Heresy

Lustmord

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Soleilmoon
• ASIN: B0007SME5O
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #168,498 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Heresy Part I

2. Heresy Part II

3. Heresy Part III

4. Heresy Part IV

5. Heresy Part V

6. Heresy Part VI

Editorial Reviews

Review

Brian Williams has been operating as Lustmord for more than 20 years now, churning out an impressive number of albums, all of which have been classified, for want of a better term, "dark ambient." Not that it's an inappropriate term for what Williams does, creating rhythm-free soundscapes that evoke an oppressive atmosphere of loneliness, desolation and dread. Soleilmoon Though his work is understandably lumped in with his industrial cohorts SPK and Scorn, it actually has a lot more in common with the spacescapes of Tangerine Dream or the pioneering ambient work of Popol Vuh. Brian Williams is a consummate engineer and producer as well, and throughout his career has taken advantage of the latest technology to increase the presence and richness of his uniquely textural audio environments. 1990's Heresy was a definite high point in a career of high points for Lustmord, and Soleilmoon has just reissued the album in a nice digipack with a new re-master overseen by Williams himself. Heresy is an hour-long mind trip into massive, cavernous expanses of subterranean rock, into dark recesses filled with a sense of slow, abiding dread. Broken into six pieces each more consuming than the next, Heresy has a narrative arc from beginning to end, as Williams penetrates deeper and deeper chambers of bedrock, coming closer to the bubbling magma and frozen expanses of wasteland at the center of a dying star. Buried beneath the yawning industrial maw of these turgid reverberations and time-stretched, strangled screams are disquieting audio details: a convocation of monstrous Lovecraftian entities devouring the flesh of a corpse and releasing ancient, foul belches into the cold, stagnant air; the deep, bellowing laugh of a murderous tyrant standing victorious over the bones of his enemies; a muffled cry of terror from the center of an immense electrical storm. --Jonathan Dean, Brainwashed.com

Product Description

From the deepest vault at Soleilmoon, a much loved but long unavailable classic has been remastered, repackaged and re-issued. "Heresy", the album that launched and defined the dark ambient genre when it was first released in 1990, has been hailed by critics and fans as one of the most important works of its time. "Heresy" was recorded in various subterranean locations and manipulated in the studio with Andrew Lagowski (Legion, SETI, Lagowski, etc) providing engineering and additional programming. It was the first Lustmord album to feature extensive sampling and computer assisted sound design. Recent improvements in sound technology permitted Lustmord to re-master and significantly improve on the original recordings for this new version, which comes in a digipak and even bears a new catalog number. Brian Williams, the man behind Lustmord, currently works as a sound designer in Hollywood. His most recognizable musical contributions to soundtracks can be heard on "The Crow" and "Underworld", but he has contributed his talents to numerous films and computer games. His resume includes musical collaborations with The Melvins, Tool, Chris & Cosey, Coil, Paul Haslinger (Tangerine Dream), SPK, Robert Rich, Current 93 and Nurse with Wound. He has done remixes for Jarboe (Swans), Venetian Snares and Mortiis. From 1985 until 1999 he ran Side Effects Records, the label launched by SPK, releasing more than 30 albums. As Lustmord he has released 10 albums and singles, as well as additional works as Arecibo, Terror Against Terror and Isolrubin BK, all of which were conceived as means to explore different musical directions. "Heresy" stands as Lustmord's signature work, and this new edition shows even more why it's been a best seller for such a long time.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and Decadent (4.5/5), March 15, 2005

By	M. Starr "Amneziak" (Kansas City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Heresy (Audio CD)

When speaking of certain types of music, one can (in most cases) identify the artists who define the various genres. When one thinks of grunge: Nirvana; when one thinks of jazz: John Coltrane; when one thinks of blues: Robert Johnson; and when one thinks of dark-ambient: Lustmord. You may already be asking the question, "Hey Amneziak, is dark-ambient really a genre, and is it even large enough to consider it on the same level as the others?" The answer is both yes and no. No, it's not as large as the others, but yes, it is an ever-growing movement that has congregated a number of supporters.

Not only does dark-ambient music have quite a following, but it has motivated many musicians to incorporate its dark atmosphere into their own works: particularly in the doom, black, and death metal sub-genres. Now, chances are you haven't heard much of anything about Lustmord, so why should this name immediately come to mind in regards to dark-ambient music? For starters, Brian Williams, the solo performer of Lustmord, made Heresy before the dark-ambient genre had been clearly defined. In a sense, he started the entire movement with this recording; or at least that's what some people believe. And second, because there have been so many albums since its release that have tried to imitate the atmosphere and imagery that it so greatly possesses.

Broken up into six parts, Heresy defines a sound that embodies cold, dark, and empty surroundings. The album was recorded in several cavernous locations, and then it was manipulated in the studio with help from London-based artist, Andrew Lagowski. The cover art, which is the painting "The Great Day of His Wrath," by John Martin, is the best indicator of what Heresy sounds like. You have a sense of being trapped deep in the bottom of a deep cave where you are forced to listen to some eerie rituals taking place; only these ritualistic activities are just far enough away that you can only imagine them in your head. Echoing drones and noises are the best examples of how this album gets its ambience, while the rest comes from distant cries of humans and animals. The imagery it portrays is not something you'll have to work too hard at to find.

Brian Williams has gone on to record many great albums since, including work for movies, commercials, and collaborative material with Robert Rich. However, Heresy is my favorite of the lot. It's an album that executes everything perfectly. I love my music dark, and it never lets me down. There aren't too many albums that encompass the same consistency as it does. Even though there are albums with darker and scarier themes, this should be the first thing you hear if you are new to this type of music. Once you have, the name Lustmord may even be the first name that pops into your head the next time you think of the dark-ambient genre.

Note: "The Great Day of His Wrath" can be seen here. http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/m/martin1.jpg

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Chorus in Hell, May 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Heresy (Audio CD)

Mostly recorded deep in caves, "Heresy" features a spectral assortment of voices and sounds that evokes the spirits of the depths of the Earth. On first listening, a great evil seems to come from this album; once accustomed to the dark, however, it is understood as the superficial appearance of otherness. There is definitely a warning of evil here, but the characters and situations of "Heresy" are its heralds, not its agents. Very interesting.

32 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Album...but don't get "gouged.", October 31, 2004

By	Into "voidness" (everywhereandnowhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heresy (Audio CD)

I can't stand seeing opportunistic slimeballs taking advantage of the supply-vs.-demand theory by charging asinine prices for "rare" CD's on the Amazon Marketplace--save it for Ebay, capitalist pigs! The newly remastered version of this classic album is now available directly from Soleilmoon for $10.99.