by an impressed music press, the band was poised for international renown . . . when tragedy struck.
In 1977, Richter was found dead in a Budapest hotel room. While the coroner's verdict was suicide by self-immolation, other opinions were dubious, suspecting repercussions of Richter's political activities during his years in East Germany. Stunned by this disaster, Shreck and Buchloh were unwilling to continue Arcane without their companion, and the band ceased to exist.
Over two decades later, Shreck and Buchloh decided to reform Arcane, recording new compositions as a tribute to Richter. Produced with a deep sense of respect for their departed compatriot and the sequencer-driven sound of the late '70s, "Gather Darkness" recaptures Arcane's dark sound with sincere passion and stunning ability.
A compelling and haunting tale, isn't it? And not a word of it is true. The entire story is a fabrication, a spinetingling journey into a false history, a mask worn by the musician who is the mastermind behind Arcane.
Behind the deceptive curtain is Paul Lawler, an electronic musician who has achieved a reputation for smooth new age music and gentle television soundtracks in England. But lurking beneath this holistic veneer, Lawler possesses a dark side, an ominous sound that is the antipathy of his known works. This darkness is Arcane, a dynamic ride through a haunted house of sequencers and virulent rhythms.
Read on . . . if you dare. (Cue maniacal cackling and SFX of creaky door.)
ARCANE: Gather Darkness (CD on Neu Harmony)
Produced with a deep sense of respect for the sequencer-driven sound of the late '70s, "Gather Darkness" establishes Arcane as a sonic force to be reckoned with in the new century, generating dark sound with sincere passion and stunning ability.
A landscape lush with normally lighthearted keyboard loops stretches out before the listener. This sonic vista is darkened by unsettling counterpoint riffs. Desperation flows into the comfortable melody. Flutish keyboards are set upon by shrill bass tones and sinister cycles, generating an uneasy anticipation.
A passage of subdued tension leads into the title track, where ponderous chords descend like molten demons to threaten the calm and the listener. Percussion furthers the tension with dramatic punctuation. The wail of what could be a space guitar screaming in agony sounds in the distant, almost hidden by the riffs that jostle for dominance of the composition. Constriction of one's neck muscles is not uncommon at this point.
This dynamic aggression is balanced by "Flight from Time One", which sedates the caldron for a slowburn uneasiness with ghostly tones and graveyard atmospherics. When the melody finally does accrue body, even these cyclic electronic riffs start smooth and build in presence. By the time the spectral voices and sinister e-perc appears, the listener is a complete victim of the mix.
The otherworldliness of this music attributes an inventive quality to the dark imagery conjured by Arcane's tuneage. Corpses do not wear rotting faces; instead, they sport masks of alien design (cranial ridges of metal and exterior teeth). Descents into darkness do not pass through mist-shrouded mausoleums; instead, the passage is through viscous tunnels which lead to the deadly inner organs of some vile creature the size of the moon.
This 69-minute release stands as one of the most foreboding sequencer albums in years. Taking the Berlin School of electronic sound into the darkest regions it has ever ventured, this CD will scare you out of your skin with its eerie textures and disturbing sensibilities.
Over-alert listeners might find drastic similarity between some of Arcane's riffs and the melodies of Tangerine Dream songs (circa the early '80s). These comparisons are not delusional. But then, Arcane takes these riffs into a haunted house for severe reprogramming; when these riffs fight their way to freedom, they have been transformed into dangerous melodies dripping with eerie airs and cemetery moods. What was once epic grandeur has become thoroughly disturbing and mysterious.
Mirroring the music's disturbing mood, the cover imagery by Steven Lawler is as breathtaking as it is disquieting.
ARCANE: Future Wreck (CD on Neu Harmony)
With this 2000 release, Arcane takes a more science-fiction route, producing 62 minutes of galactic drama. Dark futures and twisted states of existence are the key notes here.
The title track launches into a savage timestream of gripping sequencers and twilight zone sonics. Spectral keyboards drift along as the listener is transported to a future world of desperate and dismal nature. Additional keyboard loops crowd their way into the mix, until everything falls into a desert pit of tension atmospherics and cloudlike chords. The music's rhythmic aspects crawl their way from this hellmouth, reemerging with fresh wonders of chromium blades and cosmic armor. These riffs enter into a pact with demonstrative percussion; together, the steel army peaks with shrill effect and energetic tempo.
"The Plastic Eaters" starts in darkness with sinister tones. Those spectral keyboards are back, this time in conjunction with insectoid e-perc. Soon, more involved melodies creep into being, swamping the darkness with their horn-like blare and heroic chords. Building to a crescendo, the riffs fuse into a menacing finale.
"The Visible Empty Man" follows this pattern too. Ethereal intro leading to simmering tension. Once the tension evolves into a nest of loops, the riffs agitate the music with their business. Once they have demonstrated their power and glory, these riffs and compelling rhythms retreat back into the darkness, allowing pensive reflection to command the outro. This authority is challenged at the very end by a sudden reminder of the riffs and their influence.
"Planet of the Blind" is no stranger to this pattern either. The melody gets quite caught up in its epic definition, expressing itself in terms of shiny surfaces and dynamic rhythms.
Throughout this release, Arcane has replaced the macabre with a cosmic sense of wonder. Still tinged with an eeriness, this music is more adventurous and gripping. Now the darkness holds mysterious discoveries, not hungry ghosts.
(Cue sound of crypt slamming shut.)
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