Bloodline (Swe) - Hate Procession

. . .

Several months ago, the New York Times published an article on ecopsychology, a field of study that ties mental health to ecological issues. People suffer if they are separated from their homelands, or if their homelands are damaged. Real representations of nature (e.g., looking through a window) are better for mental health than digital representations (e.g., on TV). (See also the post on Celestiial.) And so on.

This stuff may seem touchy-feely, but it comes to mind when I hear Hate Procession (Blut & Eisen/Canonical Hours, 2009), which is decidedly un-touchy-feely. Lyrically, it’s straightforward. The album is a rewrite of the Book of Revelations. This time the forces of Satan win the battle of Armageddon: “Tremble armies of the heavens / Your kingdom has come to its end”.

But the magic is in the delivery. Such lyrics suggest a triumphant delivery, as with Marduk or Watain. This record takes a different tack, however. It charts a middle course, plodding through extended marches of minimal harmonic movement. Slow, haunting melodies arch over the top. Solemn keyboards reflect an industrial/ambient/martial folk (i.e., Cold Spring Records) influence. One song’s rideout suggests an inversion of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”. Instead of riding into the sunset, shackled prisoners shuffle to their doom.

The vocals add further depth. (They come from Wrathyr of Sweden’s Naglfar. Bloodline is an all-star project of sorts for mastermind/guitarist Sasrof. This album features Wrathyr and guitarist Wredhe of Sweden’s Shining. Previous album Werewolf Training featured Carpathian Forest vocalist Nattefrost and Dissection guitarist Seth Teitan.) Often they are tortured howls that hardly suggest a quick victory over Christendom. The war will be slow and bloody.

It’s sobering to think of how we got here. This is some of the most mournful music ever made. It’s not “woe is me”; it’s “woe is the world”. The sound is of large-scale psychic damage. Perhaps it’s anguish over the violation of homelands by organized religion. Or maybe it’s nihilism begotten of the Industrial Revolution. We’ve stripped the earth bare, so we might as well exterminate humanity. I’m not sure. All I know is that when I listen to this record, I don’t hear pentagrams and upside-down crosses. I hear the unhappiness of billions.

[audio: BLOODLINE_TGB(EXCERPT).mp3]
[audio: BLOODLINE_OOTP(EXCERPT).mp3]

Amazon (CD)
Relapse (CD)
The End (CD)
CM Distro (CD)
W.T.C./Blut & Eisen