PUISSANCE "Mother of Disease"
/
Fluttering Dragon 005
LAST SIGH
Breathtakingly brooding, sonically adventureous
for the listener, a definite miltaristic progression of percussion
throughout the CD, intermittent choir hauntingly blended with
an ominous overtone of the litany of dark apocalyptic electronica,
swirling abysmal synths, stories of truth and of lies, this
is Mother Of Disease. There's more however. By merely viewing
the beautiful Cover Art to this release, one would very easily
guess there is something very unique and special within the
case. With eight tracks listed, Puissance brings forth a high
quality sound that encapsulates the pending doom of the human
race, a doom many of us feel creeping up on our heels. Massive
"neo-classical" orchestrations with pounding drums,
intense synth, strings and wind instruments and torturously
dark and imminent atmospheres devour the listener into a realm
of misanthropic evil. According to the press material, "...the
message that Puissance wish to send through their music to its
listener, is to unite against life, wage war on all living creatures,
and support the manmade apocalypse they intend for this miserable
world". That's a pretty hefty statement. But again, Mother
of Disease is a pretty hefty release. With commentary in their
song as written above, and the concept of our race in peril
spread through their music, it appears that Puissance has accomplished
their goal quite well indeed. A CD not to be missed by those
of you who are interested in similar provocative bands released
on labels such as World Serpent, and Cold Meat Industry, you
might want to add Puissance to your collection.
UNCHAIN
THE UNDERGROUND
I am wary of writing this review because
I am not sure that any words I can muster will do Puissance
justice. Mother Of Disease is 44 minutes and 31 seconds
of absolute musical glory. F. Soderlund and H. Moller have created
a musical journey of epic proportions in these 8 songs. Normally,
synth-driven music that aspires to capture the feel of classical
works does nothing for me. It comes off soundling like Verdi
musak to my ears. Puissance have deftly avoided that snare by
not writing pieces for an orchestra and playing it on synths.
What they have done is carved out a genre of classical music
written FOR synths. There is not a single moment on Mother Of
Disease where my ears yearn for a woodwind or brass or string
instrument to take up the melody. The Fluttering Dragon bio
describes the music of Puissance as "Neo-Classical Apocalyptic
Music." I don't think there could me a more appropriate
title, or soundtrack to the Apocalypse when it does arrive.
Listening to Mother Of Disease is by no means a passive experience.
Turn off the lights, put down your book and just listen... the
music expresses itself as much visually as audially. The title
track is based around a narration depicting a group heading
to the former Soviet Union with a plan to launch missiles at
5 different unstable nuclear reactors throughout the land. The
music swells beneath the narration, as if heralding the story's
"heroes." "In Shining Armour" follows, glorifying
some great equalizer (disease? the nuclear holocaust detailed
in the title track? that [turns] man back into mud." "Post
Ruin Symphony" could well be a dirge for all manking, painting
the scene of a city raped by disaster... flames everywhere,
shells of people dying in the streets as they lament the loss
of loved ones and the hysteria that accompanies any massive
loss of life lurking beneath it all.
I'll refrain from any further
attempts at description and/or analyzation to avoid stamping
my own perceptions onto anyone reading this review that might
pick up Mother Of Disease to experience it for his or herself.
I can safely say that this is an essential purchase for just
about anyone with a real love for music, and for those that
are content watching MTV and being spoon-fed mindless dreck
by popular culture, it will serve as a wake up call signifying
that the comforts you banally wallow in will soon come to an
end.
[Al Kikuras]
FLUXEUROPA
This Puissance release from the Polish company,
Fluttering Dragon, is an impressive synth-epic/industrial symphony
themed on a disturbing apocalyptic fantasy of world destruction.
'In Shining Armour' (track 4) is highly reminiscent of Tony
Wakeford's Orchestre Noir.
[RIK - 9 June 1999]
