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Rating: A music dark, gothic, evocative...
An ensemble from another space/time led by a "conductor" of the caliber of Brendon Perry...
An alien and angelic voice at the same time (that of Lisa Gerrard)...
All expertly blended to give life to that splendid (master)piece known as Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun (year 1987).
But let's take it step by step. Dead Can Dance are a duo (the aforementioned Perry and Gerrard) who, in their more than a decade-long career (starting in the early eighties), have never stopped experimenting. They went from a gothic period to one characterized by medieval sounds, passing through ethnic/tribal sounds, eventually arriving at world music. While always maintaining high standards, the music expressed in the years 85-87 represents, for me, the peak of their career. In these years, DCD released Spleen and Ideal and Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun in succession. Both characterized by dark, solemn, ceremonial, or religious psalm-like atmospheres. Particularly, the second work (Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun) fully capitalizes on the lesson of the first, bringing their music to levels never again reached. The album can ideally be divided into two parts: the first centered on Perry's orchestrations (with the splendid "Windfall" leading the way) and his melancholic singing, while the second primarily features Gerrard's voice, bringing us “Anywhere Out Of The World”. It's impossible to remain impassive to the singer's chant/mantra, which opens the doors to distant and beautiful worlds, bringing light and new life to the splendid soundscapes evoked by Perry's genius. An album that, along with the previous Spleen and Ideal, represents the highest expression of gothic/orchestral music of those years (see also contemporary Black Tape For A Blue Girl).
Recommended for those who believe DCD are the ones from the post-1987 albums or have only heard Gerrard's voice in the soundtrack of the movie “Gladiator”.
I don't feel like discouraging it to anyone; listen without prejudice and let yourself be guided by the voice and music of DCD.
A must-have.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Xavier (06:18)
Fair Roseanna your vagrancy's a familiar tale
Fraught with danger the lives you led were judged profane
Hatred enfolds us
Inculcates the minds with it's heresy
Laymen enfold us
Clemency arrives to set you free
Faith
Although Xavier has prayed
That life-giving waters may rain
Down on the souls of man
To cure them of their ways
These were the sins of Xavier's past
Hung like jewels in the forest of veils
Deep in the heart where the mysteries emerge
Eve bears the stigma of original sin
Freedom so hard when we are all bound by laws
Etched in the steam of nature's own hand
Unseen by all those who fail in their pursuit of faith
Although Xavier has prayed
That life-giving waters may rain
Down on the souls of man
To cure them of their ways
And as the night turns into day
Will the sun illuminate your way
Or will the nightmares come home to stay
Xavier's love lies in chains
These were the sins of Xavier's past
Hung like jewels in the forest of veils
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Other reviews
By Rocky Marciano
In the realm of the dying sun, the Apollonian and the Dionysian meet, embrace, and soar on golden wings in a supernatural, metaphysical flight.
"Anywhere Out Of The World" marks the beginning of the journey in the twilight’s shadow, a contemplative and dark electroacoustic mantra forged in eternity.
By Rager99
"Within the Realm of a Dying Sun has something that takes it out of time and space, suggesting an unshown but foreshadowed eternity."
"It is emblematic of the sentiment of pre-apocalyptic decadence and loss, torn between faith in eternity and the usual fear of oblivion."
