Of Knowledge and Revelation is the third studio album from Italy’s dark/doom/psychedelic folk songwriter Nero Kane, released through the Italian label Subsound Records.
Of Knowledge and Revelation is not so much a collection of songs but a cinematic journey, no, an experience through a dreamscape of darkness and light, death and life. The songs are drenched in reverb, and the drone synth underling the album is like an effluence of ethereal matter which soars and is yet paradoxically claustrophobic and intimate at the same time. It gives a sense of perpetually falling through an endless cavern of luminescence, yet is tinged with a gloom of some impending finality that is felt rather than heard. Nero Kane allows the drone to really breathe and become all-encompassing. This is where for me the album’s strength lies and transcends the album above the confines of the folk genre.
The acoustic guitar passages pierce through the drone and are the true musicality of the album. While their arrangement is not complex, they are extremely expressive and emotive. Providing the perfect reflection to Nero Kane’s lyrics (or more appropriately storytelling), which evoke feelings of loss, sorrow and regret. Of Knowledge and Revelation is musically and lyrically heavy it could easily be seen as an album of the doom genre, it is heavier and more oppressive than most of the bands of that genre though, which is remarkable considering there is not an aggressive fuzzy distorted riff and pounding drum in sight.
Here in lies, its Achilles heel, it’s not an easy album to sit all the way through, it is demanding and for its simplicity (on the surface) it may be too much for the casual listener to sit through. The music is there to be felt and by the end of the album you feel exhausted and emotionally drained. Having said that I have a feeling that for Nero Kane, this would be the greatest compliment you could pay the album.
As stated at the beginning of this review, it’s an experience and with every experience, the lingering impression is that of the theme and the sensations felt while going through it, rather than the content itself.
