Burial Hex - https://burialhex.bandcamp.com/
Burial Hex – Et In Arcadia Ego – Cassette – Monastery Fortress – 2017.
I.
A
rebours.
II.
Beast
of the Weaponed Sex.
III.
Cathar
Riddles.
IV. Bleach the Agony.
V.
What
He Doth Finde of the Phenix Kinde.
VI. Womb of the Wold.
VII. Reign Gathering.
VIII.
The
Tolling.
IX. Famine Again
X.
Democracy
of the Dead.
XI. There is Light.
Burial Hex – Assumption/ Ascension – CD – Klanggalerie – 2017
1.
Assumption.
2.
Ascension.
3.
Vigil.
4.
The
Upper Room.
5.
White
Sunday.
6.
Afterfeast.
Burial Hex – In Psychic Defense – Sound of Cobra – SOC4 – Single sided 12” – 2011
1. In
Psychic Defense.
Burial Hex –
Initiations – CD – Aurora Borealis – 2008
1.
Will
to the Chapel.
2.
8
Pentacles.
3.
River
of Los.
4.
Bo
-II-Ne.
My history with
Burial Hex stretches back to when Clay Ruby made everything on his Soundcloud
tracks free for download some years ago around 2010. This led to my interest
being peaked enough to buy his split LP with Iron Fist of the Sun in 2011, as
well as the In Psychic Defense 12” a year later. I really liked what I heard,
it was very different to the Power Electronics I was listened in those times.
Burial Hex was a one off. I’d recently lost touch with the project until some recent
discussion ensured I landed copies of Et In Arcadia Ego and Assumption/
Ascension. For those reasons I will step backwards into Burial Hex before I
step forwards to recent recordings.
My time at
Judas Kiss led me to get a copy of 2008s ‘Initiations’ in a sale after the site
had closed. This is one of the earlier Burial Hex releases as he had been
releasing since 2007. It’s described by the label as a ‘Metaphysical odyssey of
uncertain outcome.’ The album Starts off with deep, moody, atmospheric keyboard
work that slowly begins losing form and descends into free-form chaos. The lack
of fixed structure aspect allows the sound to change fluidly and frequently,
Ruby’s assault is very individual when things fire up. The later atmospherics
contain humming ambient drones that rise through echoing metal clanging. Things
build into a Kaleidoscopic vision of sound of lengthy fractured noise
abstractions. I also liked the passages of melodic instrumentation; it leans
towards old horror film soundtracks, but never feels forced, it is as if he
arrives at some conclusions through sheer force of experimentation. However, I
do believe there is always a central theme in the background that ties the work
together discretely. It is
evident on listening that BH did find its own sound territory as a project very
early on. Overall this album does demonstrate the beginnings of a unique,
impressive personal vision.
Due to recent personal
events and the lengthy task at hand I needed to add this to the review; it’s the
single sided 12” ‘In Psychic Defense’ that came 3 years later after Initiations.
The opening hymn is to Archangel Michael, who is traditionally leader and
protector of the faithful. In Psychic Defense is also Clay Ruby’s collaboration
with Troy Schafer and this was meant to be the last release as Burial Hex,
history proves that thankfully it wasn’t. My thoughts of this years ago were
the odd instrumentation and how it sounded like nothing else; this still stands
true now. It’s progressed and matured a lot since Initiations, yet the works
immediate uniqueness still ties it to ‘Initiations’ as it still has a ‘wtf?’ factor
throughout. Its vocals and music are fluid as they build towards the second
part of the track which consists of spacious, delicate melodic instrumentation
that points to beauty and harmony. A beat interrupts this to introduce a
growled, hellish Black Metal type vocal over the melody which then shifts to a lighter
singing before the growl returns. This is still a very challenging listen after
all these years.
