Helios | Erebus | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 21, 2015 | |||
Genre | Post-rock | |||
Length | 45:12 | |||
Label | Revive Records | |||
Producer | Torsten Kinsella | |||
God is an Astronaut chronology | ||||
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Helios / Erebus is the seventh studio album by Irish post-rock band God Is An Astronaut. It was released through Revive Records [1] on June 21, 2015. [2] The album was recorded and produced by guitarist Torsten Kinsella, then mastered by Tim Young at Metropolis Mastering in London. [3] In March 2015 the band revealed an album preview along with a string of spring tour dates throughout Europe to promote the release. [4]
The album artwork is based on Aztec art designed by bassist Niels Kinsella. [5] Torsten Kinsella said that the Greek words and imagery were not necessarily related to any central theme, rather they were “names that suited the tracks”. He described the album as having “moments of darkness in it...moments of brightness” a “darker record” conceived from an idea of “apocalyptic culture”. [5] The album is named after the Greek mythological God Helios, the personification of the Sun, and Erebus, the embodiment of darkness. [6] In accordance to the general ancient and mythological subject matter, some of the tracks found on Helios | Erebus feature Latin words and phrases." [7] Furthering in its reference to ancient mythology, the opening track "Agneya" is named after the daughter of the God of Fire in Hindu mythology. [8] Despite no central theme in any specific culture, Kinsella upholds that "mysterious ancient civilizations like the Greeks, Vikings, Mayas, Aztecs [and] Egyptians" are a constant source of inspiration. [7]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Broken Amp | positive [6] |
PopMatters | [2] |
Sputnikmusic | 4/5 [9] |
Upon release the album received generally positive reviews among critics. Jordan Blum of PopMatters gave the album a positive review describing it as having “dazzling atmospheres, riveting textural bursts, and poignant serenity”. [2] Rich Buley of Broken Amp said the album was “one of their finest”, “darkest and densest albums to date” and that “amongst all the blazing intensity are passages of gorgeous, drifting ambience” with “versatility and progressive attitude”. [6]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Agneya" | 4:58 |
2. | "Pig Powder" | 5:40 |
3. | "Vetus Memoria" | 5:20 |
4. | "Finem Solis" | 5:03 |
5. | "Helios Erebus" | 8:31 |
6. | "Obscura Somnia" | 4:04 |
7. | "Centralia" | 6:47 |
8. | "Sea of Trees" | 4:49 |
Total length: | 45:12 |
A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The Sun is sometimes referred to by its Latin name Sol or by its Greek name Helios. The English word sun derives from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ.
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend, the various groups who were to become the Aztecs arrived from the north into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City – but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the Aztec. There are different accounts of their origin. In the myth the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec came from a place in the north called Aztlan, the last of seven nahuatlacas to make the journey southward, hence their name "Azteca." Other accounts cite their origin in Chicomoztoc, "the place of the seven caves", or at Tamoanchan.
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios is the god and personification of the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion and Phaethon. Helios is often depicted in art with a radiant crown and driving a horse-drawn chariot through the sky. He was a guardian of oaths and also the god of sight. Though Helios was a relatively minor deity in Classical Greece, his worship grew more prominent in late antiquity thanks to his identification with several major solar divinities of the Roman period, particularly Apollo and Sol. The Roman Emperor Julian made Helios the central divinity of his short-lived revival of traditional Roman religious practices in the 4th century AD.
In Greek mythology, Erebus, or Erebos, is the personification of darkness. In Hesiod's Theogony, he is the offspring of Chaos, and the father of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Nyx (Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether, Eros, and Metis, or the first ruler of the gods. In genealogies given by Roman authors, he begets a large progeny of personifications upon Nox, while in an Orphic theogony he is the offspring of Chronos (Time). The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld, the Underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach Hades, and can sometimes be used as a synonym for Tartarus or Hades.
In Greek mythology, Hemera was the personification of day. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the sister of Aether. Though separate entities in Hesiod's Theogony, Hemera and Eos (Dawn) were often identified with each other.
Classical mythology, also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology, is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology, along with philosophy and political thought, is one of the major survivals of classical antiquity throughout later Western culture. The Greek word mythos refers to the spoken word or speech, but it also denotes a tale, story or narrative.
Chaos is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation of heaven and earth.
Kinsella is a surname of Irish Gaelic origin, developed from the original form Cinnsealach, meaning "proud". The Kinsella sept is native in part of the modern County Wexford in Leinster, a district formerly called the Kinsellaghs. The oldest documentary mention of the surname appears in the Ancient Records of Leinster, dated to 1170, where the son of the King of Leinster is named as Enna Cinsealach. Originally pronounced KIN-səl-ə, it is also often found pronounced kihn-SEL-lə. This surname is most often found in Ireland, Northern Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
In Greek mythology, the primordial deities are the first generation of gods and goddesses. These deities represented the fundamental forces and physical foundations of the world and were generally not actively worshipped, as they, for the most part, were not given human characteristics; they were instead personifications of places or abstract concepts.
How Memory Works is the second full-length album by the American band Joan of Arc. It was released in 1998 on Jade Tree Records. The artwork of the album suggests that it is something of a companion to the debut album, A Portable Model Of...: the booklets for both records contain the phrase "a portable model of... how memory works."
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Euphrosyne, was a deity, one of the Charites, known in ancient Rome as the Gratiae (Graces). She was sometimes called Euthymia (Εὐθυμία) or Eutychia (Εὐτυχία).
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Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient Greek religion's view of the origin and nature of the world; the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of myth-making itself.
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