November 2 will see the release of Dionysus by Dead Can Dance. It’s their first album for six years, following on from 2012’s Anastasis – and their ninth studio album in total.
Dionysus was the Ancient Greek God of wine (also known as Bacchus by the Romans). Taking its lead from the myth of Dionysus, the new album consists of two acts across seven movements that represent the various parts of the legend. Conveyed by an array of folk instrumentation, field recordings and chants, in true Dead Can Dance style.
The first track to be unveiled from the album is ‘The Mountain,’ the first part of Act II. In the words of Brendan Perry, “the listener will find themselves visiting Mount Nysa.
This mountain was Dionysus’ place of birth, where he was raised by the centaur Chiron, from whom he learned chants and dances together with Bacchic rites and initiations.”
According to the press release: Driven by Perry’s exploration of religious rites and rituals, ‘Dionysus’ nevertheless sees ally-in-arms Lisa Gerrard convey the feminine aspect of Dionysus’s dual nature through song in both solo and mantric choral forms and ultimately to play the role of Psychopomp, signifying Dionysus’s role as an agrarian deity returning to winter’s underworld to reassume the role of guide to dead souls.
The tracklisting for Dionysus is as follows:
