Le Serpent Blanc - Le Serpent Rouge

This Morn' Omina | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 2003)
• Original Release Date: May 5, 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Ant-Zen
• ASIN: B0000BY7OP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,805 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Epoch

2. Suneater

3. (The) Ninth Key

4. Taliesin

5. The Immutable Sphere

6. Toltec

7. Son of Fire

8. Uraeus

9. Aquarius

10. Pisces

11. Aries

12. Taurus

13. Gemini

14. Cancer

15. Leo

16. Virgo

17. Libra

18. Scorpio

19. Ophiuchus

20. Sagittarius

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tribal Industrial: Finally Nailed!, October 26, 2005

By 

M. Mierzwa (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Le Serpent Blanc - Le Serpent Rouge (Audio CD)

Mika Goedrijk's This Morn' Omina finally nailed the tribal influenced industrial sub-genre with this two disc album, and I honestly have used this album to introduce people to this style of music.

The second disc is easier to describe (and is listed as tracks 9 - 20 above), as it is a concept piece telling the story of each of the thirteen signs of the zodiac. Yes, I said thirteen signs, and Mika is correct to point out that the sun obscures thirteen (not just twelve) different astrological constellations through the zodiac band. In fact, both albums are named after the hidden zodiac sign "ophiuchus", which is the constellation of the snake handler (hence the serpent) who was known to cure and cause death (white and red). In any event, though this second disk has a short run time (around 40 minutes), Mika has done an amazing job bringing the common conceptions of the zodiac signs to life via sound. For example, Leo comes across as proud and straight forward, Libra is measured and cautious, Sagittarius feels as though it is racing in a celestial hunt, etc.

However, the first disc is among one of my favorite CDs. Though there are only eight tracks, this disc is over an hour long. The third track, "(the) ninth key", stands out as the perfect example of what industrial music is about. It starts off with a rather slow and ritualistic feel, then to a more ambitious and recognizable modern beat structure and minimal hypnotic voice-overs. This particular track has become something of a regular amongst many industrial DJs sets. The next track, "Taliesin" features some amazing drum work and illustrates the diversity of sound that le serpent blanc features. I must admit that I grin every time I listen to the fifth track, "the immutable sphere", because of its use of the famous line "Klaatu barada nikto" from the 1950s film "The Day the Earth Stood Still".

Star Trek fans will also recognize Mr. Spock's famous quote, "Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, symbolizing the elements that create truth and beauty", in the track "Suneater". In fact, I'd argue that this one sample actually summarizes the entire album. Le serpent blanc, le serpent rouge is designed to blend a diverse variety of styles of music into a single collection and does so well. Even if you are not a fan of industrial or ambient music, I think you'll enjoy this CD.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars White Snake - Red Snake, March 17, 2004

By 

"dober01" (Roseburg, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Le Serpent Blanc - Le Serpent Rouge (Audio CD)

Yeah, so the title sounds like a Dr. Seuss book...

This album is the first I heard from This Morn' Omina. A friend thought I would enjoy the snake-ish theme. I want to say that enjoy is an understatement.

The first half, Le Serpent Blanc, hits hard with tribal-sounding street techno, and has managed to perfectly mesh solid beats with etherial music...

The second, Le Serpent Rouge, follows up with a barrage of smaller tracks with a Zodiac theme, as well as a very cool video!

As I said, this album was my first experience with This Morn' Omina. I guarantee it won't be my last.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars yes, oh yes, April 1, 2005

By 

Herdabeetz (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Le Serpent Blanc - Le Serpent Rouge (Audio CD)

I first learned of this group after buying Six Ways From Sunday by Pow[d]er Pussy. That CD is a fantastic & super-charged Sci-Fi disc of edgy club music, and it's a collaboration between This Morn Omina and Ah Cama-Sotz. Which brings me to THIS 2xCD, which completely shifts gears.

Of the two discs, my favorite would have to be Le Serpent Rouge. It's a very precise and sensual affair, stuffed full of Middle Eastern percussive influence that's presented in a stripped back, atmospheric, electronic, and vaguely industrial sort of way. It's a laid-back sort of disc for laid back sorts of things. It's what a modern art troupe might belly dance to. It's what a modern vampire might have sex to. It's what you might hear if you awoke one morning from that vampire's trance, well-satisfied and covered in the diffuse light of the morning Sun.

On the other hand, Le Serpent Blanc is far more uptempo. Some of its tracks are tribal club music, but they're far too cool to appear in most clubs. Others are a bit crunchier, and don't have the 4/4 beats. All in all it's a good disc and a bit more uptempo than the Rouge disc, but it's overall mood doesn't make it a dance release. This disc offers tantalizing hints of the Pow[d]er Pussy side-project, but it's really a different ball of wax.

And did I mention that the artwork is really cool, and the bonus video on disc 2 is... nothing special but I guess you could look at it as a peek into an apparently good live show.