Album Review

Faith & The Muse – Ankoku Butoh

• 7th Dec 2009

Faith and the Muse impressed recently as they pass through London on their worldwide tour. Not so much a tour to promote this new album as a tour-de-force of music as the art form.
It was a happy instance then that this new album translates only too well to the stage, for what we get are beats, rhythms and moods that quite simply sweep and vibrate through you as it plays.

William Faith and Monica Richards spent a lot of time with raw sound on this album. That being a step away from the synthesized gothic soundscapes of times past and into a more tribal sound that required the actual instruments instead of faking them on a computer. And the sound that they have recorded from this fresh sound is extremely impressive.

But although these ancient beats lead the way, there is much also to say for the string work involved. Not to mention the enchanting vocal priestess herself Monica Richards, and a very raw and ready sounding William Faith when he takes over on a couple of tracks.

The opening two tracks are very surreal and enchanting examples of where the vocal and orchestral work can go. This abruptly leads into Blessed which is clearly more familiar to what FatM fans may expect. A powerhouse rocking track lead with ease by the tantalizing Richards backed by beautifully by the uber-talented Faith.

Battle Hymn takes a step away from Blessed – whilst keeping one foot in familiar FatM territory it strides out towards this new sound that the album succeeds in capturing. The taiko drums come out and this album really starts to shape into quite the epic landscape of sounds.

“Bushido” is an impressive drum only track that speaks volumes of where the heavy influence of this album has come from. The effect is taken further as William Faith takes over the vocals for “9 Dragons” which has him almost war-crying out the lyrics.

All of this and the album isn’t even half way over yet. You can’t force great art out of people. You have to wait until they are ready. And FatM have been on hiatus for a number of years now, and if this is the type of work that is produced by taking time out to become inspired then it was work the wait.

There are some retro sounding treats as well more reminiscent of 80’s and even early 90’s Goth. Out of the 13 tracks it is only really the 12th track “Sovereign” that feels out of place. It is by no means a bad number, but just feels like a giant leap away from what you have been listening to already.

This very special edition of the album comes loaded with a DVD featuring videos from the album for “Battle Hymn” and “Blessed”. There is an interview, extensive concert footage as well as a collection of rare videos.

The booklet that comes with the release is essentially the credits and lyrics you would find in an album sleeve, but the twist here is that it is (like it’s Asian influence) read from back to front/ right to left and incorporates poetry and some very pretty artwork.

This is a very special collector’s item, but you don’t have to be a collector to appreciate this release, and if you like your music darkly tinted and heavily euphoric then you really can’t go wrong with Faith and the Muse.