Hypnagothique #39 – Clash of the Titans Vol.5 - Veil of Thorns Vs. Vasilisk

クレイジー意地の悪いお尻蜂蜜アナグマ #1

Whirling Dervishes – Vasilisk

Dead God – Veil of Thorns

クレイジー意地の悪いお尻蜂蜜アナグマ #2

Acqua – Vasilisk

Rain – Veil of Thorns

Download mp3

Hypnagothique

Movie Sunday - Writers Shaping Their Own Worlds

Well, Movie Saturday has become Movie Sunday this week because of a terribly unreliable ISP. Anyway, here's what inspires us this week.

A meditation on future event potentiality can be seen as a quantum state in which all possible actions, outcomes and phenomena existing until attention from the observer solidifies it into a single state. Here are three very different examples of artists who saw things not as others saw them, but the worlds they conceived shape the one we're in in strange ways.



PKD was paranoid and thought he was under surveillance. So did Hemingway, and it was thought until recently that Hemingway's paranoia had no basis in reality, but he had indeed been watched by government agencies. PHilip K Dick raised many questions in his work that we had better find answers to. As irksome as recent years have been, without reflecting on the issues of consciousness, the very real threat of being subject to pre-crime punishment and many other topics he originated that seemed so fantastic at the time.

Philip.K. Dick documentary on BBC's "Arena" originally broadcast on 9th April 1994.  

Elvis Costello Interviewee
Philip K. Dick (archive footage)
Thomas M. Disch
Terry Gilliam
Himself - Interviewee
Kim Stanley Robinson
Himself - Interviewee

Consider this - a recluse from Providence writes tales for a tiny fringe publication and ends up influencing writers generations later. Through the continued popularity of his work and spreading influence of those he influenced weave their way throughout culture. Culture shapes thoughts, and thoughts determine actions. I have put forth the idea that all narrative is myth, and that political, commercial, cultural and religious myth is largely what determines what manifests as the world in which we live. The Chthulu mythos is like the mythological equivalent of "art for art's sake". Freeing the imagination from mundane perception is as valuable as conscious memetic engineering. There is real value in not having to justify everything in practical, pragmatic and material terms. Our current political/corporate power structure is Terry Pratchett's Auditors possessing human institutions. we can take comfort in the cold, indifferent universe and rest assured that the Old Ones will awaken and chaos never died...

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/lovecraft_fear_of_the_unknown 

H.P. Lovecraft was the forefather of modern horror fiction having inspired such writers as Stephen King, Robert Bloch and Neil Gaiman. The influence of his Cthulhu mythos can be seen in film (Re-Animator, Hellboy, and Alien), games (The Call of Cthulhu role playing enterprise), music (Metallica, Iron Maiden) and pop culture in general. 

But what led an Old World, xenophobic gentleman to create one of literature's most far-reaching mythologies? What attracts even the minds of the 21st century to these stories of unspeakable abominations and cosmic gods? 

LOVECRAFT: FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN is a chronicle of the life, work and mind that created these weird tales as told by many of today's luminaries of dark fantasy including John Carpenter, Guillermo Del Toro, Neil Gaiman, Stuart Gordon , Caitlin Kiernan, and Peter Straub. 

It's fashionable to hate on Crowley in certain circles these days, but I'm not inclined to take part in that. What are the current tendencies towards social control but an old Aeon struggling to live on while in its death throws?

Aleister Crowley "The Wickedest Man in the World." Featuring the Voice of Joss Ackland and Music Score by Rick Wakeman.

Menagerie of Suffering - Bright Colours of Horror For The Dark Season

To assuage thee horrorz ov thee season, the fine folks at Grimtown Records have put together a most atmospheric compilation and bring it to you for free. We contributed a track which, inspired by the theme, we recorded in an abandoned theatre (of terror) deep down in a rusting valley. We made sure to capture the reverberations and eldritch voices hid therein...

Grimtown Records is proud to give you our first free compilation:

Menagerie of Suffering

a tribute to Italian horror and exploitation

We’ve put together a brilliant playlist for you, with a variety of artists who share their unique experience and visions. From pataphysics, ambient and noise, and further on to pure seventies retro. Download and distribute far and wide, and keep the spirit of exploitation alive and screaming. 

If you like this music (and art), don’t be afraid to let us know, and don’t be afraid to tell the artists involved. Musicians are all psychick vampires, and want your emotional feedback. If there’s enough of it, there might be more releases in the future.

