Veil Of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance Phase IV

Veil of Thorns

Cognitive Dissonance - IV - Joyous threnody

The Cellos descending into madness.



Click the picture to download.

P. Emerson Williams - James Curcio on subQtaneous

Small WORLD Podcast


Described as a "stick of dynamite strapped to reality," (Scenery Zine), subQtaneous is a diverse conceptual, collaborative album. It carves new soundscapes ranging from brutal, pounding industrial to sarcastic hip hop set over carnival music to delicately layered trance. It has been compared to Pigface, probably due to its format, as well as Coil, Mr Bungle, the Tapeworm project, and Frank Zappa.

Interview with James Curcio and P. Emerson Williams of subQtaneous

Download File - 44.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

Veil Of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance Phase III

Cognitive Dissonance Phase III
Stream It

Further dissection of the sounds. I had some radio signals coming through the guitar as I laid down the tracks, and I've made liberal use of them here. Unlike the album itself, I layered, layered the layers and added extra layers to boot.

I think my machines feaked out and became possessed in the process.

Cirxus London Performance Tickets Now Av ailable

25th May - 13th June 2009

Starting time:

8.30pm & 9.15pm

STUDIO K

Written and directed by John Harrigan

1957- Seascale, the North of England. Cirxus is an old English circus lost in the shadows of the smoke stacks of Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station. FoolishPeople will use mythology, shamanism, music and dance to bring the darkness of an atomic circus to life. The performance will allow audience members to step into the world of an old English circus lost in the 1950s, explore its sideshows and meet extraordinary characters from the past and future.

Athalia the ballerina waits in the ring for Loudon the Clown to return with directions to the Black Pool, the mythic site of the Home Sweet Home, the final show of the season. Join her as she begins a bizarre and wondrous search for Loudon through the irradiated secrets of Cirxus, where she must face the macabre atomic menagerie, haunted by circus animals and navigate her way through the maze of strange, hallucinogenic sideshows on the other side of time. Immerse yourself in the world of Cirxus, where theatric arcana and Atomic fallout irradiate the sawdust arenas of our inner worlds.

Presented by FoolishPeople

Written and Directed by John Harrigan

Creative Team

John Harrigan

Lucy Allin

Victoria Karlsson

P. Emerson Williams

Claire Tregellas

Tereza Kamenicka

This is a promenade performance in Arcola's new industrial space, Studio K. Cirxus is based on fact: the German Bremen University confirmed that radioactive contamination by Americium-241 found in some soil samples taken by Greenpeace 11.5 km south of Sellafield, were 400 times higher than those taken 11 km from Chernobyl. 51 years on, the villagers of Seascale still live with the ramifications of the accident at Pile 1 of the Windscale Works Atomic Energy Factory.

Cirxus will be FoolishPeople's first London performance run since the critically acclaimed Dead Language at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 2007.

[ Buy Tickets ]

TICKET INFORMATION:

• Ticket Prices £14/£10

• Tuesdays 'PAY WHAT YOU CAN' (subject to availability)

• Free tickets are available for under 26s under the Night Less Ordinary Free Ticket Scheme Monday-Thursday evenings for the first 2 weeks (please ring box office more information) PLEASE NOTE:

• No concessions on Fridays and Saturdays

• Proof will be required for concessions

• All tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE

Cirxus Image by P. Emerson Willliams.

Veil Of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance Phase II

We will be bringing you works in progress from the next Veil of Thorns album "Salon Apocalypse" and mangled wrecks thereof soon. We can't say just yet if we'll run the full cycle of revisiting the Cognitive Dossonance sessions or if they may intersperse with the Apocalypse podcasts and sketches.

Now:

A special one for this dark and cool evening. Click the picture for to download.



I made this outta the bass tracks from the album. Mostly you're hearing one track of bass with no layers but the real-time FX, though there are a couple points where the cello creeps in.

A few inexplicable voices emerged that weren't recorded by me. If it fits as a soundtrack for your evening, I want to hear the story.

FoolishPeople Present CIRXUS

FoolishPeople Present CIRXUS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FoolishPeople present
Cirxus
Written and Directed by John Harrigan

25 May - 13 June 2009 Arcola Theatre

Press Night Thursday 28 May 8.30pm

LONDON 14/04/09 - FoolishPeople present Cirxus an immersive, promenade performance in Arcola's new industrial space, Unit K for three weeks only.

1957- Seascale, the North of England. Cirxus is an old English circus lost in the shadows of the smoke stacks of Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station.

Athalia the ballerina waits in the ring for Loudon the Clown to return with directions to the Black Pool, the mythic site of the Home Sweet Home, the final show of the season.

Join Athalia in 1957 as she begins a bizarre and wondrous search for Loudon through the irradiated secrets of Cirxus, where she must face the macabre atomic menagerie, haunted by circus animals and navigate her way through the maze of strange, hallucinogenic sideshows on the other side of time.

Immerse yourself in the world of Cirxus, where theatric arcana and Atomic fallout irradiate the sawdust arenas of our inner worlds.

