Current 93
Nature Unveiled

The early albums by Current 93 are authentic milestones in esoteric post-industrial music, but not only. Albums like Nature Unveiled, Dogs Blood Rising, Live At Bar Maldoror, and even the slightly inferior In Menstrual Night (unremarkable instead is Dawn, which still belongs to the same trend) have codified a genre (esoteric-industrial) that legions of artists have later been inspired by. Without taking anything away from the later developments in the band's career (which saw David Tibet embrace the folk movement while traversing less original territories), it is still in the group's early phase that their most brilliant production is found. In this initial phase, Tibet proves himself to be a sublime craftsman (also thanks to the contribution of Steven Stapleton from Nurse With Wound), assembling a bizarre "collage" mixing Gregorian chants, Stockhausen-esque electronics, and noise: the result is powerful and leaves one stunned. The music is dark and para-religious, taking us into infernal realms.

The debut album Nature Unveiled (preceded by the valid yet sparse EP Lashtal) is composed of two long tracks of about 19 minutes each. The first (titled "Ach Golgotha (Maldoror Is Dead)") is a sort of desecrating celebration of orthodox liturgical rites. Maldoror is a demon created by the French poet Lautremont (who was among the sources of Tibet's inspiration at the time, along with the magician Aleister Crowley) who would certainly have appreciated this music. Tibet's voice is demonic, emerging from a magma of electronic loops, obsessively reciting the phrase "Maldoror Is Dead" like a mantra. The track is structured with dark notes from a piano and religious choir music. It is an intense experience that does not leave one indifferent. Certainly, it may seem like a satanic mass, but we are far from any derogatory clichés. One cannot deny, however, the use of dark symbolism that will likely bring out the dark side within you. The second track, "The Mystical Body Of Christ In Chorazaim (The Great In The Small)," is based on the use of Gregorian chants interspersed with a voice reciting a hallucinatory chant. Then, around the midpoint, the music becomes increasingly noisy and experimental with heavy use of manipulated electronics. The finale is apocalyptic, seemingly putting an end to any hope of redemption.

Today, Nature Unveiled shines with a dark and esoteric aura that has not yet waned. We are faced with an authentic classic, in my opinion superior to what Psychic TV was doing. Its importance goes beyond the industrial genre (though still part of it and establishing new canons). It is an album that, unlike many sterile and self-serving noise productions, has meaning and its own artistic integrity. Available on Bandcamp along with the entire discography of Current 93: https://current931.bandcamp.com/album/nature-unveiled-remaster.