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Heart of Silence

by AT THE ALTAR OF THE HORNED GOD

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ronlinfect
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ronlinfect Putain mais c'est puissant. On a du bon son BM sur la piste 6, des voix qui me font repenser à Wallachia, des pistes qui font planner un peu.
Du très, très bon ! Favorite track: Anointed with Fire.
zlatanika
zlatanika thumbnail
zlatanika The music is as unusual and surreal as the cover artwork. Dark, ritualistic, with an echoey pitch-black occult ossuary chamber atmosphere, like demonic voices reverberating inside your head under a full moon, trancelike and otherworldly, and effectively eerie and chilling. 10/10
poellII
poellII thumbnail
poellII a lot to unpack here!
Dave Aftandilian
Dave Aftandilian thumbnail
Dave Aftandilian Superbly crafted ritual black atmospheres that cast a powerful shadow upon the listener. Hypnotic drums and guitars, chanted vocals, and sinister synths combine to lift the veil and open our awareness to other states of being. I also highly recommend this artist’s other project Mystagos, especially their _Pvrvsha_ album.
H.L.
H.L. thumbnail
H.L. It's not really silent in "The Heart of Silence", instead we hear a very individual approach to ritualistic black metal. The songs are marked by haunting monotony and driven by relentlessly hammering or timpani-like drums. The multi-faceted vocals are rough, chant-like or clean/ spoken. There is a basic layer with spheric sounds but that is not reducing the power of the songs. This dark music has definitely a magic, obscure charme, it is thrilling and also catchy. Check "God is in the Rain"! Favorite track: God Is in the Rain.
Frosty Bear
Frosty Bear thumbnail
Frosty Bear The artist’s own words, from a review’s comment section, sum it best.
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“Essentially, it's my answer to the question: "What if Arckanum and Dead Can Dance decided to tour together and ended up partying at Andrew Eldritch's house?"” Favorite track: Guardian of the Threshold.
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1.
Listen 04:31
Stone, leaf, bone, shadow Listen to the trees, listen to the hollow
2.
A swirling memory Of times past Imagined remembrance Of a life not lived The circle is closing The chant can begin So we go together To were sleeping gods lie As we crawl into the darkness of past, present, and future We learn how much we’ve lost So much we’ll never have… Spots of shade, honeyed path Awaken to see the day We get back to being With hands raised, stretched to the limit As we crawl into the darkness of past, present, and future We learn how much we’ve lost So much we’ll never have… Allowing for what’s before us This small pocket of light This single journey A Shadow that covers it all The faces that were our gods They’re gone now The gods that we were Are all dead now
3.
Swirling, swirling Falling, falling Rotten bodies turned to dust Breaking, cracking Snapping, splitting All our bones and dreams combust Horned hooves trampling The woods are alive The Horned One is coming Tonight He shalt arrive Prepare the sacrifice The One With Horns awaits Their destiny has befallen them It’s He Who Desecrates Tonight He shall awake Staring into my unconscious mind Laying waste to nightmares Pushing light into my being The Door of Moonlight is open Its ivory threshold inviting It beckons me in A mirror reflection painted black Hidden in the heart of silence I enter and dissipate A midnight walk through the void An ever-expanding void
4.
I offer Thee this sacrifice O Trophonios, Lord of nightmares! Attend my prayer and come O Trophonios, Granter of visions! Approach and come to this sacred rite O Trophonios, Slayer of doubt! And in your wisdom, please hear me now O Trophonios, Herald of the Night! Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Cool Water from the Earth below Bright Fire from the Air above Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Let opposites unite So that all our Arts be purified I stood in Thy presence at the Oracle I was blessed by Thy wisdom and marked by it I fulfilled the vows I made So hear me now and grant to me Thine aid Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Klûthi mou! Bless me with your essence So that I may delve deeper into Thy mysteries Cast Thine shadow over me So that the light of Truth Shines on my work!
5.
I sing a prayer to the Old One Path Finder and Lord of the Hunt Cernunnos, Opener of Ways Guide of the Paths Between Sitter of the Doorway Attend to me You who hold opposites together Clear the threshold You who are life, death, dusk and dawn The hunter circling the oak Lead the way so that I may follow Remind me of my true self
6.
The serpent dips its head beneath the sea Eternal, thence to draw the strength it needs On earth to do indomitable deeds Master over the mystery of man Tormenting visions of the forebears King of the charnel ground Sunless desolation Ashes rising to the sky Restless world Carrion crows haunt the gardens Reigning over what used to be But never really was From the deep, anointed with fire Scattered amid the vast stars Scattered over the waters Carrying off mountains into exile Lungs full of fire and sparks Driving the beasts to madness Feasting on flesh that isn't their own Feeding on the souls of the dead Scarlet serpents slithering through The bloody halls of a city Drawing strength from the ghosts of the past And their burning fires
7.
8.
I feel the crunch of dry leaves under my feet A golden pathway among the trees Shadows grow longer As the world quiets around me The first stars watch over me Trees bow and shake A powerful shadow rests upon me And I hear the sound of light A gentle touch and whisper As the night wanes I am gone A dreary light following me Through the trees Footsteps upon the dirt No moonlight to guide me The world feels new Cascading realities collapsing A gift given but not yet known Severing light and shadow I close my eyes, wake and see The moonlight finds my spirit

