Storm Records (dist by Tesco) : 2010
Format : digipak CD

“Hope for the best and expect the worst”, that’s what my grandmother always told me. Being a Blood Axis fanatic, it seemed like the only sensible thing to do. The band hadn’t recorded a proper album of their own material since 1995’s “The Gospel Of Inhumanity”, and technically the only one. As fantastic as 1198’s “Blót: Sacrifice In Sweden” is, it’s a live album and “Absinthe: La Folie Verte” a collaboration with Les Joyaux De La Princesse. Besides several singles, impossible to find CDr’s and several compilation appearances, this is the second studio album. And grandma needn’t have worried.

Admittedly, those expecting The Gospel Pt. II might be a bit disappointed. The simple, militant anthems have given way to a band that’s become musically more advanced. Expecting a repeat of an album recorded 15 years ago is ignorance and would’ve been boring. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s still that air of urgency and power that has always been a driving force, but this one blends straight ahead rock with bits of psychedelia and the ever present Celtic rhythms. For this record the band consists of Annabel Lee and Michael Moynihan (of course), but in addition Robert Ferbrache, who has also worked with Changes as well as a member of Human Head Transplant, Slim Cessna's Auto Club and Soul Merchants. There’s quite a gathering of guest musicians, but probably the best known will be Bobby Beausoleil who contributes guitar as well as a reworking of one of his own songs.

The disc begins with the intro “Invocatio”, spacey treated guitar and strange ambience underlie a brief reading by Moynihan of the Roman poet Ovid. This gives way to the opening bodhrán of “Song Of The Comrade” whose lyrics are an adaption of a poem from Herybert Menzel. Twangy guitar, accordion and Moynihan’s retrained delivery but punctuating each line with a loud “Hey!” make this track rambunctious and fun. Next up is “Mâdhu”. The Highland Pipes set the tone and that always gets my blood moving. Again the bodhrán keeps time and the track alternates from the chant to ritual. The lyrics come from a thousand year old Old English texts based on Vedic hymns. I was so curious about this one I had to look up the title, which translates into nectar in Sanskrit. The sad and melancholy “Wulf And Eadwacer” hints at Morricone-era western soundtrack music but again combined with Old English texts. Truly haunting and beautiful. “The Dream” combines subtle organ, piano, violin and angelic choir with the words of Germanic High German poet Walter Von Der Vogelweide as sung by Moynihan. Another mournful but beautiful track. “Hard Iron Age” again features the trippy guitar work of Beausoleil and words by Ovid. Sparse and minimal, your hypnotized by the sound of Michael’s voice.

At the midway point is “Churning And Churning”. This is another fantastic track and one of my personal favorites. The authoritative delivery of the verse from Moynihan gives way to the urgency of the chorus ever driven by the strains of Lee’s violin. Slim Cessna offers up some spectacular backing vocals as well. Next is a Lee composition with words adapted from nineteenth century nature writer Richard Jefferies. A rain storm gives way to gentle piano chords as Moynihan delivers the text, simple, yet powerful and effective. Another of my favorites. The lyrics to the beautiful “Erwachen In Der Nacht” are by none other than Herman Hesse. This track is modern chamber music: violin, guitar, snare drum and excellent bass work. I was completely taken aback with “The Path”. Harkening to another era, I was instantly reminded of Spell and the combination of Moynihan’s and Lee’s voices is amazing. Annabel should sing more often. The instrumental “Born Again” is a rollicking Celtic Folk piece that features the Irish bagpipes as played by B. Ardo of Portuguese folk band Sangre Cavallum. Iontach! The album closes with “Exvocatio”, an outro of sorts again featuring Beausoleil’s guitar as Moynihan relays lyrics as written by Eric Arthur Blair, better known to the rest of us as George Orwell.

The disc is housed in an astonishing 6 panel digipak designed by Moynihan. Apparently the years of running a publishing company have paid off. The design is breathtaking. And the 24 page booklet features some magnificent photos of the band as well as all the lyrics. These are also translated into English where need be and notated with the originators of each lyric. So try as I might, I really could find no fault with this release. Is my vision skewed by fanaticism? Maybe, but I really don’t think so. Yes, I love almost everything the band has ever done, I’ve admitted, but “Born Again” shows a maturity and depth even the naysayers will have to bow to. This is an absolutely mandatory release and one that will always be close at hand.

Websites: bloodaxis.com | myspace.com/bloodaxisofficial