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Spear_Of_Longinus-The_Yoga_Of_National_Socialism-REMASTERED-CD-FLAC-2014-CA
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ARTIST : Spear Of Longinus STOREDATE : 00-00-2014
ALBUM : The Yoga Of National Socialism RIPDATE : 05-22-2015
YEAR : 2014 RUNTIME : 31:22 min
GENRE : Black Metal LANGUAGE : English
LABEL : Darker Than Black GRABBER : EAC Secure
SOURCE : CDDA ENCODER : FLAC 1.2.1
QUALITY : 959 kbps Avg 44.1kHz 2 channels SIZE : 220.9MB
URL : http://tinyurl.com/nzrcba9 TRACKS : 10 Files
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01 N.W.O. 2:39
02 Nebularsia 2:02
03 Volcanic Winter 2:41
04 The Sine Of Satan Is 56 2:00
05 Shiva Dancing 6:50
06 The Piano Concerto #9 5:11
07 Baggy Black (Not So Blue) 4:25
08 Stuka Song 2:10
09 Rommel 1:58
10 Interlude 1:26
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31:22 min
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│ This is Spear Of Longinus' most well-known album by most accounts, │
│ perhaps alongside their notoriously titled demo. This band's career │
│ is a process of continually reinventing the hybrid of no frills │
│ thrash/punk meets first wave black metal, and at this point that │
│ combination appears at its most spartan. Before delving into the │
│ specific content, the approach being taken by the listener needs to │
│ be decided upon, as does the question: just how seriously do we need │
│ to take this? │
│ │
│ Spear Of Longinus is a combination of esoteric musings, thoughts on │
│ the ultimate implications of cross-cultural mythological │
│ amalgamations, the nature of metal culture and of course a good bit │
│ of playful humour. Contradictions and juxtapositions, elaborate │
│ arcane metaphors over three-chord punk riffing, perhaps │
│ characterized properly by member Camazotz's phrase "the supreme │
│ sin-thesis of polarities." This is the nature of Spear Of Longinus. │
│ And it is a package that has gone over the heads of many listeners │
│ who do not delve deep enough to gain a reaction better than "those │
│ stupid nazis!" or "cool old school metal!" - missing out on the │
│ element of fun in the work of the extreme metal artist is not a │
│ phenomenon limited to PMRC uptight mothers, frequently it's the fans │
│ at the underground level who are not in on the joke. This band's │
│ good time goes largely unnoticed. │
│ │
│ They also demonstrate a level of mythological and historical │
│ literacy on the level of any popular │
│ Egyptian-history-textbook-recital acts. Probably this is obscured to │
│ the listener because they do not stop at recitation - no, here │
│ intricate global mystical narratives are reinterpreted and played │
│ off of each other in a creative way building a greater vision that │
│ captures the imagination not only in a scholarly sense but also, │
│ vitally, in an artistic one. SOL is not content to tell you some │
│ cool things about the past they have learned backed with a kicking │
│ metal soundtrack, they strive to transfer that knowledge to a │
│ greater understanding of the life of the individual and the │
│ operation of the cosmos. The ultimate result of this is difficult to │
│ reach; one could easily argue that behind the complex maze of │
│ mythologies there is not an answer to be found. Drug-induced │
│ gibberish would also be a reasonable conclusion despite the band's │
│ claims to abstinence. But what makes the art fascinating is not that │
│ it offers you the meaning of life in a tidy package, but the │
│ ambitious undertaking it both encourages and represents - in a │
│ cliched sense we are here not to reach a destination but to learn │
│ something about ourselves on the way there. │
│ │
│ The Yoga Of National Socialism is not just a lesson in comparative │
│ mythology, this is an exercise in the poetic application of myth to │
│ reality. As the ancients told stories around the campfire, │
│ interpreting the stars to explain the mysteries of everyday life, │
│ here too SOL apply mythic significance to natural phenomena. It is │
│ clear that to some extent, the band is caught up in this fantastic │
│ world and its apparent connections to our own - a comfort to us, at │
│ least, that the band isn't selling us anything that they wouldn't │
│ buy themselves. It is probably a requirement for the band to be │
│ inside that circle to create material like this. Our perspective as │
│ a listener is what is of importance here: we can eat it all up, go │
│ to the library and find the story of our lives written in the Vedas. │
│ Or we can dismiss it out of hand as meaningless, deceived by the │
│ basic riffs and d-beats that comprise these simple arrangements. │
│ These are the conclusions we devise for ourselves as we slip into │
│ the easy pattern of binary reasoning. But as noted before, there are │
