Very entrancing, gothic music; a journey in and of itself
582067
Mysterious and captivating sounds that pull you into a world of shadows and endless dimensions.  Guaranteed to soothe the soul and stimulate your mind.  Get ready to go for a ride into the outer realm.
1674464
This was probably my favorite album of 2007 -- certainly in terms of relentless listening and unfailing enjoyment.  It's a rich, unassuming masterpiece of inspired and interesting choices, with thoughtful lyrics and melodies that build and go places, without overplaying their strengths.  A bit like fellow Texan Lyle Lovett, Burr's gothic folk works within a somewhat narrower range, but he explores all its possibilities exquisitely.  Songs like "Whippoorwhill" have that take-the-top-of-your-head-off poeticism.  Hard to believe this isn't in wider release; also frustrating that he doesn't appear to venture on tour outside Texas.
2403299
"A clouded dream on an earthly night/Hangs upon the crescent moon/A voiceless song in an ageless light/Sings at the coming dawn..."

Listening to a Loreena McKennit album is like being slowly enveloped in a dream of medieval castles, incense-heavy air, and distant exotic lands full of shadows and beauty. "The Mask and the Mirror" is a prime example of McKennit's hauntingly ye-olde music, with lush instrumentation and bittersweet vocals -- not to mention some truly lovely songs.

It starts with the haunting "Mystic's Dream," a love song that is soaked in a dreamlike atmosphere and the sound of monks chanting wordlessly in the background It's followed by the more upbeat but grisly ballad "The Bonny Swans," the vaguely erotic-sounding "The Dark Night of the Soul" is set to lots of floaty string melodies, and the dancey "Marrakesh Night Market" adds a peppy Middle-Eastern flavor to the album ("Would you like my mask/Would you like my mirror?... you can look at yourself, you can look at each other/you can look at the face, the face of your god!").

A more contemplative air enters the album in its second half -- "Full Circle" is a minimalist ballad that mourns and marvels at the sound of worship ("in your heart, in your soul, did you find peace there?") while "Santiago" is a sprightly Spanish-flavored instrumental with McKennit only making "la la" noises. She dips briefly into the upliftingly lovely "C&eacute; H&eacute; Mise Le Ulaingt?/The Two Trees,"  and ends on a suitably bittersweet note -- a somnolent recitation of "Prospero's Speech."

Loreena McKennit has a magical touch with music -- she can wrap you in velvety dreams, walk you through a candelit medieval cathedral, dance you through a spice-filled Middle-Eastern market and rock you to sleep in an ivy-filled ruin. "The Mask and the Mirror" does all these things and more, and it's honestly hard to find a single false note in the entire exquisite album.

It's also impossible to find a modern pop sensibility in the whole thing -- the music is a lush tapestry of lutes, drums, an aching sweep of violin, guitar, some truly beautiful harp, and a dark swathe of bittersweet piano in "C&eacute; H&eacute; Mise Le Ulaingt?/The Two Trees." While the songs can be upbeat -- such as "Santiago" and "The Bonny Swans" -- the overall atmosphere is pretty mellow and subdued. Sometimes it's redolent with spiritual intensity, and sometimes it's just sad.

Apparently her visits to Spain and Morocco flavored the lyrics for these songs, there's definitely Spanish, Celtic and Arabian atmosphere; in addition, the songs are grounded in some classic literature, derived from Shakespeare, Yeats, and St. John of the Cross. And her strong, sweetly rich voice always sounds slightly sad, as she drifts through lyrics filled with vivid, striking images ("A painting hangs on an ivy wall/Nestled in the emerrald moss... A clouded dream on an earthly night/Hangs upon the crescent moon").

