Star of Ash - Iter.Viator
Star of Ash is the work of Heidi S. Tveitan. You may know her by her other name, Ihriel, which she uses when she performs with her husband's group, Peccatum. Star of Ash breaks away from the more strict boundaries of the metal genre which Peccatum usually finds itself lumped in, though the operatic and Jarboe-esque sounds of Iter.Viator certainly have some connection to the more "experimental" offerings from Peccatum.
Somewhere in the next room a radio is playing. This is "Chasm Blue," the short instrumental piece which opens Iter.Viator, and the radio is tuned to a distant station which is playing some forgotten piano concerto. The air vibrates with unease, thick greasy waves of heat pulse against your brain and, for a moment, there is a guitar which presses a rock and roll anthem against you. The piano continues, dissolving gradually under a layer of strings as "Chasm Blue" bleeds into the neo-classical opening of "Sanies." As Tveitan's voice croons into the middle passage of "Sanies," she is accompanied by a trip-hop beat and a solemn horn section. The climax is a dissonant bed of clashing beats while her voice climbs several octaves, soaring like Diamanda Galas over the fractured sonics.
This is orchestral noir; these seven tracks mix classical underpinnings with modern beat structures and dissonant cacophony while allowing for avant-garde flourishes and dark ambient passages. "Beautiful as Torment" sweeps from shivering beats and acoustic guitar melodies to aggressive stroboscopic passages. Imagine Dead Can Dance with Jarboe on vocals or a Craig Armstrong soundtrack with Diamanda Galas performing on voice and piano on several tracks. Iter.Viator doesn't cling to any specific classification; the only premise which this record holds dear is Tveitan's own confession: "My main motivation for making music is the desire to invent stories; to release my work is to read those stories aloud." If Tim Burton produced records instead of directing films, you would find his name stamped on Iter.Viator. Highly recommended.
Star of Ash
The End Records [2003]
music
The alphabetical list below provides navigation into the review archive. To view a comprehensive list of all reviews available in the repository, click on the infinity symbol (∞) in the last box of the series.
Regarding materials for review, I can be reached at:
music@markteppo.com
Links
Review Archive
| A | B | C | D |
| E | F | G | H |
| I | J | K | L |
| M | N | O | P |
| Q | R | S | T |
| U | V | W | X |
| Y | Z | # | ∞ |