Death in June
Operation Control

It is unfortunate that one had to wait for the death of Albin Julius for Douglas P. to declare the legal dispute with Der Blutharsch over and decide to reissue Take Care And Control (1997) and Operation Hummingbird (1999). These are special albums that many followers of Death In June did not like at the time. The memory of apocalyptic folk classics such as But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter? and Rose Clouds Of Holocaust was still alive. Therefore, the truth is that simply these records (at least in part) were not understood. It was a glaring mistake as this is where the last artistic glimmers of Death In June are found. The credit probably goes to the late Albin Julius, whose impetuosity was somehow kept in check by Douglas P.. The musical result was indeed very different: Blutharsch managed to create a dark, martial, esoteric, and almost satanic atmosphere. The iconography of Blutharsch was right-wing with references to fascism and Nazism, aspects that created quite a bit of controversy for this project. Musically, the result tips the balance in favor of Blutharsch so much so that, even today, I consider Take Care And Control to be the best album ever released by Albin Julius. Here we find the samples and orchestrations that had characterized his sound up to that point. In any case, one can also hear the hand of Douglas P. regarding a certain underlying decadent atmosphere. In fact, in "Kameradschaft," we also find the classic Death In June-style ballad. Operation Hummingbird is also stunning and manages to be powerful and martial. An essential recovery for those who perhaps missed these Death In June albums at the time and for those who loved the early Der Blutharsch.