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ZOON (pronounced ZOH-on) is "one of the perfectly developed individuals
of a compound animal; the asexually produced progeny of a sexually produced
individual"..
Greetings again..This month, thanks to a new friend, I am pleased to be
reviewing a very excellent band known as "The Nefilim"..For those who
are die hard fans of Fields Of The Nephilim, you'll already know this
band..Those who are not, hopefully by the end of this review, you'll
have listened to their music, and become a fan..The Nefilim are one of those
bands who tend to use their music and lyrics to tell a story..This
story is about the Descent of Inanna, Queen of Heaven, into the Underworld
Kingdom of her dark sister, Ereshkigal..
The first song on the album is called "Still Life"..It is a song which
you would expect to be the opener for a movie on the Armageddon..It begins,
building itself up, level upon level of blackness..And just as suddenly
as it begins, so it comes to a thunderous and sudden conclusion..
Inanna heard a great wailing and abandoned all her high places and
temples, to find out what the matter was..As she and her servant approached the
Gates to the Underworld, Inanna robed herself with the me (say 'may'), which
was a collection of holy implements in the form of jewels..When she was ready
to descend, she instructed her servant, if she should not return within a
given time, to set about mourning, and pleading with the Elder Gods to
assist, that the Queen of Heaven might not perish and die in the
Underworld..And so she set forth..When Ereshkigal heard this, She slapped her thigh and bit her lip..She took the matter into her heart and dwelt on it..Then she spoke:
Come Neti, my chief gatekeeper of the kur,
Heed my words:
Bolt the seven gates of the underworld.
Then, one by one, open each gate a crack.
Let Inanna enter.
As she enters, remove her royal garments.
Let the holy priestess of heaven enter bowed low.
Neti heeded the words of his queen.
He bolted the seven gates of the underworld.
Then he opened the outer gate.
He said to the maid:
Come Inanna, enter...
Here are some lyrics from "Still Life"..
"We shall crush you down to the point, where there is no coming back ,
Things will happen to you from which you could not recover
If you lived a thousand years, a thousand years."
Still life
Imitating man
In another life,
In a stranger land,
Am I dreaming I am awake,
Is this hell or second sight
Are we born again like shadows
Outside of time....
"Feel I'm walking outside, circled around me are these faceless figures
- Watching me, as if they are waiting for something to happen, then it
happens"..
Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect..They may not be
questioned..Inanna enters, and with each Gate she gains entrance to, one article of the me is removed from her, and finally, naked and without protection, she confronts her dread sister, Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Dead..Naked and bowed low, Inanna entered the throne room..Ereshkigal rose from her throne, Inanna started from her throne..The Anunnaki, the judges of the
underworld, surrounded her..They passed judgment against her..So begins "Xodus"..
"Exit rites, new altered states
In the arena of light
We welcome your fate..
Let the dead carry the dead
Pyre for the flames
Embers of life in the wilderness remain..
Xodus - I feel reborn
Xodus - reborn
Your memory and life
I watch it all go up in flames
Left to die again
Fear is mine"..
The servant Ninshubur, set up a great lament and tore her clothes and
her body, and plead with the Elder Gods to save Inanna from sure and sudden
death, but They refused..She appealed to Father Enki..
'O father Enki, do not let your daughter
Be put to death in the underworld.
Do not let your bright silver
Be covered with the dust of the underworld.
Do not let your precious lapis
Be broken into stone for the stoneworker.
Do not let your fragrant boxwood
Be cut into wood for the woodworker.
Do not let the holy priestess of heaven
Be put to death in the underworld...
Father Enki was grieved to hear of the plight of Inanna, and came to
her assistance..The next song, "Shine" reflects the suffering of Inanna..
"Mirror, Mirror
This is the place
Where love is broken down
I'm barely free
As I want you now..
Misery - Seems so cold out
Misery - Am I dead now?
Shine - Enlighten me - Shine
Shine - Awaken me - Shine
Shine for all your suffering - Shine
She's mine..
My face now pressed against the glass
The winter here, it seems to last
Mirror, what they see
Misery in me"..
Ereshkigal fastened on Inanna the eye of death..She spoke against her
the word of wrath..She uttered against her the cry of guilt..She struck
her..Inanna was turned into a corpse, a piece of rotting meat..And was
hung from a hook on the wall..This is where the song "Penetration" comes in,
explaining the next scene..
"What's happening is real, you can't stop them, what do you think, we
just go on forever.."
Ziarahs are all burning ahead
Illuminating ways I've not dreamed before
Eternals are inviting me in
I see images of you burn forever
Can't contain
Penetrating deep
Generating me
Penetrating you
Let go
We must go back now
Make my entrance,
One way
And I can't look in
And I cant look back
We can not stop no
Black out"..
