Current 93
Hitler as Kalki

THE REVIEW

On the ruins of this world destroyed and on the brink of apocalypse (even though the inner one happened long before our births), the questions remain the same. What happiness is there in this body of bones that encases us? The wind pushes us over the dust, and, whistling through us, creates the melodies of the end of the world.

These melodies have been recorded and edited in a live album by Current 93. Anyone who has listened to Thunder Perfect Mind will surely remember the track "Hitler as Kalki (SDM)", both because it tackles atmospheres in a very different manner from the album (thanks to Nick Saloman's guitars), and because of its almost seventeen minutes, and the experience of participating in the destructive ride of a new Hitler reincarnated as Kalki. Those who were impressed and enthusiastic will surely have discovered a live album with this title in the endless discography of the current.

Opening the album (and also closing it) we find "Imperium V". Anyone who has listened to Imperium (the 1987 album which witnesses one of the first unions of industrial and folk and gothic atmospheres) knows that the tracks under this name are four. And here we find the fifth, which summarizes almost all the lyrics of the first ones (many of which are actually biblical verses, taken from Ecclesiastes 3) in a dark folk song format, typical of the year. And it's certainly the case because it closely resembles "Moonlight, You Will Say" from Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starr, a 1994 album: the music of this track (mostly composed by Cashmore) live will be used to create a piece with a very different spirit. 

After the first seven minutes of Imperium V, we get straight to the point. "Hitler as Kalki" (SDM) reproduced live in its entirety, in an impeccable performance. Although the sound quality and mixing are not superlative (in fact, this goes for the entire album), you can clearly hear the interweaving of the apocalyptic guitars. Let's recall that Tibet dedicates this song to his father, who fought Nazism, for whom the dictator was a reincarnation of absolute evil; we are far from the ambiguous atmospheres of Death in June. 

After this electric ride that always leaves you exhausted but diabolically excited, a third even more dreadful track begins. It's "Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow", the title track from the eponymous 1988 album. This time the reproduction is not faithful, as the atmosphere, with a crescendo of obsessions, becomes openly more industrial, with a Stapleton at his best. Much less electronic precision from the studio, a lot of live fury. Industrial percussion supports the noise of machines and crazy guitars, while a Tibet at his best declaims his verses about damnation and the end, for ten minutes of blows to the brain (thus ten minutes less than the original, which we now know is something else).

What could Current 93 offer now, if not another crazy and lengthy track from Thunder Perfect Mind? "All the Stars Are Dead Now" (another track that stands out in the original album for its length) here is proposed in a more intimate and quiet version (which does not mean it is not restless). There are fewer folk interventions than the original (like the flutes), but the reverberated voice of the damned minstrel always dominates, accompanied by John Balance's vocal choruses and the ever-splendid Rose McDowall. 

The conclusion brings us back to the beginning, with a stronger and less intimate version of Imperium V. And we remain desolate, sad, and probably alone (very few times have I listened to this group with anyone else, and I always feel uncomfortable when it happens).

The technical level of the recording and mixing, as I said, leaves much to be desired, confining "Hitler as Kalki" as an album only for fans and absolutely not for beginners (unless you love musical filth). A real pity for the arrangements of the tracks that are often better than the originals and truly fantastic performances. If you are a lover of dark folk or apocalyptic folk, it is absolutely an album to listen to.