FoolishPeople will use mythology, shamanism, music and dance to bring the darkness of an atomic circus to life. The performance will allow audience members to step into the world of an old English circus lost in the 1950s, explore its sideshows and meet extraordinary characters from the past and future.

Cirxus will be FoolishPeople's first London performance run since their critically acclaimed 'Dead Language' which was performed at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 2007. 'Dead Language' was part of the London Lates season of cultural events and selected for the Times top five events.

FoolishPeople's core creative team for Cirxus consists of John Harrigan, Lucy Allin, Victoria Karlsson, P. Emerson Williams, Claire Tregellas & Tereza Kamenicka.

Listings Information:
'Cirxus' 24 May- 13 June 2009
8.30pm & 9.15pm entrance times
£14/£10 concessions
Pay what you can Tuesday (tickets from 7pm, subject to availability)
Free tickets are available for under 26s on Monday-Thursday evenings for the first 2 weeks
Book online: arcolatheatre.com
Box office: 020 7503 1646
Arcola Theatre Unit K, 27 Arcola Street, E8 2DJ

Notes to editors:

• The German Bremen University confirmed that radioactive contamination by Americium-241 found in some soil samples taken by Greenpeace 11.5 km south of Sellafield, were 400 times higher than those taken 11 km from Chernobyl. 51 years on, the villagers of Seascale still live with the ramifications of the accident at Pile 1 of the Windscale Works Atomic Energy Factory.
• FoolishPeople are currently in pre-production with Mythos Media and DPRGRM for a feature film entitled 'Y', which is being shot in Los Angeles CA in July 2009. 'Y' was written by John Harrigan and James Curcio and to be directed by Joseph Matheny.
• FoolishPeople create art, theatre, film, books & collaborative events to raise a numinous experience within the witness for positive change.
• Arcola's Unit K will officially launch in July 2009 with Create Festival 2009.
• 'Cirxus' is sponsored by The Movieum of London, Chisenhale Dance Space and The Courtyard.
• For further information, please contact: Lucy Allin, FoolishPeople lucena@foolishpeople.org 07790440269 or visit: foolishpeople.org

Veil of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance - Transmission One

This was the point right before I was driving myself mad with lyrics. I don't know why its such an effort with me, for I do like the process, and I used to write in great profusion.

While I was digging up the original india ink logo. (For I lost the scan I had previously during a relentless scourge of files from my hard drive). I came across these two old Veil Of Thorns gig flyers. I remember those kids who opened up for us.

And to this day, Orifice remains one of my favourite band names:



And one put together by Mr. Zewizz @ the Rat (RIP):

THE MICK Issue 49 Is Online Now for Free Download

THE MICK issue 49 is online now for free download, containing interviews with GIANT PAW (UK), DJ MARK SPLATTER (International Man), ROME BURNS (UK), THE RABIES (USA), THE BROTHERHOOD OF PAGANS (France) and THE DROWNING SEASON (USA) as well as 34 REVIEWS.
http://www.mickmercer.com/themick.html

My website also now has the direct link to my new book on Goth, the 624 epic MUSIC TO DIE FOR - http://www.mickmercer.com/ During the next six weeks eight exclusive books I am self-publishing will be appearing. These include ‘Author Editions’ of my first books, Gothic Rock Black Book (celebrating it’s 21st anniversary!) and Gothic Rock, both of which will be redesigned to include an extra 200+ pages featuring previously unseen photos of classic Goth bands, as well as a three book series of Gothic Interviews, and a three book series of Gothic Images. ‘Author Editions of Hex Files and 21st Century Goth will follow shortly thereafter, as will a series of Punk-related books, and several reviewing bootlegs. Meanwhile, please consider adding to: http://www.myspace.com/musictodieforbymickmercer http://www.myspace.com/mickmercer http://www.myspace.com/themickmagazine

Music For Driving At Night

Nobody asked me to, but I haven't thrown out a random music podcast in a while, so I thought a little something for this fine evening might be aiight.



This is a collection of some of the music I have composed thus far in 2008. Everything in this podcast was created for the audiobook of Fallen Nation which is being podcast on Alterati.com.

In coming up with soundtrack music, I work in a wide array of styles, which is extremely rewarding, creatively. What the narrative calls for takes me outside my habitual sonic territory and forces me to rethink my approach every time.

I'd like to know what y'all think about this little cross section. It's a small amount of recent work, but an eight hour file is a lot to ask any one to listen to.

New Veil of Thorns album is well on its way and big plans. More on that later.

p_emerson_2008_mix.mp3	2008-Jan-27 02:54:53	51.3M	audio/mpeg
p_emerson_2008_mix.ogg	2008-Jan-27 03:01:50	45.2M	application/ogg
p_emerson_2008_mix_64kb.mp3	2008-Jan-27 02:58:35	25.6M	audio/mpeg

Cherry Red Interview With Mick Mercer

Thye Penultimate Dream ov Vivaconundrum

The Swami under the bridge sends his sound outward to heal all our souls. The words of Swampa are there. Tell me what he says.

A psychedelic trip in a country setting.



