Pod cast 2 features 40 plus minutes of towering transcendental stateliness from the aforementioned John 3:16 - really has to be heard to be believed sounding as it does as like some contact seeking extra terrestrial time capsule shipped in from across the cosmic voids from a long since dead civilisation - absolutely stunning and all at once magnificent, monolithic and majestic.
"The Solemn Truth"
A welcome return to these pages of the mysterious John 3:16 who despite some rudimentary investigative work we still haven’t managed to establish the true identity of . Of course we could just simply ask which now I come to think of it is what we should have done in the first place. Tip top journalism and all that, cutting edge man - why I bother heaven alone knows.
Anyway we mentioned with much love and respect (and a fair degree of fondness to boot) his self titled debut 7 track opus last year sometime, a desirably conceived slice of darkly brooding apocalyptic progressive psych styled electronica whose roots where indelibly cast in an early 70’s era and in particular navigated with unerring precision the rich territories once trod by the likes of Amon Dull II, Tangerine Dream and the mighty Goblin.
Minimalist and monolithic ’the solemn truth’ - comprised incidentally of five further (biblically referenced) chapters - sees John 3:16 continuing his lonesome voyage into the psychotropic realms of ambient / drone sound-scapes and carving out huge hulking instrumental leviathans for lost 70’s thriller / suspense / horror films that were never made.
The mood is one of chilled ecclesiastic reverence perhaps even conceived to be considered ceremonial epitaphs, exacting and piercing as opposed to morose and morbid, each of the suites succumbing to a sense of finality that’s awash with a bleakly swollen funeral grandeur. Again as with his previous outing the reference markers appear to indicate a particular fondness for both Goblin and Add N to X with the sparse detail of Carpenter and the looping calibrations of La Dusseldorf ruminating between the groove spaces, from the hollowed celestial ache of the transfixing ’the kingdom of God’ to the shimmering kosmische chamber prog of the parting ’the one who does not believe’ wherein elements of Porcupine Tree are superbly fused together with aural drone alchemists Zombi John 3:16 crafts a gloriously stirring and entrancing tapestry of classically drilled retro regality. That said ’for God, from God’ provides the collections centrepiece which makes for a sun bathed snowstorm of scintillating heaven prised euphoric jubilance which amid its lysergic overtones, kaleidoscopic inferences and shade wearing melodic mantras the shoe gaze-y apparitions of Flying Saucer Attack and My Bloody Valentine swirl, caress and arc a sugar rushed backdrop engineered as were by the youthful pairing of Add N to X and Echoboy. Utterly recommended.
"John 3:16"
This is the first release for this british one man band containing 7 instrumental pieces of ambient noise drone experimental nature. As this scene is rather new for me I can’t really draw comparisons and similitudes with other projects...What is certain is that encompasses several elements and creates a sweet and invigorating poetic escape form, as cliche as it sounds yet it is true.
The sixth track differs greatly from the rest as it fits perfectly the macabre atmosphere of old horror flicks such as Blood Feast or former Argento works. People, lend an attentive ear on this cause I’m pretty certain this will be soon heard much about.
Yan / Times of Grace Fanzine, Issue 3
*********************************
"John 3:16"
Seven piece instrumental work; experimental, dark electronic ambience and buzzing drone – warm, ritualistic, crafted, intelligent, the art of sound, resonance. Stands out a little from crowd (we do get a lot of electronic soundscape composition), rather refined and relaxing, not mere background music, builds up with quite a sense of foreboding brooding tension and there is a price to redemption – worth checking out.
"John 3:16"
This is mysterious, heavy stuff, with a sound that encompasses drone, dark ambient, and progged-out synth rock in the vein of early Tangerine Dream. The seven tracks here are mainly powered by a keyboard-heavy dark drone and lots of repetitive sonic motion -- but that motion is not entirely static, for even as patterns settle into what resembles a looped groove, their volume and texture grow and expand, often seguing into new elements of drone and ambient noise. These pieces may be instrumental and largely ambient, but they are hardly directionless, for the sound on each track steadily evolves, revealing a subtle but effective compositional process at work. Some of the tracks, especially "The Marks of Sin," feature interstellar guitar noise that sounds highly reminiscent of early Skullflower in a more drone-oriented context, while the gritty sound of "Eternal Life" calls to mind the power electronics aesthetic, but this is definitely not classic harsh noise by any means; here the noise content is strictly subservient to the almighty drone, of which there is plenty. This is the first largely keyboard-driven drone album I've heard in a while, and a genuinely excellent collection of drones at that -- atmospheric and spooky, and far darker than you might expect given the name of the "band" (actually one solo improviser) and the biblical song titles.
