(Musea Records FGBG 4519)
Seamus: Zealotry Sterblichen Schizophrenia
(Musea Records FGBG 4519)
From Aural Innovations #36 (May 2007)
Seamus is a progressive French/English band with five members. This album also
features many guests on flute, voice, cajon, violin etc. This is a concept album
about the Second World War and especially about the deportation and killing
of millions of Jews. As you might guess, the album has a very desolate, dark
and oppressive feel to it. This is a very intense, varied album that has influences
from the 70’s prog bands like King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator and
Magma, but at the same time sounds very modern and sometimes very electronic.
Also classical music is used on several occasions to create a suitable mood,
like in the beginning of the first track “Görlitz 1941” that
gets quite psychotic later on. Some of the stuff sounds very scary, and the
album also has its psychedelic moments. There are also several more experimental/avant
garde tracks. Several tracks have vocals or narration in various languages like
German and Hebrew. The sound effects are often very effective, like at the end
of “Zwichen Lachen und Träne”, where you can almost feel the
gas getting in your lungs. Spooky! This is a very progressive, dark and professionally
made album against anti-Semitism and could actually play its little role to
stop something like that to ever happening again. Some of us might have some
problems digesting all this though, it’s that heavy mentally. Don’t
play this album to your girlfriend at the first date!
Reviewed by Santtu Laakso
For more information you can visit the Musea web site at http://www.musearecords.com