"The Mask and the Mirror is a vibrant, almost painfully lovely album that drips with medieval-ish splendor and lots of Spanish/Celtic/Middle-Eastern beauty. Utterly haunting.
2040295
Only 5 tracks but each one is a real journey in themselves, but make no mistake about it, this is an album to listen to in its entirely to get the nice flow it has.  Some very heavy sounding riffs sounding like very EARLY Sabbath (The Legion), with sprinkling of Pink Floyd at times(An Offering Of Grief, Given to the Grave).  The vocal and twin lead guitars, crushing bass, and to-the-point drum accompaniment are skillfully done. Wish the vocals were mixed a little louder at times as they really work in tone of the album.  This is a album that is both sorrowful and triumphant sounding.  Worth giving a serious listen to even if you're not into doom metal.  Seriously good stuff for the careful listener, as there's much to be found here.
1348044
This recording is absolutely wonderful.  It is one of the most creative, challenging, and yet accessible, examples of dark electronic music released in the past few years.  The album moves seamlessly from percolating, to throbbing, to stomping, to white noise screeching, to drifting, to pulsating, taking the listener on a unique journey.  This album really is so creative, it should appeal to anyone with an ear for daring electronic music, but especially those who have a taste for the darker side of life.
1402312
This compilation from MCM Music features some very unique and unusual music that you usually will never come to expect in christian music. Several different bands on here have songs [at least 2 per band]. I was thoroughly impressed with Narnia [They sound like a cross between 80's Metallica and latter-day Manowar], and Saviour Machine. Eva O [Former Christian Death member and currently a christian] was undoubtedly the hardest artist to get into that was on here [Though track 3 was nice, unlike track 2]. I was simply blown away at the fact that a lot of these bands are actually gothic but yet they all perform it with christian lyrics! Because of the fact that this is mostly a gothic compilation, A lot of these songs have a dark, very unsettling feel. Right from Pastor Dave's intro to Saviour Machine's The Whore Of Babylon, This is a welcome breath of fresh air when you think about all the stupid poppy ''CCM'' bands that are currently flooding the ''Christian'' music industry. Best tracks are Narnia's ''Long Live The King'', Rackets and Drapes' ''Home Street Home'', Wedding Party's ''War Memorial'', Saviour Machine's ''Behold A Pale Horse'' [The highlight of the entire compilation], and Wedding Party's ''Bury The Dead''. If you're looking for something that glorifies God but is darker, This is a good cd for you.
1224659
First off, you cannot go wrong with this.  This is simply the ultimate gothic metal album.  It takes you to a moonlit place of marble ruins and ivy, sea caves and sirens.  Beyond solitary twilight voyages, I can see it working equally well as the throbbing pulse of the goth club, replete with leather-clad vamps and crimson velvet.

When I was an awkward, grubby freshman in college (circa 1995), my dorm room neighbor had the most impressive collection of black metal, doom metal, and death metal I had ever seen.  Actually, it was the only collection I had ever seen.  Prior to that, all I knew of metal was Pantera and White Zombie-- and I knew it well, playing it pretty much to death every day in the weightroom or in my 1978 Mustang II hatchback (not a muscle car, by the way).  But this guy Myles made me a doom metal tape that had all the mega-hits from bands like Amorphis ("Black Winter's Day" anyone?), The Gathering ("King for a Day"), Tiamat ("The Sleeping Beauty"), Anathema, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, St. Vitus, and Candlemass.

His efforts were not fruitful-- at first anyway.  When I wore out my Alice in Chains and Nirvana records during those halcyon summer glory days, I turned back to metal. And for fourteen years now, going strong, death metal has been my choice for hazy late-night sessions.  Who wants emotion on a daily basis?  Not me.  If those doom bands really want something to cry about, they should move to an American city and try their hand at being a corporate wage slave.  I came to depend on the reliable purveyors of diamond-cut DM, bands like Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse.

Meanwhile, those European bands changed styles faster than a NASCAR driver changes gears.  If they were budding young minds instead of bands they would immediately be prescribed Ritalin.

Now, the miraculous thing is that experimentation, like genetic mutation, is not always a bad thing.  The current legion of female-fronted symphonic metal bands (i.e. "gothic metal") is a new, stable phenotype, the evolution of which can be traced back through the fossil record to the original doom bands.  Epica, Delain, Demurtas-era Tristania, Ailyn-era Sirenia, latter-era After Forever-- by bringing in strong frontwomen and slightly faster tempos, these bands took Theatre of Tragedy's beauty and the beast template and made it listenable.  And, it must be said, they kill their American counterparts.

Personally, I cannot get behind some guy singing in a high-pitched voice unless he is Rob Halford, and don't even talk to me about those male opera vocals.  Ailyn's voice, however, is unforgettable.  Her voice lured me into the Gladsheim of gothic metal in the same way that the bone-chilling voice of Layne Staley got me into 90s hard rock.  Just how the scrambled howl of John Tardy got me into death metal, or the way Rudy Ratzinger's (:W:) electronic scalpel of a tongue got me into industrial.

Sirenia also boasts the best male vocals in the genre courtesy of Morten, whose voice possesses that cold, distorted, industrial quality of the best black metal vocals.  Not to mention that he is a songwriting genius.  Don't get me wrong; I understand why this genre is often overlooked by metalheads. But when the day comes that you are looking for something different and you run into a song like "The Path to Decay" or "Led Astray", it will be a good day.  This is a true celebration of METAL:  Let us toast to mead, minstrels, and valkyries.
4718224
I find myself in an odd position, because as much as I agree with the previous, rapturous review, I came away not as impressed. The Janacek quartets do indeed "speak" as if words are being uttered rather than notes. Janacek's late idiom was passionate, abrupt in its changes of mood and style, and enigmatic. It's full-blown modernism that doesn't, however, stray into the mainstream of Second Viennese atonality.