This audio is part of the collection: Open Source Audio

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0

Individual Files

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TheLastDreamOfVivaconundrum_vbr_mp3.zip	VBR ZIP	42 MB

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vivaconundrum	42 MB	34 MB	21 MB

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Veil of Thorns - Manifestation Objective

The words

Reproach (Full of Hope)







As all came
Crashing down,
We could not help but laugh
Draining blood to function on belief
Factious stream counter to all pleas
Reclaim vision,
Howl like wolves
Learn to love the crack of the lash
Chambers full, envy and returns distorted
On the sharp edge advance changes design

Formless,
Unsullied,
Holy, with indigent longing
Hollow ravenous greed and profits twisted
Resting on the firmament adapts intention
The innocent
Break off,
Contemplating dispersions quelling
Deplete to pour out acts in certainty
Factious blood counters all entreaties

My Inner Sanctum

In a shaded doorway
Watching the spirits at play,
Through a cracked and shimmering window to the world;
Through my surprise, welling up in my eyes:
Your soul;
Bleeding, old; a deep well of love:
Sepulchral, cold.

The crowning glory swathed in fear,
The brave action recoiling into futility.
To my knees glancing upward,
There flies pain: mine.

Deep ecstasy traces desire.
Hidden places, lost hold;
No one to sustain reality,
My love erases me.
I turn around to go,
The world around me flows through my body.
The bitter realization contains the happy seed: yes, me.

Weak and stumbling,
Gloriously breathing still dawn’s air,
That part of me now lost forever,
It wanders lonely in the dark.
Battle-weary I remain
Inconsistency remarked,
Though seemingly complete.
The soul bears not
Such vacuous conceit.
God damn you!
How can I bear to see your face?
Your every tear reveals my cowering disgrace.
To my knees, glancing inward:
Imprisoned:
My inner sanctum.





Exaltation in Ascendancy

Weeping alight, Drawn in too tight
Warnings too late are told in our plight
The haints come with parched, red grins
Celebrate this day our irredeemable sins

Nocturnal professions come into nothingness
Lifts our burdens, becomes our hidden weapons
Wailing by the window in the grief of the proud
Dread failings wrapped around us like shrouds

A soothing breeze, a haunting phrase
Leaks out from behind the gate
Secret passions worn like a medal
Truth be told, trust is never to be shown

Worship of Disclosure

Thought shall inaugurate the fall of fear
The fall eliminate the life that was
The life that was can never have been
Lie turns back on lie; behold
Fear shall die with its slaves
Visions shall lie, telling of the fear of death
Laughter shall erase this carnage of thought

Fear ridden spectres flitting by
Still their fetters bind your soul
Stronghold of corrosion let burst
The floodgates of dead gods desires
Move on by in disgust
Slink through the shadows of infinitude
Killing the will, slipping back
Back to that which never was

In distrust lie the possibilities
That were stillborn in haloed fields
We’ll tear the cities down falsehood by falsehood

Manifestation Objective

Soul fire kisses, a hapless passion
Upon the pulse of the altars of madness
Radiant visage glowing words on flesh
Remembrance of my deaths shadow
Take my hand personified
Leads you down

Bound to the end of time
Strewn about like gravel
Blown like glass
Where lunacy comforts

Draw In, Wind Down

Wheels on wet road greet my waking eyes
Halted by the touch of memory
I smell the rain and hear its song
This bed will not let go of me
Nor the thirsty, feverish day get off me

Draw in, wind down

I still feel the touch of the nocturnal breeze
The seeds are flung at the remains; reasons found

Dream Shadow

Solemn grey – the sky evokes my Angel
Walking in the rain, I’m not alone
White lace, wet lace light and clinging
Clinging to the face of the forest
I want to sleep in the rain, in the snow
Warm and safe under the snows ice hands

I fall and am safe
I sleep and fear the face
I fly and am no more
And am no more

Sleep pulls me down into silken sepulchers
Born away on seas of sound I cry out
A breeze soothes my bitter mind on the crimson plane

Wrapped in those I love
I awaken to dawn caresses
And they are no more

Can’t stop Laughing (The Beauty of Drowning)

Souls defied, deep penetration
tearing asunder liquid desire.
Inner strength, all-consuming turmoil
pulls me down, pulls me under the black surface.

For all I love I give you this;
(Christians to the lions).
As we gaze upon the black water;
(you pull me under).
Speak to me of how I love the pain.
I can't stop laughing,
I can't stop laughing!
(The beauty of drowning).

We lie side by side, blowing sparks
gazing into the screaming silence.
Under the birthing moo we pray,
pray to be together for all time.






