SPK – Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers)

Cold Spring Records, Release date: November 29th 2019

The re-issue of a masterpiece by Australian industrial/modern classical music pioneers SPK – long out-of-print and despite from 1986 (!), its meditative, weird and experimental content still sounds exciting and contemporary! A timeless Ethno noise industrial masterpiece, world music meets atmospheric Black Metal in soundtrack style. And indeed one of the tracks (“In Flagrante Delicto”) was used for a movie, the 1989 film “Dead Calm”, which won him Best Original Score from the Australian Film Institute.

Originally released by Side Effects in 1986, Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) was the third (and final) core SPK album and was Graeme Revell’s first truly solo project. He was in a period of transition, somewhere between the industrial noise of the early years and his later award-winning soundtrack work. On the day before this was first released, this style of music, now ubiquitous (especially in soundtracks), did not exist.

Unavailable in any format since Mute’s 1992 CD edition, Cold Spring now presents this landmark album on newly remastered CD, and on vinyl for the first time since 1986. Approved by Graham Revell, this release comes with new artwork by Abby Helasdottir and is remastered by Martin Bowes (The Cage).

The LP is presented on sumptuous 180-gram black or limited edition of 500 copies on gold vinyl, presented in a 350gsm gatefold sleeve with digital download card. The CD comes in a six-panel digipak. The track “The Doctrine Of Eternal Ice” appears on CD only, but is included on the digital download for vinyl. Both formats feature new liner notes from Graeme Revell, 2019.

For fans of abovementioned genres definitely a must-have.

Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) Track Listing:
1. Invocation (To Secular Heresies)
2. Palms Crossed In Sorrow
3. Romanz In Moll (Romance In A Minor Key)
4. In The Dying Moments
5. In Flagrante Delicto (Introduction)
6. In Flagrante Delicto
7. Alocasia Metallica
8. Necropolis
9. The Garden Of Earthly Delights
10. The Doctrine Of Eternal Ice *(CD/digital-only track)

(no rating for a re-release)