Volur - Death Cult - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Doom experimentalists Völur from Toronto and San Francisco's ever-mercurial neo-classical ambient collective Amber Asylum team up for the split InchBreaker Of Rings/Blood Witch.Inch Both artists are driven by the vision of creating dark and heavy music built around the use of strings, yet differ in approach while beautifully complimenting one another on this . On the a-side, Völur tell a story of alienation and trauma, a warrior's introspective hell and disability to resonate with a reality past battle. Expanding their style into radical musical niches such as funeral doom and 12-tone music, the tracks are inspired by Inchthe Niflung cycle from the Poetic Edda, the aftermath of battles and the toll violence takes on the psyches of alleged heroesInch according to bass player and singer Lucas Gadke. The material was originally conceived as one track for the trio's first album InchAncestorsInch (2017) but shelved Inchdue to it's length and energy. The middle contains a piece written for a string quartet in the style of Alban Berg.Inch Thus, InchBreaker Of RingsInch places the band somewhere between funeral doom and a horror movie soundtrack. Amber Asylum's b-side is a morbidly beautiful story of disease and it's victim, initiated by penetration of a female mosquito as the metaphorical InchBlood Witch.Inch Surrealistic string arrangements and voices of eerie presence enriched by relentless analog synths are painting distinctive images of discomfort and beauty, delirium and devotion, anguish and ultimate acceptance. Band leader Kris Force says the four songs are based on Inchearly 20th century Indian love lyrics and feature performances by Grayceon's Jackie Perez Gratz on cello as well as bassist Erica Stoltz from Sanhedrin. I wanted to create something in my own voice yet sharing the same vibration as Völur's side of the split.Inch In true Prophecy spirit, InchBreaker

With a name derived from Inchvölva,Inch a seeress in Norse folklore, Völur are not the kind of band to fulfill faux-pagan longings, neither thematically nor musically. Although they hail from Canada, the group is fascinated by European history. They delve deep into the wide array of Germanic myth, drawing freely from a keen interest in the everyday life of their pre-Christian ancestors, their relation to culture at large and it's spirituality. The trio is comprised of Blood Ceremony bassist Lucas Gadke, drummer James Payment of post-rock stalwarts Do Make Say Think, and experimental violinist Laura C. Bates - a mixed ménage for sure, and this is mirrored in their music. Filtering many influences, which range from Fairport Convention's pastoral prog to the droning doom sound of Earth, through multiple folk traditions (Swedish fiddle music and Alpine singing, for instance) and a fondness for the darker side of metal, Völur are both airy and heavy in their own way.

2017 , the sophomore album from the Toronto-based experimental doom trio. Produced by the band and mixed by Charles Spearin (Broken Social Scene), Ancestors is the follow-up to Völur's celebrated debut, Disir, which was hailed as Incha winsome blend of pastoral folk, gentle prog, atmospheric doom, and old world magicInch by Noisey. Just as Disir dealt with themes surrounding female figures from mythology, Ancestors focuses on the heroines' male counterparts and is the second part of a planned four album series spotlighting various elements of the old Germanic spiritual world. Völur's songs are long, quasi-narrative pieces that feature Laura C. Bates' violin assuming the role traditionally executed by a guitar, allowing the bass playing of Lucas Gadke (also of Blood Ceremony) to take on unique responsibilities in both lead and melodic roles while drummer Jimmy Payment (Do Make Say Think) feeds the band's bombastic, crushing oomph. Doom music (not necessarily metal) is about slow contemplation and the transfixing power of heaviness and Völur's weighty riffs, layers of feedback, dynamic, angular melodies and moments of beauty give heed to the band's promise to always seek newer modes of musical expression and discovery. Moving between high-tension heaviness and beautiful pastoral moods, Völur aims to reflect the world of primordial nature inspired by ancient myths and chilling poems of death and heroism. Ancestors takes you into a world of stories that have been shrouded by the fog of ages. But there's nothing obscure about this album it is the statement of an ambitious band defining their sonic territory. This is music as profound sound... prepare!