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Procer Veneficus and Manes…

Procer Veneficus - Ghostvoices"Ghostvoices" (released by God is Myth Records) is my first exposure to Procer Veneficus, and I know very little about this project other than the fact that the sole member calls himself Night and is apparently based in California. However, despite the fact that the band seems to be tied to the ethos of black metal in some way (Perhaps some of Procer Veneficus' past musical exploits were more in that vein?), this entire record is based entirely around soft acoustic guitars, strained whispers, and resonant dark ambient lulls that you'd more likely expect to hear coming from some bleak, distant Scandinavian forest or something—as opposed to California!? A cover of Velvet Cacoon's "P.S. Nautical" is included, and though I've never heard the original I'd assume some liberties have been taken since the performance herein fits in perfectly with the style exhibited throughout all of Procer Veneficus' original material. This really is quite a quiet disc, which fits, and considering the literal contents of each composition it really couldn't be much louder regardless, but you'll definitely find yourself turning things up more and more to maximize the atmosphere of the listening experience:

Procer Veneficus "Greengrey Waters"

I don't stumble across much of this stuff but it's surprisingly relaxing in some of its chilling aesthetics, and I can really appreciate the stripped down simplicity to the guitar melodies, etc. If you feel the same way, look into picking one up for yourself:

God is Myth Records
The End Records

Manes - ViewThe "View" EP on Aural Music is the latest release from Norway's Manes, who have taken somewhat of an Ulver-esque road from their primal black metal roots to their more dynamic and open present, in which spacious electronic smatterings mesh with more organic instrumentation behind intriguingly dramatic singing that often drives the melody of the material. This particular EP seems like somewhat of a stopgap in that it only includes two wholly new Manes tracks interspersed with three remixes of "Terminus a Quo/Terminus ad Quem" from "Vilosophe" (one from DJ Don Tomaso, two from Cordell Klier), the opening 16 Horsepower cover ("Cinder Alley"—I've never heard this original either but this treatment is absolutely awesome), and another track indicated as having been "somewhat inspired by Duran Duran"—to the point where the credits almost seem to treat it as a partial cover song. The result, however, is seven cuts in a little over a half-hour, so there's definitely plenty of substance. Of course the core Manes material carries with it the real strength here, and I'm at the point where my interest in remixes tends to be dwindling unless they're extremely high quality, so... while the three contributions herein are certainly decent (I'm not sure If I prefer Tomaso's more musical stance or Klier's sparse and glitchy ambience), they're neither as interesting nor as forceful as the original works. Though in all honesty the band's truly excellent cover of "Cinder Alley" is actually my favorite track herein!

Manes "Cinder Alley"

I was quite blown away by "Vilosophe" when I first discovered Manes, so I imagine I'll always be following their future work based on my respect for their curious experimentation alone. And I feel that those open-minded enough to appreciate their forays beyond the realm of black metal should do the same. This EP is limited to only 999 copies (Huh!?), and given the nature of these things I'm certain it will sell out at some point, so... don't sleep on it for too long or that might be all she wrote:

@ The End Records

Comments

  1. Picked up that new Manes EP right away, when i came across the Vilosophe review on the old site i was intrigued, and i must say it’s one of the more unique records i’ve have heard in the last couple of years.

    4.24.2006 | By Mikel

  2. Dude, you really need to check out 16 Horsepower if you haven’t already. The Manes song is great, but it doesn’t even begin to compare with the original.

    4.24.2006 | By Anonymous

  3. I dunno, that Procer Venficus has an incredible atmosphere, but it gets a little repetitive.  I’m sure it is supposed to but I could have done with just a tad more variety.

    4.25.2006 | By Johnny

  4. I’ve got some of the other Procer Veneficus albums, and one is pure ambient with no accoustic guitar, and one is just straight up black metal (which they also do very well in my opinion). “Of Starfire and Blackshadows Crawling” is still my favorite of the 3 that I have, but this one is better than the fully ambient one.

    4.26.2006 | By Carlzilla

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