TRACKLIST:

01 Three Winters – Atrocities
02 Atropine – Glass Jaw
03 Magdalena Solis – Prophetic Dreams
04 Others – Nero su Rosso
05 Miza[R] – Di Comunicazion Radio
06 Continental Fruit – Viva Fangoria
07 Veil of Thorns – Gli Occhi Della Notte
08 Dead Skull – I miei Colori
09 Gyron V – Killing for Satan
10 Gird_09 -  Seven Doors of Hell
11 Epilektrician – Scene 75, Interior – Bathroom Carnage
12 Andreas Brandal – All the Colors of the Dark

Go here to download from mediafire.

Magdalena Solis has also provided a video which will be made available as soon as possible. In the meantime you can watch it here:

Magdalena Solis - Prophetic Dreams from Magdalena Solis on Vimeo.

Cosmic harlots in a sacrilegious ecstatic dance. To a world where dreams are the only true prophecies. 

The song 'Prophetic Dreams' appears on Magdalena Solis 's album "Hesperia", released on Dying For Bad Music, 2011. Various footage mangled & distorted & mixed by Magdalena Solis. Tribal make-up pictures and 'Venus del Sur' drawing by Dolorosa (http://dolorosa-reveries.blogspot.com). Daggy Diva pictures by Jules Dazzle.

Kevin Bittle has provided artwork for the PDF booklet.

Veil of Thorns History - Dead God

Opening proceedings on this one is a perky pop confection that will probably catch those who have been with us for a while off guard. Dead God consists mainly of a cassette rip of the third Veil of Thorns demo from 1992 that was never released. This opening track shows one immediately what a rock solid bass Cathy Chenoweth delivered in recordings and live. Here appears the many splendored pounding from Ruddy Bitch the Younger for the first time. That Emerson guy, well he moans and wails, on guitar he flails over hill and dale... Final track features a thunderous low-end bass apocalypsis brought by Christopher McClain.

Torrenters, and there have been many of you for these tracks, will notice there's a close match between Dead God and a release called The End of the Beginning. I figured I'd give this one one last go at cleanup on the sound and add in a couple tracks from The Dead God Sessions from the second lineup that aren't alternate versions of tracks from Cafe Flesh. I the result is a more solid experience, though still undeniably lo-fi and different from all other Veil of Thorns offerings.

Few people heard The End of the Beginning this at the time and none heard The Dead God Sessions outside the inner circle and Tiziana from Misanthropy Records. Raw recordings from rehearsal and pre production demos for the debut Veil of Thorns album in 1995. The Dead God Sessions tracks were recorded live in a single take in most cases, using two mikes, placed at either end of a 30’x30’ rehearsal room in Boston. The analog recording was extremely hot, so little compression or noise reduction was done.

Within days of the conclusion of the End of the Beginning recording sessions, Jarrett was gone and Cathy was on her way to New York. Christopher (Dogface) McClain was to step in and Veil of Thorns would start showing a new focus. McClain brought with him a massive bass rig that could raze small towns. In performing the title track live I would stick my head and microphone right in the speaker of the bass cabinet to add that overload of volume to the screaming at the end. Good times.

Already the vocals were less operatic, and there is even a hint of pop songwriting, something that was not to be revisited until much later on Birthed.

-P. Emerson Williams

Have a listen:

Coming Up: Veil of Thorns - Dead God

Songs from the vault to complete full length releases from us thus far. Watch this space.

Movie Saturday - Only From the Outside Can The Truth Be Seen

In "The Gun Is Loaded" Lydia Lunch delivers a brutally frank manifesto in a journey through the heart of contemporary American darkness. Her poetic nihilism is set against a barrage of real-life street-action, scenery, news footage, and the deranged music of J. G. Thirlwell.

The last Movie Saturday I brought you a couple examples of myth creators, artists who dive deep into our common well of stories to form a vision of what's happening to us beneath the surface. When we contemplate the myths that surround us we get a sense of who we are and where we are going. Or, rather, on the passive and of the larger mediated culture, where we are being taken against our will and against our best interest. Well, this week, let me show another approach.

Lydia Lunch will blast your defences and strip your pretences. She's talking to you, yes you! It will do no good to avert your gaze sheepishly. What she offers is a cleansing. You should thank her.

