49 minutes, 23 seconds

Sol Invictus
The Death of the West

The Death of the West catches Sol Invictus's Tony Wakeford in typical mid-period cranky mode. See, he's upset that globalization (read: America) and its obsession with money is destroying "The West" and any traditional notion of life in Europe. At least, that's my reading of his mood at this stage in his career. And I'm not entirely unsympathetic--no fan of globalization, I. But I've always felt Wakeford's material was strongest when he stayed away from complaining about broad political issues and trained his wobbly yet affecting voice on other things: his curious fixation on Love vs. Death, for example (as on his solo album Cupid & Death), or his periodic delving into history for inspiration (as on "Sawney Bean").

That said, there are a few songs I really like here, particularly "Our Lady of the Wild Flowers" and "Come, Join the Dance." Hell, even the title track (a really old song of Wakeford's that dates back to his days with Death in June) is kind of catchy, and I love that in its lyrics he cites the '80s movie Fame as being one more nail in the coffin of the West. Oh, Tony. If only you knew then that Fame was the very top of the hill and that the greased pig has quickened his sliding but is still nowhere near the bottom.

Also today:

49:21 C-Drone-Defect, Neural Dysorder Syndrome
49:18 Picatrix, Quaestio Prima
49:15 Ohgr, SunnyPsyOp
49:15 Putrefy Factor 7, Decay Station
49:14 Mediæval Bæbes, Mistletoe & Wine
49:11 Image Transmission, HLC
New arrival! 67:14 Pecadores, 10% for Jesus
New arrival! 66:55 Anima Mundi, Another World II
49:09 Collection d'Arnell-Andréa, Cirses des Champs
49:08 Attrition, The Jeopardy Maze
49:07 Front 242, Geography (CD 1 of 2)
49:07 Stellamara, Star of the Sea