Various Artists

THORAK - Various Artists [VAWS 203]. Available from VAWS, Postfach 101350, D47013 Duisburg, Germany.

THE VAWS label was heavily criticised for the bland booklet which accompanied their last CD, Riefenstahl, but this time they’ve made up for it. Indeed, when you’re dealing with a man like Josef Thorak - himself a master of aesthetics - you have to produce something which does justice to the man’s unique ability to create sentient and beautiful art.

Thorak was one of Hitler’s favourite artists, and the Fuhrer even had a studio built in which this talented genius could churn out the brilliant neo-classical icons which became the visual hallmarks of the Third Reich. In fact Thorak was able to capture the subtle beauty of the Aryan form in a way previously reserved for the denizens of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. His was a modern depiction of racial pride in an age in which man’s affinity with Nature had been eroded by the decadent sterility of the Weimar regime. The tracks on this CD are based around Thorak’s work, the first being Stalingrad’s Der Letzte Flug, a graceful little number resembling one of Vaughn Williams’ more upbeat moments. This is followed by The Protagonist and Kampfende Pferde, a menacing Swedish ode with flashes of subtle militarism. Next we have Von Thronstahl’s Fahnentrager (Defile I), whose deep and almost motionless utterances lead us straight on to The Days Of The Trumpet Call and Morgenrote, a haunting recitation of the J. von Eichendorff poem. Forthcoming Fire I like. Their Pietat is a whispered dedication to Josef Thorak himself: “Despair turns into victory / and yours is the eternity / out of the ashes raise your flame / out of the dark shall grow your flame.” Karceral Flesh give us Fahnentrager (Defile II), a faltering rat-a-tat-tat of musical gunfire. Leda, by Ecodalia, is the missing link between Disco and New Romanticism, whilst Skrol’s Ewigheit tries to be more eclectic in its combination of drama and suspense and Egoaedes’ Kameradschaft (Defile I) is a sweeping carousel of echoes and swirls. We’ve already introduced you to Turbund Sturmwerk, so it will come as no surprise to learn that Hingabe is another burst of Classico-militarism. Put on those jackboots and crank up the volume! Source Direkt’s Prometheus takes things that bit further, and, after a litany of more downbeat tracks comes as a welcome kick in the teeth. This one will have your neighbour’s favourite carriage clock vibrating its way across the mantelpiece and shattering on the floor. Easily the best offering on the whole CD. If Near Death Experience’s Zwei Menschen is not influenced by the Pet Shop Boys, I’ll eat my phrygian cap. A brilliant effort from the lords of Italian electronicae. After Siela’s Die Muse, a guitar-oriented snatch of Lithuanian pop, Death In June decide to put in an appearance with Kameradschaft (Defile II), although there are no prizes for guessing why Doug P. chose to dedicate a song to this particular Thorakian pose. Andromeda Complex’s lilting Das Licht reminds me of Leonard Cohen at his best. I really like this, and for me it falls a close second behind the aforementioned Prometheus. The final track, Jack Or Jive’s Mutter und Kind, seems to have been recorded in Japan, although it still faithfully adheres to an essentially European sound. In fact this is remarkably similar to the soulful Celtic tones of early Clannad, and brings this refreshing CD to a close.