Lucifaere
Dark Science 1 (Liber Obscurarium Praedictionum)
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(Excerpt from track 'A Small Matter of Wyrd')
CDR / 3 Tracks / 60.39 mins

Dark atmospherics along with the sound of nocturnal creatures grace the beginning of 'A Small Matter of Wyrd'. A bright sequence lifts the mood somewhat and a very nice lead line plays a relaxed melody over the top. The style of sequence and palette of sounds used could really only be from Jim Kirkwood. His signature is all over it.

The lead changes from a thick analogue one to flute for a short time then in the tenth minute the sequence mutates to a different pattern accompanied by some rather menacing stabs of sound. Massed leads return and I thought we were going to return to darkness but no, the mood remains fairly positive, even playful. 'A Divination of Wings' initially uses bell tones to create an eerie feeling. Strange distorted Demonic Speech can just be heard followed by other odd vocal effects. In the third minute another excellent sequence starts up- again typical Kirkwood. A little percussion is added. A superb lonesome melody meanders through it all along with unintelligible vocoded speech which actually acts more like another rhythmic element. This is then replaced by another analogue sounding lead. The pace, which has so far been rather sedate, increases slightly in the eleventh minute and at the same time flute and rhythmic vocoder effects return- another excellent combination. A couple of minutes later some angelic wordless vocals make a brief entrance, the pace / intensity of the track being upped as they leave.

By the fifteenth minute yet another fantastic lead line comes in, really meaning business this time. Seven minutes from the end there is an instant change to atmospherics as all rhythms, sequence and melody depart at exactly the same time. This turns out just to be a short breather however as a rather 'twangy' loop soon starts up accompanied by a cosmic lead line. Very gradually things become more intense and the lead morphs away from its stellar beginnings to one with a little more bite. The track continues to develop nicely right until the end.

Snarling animal noises get 'A Serpents Tale' underway. In the second minute the first sequence comes in, another arriving close on its heels. The build up is rather slow but gradually more rhythm and even more sequences are piled one on another. Things become quite complex rather than thunderous and it's hard to take it all in. Better to let your mind go into neutral allowing the music to wash over you I think. In the ninth minute things are stripped down to just one bass sequence accompanied by a little rhythmic colour and faint pads. Spectres fly over the top then we start to build again resulting in an extremely enjoyable boiling, pulsating brew but without getting too heavy. Its one of those albums that contains all the typical Kirkwood trademarks but at the same time it's different as there aren't any moments which explode with raw energy (the closest we get is in the last couple of minutes of the CD) and the atmospheric sections are rather short. There are sequences and melodies by the bucket full though with so many layers to each track that it will take many a listen to take it all in. Fans of Jim Kirkwood's work should certainly like it but for someone wishing to sample his work for the first time it probably would not be the place to start. (DL)

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