Throughout the -90's we were gigging a lot with a few revolving s-pots in the lineup, Veil of Thorns remained a band focused on playing live. In the period between -94 and -98 we wrwe gigging and rehearsing so much, it ended up cutting into the writing and recording. Contrast that with the output in the last decade - six full albums, a string of silent film scores and about a dozen compilatioin tracks vs. four cassette demos, three of which were widely released, five compilation tracks and one 7" in the 1990's with some overlap of cuts from recording to recording. If I had been more forward thinking, I would have had these shows recorded in audio and video. Many of the gigs included guest players and extensive improvisation. We have put out the call several times for footage around Boston, New York or New Orleans from that time. There were dozens of gigs caught on video, but none of this footage has as yet surfaced...
We were slated to release our debut CD through Misanthropy Records by the end of this period, but was not to happen as Tiziana, head of Misanthropy decided to close the label. What ended up as Cafe Flesh and The Dead God Sessions (tracks not on Cafe Flesh were later released as part of Dead God) demos done for the label for this album. There are more than a hundred hours of material not included in those releases I have on DAT tape, some of which that may see the light of day at some point.
In 1997 I signed with Nocturnal Art Productions and released the first Choronzon album in 1998. This brought much more attention than Veil of Thorns ever got, and I focused on that for a bit. I recorded the Choronzon albums Lilith, Era Vulgaris and Larvae in 1989/1999, after which I dropped out of all normal society for a few years following.
Basically I went into the woods and was deep in the grip of the Gwyllt. By the time I re-emerged, I was psychically stripped down to nearly nothing. There's a world of difference between the work prior to and following this time. Musical habits and even my usual instruments were largely abandoned for the Birthed recording sessions. My methods continue to evolve from what I established with Birthed to this day.
For the first time, new technology meant I could use the cutup method simply with sound, and spot new patterns and create arrangements from them. More subconscious currents bubble forth on Salon Apocalypse and Necrofuturist, perhaps, but the danciness of the tracks on Birthed was a celebration of rebirth.
Within the tracks on "Birthed", a CD by Veil Of Thorns, you can hear parallels to industrial bands such as Pig, Razed in Black and Nine Inch Nails and, more often than not, you can hear the pure creativity of P. Emerson Williams. Anything created by this man, the brain behind Choronzon (black metal tinged with experimental, ambient and industrial edges) , you would expect to be eclectic and creative. It's his trademark. Herein you'll encounter thick, pummeling, distorted spears of electro/guitar industrial, D&B, goth, dirgey slow industrial moodiness, etc., etc., etc., etc., in fact, etcetera ad infinitum. What's persistent in Williams' smooth, creative and original fusion of various elements is the sustained tone and mood, like that of a soul resigned to nihilistic fate. None of Emerson's creations are quite like anything else, even when you're hearing touches of something else in there. His fierce originality score another point for the underground.
Review by: Kristofer Upjohn, www.chaindlk.com
credits:
released 01 January 2003
Drums – Ruddy Bitch
Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboarding, Programming – P. Emerson Williams
