59 minutes, 29 seconds

Elijah's Mantle
Poets and Visionaries

I love Elijah's Mantle, but even I must admit that if there were a prize for Most Pretentious Band, they'd win it hands-down. The band (really just Mark St. John Ellis) seems to have disappeared, which is too bad. I hope it's because they decided they'd accomplished what they set out to do and not because of the collapse of World Serpent Distribution.

At any rate, Poets and Visionaries is from 1996, and it's a good example of the style of music they were making toward the end of the band's career. Abandoning the dark interpretations of liturgical songs he focused on in earlier recordings, here Ellis dramatically recites Romantic poetry (Baudelaire, Rimbaud) over a dramatic backdrop of strings and tympani. It's all very dramatic. In fact, you might need Dramamine to get all the way through the disc.

I kid.

Ellis is really more of an actor than a singer, and this isn't so much music as recorded theater. That's OK, though. If you like Romantic poetry read beautifully by a dude with a posh accent, this is hot stuff. On the other hand, he really pushes the limit here--the first time you hear it, it's hard not to snicker.

Also today:

59:28 Pimentola, MM-MMV
59:28 Stark, The Surgical Suite
59:26 Klinik, Klinik (CD 1 of 2)
59:25 Prager Handgriff, Schindluder
59:23 His Divine Grace, Die Schlangenkönigin
59:21 Filament 38, Unstable
59:18 Amateur God, Around the Corners of Our Minds
59:12 Tanquam, Artanasan
59:11 Agonoize, Evil Gets an Upgrade
59:09 Ab Ovo, Le Temps Suspendu...
59:09 Infact, Go Away