Assumption/Ascension
is a combined reissue of two earlier releases Pentecost (2016) and Assumption/Ascension
(2015). With tracks 1 & 2, recorded live at Snake on the Lake Festival
(Ruby and Angela McJunkin) Foggy, ambient drones build and make way for string
instrumentation and choir like, distant odd vocal sounds. The vocal like
earlier recordings splits between human and raging, pleading shouts, however
the gorgeous classical/folkish instrumentation is very prominent in the mix. There
are shifts into more ambient, progressive electronic passages of music. When
field recording sounds or live action sounds become prominent it makes for an effective
lead when the vocals aren’t present. Acoustic instrumentation and pure vocals
end the Ascension. The frequent, unexpected shifts into experimental oddness are
there in Burial Hex. The lush, flowing musical passages seem to mix with this in
an unaffected way.
Tracks 3-6 were
originally released a year later in 2016 as Pentecost and were also recorded
live, but this time at St Norbert’s Catholic Church in Wisconsin. Vigil begins with an epic organ performance; as
this ends, sharp pitches of sound bring new beginning, progressive electronic
pulsations and unearthly vocal sounds form a new sound collage. Organ and
drones slowly move in, building to an intense rise that is far more nightmarish
than the opening track. Drones and Organs build the next cycle. This
demonstrates a familiar pattern in Burial Hex recordings of the sounds starting
as if distant, in a fog as elements then rise slowly to the forefront of the passage.
The Organs return to finish the album off beautifully.
Pentecost is a
less chaotic recording, I find it flows along and shift gradually in comparison
to the Assumption/Ascension tracks. This is an impressive live compilation of
recordings demonstrating Burial Hex’s continually evolving multi-faceted sound.
I’d argue the passages of work are complex yet done so in a way which isn’t just
a flood of ideas, it does seem refined enough to flow naturally into new
territory, the vocals do often repeat in style which effectively serves to tie
the work together.
2017 brought us
Et In Arcadia Ego, this comes with assistance from Brielle Ruby, Angela
McJunkin and Nathaniel Ritter. Limited to 77 copies, this is essentially the most
recent Burial Hex release. Samples and electronic synthesisers build until
bleak ambience rumbles above and around. Like previous works there is a sense
of ceremony/ritual throughout. The familiar growled vocals appear to be read
from a text or script, it is as if the familiarity of the opening tracks vocal
‘evolution/devolution’ sample is echoed. Chant samples seem to reference the
holy whilst the pipes reference primal instincts and journeys.
Cathar Riddles is
all pleasant bells and pipes until it shifts into urgent noise keyboard drones;
this is a welcome return to the abuse of earlier releases. The chanted vocal
weaves this in well with the earlier pieces of work on the album. A haunted
keyboard drone takes over and the vocal arrangements become layered and further
abstracted; this is psychedelic and esoteric at the same time. Bleach the Agony
continues the esoteric feel and works as a journey into other areas of Burial
Hex and leads us into What He Doth Finde of the Phenix Kinde; this is the
longest track on the album and as a result is complex in its subtle changes
over that course of time.
Womb of the
Wold is a murkier, tripped out and choppily fractured work that later shifts to
more lushness and instrumentation. Reign
Gathering calms things in to a quieter ambient calmness as instrumentation
flows along with this. The Tolling is darker as tribal drums and ritualistic
speaking dominate this low-level ritual of sound. The second side continues to
get more warped until sounds are unrecognisable. This album continues to build
on the instrumental folkish areas of Burial Hex whilst warping the familiar experimentation
even more, it continues the dance between beauty and ugliness warping both unrecognisable into each other at times.
Although I have
revisited Psychic Defense, this served as a central point for the work. I
have either proved Burial Hex to be a project in continual shift or picked 4
lucky moments, which I doubt. The work seems content to confuse, if you pay
attention it will partly explain itself, it becomes a woven tapestry through
signals and some subtle repetition. Due to the desire to grow and change, the
project doesn’t seem to stay in one place for too long. It’s difficult to pick
a favourite release here as the work is consistently very strong. Breaking the work
down has enabled me to see how it functions, but the mystery remains.
Choppy Noodles 2018
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