Search - Unto Ashes :: Saturn Return

Imaginative and refreshing

lyvv2 | Miller Place, NY United States | 07/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I tend to stray away from most projekt releases (they're often too "gothic" for my taste) but projekt has stumbled upon a band that is out of the ordinary. Not often do I hear a cd where track after track after track I crave more and more and more. From the opening dulcimer I was hooked! If you like Dead Can Dance, Death in June, Coil (check out the cover version) etc., you may find interest in this release. They're from New York!! Extremely creative, never boring, intelligent, and beautiful. I look forward to their next endeavor."

Music for the cognitively reflective

Michael A. Ventarola | New Jersey | 11/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Artist: Unto Ashes
CD: Saturn Return
Reviewed by: Mike VentarolaThe idea behind the title of this CD, as gleaned from the their press release, indicates that every 29 years, Saturn completes a rotational cycle through ones birth chart. Basically, the planetary restoration to that position signals the end of our youthful period, bringing with it "judgment and destruction, harvest and rebirth." For those with a penchant for astrology, Saturn is also a no-nonsense planetary energy steeped in melancholia and art on a grand scale. The first noticeable thing with this release is the brilliant cover artwork of an oil painting by Madeline von Foerster. This is stunning art that appropriately demarcates the dark beauty and decadence of the music contained therein. The artist's website is www.baphomatty.com for those wishing to discover more about this impressively talented lady.This sophomore release continues the proclivity of apocalyptic, pagan-inspired, medieval folk music that accompanied their first release, Moon Oppose Moon, however it veers miles ahead of that release on many levels.The songs delve into hypnotic rhythms that are at times layered against a backdrop of disconcerting surroundings that vacillate from searing to indifferent emotions. Each track of medieval themes and textures are chiseled with a sculptor's uncanny precision. The harmonization between ancient texts and original lyrics is tantamount to flawless as are the craftsmanship of the musicians and the accompanying vocalizations. Unto Ashes deliver a thematic message for those with ears to hear. Apart from the mournful essences that envelopes each tune, there was quite a bit of the exotic and tastefully erotic skillfully woven through the utilization of Middle Eastern instrumentation. All acts, whether sacred, profane or sensual ultimately lead towards and ending or demise of sorts. The subject and title gives further rise to personal introspection where we are gently nudged to correlate the path of our life every 29 years. Rather than meander through a list of goals of where we want to be in a particular time frame, we are asked to reflect upon that which will die in that cycle of time. Entering a rumination of such a nature through that type of chasm artfully explores living death, something that few have deliberated to any extent. We will not be the same every 29 years no matter how much one fights time and its onslaught against our mortality. Simply put, this CD transcends music. It serves the purpose of genius art that beckons us to question and envision life through the eyes of the artist. This genius of making us envision themes and messages from the artists' perspective seems to be a running thread with all signed Projekt artists. Without the skillful visions causing us to cogitate the varied essences of life, most of us would be enshackled in a life that was no more meaningful than a run on sentence."

How many literary references can you get on one record?

S. Gustafson | New Albany, IN USA | 06/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alas, there aren't any original Latin lyrics on this recording, Unto Ashes' second full length disc. So we'll just have to make do with Petrarch (-Morte, O merce-); Lord Brooke, an Elizabethan sonneteer (-When As Man's Life-); Maeterlinck (-They Killed Three Little Maids-); and Ronsard (-A Sa Maîtresse-). Obviously we're dealing with one of the best read bands, ever. There hasn't been a pop group this literary since Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg, and the Fugs recited Blake and Swinburne to a beatnik beat.

You also get everybody's favourite wicked uncle Al Crowley's -Hymn to Pan- [an inspired idea! surprised I haven't heard of anyone doing it before.] They also pay homage to Coil with a cover of -Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)-.

Another standout track with original music and lyrics is -Serve Me-, which is one of the harder rocking cuts on the record, a nod to the dancefloor. Early and world music instruments share space with synthesizer and guitar on most of the tracks.

We're obviously miles away from anything that could be recognised as descending from the breakup of punk rock. Still, the musicianship and atmosphere here is usually equal to their grand ambitions. This is an ideal record for any Pre-Raphaelite wannabes."