| Released 1996 on TESS Records | |
| Re-released 2001 on Metropolis Records | |
| Tracklisting • Lyrics • Soundbytes • Order | |
|
-
Octavia Although more than half its songs work off traditional folk melodies and drumming, Annwyn isn't a medieval concept record or an easy appropriation of cool, romantic old stuff. Modern goth songs such as "Rise and Fall" and "The Hand of Man" explain how Monica Richards and partner William Faith receive visions from other spacetimes through broadband memory (where you remember incidents from other people's lives). The liner notes provide quotes that help unfold these visionary scenes of love and damnation, death and drowning, and myriad aetheric mysteries. Instrumentally, the songs vary from grandiose synth orchestras to bare clicking sticks keeping jig time. Richards' voice is full and warm in churchsong way;"Cernunnos" and "The Dream of Macsen" are broody ambient keyboard tracks with Faith doing emotional monologues on top, and "The Bird of Rhiannon" is elysian noise referring to a species of bird that used its song to bring sleep to the living and waken the dead. -
Anne Kugler |
|
| Unlinked titles do not have lyrics or do not have lyrics available • Go to Music to hear Annwyn soundbytes | |
| 1.
Annwyn, Beneath the Waves |
Album
Credits All instruments and voices performed by William Faith and Monica Richards Treatments and Programming by Chad Blinman Produced by Faith and the Muse and Chad Blinman All titles
composed by Faith and the Muse c and p Elyrian Music, BMI, 1996
except: Original lyrics by Monica Richards, except "The Hand of Man" and "Cernunnos", written by William Faith, "Rise & Forget" cowritten by Monica & William. |
| Annwyn,
Beneath the Waves
Here,
thoughts cling airborne To a sea of voice so glorious;
mesmerizing Sink
into dream: these enchanted depths The realm of muted
wisdom Believe
me I am sorry To charm with bitter eyes; mesmerizing
Here
I remain This is my body; this sea my inner mind
Come to me Greet me with open arms Mesmerizing The Silver Circle Come
to life my deviltry Possess this poor company
Come Alive Come
to life my second skin To protect the madness locked
within Come Alive Take
my dear ones The use of this spell may serve too well
Come Alive "The
lyrics to the song are in old Latin, and are not unlike the riddle
of the Sphynx: saevym atque
ferum vipereumque malum
Hear
me my beloved; I beckon thee through waves of dream and in mine
Hear
me my beloved I beckon thee through waves of dream
Hear
me my beloved I have patiently awaited thee Hear
me my beloved I beckon thee through waves of dream
For this is love Fade And Remain And
if I'd the spell to claim your existence But
unknown by you; lost in the shadows I Fade and Remain
Oh my
kind can dwell with infinite patience Love
incarnate; lost in perfection You Fade and Remain
Branwen Slayne O my
deare brother I am damnifyed at Caer Siddi For
I am one of three great queenes of the Cymry O my
brother thou art Kinge of y Island o the Mightye Loneliness
-- Patience -- Wisdom -- Happiness For I am one of three who broke their harts in griefe
•Hob Y Derri Dando (Traditional Welsh Song) Low
ye hills in ocean lie Hob y derri dando
O'er
the seas hath flown my heart Hob y derri dando
'Neath
the seas shall I reside Hob y derri dando
Cernunnos Beneath
the sediment of aeons In ancient repose
Harmonious
the centuries The land and I were one
But
with the passing of days A new wind came blowing
Your
new gods Your new ways All seek to dispel
me ...Of
your anger Your anger Your ignorance
Your blindness Your greed I, dread lord of shadows With broken spell unto this dying age I bid farewell... The Hand Of Man Come the tides We hear tell of the mortal season Fed rife with rhyme and reason Tainted with despair Kill-darkened
skies Painted black, so black with misery
Raining down with impunity In the
treason fields Where man again destroys what man built
Raise
your eyes Behind a martyr's mask of supplication
I Sing True I can see right through you Thirst
for truth Spit out the lies inside and search for
meaning Ignorance
Seek your knowledge in the volumes of dust I sing true I can see right through you These
latter days They bear eternal winter's coming frost
Deny the Hand of Man Celebrate
Wherever mercy falls drunk you'll find me Millennium
All the memories will fade like twilight I
sing true I can see right through you
*The Sea Angler (Words written by Goethe) There
was a gentle angler who was angling in the sea "Why
dost thou strive so artfully to lure my brood away
The
water rushed the water swelled and touched his naked feet
~Rise And Forget I woke
up tired I woke up down on my knees tonight My eyes
were wet and I felt so dead inside I swallow
rage I taste its wisdom Nomadic fears force sanctuary
On dread subconsciousness
we spin and turn Inherent images strap us in position
Suffer
Celebrate I Sing My Praises I Curse My Name
Seduction
leading straight from logic to nightmare Virility
misdirects the hunter's primal need Suffer
Celebrate I sing my praises I curse my name
I woke up tired... I woke up down on my knees tonight... BACK TO TOP |
|
Annwyn,
Beneath the Waves holds a special place in my book, because the
album's overall quality and creativity carve Faith and the Muse
into a niche of their own. Faith and the Muse's scholarly passion
for archaic literature and history is especially impressive. I
love the way they have included ancient quotes in the lyric book
to encapsulate the meaning of each song. Faith and the Muse are
perfect for the modern Renaissance enthusiast, because they incorporate
Medieval and archaic themes into their music. Several of the songs
are ethnically traditional with a Welsh/Old English flair, but
if you're searching for upbeat rock songs, several tracks fill
that order too. William's sensuous dark voice appears on a few
songs adding variety to Monica's singular voice.