And now Inanna is dead, having suffered greatly at the hands of her
aggressors..The song "Melt (The Catching Of The Butterfly)" will
describe this scene..
"Oh forgive me..
Now have your place with god
Innocence can be hell..
Of the perfumed and penetrated flesh
She's melting, melting away..
Of the passions that seek and destroy us
This subtle fire, the secret flame..
Torture by desire
Transformation from flesh to spirit
Melting, just melt..
There's a stillness
Between the light and me..
Nothing but dreams and decay
And the angel~
Whose wounds are my lamentation
Oh just melt away"..
And the scene of what befell Inanna continues into the next song "Venus
Decomposing"..Ereshkigal contemplates her sister, the Holy Priestess of
Heaven and Queen of All Lands, suspended in horrible death before
her..Pretty strong imagery from the mere words alone, but coupled with
the intensity of the music, they take on a life of their own, and become
like a thing of power..
"Forgive me..
As I have become the trail of mutilation
Towards destruction, evil for all
We the arbitrary souls of our own temple
Need nobody
As we reach out and hold you breath of life
Who has sent and angel for our requiem
Slaughter house religion
And the burning sun
Liars devotees of dead
I see Venus decomposing
Here in front of me, close to me
"She's a liar"
Hell hallucinates
As you are fucked and bled
My dreams made flesh
Your words are dead
Paralyzed
Wide awake - reaching for the light
Dead to the world"..
Tortured, and rent asunder..Father Enki fashions two beings, neither
male nor female from the dirt under his fingernails, and gave them food and
water of life to revive Inanna..He then instructed them to go to the
Underworld and enter the Gates in the form of flies..When they two entered the
Underworld, they came across Ereshkigal who was moaning greatly like
one in the throes of labor, and as she moaned, they also moaned..The queen was
pleased, and offered them a gift, so they asked for the corpse hanging
from the hook on the wall..Then they set about feeding the food and the
water of life to Inanna, and thus she re-animated..Then Inanna was escorted out
-
"No one ascends from the underworld unmarked..If Inanna wishes to
return from the underworld, She must provide someone in her place"..They
wanted to take Ninshubur in Her stead, but Inanna would not let them have her..So they continued walking..Inanna's son Shara, threw himself on his face in front of Her..They wanted to take him in Her stead, but She would not let them have him..So they continued walking..Eventually, they came across Lulal, the son of Inanna, and he threw himself face down in front of Her, and they
wished to take him in Her stead, but She would not let them..And on the
walked, until they came across Inanna's husband Dumuzi..
The galla seized him by his thighs..They poured milk out of his seven
churns..They broke the reed pipe which the shepherd was playing..Inanna
fastened on Dumuzi the eye of death..She spoke against him the word of
wrath..She uttered against him the cry of guilt: Take him! Take Dumuzi
away! Here begins the next song "ZOON (Parts 1 and 2) Saturation"..
"I've been waiting for you
You're lonely
I've been watching you
Control me...
I'm here with you, you know
No need to hide
Lay your head in mine
Just close your eyes...
Welcome
So you came
You're here with me again
Out of nowhere
You even know my name
But it will never, ever be the same
But I'm always with you
When you fall
Asleep...
Show me..
Show me what it is..
What you're hiding from"..
There are a few more songs on the album, but this was meant mostly to
get you interested..Those who are old "Fields Of The Nephilim" fans, will
love this album..Carl went on to continuously challenge himself musically,
and there weren't many who could keep up with his talents in that area..The
result became this group, The Nefilim, and musically as well as
lyrically, this album is the right combination of exquisite goth darkness, meets thundrous metal..
So how would Carl like Zoon to be viewed, both by the loyal fan and the
Nefilim newcomer? "It's a surprising album," he opines, and then further elaborates: "All the samples are original, I mean that stuff took me a long time to create. But the way I do music is from the visuals I see in my head, I don't often get inspired by other music, I get inspired by images and I interpret that through music"..
The story of Inanna, for those who are interested, can be found here..Definitely take a cruise over to amazon.com and have a listen to the sound clips
of their music, then get your credit card details ready and BUY THIS
ALBUM!! It really is that good..I would like to thank the following for sources of information and inspiration -
The Nephilim - click
here
This site is currently under construction, but the buzzword out there
is to keep checking back regularly for info that will cause worldwide
chaos..Great stuff :o)
The Nefilim - click here This site
has a very excellent flash intro, accompanied by Nefilim music - excellent
site..
Amazon.com - click
here to listen You MUST have a listen, but definitely buy this
album..I own it, and it's a great album..Finally, last but definitely not least, thanks to Doktor Avalanche, a pal of mine, who got me interested in
this band in the first place..I couldn't have written any of this if not for
Dok :o) Here's hoping you all enjoyed the review, and will soon be
enjoying The Nefilim on your stereos..Until next month, dark blessings..
Silver~
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