Undergrowth Silent with Want

Ice like claws languid in the damp
Memory fades, life drifts, blood dries
Spreading out among the leaves
The end begins, birth is everywhere

Embrace of roots; here is everywhere
All life is one – we are here
Lost in forever, hearing, feeling
Seeing all

Fated, Cascading; Submerged

No-one ever thinks about how it’ll end
Line after line gone up in smoke with fire as your only friend
All the thought of a lifetime with no conscious evolution
One cannot recall where it began to slide

Lost beneath the debris
You can no longer tell which way is up
We seem to count on forever
One automatic pull on the lever

The vital engine roars not trusted to deliver
The pain it will subside and make the muscle bigger
Dance victorious on our aching bloody feet
One more time, let’s hear the beat and spread our joy like opened veins

Come, let us wait here hiding beneath the snow
Centuries shall pass maddeningly as we watch them grow
Angels watching over us, attainment purified
Death, rebirth, life death, in snowy spirals fly

Force release virtual discordant hold of defense substitute pale vicinity gliding pseudonyms gravestone figures vitriol leitrim

Extend Inward, Breathe Out

(instrumental)







The Gathering World Withdrew Its Fury

Lay me down – I fear no more
The longing is subsiding
I’ve locked the door – I’ve freed my mind
It’s only you and me
It’s time, let’s go

And as the sands of time conspire to erase us
It will be done

Dispersed in flight – we are alone
The vision slowly fades
Close my eyes – choke my cries
Now we’re going home

Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam

Download as WMV

Enshroud

Some strange writing and art will be uploaded to this online reader as we go along. I wouldn't dare tell you the experiences that lay behind the cleansing that was the writing here. I may bring the Panic Pandemic book here for all to see for free, depending on either having time to spare, (not likely), or finding an automatic way of flattening layers into one in pdf files.

The words and much of the art are inextricably linked to the creation of the Birthed album. I wonder how many would feel like dancing after listening and reading at the same time...

The Gspot #38: The Last Dream of Vivaconundrum

In this episode guest host P. Emerson Williams brings us a transmission of unknown provenance. It could be a fever dream, or a love note from the near future. It could be the climax of a tale told by a time-traveling messenger, or the dénouement of the fantasies of a madman. Then we have an excerpt from a chapter of Lives of Ilya, a novel from Mythos Media written by Tara Vanflower and lushly illustrated by Daniele Serra read by Jarboe and including a haunting soundtrack by Tara. Additional music by subQtaneous and Veil of Thorns.



Download

Veil of Thorns - Veil of Thorns 1991

An exchange with someone writing a book on goth brought up the fact that I had, through odd circumstances and band personnel issues, I no longer had a copy of the debut Veil of Thorns demo, nor was the dat tape with the mixdown in my possession no longer. ("How you musicians can let things like this happen, I don't understand" said he.) That led me to dig through 4 and 8 track master tapes to see what I still had. No longer having the equipment to play this stuff, I had to do some serious beatmapping and quantizing, but left rehearsal complex ambientia, artifacts and tape quirks.

The debut demo from Veil of thorns, recorded on primitive equipment in a basement rehearsal complex in Boston. Instrumental tracks were recorded all at once on two tracks using two ribbon mikes and a direct line for Ruddy Bitch, leaving the other two for vocals and a couple additional guitars.

the noise of other bands can be heard at quiet moments.








Lineup:

P. Emerson Williams - Guitar, Vocals
Jarrett Laitinen - Guitar
Catherine Chenoweth - Bass
Ruddy Bitch - Drums

Tracks:

Void
Utopia
Tear the Cities Down
Sanctify (Drowning)
No Claim
Dreamshadow (Falling)
Re-Creating Space-Time
Crimson Smile
Nod

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VeilOfThorns-VeilOfThorns1991_vbr.m3u	VBR M3U	Stream
VeilOfThorns-VeilOfThorns1991_vbr_mp3.zip	VBR ZIP	149 MB

Audio Files	VBR MP3	Ogg Vorbis	64Kbps MP3
Veil_of_Thorns_-_01-Void	19 MB	5.4 MB	3.8 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_02-Utopia	17 MB	5.3 MB	3.4 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_03-Tear_The_Cities_Down	18 MB	5.7 MB	3.5 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_04-Sanctify_[Drowning]	20 MB	6.6 MB	4.0 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_05-No_Claim	12 MB	4.1 MB	2.5 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_06-Dreamshadow_[Falling]	22 MB	6.2 MB	4.4 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_07-Re-Creating_Space-Time	15 MB	5.3 MB	2.9 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_08-Crimson_Smile	22 MB	7.3 MB	4.3 MB
Veil_of_Thorns_-_09-Nod	5.1 MB	1.7 MB	1.0 MB

MUSIC TO DIE FOR BY MICK MERCER

MUSIC TO DIE FOR
BY MICK MERCER
Cherry Red Books £17.99

My fifth book has now arrived. It is 624 pages long, containing individual entries on 3,581 different bands, from 70 countries, with 183 photos. It covers bands from the beginning of these scenes to the present day and wherever possible contains full line-up details and discographies as well as unusual facts revealed by many of the bands. This is the biggest guide ever printed about the underground scenes in which Goth, Post-Punk and all things noir co-exist with equal splendour

You can find this on Amazon, Barnes & Noble (etc) but if possible please use the link below to buy direct from the publisher. They accept Paypal and for such a chunky book they’re doing a very cheap deal on postage. Content details behind the cut.

