...the all-out creepfest 'Geen Vlaemsch, Geen Senzen' on the Anfang side, one of the group's more concise statements to date, held together by creaky string drones and out of step drumming. Jack Rose supplies two solo pieces, the first being a rendition of John Fahey's 'How Green Was My Valley', immaculately plucked out on lapsteel, the second a more blues-oriented fingerpicking of Sam McGee's 'Buckdancer's Choice'. Superb.
- Boomkat
Can't find a review. Read the other ones.
Can't find a review. Read the other ones.
Dark, post-krautrock, heavy jam mode: guitars, bass, keys, flute and percussion combine with vocals to create a doomy Funeral-Psych rich in the textures of ritual and worship. Starts off in a drugged Satanic ritual and ends in a cosmic slaughterhouse.
Satanische Vrede is the debut lp of the Maldegem-based free psych collective Silvester Anfang. After loads of cdr and cassette releases that show an evolution from drones to folk and psych - the band have found a sound that floats somewhere in between Davenport, German Oak and Träd, Gräs Och Stenar. Every track comes to life while playing and searching, and that's exactly what you hear on the biggest part of this record. Small coincidences push the musicians in a certain direction, and because of this the outcome never sounds artificial or far-fetched. Most of the times Silvester Anfang is joined by self-declared non-musicians, which results in long sessions with a maximum of openness and freedom. A warm and organic sound and lo-fi recording quality have been priorities since day one. Some people see this as an attitude, other people blame it on the fact that they only have a 4-track and one recording mic. You can call it a crap addiction; the Silvester Anfang horde rather call it 'post-satanic krautfolk'.
- KRAAK
from the funerary across the sea comes the mighty silvester anfang. these lynchpins of the burgeoning funeral folk empire from belgian know how to romp and stomp their way into the hearts of all. like finnish compatriots, avarus, this group is about having fun and getting retarded. claustrophobic explorations in the world of acoustic, airy drones cross the t's and dot the i's in a whirlwind of beer-induced bliss. you can feel the stickiness on the floor. but like all things underneath the overcast belgian skies, there's an existential plane to be found. or maybe that's just intoxication.
- Foxglove
Silvester Anfang are Belgium's premier house-band of the post-apocalyptic hellfire club known as Funeral Folk. This particular installment in their ongoing macabre musico-theatre finds Silvester Anfang tripping over the bloated corpse of Acid Rock. Conjuring the zombie spirits of Jimi Hendrix, Phil Lynott, Pigpen and John Bonham, Silvester Anfang transform into a supergroup acid hex, pumping out murky clouds murky cloud of fuzz-wah and terribly damaged atmosphere. In some ways this is the most heavy and sickening manifestation of SA yet.. Bitter and short, simple and sick, is this the new means to an end for our favorite Funeral Folks?
- Skulls Of Heaven
Silvester Anfang hail from Flanders, channeling an ancient spirit of blasphemous anarchy, transposing the nameless fiends of yore as free-flowing ritual psych occultic Flemish rock. Kosmies Slachtafval (trans. "kosmic slaughterhouse sweepings/debris") sees Silvester Anfang in dark, post-krautrock, heavy jam mode: guitars, bass, keys, flute and percussion combine with vocals to create a doomy funeral psych rich in the textures of ritual and worship. Through a series of cassette tapes and CD-r's released in micro editions, the arcane Belgians have garnered a fearsome and mysterious reputation for dark intense musical outpouring and idolatry.
- Aurora Borealis
Normally, this pagan mass was going to be the first official Silvester Anfang release, but somehow, fate got in the way. It took us a long time to pick out the best musical pieces from a large amount of recordings we did in 2005 and 2006, but finally, we made it. The result is the usual improvised orgy of crappy instruments, drugged and wailing chants, psychedelic guitars, cosmic droning and unplugged jamborees. You can hear long jams being screwed up by drunken musicians. A spontaneous mongoloid werewolf freak-out to sacrifice your local blonde virgins to that doesn't need backward satanic messages to incite murder and debauchery. Recorded in the misty moors of Maldegem (Belgium), it will summon images of naked soldiers worshipping goats, Flemish knights courting ugly women, satanic snakes destroying the earth and demonic agriculture. It's warm, lo fi, amateur, monotonous and genuine funeral folk. And in the end, this is what we're supposed to sound and look like: true Flemish goats.
- Silvester Anfang
When I first heard the phrase "Funeral Folk," I imagined something along the lines of Dead Raven Choir. It turns out the Funeralk Folk guys are big fan's of Smolken's hellish project, and one can hear a very slight influence on "De Vrije Beyaerdiers." That influence is more in spirit, however. There is a loose, archaic feeling the underlies this entire album, weaving a metallic thread throughout the proceedings. Once you get in deep, you find that it truly lives up to the aural sounds promised by a name like Funeral Folk.
The centerpiece of "De Vrije Beyaerdiers" is unquestionably the 11-minute somber epic "Lange Verneukte Drone pt 1." It pulsates with gloom and doom, all the while keeping a ritualistic seance quality to it that stops the insular walls from falling in on itself. There is a lot of space between the cathartic outbursts on this piece - it is handled with care. This brings up another comparison that is apt: Davenport. Shambolic junkets of percussion and organic instrumentation bring this, and other tracks, to life. "Anfang Ritueel," for example, is highlithed with sparse cymbal splashes and flute exercises. The minimal rhythm and overall feel of the percussion is reminiscent of Keijo's best work. While I don't speak Dutch, ritueel is an obvious word. And that is just what this track is: a ritual, from another world or time entirely. I am constantly reminded of Davenport's blissed-out stoned jams, which isn't surprising considering Clay Ruby is one of Funeral Folk's biggest supporters.
For me, Silvester Anfang is the flagship of the budding Funeral Folk empire. These primitive explorations are a near-perfect dichotomy of gloom and fun. And that is how it should be. That is what the phrase "Funeral Folk" implies. It's death, with a sense of humor. In the end, Silvester Anfang are more interested in drinking beers and having fun than they are in mourning some lost souls. Be that as it may, this is serious music in that it is dense and it is damn good. Silvester Anfang are proof that Funeral Folk is a label to stay aware of. 8/10
- Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis
