Lucifaere Bloduewedd Play: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi   Download: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi (Excerpt from track 'On the Edge of Abredd')

There is a lovely dark brooding start to 'Owl Service'. Then Pow! An extremely mean sequencer / drum combination full of menace blasts forth. The lead lines are simply exquisite. Some of this is typical Kirkwood fodder but there are some new twists as well. One thing's for sure- this is no floater! A brilliant start. Its the title track next and again we get some dark though also quite tranquil atmospherics. The rhythm when it starts up is thick sounding but with a sort of hiss / sigh aftertaste. One sequence after another is added- boy this is powerful. It just shrieks 'mess with me at your peril'. The leads are searing but not over used. A dense six note motif is deployed time and time again, on each occasion sounding like a salvo of thunderbolts. There is even some synth guitar of chain saw sharpness.

Nine minutes in we get a break, of sorts, from the devastation. Its now like listening to the battle from a distance. This section becomes increasingly delicate. Quite how Jim can be subtle one moment and the God of Hell Fire the next is quite incredible. Drum flourishes and anthemic synth stabs provide a dramatic start to 'Caer Sidi'. Then we unexpectedly descend into a misty atmospheric section. The drum flourishes return. Its another example of the power / restraint combination mentioned earlier. A lovely mid 70s Tangerine Dream sounding lead line can then be heard over a combination of sequences, one mutating from a squelchy beginning to deep bass. The other is melodic and high register, slightly flute sounding resting in the middle of the mix.

The drums start up, they are rather fast but add percussive detail rather than providing a power trip. Almost half way in we get another atmospheric section. The combination of sounds used being highly descriptive of some sort of bleak wind swept moorland (sounds like near where I live!). Yet there is something about it which oozes power as if some great sorcerer is seated on the top of a hill surveying all below him.

A gentler lighter sequence starts up almost acting like a challenge. Its initially drowned out but then a much beefier sequence comes to its rescue. The combination of sequences and sounds now makes things seem much more optimistic but the dark power isn't banished completely. Its another amazing track- the third in a row. Surely he can't keep it up for 'On the Edge of Abredd'. Well the visual nature of the sounds are just as descriptive as before. And what a melodic loop! It gets the head nodding to it. Pads fizz and growl over the top then wallop! Another brilliant sequence bursts through.- and the lead line, oh my goodness it drips emotion and grabs you by the heart. 'The Breath of Nine' deploys a lonesome lead line over a slow restrained three note pulse then...... yes you've guessed it another powerful sequence comes in with yet another bouncing over the top of it.