Holy Sons – Decline of the West
Well, I can officially say I’ve stumbled across my first album that I missed from ’06 that I am now kicking myself for. It’s inevitable that I have a few of these after the year is up. The album currently is Decline of the West from Holy Sons.
Holy Sons is the solo project of Emil Amos, whom some might recognize from his drumming in the instrumental group Grails. However, he has been releasing albums under the Holy Sons moniker for a few years now and Decline of the West serves as his fifth. Don’t feel bad though if you’ve missed out on any of his work, as Amos has kept Holy Sons pretty low key…even to the point where for the longest time he was hardly known in his own hometown of Portland. However, that has gradually been changing ever since his last album I Want to Live a Peaceful Life to which he has gained some notoriety for his impressive work. Amos, on top of singing, plays every single instrument on his albums to which I am sure becomes an incredibly tedious task after awhile. Decline of the West took 3 years of recording, mixing, and even more mixing before there was a finished product.
On Decline of the West, Holy Sons moves away from the more folk influenced sound that had graced the previous record. The title happens to be taken from an Oswald Spengler book, which on top of that even lays the foundation for the majority of the albums concept. The sound for the album is derived from, as stated by the label:
“Influenced by the avant German bands of the 70’s he used nature recordings, radio transmissions and old Halloween tapes as source material to create slabs of musique concrete-style texture to surround and inhabit the songs.”
Pretty interesting stuff and it sounds ridiculously amazing as well. The whole album takes on a sort apocalyptic feel; however that’s apparently not totally the case. I would suggest reading this highly informative interview with Amos over at Penny Black Music to get more of a complete idea about the entire purpose and meaning behind Decline of the West. It’s definitely a good read and a great look into an amazing song writers mind.
Holy Sons – Gnostic Device [MP3]
Holy Sons – Saccharine Trust [MP3]
The album is currently available over Pamlico Sound along with every other Holy Sons album. Do check it out!
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