This time around I am delighted to have discovered details on many countries I had never been able to infiltrate before. The world unfolds as follows:

Argentina - 31, Australia - 75, Austria - 22, Belarus - 3, Belgium - 28, Bolivia – 7, Brazil – 53, Bulgaria – 11, Canada – 77, Chile – 24, Colombia – 28, Costa Rica – 2, Croatia – 6, Cuba – 2, Czech Republic - 13, Denmark – 12, Ecuador – 4, Egypt – 3, Estonia – 2, Falkland Islands – 2, Finland – 47, France – 174, Germany – 346, Greece – 35, Greenland – 1, Hungary – 7, Indonesia – 1, Ireland – 13, Israel – 2, Italy – 172, Japan – 25, Kazakhstan – 2, Latvia – 3, Lebanon – 2, Liechtenstein – 4, Lithuania – 11, Luxembourg - 1, Macedonia – 5, Malta – 1, Mexico – 60, Monaco – 1, Netherlands – 49, New Zealand – 14, Norway – 28, Pakistan – 1, Paraguay – 3, Peru – 6, Philippines – 8, Poland – 36, Portugal – 55, Puerto Rico – 9, Romania – 20, Russia – 70, Serbia – 1, Singapore – 2, Slovak Republic – 6, Slovenia – 3, South Africa – 4, Spain – 84, Sweden – 93, Switzerland – 31, Thailand – 5, Turkey – 6, UK – 579, Ukraine - 11, United Arab Emirates – 1, Uruguay - 5, USA – 1092, Venezuela – 6 and Yugoslavia – 5.

Musically we have representatives from these distinct and Goth-related genres:

‘Alt’ (covering a multitude of sins) – 336, Ambient – 71, Classical/Ethereal – 33, Comedy – 1, Deathrock – 12, Electro – 99, Electronic(a) – 79, Folk/Country – 67, Glam – 11, Gothic – 1042, Gothic/Metal – 449, Historical – 4, Horror – 25, Indie – 99, Industrial – 117, Other/Exp/Minimalist – 135, Post-Punk – 356, Psychobilly – 93, Punk/New Wave – 234, Rock – 238, Shoegaze/Psychedelic – 36 and Surf/Garage – 44.

Please spread the word now that it’s out! I hope you find it worthwhile and useful, and I obviously want as many people as possible to do likewise. Your help in circulating the news is much appreciated.

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/musictodiefor.php

Veil of Thorns - Retrofuturist Gothic Xpanded

veil of thorns - retrofuturist

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Religion Islam islam muslim

Mick Mercer Reviews Cognitive Dissonance

Mick Mercer Reviews Cognitive Dissonance

I have to say I'm aglow from reading this one. One sends out ones creations to be reviewed and what comes back is usually expected. Sometimes what is written is surprising, sometimes completely off the wall, to the point that you want to check and make sure you sent the right CD. But when it's understood, whether the review is positive or not, that's one of the greatest rewards. 



VEIL OF THORNS
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Mythos Media

Although working at another end of the noisy bastard spectrum to History Of Guns, Veil Of Thorns, and other P. Emerson Williams projects, provide the same alternative. Just when you have become used to experiencing your guitar stimulants, your ethereal relaxants, your electronic placebo, along comes Doctor Thorns, like a knight in deliberately ill-fitting armour and bellows ‘No more!’ causing all patients to fall from their beds. Where a lot of old-school Industrialists make deliberately obscure, ugly amateurish trash and new Industrialists churn out whatever club-friendly sounds they hope will land them a big record deal, there are some artists wading sternly through the same muddy waters with more artistic sensibilities. Veil Of Thorns may make threatening music but it is not without gentler asides, and often presents itself in alluring form. This is their most stylish work, but some of the thorns have an extra edge.

It’s really just down to P. Emerson Williams on virtually everything but the live drums of James Curcio, whose alarming novel I am currently reading. That’s the thing – music and other genuine influences, with P. himself a very talented artist, as I am sure many of you realise. It infuses what might be a trudging sound and throws light into murky corners. ‘Peripatetic’ has a dark rhythmical flow below a bright needling guitar and the drums stay furtive, the vocals commendably aghast, the song briskly cantering into action. It is actually hard to follow the vocal narrative but maybe that’s a good thing? ‘A Weirdness Less Expressed’ is great. If ever robots develop their own Thrash genre with a glaring sheen and viciously seedy bass pulses they will point to this song as a formative spark; more keenly urgent vocals and liquid guitar unusually catchy at times.

‘The Enigmatic Rarely Atone’ is slippier, as guitar slides away from the gleaming, undulating core. ‘Fallacy Decides Initiative’ lurches off after the seamless intro into a sighing, tumbling exercise, but ‘Delusions Of Excitement’ has low key, sweeter sounds and a dignified comeliness, deeper slopes and a playful atmospheric element. ‘Surgically Dream Like’ does what it says on the bloodbag, the cello providing a blurred setting, as though orchestral ocean liners were calling to one another, Industrial whale song!

‘Languishing In The Rusting Valley’ is not the worse holiday brochure ever, but a fractious combination of tingling guitar and grating rhythm in a plainly enjoyably melodic cacophony, as pert as the ungainly ever get. ‘Corrode And Engulf’ is deep growliness, like an ambient intestinal voyage. ‘Night Access Hallucination’ is a weird entity, being spindly, addled art-rock, with a touch of the Frank Zapata about it, with ‘Anomalous Breaks’; fun, not fearful. Austere, like monks hungover on mescaline, and then the title track itself sends you home with a cold bowl of sonic porridge.

