Empyrium
Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields

To savor the silence in its entirety, intimate and poignant, roams in those wandering nights, hidden in the depths of those landscapes tormented by the intoxication of winter, carrying with it the last roots of that decadent, confused nature. In the function of a dream, the surrounding landscape presents itself through remote images absorbed in a dreamlike dimension, the world appears as something relative, a "mere appearance". But not for this is the dream unreal, it is real as it is present in consciousness and constitutes the becoming and the making visible of the deep essence of nature.

"Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields" is a journey that moves among daunting delicate souls, shaped by those languid sheets of melancholy, passion, and romanticism that highlight the beauty and charm of the night. Stopping to observe the artwork despite its heaviness encloses within itself the cryptic mantle of the concept. That inert tree that lets itself go at dusk, where we let sadness emerge in our soul as through flashes, fantastic images that inhabit our dreams, its manifestation, its presentation in consciousness allows us to cast a glance into an underground dimension, which constitutes the shadow that longs for that more intimate nature that resides in our hearts. Penetrating into a small stretch, we can glimpse its true essence, highlighting landscapes governed by the persistent presence of restlessness, emphasizing themes like love and solitude which inspire the nuances and lyrics of Empyrium. The relentless craving for darkness falls slack as leaves drift vainly to the ground, words full of zeal, words of affection hang from Stock's lips, who through his elegant and gentle voice narrates the definition of images, once distorted, now slowly clearer... more fluid.

"When shadows grow longer
and the sun sets for the forthcoming night;
our sorrow is stronger
as darkness and death are now near by our side.
Many a sun will set and tears of grief will be shed..."

And so it is through the trembling sound of simple words that the art of this album takes shape, it is 1998 when the German trio decided to write (in my opinion) their greatest masterpiece, as already recited by the opening, Empyrium places in the background a deep interest they always had towards a "philosophy" understood first and foremost as a radical inquiry on the love of nature, tragedy, and romanticism. We are faced with melancholic and atmospheric doom enwrapped in majestic and enchanting keyboards, submerged by an eternal source, an alchemy of sounds and colors that find a boundary in the most folkloric to the most gothic progressions, enveloped in a gentle theatricality hidden in the suburbs of a melody destined to lay at sunset. After the splendid introduction accompanied by showers of piano keys, the sweet sound of the cello and the candid sigh of a muse-like flute, Empyrium transforms the surrounding climate into an arcane mystical perception with "The Blue Mists Of Night" asserting itself almost maniacally, it becomes mutable at the descent of the keyboards, making the track decidedly more atmospheric especially by the change of mood and arrangements supported by an excellent background recording, taking interesting steps in such a way as to achieve a certain slowness and experimentation from a decadent point of view, although Stock's vocals flow perfectly with the rhythmic structures throughout the track. We will then find ourselves face to face with a mysterious reality, sinister because we discover that the root of the album's essence is marked by indigence, by pain. "Mourners" is the clear and limp proof, a track closer to the tradition of the most nostalgic and shadowy doom, but on the other hand, to elevate us to the height of the most intense and wonderful moments of "Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields" comes the following "Ode To Melancholy" opened by the piano, it excels in its entirety, reaching enchanting peaks of scenography and intensity, with the lyrics exalted by Stock influencing the elegance of sinuous bodies languishing in oblivion and forgetfulness. Among opulent and luxurious arrangements that wander the turbid acoustic progressions, they eclipse the licking of the night's evolution.

Then it is the sweet flute of Nadine that preludes "Lover's Grief" a love destined to extinguish very soon, pain and suffering become the emblem of the nostalgic and sad painting now become an invain worm to twist, all held with elegance and magnificence by the monumental intersection between synth and guitars. Remarkable is the interpretation by the duo Markus Stock and Andreas Bach who through their instruments immerse us in the broad sorrow of the piece. It reaches the end of this inenarrable, prodigious journey "The Ensemble Of Silence" will be the postilium of the entire work, supported by an imposing variety of whispers and magnificent instrumental passages based on powerful choirs and somber and mournful arrangements... the curtain closes leaving with it its untouchable melancholic mantle, incontrovertible passion transforming into art...

"Just I and the poetry of the night, now forever one,
The ensemble of silence plays so beautiful for me..."