Edited by Adam Cooper-Terán
Featuring clips from the films:
"Unspeakable" directed by Marc Rokoff
"What is Art?" by Steven Johnson Leyba
"PAINing POORtraits" by Leyba + ACT 

Music by: 
David J
Jeanelle Mastema
Adam Cooper-Terán
Project 9
A Fallen Mind
and
United Satanic Apache Front
Including samples from Omar Souleyman's "Labji Wa Bajji Il Hajar"
and Eric Brosius' "Trail of Blood" 

Featuring Interviews with:
Barron Storey
Billy Warsoldier
Charles Gatewood
Chris Trian
Crazy Benny
Dave Archer
Durk Dehner
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge
Geraldo Rivera
High Priestess Blanche Barton
Hollie Stevens
Howard Bloom
H.R. Giger
Isabella Sol
James Luna
Jeanelle Mastema
Jennifer Fox Bennett
Joe Coleman
Leslie Leyba
Richard Metzger
and
Ugly Shyla

Unless an artist has the favour of the money that owns you, me and everything we survey, s/he is an outsider. Here's the mythological construct through which most in the Western world see society through that hides a basic truth - unless you're one of the top one percent earners, you are an outsider. You are owned, your children are owned, your house is owned jointly by the government and the bank. (It's an imaginary distinction that separates the latter two.)

What can an artist do in this age of institutionalized theft and militarized enforcement of subjugation but strip mythology of narrative until the superimposed patterns burned on the mind by conditioning and indoctrination  fades enought to show the actuality of how much you've been fucked. There is nothing for you in acquiescence. If ever there was a moment when you had to stop and take a close look at who and where you are this is it. You don't need to become an artist, live like Lunch or Leyba, but the only hope for any future lies in each one of us living our own truth. Step outside.

Featuring one of the last interviews with Willaim Burroughs and previously unseen vintage footage of him during the 50s and early 60s. - The great Beat Generation experiments took place in Tangier, the Moroccan city where William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and the Moroccan painter Hamri taught Jack Kerouac, Timothy Leary, and Allen Ginsberg how to live outside the law. This DVD features one of the last interviews with Burroughs and previously unseen vintage footage of him in his prime during the 50s and early 60s. Also featured are The Master Musicians of Joujouka collaborating with avant garde Dublin musicians, veterans of the Tangier Beat Scene, and cutting edge writers. In addition, there is music from Bill Laswell, The Baby Snakes, plus contributions from Ira Cohen, Hakim Bey, Brian Downey (Thin Lizzy) and many more.

Veil of Thorns on Derfrock

Derfrock is a lovely show presented by DJ Derfel.  He has played sets in the virtual world of Second Life and has shows on several web radio stations: Strangeways Radio, Nightbreed Radio, Cathedral13, Deathrock Radio and Dark Italia. Writings of DJ Derfel  can also be found within the pages of Ascension Magazine, a goth,postpunk,alternative,darkindie,electro etc italian independent magazine,

You should bookmark his site, catch up with the podcasts archived there and tune in on Nightbreed Radio early and often.

Originally aired September 2011


Listen below or download at http://www.djderfel.eu/?p=1255





Playlist:

Derfrock Intro (The Vanishing)
Hatesex – A Rose Without Eyes
Mt.Sims – Hellbent
Camp Z – The Casualty II
Sleeping Dogs Wake – Walk On
Veil Of Thorns – Bizarre Political Threat Rites
Shadow Project – Static Jesus
Chrysalis Morass – Unveil
Insanasomnia – Prier Our Ne Plus Prier
Miguel And The Living Dead – Aliens Wear Sunglasses
The Eternal – I’ll Jump And I’ll Go
Play Dead – Sins Of Sins
Killing Joke – Frenzy
Varjo – Joku Sytytti Kynttilan
Mephisto Walz – The Beast Within

A Few Selected P. Emerson Williams Writings on Goth

Veil of Thorns may cover a lot of sonic and visual ground, but there's no denying the goth roots and inspirations that have made us what we are. In between the musical and visual endeavours, I'm sometimes impelled with the need to write, and inspiration is often our beloved genre. Some times I do it on my personal blog, over at Modern Mythology, or the kkoagublogg and I am privileged to be allowed to write for Dominion magazine on occasion. Here are a few goth related highlights from 2011:

A conversation with Louis DeWray On Behalf of NOSFERATU

When one speaks of bands representing capital G goth, no better example can be found than Nosferatu. With this, that and the other hyphenated fashion take on goth coming and going in the over two decades of the band’s existence they never compromised their fundamental dark and romantic style. Their fans remain loyal and in return Nosferatu are no less loyal to their audience and to the edifice of dark art they have built. That ‘Wonderland’, their latest album shot to the top spot of the dark wave charts on Amazon UK attests to the depth of this symbiotic relationship.


