Close your eyes, open your mind, and let the music take you on a musical journey through different moods…: it is certainly the case to follow the advice of My Kingdom, active Italian label that has the merit of having acquired the services, among others, of these wonderful Lethe, musical project that sees a sort of alliance between Norwegian and Swiss musicians. In fact, around the two main protagonists, the Scandinavian Tor-Helge Skei (Manes and Manii) and the Swiss Anna Murphy (Eluveitie, Nucleus Torn), rotate musicians mostly from their respective bands and we find, therefore, on one side Eivind Fjøseide (guitar), Tor Arne Helgesen and Rune Hoemsnes (drums) and Asgeir Hatlen (vocals), all gravitating around the nucleus of Manes, and on the other side Fredy Schnyder (piano, Nucleus Torn) and Ivo Henzi (guitar, ex Eluveitie). This particular combination gives life to a work of uncommon thickness as The First Corpse On The Moon (the second in the discography of Lethe), difficult to frame in a specific genre also because the sound floats freely between the intuitions of Skei and the splendid voice of Murphy: this presupposition allows to pass without contraindications from the rap hints of Down Into The Sun (with the guest K-Rip) to the oppressive darkness of My Doom, from the crystalline melodies of the title track to the pressing crescendo of Snow, to arrive to other two gems of immeasurable beauty as Wind To Fire and With You.
The intertwining of Asgeir Hatlen’s and Anna Murphy’s voices borders on perfection, with the warm timbre of the Norwegian singer supporting the peculiar voice of the Swiss siren, a sort of Bjork less extreme in her vocals but equally involving and, at times, moving (in With You her interpretation reaches a spasmodic emotional intensity). The sense of bewilderment that blends with the visionary, in the artwork created by the now ubiquitous Costin Chioreanu, well represents the moods that the album expresses, and that perhaps go beyond the expectations of the most demanding listeners. It’s just the unpredictability that doesn’t prevent, however, the unraveling of a melodic thread always defined, the distinctive feature that elevates this work to the rank of indispensable listening for those who search in music beauty and talent fused in an admirable way. No exorcism, not even the one evoked by the title of the final track, will prevent us from being literally possessed by the voice of Anna and the inspiration of Tor-Helge: really, there is not a single good reason to give up an hour of music of this level.

2017 – My Kingdom Music