various artists

Depart from me, ye that work iniquity…

The label Militant Liturgy was at the very end of Winter 2023-2024 (read: early March 2024) after a, eh, difficult period for Polish human being Przemysław; a period of reflection, penance and enlightenment. Yeah, whatever; this guy, known from his mighty Noise / Industrial / Drone / Electronics / ANW / Dark Ambient label Gates Of Hypnos, and the sonic creator behind Sado Rituals and several other sweet acts, started this label as replenishment, or extension, to his successful main label. Or as mental and spiritual therapy, if you want to, to connect with a Higher Power. Main reason: to support the release of the same kind of stuff, yet inspired by, and / or dedicated to, a Christian-oriented approach. Militant Liturgy do not have the aim to convert, to reform; it’s rather about gathering same-minded artists with their interpretation of two elements: Christian-biblical devotion at the one hand, and a peculiar musical taste at the other.

Well, after ninety-nine release by artists from all over our globe, the celebration of the 100^th release would, could, and should something special. Ergo: a compilation, a ‘various artists’-like collection of projects that dwell within comparable spheres of both dedicated devotion and aural artistry. Under the working title Join The Warfare! (A Christian Electronics Compilation), Militant Liturgy collected sixteen songs, sound-creations and noisefforts (this definition exists as from now on) from as much international artists. It is a digital-only release (no physical editions [at least not yet?] so far by, for example, Not Of The Flesh) that comes with fine colorless artwork; in contrast to the label’s logo, this cover artwork seems to defend, or to command, peace above war.

I am not going into the raison d’être of each individual contributing artist, nor will I dissect each single elegy on Join The Warfare! (A Christian Electronics Compilation) too deeply, but at least I will try to provide a brief introduction and analysis of all ‘songs’ (yeah, whatever) involved.

1. Contrite Heart – Sovereign God (John 6:65) (06:21): [outfit by Ivan Reach, who’s also behind Not Of The Flesh, and a close contact with the label and his main apostle, Przemysław] – esoteric ambience, introspective and meditative, covered in a package of crackling noise; fine equilibrium of classical integrity and confronting disturbance; the second half leaves the noisy rumblings behind, while evolving into mesmeric, fair waves of Neo-Classical beauty…
2. Marax – Bathed In Static (07:10): [Georgia-based Noise project] – not so static Static Noise and sinful Power Electronics-laden harshness, through industrialized sound-rape, distorted noises and tortured-livid sampling (vocals included?)…
3. The Ambient Hermit – Eleanor Of Brittany, Kyrie Orbis Factor (Reinterpreted) (08:16): [an outlet by the honorable Scott Lawlor] – Gregorian-based reinterpretation with a captivating, even emotional ‘monastery’-like atmosphere, divine and soil-gravitating in nature; originally part of a ‘split’ with Blessed Nuns…
4. S. Arianne – Padre Nuestro (John 3:17) (12:51): [aka Samira Arianne, the damsel of Saturn Fell Records, and another close alumni of the GoH family] – hope or penance, both translated through ethereal, even astral Doom Ambient Music, via oppressive drones, hypnotic soundwaves, intoxicating spheres and space-laden textures, injected by some militant drum patterns and evocative voices…
5. Meketa Power Electronics – They Chose (02:02): [Californian White Noise combo] – swift, intolerant Power Industrial Noise Electronics, merciless in execution, ruthless in attitude…
6. Sedevecantist – Crucible Of Light (15:33): [a side-project by Mass Graven Image] – a fabulous collage of (vocal) samples (radio frequencies, transmissions etc.), interstellar-like sound-compounding, eerie and harsh noises and undefinable field-recorded fragments (of religious and other origins), canalized through Noisebient-oriented exertion…
7. yoMuerte – Salmo 23 (02:48): [an outlet by some Julio Tornero] – ethereal Neo-Folk, with acoustic guitars, (warm) voices and personal, psalm-inspired lyrics…
8. LaSanguinaria – Filippo Neri (Psalm 91:14-16) (11:16): [Italian project, courtesy of Barbara Ferreri] – initially representing an obscure wall of Dark Drone, alternating towards psychoid Death Industrial and, then again, evolving towards a mutilated form of dissonant Electronics with a fiercely obnoxious attitude, ending into a dreamlike wall of hypnotic ambience…
9. Scattered Castles – Women Of God (07:48): [run by D/E/G; from Florida] – remarkably different from the past; an integer, somehow monotonous (and therefore hypnotic) piece of floating and cinematic Dark Drone Dungeon Ambient, based on distantly rumbling drones, spherical soundwaves and atmospheric reverberations…
10. Holy Hermit Humming – Good Friday Hymn (08:39): [one of the many projects by this label’s chieftain] – a chant coming from Syriac / Aramaic origin, veiled in a suffocative nebula of rugged, pungent and crackling clamor; seductive and sedative it is…
11. Conceiled By Leaves – Canticles Of The Three Children (Daniel 3:57-88, 56) (06:15): [Utah-based religious act, and not a stranger either to this label] – a song that withholds a Shoegaze-vibe, mingling esoteric chants (hints of Neo-Folk might not be that strange), divine melodic structures, classical atmospheres, Ambient-infused sound-sculpting, and ethereal dimensions of contemplation and unpretentiousness…
12. Rave Exorcist – Jesus Prayer (02:14): [¿] – another grandiose mixture of Gregorian chants at the background, mercilessly disfigured and malformed by electronic sonic madness, canalized into breathtaking awe and regard…
13. Егзорцизам - Προσευχέςξ Ἄθω [Молитве са Атоса] (10:54): [notorious Serbian outfit by Nicola Antic (The Filthy Nebula etc.)] – an esoteric hymn taken from Απόκρυφα (previously on this label), combining an elementary doomed drone with vocal samples (mainly from Orthodox origin), bells, other field-recorded details, and hints of Ritual Dark Ambient…
14. (the) sanshuman – Herra, Armahda (03:11): [Darby Darby] – eccentric fragments of Noise Wall, Ambient Noise, Experimental and Field Noise Electronic Wall Drone (I guess you didn’t know this style yet…)…
15. Blessed Nuns – Psalmellus Tecum Principium In Die Virtutis Tue (Reinterpreted) (30:55): [a new (?) Scott Lawlor outfit] – initially part of the divine ‘split’ with The Ambient Hermit; a haunting yet beautiful (and extremely lengthy) piece of semi-celestial, transcendental Ethnic / Classical / Ambient / Ethereal / Ceremonial / Orchestral / Drone Music (I defy you to give a shorter description), hypnotic and seductive at the very same time…
16. Rekollektor – Come To The Source (Matthew 7:19-23) (07:17): [apparently a new side-project by Sado Rituals] – a very obscure, repetitively rumbling and buzzing dronework, initially guided by strict, stringent vocal samples (of biblical force), and eerie, alienated sounds afterwards…

https://militantliturgy.bandcamp.com/album/join-the-warfare

https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/sado-rituals-1