Search - Current 93 :: Great in the Small

Nerve-wrecking, utterly fascinating, but not for everyone.

-¦- | over here. | 03/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ahhhh.... What could I possibly say about Current 93 that hasn't been said before? They're legendary for being eccentric, idiosyncratic, and prolific to the point of lunacy. When I heard that this release was to be all of C93's recorded output on one disc, I was stupified. I had to hear it (like I wouldn't have bought it anyway).
To spoil the surprise, this is more a sound collage with different elements exchanging volumes and placement, and the true C93 obsessive can pick out which scrap is from where.
That having been said, this is truly one of the most nightmarish things I have ever encountered. A tangled mess of accoustic guitars, piano, countless layers of phased vocals, girls singing pagan melodies, drones, feedback, synth squibbles, drum races, fevered rants and chants, various stringed instruments, and much more all swimming in an omnipresent gel of warbly effects. And it's absolutely spell-binding. Current 93 can be a harrowing experience when taken one album at a time, and when mashed together? Like being immersed directly into the foggy, spectre-ridden mind of David Tibet himself. It takes a strong stomach to take this ride more than once, but with every listen, a flow becomes apparent. The magnitude of somehow combining elements from 40 recordings (at the very least) was not approached lightly, and the furthur one explores this world, the truer this becomes.
However, I can definately see even the more tolerant followers of this group being turned off by this very quickly. As it was, what I thought had been twenty minutes into the album turned out to be six.
All in all, I highly recommend this to only the most adventurous Current 93 fans, but be warned; if Hell has a waiting room, this is surely what it must sound like."