They’re one of the few creative outlets for these more tangled sounds, and this gets the thumbs up, being a fine record, and one which some people might find easier to get into than earlier works as it’s got elements you’d recognise. Okay, you may develop extra thumbs with prolonged exposure, but what is life without risks?

http://www.veilofthorns.com
http://www.myspace.com/veilofthorns
http://joinmycult.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/choronzon333

Veil of Thorns: Back Catalog

Veil of Thorns: Back Catalog

Releases:

Demo 1991 – Cassette – Remastered 2008 (Last.fm, torrent, buy)

Study In Decay Demo – Cassette - 1992

Legemet Og Stemmen Demo – Cassette - 1993

Lust Beyond Flesh 7» ep - 1994

Cafe Flesh CD - 2002 (Last.fm, torrent, buy)

Birthed CD – 2002/2006 (Last.fm, torrent, buy)

Legemet Og Stemmen Demo Remastered CD - 2006 (Last.fm, buy)

Manifestation Objective CDR/Online Release - 2005 – Remastered Edition + Bonus Tracks 2009 (Last.fm, torrent)

Cognitive Dissonance CD – 2007 (Last.fm, direct download, buy)

The End of the Beginning – First album sessions 1992 – Remastered 2008 (Last.fm, torrent, buy)

The Dead God Sessions CD – Second lineup album sessions 1996 – Remastered 2008 (Last.fm, torrent, buy)

Live WMFO 1991 – Fall 2008 (Last.fm, buy)

Live Halloween 1992 WMFO – Fall 2008 (Last.fm, buy)

Bats in the Belfry 1994 Live – Fall 2008 (Last.fm, buy)

Salon Apocalypse - Winter, 2009

Gothis Beauty Reviews Veil of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance

The latest issue of Gothic Beauty is on the racks, choc a block with reviews, interviews and some great articles and photos you'll wanna check out. Their reviewer had some kind things to say about the latest Veil of Thorns album:

Veil of Thorns

Cognitive Dissonance

Mythos Media

Veil of Thorns is an edgy, eclectic blend of electronica and metal. It reminds me of early Bowie in that it pushes the envelope, shakes up the status quo, and demands attention. We're entering a new world of music indeed - one that's refreshingly different. the Cognitive Dissonance title track is ominous, like free-falling into a dark abyss. "Peripatetic" pushes us over the edge of insanity. "A Weirdness Less Expressed" can only be described as enigmatic or avant-garde. The instrumental "Surgically Dream Like" feels like anesthetic wearing off while you're on the operating table - terrifying! (Athena) - Gothic Beauty

This fall will see "Salon Apocalypse", which looks to push things a bit further.

Side-Line Reviews Veil of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance

The following reviewer at Side-Line was looking for familiar grooves and hooks in Cognitive Dissonance and found out that they reveal themselves over time. The only thing I want to clarify is that the instrumentation of this album is guit-bass-drums-vox except for three solo cello pieces and one cello-vio-lin-drums-vox piece. No electronic elements are present.

Veil Of Thorns - Cognitive Dissonance (cd Mythos Media)

Posted on 22 Oct, 2007 - Bookmark at del.icio.us
VOT brings a mix of guitar parts and electronic arrangements. From the debut song till the last one this band brings a quite chaotic sound. It all sound like the songs are loosing their power in a dense sonic fog. I’m missing carrying parts and a kind of melody in the choruses. The only song that really caught my attention is probably the less representative ones from the album. The instrumental “Surgically dream like” is a quiet song that would fit as soundtrack. It’s a bit psychedelic as well, revealing another side of the band, which remains rather hidden for so far. An album with different ingredients and ideas, but too chaotic and less coherent in the end! www.mythosmedia.net (DP:4)DP.

Cognitive Dissonance Transmission IV

This
represents the final chapter and transmission of the Cognitive
Dissonance process. I thought I'd share a few bits of what I've been
working on lately, between things I'm bound by blood oaths not to
talk about, extensive research into rhizomatic consciousness, chaos
theory, extreme esoteric number manipulation and viral linguistics. A
ton of creative output had been gathering momentum, and dissemination
has been an afterthought, though I came to see that aspect becoming
part of the creative flow. Further dissection of the sounds. In
keeping with the original intent, I'm going to limit the final
production notes to a bare outline of the process that got us here
and convey gratitude to those of you who followed and added to the
conversation.

The
first thought I had at the outset was to track a simple album with a
classic trio sound. I've done well with that, except for the added
melody line at the beginning of the first track. Then a few stray
ideas took root and grew into strange mutant entities. Major revamps,
rethinks and re-visions, then sounds, images and artifacts suggested
ever more forms and eventually, narrative, albeit os the surreal
sort. With the album itself I took a very direct and raw approach.
I've always preferred the sound of a human being playing instruments
and singing to the mad scientists creation that is the protools
version of injection molded plastic. (Not to be confused with
electronic music.) Vocalists don't usually like to have anyone hear
anything but the most spot on, confident performances, but I was
going for a feeling and a story, and these are my sketches.

