aRternative

When it comes to my musical taste, people often ask why don't I like mainstream pop bands if I admit that their music is catchy or even to my liking. The reason is that almost every time I recognize a popular song as being good music, I find that there is no real emotion or self-expression driving it. Popular songs are usually assembled by professionals with the sole purpose of entertainment for the masses. That's anything but art in my opinion.

The bands which I consider to be of highest value and which occupy the topmost places in my imaginary list are examples of pure self-expression, sometimes so sincere and bereft of decoration or disguise that they leave me shaken every time I listen to them. And there are also some bands which I hold in highest esteem either because of a complex ideology represented in each and every part of their existence or because of the conception they follow through a song, through an album or through a lifetime.

A very good example for a band with conceptions is the international formation The Ocean (or sometimes The Ocean Collective) based in Germany that has speedily become one of my favorite bands once I listened to their beautiful two-disc epic monstrosity, Precambrian. That unprecedentedly versatile and diverse piece of art had the conception of telling the history of the birth and childhood of our planet. Each of the songs bear the name of a prehistoric era, following each other in succession and trying to paint the image of the given age upon the canvas of our mind. That was a good three years ago by now, so it was high time the band produced a new piece of art. A lot of things around the band's house have changed since Precambrian, the greatest change being the replacement of the singer. Thus, all the band's fans and critiques awaited the release of the new album. At first, it was planned to be a two-disc set like its predecessor, but later, the band decided to release the two discs separately, one in April, one in October.

The conception behind April's disc, Heliocentric is accurately hinted at by its title. The album deals with the heliocentric idea proposed by Copernicus and the battle it had hopelessly fought against religion. As the songs progress, the theme's range is expanded into the greater opposition between creationist and evolutionist beliefs.

The band handles the topic with superb songwriting sense, all of the songs telling exactly what their titles propose, chapter after chapter in human ideologic history. The music is unbelievably different from that of Precambrian, having the same sludge/doom/hardcore roots but being far more softer and filled with clean vocals.

The lavishly packaged album is a marvellous sight to behold, black and silver dominating the meticulously designed box covered in the constellations of the sky. The song lyrics come printed on nine separate cards each illustrated with William Blake-ish paintings of metaphysical aspect.

Grandiose and epic both on the outside and on the inside, Heliocentric is a masterpiece to behold. Months of careful and attentive listening await those who seek full knowledge of every little nuisace of this disc. One can only wonder what surprises will October's Anthropocentric present.

Firmament
The First Commandment of the Luminaries
The Origin of God

The American priests of our planet will be supported by a Hungarian band of no smaller spiritual attitude, The Moon and the Nightspirit. The core of the band is the duo of Mihály and Ágnes, who write and play shamanistic folk music on traditional Hungarian folk instruments. Each of their performances is like a trance the old tribes of Europe experienced around the fire on obscure nights of spiritual activity. They conjure the deepest and most primeval feelings and instincts up in the listener, comforting him or her to the point where he or she almost feels as if becoming one with the greatest spirit of them all, that of the Earth. Fragile, melodious, ancient and powerful are these songs, touching every being with a sensitive soul.

So, to all of humanity, you who have the possibility and the affinity, be there on Monday at Dürer-kert. The music will take you closest to Mother Earth's closed spiritual eye and cradle you in Her loving flames. But beware, for when Her eye opens, you might see things that your feeble human mind will deny to accept. She might have created the beauties and wonders of life, but she also did call into existence some creatures of horror lurking behind the human threshold.