White Willow, Ex Tenebris (Transparent blue LP)

Description

Ex Tenebris is the classic second album from Norwegian prog legends White Willow, originally released in 1997. It was made after the Ignus Fatuus line-up had disbanded. Originally intended to be a solo album by Jacob Holm-Lupo, it turned into a White Willow record when he realized it was going more in a progressive direction than anticipated. The recording was quick and dirty, done on a shoestring budget, but there is some charm to the natural drum ambience and first-takes-only feel of the album.

Overall, Ex Tenebris ended up being a more stripped-down, somewhat darker album than Ignis Fatuus. No krumhorns or renaissance vocal groups, more electric guitar and synths. The songs range from almost neo-progish mini-epics like Leaving the House of Thanatos, via acoustic balladry (The Book of Love, Thirteen Days) to more overtly gothic stuff like A Strange Procession & A Dance of Shadows. The album has become a bit of a cult favourite with the band’s fans, and was White Willows’s first step towards something more original than the first album’s retro-styled psych-folk.

This re-release was meticulously remastered by the band’s own Jacob Holm-Lupo and is presented with the classic original cover art, for the first time on vinyl. This is the second in a series of six White Willow re-releases on Karisma Records.