Vampillia - Alchemic Heart (CD review)

01.Sea
02.Land


Velladon (Vocals/Guitar)
Possession mongoloid (Vocals)
The Piano (Piano)
Micci The Mistake (Bass)
Rei Miyato (Violin)
Joshua Lozano (Guitar)
Reygyo
Talow The Tornado
Tatsuya Yoshida
Slash Japan
Shuichi Detox Mabe

Guests:
Jarboe
Merzbow

First released in january 2011 in the usa, Alchemic Heart is about to become available for the first time as a physical release throughout Europe via a worldwide deal with Temple of Torturous.

Vampillia have created an album comprised of two parts - Land and Sea. Both together create a primitive soundscape of layered strings, piano, bass, noise and vocals.  Contributions come courtesy of musical luminaries Jarboe and Merzbow.

Vampillia describe themselves as a "brutal orchestra", which barely does justice to the intricacies and complexities of their composition. Counting an ex-Boredoms member among their founders, Vampillia, much like the Boredoms, absorb rock, noise, modern composition, experimental music & pop and explode it out as hardcore spirit music.

In the last few years, Vampillia have played, recorded and toured with artists as influential and varied as Attila Csihar (Sunn O))), Mayhem), Vincent Gallo, Thee Oh Sees, Nadja, Atlas Sound, Alcest, Jarboe (ex-Swans), Boris, Melt Banana and Merzbow among many others.

“We hope the music gives a strong impression of overwhelming speciality and mysteriously universal sounds,” the band says.

When you get a record like this it becomes near impossible to review, this is what i like to call "Anti-Music", where sounds are layered forwards and backwards to create a soundscape, a type of un-nerving ambience.This first piece 'Land' runs for 22 minutes, full of clever recording tricks, backwards masking and strange use of traditional instruments, this is held together by a lone violin.
Half way through guitar chords appear and start to create some basic musical structure, this is then disturbed by heavilly distored f/x and operatic vocals.

The next 22 minutes are taken up by 'Sea', a very quite, atmospheric start with Jarboe speaking the lyrics, remaining a solem piece throughout with simple guitar chords over symphonic violin and piano.

Rating 10/10
For fans of: Merzbow, Jarboe, Zweitstein, White Noise, Exorium, Residents, Boredoms