"John 3:16"
Blending 70's styled primitive and minimalist tinged progressive psyche electronics and a fascination for Sci-Fi / horror cinematic sound-scape species with brooding elements of dark ambience, John 3:16 is indelibly inspired it seems by the sound track work of a certain John Carpenter. Throughout this exquisitely doom trod seven track suite an unerring sense of emptiness and futility (non more so than on the apocalyptic aftershock of 'whosoever believeth') pierces chillingly like some dread foreboding epitaph that's both impressively oblique and despatched with an affecting desolation.
From the opening psychotropic haze of the hypno trance whirring shimmers of 'who am I' a sparse take on Sonic Boom's collaboration with Sunray on 'dreammachine' is applied as its guiding template, amid the lunatic swirls and dreamy oscillations Carpenters 'Halloween' looms distantly warped and chilled to a deathly fading pulse beat and sent cruising into the far reaches of the cosmos under the flight command of Goblin / Tangerine Dream. The glacial glazed and wide screen treated 'the price of redemption' finds itself superbly framed in illumination snuffing monolithic drone swathes as though much recalling a BBC Radiophonic Workshop obsessed early career Add N to X shimmying up to a frequency manipulating EAR (the effect is repeated to a largely lesser degree on 'shall not perish').
'The Mark of Sin' - perhaps the sets defining centrepiece is an ominous 10 minute overture, wracked with tension and detailed with a cold military precision it belies an intimated menace that draws together the fusing of elements found in both the sombre soundtracks that heralded the oncoming of 'terminator' and 'assault on precinct 13' while found haloed in florescent mind erasing swirls the Amon Dull II like 'Eternal Life' from its initial eerie opening soon sumptuously blossoms into a nifty slice of shade wearing brain blending lunatic mantras which admittedly had us reaching for our prized collection of Zombi releases which as you all know is no bad thing. We await further chapters with baited breath.
John 3:16 is a unique experiment relying on the broad culture of its solo composer. Heavy and aerial, the music is leading here. No rules to follow as no genre wide enough to encompass all the elements in John 3:16. In between soundtrack, ambient electronic and drone, each track is a piece of space somewhere, far away from here.
***********************************************
DISCOGRAPHY
JOHN 3:16 - The Solemn Truth
(Alrealon Music, ALRN006)
1. In The Wilderness
2. The Kingdom of God
3. For God, From God
4. Son of God
5. The One Who Does Not Believe
Recorded at Eutropius Studio, London
August 2008
copyright 2008 John 3:16 John
*********
Times Of Grace - Sampler 2 (2007)
1. Chang Ffos "Bowels Of The Beast Of The Matriarchate"
2. Xnoybis "Anamnesis"
3. Aguirre "Garnick" 4. John 3:16 "Whosoever Believeth"
5. Sabazius "Terror is Thy Name"
6. Matsudo "Amnesia"
7. Heat From A Deadstar Reintepreted
by Fear Falls Burning "Black Swans"
1. Who Am I
2. The Price of Redemption
3. The Marks of Sin
4. Eternal Life
5. Whosoever Believeth
6. Shall Not Perish
7. ...Justice Served
Recorded at Eutropius Studio, London
September 2005-December 2006
copyright 2007 John 3:16 John
Review:
Dark, brooding, liquid ambience that provides more atmospherics than active listening. Eternal Life has to be one of the scariest pieces of music I think I’ve ever heard in my life.
Music for pleasure? No. Essential listening? Yes.
1. Toner Low "Devilbot"
2. Heat From a DeadStar "Scarlet Eagles"
3. Partners In Crime "Sabin"
4. Smohalla "Reine des vallées"
5. Nixon Now "The Flag"
6. Good day to die "Desert City Lights"
7. Stonebride "Titan"
8. Ordog "Scavengers"
9. Abske Fides "Creep of the last human"
10. John 3:16 "Eternal Life"
you are
most welcome
thanx for your friendship
when you have time listen to our songs
you are very important to all of us
Our best regards
Eletrika's Team(Marie)
Thanks for having us reprobates, you rock! Check out our VIDEO of SECOND SKIN from our upcoming debut album - From The Ashes out 22nd January 2010! Cheers!! - Click the pic & spread the Nemhain Rock n Roll Plague
Online Now!
