Aiwass: The Falling

Aiwass: The Falling is #1 on Bandcamp, and that kind of makes the world all right for the moment. I mean, a lot of things seem to be falling apart right now, with Gaza, the Ukraine, and general stark displays of human’starks inhumanity to humans going on. Religion and spirituality are once again being weaponized against people of other religions and spiritual beliefs. The results are brutal.

It’s the same as it ever was…

So it’s the perfect time for an album like The Falling. But I don’t think there’s ever been an album quite like what Blake and Aiwass have a created. Musically, we are probably going to be able to discern the usual suspects and their influences. If nothing else, they’ve been twisted and altered and tweaked to the point of being almost unrecognizable.

The thing is, Aiwass has done a lot more than simply release one of the best albums of the year from a musical perspective. Thematically, it’s next-level material.

Most “occult” rock, doom, and metal albums focus on the fantastical side of the subject. Which is fantastic, in and of itself. One album I’ll be reviewing a little bit later in the month is Burn Ritual’s upcoming album, Grave Watcher, which is a great example of occult Doom in the style of Windhand and Haunted. And I love it!

On very rare occasions, a band goes beyond that version of “occult” and addresses the real thing. For clarity, what I mean by the “real thing” is content based on the Golden Dawn and Western Mysticism. Most of you are familiar with Alistair Crowley, if nothing else from the classic Ozzy Osbourne song. I definitely don’t want to get into a history of the Golden Dawn, or a lengthy description of western mysticism in general. Just… every now and then, a band makes a direct reference that indicates they’re more familiar with the material then the average punter.

Up until now, my favorite example of this was the band Messa, especially on the album Feast for Water, which had direct references to Crowley’s Book of Thoth. It definitely gave me the impression that they weren’t just posing for the sake of atmosphere and image, but deliberately presenting an artistic and updated version of it.

Aiwass goes beyond references, and has created a concept album based on the experience of living the material. I guess you could argue that Coven did the same thing in the late 1960s and 70s, but it was still a sensationalized version of black magic with elements of witchcraft. It was hard for me to take it too seriously back then, and even harder today.

That’s not the case with The Falling, and I got chance to talk to Blake about it in my recent interview with him.

Of course, I’m tempted to go on and on about it. I think it’s better to hear from the artist himself, and even read what Blake wrote. Rather than me trying to speak for him, I have a better idea. Go ahead and buy the album, or stream it if you can’t afford it, and read along with the lyrics which were graciously provided by Blake Carrera himself.

Aiwass: The Falling

Prometheus

Gnosis

The Light of Evil