It is always of interest to me when metal and contemplation are united. I chose the word contemplation, since the inspiration for the creation of an album can take many forms. A work of art can inspire art, but so can philosophy, history, religion, politics etc. The process of contemplation from the musicians is what brings the union of metal with something that also has an extensive body of ideas and forms.
In the case of Thanatopsis we begin with the union of ancient Greek tragedy on the Dionysian worship through the story of Euripides’s Bacchae with Hellenic black metal. Thyrathen structured the album like a tragedy and this is not just an ambitious task; it is a difficult task, or rather, a task that could easily turn into a series of bad songs. How can we unite black metal with ancient tragedy? The reality into which our ancestors lived is very far away from ours. Imagine a reality that is filled with gods and, along with the struggles of men, the gods seem to have the role of those who define their destiny and play with them. Hubris, defiance, vengeance, passions, loss, tragedy. The relationship of men with the gods has always been a tragedy. A divine tragedy.
From the living reality of the ancient Hellenes to ours there seems to be a discontinuity, where the one is not a descendant of the other. It is not the Dionysian worship that influenced the modern day west, but philosophers such as Aristotle, Zeno of Citium, Epicurus and others that moved and lived in the spirit of Apollo. Reason, logic, calmness, sobriety in thinking and understanding the world, the struggle to be virtuous and not be consumed by our passions are values that the west was built upon. But history shows us that things weren’t so simple or streamlined. We are lead gently, as the album progresses, to equate the Dionysian mania with the Christian zealotry and the destructions that both brought.
In the last couple of centuries there is a rise, a resurrection of the Dionysian spirit. A need for mania is evident in our lives, a need to escape the confines of reason and dive into our passions. There is a holy mania building up inside many a souls and this is where Thyrathen place their work. Nowadays, the struggle that we go through is the same with the one that humanity is stained with since the fall from grace. The conflict between chaos and order, reason and untamed energy, logic and ecstasy, sobriety and metheksis (=to get in touch with the divine), the conflict that Bacchae is based upon and represents. In the battle between conflicting brothers, Apollo and Dionysus, the yin and the yang of the Hellenic Pantheon, who is going to win? Thyrathen stand behind the Epicurean teaching which is tied to the album title. Thanatopsis. Meditare Mortem. Think of your death. Memento Mori.
Thyrathen means pagan in Medieval Greek, or if you want the literal explanation, it means beyond the door, meaning those outside the church. Thyrathen is a project of modern day pagans that have an extensive and impressive history in Hellenic black metal. Necroabyssious from Varathron and Alexandros from Macabre Omen, along with A.Z. from Kawir and Corax S. came together to record a concept that is heavily influenced by Euripides’s Bacchae but, at the same time, explore something new.
A well-known couple of opposites in the Hellenic pantheon is that of Apollo and Dionysus, both sons of Zeus. The Apollonian faith represents order, reason, and prudence, while the Dionysian faith that of irrationality and chaos, dance and wine.
The album begins the same way that Bacchae begins; with the narration of the coming of Dionysus from Asia to Hellas, Thebes and the rise of the new worship. Then Thyrathen gradually move into their own story, while the black metal riffs and the passionate performance from Alexandros take us, the listeners, to a journey in Ancient Hellas, reliving something that seems very distant and exotic.
With Thyrathen there are also a handful of musicians that play handmade ancient Greek instruments like the Lyre played by Thanassis Kleopa and the Diaulos played by Yannis Pantazis. The narrations of excerpts from Bacchae in track number 1 and from Sophocles’ Antigone in track number 8 are performed by Magda Katsipanou and we have Zisis Apostolidis on tenor voices and Agapi Papamitsou on soprano choirs.
It is evident that Thyrathen took their vision very seriously and dedicated themselves into creating a piece of art like Thanatopsis. I could go on writing about the story, explaining the mythistory behind the gods and the mortals that appear, analyze the philosophical concepts of Epicurus, write about the shaping of history from the zealots, but it would take away some of the joy and the experience that awaits those of us who are willing to sit with this album and allow ourselves to be absorbed by it. Spend time with it and it will reward you, I assure you. Thyrathen made their presence known in the metal world with an excellent album.
0 σχόλια:
Post a Comment