Elend - A World In Their Screams

Label : Prophecy Productions
Catalog# : PRO 087
Country : Germany
Released : 2007
Style : Industrial, Modern Classical

Tracklisting :

01 Ophis Puthôn
02 A World In Their Screams
03 Ondes De Sang
04 Le Dévoreur
05 Le Fleuve Infini Des Morts
06 Je Rassemblais Tes Membres
07 Stasis
08 Borée
09 La Carrière D'Ombre
10 J'Ai Touché Aux Confins De La Mort
11 Urserpens

"Seeing this release in my review pile took me way back to the mid-90’s during a period when I was living on a friend’s floor in his halls of residence at university. He introduced me to a load of great music. One CD which always stuck in my mind was Elend’s first release Leçons De Ténèbres. For some bizarre reason I never ended up hearing anything else from Elend after that.
Elend were formed in 1993 by Iskandar Hasnawi and Renaud Tschirner, the duo later joined by keyboardist and programmer Sebastien Roland, and a shifting array of supporting musicians and singers. Between 1993 and 1998, Elend produced the Officium Tenebrarum trilogy before going on hiatus. Their return to the project in 2003 saw the beginning of a new trilogy known as The Winds Cycle. A World in their Screams is the final release in this cycle.
From the moment the melodic voice at the start of the CD gives way to the darkness of the rest of Ophis Puthon, it’s clear that this is an album that demands attention. With a dramatic fusion of traditional classical instrumentation and noise elements, the listener is taken on a dynamic ride. The sonic winds carrying the listener through the eleven tracks, to bombastic heights, threaten to overwhelm and devastate before dropping at points to moments of stillness with whispered lyrics or melodic choral sections. To name a particular track that stands out from the rest is difficult with such a unified set of compositions. If pushed I would have to say Je Rassemblais tes Membres for it’s range, it’s intensity, and creative blending of all the elements found throughout the rest of the CD.
Elend’s 13 years of experience shines through in their masterful compositions, the sense of unity across the whole album, and the quality of the lyrics. Being thoughtful enough to provide English translation for ignorant plebs like me (to be found on the download section of their website), I can only imagine the power and beauty of these words in their native tongue.
For anyone with any interest in neoclassical, avant-garde, or soundtrack genres, this album is an essential purchase. I can’t wait to lay my hand on the first two albums in this cycle to give it context. A World in their Screams will be on heavy rotation in our house for a good long while I suspect. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to Elend’s music." Heathen Harvest

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