Hexen, by Paul Roland

Hexen

by Paul Roland

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Full Digital Discography

34

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of 1992 Dutch Radio Session, A Grimm Fantasy For Orchestra (demo), Nosferatu (Gothic ballet music only), A Face In The Crowd, (My Dog Is Hooked On) Cocaine with Andy Ellison, Candyman (bandcamp exclusive EP), In Memory of a Time Traveller (unreleased early mix), Lair of the White Worm (unreleased version), and 26 more. , and , .

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1.	Sanctus 02:09	buy track
2.	Night Of The Witch 04:35	buy track
3.	Devil's Wood 03:04	buy track
4.	Beltane 02:39	buy track
5.	Wicker Man 04:00	buy track
6.	As I Walked Out One Morning 03:48	buy track
7.	Witch's Hovel 01:04	buy track
8.	Benedictus 02:29	buy track
9.	Monastery 01:54	buy track
10.	Agnus Dei 03:42	buy track
11.	Sanctus Miserere 01:01	buy track
12.	Orgy In The Woods 05:13	buy track
13.	Kissing The Devil's Arse 03:30	buy track

about

5.0 out of 5 stars A dark, psychedelic masterpiece.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2014
Paul Roland should be a name familiar to all lovers of dark psychedelia but if by chance this is not the case, he is the legend behind such classics as "Cabinet of Curiosities" and "Sarabande". For over twenty years he has tirelessly produced tripped out and deliciously dark albums that have somehow criminally gone under the radar of the more popular music mainstream. A personal hero of this writer, his work cannot be recommended highly enough.
Which makes it particularly special this new Paul album has arrived; this is a Black Christmas indeed! "Hexen", is a soundtrack to the classic Danish silent movie "Haxan" (1922) and is credited to ‘Paul Roland with Ralf Jesek’ to acknowledge the contribution made by his collaborator (of the band ‘In The Rosary’). Unfortunately Paul’s plan to re-release the film with his new accompanying music fell through but, undefeated, he has put out his original soundtrack with the addition of new tracks that focus on similar themes, that of pagan nature worship and the persecution of witches in the Middle Ages.
Opener "Sanctus" is a gothic organ piece that, with ominous bells and chanted vocals, could also have ably fitted onto the soundtracks to such folk horror film classics as "Witchfinder General" or "Blood on Satan’s Claw". "Night of the Witch" is more guitar led; a black mass of full blown dark psychedelia. In contrast "Devil’s Wood" is an acoustic chamber piece that name checks Jack-In-The Green and has a timeless Wicker Man beauty to its pagan folk approach. "Beltane" celebrates the waning of the year and Herne the Hunter, its nursery rhyme verse and handclaps accompanied by floating female vocals in a swaying solstice dance. Fans of Espers, Sproatly Smith and the John Barleycorn Dark Britannica folk series will find much to love here. Indeed "Wicker Man" tells the tale of the Christian copper led a merry chase by the inhabitants of Summerisle in a violin led, sinister procession of a song. The second half of the album leaves Roland’s storytelling and more straight forward psych tracks to delve into the mists and mire with several dark instrumentals and the album becomes more of a traditional soundtrack, giving some idea of how the original plan for Paul’s Haxan might have sounded. "Agnus Dei" and "Kissing The Devil’s Arse" provide Black Sabbath-esque breaks from the string drenched horror, creating an effective dynamic between foreboding interludes and full on psych monsters.
Hexen is released by Palace Of Worms and is a must for all lovers of the original movie "Haxan" and those who like their psych or dark folk sprinkled with a layer of gothic dread.

Original review; active-listener.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/paul-roland-with-ralf-jesek-hexen-paul.html

credits

released April 2, 2015

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Paul Roland England, UK

Formerly managed by June Bolan, Paul has been spinning supernatural and historical-themed tales against a backdrop of gothic rock, psych-pop and baroque strings, earning him the sobriquet, ‘The Male Kate Bush' (attributed to former label mate Robyn Hitchcock) ... more

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