The Emersons, as expected, preform these two jagged works with edgy excitement, but the result to my ears is too cold and streamlined; Janacek never fully renounced his romantic roots -- certainly not here, in music inspired by feverish, unrequited love -- nor did he forget Czech folk rhythms. When I turn to the live recording by the Alban Berg Quartet, I hear more dancing and romance; each voice has greater personality where the Emersons sound like a machine with interchangeable parts. Also, do I hear some squeaky, out of tune passagework form the first violin?  That would be unthinkable with the ordinarily note-perfect Emersons, but dip into the first movement of Quartet #1 and the finale of Quartet #2.

As a filler we get rarely heard duets for violin and viola by Martinu, a composer well remembered in his homeland of Czechoslovakia but not in his country of exile, the U.S., despite a vast output. Violinist Philip Setzer (who alternates first chair in the ensemble) and violist Lawrence Dutton are as perfectly matched in tone as you'd expect.  Martinu's idiom includes fast counterpoint and fugal tail-chasing (as the title Three Madrigals implies); the tonality varies from folkloric to vaguely Debussian. The music is accessible, pleasant, and eminently forgettable. The main pleasure comes from hearing such amazing unanimity between two musicians.

Since I'm caught in this odd position of recognizing the quality of the musicianship on display here but not admiring the stylistic approach, I'll err on the cautious side and give four stars -- three would seem like nitpicking.
2718101
The whole album is a masterpiece; it flows so naturally and so beautifully like a musical narrative. It is so powerful that it creates mental landscapes in my mind which are so visual that they are almost tangible.  The melody is so charming yet so agonizingly painful; and this dichotomy is  a very true reflection of Egon Schiele and his art works. I would say that  the author of the music had a very accurate and piercing insight into the  subject matter and delivered an amazing musical interpretation on it.  Perhaps this is a little far fetched, but to me, this music is as  soul-searching and sensual as a Herman Hesse novel and, also a little bit  like that animation AeonFlux, just in terms of how much it forces you to  focus on one of your senses. AeonFlux forces you to open your eyes, but  Music for Egon Schile forces you to open your ears. And strangely, it also  feels as if this very melodious music is giving me a taste and feel of  "silence" which is quite paradoxical. The quality of performance  and recording are both impeccable. There is not one bit I would change  about this CD; it is perfect, it is absolute, it is true to itself. If you  work alone at night quite often, this music will keep you awake far better  than most techno's such as Prodigy or Chemical Brothers. It is just that  intense and potent. Personally this music helps me to focus on my  innerself. It takes me into that very private, personal and intimate space  inside. It is poetic, lyrical, cerebral and sensual. It is a work of a true  genius.
2389047
A truly Hermetic journey into acoustic alchemy and spiritual spaces, Zeitler's "In Search of the Philosopher's Stone" infuses the best of traditional orchestral arrangement with modern recording techniques, distilling the whole through the magic of digital synthesis. Incorporating medieval harmonies, transmuted with modern impressionism, the suites' slightly gothic flavor retains it's light throughout by its incorporation of the ethereal timbres of the glass harmonica and nylon string harp. Zeitler's 'great work' transmutes the spirit.

Zeitler incorporates some memorable and yet sublime melodies in each movement. The 3rd and 6th tracksNew Moon Over Eden and Tales of the Laughing Dragonare truly magical. The tasteful arpeggiation and pulsing cello tracks underpinning Soliloquy are mesmerizing, and the final title track, truly majestic and enduring.

