Written by Carcassbomb
Ewigkeit – 23
Stoner/Prog from the UK
Released September 23rd, 2020
7.5/10
A lot of fun right here, well, it’s short due to being an EP but what’s there is a very fun stoner love letter to the 70s. The thing that really ties it together for me, is the fact that it’s themed around my favorite books of all time, the Illuminatis! Trilogy. I’m used to a lot of whacky themes that are far more common than people realise (particularly in stoner), but I’ve yet to see any Discordian representation as of yet. If you’re in the know, then you’ll have fun cherry picking this release for references, artwork included, which draws upon Discordianism’s love of gratuitous symbolism. Be prepared for the most I’ve used air quotes in an article.
Ewigkeit: Facebook / Spotify / Official
For those who don’t know, the Illuminatus! Trilogy is a far out book that wraps up every conspiracy theory from around the 70’s into one big sexy conspiracy involving golden submarines, Lovecraft, talking dolphins and John Dillinger living after walking THROUGH a prison wall oh and oh Jack Ruby is in it, the most “interesting” character in the JFK assassination. For anyone acquainted with the various experiments, assassinations and counterculture in America at the time will find a lot to dig into. It’s honestly uncanny at times and in a way can be an exercise on abstract thinking about current events. It’s written by the people who also wrote the “sacred” and “divine” text that is Principia Discordia, my second favorite book. This is essentially the “bible” to the “religion” Discordianism (hail Eris). This is a particularly amusing read. This realm of literature fits so well into the stoner aesthetic and thinking. Discordianism is kinda like the Flying Spaghetti Monster except it’s real because chaos is real, but also means nothing and everything.
Magick practised by people who don’t necessarily believe in Magick – Rather than obtaining power or Magick, we simply embody it with our existence as if we had it. Or we don’t. I see there to be potential for a Crowley like figure to delve into it and combine it with some hectic meditations, but mostly it’s a celebration of absurdity. Absurdity can be true or not true, but often the truth found in absurdity is the most potent for how it tickles our minds. As far as “parody” goes, it’s in depth and intelligent to a convincing degree. It’s easy to get caught up in the hysteria presented by the tantalising alternative ideas.
Anyway that’s a bit of a discourse, let’s chat music. This project is from James Fogarty, who is also in Norwegian Progressive Metallers IN THE WOODS, English Cult Black Metal band OLD FOREST, and was the primary figure behind Heraldic Templar Metal band JALDABOATH (amongst other projects). The strengths of this Ewigkeit can be found in the guitar and vocals which both sound like they are wielded confidently and cooly. While many of the elements are quite typical of the genre – there’s an added spunk here in the execution that negates the usual tropes I dislike in favor of 20+ minutes of tropes I do enjoy. It’s the perfect concoction in this way – it doesn’t waste time or make me cringe, it just soars and jams. The vocals typically stay within the one range but when they do break out into something more powerful it’s quite impressive.
The particular story of this EP was highlighted in the press release and it’s rad: It details the cartoonesque plan of the Illuminati to kill all hippies and take over the world by resurrecting a zombie army at Europe’s biggest rock concert. The only people who can stop them are the Discordians, traversing the world in their giant submarine and trading cannabis to fund the war against the coming eschaton.
I really enjoy the potential this project has to spread the word of Discordia, and perhaps bring more awareness to this fantastic thought experiment to jesters the metal scene. There’s so much content in the source material to be played with in various alt genres. Between Discordianism and Elder Scrolls, I dunno why everyone wants to write yet another album about Tolkien, Satanism or Mythology. To put it in Elder Scrolls language, Discordianism is Sheograth and Ewigkeit is delicious cheese.
fnord/10
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