Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

Following the Extra Capsular reissues, Earth's next offering is a brand new studio album - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 is a fine testament to the fact that they have come a long way since 1989. Drawing on inspiration from both British folk-rock bands like Pentangle and Fairpoint Convention and the North African Tuuareg band Tinariwen, the new material, while still heavy, is much more fluid and melodically oriented; less dense and more textured and nuanced. It contains greater improvisatory interplay between the musicians. On one hand, the new album acknowledges previous recordings, on the other hand, there have been some significant changes which have given birth to yet another new sound; the main change being the line up, and so joining Dylan and Adrianne on the album is cellist Lori Goldston, and Karl Blan on electric bass. There are many breaths of fresh air in this record, many hopeful tones and drones as well as eerie ones. One thing is for sure, this incarnation of Earth excels all expectations.