A week after a triumphant performance at WGT Nosferatu front man Louis DeWray was viciously assaulted, bringing up ugly memories of the attack on Sophie Lancaster. «As you may have read, I’ve had a somewhat difficult week…» is how he put it to me. With characteristic kindness and strength of character he shared his thoughts on Nosferatu’s long awaited return, the goth scene and hipsters among other things just a few days after the attack. Louts, thugs and reactionaries notwithstanding, Louis DeWray shows that Nosferatu and goths are here to stay. We pull together in support during hard times, just as we do under happier circumstances.The attack has made every member of Nosferatu all the more determined to play a great gig at DV8 (UK) and Castle Party (Poland) in a week’s time. “Luckily my spirit is stronger than my jaw!” Louis DeWray said to me. “It was a sad irony that at least one of us was wearing a ‘Sophie’ wristband when we were attacked…”

Read the interview at Dominion Magazine.

Long Live the New Goth Flesh

The armies of the dark returned last year. Really. The goth aesthetic, dark sounds, grabs tastemakers by their smug throats as silhouettes of hipsters can be seen, dancing among the graves as the world heats up and economies wobble on their precarious perches. The Quietus, Pitchfork and Stereogum are directing a surprisingly unironic gaze at artists waving an undeniably gothic banner. Post-punk is invoked in descriptions of more ‘band to watch’ blogotronic hosannas than one could reasonably keep up with. The thing about this return is that it’s news, to those of us who have stayed with the scene, that it ever went away.

Read the rest of the article at Dominion Mag.

Dream Quest of Unknown GaGoth

My article this week for Dominion Mag pointed out a new appreciation for things goth, darkwave and generally creepy and went into some questions that arose as I looked the situation over. Some answers presented themselves as I wrote, more from reactions to the piece and this acknowlegment of dark creative endeavours contiues to spread with no signs of slowing down. Later this month, the ICA wioll gather boffins together to dissect gothic manifestations of culture in their two day meditation Template for Terror: The Revival of the Gothic.

Quoth the ICA event page:

From Dracula and Frankenstein to Twilight and Shaun of the Dead, contemporary culture continues to appropriate the stock themes of the eighteenth and nineteenth century gothic novel. This weekend of panel discussions, presentations and screenings will explore the societal impulse that draws us to the darker side of life, looking at the influence of the gothic in contemporary art, literature, film and music.

Read the rest of the post here.

Necrofuturist Salon Episode 27 – Dissociative Modifications

The symbolism surrounding Lady P. Emerson is so blatant that one might wonder if it’s all a sick joke. Necrofuturist symbolism is becoming so clear that analizes like this one becomes a simple exercise of pointing out the obvious. His whole persona (whether its an act or not) is a tribute to mind control, where being vacuous, incoherent and absent minded becomes a fashionable thing.

Lady P. Emerson Espies His Alter

You only need to look at a couple of Lady P. Emerson pictures or videos to notice that he is constantly hiding one of his thighs. Most people will simply interpret this as ”a ghoul thing to do” or a “fashion statement”. Those who have passed the 101 of Necrofuturist symbolism know that the All-Seething Thigh is probably its most recognizable symbol. The gesture of fanning one nut, usually the left one, goes way back in Necrofuturist orders. Here’s an explanation of the origin of the Thigh of P. Emerson. 

Lady P. Emerson, the son of Gamalöost and Isis was called ‘P. Emerson who drools with two thighs’. His right thigh was white and represented the sun: his left thigh was slack and represented the moon. According to the myth, cHorus lost his left thigh to his evil brother, Snæetch, with whom he fought to avenge Snæetch’s murder of Gamalöost. Snæetch tore out one of the thighs but lost the fight. The thigh was reassembled by magic, by Høötch, the god of writhing, the moon and Musick-Magick. P. Emerson presented his thigh to Gamalöost, who experienced rebirth in the underworld.

Playlist:

Bob Cobbing – Hymn to the Sacred Mushroom
The Jokerr – Welcome to the Show
Veil of Thorns – Dissociative Modifications
Controlled Bleeding – The Toiler’s Song
Lydia Lunch – Still Burning
Ritual – Brides
William Burroughs – Meeting of International Conference of Technological Psychiatry
Hecate – Houris’ Hours
Salvador Dali – Dali Speaks
Veil of Thorns – Electronic Voice Phenomena


Listen to or download podcast @alterati.com

Veil of Thorns History - Legemet og Stemmen

We figured a new remaster needed a new cover, and this captures the mood at the time of recording. Silence (A Fable), the opening track came together quickly. I had brought my new cello home and found a notice that Bright Green Records were seeking artists for the Dream Within A Dream compilation, tracks dedicated to and inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. I had to give it a go, for Poe has been a major inspiration for me since I was very young. I was also psyched to try out the cello, an instrument I had never played before. A half hour after getting through the door the track was written, and in the next hour it was recorded and mixed down, with the master packed and addressed to be sent out. It was the concluding track on a very cool, diverse and dark compilation and was the first time Veil of Thorns music was on CD.