│ things to be gained by playing along. And I'd like to think that │
│ those with a bit of intellectual curiosity will stick around and │
│ take a look. This is certainly not to suggest that the words of │
│ TYONS contain structure or insight of extreme intelligence, or that │
│ we will gain any sort of practical education for our trouble; rather │
│ that for those who like a bit of abstract thought with their Arts & │
│ Entertainment we can stick around and join SOL in their fun for a │
│ time. There is always something to be gained, for us unbelievers, in │
│ taking a look at how the ontological other half lives. │
│ │
│ And behold; there is some literary consciousness going into the │
│ creation of this work. These guys aren't Homer, but they have │
│ definitely read a lot of books. Mythology, philosophy and history │
│ mainly - the type of history contained in books that mysteriously │
│ aren't found in the actual history section of the bookstore, like │
│ the Trever Ravenscroft work with which the band shares a title. As │
│ students of the Savitri Devi brand of esoterica, it is unsurprising │
│ that SOL would cast an obscuring aura over their work. Musically and │
│ lyrically, what seems obvious isn't always so, and what seems │
│ meaningless often has decipherable meaning - although this is not │
│ always obtainable. Presumably, coming from artists so deep into such │
│ a broad and unique combination of worldviews, many of the references │
│ on display here can only be truly understood by the writer. The band │
│ wishes to enlighten, but I assume their music acts as a release for │
│ them as well - adding a gnostic character to the work probably feeds │
│ their own worldview more than it benefits the listener. But in music │
│ too often the artist panders to the listener, holds back his true │
│ intentions to avoid confusing idiots with bank accounts - there is │
│ no such filter in place here. │
│ │
│ The album begins with a simple enough introduction that gives us the │
│ overreaching tone of the work fairly concisely. NWO is the enemy, of │
│ course, the global world that takes away our freedom to fulfill our │
│ carnal desires, to be the natural ideal that our barbarian friend │
│ Conan represents. This entity, probably somewhere between a secret │
│ Zionist cabal and a metaphor for modernity, is what the music stands │
│ in resistance against as strives to be everything we imagine the │
│ enemy is not: abrasive, animalistic, and anti-commercial. But the │
│ enemy has still managed to place some restrictions on this album: │
│ though unrelated to profit seeking motivations, they are still │
│ financial in nature. Recording studio woes interfered with SOL's │
│ vision and it shows. Production is absolutely basic and performance │
│ quality does not reach perfection. SOL have never been shy about │
│ letting a mised note or an outburst of feedback find their way into │
│ the final product, so only a listener unfamiliar with the band or │
│ indeed the genres at play will be dismayed at receiving something │
│ demo-quality. Actually, one might consider this to be a bit below │
│ even that: the weighty multi-track bombardment of the Nazi Occult │
│ Metal demo noticeably contrasts with the thin guitars and minimalist │
│ mix at work here. This combination is the result of economically │
│ restricted studio time, so it must be kept in the back of our minds │
│ that this recording didn't come out exactly as planned (both in │
│ terms of the album's sound and the handful of tracks that time │
│ constraints demanded be left on the cutting room floor). │
│ │
│ Razor thin distortion carries most of the guitar-driven songs, │
│ complimented here and there by variations like default-amp-setting │
│ clean riffing and strategically delayed reverb. The latter is │
│ effectively used on the centerpiece of the album, "Shiva Dancing". │
│ Bracketed by notable pauses of near silence that surprise at first │
│ but prove an example of forced pacing rarely seen in metal or music │
│ in general - a refusal to be confined by the restrictions of the CD │
│ format, the importance of the the centre of the album is enforced by │
│ this. You don't get to hear the track until it's time to hear it, │
│ and after you are allowed a moment of contemplation before we begin │
│ the downward spiral of deconstruction that composes the second half │
│ of the record. But before we go there, take a closer look at this │
│ centerpiece - I did say near-silence: "Those sounds by the way on │
│ ôShiva Dancingö, are actual NASA recordings made in space. They are │
│ what space SOUNDS like à", as we are enthusiastically informed by │
│ Camazotz. As Shiva (Nataraja) dances, he creates and he destroys. │
│ This is interpretable within the context of the album - before and │
│ after this point are hardly balanced (the album can be logically │
