Metal Monday CCLXXXVI - Artes Magickae

3/9/2020

IT'S TIME FOR SOME MAGICK!!! Metal magick to be more precise as we find ourselves at the mercy of OSSOMANCER. This album is long overdue for a showcase and no longer can I resist it's call to be heard so let us delve into the Artes Magickae, into the realm of divination and prophecy brought to us by this stellar artist.
First off, I am a sucker for Egyptian mythology and mummies so right out the gate the album art hooks me (looks like the ibis/thoth body design). I will point out the sweet spots as we move through each track (as is my way) but do give every song a listen because I have found this whole release to be mighty and worth visiting.
We begin with Necromancy and let me tell you... there is no better way to start an album! Ye olde corpse prophecy, a cadaverific divination, thundering into existence with slick guitar and drum work. The vocals at 3:01 change pace for the track and really set the mood carrying into the end of the track which wails and screams with wicked energy. Next up, we have Aeromancy. The prophecies of wind and air swirl as this track surges in like a gale with one of those beats that causes you to rock your head in response. Though I dig the pace, the shift at 02:22 sets up for yet another killer end to a track as this one growls and grows its way out. Third, and the showcase track, we have Scapulimancy. You know, scapulae! Shoulder bones from bovines used for divination? Well, now you do! And on top of that, one hell of a track. Creeping in, knocks down pillars and shakes the earth as it gains speed. At 1:06 when the ram's right shoulder is mentioned all the way through Babd's name is summoned, that growl at 1:24 is too good. But wait, there's more! We come back around at 3:11 offers some righteous guitar work before moving into the last bit which continues this magnificent ride. Following that beast of a track we have Chiromancy (kiromancy) which starts off without warning, galloping with a fury. Who knew palm reading could be this metal? I already did... but now you do! You gotta listen to the part from 2:40 until the end to hear so old school impressive vocals that remind me of Iron Maiden and Iced Earth a bit. Hydromancy is next. No, not waterbending, more like reflective prophecy, water spirits and nymphs to call upon. A track strong with lyrics, the best setups are when they are speaking that names (1:28-1:42 for example) but the guitar work in here will surprise you. Aptly following the water based track, we have Pyromancy. Fire magic! Following its name, this track is much heavier and harder, like a raging inferno. I can't pick a specific portion because the whole damn track is rad but do listen for that mighty wail towards the end... it will give you shivers. Lastly, we have Geomancy. I can never think of this without thinking of the geomancer from FF Tactics which introduced me to the wonders of earth elemental combat. I like the weight, pace, and more haunting tone of this track. Slower and more crushing but at times like an earthquake, shaking the average pace, shattering the air and ground as it heralds in the end of this awesome album.
I hope the Ossomancer and Artes Magickae brings you the same mystical power it has brought me. I will keep my eyes on the stars for more to come from this artist so until we can reconvene beneath the altars of old allow this album to carry you through the week. /,,/
https://pacificthrenodies.bandcamp.com/album/artes-magickae

Scapulimancy

A druid lingers among the stones of Ulaid
The fog breaches from the sea
Hooded crows throng and cackle overhead
This night he must augur the coming of war

Scald-crows gather skyward ready for the violence
He prepares the scapula waiting for a message
Dancing shadows through the smoke of the sacred fire
War sisters congregate to direct the outcome

A ram's right shoulder blade to reveal fate
It should be boiled clean – no remaining flesh!
Blemishes and indents reveal premonitions
Badb flies above in the misty dimness

Féth Fíada conceals the sage impeding interruption
He carefully coddles bone in his blackened cauldron
The firelight stretches over ancient stones
Goddesses encircle tight to instill ardor

An adept reader of bone must read the largest hole
Position should be confirmed – to reveal death!
Scapula for survival of due carnage
Morrígan sends a croak into the hazy gloominess

A ram's right shoulder blade to reveal fate
It should be boiled clean – no remaining flesh!
Blemishes and indents reveal premonitions
Nemain observes through the fog-strewn murkiness

The eye of the bone faces upward to the sky
Where the war crows reside in obscurity
The seer inspects his token of fortune
To evade death or die in great fury

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THE MAD BARRON

QUOTES I ADMIRE
"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." - from the Wilderness Act, 1964

"I owe my solitude to other people." - ALAN WATTS

“I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained;
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.”
― Walt Whitman

"In the ancient world, people placed heavy stones on the graves of the dead so their souls would not wander and inflict the living. I always thought this was simply the practice of superstitious and primitive people. But I was about to learn that the dead can hover on the edge of our vision with the density and luminosity of mist, and their claim on the earth can be as legitimate and tenacious as our own."

- Dave Robicheaux (In The Electric Mist With Confederate Dead)