Current 93
Dawn

"Dawn," released only on vinyl in 1985 and later on CD, marks a return to the raucousness of the earliest days (after the ambient interlude of "In Menstrual Night"), but it's increasingly evident how the formula, revolutionary at the time, begins to show serious signs of wear. A physiological and understandable decline in inspiration, considering it's the fifth release in just two years of activity. A dead end that will be overcome with the folk turn of "Swastikas for Goddy." The subsequent "Imperium" and "Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow" will be further steps towards the mystical and intimate atmospheres that will characterize the artistic maturity of the band.

"Dawn," the last piece of Current 93's first artistic phase, consists of four long compositions that indeed take us back to the terrifying settings of the earliest "Nature Unveiled". As explained in the notes of the internal booklet, members of the collective at the time included David Tibet, Steven Stapleton, John Fothergill, Annie Anxiety (muse of the Crass, a band highly esteemed by Tibet), John Balance, Douglas P., Rose McDowall, John Murphy, Roger Smith, Nick Rogers.

The opener "Great Black Time" is the standout track of the album, a piece that ranks among the most significant of this period, on par with classics like "Maldoror is Dead", "Falling Back in Fields of Rape", and "Jesus Wept": introduced by Tibet's sparse recitation, the track will unfold for over a quarter of an hour among the sonic rips of a hypnotic and ultra-reverberated chime, the skewed dance of a circus organ, and the cacophonous crawl of guitar feedback. Temporarily setting aside the sulfurous atmospheres of their past production, Current's music arrives at decidedly more noise-oriented shores, thereby allowing the experimental soul of the formation to fully emerge (Stapleton's unmistakable touch, whose work of manipulation and assembly recalls more than once his creature, Nurse with Wound). The originality, class, and technical skill of Current 93 lie precisely in making fifteen minutes of pure chaos engaging and anything but boring. Attention will be grabbed by the continuous back-and-forth of a classical piano, while the visionary incursion of McDowall's sweet voice, singing a traditional theme in the midst of a dreadful orgy of noises, is truly a moment of extreme allure, yet another stroke of genius from a band that never ceases to amaze. But the release that will surprise us the most will undoubtedly be hearing the festive echoes of the famous "California Dreaming" by the Mamas and Papas, which occasionally surfaces amidst the delirium, underscoring an irony and a desire for fun that is truly delightful to find in a band that has become, despite everything, responsible for some of the most terrifying music in this world.

The following "Maldoror est Mort", as the title suggests, is yet another (and unfortunately not the last) reworking of "Maldoror is Dead", originally present in "Nature Unveiled" and extensively reinterpreted in "Live at Bar Maldoror". What can be said, on one hand, it appears somewhat redundant as it does not differ much from the original; on the other hand, considering the current unavailability of "Nature Unveiled", it can be extremely interesting for those who have not had the opportunity to experience the earliest Currents and want to sample their expressive power. Because this, folks, is a new form of true psychedelia, where instead of Waters banging a gong and Gilmour in flip-flops meddling with guitar effects, there's a dark-eyed Tibet swaying dejectedly on stage, exhibiting his emaciated physique and emitting horrible sounds into the poor microphone. A music that makes the mind travel, no longer through the improvisations and stage solutions of a rock in a state of liquefaction, but through the bombardment and manipulations of the iciest electronics. A music that no longer aims solely to unsettle the brain but directly targets the "soul". A sort of post-utopian and nihilistic psychedelia that, through the suggestion and visions it provokes, tends to instill states of fear and anxiety in the listener.

This is followed by "A Day in Dogland", a collage exercise that brings us back to the atmospheres of the previous "In Menstrual Night": it combines the somber orchestrations of Mozart's famous funeral march, mystical organ phrases, and a sacred choir, with results that are surreal and unsettling. The insinuation of a voice singing "Greenleaves" accompanied by violin and mandolin at the end is suggestive. Although speaking in the eternal and indispensable language of dissonance, the piece will provide a tonic pause for our ears (and for our minds, still obfuscated from the profound eighteen minutes of the previous composition). Naturally, this is the calm before the storm, as the last track, "Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus", is a new descent into the inferno, and in the sonic chaos, samples from the ever-present "Maldoror is Dead" will make another appearance. We understand the importance of such a piece for Tibet (which, according to some rumors, might be inspired by the premature death of his first child), but frankly, to find it for the fourth time across five albums is decidedly too much, even for the most understanding fans of the band.

In the CD reissue, finally, we find placed as the third track another version of "Great Black Time": not much different from the one heard before, but this is the first recording of the track, originally present on vinyl, later lost and finally recovered and presented here. This version appears more structured and aggressive, animated by the sampling of Barry McGuire's hoarse voice, extracted from "Eve of Destruction", a sort of "...destructioneveofdestructioneveofdestruction..." repeated obsessively for almost the entire duration of the piece, and ultimately serving as a true rhythmic gimmick.

"Dawn" is certainly not Current 93's most brilliant album, and certainly does not testify to a moment of extreme inspiration for Tibet and company. Nonetheless, even in this context, Current demonstrates the fabric, the ingenuity, the originality of a unique band, a founder of a musical genre and the uncontested leader of a scene. With results, nonetheless, unattainable by anyone else attempting this type of music. Class, after all, is not water... not even when it gets a little watered down...