Cognitive Dissonance was a working title that became the final title,
for the name fed the blossoming idea that tied the album together. A
story that encompassed a vision split in four directions, a
juxtaposition and melding together of the points of view of of same
world/ two views, two worlds, same character observing and acting in
them. The central idea is of a cognitive dissonance between first
appearances and a closer look.

I
recorded all the music, and then came up with the song titles. I
decided the order according to how the titles felt. Then I wrote a
short story starting from a cutup of the titles. I expanded that and
took the lyrics from that. I think my machines feaked out and became
possessed in the process. I had some radio signals coming through the
guitar as I laid down the tracks, and I made liberal use of them.
While I continued to track the album I released several
transmissions. I thought I'd make the various stage escapes into
their own entities, as opposed to a few stray mp3's.

Unlike
the album itself, I layered, layered the layers and added extra
layers to boot. I tried something different in the first, and with
the help of the fine folks at librivox.org, I added spoken word from
readings of public domain classics. We're hearing mostly Flaubert,
Coleridge and Emily Dickinson.

Transmision
II I made from the bass tracks from the album. Mostly you're hearing
one track of bass with no layers but the real-time FX, though there
are a couple points where the cello creeps in. A few inexplicable
voices emerged that weren't recorded by me. If it fits as a
soundtrack for your daily experience, I want to hear the story.
throw these out of my head in quick bouts between working on two
movies, my own moving image projects, not included, three comics,
(not telling yet), and a sum total of five albums of various styles
at diffent points of production.

Along
with the sound transmissions, the lyrics were extending into stories.
The lyrics to most songs I'd done so far were dreamlike fragments of
one continuous tale. I wanted to bring some of the underlying
structure into focus. At the same time I listened to others stories.
I was especially interested to hear some apocalyptic tales. Ragnarok,
Armageddon, the end of one life and the beginning of another. The
death of the ego, the body, a belief. The hearing became expression,
and the telling of the tale that resulted was an embodiment of
experience.

Veil of thorns is an act that rarely repeats itself, but with Cognitive Dissonance, they may surprise even some long time fans. Veil of Thorns approach has

never been this stripped down, nor has their music been more complex. Stark, angular post-punk songs give way to a cello as it descends into madness. Spare

jazz-inflected tone poems lead back into sanguine deathrock dust storms.

For nearly a decade now, most of the work of front man P. Emerson Williams has been focused inward. Dissemination of his wide, varied

output took place through tales whispered in corners remote from. This conversation is part of the creative flow that forms his work.

Williams tackled the latest Veil of Thorns release by sharing the process in a new way. After having tracked the basic instrumental elements

of the next Veil Of Thorns album, "Cognitive Dissonance", Veil of Thorns released podcasts created from the sonic raw material of the tracks as they

progressed. Through the bands website, blog comments and emails the resulting conversation helped expand the bands vision while focusing the tale being

told.

Inspired by scrambled radio signals coming through the

guitar as he laid down the tracks, Williams created long form compositions using montage techniques derived from the work of Williams Burroughs and Bryon

Gysin. Unlike the album itself, he layered, layered the layers and added extra layers to boot. His machines freaked out and became possessed in the process.

Where podcasts are often in a format similar to radio shows, Veil of Thorns ranks among a select group of sound and video artists who are stretching the

boundaries of the form into unique works of art.

Every Veil of Thorns song so far contain lyrics in the form of dreamlike

fragments making one continuous tale. Cognitive Dissonance brings some of the underlying structure into focus. While they wove their tale they listened to

the stories of others. In the spirit of our times they collected many apocalyptic tales. Ragnarok, Armageddon, the end of one life and the beginning of

another forms one side of this archetypical narrative. Tales of the death of the ego, of the body, the breaking down of a belief offer a more insightful

view.

Coming off collaborations with Industrial cabal subQtaneous and Norwegian post Blackmetal band Manes, Williams

took the experience of working with such gifted and unique artists and has re-emerged with a stronger and darker vision. Lyrically encompassing two universes

and two realities, this tight and spare album ends up being more expansive an experience than anything Veil of Thorns has released before.

Agape,



-333

Public Service Announcement - Kill Your Godz

Thee(Incomparable)BradMiller is up to something new, something very, very exciting, something you need, we need:

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April 1st through the 4th will show all the talent that it is out there. On the 4 Because God Told Me To Do It FREEDOWNLOAD releases you will hear the beginning of a REVOLUTION.

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more to come….

NECROFUTURIST

Now, let's see where this takes us. Veil of Thorns is about to charge off into new directions.

Solstice and New Years Presents from Mythos Media (http://ping.fm/6rLPF)

Album idea: Ummo Gummo

Some vital work needs doing. Response time may be slow at some points.

a test

Choronzon - Torn Away

Choronzon - Torn Away, originally uploaded by P. Emerson Williams.

Choronzon - In My Lifeblood I Exult To Float

Choronzon - In My Lifeblood I Exult To Float, originally uploaded by P. Emerson Williams.