I am fond of playing this suite in the background while engaged in my actual alchemical laboratory work. Can't miss with this brilliant suite: The quintessence of good taste, a 21st century foray into ontological musical spaces, In Search of the Philosopher's Stone is as brilliant as it is illuminating. It is ageless music marking the passing of the age of Aries.
3989222
Jody Talbot, British pop and soundtrack composer, has produced a series of intimate pieces that are quietly and profoundly emotional. I have found listening to these to be one of the most contemplatively inspiring sets of music I have ever heard. There is much to consider here. The influences from the minimalist and post-modern schools are clear, yet Talbot brings in a painful subcontext that leads one to reflection. It's a bit like looking at a zen garden and then realizing that there is an orange blossom opening up. At times there is that John Barry like feel of cinemascope that is broad, yet somehow reigned in to focus on a particular mode or scale, perhaps in the order of Gavin Bryars. When the music does this it is at its most compelling. This is the work that an ensemble like Orchestra 2001 might take up: at once modern and ageless, intelligent and spiritual, passionate and sublime. This is absolutely worth investigating.
3470580
King Diamond creates more atmosphere in the first four songs on this album than some horror writers do in five hundred pages. Following the course of his spectacular "Fatal Portrait" album, King delivers conceptually and musically on this album.
The story involves the possession of a young woman by the ghost of a stillborn child and the attempts of her distraught husband to rectify the situation. The music is a complex neo-classical/metal hybrid with some of the most melodic solos and powerful drumming ever. And then, of course, there's King. While the man's Satanic parading and piercing falsetto have driven away more than a few would-be fans, it must be said that his melodic lines and vocal harmonies are absolutely outstanding. He can jump from a demon growl to a glass-shattering wail effortlessly, and his lyrics are pure poetry (even more impressive when one considers that the man is Danish- most native English speakers would be hard pressed to rival his mastery of the language). His own religious beliefs are not at all apparent on this album (unlike the Mercyful Fate albums), so those who are sensitive about crap like that can enjoy as well. Abigail is a wonderful ghost story in a Gothic setting, with some of the most tasteful music ever as a backdrop.
2899047
As a staunch fan of Delerium, Era and Enigma, I came across Lesiem in a article, and something internally made me get this CD to listen firsthand to this group. What struck me first was how unique Lesiem was. Yes it does have electronica, rythmnic chanting and vocals. But  it is mixed and carried over quiet smoothly.

This taste of Lesiem has made me hunger for more. And I will sate my hunger by ordering more of this group's music. My favourite tracks were Fundamentum, Una Terra, Open Your Eyes and Liberta. This music will make the listener feel relaxed and take you on a journey down into your own fantasies.
4437150
Portals embodies an enchanting and myth like sound. The melodies are completely entangling as each song flows into the next. Its an absolutely intriguing listening experience.
1691996
This review has something of the gratuitously autobiographical about it.
The short of it is, on this disc you will find lovely repertory, and will find it sung both capably and sweetly by the Oxford Camerata.
It was in tenth grade, I think, that I first sang O magnum mysterium.  Since seventh grade, I had been playing the clarinet in our school band;  and the bits I had heard of the occasional school chorus concert did not give me the impression, either that the human voice is a musical instrument, or that the stuff written for lots of voices together was anything I should ever take any interest in.  And yet, somehow, I allowed myself one afternoon to be dragged into the music room when there was a chorus rehearsal, and I found myself trying to sing.
One of the first things the director had us read, was this Victoria motet;  and I was enthralled from the start.
Now, I will not hide from you that there is plenty of music which, back in school, I thought the most enduringly great literature imaginable, but of which now, after years of education and experience, I cannot in good conscience entertain anywhere near so exalted an opinion.
But the Victoria is one of a few pieces I met and loved back in school, which has worn marvelously well over the years.
The parody Mass based on the motet, is absolutely new to me (the term "parody" here possesses nothing of the, but means that the musical material for much of the Mass's polyphony comes from an outside source);  and for anyone who is familiar with the motet, the aural hunt for the gestures and motifs which come from the motet is a most pleasant puzzle.  The beginnings of both the Kyrie and the Sancus make use of the descending fifth of the motet's opening, though it is a little "masked" among other voices.  The music both of this Mass, and the Missa O quam gloriosum, are a wonderful mixture of the serenely fluid vocal polyphony typical of (say) Palestrina, and episodes of dance-like rhythm which are more like Spanish madrigals.
160379
A song, which has set a course for a journey through an entirely different genre of music, could not accept anything less.  It is an exceptional piece.
593564
An absolutely gorgeous, haunting album!  I recently discovered Lisa Hannigan but was ambivalent about her earlier work--it clearly showed talent, but I wasn't sure if it was "for me."  This album, though, showcases her talent as it has developed into maturity, and has me utterly hooked.  The sound is beautifully fluid, full of eddies and flows, and somehow manages to be both modern and yet reminiscent of something of the Renaissance or even middle ages, particularly stand-out songs such as "Lo."  The lyrics and Hannigan's unique voice swim, drift, and drown, so that the effect is one of lying in the current and feeling it flow around you, as clouds float overhead--the listener is both drawn down and buoyed up.  A great find, and well, well worth a listen for fans of Irish, folk, and alt-folk music.