Current 93 - Emblems: The Menstrual Years flac mp3 download

I think track 1-3 is falsely labeled. It's actually an excerpt from "Alone Into The Alone," not "Only Shadows Of Hooks." Track 1-4 actually is an excerpt from "Only Shadows Of Hooks."

Once upon a time, this excellent compilation helped me navigate what was then an unwieldy discography of limited releases, sometimes up to three albums in one year, all of which sounded completely different from one another as David Tibet explored every which direction he could as he investigated, developed, fought against, and eventually embraced his spirituality. This release marked the culmination of Current 93's transition from inelegant and unrelenting industrial noise into a genre ("apocalyptic folk") that was essentially all its own, but for Death in June, Sol Invictus, and a few minor copycats. What made this better than the subsequent 2-disc compilations that followed is that this one included numerous crucial outtakes, mostly from the Thunder Perfect Mind era, which have since been reissued elsewhere. Still, listening to this for the first time felt like I was unearthing entire worlds of music that I never really knew existed, and that made Current 93 a very exciting and deeply personal band for me (as with most of its audience) for several years that followed. Time and Christianity eventually caught up with Mr. Tibet, but with this release it's easy to remember when he seemed kind of genius in a dangerous and twisted manner ("...and when she fell down the stairs, I tried very hard not to laugh..."), which he has mostly abandoned since. This release is therefore highly recommended for those who don't "get" it.