Ancient VVisdom are sworn to the dark
Ancient VVisdom (pronounced: Ancient Wisdom) released its debut album A Godlike Inferno on June 7 via Shinebox Recordings. The blackened neo-folk / demonic rock squad who recently issued a one sided split 12″ LP with Charles Manson (see here) recorded the album at Austin’s The Bubble Studio (Built to Spill, Explosions in the Sky, Mammoth Grinder) and promises “a dark, enlightening foresight into the future of humankind.”
Ancient VVisdom took shape in 2009 when former INTEGRITY members Nathan Opposition and Michael Jochum joined forces with IRON AGE bassist Justin “Ribs” Mason. The trio immediately began sharpening their darkened craft using acoustic guitars to create music with an organic connection to the nefarious rites they begat while incorporating electric guitar effects, synth sounds, vocal harmonies and abstract percussion to give a deeper, ethereal quality to their minimalist arrangements. Nathan Opposition’s powerfully honest voice casts lyrics that conjure “mysteries of the occult, paganism, satanic philosophies and forbidden knowledge”.
As word about the band’s infectious sound spread throughout Austin, Ancient VVisdom began performing live and soon became a favorite opener for like-minded touring acts including SWANS, Scott Kelly (of Neurosis) and Wino. The band created a huge buzz at the 2011 SXSW music festival when they opened for similarly subvert legends EyeHateGod and Pentagram to racous response.
For the recording of A Godlike Inferno, Ancient VVisdom enlisted additional instrumentation by Alex Hughes (Hatred Surge, Iron Age) on bowed stand-up bass, Wade Allison (Iron Age) on “machete percussion” and guest guitar, Chase VVarlow on bamboo percussion and Jason Buntz (engineer and co-producer) on select guitar and synth.
“We are the devil’s blues, folk, and rock n roll,” commented front man Nathan Opposition when asked about the band’s sound. “Chaos and control. Phantasy and reality. Life and death…the evolution of Satan’s influence on modern pop culture. We are the beginning of nothing. We are the end of everything.”
The track listing for A Godlike Inferno is as follows:
1.) Alter Reality
2.) The Opposition
3.) Necessary Evil
4.) Forever Tonight
5.) Lost Civilization
6.) Devil Brain
7.) World of Flesh
8.) Children of the Wasteland
The Cult of Ancient VVisdom is: Nathan Opposition (vision and voice), Justin Mason (acoustic guitars) and Michael Jochum (electric guitars).
