VOND – Green Eyed Demon (reissue)

"Green Eyed Demon" by the Mortiis-led project named Vond is the third and last output by the Norwegian entity that we were graced with back in the day. It was originally released in 1998, but it will be reissued right around the time that you are reading this by the ever-awesome Funeral Industries. Hats off to them and Mortiis for putting these legendary and mind-blowingly wicked ambient/drone records back out there on the market in different formats!  

First of all, "Green Eyed Demon" is not for sissies and mollycoddles had better stay away from this one. "Why?" I hear you ask. For one thing, "Green Eyed Demon" is one of the most unsettled and unsettling albums I have ever immersed myself in. Darkness and despair lurk in each corner. Listening to this 38-minute opus of hauntingly bleak and nightmarish soundscapes is somewhat akin to…heck, I don’t know, really…contemplating the pitch black for 38 minutes straight, I suppose. I dig all the different collages and compositions and so on, but "To the Dreamer Dead and the Dreamer Dying" simply has to be experienced in all its depraved glory. One of the greatest ambient/drone tunes ever conceived. Yes sir, you read that right!  

On a more personal note, "Green Eyed Demon" means an awful lot to me in the sense that it was the very first drone record I ever bought. It totally changed my perspective on what sound and music could be, and it taught me that to define is to limit when it comes to art. It was and is an extremely inspired and inspiring album to me. Nothing has ever really come close to evoking the same thoughts and feelings in me as this malevolent album does. I dare say "Green Eyed Demon" is one of those outputs that you will either love or hate. In my experience, it tends to polarize people, but that is exactly what true art does; it provokes strong reactions, be they positive or negative. You should head on over to the Mortiis Bandcamp website and find out for yourself what exactly this album does to your frail mind.

http://downloadmusic.mortiis.com/album/vond-green-eyed-demon