaton" has the longest description of all tracks, where it is related to the investigation of the alleged German invasion of England during WWII at Shingle Street. The sounds used are based on actual radio investigations on site. There is much to discover about every track, but I have to mention the last one, "Open The Mithraic Stargate". This is a recording of part of an actual Mithraic ritual, also featuring Philip Legard (Xenis Emputae Travelling Band) as a guest musician. A very long track, but you can feel the power flowing from the invocations at times.
English Heretic are an interesting bunch, to say the least. Musically alone, this release might only be interesting for those heavily into sound manipulations and such, but because of the extensive background behind every track, this should be very interesting for anyone with a love for esoteric and occult history, as well as freaky musical experiments. You can download the track guide on this page.
O.S.
Musically, English Heretic practice a mixture of folk songs, samples and loads and loads of sound manipulations. The two live tracks on this album, "The Besom Maker" and "Mystic Art" show the folk side of the project, with straightforward acoustic guitar songs and slightly strange vocals. It reminds me a bit of how Death in June sounded on their acoustic tracks in the 1980s. The other tracks reveal the experimental side of the collective, incorporating many samples, noises and narratives into quite interesting soundscapes. "Ephialtes", for example, contains a very effective mix of movie samples, keyboard melody, voices, and the recital of a poem.
These tracks would just be a bit of a strange hodge-podge, however, if consumed without reference to the 14-page document that accompanies the album. Only when you listen to these tracks and read about their origin at the same time, do you discover the many references and their esoteric significance. Each of the tracks is related to a pagan festival, and you can read about the origin of each track, as well as that of the audio material used. You'll find out that this 2006 Annual is all weirdness, but with a profound background. For example, the short "Don't Let Them Immanentise The Eschaton" has the longest description of all tracks, where it is related to the investigation of the alleged German invasion of England during WWII at Shingle Street. The sounds used are based on actual radio investigations on site. There is much to discover about every track, but I have to mention the last one, "Open The Mithraic Stargate". This is a recording of part of an actual Mithraic ritual, also featuring Philip Legard (Xenis Emputae Travelling Band) as a guest musician. A very long track, but you can feel the power flowing from the invocations at times.
English Heretic are an interesting bunch, to say the least. Musically alone, this release might only be interesting for those heavily into sound manipulations and such, but because of the extensive background behind every track, this should be very interesting for anyone with a love for esoteric and occult history, as well as freaky musical experiments. You can download the track guide on this page.
O.S.