Aphelion
From Judas Kiss Magazine (12/03)
I'm not too sure if this is meant to be a selling
point or not, however, the sticker on the front of
the CD informs me that the 'Bizarre electronica'
(their words not mine) I'm about to listen to is by
Stuart Anstis who was apparently the lead
guitarist/songwriter in death metal band Cradle
of Filth. So after the brief introduction I'm
expecting a dark ambient affair that was all
too common amongst death metal bands and
labels alike a few years back, and well since
Burzum churned out two remarkable non guitar
albums, this surely opened the floodgates for anyone
to try and 'experiment' with a keyboard in their
bedrooms. Well surprisingly enough Aphelion
hasn' t produced a dark ambient album at all,
but a trance like ambient set of recordings that
are awash with drum beats that range from a
slow, enchanting ethnic sound that accompanies
the middle eastern singing to full on break
beats that pound from the speakers, and
harks back a percussion driven style that
inhabited dance floors before the prodigy had
learned how to play with matches properly.
The electronic structures carry along the beats
and Eastern atmospheres effortlessly as the
album flips from full on beats to chilled out
ambience and back again. Although there are
a number of bands that have a crossover appeal
between the alternative and dance scenes, I'm afraid
to say that Aphelion isn't one of them which
makes me pretty sure that even the most diehard
ambient (in the post industrial or soundtrack sense
of the word), would get very little out of this except
to get a bit annoyed by it. Perhaps if I were to go
out to dance clubs a little more and wanted
to expand my horizons (isn't there drugs for that
sort of thing in club land?) then this may mean
something to me but in my present state it
leaves me just asking why? LP
New Empire - 280901 (Germany)
What can you expect from the Cradle of Filth
ex-lead guitarist and songwriter Stuart Anstis?
Painted faces, vampires, blood and a lot of
Black Metal? Wrong. Aphelionıs release is a
weird, confusing, loud, melancholic and brilliant
ambient-album. With beats, samples and a lot of
fragile sound-arrangement the musician creates
a real masterpiece of sound. The EP starts very
slow and atmospheric with the first track "I".
A very ambientic and threatening piece of music
with a sacral mood. My favorite track is number
three called "III" with an orchestral sound and
a female voice reminding somehow of Lisa Gerrards
fantasy-language-chants. The rhythm adds a very
modern touch to this song and if you would not
know it is Aphelion you hear, you could think Dead
Can Dance uses Drum&Bass-elements now. Other
tracks are more experimental and electronic like "V"
but the most powerful one is the last with the
heavy double-bass-drumming, a computer-sound
somewhere between old C64-games and an
organ and again those heavenly female vocals. Stuart
Anstis surprises with this album and I think it is again
a milestone in his personal career. Every fan of
ambient or the Heavenly Voices-groups like
Dead Can Dance should give this album a try. But donıt
expect to find a copy here: Aphelion is unique
and too weird to be really compared with anything.
The Crack - Issue 155 (Newcastle, UK)
Lead Guitarist Stuart Anstis takes time out of
black metal band Cradle Of Filth for some
studio exploration producing some amazing
results. The album marches on track by track
visiting influences of old and influences of far.
Distorted breaks crashing in over thumping
bass and old skool acid blips and synth
techno lacquered with Tantric vocals over
western industria. The collage of sounds, styles
and structures/formulas come together like
a chemical compound. In this case the sum
is greater than its parts.
Acid Attack Music - March 2001
Didn't really know what to expect from this disc,
being as it is from the former guitarist and songwriter
with black metal (?) heroes Cradle of Filth. The cover
sticker trumpets it as 'Bizarre Electronica' well as ever
I will try anything once so armed with my trusty notepad
and pencil and a good supply of headache tablets I slipped
the disc into the machine. Complete revelation! What a
surprise, absolutely nothing like what I expected it to be like.
I know that as someone writing about very different
styles of music I shouldn't have any preconceptions or
prejudices about anything I receive but this really
surprised me. I suppose I was expecting a good 74 minutes
of bludgeoning power electronics, instead what I got was a
catchy, bollywood sampling disc that will get a lot of plays
even after the review is done and dusted. Indian orchestral
loops revolve around slightly crunchy drum sounds;
I can imagine parts of this being used in a film or
documentary. If Stuart Anstis has never heard Muslimgauze
then I suggest that he check him out (that recommendation
goes to anyone try
http://pretentious.net/Muslimgauze/index.htm)
He's following the same sonic blueprints as the late great
Bryn Jones but not as yet to the extremes of twisted dub
terrorism. As I said previously the use of sampled Asian
vocals and Indian orchestral sounds make the disc a real
delight, listenable at any time. I don't know what the
Cradle of Filth massive will think of the work, hopefully they
will listen with open ears and I must go and check out some
C of F to see if any of the influences found here made
it into the former band. Got to wrap this up now as
I have a waiting list of people who want to listen to
the disc (true!)
Wholeheartedly recommended best c.d. of the
year so far.