about

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12"LP VINYL
(incl. Bandcamp Digital Download and Streaming)
• Ltd 200: 100 black, 100 transparent vinyl with black splatter*
• 140gr. vinyl
• 350gr. sleeve, 3mm spine
• 2-page Insert
• Black inner sleeve
• Outer plastic sleeve

A5-DIGIPACK CD
(incl. Bandcamp Digital Download and Streaming)
• Limited to 200 copies
• Deluxe A5-Digipack CD
• 8-page booklet with lyrics

* exclusive to our Eshops

T-SHIRT/LONG SLEEVE/ZIPPER HOODIE
• Printed with water-based inks on premium organic / fair trade cotton from Stanley Stella
_________________________

Already the only member of MYSTAGOS, Heolstor returns with his other band, AT THE ALTAR OF THE HORNED GOD, an atypical and original project in which the Spanish musician has successfully harnessed the ritual metal of URFAUST and the Pan-centric black metal of ARCKANUM in a unique and unmistakable style.
Rich in psychedelic and dark ambient/folk echoes in the manner of DEAD CAN DANCE, the music of “Heart Of Silence” continues in the atmospheric groove traced by the previous work (“Through Doors Of Moonlight”, 2020), but with greater emphasis on the black metal component and dark melodies that wrap the songs in a cosmic shroud of stars.

Those of Heolstor are pagan hymns to the night and its silent ghosts, guardians who inhabit it and who dwell in the reflections of the moon, in the wind that shakes the trees of the wood, in the snakes that slither among their roots in the dark. It is the night of the human soul, alone and naked in front of a Nature that embraces us like a mother, now benevolent, now severe.

In "Heart Of Silence" AT THE ALTAR OF THE HORNED GOD prove to be at ease both when they try their hand at the ferocious black metal of the origins, and when their music takes on more ritualistic and meditative contours, thanks to the copious use of percussive instruments used to punctuate a deliberately primitive writing, always deeply hypnotic and with a religious character.
And the Horned One, who lives in memories of a time when the world was new and man free, smiles in pleasure.

credits

released March 3, 2023

Heolstor - Guitars, bass, synths, drums, djembe, tambourine, vocals

Music and lyrics by Heolstor
except "God Is In The Rain" by Suicide Commando
Recorded at Athamé Studio
Mixed and mastered by Simón da Silva at The Empty Hall Studio
Cover painting by Luciana Nedelea
Photography by Jules Idunn
Logo, art direction and layout by Francesco Gemelli
______________
Cat. Nr. IVR206

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