From times long past. A recording long lost now found again.

half-dead-yellow

half-dead-yellow, originally uploaded by P. Emerson Williams.

The belly of the gazelle opened like a flower. Heat hit my face in a rush, and the smell washed over me. For a moment I thought the overwhelming, sweetness of this smell would knock me unconscious. They must have fed the gazelle exclusively with flower petals. An image, a memory of a scent. A bottle of essential oil broken an a hardwood floor, eating away the finish, air in a long abandoned house dense with a cloying odor.



The whiskers of the female lion on my right brushed my cheek. The heat and scent of her breath, heavy in my nostrils before she and the other two female lions had pulled the belly of the gazelle apart now barely registered.

Half dead.

«Lying down with lions. Surely I must be the lamb.» I thought. «Perhaps the day of Gods wrath has come and gone and we are delivered unto him.» My host stood watching with the same look of regal disinterest as the male lion that lay at his side.

The flesh between my teeth slid from my initial probing bite like the sensual slithering of a raw oyster. A gag convulsed my belly with an almost orgasmic intensity. A quick gulp of air brought a rush to my head and dancing spots of light to my eyes. My vision blurred with tears of gratitude I began to tear at the gazelle with my teeth.

Half dead human forms used as centerpieces on the banquet table. The other half of a politicians vacant gaze looks through the stained glass window behind my chair.

In this place with no moon or sun, no time of day or season, the light of morning seeps in by common consensus. The revelers who had come as guests the committee lay exhausted from more hours of self indulgence and noxious ingestion than could normally be survived.

Slipping in and out.

Still air.

Light.

A procession of monks manifest the wings of a mansion as they approach. Nothing there when we arrive. Half dead hominid shapes. Hedge rows with leathery faces, hissing, gurgling, swaying. Flowers grin with meaty insouciance. A field of arms. Vines, eyes, tongues crawl up walls.

We approach. Our place of meeting has always been, comes into being the moment the procession steps onto the stone terrace.

I see.

I heard.

«Poor bastard doesn't know where he is.» the comittee assembled, awaits permission to begin. Our host will give the signal and I will set to writing the minutes. After each sentence is entered, a nod. The person acknowledged then will speak it.

We sank back into the world to come slowly enough to watch the great edifice un-manifest upon the exiting procession. The peppery, florid aftertaste of that fantastical flesh, a lingering ember.

I will feel.

Eventually.

Stalker Variations trailer

http://choronzon333.livejournal.com/100365.html

Veil of Thorns - Languishing In A Rusting Valley

Veil Of Thorns - Draw In, Wind Down - Final

Veil Of Thorns - The Enigmatic rarely Atone

Veil Of Thorns Enshroud

Veil of thorns - A Weirdness Less Expressed

For the season

Bozochrist-1031734271l, originally uploaded by P. Emerson Williams.

Jason Stackhouse and His Engaging Lies

Jason Stackhouse and His Engaging Lies

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Choronzon - Michelle Remembers

Click To Play

Click to Play
The figure with the ugly shirt and big ears (you do love the mirrorkaleidoscopics) is Joe Six Pack and also every wino that nips at my heels and slobbers at me. I cannot believe how ugly he is. He is the bastard son of Wal-Mart and Choice Point. Anti-Choronzon, face of the Duh Beast. Death by marriage. Marriage by death. The kitchen floor and the ovens, oven cleaner fumes, clean as a whistle, she lies there under the faucet.

The serpent is escaping or about to, but the doors close too fast and it slides into itself...the end, the end, end, end, the one with no beginning or middle.

Michelle Remembers chronicles Pazder's therapy in the late 1970s with his long-time patient Michelle Smith. Smith allegedly recovered memories of Satanic ritual abuse that occurred when she was a child in the 1950s at the hands of her mother (Virginia Proby) and others in Victoria, British Columbia. Among other things, Smith recovered memories of being placed with a corpse in a car that was then deliberately crashed near the Malahat highway, being kept locked in a cage with snakes without sleep or sustenance for weeks, being forced to ingest poison and other noxious substances, and taking part in bizarre ceremonies in a round room and at the Ross Bay Cemetery (e.g.: being placed in an open grave and having dead cats thrown on her). The book reaches its climax with the details of how in the fall of 1955, Satan himself appeared at an 81-day non-stop ceremony (allegedly involving hundreds of participants) attempting to claim Smith as his own, only to be opposed by Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the archangel Michael. The book concludes with Smith, having been saved by the Virgin Mary and Jesus, awakening to find she had no memory of the abuse that had occurred and to find her parents telling her that she was recovering from the measles.

Pazder's therapy and treatment for Smith's alleged experiences included hypnotism, exorcism, and conversion to Catholicism. During this time (the late 1970s), Smith was named as the co-respondent (the "other woman") in Pazder's divorce. Pazder and Smith later married (she had been married to Doug Smith during the therapy).

Pazder died suddenly and unexpectedly in his home in March of 2004 of a heart attack. Smith still lives in Victoria. Michelle Remembers is out-of-print as of 2006.