†The Lord† and Marthe colaborate on two new tracks; »The Eye Of Destiny« EP out now via Southern Lord Recordings!

†The Lord† and Marthe teamed up for a colaborative two-track EP, »The Eye Of Destiny«, which was just released on December 1, 2023 via Southern Lord Recordings.

Says Marthe: “It has been a real pleasure collaborating with The Lord on this. Two tracks that absolutely fit the current mood and cold weather here in my cave. I loved each second of the creation, especially the inspirational moments and all the feelings connected to the whole magic. Love.”

Tracklist:
01. The Eye Of Destiny
02. Wisps Of The Black Serpent

Courtesy of Southern Lord Recordings:

Following on from Marthe’s incendiary debut Southern Lord full-length »Further In Evil«, released this October, she now teams up with †The Lord† (Greg Anderson of Southern Lord & sunn O))) ) to release two brand new collaborative tracks, »The Eye Of Destiny« and »Wisps Of The Black Serpent«.

Marzia comments on this collaboration: “Collaborating with The Lord was an exciting challenge, and something new, and stimulating to me. I don’t usually deal with such soundscapes and when Greg asked me to add vocals and drums to »The Eye Of Destiny«, I accepted. The track was intended by Greg to be a tribute to Quorthon (Bathory), an artist who has been a huge influence on my moods. I had started to add in battle-drum beats, but soon faced the hard task of using words to describe what (to me) is the most talented artist of all time. How to contribute in words what I can’t even process in emotions?

Marthe photo by Silvia Polmonari

There’s the person behind it, and along with the talent there’s the reality of the loss, since he’s not here anymore to witness the legacy of his sound. What’s left of his feelings on his blog, his emotions, his development as an artist and as a person and that spark in his eyes. The eyes are the mirror of the soul, we say. And I was reading some notes he left on a letter and it went something like “may the eye of destiny be wild with you and show you the right way through life”. »The Eye Of Destiny« was an evocative image to me, to picture in my mind the aura of his memory, as a human being and a musical genius. As words are dominant in a tribute, it was impossible, in the most humble way, to find words for him. So, I took his own words: checked all the lyrics and made a caviardage of words that in the end composed a tribute in what I considered the most honourable way possible. I love the final result, it’s my small tribute to a musical giant.

For the second song, »Wisps Of The Black Serpent«, I wanted to incorporate more synths, since lately I’ve been getting into soundtracks and especially horror music composition (following from my love of horror movies, especially Gothic Italian classics). The vocals here are an improvisation. I wanted to let out some negative energies, so I imagined a shamanic exorcism to get rid of the weight I was feeling that night. I love when songs sound more like a lament than actual songs, because I can remember the exact moment something unplanned came out, which fuels the next one and the next and so on. It’s similar to freestyle hip hop, it gets you excited while doing it!”

†The Lord† photo by Al Overdrive

Stringed Instruments & Atmosphere: Greg Anderson/†The Lord†
Vocals/Synth/Atmosphere/Percussion: Marthe
Brass: Stebmo

Recorded 2022 at Sea Grass Studios, Valley Village, CA.
Vocals and synth recorded by Marthe at Studio Hammer (Italy).
Engineered by Brad Wood.
Produced by Greg Anderson & Brad Wood.
Mixed & mastered by Brad Wood.
Artwork by Mariya Popik.
Design by Laura Pleasants.

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well