Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare

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Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare
Nargaroth studio album

Publication
(s)

April 2011

Label (s) No Colors Records

Format (s)

A5 Digibook lim. 1000, normal digipak, double LP

Genre (s)

Atmospheric Metal
Ambient

Title (number)

CD: 8 / DLP: 13

running time

CD 58 min / DLP 93 min

occupation Ash (formerly Kanwulf)
chronology
Seasons
(2009) 		Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare Rasluka ~ Unity
(2011)

Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare is the seventh music album of the extreme metal solo project Nargaroth and was released in 2011 via No Colors Records .

Track list

  1. Odin's weeping for Jördh - 6:40
  2. An indifferent Cold in the Womb of Eve - 6:26
  3. Diving among the Daughters of the Sea - 5:19
  4. Odin's weeping for Jördh ~ Part II - 2:08
  5. Journey through my Cosmic Cells (The Negation of God) - 10:02
  6. A Whisper underneath the Bark of old Trees - 10:36
  7. Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare - 10:37
  8. March of the Tyrants - 6:15

Bonus tracks of the double LP version:

  1. Roaming through the Realm of Hel - 6:21
  2. The Daemons of Happiness - 4:13
  3. Through nebular Dimensions of Falling Eden - 6:22
  4. Forgotten Memory of a dying Dream - 5:20
  5. Passed Away - 6:18

background

Ash (Kanwulf) states at various points that “Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare” was an unplanned album. According to booklet information, it was created in East Germany [ sic ] and in the Swiss canton of Valais in the Warp Music Studio (composition, mix & mastering) in the period 2009-2010 and is a collaboration with the Welsh project NYCHTS.

In contrast to his previous works, it stands out due to its clear focus on ambient compositions. While five out of eight pieces on the CD version are entirely in electronic style, the LP version contains five more, also purely spherical compositions.

In 2009 Ash (Kanwulf) announced “Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare” as a “depressive Ambient & Metal album” , which was musically “again different, but still Nargaroth” . In an interview with METALCAST half a year before it was released, he stated that this album was “not comparable to his previous albums” and contained “only four guitar songs ” , even if the finished album actually only contained three. All other songs are ambient pieces that he created using a synthesizer while recording the album "Jahreszeiten". This could be interpreted as a stringent continuation of his previous publications, in which ambient songs have always been represented.

After publication in an interview with QUEEN OF STEEL (Spain), he stated that the reason for the dominance of electronic pieces was that he had “always had a weakness for synthetic, atmospheric sounds” and has always been interested in experimental musical ambient and electro - Works from the 1970s. For him, the inclusion of such elements reflects the more mystical dimensions in Black Metal . This also applies to keyboard pieces which, according to him, can be found "on almost 80% of all Black Metal demos and releases before 1996". The ambient pieces on the album are therefore "an expression of his admiration for these arts" . He dedicates it to "such big bands as the German MYSTERIUM and APOKRYPHUS, which very early on let ambient sounds flow into their Black Metal compositions" .

Subject

According to the artist, the album is about "the difficult, sometimes bloody spiritual struggles, the fisted wrestling and mental conflict between opposing strivings of human nature at the crossroads of madness". The individual pieces are stored in the album's booklet with extensive explanatory texts, which suggest a psychoanalytic theme of the songs. For example, the song "Journey through my Cosmic Cells (~ The Negation of God ~)" is supposed to musically describe the psychological regression into a psychosis , which Ash (Kanwulf) understands as a form of psychological existence in which "logic has no validity and - as in a dream - primary process-like processes predominate ” , which - using psychoanalytic terms - corresponds to the understanding of psychotic states in psychoanalytic teachings.

