Search - Sanctum :: Lupus in Fabula

Cohesive Eclecticism

Kerry Ledbetter | Silvis, IL United States | 01/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Never have I heard an album so scyzophrenic. I could try to give you a generic summary of their sound, but it's so diverse that it would take forever. One song might be harsh noise with distorted, growling male vocals, the next could be beautiful ambience with angelic female vocals, the next song might combine the two. One song sounds almost like a rock/metal industrial song similar to KMFDM or Rammstein, still another sounds like a classical composition given a digital edge. Somehow, it all works together. How could something this eclectic feel so cohesive? Aside from all the songs being brilliantly composed, few of them seem to have much in common.I know for a fact that all these songs were written by the band over the course of several years. They were just experimenting and wrote whatever they felt like at the moment with no intention of making them "work together", yet somehow they do. It's like listening to a classical concert where all the different styles merge into one story with brilliant results. Somehow, these four musicians have created an album that is far greater than the sum of it's parts or even the sum of it's creators. People of all different musical tastes have found themselves captivated by this album. It's simply exceptional music and any music lover, regardless of their preferred genre or scene, should give this band a chance. This is pure art without any pretense or scene-posturing. This is what happens when aural artists create just for the sake of creating.(If you are looking for other works by this artist, this is their only full-length CD. However, two of the members were the creative force behind November Commandment, an industrial band that sounded a little like a much colder, harder version of Depeche Mode. One of them created a concept piece about an industrial plant called Parca Pace and it became a unique band in it's own right. Parca Pace and Sanctum have songs on the Endtimes sampler as well and it's worth getting just for those compositions.)"