Zygote/Blackberry Rec.
Damien Youth : Bride of the asylum (US,1998)**°°
Damien’s name I saw listed in several alternative magazines, like Ptolomaic Terrascope, or Dream magazine -a magazine which lists various of the names I have already discovered-. Not all which are listed on Ptolomaic Terrascope I trust blindly or will appeal to me. In this context I also wondered how much at any time a mentioned name, found list-worthy for articles in magazines, in a need of a new voice to explore in certain areas, would then become forgotten after a few years, because there came examples deemed much better afterwards.
It is because I still remember some fuss around Paul Roland amongst some collector’s for instance, back in the 80’s, when he was doing things that were missed in those days. But now, looking back at his early releases for instance, I hear that also he couldn’t lift himself completely over the 80’s dark sound production, so now I prefer to forget all this. I also remember we had to wait until late 90’s before a renewed natural feel in inspiration, in a more positive way, was restored / healed a bit. I believe that such open conditions, which were generally focused and applied in music, where as well global human (race) conditions, that affected conditions psychologically, physically, spiritually and in those days in a same degree politically. I also saw some diagrams of evolutions in radio-activity, that physically, in the 80’s, we must have suffered most from all atom bomb experiments started in the 70’s. (I even read some theory such bombs might have caused lighter gasses to go to upper layers of the atmosphere, which caused in its turn the first appearance of the ozone layer hole, but I'm not sure about that). Or just look at the effects of the global effect of DDT, or any other global physical conditions that might have in parallel influenced our mentality towards a kind of spiritualless dark hopelessness or something. At least now in this new century, there's a more visible struggle between 'true nature of some kind of self-renewal' and what I call 'domination of repetition of old patterns', with its own fake perspectives. In music I notice that there is a global increase in true creativity and production.
Damien Youth might be one of those people who might have experienced this climate change through a kind of kaleidoscope vision, seeing this fractured world of changes. Within his own world of perspectives he tried to maintain his own vision, which is something between imagination and fantasy. Like Lucifer here he reflects his own light of imagination, causing a creative process to flow on its own. This trick in mind of self-imagination kept something of what was so special in the 60’s more or less intact.
Damien Youth's songs are sung with nice dual recorded vocals and with accompaniment close to the essence (which is guitar, bass, and some percussion). When I listened to this music over and over again, there might have been a few songs which I liked less, but in general many songs are so "catchy" I must admit some of these begin to sound just like 'classics' in my mind. Such songs are “Bride of the Asylum” (backing vocals and guitar), “Katie called me Lucifer”, or “Ugly Alice” (which sound like a Alice In Wonderland reference, in the story more like an 'Alice in Lostland'). Another favourite is “Zoomorphic Kingdom”, which is a bit Syd Barrett-like, and yes, I like Damien’s voice here. Also “Mythical Light” has some catchy aspect from the same area of Syd Barrett with a sing-a-long idea, but with a somewhat philosophical thought behind it, going once more beyond religious reflections. “Blackbird and the widow” is also attractive because of the sitar with percussion, and also because of the voice of Damien. The last tracks, “Fountain Heart”, "Virus" and "Somebody New" are equally enjoyable.
I assume there is some thematic line beyond the titles, which will still need more time from me to understand it all. I guess it's also about someone who is, like Lucifer on Earth, a kind of 'unbeliever', looking for his own truth, but being condemned for it. Lucifer is of course every man's destiny, as soon as we are able take a distance from all repeated customs in thinking, behaving, feeling, putting our goals into life,..I read in esotheric writings that Lucifer also is another name for Christ, who is like his inner star, which implies his own independent role outside the customs of the sheep who have not found their own destiny in the world yet. The falling down of Lucifer and Christ is like coming to an earthly destiny.* Only then all the enlighted essence of inspiration can start to build on something to renew, in life, and in a destined creative process.
* If we conclude my own remarks we might conclude that Jesus only became Christ at the crucifiction, in this way giving not just his life but also his destiny on earth to the people. If we continue this thinking we can also consider that his life itself was a reflection from a Luciferian vision. That explains how Christianity takes over this role, but instead of doing the same and coming to the same transformation process, they neglect the life force of becomming and see Jesus already as the Christ from the time he was born. The "sheep", as the followers of religious and other patterns, accept all wrongly arrived at conclusions, and the true life-force destiny which we must strive with is neglected by an exoteric religion.
This release, for me, is like a symbol of an early self-development creativity, taking a distance from some old patterns.
Because this release with each listen has the tendency to give me more inspiration than reveil everything like that, here are the true meanings of the songs linked
