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 AIN
SOPH
Ain Soph III
2000
2xCD
Misty Circles/Old Europa Cafe
As a group whose work has spanned the best part of eighteen years, Ain
Soph have always acted as a touchstone for the post-industrial scene,
whether in the form of their early ritualistic utterances such as
I and II (issued by Misty Circles in 1984 and 1985 respectively)
which gave us a style which was to find its purest and most sophisticated
form in 1988's Kshatriya, or in their later and more classically-influenced
work such as the Cthulhu-issued Ain Soph/Sigillum S split cassette
or the Staalplaat released self-titled work (cassette 1990, CD 1992) which
presented us with settings of Petrach, Andre Fréderique and the poems
of the wandering scholars. I992's Aurora took this later style
to its logical conclusion being an uneasy but brave selection of 'songs'
that mixed in equal measure the words of the military display, café society
and the canciones of the itinerano Italian street singer.
To quote their booklet notes: "If Magic is Tradition in the veins
of history, doctrines that deny all values are the enemy."
Ain Soph III returns us to the days before Kshatriya and
as it was previously only ever available as a cassette it was always the
least known of the early albums. This official reissue by Old Europa Cafe/Misty
Circles Records takes the form of a double CD in plain card packaging.
The first CD is taken up with one track, 'rituale 00' which continues
the trance like characteristics that were always apparent in I
and II but taken to new lengths both in duration and by its insistence
on a more seamless quality than its predecessors. The recording is dense
in feel and if lacking in dramatic interest this should be seen as a virtue
when the composition is considered as either ritual or as an accompaniment
to the same.
The second CD of self-titled solo work by Crucifige, while less
successful as a composition, is probably the more interesting half of
the set, for while these are obviously 'home demos' they present us with
the group's first attempt at the more mannered utilisation of text that
was to dominate the later albums. Curiously, while the titles of the three
compositions are given in Italian - i) 'il faltimento di Gesu', ii) 'Oscurita
visibile', and iii) 'L'immondizia, la citta, e la morte', they are actually
sung in English. This was probably a mistake as the singer's technique
at this point wasn't quite up to his aspirations, such texts requiring
a slightly surer touch in word painting; but only the final piece outstays
its welcome and overall this second disc is a valiant effort that is only
spoiled in this reissue by the absence of proper tracking (all three pieces
being programmed as one number) and the fact that little has been done
to clean up and improve upon the sound quality of the original masters.
Nonetheless, for those that admire Ain Soph, this is an essential release
in charting the group's development. Beginners would probably be better
advised to start with the Staalplaat Ain Soph or Kshatriya
but overall these discs are a worthy addition to the Apocalyptic canon
of the post-industrial movement and thus surely deserve our serious attention.
Hail to The Limitless Light!
ANDREW KING A.R.75 - June-23 July 2000
DISCOGRAPHY
Many thanks to Arne Thau of Hekate for providing
this discography:
Cassettes:
1984 I Ain Soph
1985 II Ain Soph
1985 Live at Piper Club Ain Soph
1985 III Ain Soph
1986 Ars Regia Nekrophile Rec.
1989 Simulacra Cthulhu Split with Sigillum S
1990 Ain Soph Staalplaat
LPs:
1988 Kshatriya Misty Circles 1000 copies, black
1992 Kshtriya Misty Circles 0090 copies, clear
1992 II Misty Circles 0100 copies, red
1992 II Misty Circles 0400 copies, black
1993 I Misty Circles 0200 copies, clear
1993 I Misty Circles 0004 copies, green ?????
1993 I Misty Circles 0500 copies, black
1998 Simulacra Misty Circles/OEC 0689 copies, green Split
with Sigillum S
CDs:
1992 Kshatriya MMM 2000 copies, digipack
1992 Ars Regia Nekrophile Rec. 0500 copies
1992 Ain Soph Staaplaat 0500 copies
1992 Aurora Cthulhu 2000 copies, digipack
1999 Ain Soph Elfenblut ???? copies
2000 III Misty Circles/OEC 0489 copies, 2CD
7"s:
1995 Baltikum Misty Circles 0500 copies, Split with Circus
Joy
1999 Baltikum WKN ???? copies, brown, Split with Der Blutharsch
There are also countless participations on compilations, e.g.:
1985 ’Theme II & III’ Nekrophile Rec. CD The Archangel of
Sex
1989 ’Liberté ou Mort’ different versions Minus Habens LP Carne
del Disastro
1991 ’Song of Grief/Fate’ Cthulhu CD The Lamp of the invisible
Light
1996 ’In Excelsis’ My Castle CD Onore alle Arti
1998 ’Blut und Geist’ Eis + Licht CD Cavalcare la Tigre
1999 ’Theme V’ Athanor CD Lucifer Rising
forthcoming, a live track on Achtung Baby’s! Ten years of madness
2CD, as also one track on the Oktagon Öktagön sampler
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