Sweden's Arcana released this, their debut album, via Cold Meat Industry in the year of our Lord 1996. I distinctly recall picking up this gem in a Village record shop based on the album cover alone. Those were the days weren't they? It was still before the download revolution destroyed any wonder or adventure in blindly hunting through rows of unknown Cds, just to roll the dice on a hunch. Sometimes you ended up with shit like Shank 456, but other times you discovered a gem like Arcana.
Dark Age of Reason is as haunting as it is beautiful. As moving as it is foreboding. The vocals of Ida Bengtsson are gentle and mesmerizing. It is with a singular sadness that she allows her voice to glide effortlessly over the mournful and barren orchestral dirges. The chants of Peter Pettersson (who is known as Peter Bjärgö nowadays) are stark and unforgiving, serving as a steel willed anchor for the more ethereal and neo-folk moments of the album.
The album unfolds with an eerily calm yet steady determination. As if on the river Styx, Arcana serve as the Ferryman and draws the listener ever further away from the shores of reality.
Dark Age of Reason pairs well with red wine, abandoned churches and hallucinogenics.
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