Reviews: SAT336
< Обратно к релизу / Back to page
The Greek artist Ifigeneia Derizioti, who goes by the name IDVex in her occult musical project 1/2 Southern North, has a remarkable voice. Like an aural chameleon, it’s capable of changing colors in dramatic, spine-tingling fashion. It is the most compelling feature of 1/2 Southern North‘s debut album Narrations of a Fallen Soul, and not merely because her expressions are such a rarity in metal and metal-adjacent genres. It would stand out in any genre.
But we hasten to add that her artistry extends beyond those wide-ranging vocal talents. It extends to the conceptual and lyrical narrative that she and her collaborators have created for this first full-length, and to her songcraft, which itself ranges widely in style, texture, and mood.
In terms that would be familiar to metal lovers, she draws upon the influences of black metal, doom metal, and avant-garde music (she calls it the “Black Noise of Doom”), but as you’ll discover through the song we’re premiering today, her creations extend beyond the realms of metal.
Conceptually, Narrations of a Fallen Soul is based upon ancient Greek tragedy, literature, and esoteric studies, summarized in this way:
The main theme of the album is the essence of the Death and the Soul, as the Spirit became free by Lucifer (the sacred Snake – Ophis). Death here represents the minor God “Thanatos” of the Ancient Greek Mythology, and he is the last lover of the maiden Soul, a “marriage” of eternity, the bitter inevitability of death and decay. The Soul accepts her destiny and free from the bounds of matter departs to the Moon, the ancient Mother of all.
To realize this vision in sound, IDVex performs guitar and bass on the album, and Chelys Lyre contributes synths and theremin (as well as lyrics). IDVex was also aided by a large collective of other guest musicians who performed drums, saxophone, violin, Davul, Kaval, and Dahare, and by Polytimi Noea, who provided ancient Greek lyrics.
The song we’re about to premiere features the last four of those contributions. The song’s name is “Hearts of Hades” (The Garden of Decay-The Underworld). It appears second in the track-list, after “Alpha Sophia (The Wisdom-The Knowledge)”, in which The Sacred Snake — Ophis (Lucifer) — sets the spirit free.
In the song’s opening, Kaval flutes wail in an eerie harmony above the pounding of the Davul and Dahare drums, eventually joined by mysterious chime-like ringing sounds. These sensations set the stage for IDVex to begin her narrative in a part-spoken, part-sung, part-whispered performance. Her voice ranges from vehement to musing tones as the collage of instrumental sounds swell and diminish. Sometimes her voice accompanies itself, and it rises to heights of electrifying intensity.
The music becomes a haunting and sinister dream, seductive but frightening, mystical and rooted in the mists of millennia long gone but still hovering in the shadows.
The track that follows this one, “Breastfeed Your Delightful Sorrow (The Death-The Lover)“, narrate the “marriage” of Thanatos and Soul — “The acceptance”. It happens that this song was the first one to be revealed from the album, and so we’re including a stream of it too. It provides a dramatic contrast to the one we’ve just premiered.
Eerie, hallucinatory, and menacing in its opening movement, the real heart of the song then reveals itself through the stunning vocals of IDVex. Here, her voice is enormously powerful and wide-ranging — soulful, bluesy, psychedelic, and frightening. There’s a big beefy bass and booming drums in this genre-bending avant-garde track too, along with chiming guitars and layers of other instrumentation (including a narcotic closing solo) that build an otherworldly yet beguiling atmosphere.
The entire album includes more than an hour of music spread across seven tracks, one of which (the album closer) is a stunning cover of Bathory‘s “Song to Hall Up High” from the legendary 1990 album Hammerheart.
Narrations Of A Fallen Soul will be released by Satanath Records (Russia) and Fog Foundation (Italy) in a jewelcase CD edition (and digitally) on April 8th, with vinyl and digipak editions coming on July 1st through the French label Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions.
The album ws recorded, mixed, and mastered by George Dimitrakopoulos at Bandapart Recording Studio in Kalamata, Greece. The cover of the album was edited by Paschalis Zervas +Wolframgrafik, Athens. It is the engraving by Moses Haughton (the younger) of the painting “Die Sünde, vom Tod verfolgt” (Sin Pursued by Death) by the painter Johann Heinrich Füssli (1796).
