Ayin Aleph is a Russian, a classically trained Russian, living in France and clearly living on the wild side. While much of America is living the gangsta rap thing (yawn), France, and Western Europe in general, is definitely headed in some very different directions. If you want to get an early view, check out some of the YouTube videos, especially My Bloody Marriage. If you can’t get through that one, proceed no further. If you can, get ready for a wild ride. This is definitely going in another direction. . .conservatives are sincerely encouraged to go elsewhere. If your preacher catches you listening to something like this, excommunication is the least of your concerns.

How do we describe Ayin Aleph? Well, they use a variety of terms but I’m comfortable with Baroque Gothic. . . but that’s just me. Ayin uses some more soothing terms, baroque, romantic, classical. . .all added to the metal framework. But that doesn’t get to the heart of the matter. There is a metal component, yes. The guitarist and the bassist are from the band Misanthrope, they are true metal heads. But they’ve clearly taken a walk on the dark side here. To call it avant-garde is to get it in the right direction, but avant-garde has been around for a long time, and this is 21st century avant-garde. Ayin, as mentioned previously, is classically trained; she plays Bach on the piano as well as other classical compositions. She has the capability of doing quite interesting opera. But, in general, on this CD, she chooses to go in other directions. And the listen is something that one must be prepared for, and willing to explore with an open mind. That doesn’t include everyone, but it will include some. And those who chance it will be amply rewarded. This is music you don’t get everywhere, it is music that will take you in new directions.

This is a prolific offering, some 19 tracks. But don’t expect 19 songs, this is 19 selections, some of them beyond this reviewers ability to describe in his limited capacity to comprehend. They include a range of offerings, assuming you are ready to go in directions you may not have visited before. But, the talent is there, and the desire to open new ideas, new appointments with reality. Let’s start with Number 1, Hamlet. After 30 seconds here, you pretty much know whether or not you want to proceed. In my case, it was bring it on. There is clearly metal here that is first class, with a vocal component that has something very new and different to explore. The afore mentioned My Bloody Marriage follows, and takes us to places rarely explored. Please visit the video to get a full interpretation. And the message is on target:

OK, we getting the message? It’s really a three-pronged assault on one’s consciousness. There is the music, sure, there is the message, and then there is the visual, which, of course, is not on the CD. But Ayin Aleph is a combination of the three and best appreciated when seen in total. That’s not to say you can’t appreciate any of the three on their own merit. In my world, having a strong video background, there is merit across the board. And, the music doesn’t let me down either. But, that’s just me.

Greed is another track worthy of mention. It almost approaches the traditional gothic, there appears to be choral components, orchestral components, death vocal components, the whole thing. And, it is as good as it gets. Ayin sings:

Angels, near the moon, with the black eyes, black eyes, can die in the black sky, only like a pray, only in my sleep only in black sky in black sky in black sky.

We make love like a rock in the river of greed.

We make love like a rock in demons reasons.

I ruined my fate with the stones of a greedy river.

Throes carve up and come too late

We shall not fear squawk strength in the Beauty

It has been mentioned that there should be a Warning label put on this CD, a warning of some sort. I’m not sure what that warning would suggest, however, those with psychosomatic concerns might be advised to look elsewhere. This is a work that stresses the consciousness, one that presents a glimpse into the Theatre of the Absurd, or at least one that would worry the generally considered to be normal. For the rest of us, proceed without fear, and in anticipation of a ride on the extreme edges of the conscious divide.

8 / 10