Graphic design

Original picture by Albrecht Dürer: Melencolia I from 1514

The cover of the album shows Albrecht Dürer's copperplate “ Melencolia I ” from 1514, from which the title “Melancholia I” has been removed from the picture. In addition, the Nargaroth logo was added in the upper part. Due to the format of the normal Digipak version, the picture is cut off at the top and bottom of the picture. The cover was also tinted in sepia color. In an Israeli music magazine, Ash (Kanwulf) stated in 2011 that he decided to use this copper engraving as the cover design for his album because, in his opinion, it seemed appropriate for his "musical vision" .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Xtreem Music (Spain): Archived copy ( memento of the original from December 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Interview with NARGAROTH, December 11, 2011: “Estoy satisfecho con el resultado. No fue planeado, pero es bueno. (I am satisfied with the result. It wasn't planned, but it's good.) "; "Este álbum ofrece algunas veces luchas emocionales, duras y sangrientas, las luchas de Fausto y el antagonismo de los esfuerzos mentales contradictorios de la naturaleza humana en la encrucijada de la locura, ..." ("This album deals with the difficult, sometimes bloody mental struggles, the fisted wrestling and mental conflict between opposing strivings of human nature at the crossroads of madness, ... ") @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.xtreemmusic.com
  2. ↑ Versus Magazin (Portugal): Archived copy ( memento of the original from December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Interview with NARGAROTH, 08/2011, page 18, question 2: “Não. Não há plano nenhum. Aconteceu muito sim plesmente. O último álbum not foi minimamente planeado. A ideia de base surgiu, quando estava a gravar as pistas dos teclados para a canção do Outono (do álbum anterior, consagrado às estações do ano). Semper gostei das faixas ambientalistas à base de teclados dos primeiros álbuns de black metal. Nos de Nargaroth, houve semper uma faixa ambiental. Como sou uma pessoa muito impulsiva, sentime imediatamente impelido a fazer um álbum, que viria a ser o “Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare”. E fi-lo compulsivamente. (No I didn't plan it. It happened. The "Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare" album was not planned at all. I never thought of it until I had a synthesizer to record the keyboard tracks for the song "autumn" (on the Seasons - Album). I always liked ambient or keyboard songs on earlier albums in Black Metal. And in NARGAROTH always been ambient songs. So, as I am a very affective-impulsive person - I made the album because I wanted it .. .impulsively.) " @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nargaroth.de
  3. ↑ a b c Spectral Visions of Mental Warfare (PDF; 2.2 MB).
  4. ↑ a b c Lords of Metal (Holland): http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/interviews/view/id/3024 Interview with NARGAROTH, 11/2009, question 17 (last question)
  5. ↑ a b MetalCast (Germany / Brazil): http://www.metalcastshow.com/an-interview-with-nargaroth/ An Interview with NARGAROTH, 11/2010, question 7
  6. ↑ a b c Queens of Steel (Spain): http://www.queensofsteel.com/2011/05/nargaroth-eng/ Interview with NARGAROTH, engl. Version; 05/2011, questions 2, 7 & 8
  7. ↑ Lords of Metal (Holland): http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/interviews/view/id/3024 Interview with NARGAROTH, 11/2009, question 17 (last question): "Since my fist release and on my tapes I have so called ambient songs on my albums. "
  8. ↑ Queens of Steel (Spain): http://www.queensofsteel.com/2011/05/nargaroth-eng/ Interview with NARGAROTH, engl. Version; 05/2011, question 2
  9. ↑ Lords of Metal (Holland): http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/interviews/view/id/3024 Interview with NARGAROTH, 11/2009, question 17 (last question): "It can reflect the more mystical dimension in black metal related music. "
  10. ↑ a b METALIST Magazine (Israel): http://www.metalist.co.il/InterviewPrivate.asp?id=471&lang=eng The Ash of NARGAROTH, 06/2011, questions 22 & 23
  11. ↑ Metallized (Italy): http://www.metallized.it/articolo.php?id=1050 NARGAROTH - Le folli guerre della mente, 03/2011, question 1: "Quest'album parla delle difficili ed a volte cruente battaglie emotive, gli sforzi Faustiani e l'antagonismo mental di lotte contraddittorie della natura umana all'incrocio con la follia, ... "