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2022/03/07/an-ncs-premiere-1-2-southern-north-hearts-of-hades/
Part Four brings a big change, beginning with a 10 1/2 minute song from Half Southern North. Eerie, hallucinatory, and sinister in its opening movement, the real heart of the song then reveals itself through the stunning vocals of IDVex (Ifigeneia Derizioti), who also wrote the music and performed most of the instruments. Her voice is enormously powerful and wide-ranging — soulful, bluesy, psychedelic, and frightening. There’s a big beefy bass and booming drums in this genre-bending avant-garde track too, along with chiming guitars and layers of other instrumentation (including a narcotic closing solo) that build an otherworldly yet seductive atmosphere.
From the album Narrations Of A Fallen Soul, which will be released by Satanath Records and Fog Foundation on April 8th, with vinyl and digipak coming on July 1st through Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions.
Whose ready for another album review? In fact whose ready for another release by ‘Satanath Records?’ One of the most versatile and consistent labels I’ve seen via Bandcamp with I’m sure many reviews under my belt attributed to them.
This new release features 7 songs that definitely stand out from the rest and I feel will even stand on its own separate from the rest of the pack for years still because of just how ‘Avant-Garde’ the music is on this one. What we have here essentially is an eerie and cerebral mix of songs that sound more impactful then the next with each song to follow landing a harder emotional kick to the gut then the one before it, quite the interesting experience.
The instrumentation on this thing ranges from ‘Skeletal’ to ‘Ambient’, ‘Doom’ to ‘Post-Rock’, ‘Acoustic’ to ‘Classical’ and just everything in between it really is a wildfire of various sounds and sonic expressions that would have any music fan (not just Metal) curious for more.
When listening to this record one thing stands out more than the rest and that’s the singing because the woman in charge of the vocals gives one of the most scary, devastatingly strong performances I’ve never in some time, really since ‘Lingua Ignota’ have I heard such a raw and deeply personal style of singing that just can’t be shaken off! This woman sets the tone for the album and alongside such creative and introspective production it makes for a memorable listen overall.
If I was you, I wouldn’t want to miss this record. It’s packed with so many unique styles that it’s bound to stay in your memory and have you left Godsmacked for days on end!
https://aeafanzine.blogspot.com/2022/06/full-length-review-12-southern-north.html
1/2 Southern North are a solo project from Greece that plays an experimental and avant garde mixture of black and doom metal and this is a review of her 2022 album "Narrations Of A Fallen Soul" which was released as a joint effort between Satanath Records and Fog Foundation.
Avant garde style synths and heavy riffing starts off the album while the slower sections of the songs also bring in elements of doom metal. Most of the tracks are also very long and epic in length along with some clean playing also being added into certain sections of the recording and operatic female vocals are also a very huge part of this release.
Melodies are also added into some of the guitar riffing while the music also gets very experimental sounding at times. When spoken word parts are utilized they also give the album more of a ritualistic feeling along with some folk instruments also being used briefly as well as one song also also adding in a brief use of slide guitars and when the music finally speeds up black metal influences and blast beats can also be heard, the recording also closes with a cove r of Bathory's "Song To Hall Up High".
1/2 Southern North plays a musical style that takes experimental, avant garde black and doom metal and mixes them together to create a sound of her own. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cove r Occultism themes.
In my opinion 1/2 Southern North is a very great sounding experimental and avant garde mixture of black and doom metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this solo project.
http://bringerofdeathzine.blogspot.com/search/label/1%2F2%20Southern%20North
Greek artist 1/2 Southern North is out with the album "Narrations Of A Fallen Soul", and metal is the style explored on this production. This is quite the expressive and challenging production, not always staying within the bounds of metal either, but when the metal aspects are in full bloom here we are taken into landscapes featuring elements of atmospheric laden metal and doom metal and in sum probably being closer to the former than the latter. We also get distinct lead vocals that in tone and timbre have similarities to Toyah Wilcox, and music that feature drones and psychedelic elements, some cosmic oriented touches and deviations, folk music, world music and tribal elements and a general expressive and experimental intent and execution as defining traits of the album experience as a whole. If not always in form then at least in spirit a production that should have an appeal among fans of progressive rock and metal just as much as towards open minded metal fans with an inclusive view towards music made by a creative soul and in a creative spirit.
Sin I - Guitar/Bass: An injection of dark melodies/droning of the guitar
Sin II - Vocals: Female artistry of materialising and a vast amount of mysticism of incantation
Sin III - Drums: Slow doom like patterns & beats
Sin IV - Overall: I welcome you to ‘½ Southern North' with their debut full-length release, approximately (over) sixty minutes of the runtime of seven tracks, well six, with the closing track being a cover song.
