Full disclosure: In writing about the music of Hvile I Kaos, I run up hard against my technical limitations. It’s more than the ever-present fact that I’m self-taught and formally un-trained in writing about music of any kind, and not a musician either. In the case of Hvile I Kaos the limitations are more severe, because the principal instrument is a cello, because classical music traditions play important roles, and because esoteric studies provide much of the inspiration, and my ear and mind are even more untrained in those contexts.

A serious student of classical chamber music (and backwoods folk music) would have a far finer appreciation for the nature of the Hvile I Kaos compositions and the demands and achievements of the performances. A serious student of esoteric spiritualism, and of the invocation of demonic spirits in particular, would make far better connections between the inspirations and the music’s moods and maneuvers, which have a ritualistic conception. In my case, it may be more like serenading sheep.

Of course, these limitations and the daunting challenges that flow from them haven’t stopped me from writing about Hvile I Kaos at our site, a habit I’ve indulged off and on for nearly the last seven years (as you can see here). Sheep have feelings and I suspect are moved by serenades, but unlike sheep (for better or worse) I can attempt to express the feelings ignited by the music, which is mainly what I’ve done before and now will try to do again.

The task this time is bittersweet, because Hvile I Kaos has announced that Lower Order Manifestations, the album we’re premiering today on the eve of its July 12 release by In Vitae Manifestatio in partnership with Eisenwald and House of Inkantation, is the project’s final record. Continue reading »