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Rating: “Brown Book” remains even today a black pearl of inestimable value and is probably the masterpiece of neo-folk. Douglas P. demonstrates here all his talent as a "chansonnier" in black: his lyrics are imbued with a decadent poetry rich in mythical and historical references. The “vision” of Douglas P. embraces the past by evoking the tragedy of the Second World War and the end of Europe. The symbols used by Death In June are ambiguous and full of meanings that take us back to a dark past. A luxurious marble version of “Brown Book” was released in 2007 to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the album: the symbol of the Totenkopf 6 (Death's Head), used by the SS, is prominently displayed and carved on the top side. This version – limited to 1000 copies – is now sold out and has reached a very high valuation (150-200 Euro) among collectors. It includes 2 CDs, the first being the remastered version of the original “Brown Book” while the second contains 7 alternative versions of tracks already appeared in singles and compilations. Inside the box, there are also 4 fabric patches with the group's symbols, a booklet with photographs, and an English translation of the opening monologue. The 2 CDs are covered in brown velvet.
The Death In June have been accused by detractors of being Nazis, but in any case, the value of their music remains high. Without necessarily embracing ambiguous ideologies, I believe it is impossible not to notice the decadence of the modern world. From this point of view, Death In June symbolizes a sort of Grande Berthe against the vulgarity, decadence, and dishonesty that envelop us. Douglas P. has now exhausted his creative vein, but in the past, he created many masterpieces. His figure can be compared to writers like Jean Genet and Yukio Mishima, Céline, or Dante Virgili.
The first part of “Brown Book” is the best that can be heard in the neo-folk field. The album starts with the macabre nursery rhyme of "Helige Tod" (Holy Death) then it's the turn of "Runes and Men", one of the most evocative moments of the entire Death In June production: it begins with a military fanfare and with the sampling of a Nazi official's voice and then becomes a compelling and irresistible ballad that brings back memories of dark, forgotten times and ancient ancestral symbols of Europe where runes still guided minds and spirit. Both "Hail! The White Grain" and "To Drown A Rose" are epochal "standards" of the genre. In the latter, the voice of guest Rose McDowell is a prominent feature. In this song, the obsession with the symbol of the "rose", very recurring in the imagination and iconography of Death In June, is evoked. Then comes the figure of then-collaborator David Tibet who gives his fundamental contribution to dark litanies such as "Red Dog - Black Dog", "We are the Lust", and "Punishment Initiation" which bring the album's sounds closer to some typical atmospheres of the more occult Current93 from the "Imperium" period.
The title track “Brown Book” is a reinterpretation of the "Horst Wessel Lied", the anthem of the SA, and immerses us in an era that has permanently and tragically marked our history. Many will be shaken by the reprise of such a controversial anthem, but the vision of Douglas P. knows no compromises, a position that has always hampered his career also due to his stubborn refusal to give clear explanations about his actual beliefs. This epochal album closes with "Burn Again", a piece in which an acoustic guitar shines, evoking desolate scenarios accompanied by the spirited and malevolent voice of David Tibet.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Touch Defiles ()
But We Desecrate At A Touch!
And Touch Defiles
Afloat On The Evening Tide
It's Light and It's Sadness
Growing Fainter and Fainter
Growing Fainter and Fainter
This War of Emotion
The Fate of Our Age
It Rains Slashed and Sweaty
To The Brow of Our Death
Cut Off From Despair
The True Deceit
With Dedication
With Will
So Purged of Purity
Perished in The Night
Where Every Dream
With Every Hope
In Someone Else
Has Been Betrayed
The Passion
The Devotion
The Knowing
The Nothing
The Echoes
The Names
The Sadness
The Blame
03 Hail! The White Grain ()
Fear is a token
And, in this darkness
It never rests
My body is barren
A horse for a hero
The sun fails to burn
Hail! The White Grain
This life, this pain
His ship never sails
And my nights never end
His heart never falls
But, my tears never bleed
His lips never lie
My eyes never pray
His faith never falters
My doubt never stays
His love never slaughters
My tongue never needs
My hope and it's Angels
Our death and our deeds
My hope and it's Angels
Our death and our deeds...
04 Runes and Men ()
With your hair of flaming Roses
Your kiss - Medusa's touch
Turn me to a pillar of salt
To die now would be perfection
Then my lonliness closes in
So, I drink a German wine
And drift in dreams of other lives
And greater times
White sheets wrap my mind
In drunken thoughts of runes and men
Why does the devil leave for us
This legacy of lonliness
This cry for the moon
And a dagger's thrust
With your hair of flaming blooms
And your eyes of saintly dusk
Then my lonliness closes in
So, I drink a German wine
And drift in dreams of other lives
And greater times...
07 The Fog of the World ()
I'd like to be the one
Who makes mothers cry
I'd like to be the one
That makes mothers weep
And wander in the dawns and dews
And wander in the dawns and dews
And in the lanes and laws
And in the lanes and laws
His muscular build
His brown hair cropped close
Brave me and tame me
Brave me and tame me
Here in the fog of the world
Here in the fog of the world
But, what can be born?
But, what can be born?
But, what can be born...
08 We Are the Lust ()
Hold a knife, bloodied
To the throat of love
Hold a knife, bloodied
To the throat of love
Hold a knife, bloodied
To the throat of love
We are the lust
That comes from nothing
We are the lust
As they turn to dust
As they ground to dust
A crown of tears
We are the lust
We are the lust
That comes from nothing
09 Punishment Initiation ()
One is the Axis
Anonymous in glory
Love is now empty
And incomplete
Strike at the heart of hope
Where panic stirs the will
We hear Dog's blessing
This sleepless night's torture
We pray for it's ending
We push for the slaughter
Of a broken faith missing
Of a passing love dying
We start afresh
For love and for death
One is the Axis
Anonymous in glory
Love is now empty
Forever, incomplete
11 Burn Again ()
The Brown Pearl Of Bliss
In This Wolf's Lair Abyss
Dignity and Solitude
The Gain of My Fortitude
The Strength of My Body
Is The Strength of My Mind
Joyous Joys-Fleeting Moments
Forever, The Sordid Kind
These Dreams I Worship
And Nightmares I Love
This "Together" That Lasts For Never
This Farewell Coloured Blood Love
These Dreams I Worship
And Nightmares I Love
This "Together" That Lasts For Never
This Farewell Covered Blood Love
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By egebamyasi
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