“An Materialising & Mysticism Art”
As soon as the listener presses that play button, one is welcome to the opening track, "Alpha Sophia", which welcomes the listener's ears with the sound of clean avant-garde riffage, one-time drum beat and spoken incantation -following suit with the rest of the opening piece which welcomes the listener with an occult like atmosphere which channels throughout the remaining release and takes the listener on a dark-epic journey, “themes of the lyrics are inspired by the Ancient Greek Mythology/Literature and Occultism. The album’s main theme is the essence of Death and the Soul, as the Spirit became free by Lucifer (the sacred Snake - Ophis). Death here represents the minor God “Thanatos” of Ancient Greek mythology. Hehe, last lover of the maiden Soul, a “marriage” of eternity, the bitter in painfully of death and decay. The Soul accepts her destiny and, free from the bonds of matter departs to the Moon, the ancient Mother of all.
As one continues their occult-like journey with the second track, “Hearts of Hades”, and the five remaining songs where the music feels like one is travelling down a spiral rabbit hole, where the music draws (captures this dark, authentic occultist soundscape/atmosphere and experimental occult direction). At the same time, ‘Narrations of the Fallen Soul’ provides the listener with outstanding showmanship, musicianship and craftmanship, seven equally solid, strongly composed songs and music. Where the music feels (at times) dark - but beautiful, goosebumps/shiver down (one's) spine, eerie, droning, hypnotic and magical, but sometimes being disturbed and your soul is haunted – and consists of combining elements such as the dark sounds and slow rhythms, which evoke decadent atmospheres and dramatic melodies of doom metal and experimental/noise black metal, at times the music and amazing vocal artistry consists of materialising and a vast amount of mysticism of incantation singing and spoken words – at times (including the music) the vocal work has this dark ambient vibe/-Esque of (German dark ambient/darkwave act) “Sopor Aeternus”, dark melodies/droning of the guitar, the use of multi-instrumentation such as; flute, acoustic pickings, theremin, synthesiser, violin and a Saxophone—ending Narrations of the Fallen Soul with the closing piece, of an unsettling synth-driven cover version of Bathory’s “Song to Hall Up High”.
If the listener loves what ½ Southern North has created … again from the moment of play, where the music draws the listener deep within the music and atmosphere – not to be missed.
Sin V - Artwork: I love the artwork -epic and theatrical- speaks/foretells the lyrical concept & music (Cover Artwork : “Sin Pursued by Death” Engraver : Moses Haughton the younger, 1804 • Original Painting : “Die Sünde, vom Tod verfolgt” by Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1794-1796 akg images)
Sin VI - Outstanding: Where do I begin, and where I do begin (again). The vocal work is impressive, including the music and atmosphere. Mainly track six, “Remnants of Time”, is a beautiful piece of music.
https://metal1on1.squarespace.com/metal/1-2-southern-north
Whose ready for another album review? In fact whose ready for another release by ‘Satanath Records?’ One of the most versatile and consistent labels I’ve seen via Bandcamp with I’m sure many reviews under my belt attributed to them.
This new release features 7 songs that definitely stand out from the rest and I feel will even stand on its own separate from the rest of the pack for years still because of just how ‘Avant-Garde’ the music is on this one. What we have here essentially is an eerie and cerebral mix of songs that sound more impactful then the next with each song to follow landing a harder emotional kick to the gut then the one before it, quite the interesting experience.
The instrumentation on this thing ranges from ‘Skeletal’ to ‘Ambient’, ‘Doom’ to ‘Post-Rock’, ‘Acoustic’ to ‘Classical’ and just everything in between it really is a wildfire of various sounds and sonic expressions that would have any music fan (not just Metal) curious for more.
When listening to this record one thing stands out more than the rest and that’s the singing because the woman in charge of the vocals gives one of the most scary, devastatingly strong performances I’ve never in some time, really since ‘Lingua Ignota’ have I heard such a raw and deeply personal style of singing that just can’t be shaken off! This woman sets the tone for the album and alongside such creative and introspective production it makes for a memorable listen overall.
If I was you, I wouldn’t want to miss this record. It’s packed with so many unique styles that it’s bound to stay in your memory and have you left Godsmacked for days on end!
https://aeafanzine.blogspot.com/2022/06/full-length-review-12-southern-north.html