│ divided into two parts, one preceding and one following this song). │
│ Beyond this, it is one of the many songs we can hear over and over │
│ without deciphering the meaning; this is the power of SOL. Hypnotic │
│ chanting with the rhythm controlled by the echoing power chord │
│ strikes, a sense of tension and desperation is created between │
│ outbursts of deliberate action. Grab your Vel and slay Nataraja to │
│ break this cycle of creation/destruction is perhaps what we are │
│ being told, good metal music is largely an instruction manual for │
│ varieties of freedom, and SOL is no exception. The listener more │
│ versed in the lore of this specific location on SOL's mythological │
│ world tour will surely draw their own conclusions. But as elsewhere, │
│ the power of the music lies in its mysterious character - we are │
│ able to hear this over and over again, but we are never quite able │
│ to sing along in solidarity. A mystery whose solution may lie in the │
│ effort of solving. │
│ │
│ Having seen the album's climax, we can look at the rising and │
│ falling action that surrounds it. The opening half is conventional, │
│ relatively. A stripped down version of the band's familiar sound, a │
│ handful of simple riffs to carry the songs, an attitude of │
│ aggression, violence, pride and disgust. Most of the lyrical content │
│ is confined to this section; the effect created here is a didactic │
│ one where in contrast part two of the album is almost purely │
│ visceral. "Volcanic Winter", for example, is built around a │
│ typically savage and unrefined collection of riffs. The multiple │
│ guitar tracks haven't even been precisely synced, creating a │
│ somewhat dizzy and appropriately explosive foundation upon which to │
│ build an apocalyptic metaphor. The comparison takes advantage of │
│ similar words - Fenris (Fenrisulfr) and sulfur - that are also │
│ displayed as having similar functions, the former in legend and the │
│ later in the wake of the Toba catastrophe. This connection is placed │
│ alongside an interpretation of the theoretical event that │
│ unsurprisingly leads us to some obscure and unconventional │
│ conclusions (the scattering of races? The loss of ancient knowledge │
│ through the vanishing of the stars?), these are exemplary of the │
│ level of detail that is present within these simple songs. The theme │
│ of catastrophe is ongoing in this album, especially as the first │
│ half builds to the devastating climax on track five. │
│ │
│ Following Shiva's dance the threads start to unravel and a total │
│ deconstruction begins. "Piano Concerto #9" is the closest we get to │
│ a contemplative pause, a sort of retrospective ballad that offers │
│ more tangible emotion than can be found elsewhere in this band's │
│ discography. But clearly this moment of pity and perhaps sincere │
│ showing of human solidarity (though we might just as easily assume │
│ it is all in jest) is not intended as a focal point, rather it is a │
│ glimpse backward to our pasts and potential before we run headfirst │
│ off the brink, through primitive riffing into the nothingness that │
│ awaits beyond. Where part one of TYONS gets by on a handful of │
│ riffs, part two sees no need for more than a handful of notes in │
│ each track, and not a word is left to be uttered. A series of │
│ simplistic instrumentals (what Camazotz calls "ditties") hits us in │
│ rapid succession, like those rare concert moments when there is no │
│ moshing, no singing along, no frantic banging of heads, nothing to │
│ do but stand there with your eyes closed and listen to the band │
│ groove on a signature chord progression that could just as well │
│ never end. Given the circumstances around the album's recording, we │
│ can wonder whether this represents what the band intended, whether │
│ there were supposed to be some actual songs to fill up the last half │
│ of the album instead of what sounds like the homemade demo the │
│ guitarist brings to practice to facilitate the writing process. │
│ Intentional or by chance, the effect here is a unique and memorable │
│ one, and the downward spiral that is created - each track striving │
│ to a more base musicality than the last - leads us into the end of │
│ the show with purpose. It doesn't feel like anything has been left │
│ unsaid or undone, an accomplishment made more notable as the rest of │
│ this album didn't get finished and released until 2007. The sequel │
│ is hinted at, as though the musical deconstruction and silent │
│ eschaton of the final moments feel perfectly natural on this │
│ standalone album, we are left with a brief and dissonant │
│ "Interlude." An appropriate finale to an unfinished classic. │
│ │
│ Sound mastered at correct speed. │
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CATARACT: CLOUDING YOUR VISION