Prophecy Prod. 
Elend : A World In Their Screams (F,2007)***°'
This is the last part of the second trilogy of Elend, which was originally intended as a five-part piece, but investing in a full orchestra each time was a bit too much of a financial sacrifice, so that this third part became also the final project of the group, of course not without giving away a last explosive outburst of its inner sun. Having started as a neo-classical group with screaming vocals and choir and keyboards to replace the orchestra, and also newer contemporary classical music ideas became part of the sonic intensity of the experience, the last three albums were recorded with a real full orchestra.
This newest album is denser and darker than ever before. It forms at first a thick cloud of an orchestral background, forming a coming closer to reality that seems harmless at first, but that slowly surrounds and encloses the listener into a condition where you get so used to its appearance that there is no escape left in the end, and where each involved soul is trapped in its conditions. Only then the orchestral energy unfolds its leading character, comes to a renewed intensity, and forms even its own burning sun of energy, but without showing the humans involved, any of its purpose, it will finally leave all participating humans alone in the dark, with no other future at hand…
The first track starts rather filmicaly, like orchestrated film-music with choir and orchestra and bit of a clarinet solo. Then the intensity builds up to a dense and slowly increasing and threatening tension. The spoken word, introduced in French, from the second track on, sounds emotionless and resigned, and like the product of a fatal reality, with an indifference to its nature.
The listener becomes trapped in the growing intensity of the background music which didn’t show much of its significance at first, and which only grew like a stream of energy. The orchestra pulsates a bit to other filmic passages, while the choir also has an underlying dramatic hysteria in it, showing how also the orchestra is inspired by a light of Wagnerian horror.
At the time of the 5th track, the trap becomes a reality is made complete. By the 6th track, “I assemble its members”, the expressed energy has finally taken its inevitable position where no-one can do anything about it anymore, so that the music finally is able to unfold itself more completely, like a monster with tentacles. From this point on, the composition becomes also more interesting, more dynamic and multi-faced, while the energy itself gets an almost hysterical intensity. The few electronic sounds on this track make the sounds more contrasting. Also the spoken word with its cold baritone, not involved with the drama, at this stage becomes part of what suddenly seems to have become true reality.
After a calmer vocal part, its last part with more electronic touches has much intensity. Actually, it is the 7th track, “Stasis” which is the most composed and classical one, and which is also the most expressive and powerful piece, an intense track with choir voices, spoken word, a rhythmic intensity, and a more baroque composition, which still is like a post-Wagnerian description of a world of horror.
On the next track, “Borrée”, the horror sphere becomes for real, with background screams, as a phase of hell, showing a sonic and emotionally intense tragedy of violence. This is followed by a small tragic, sad and filmic orchestral part with humming vocals, before bursting out of its borders to a full explosion of energy.
After another calm part the voices hang around the scene, like ghosts, with industrial sounds in the background. The last left over tracks very much leave the impression that these spirits that were involved as witnesses on this stage only can realize how the earth has become hell, and that there’s nothing else left, and that’s where also the music stops.
