Merciful Nuns Unveil 'ANOMALY X'

The MERCIFUL NUNS’ final album concludes a memorable journey through time, space and the unseen. Like its predecessors ANOMALY explores the hidden mysteries, encouraging the listener to engage with the subject matter on levels beyond the obvious. Impressive in its artistic execution; as we have come to expect from the NUNS’ mastermind Artaud Seth, the album’s lyrical content reveals insights gained from years of fastidious study and testament to Artaud’s meticulous approach to his creations.

NEO ALPHA GENESIS opens with a haunting echo of the ethereal culminating in a profound reminder that “…man is God!” before heading into a powerful beat laced with delicate guitar work and Artaud in commanding fashion delivering a prophesy or perhaps a warning… in any case a song destined to be a crowd favourite during live shows. A subtle yet distinct transition into GOLDEN DAWN changes the tempo into a more contemplative mood, building into a powerful hymn underpinned by changing rhythm, building slowly into a crescendo surmounted by a most distinctive signature riff which lingers in the memory long thereafter. The song delivers an assessment in which Artaud’s capacity to immerse himself in the theme at hand is succinctly revealed, he absorbs its essence and recognises the hidden mysteries for what they are; never before as prevalently displayed as in the whole concept of ANOMALY in general and this song in particular.

SATURNALIA is an epic expose of transcendence into ancient mysticism and its perpetuation. It opens with a mesmerising hypnotic beat that pervades the song throughout various changes in pace and rhythm from calm and measured passages into pure aggression; those who have followed Artaud’s journey over the decades will recognise echoes of the Dawn era woven into the song’s fabric. BLUE LODGE is a courageous foray into the exclusive world of still operative secret societies; sharing an experience perceived and understood on a level of insight reserved exclusively for true initiates alone; yet expressed in a manner of what yet could or already might be… A somewhat brutal assault on the senses compared to what went before cranks up the intensity before we are taken back down to slightly more measured ground with ON THE SQUARE, haunting guitars upon a steady drum beat keeping the tempo and Artaud at his accustomed ceremonial best. ANOMALY (PART 1: MOON WATER – PART 2: CRACK IN THE UNIVERSE) delivers a true opus that leaves much food for thought. Expansive layers of sound accompanied by a sombre voice moving through as many layers of emotions as the music itself; the album’s longest track manages to retain its momentum throughout and will resonate with the listener on many levels, atmospheric and deep, philosophical even. THE PYRAMID marks the final chapter and takes us as deeper into Artaud’s mindset as never before; a slow and hauntingly beautiful track inspired by a Charles Baudelaire poem and evidently of personal significance… it has a certain finality as it fades into poignant nothingness.

Artaud embraces controversy by offering progress and challenges convention with an undeniably astute logic. This album will grow on its audience, a delightful and rare ingredient in present times indeed. One cannot help but admire the carefully choreographed soundscapes and his exquisite eye for detail. If it should turn out to be Artaud’s final album in this genre then ANOMALY will prove to be an epitaph worthy of his legacy – epic, laced with emotions, intellectual depth, and a tour de force through the past and present.

'Anomaly X' will be available 6th April 2018 via Solar Lodge Records.

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