Imperium

Durtro 008CD, 1987, Running time: 53:50

Imperium I - 06:08
Imperium II - 05:49
Imperium III - 07:03
Imperium IV - 03:18
Be - 00:54
Locust - 09:49
Or - 09:24
Alone - 07:39
Time Stands Still - 03:26
(unlisted) epilogue - 00:18

Occasionally credited as the most depressing Current 93 album, Imperium is indeed a deeply melancholy work. Supposedly, David Tibet was ill and possibly near death when the album was recorded, and I suspect it’s a reflection of his thoughts, at that time, on life and mortality. It’s also an extremely Biblical album, quoting extensively from Psalms and Ecclesiastes. Some of the concepts (and titles) are most likely inspired by the book Imperium (by Francis P. Yockey), which deals with the life-cycles of civilizations. There are no lyrics, and actually, no real liner notes of any kind. In 2001, this album was re-released with a purple-on-yellow cover (the initial version was silver-on-purple) and with a slightly reordered track listing where TIME STANDS STILL appears as the fifth track and the epilogue is missing.

A mixture of low rushings, melodic strings, and eerie flute, IMPERIUM I is a powerful beginning. Tibet’s vocals are mostly whispered over the melancholy and morbid background music, mixing his lyrics with words from the Bible.

Continuing on in the established theme, IMPERIUM II is (for me) the darkest and most depressing song on the album. The music is mostly acoustic guitar, with some low electronics in the background and classical-style music meshing in towards the end. Tibet’s voice is particularly emotional in this piece, and the lyrics are dreadfully melancholy (mostly dealing with how everyone ultimately dies).

IMPERIUM III has some rather experimental overtones, as the background contains some very slowed-down vocals. The background music in the early part of this piece sounds as though it’s being played on an old record player, while the latter part is a partially-distorted choir.

IMPERIUM IV is somewhat of a letdown after the first three parts. The guitar is a little too simplistic, and the lyrics a little too (pointlessly) Biblical for my taste. It’s not a bad song, it’s just not as good as the previous three.

BE is a short and very odd piece. Music consists of strummed guitar and a loop of a high-pitched voice saying “lalalala.” Despite the rather upbeat music, the lyrics remain quite depressing.

The sixth track, LOCUST, is kind of a rock-ish song, complete with drums and guitar (and some nice low background electronics). Lyrically, it mostly deals with the concept of “only the strong survive.” Quite a nice piece.

The beginning of OR is mostly David Tibet sedately reading prophecies over a choir and a solo male singer (who sounds to me like he might be singing a military tune). Later parts gain a lot of intensity, and include bass and drums and various electronics, with Tibet rabidly yelling things like “annihilation” and “take me to my dead christ” and offering a few obligatory wails. There’s a sort of brief sampled loop in here as well, but is pretty unintelligible.

ALONE, rather more mellow than the passionate OR, is a mixture of very simple bass and electronics, with Tibet sharing more of his thoughts on mortality. The lyrics are really the important part of this song, very powerful and with a sense of finality, almost as though he’s summing up the previous tracks and the meaning of life at the same time. The music is somewhat simplistic and repetitive.

TIME STANDS STILL is the perfect ending to the album. Tibet’s great vocals are meshed with those of Patrick Magee reciting a text from the Peter Weiss play “Marat/Sade.” The music is a mixture of simple, but very effective violin, drums and bass, and in fact sounds almost as though it’s a traditional melody (which it very well may be). Naturally, the lyrics continue to be depressing.

Epilogue (on unlisted final track): (David Tibet) “Once the Buddha smiled. And by the wondrous radiance of that smile, countless worlds were illuminated. But there came a voice that said, “it isn’t real; it cannot last.” And the light passed.”