Review: Nero Kane - 'Of Knowledge and Revelation' (Subsound Records)

As longtime readers of this blog (back in its Dayz Of Purple guise) will know that I absolutely adore music from Italy, mainly that that falls into the 'Italian Occult Psychedelia' category - indeed, the blog is now named after Heroin In Tahiti's album of the same name (and possibly the best album ever recorded!). I was even honoured to have an article on IOP published by the legendary Shindig magazine. Now, I'm guessing purists will argue that this new album from Nero Kane musically has more in common with hazy Americana and the fatalistic pessimism of early Nick Cave than with the aforementioned IOP 'scene'. However, this goes far deeper than just the music: like Father Murphy (alas no more but if you don't know Father Murphy's music, go check it out) and other Italian outsider artists it draws upon a collective memory in which religion, pilgrimage and suffering run very deep. Oh, and the album was produced by Matt Bordin from IOP legends Squadra Omega which in itself is a stamp of quality.

This is Kane's third album following on from 'Tales of Faith and Lunacy' and 'Love in a Dying World' and once again he is joined by Samantha Stella who lends the album both her distinctive voice and her visual artistry. The album is opened with the 8 minute opus 'Lady of Sorrow' that starts with a lonesome guitar line straight out of a spaghetti western. An ever present drone undercuts Kane's melancholy vocal; it is a dark affair but beautifully put together and incredibly atmospheric. 'Burn The Faith' is led by Stella's mournful voice and adds a real feeling of despair to proceedings. This track gave me goosebumps - beautiful! 'The Vale of Rest' sees Kane and Stella channeling Michael Gira and Jarboe, sorrowful vocals over a simple but effective repeated guitar line and drone combination. 'The Pale Kingdom' is another minimal but dramatically effective number, Stella's voice is combined with guitar and piano to great effect. 'The End, the Beginning, the Eternal' is musically more upbeat being led by Kane's vocal expressing more emotion than previously but the mournful guitar and dark drones are everpresent. Towards the end of the track some disembodied, ethereal chants are just discernable which only adds to the dark vibe. 'Lacrimi și Sfinți' is an incredibly hypnotic affair, the almost-chanting style of the vocals offer up a quasi-religious feel which is fully inkeeping with the album as a whole. 'The River of Light' is an instrumental but has that same quality that a Dead Can Dance instrumental has, a slight hint of choral voices in the mix that act as an instrument in itself and serves to counter the crystal clear guitar. The album closes with 'Sola Gratia' and the spiritual ante is very much upped; churchlike organ drones and faint gregorian chants lead into the twin vocals of Stella and Kane intoning the titular phrase over and over - intense and foreboding and superbly dark.

However, the music is but a part of the 'Of Knowledge and Revelation' experience. As Kane himself states “Of Knowledge and Revelation marks a new path in my constant spiritual pilgrimage through darkness, fog and light. A journey made of solitude, of rise and fall, in a world that recalls Dante's Limbo". The album is a journey for both Kane and the listener. It takes one on a shamanic quest through the "darkness, fog and light" and evokes emotions every step on the way. In the Same way that Father Murphy channeled Catholic guilt in their music or the Hermetic Brotherhood of Lux-Or draw on the arcane rituals of Sardinia Kane takes the baton from Dante and takes us on a Virgilian journey through the darker aspects of being.

'Of Knowledge and Revelation' is a truly spellbinding album and a very worthy addition to the list of great Italian albums - I don't care what the naysayers may think, this is an Italian Occult Psychedelia album, using the true meaning of occult...secret or mysterious. It is a darkly folk based album but folk reimagined through a different veil to the bucolic reverie that the name conjures. It is out now on Subsound Records and and can be bought from their shop here or from the Nero Kane Bandcamp page here. On a side note, I was lucky enough to catch Nero Kane live last weekend and it was a truly mesmerising evening - if you ever get a chance go see them.



Links:

Nero Kane Facebook

Nero Kane Website

Subsound Website

Subsound Facebook