Nasoni Rec.
La Ira De Dios Archaeopterix (PER,2006)***°
* Introduction on the illustrations :
The next release by this Peruvian group refers to the still very popular (in dark metal music mostly) graphics by Gustave Doré to "Paradise Lost", which is an epic poem by the 17th-century English poet John Milton.
"Paradise Lost" is the story about the fallen Angel Lucifer (-Lucifer means “light bringer”, in the same way that Christ has this title, on a different level, as the principle of the Logos or the Consciousness). This poem's story is based upon some ideas that were known to Gnosis while some related ideas could also be found in some Apocryphal works like 'Book of Enoch'.
-Gnosis was a popular form of beliefsystem, older than Christianity, which was based upon 'personalized' spiritual experiences, of a deeper inner ‘knowledge’, that once was experienced, could help men to make them better persons. Gnosis is often said to be a dualistic tradition that beliefs that this particular world was created by a lesser God. (Also the Cabbalistic system confirms how mankind can only make direct contact with the least aspects of a lesser level to God's descending process of creation, into our materialistic world). Gnosis considered the creation of this world to be impure and being from an impure nature, an idea which can be found in many beliefsystems.
In various esoteric secret doctrines the purpose of the creation of the universe is that God wanted to know himself, and that he had to create therefore a field of a not-God. (Also in the name of Al-la is the hidden meaning all what we see has nothing but opposite forms, while knowledge on the moment, through experience is a much more spiritual kind of consciousness, in constant growth to learn itself).
This creation succeeded only after a few attempts, and became like a systematic structure, so that even what is far away and without God will evolve with 'consciousness' and 'experience' automatically to the spiritual essence and root of its own Godly aspect. So even when this creation has perhaps even deliberately an impure form, inhabiting the denial of God, the 'rebel' (Lucifer) is also the person that can try to learn his own bad aspects through knowledge, before he can find a balanced way back.
Most beliefsystems however focus either on exact knowledge, or on "spiritual" written-down ideas, not knowing they will automatically create extra difficulties if they don't use the "lightbringing" knowledge aspect that will make the increasing of aspects lighter. In Gnosis you can find ideas that focusing only on this impure world will mean also focusing on automatic habits and desires. Even having too many children some Gnosis texts claims it implies a further decay because more and more conscious actions will lose attention, and it is more difficult to develop an inner focus of an attentive inner knowledge. Gnosis also says that creation couldn't be fulfilled with the creation of man, without also taking something of the inner flame of the original God, to spark life into manhood. Men can remember that flame of consciousness ("breath of God"), which is reflected in the inward knowledge, that can help him not to be attached too much by the rules of automatic -isms in this world.
Lucifer is more a symbol of man himself who is incarnated in this world just like Satan, like a fallen Angel, who with his own will, acting only through an inner freedom (Lucifer’s principle) can also re-establish his soul consciousness, reorganizing the impure Will to some way back, while making contact with his soul. Many beliefsystems (Rosicrucian, Gnosis, ..) made this last step even to the 'only true way'. Christianity, in the 14th century however preferred to make us believe that the creation was done out of nothing, and deliberately wiped the first words and ideas of Genesis, so that men will consider himself to be a victim of birth circumstances, without having anything left from the Godly principles within him, making him totally dependent on the Church and her ideas as the saviour. Never the less all people always remembered the original story of Lucifer, unconsciously as a story of mankind to be born with force into this world, trying to make a living, while everybody at the same time remembers that there must be a way back and out of 'the struggling way'. While Gnosis considers this world as basically the bad world of struggle itself, they also say that the same process can also be used for a growing inner and inward consciousness of experiences. While Christianity preferred to see good men as the innocent sheep, nowadays the Luciferian principle has as well a revival that people try even more to find a way to use their pure free Will first, falling thus back on the realities of the survival's quest.
Now, Peru surely is much more like such a Luciferian world where negative energy of the survival for the fittest rules over everything, where corruption is part of this quest, leaving only small spaces for the people to find an inner way out. Most music I know from Peru has more acknowledged aggression of this struggle in it than a restored freedom of inner peace. La Ira de Dios really is one of the first Peruvian (“progressive”) bands that are gaining an international acceptance.
(I still want to repeat the idea that it is important to know both principles in man if you see how people can act humanely while solving issues. First there is the remembrance that we have an animalistic survival nature with automatic desires to manifest. When neglecting these aspects the oppression over it will still be the same kind of manifestation of desires in this way trying to get control over the free Will. But the free Will also knows best the conditions in which persons live and are born. The conditions have already their own restrictions which inhabit a consciousness in which stage people are fallen really, with their personal feeling of loss. The survival quest can be the first awareness to break through the barriers only with a wish to participate in something better. Living within exposed selfish restrictions doesn't show many other connections yet, the Will to become free person now is the first principle. Also La Ira de Dios with psychedelic rock shows their desires to break out its restricted barriers...
(* The aggression which comes forth from restriction I do not consider as coming from a spiritual muse, but from the fact that some restrictions make frustrations of not being able or permitted to participate in all processes. Other people who struggle before to participate should be forgivable).
* The Music :
First track, “Archeopterix” has a stoner feeling, with freaking out guitars, heavy grounding bass, and spacey background effects, with aggressive vocals slightly surrounded and absorbed by dark clouds, all with a powerful late night hypnotic bunker gig effect. “El Llamado” starts calmer, but quickly rams his bass to increasing power as if to make explode and burst forbidden doors, which finally fall down like huge mountains and rocks (drums), while the electric guitars increase its inner energy. Also “Al Viento” starts calmly. This time it improvises in a jam-mode in a more recognisable bluesier way. When this becomes moody into the repetition, the electric guitar burst out of its joints, while the heavy bass tries to keep the energy to the earthy ground level. “Nave Fénix” jams on a more (hypnotic) rhythmic basis that quickly leads to heavy psychedelic rock with spacey effects, and with punk-like vocals, which are blurred in its loaded waters. This is once more very hypnotic psychedelic rock, hard not to be affected by it. I could hardly believe this part already counted over 17 minutes, as if time was dragged in and was absorbed in its gravitation field. Next part, immediately lifts the listener to its heights of its hurricane jam energy. Last track, “Cordillera” is an original acoustic guitar outro differently, also elements of 'old music' with experimental-melodic leanings with ears to resonating sounds in chords. The second part is a song with calm singing with distorted guitars, and with more freaky instrumental parts, full of spacey effects, uptempo drift rhythms, and heavy jamming guitars, only to re-establish itself for a last time in a long, more moody jam outro, with especially the drumming changing the tension, in cooperation with the high space guitars.
A fantastic release with a powerful band sound. I’m sure this band will mean something live..
