Favorite Current 93 Studio Album

[The Silent One]

Self-explanatory... Sort of... I'll describe them later.

This includes related recordings, such as "No Hiding from the Blackbird" to Nature Unveiled, The Red Face of God to Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow, Seven Seals to Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre, et cetera.

Major collaborations shall be kept separate, so no Island, I Have a Special Plan for This World, Wall of Sacrifice, Purtle, and so on.

I will be including an "other" section for pieces that straddle the threshold (the untitled 1997 LP with Cashmore and Heeman), one-off session EPs (Faust, LAShTAL), split or compilation pieces (as on Foxtrot), and peculiarities (Hypnagogue, How He Loved The Moon).

*Included for extreme differences from the original.

[eth]

I haven't heard all of them, but I voted for Sleep Has His House. I love me some harmonium drones. Has anyone read the novel of the same title?

[antithesis]

I cast my vote for The Inmost Light Trilogy because it entered my life at that particular time when I was most susceptible to its effects, and it did affect me most deeply & lastingly. While Hitler As Kalki was my first C93 disc, and I was intrigued by the apocalyptic rants and churning noise of "Christ and the Pale Queens" and the hallucinatory bliss of "All the Stars Are Dead Now," when I got my hands on All The Pretty Little Horses I can honestly say that it seemed to me...a complete revelation which transformed the universe as I experienced it. Of course I spent countless nights opening my mind as wide as I could to abet that transformation. Was I just a naive and drugged child overawed by a demented dramatist? Many years later and in a much different state of mind, I still find it a masterpiece of the surreal, with genuine power to move and unnerve, especially songs such as "The Frolic."

I've always loved the pictures of the band members as children, coupled with the message of the music. It's like, "Look at these happy little creatures that we were, born innocent, our mothers' and fathers' smiling children, and now listen to what too much contemplation has turned us into." It's the truth of that transformation. It mirrors what happens to all of us, even if we don't actually think anything like Tibet ;)

[waffles]

I don't think I would've heard of Currentr 93 if not for TL. The first album I bought of theirs was Christ and The Pale Queens Mighty inSorrow. I loved it, bit it was All The Pretty Horses that got me hooked.

[Karnos]

"Thunder Perfect Mind", hands down.

I recently acquired c93's new album "Black Ships ate the Sky", so far I haven't liked it too much, although I feel it will be in a way like "Imperium", an album I came to like after repeated listening.

[ventriloquist]

I've also gotta go with "Thunder Perfect Mind"... not to mention, the Gnostic text of the same name is one of my favorite things ever.

I also hold a special place in my heart for some of the early stuff, since my first exposure to C93 was through a cassette copy a friend made of "Emblems: The Menstrual Years." I was at an age when I was still rather new to this "thinking for myself" business, so all this music (Coil, Skinny Puppy, Brighter Death Now, etc., etc.) seemed incredibly exciting and mysterious. These days, sadly, that kind of magic is rare and fleeting for me, and music is more of a comfort than a thrill. But I might as well be talking about girls or booze. :P

[Karnos]

Quote Originally Posted by ventriloquist";p=&quot

I also hold a special place in my heart for some of the early stuff, since my first exposure to C93 was through a cassette copy a friend made of "Emblems: The Menstrual Years." I was at an age when I was still rather new to this "thinking for myself" business, so all this music (Coil, Skinny Puppy, Brighter Death Now, etc., etc.)

Ah, BDN, now that's harsh and heavy music of the like few dare get into... Just about everything out of Cold Meat Industry label is top quality, I'm actually listening to the recently released "Nera", by the band Rome in CMI, very, very good album. If you're into Death in June and folkish C93, you'll probably like this band.

[Karnos]

Quote Originally Posted by The Silent One";p=&quot

Major collaborations shall be kept separate, so no Island, I Have a Special Plan for This World, Wall of Sacrifice, Purtle, and so on.

Wall of Sacrifice is credited to Death in June; David Tibet only collaborated in a couple of songs there (Bring in the Night, and In Sacrilege). That's one of Death in June's best albums, not just with the collaboration of C93 but also Boyd Rice.

[SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe]

What was the topic beofre this, Ah yes, favorite period.

I think a second choice would be Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God, but TPM is best overall, though for sprawling intensity (over only 4-5 tracks) I'd rate Hiter As Kalki higher. The thing is, I'm sure many of us got into C93 through comps first. I was lucky enough, and wallet-loose enough, to go for Emblems and Calling for Vanished Faces first off w/o even having hear this band. Of all I've heard since, these collections are a true Best-of. Really funny, for me that is -- I can't recall whether it was Ligotti or Current 93 that came first leading to the other in my acquisistions.

By the way, if any of you can get ahold of anything by the French avant-prog band Art Zoyd, you really may find it worth it! Now playing. the bri soundtrack to Nosferatu.

[beakripped]

It'd be a toss between The Inmost Light Trilogy and Black Ships. TPM is an excellent album, I agree, but I wish there was more of Cashmore and less of Pearce. For me Of Ruinne is superior to TPM and is one of my favorite albums, however...

The Inmost Light Trilogy is a more intense experience. David's lyrics in this series are among my favorite, esp. Calling For Vanished Faces i. The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home... breathtaking.

Black Ships hits me like a volt of electricity. What prevents me from listing it as my favorite? I haven't yet developed a "relationship" with this one on the same scale as The Inmost Light Trilogy. Ben Chasney and John Contreras are the best things to happen to C93 since Stapleton, and later Cashmore.

So far the splinter releases from Black Ships are excellent as well. It's debatable whether Hypnagogue should be considered one... Upon its initial release it was advertised as the prologue to what was then the next C93 album. In the liner notes it's subtitled A Dream Prologue, and Black Ships is described by Tibet as a series of Dreams. Also, the music used when parts of Hypnagogue is performed live is the same as that from Black Ships Were Sinking and others. I enjoy playing it before Black Ships...

I love Inerrant Infallible! For those who enjoy Christ and The Pale Queens... it's similar to the more rock-oriented parts of that album, but much much better. I get goosebumps once teh bagpipes fade in.