Dionysus
Dionysus is not just the god of music and wine; in pre-Christian Europe, he was a symbol of harvest and regeneration. Dead Can Dance’s ninth album invokes his legacy as best they know how—in a radical fusion of influences from around the world. Singing in invented tongues and using Bulgarian gadulka, Brazilian berimbau, Balkan gaida, rainsticks, birdsong, and more, the Australian duo conjures a characteristically majestic sound. “ACT I: Sea Borne” employs Eastern string melodies to signal the god’s arrival by sea; “ACT I: Dance of the Bacchantes” channels trance-inducing Middle Eastern drones and soul-shaking ululations, while the closing “ACT II: Psychopomp,” following Dionysus to the underworld, is among the group’s most hypnotic and melancholy songs. It’s a masterfully evocative synthesis of ancient rituals.
Pairing a world’s worth of traditional instruments with widescreen gestures, the legendary duo explore the myth of a Greek god in an unknown tongue.
The follow-up to the pioneering Australian art pop duo's 2012 comeback LP Anastasis, Dionysus dispenses with the more song-oriented approach of its predecessor in favor of an atmosphere-driven bacchanalian oratorio inspired by the Greek god of wine and ecstasy.
Some of the field recordings present on Dead Can Dance's ninth record include beehives from New Zealand, bird calls from Latin America, and...
One of the otherworldly bands that made eclectic record label 4AD so appealing in the '80s, Dead Can Dance, the duo of multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry and surreal vocalist Lisa Gerrard, are still going strong and celebrate the end of a 6-year hiatus w
Australian duo Dead Can Dance follow-up 'Anastasis' with 'Dionysus' an album inspired by Greek mythology and split into two acts.
Dead Can Dance 'Dionysus', album review by Dave Macintyre. The full -length comes out on November 2nd, via Pias Recordings/A55