Symphonic apocalyptic folk at its best, but...
4
By The Arty W
...this album is incomplete. But, What Ends When the Symbols Shatter? was recorded at the tail end of Douglas P.'s long, productive association with David Tibet of Current 93, culminating in that band's 1992 classic Thunder Perfect Mind, which found Tibet's industrial noise project completing its transition into acoustic folk music, in no small part due to Douglas's guitar contributions. Likewise, by this time DIJ had abandoned most of its post-punk and industrial noise roots, striving for a suave and sinister romantic folk balladry that could be deeply spiritual, sexual, hateful, and intellectual all at once. The original record contained 12 tracks, including two contributions from Tibet ("This Is Not Paradise" and "Daedalus Rising") that featured his literature-drenched sermons of speak-singing. Tibet's tracks are now nowhere to be seen, indicating that the decade-long rift between the former friends appears to now be taking its toll on their past work. Hey, guys? Get over it.
