I thought that the upcoming album from Sons of Perdition would be an album called "Caul-Birth King and Other Abruptions". The omnious title signals experimental music in the same vein as bone-crushing "Gathered Blood" (2016) and "Heathen Hof" (2022). Apparently, the Caul-Birth project has been overtaken by another recording project. The upcoming album is called "Ars Moriendi". It means "The Art of Dying" and refers to Latin texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good death, explaining how to die in a dignified way according to Christian precepts of the late Middle Ages. From the press release: "The album marks a significant departure from their recent cacophonous exploration of sound, instead opting for an experimentally acoustic approach that examines Medieval attitudes toward mortality during the time of the Black Death." "Ars Moriendi" is a wholly acoustic album. The explanation to go acoustic can be found in the press release. The decision is "a reaction against the increasing prominence of AI and other technologies intended to wrestle art from the hands of people for the sake of our new feudal lords. I want to make very human music. I’m trying to reconnect with the humanity that we’re leaving further behind before it’s drowned out in a history-wiping deluge of artificially created slop." This is a low-key and restrained album. No bone-crushing. Still, it has all the desirable Sons of Perdition attributes. I've had the opportunity to pre-listen to the album. This is what I have found out.
The album begins with "Stealer of Songs". As opposed to the life-affirming "singer of songs", I guess. Anyway, it's a great opening song with sparse arrangements. The soft double bass (played by Simon Broke) fills the function of a metronome. The lyrics frames the atmosphere of the album. "Life is a hole / Never meant to be filled". Well, it's self-explanatory. The second song is "Caught in the Gristmill". A gristmill is a mill that grinds grain into flour, and its waterwheel uses a water source like a river or millrace to power this process. The song unfolds slowly with increasingly pained and tormented vocals. "My boy is buried ‘neath the tree / Beside his mother on the hill / They were caught in the gristmill / Of Heaven and Hell again". Undoubtedly, one of the best songs on the album. The third song, "Danse Macabre", offers chewiness even for SOP-trained ears. Not a bad song, but too chewy for me. "Croak! Croak! Croak! Caw! Caw! Caw! Crack! Crack! Crack! Bang! Bang! Bang! Tap! Tap! Tap!". The fourth song is "Canticum Mortis" (song of death in Latin). Elevated chanting in Latin. The lyrics are pitch-black. At least, according to Google Translate. But, you don't really need the translation to understand that this isn't something to be taken lightly. The fifth song, “The Pardoners Song" begins with whistling. The arrangement and instrumentation are perfectly executed. "Magna pestis vincit omnia" (The great plague conquers all). One of the best songs on the album. The sixth song, "Four Brothers Lost in the Mouth of the World" doesn't stand out in any way. The seventh song "Think About Death While Your Grave Is Yet Undug" is short, slow and dark. "So before the last gasp / Of thy laboured breath / And worms make thy flesh boil and writhe / Sit thee in silence / And contemplate Death / While Saturn yet sharpens his scythe".
The eight song is "The Cruelty of Youth". The gothic element in the music of Sons of Perdition is brought into full effect. It has every attribute you can ask for: slow pace, extreme darkness and well-written lyrics. "I lay my misdeeds at the crimson feet / Of the cruelty of youth". The ninth song is "A Holy Stone". Everything is great about this song. This is "gothic hymnal" in lack of a better term. The tenth song is "A Hand In A Glove On Fire". It doesn't say anything about my life. Now we come to the three last songs of the album. Zebulon Whatley hasn't exhausted himself. In fact, he has saved the best to last. The eleventh song is "The Rambler's Lament". Slow banjo picking and double bass. "Her name echoes cruelly / Again and again / I keep her hair in a locket / In the palm of my hand". The twelth song is "The Three Living And the Prodigious Dead". "We are your blood, we are your flesh / Born from the wives whom you caress / What you are, so once were we / What we are falls unto thee". Great song. The thirteenth song is "In Sickness". The closing song should always be a song of parting or a song of love. This song deals with parting and love. For me, the song is almost unbearable. "I love you in sickness / With my last gasp of breath / I’ll sing your precious name / As I surrender to Death / And when he parts the curtain / To that hallowed other side / Throw us both in that pit / Where the earth has been split / And we’ll slumber together inside". And then its over.
And finally, the overall assessment. This is a brilliant album. Sons of Perdition provides a bottomless pit of suffering and pain. Although, not without a glimpse of hope. The album is incredible dark. In fact, it should come with a disclaimer. The production is very clean. The album speaks directly to you. As always, Zebulon Whatley master the difficult art of placing the songs in the right order. You can listen to the album and buy it at Bandcamp. It will be released on 11 November, 2025.