Hasufel - Winter on the Hill Cumorah
Did a review last year with this interesting (and very ritualistic) dark-wave/dungeon-synth act. It was a great release, and I was looking for more with this... and here it is! Released on Chondritic Sound as a 100 limited golden esoteric cassette, gold paper with black ink (the works!). The mystical album title, Winter on the Hill Cumorah. The Hill Cumorah is a so-called drumlin which is located in Manchester, New York. A drumlin is a hill formed as an inverted spoon. On this drumlin, a certain Joseph Smith was handed golden plates by an angel named Moroni. These plates were then translated and formed into a book, the Book of Mormon. And if you don´t know about the Book of Mormon, then I suggest you do a Wikipedia check-up. The artist behind the act has this to inform the curious:
"Winter on the Hill Cumorah is a dark exploration into the history of the Mormon church and its founder Joseph Smith, whose death mask graces the cover of this album. Utilizing synthesizers, voice, kaval and Egyptian ney, Hasufel craft baroque experimental pieces with a distinct sensibility for songwriting. Field recordings and Helmut's own voice augment these missives, as perhaps heard seeping from the stone while ransacking the temple. Music for days spent searching for warmth in a damp crypt, or nights spent beneath the clouds among the headstones of the churchyard."
Pretty heavy (and adventurous) theme to work around with? Always an interesting concept idea to work with, mass religion and its mystical history. So what about the music then?! Here goes!
The first track A Pillar of Light starts off with disturbing (but strangely merry) melodic religious-changing. It could sound like one of those drunken sessions with the Blutharsch (Where he sampled the dwarves from Snowwhite!). A strange, curious and eerie evocative intro (good ear-opener). Second offering the Orchard involves ritualistic bells, Arabic-sounding guitar-strings, Lovecraftian synths, and haunting and doom-laden male-vocals. A touch of that early Death In June / Current 93 apocalyptic mood/feel here. Very mystical deep stuff here. Third track Haun´s Mill continues with that arabic-feel, a Mideastern-sounding flute playing while being surrounded by an alien otherworldly ambiance. A terrifying scream ends this track!
Fourth piece Seer and Revelator makes it quite clear that the history and background of the Mormon church... is a quite dark one. Doesn't sound like a come-and-join-the-church-guys track. Atrax Morque´ish death-industrial synth-work with a sermon-like sample in the background with distorted vocals. Hymn no.2 (A Fire Is Burning) continues the religious-sermon with heavy and atmospheric synth work and ritualistic metallic bangings. Cool sounding Sleep Chamber´ ish vocals and sacred chantings add up the mood. Ritualistic industrial as it should be! The last Dispensation of the Fulness of Times is the sixth track, welcomes Berlin-school touches and illbient stillness before the apocalyptic storm. Additionally sampled rhythmic-sections come later on with melodic vocals also. Might just be a marriage between dark-wave/ritual-industrial and dungeon synth going on here! Next track Hymn no. 246 just creeps you out! The second last track In The Mountain Meadow continues in the same manner as the Orchard. Strangely pleasant and tranquilizing Arabic-ritual moods, and very decent made! Very last track Deseret ends the album with unpleasant sea-sick synths and doom-is-upon-you melodies. Probably the darkest piece on the album!. Great way to end an album.
And there you go. Lots of unpleasant religious creepiness and less of pleasant esoteric industrial-mumbo jumbo. We are not in the Crowley-teachings with Psychic TV etc, we are in the unpleasant (and very REAL) believe-system-territory which have (sadly) followed humanity for nearly all time. This album proves that fact, through sounds and mood. A perfect apocalyptic album.
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