Last on the Dream Within A Dream compilation and the opening track on Legemet og Stemmen, which was the third early cassette release. What you can hear below was digitally remastered from the original master tape. This release shows a transition period between the first and second lineups with me playing every instrument. There is more emphasis on keyboards, more sonic experimentation in the electronic percussion and my first raw cello and violin parts.

Veil of Thorns-LEGEMET og STEMMEN
Excellent gothic music. Quite ghoulish vocals, good production, weird and somewhat majestic. Just check it out to see what I mean.
666
Review - Lucifera - Endemoniada Magazine

Lineup:

P. Emerson Williams - Guitar, Vocals, bass, keyboards
Ruddy Bitch - Drums

Check it below:

P. Emerson Williams In Apocalyptic Imaginary: Early Edition

Pieces that ran on ModernMythology.net are gathered, edited and expanded in this special collection. This endeavour is one of the projects the fund raising campaign helped bring to life, and is just the beginning of what is to be brought to you in the coming year. Some of this will include the music of Veil of Thorns. Here are a couple examples from the book from me, your humble Veil of Thorns overlord:

Modernism to Postmodernism to Postmortemism

By P. Emerson Williams

We cultural types do love to declare death wherever we cast our jaded blood-shot eyes. When our imaginations are exhausted, hard-ons for the latest arising only with greater efforts require new extremes of fetishism. A point comes when completed work crowds out attention. Art, empire, economy, politics look to us to be sated with days and ready to give in to sweet oblivion.

Lady Gaga killed sex, says the once much discussed Camille Paglia, who quotes her subject who declaims “Music is a lie”, “Art is a lie”, “Gaga is a lie”. The death of the novel is an idea so oft repeated that one can envision members of the literary establishment daring each other to intone the phrase three times in front of a mirror in expectation of the candyman to appear. And closer to home for us here, the right honourable psychonaut James L. Kent writing for Acceler8or the new transhumanist vehicle established by R. U. Sirius says we've come to rest after years of the deceler8ing of music as a living mode of expression. Nice opening shot.

Read on at Modern Mythology. 




Human Demonology: Salome

By P. Emerson Williams

And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.  

And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.- (Mark 6:21-29, KJV)  

The story of Salome is a familiar one in Western culture, the climax of wich with her lascivious dance and the severed head of John the Baptist has fired the imagination of artists, writers and composers for hundreds of years. Then there's Dracula as an allegory describing Victorian men's fear of female sexuality, Lilith in legend and art... The mythical Salome can be seen as both a product of and a window into the minds of those who told it. Salome was a real historical person, born EV 14, the daughter of Herodias and the stepdaughter of the Emperor Herod Antipas. Though she is unnamed in the New Testament, Salome is named in the writings of the historian Josephus.

Read the rest of the article at Modern Mythology.




This book captures and expands upon the unique commentary and analysis that has helped define the Modern Mythology project in 2011. Through the voices of many contributors, we collectively take a hard look at the blurred lines between narrative and truth, philosophy and literature, personal history and cultural memory. All of this is done with an eye towards the imagined apocalypse that is always just around the corner.

This is the $.99 early edition, meaning that there will be one more editorial pass before the final version which will be released in print. This contains all the final content that the final book has, but will almost certainly have minor typos. If they light your hair on fire, feel free to report them.

Available as PDF, .epub, Kindle and more on Smashwords. (Just $.99)

First edition in print and kindle formats Jan 2012.

Click here to read a sample.

A Music Section Has Been Added

We just added a music section to the site where you can stream or buy downloads of many albums. Some of these releases have been given some loving re-mastering treatment and keep checking back for some exclusive and some free releases. This is just the start.

Eventually we'll have the full Veil of Thorns discography up there, as well as related projects, like the full discography of Choronzon and a few treats that are in the deal making stage. More on that as soon as things have been solidified. New editions of old CD's are in the works and two Veil of Thorns releases are in the works.

New Distributor: PANIC Media

More details later this week. For now, here's Salon Apocalypse: