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Rimantas B. 
Forum Newbie
Joined: January 19 2007
Location: Lithuania
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Points: 22
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 Topic: Prog music influenced by H. P. Lovecraft
Posted: July 21 2007 at 03:44 |
I am quite sure there are people on this board who like this writer, and I no less sure that there just HAS to be some progressive music following some of his stories.
Now we all know Metallica's 'Call of Ktulu', but a) it's not that much prog b) I don't see so much Lovecraft in it.
The track 'Providence' by King Crimson would be a more proggy example, and I think its atmosphere is somewhat closer to what I imagine HPL would sound like.
Anything to add?
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P. S. Or maybe there is no need to limit it to only HPL - any suggestions of prog with ambient/horror atmosphere would be appreciated... By me, at least 
Edited by Rimantas B. - July 23 2007 at 04:09
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: July 21 2007 at 03:54 |
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If it is "any kind of horror" I highly recommend "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Peter Hammill, based on the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same title. Go for the 1999 version; it is the better one (they are drastically different). In my personal opinion one of the three best prog albums of all time. Unfortunately neither of the versions is currently available, but maybe you'll have some luck with Amazon.
I also recommend the soundtrack to Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu" made by Popol Vuh.
Oh, and on a personal note: Jean and I have some plans to make an album out of either "Die andere Seite" ("The Other Side") by Alfred Kubin or "Walpurgisnacht" by Gustav Meyrink. These are some very vague plans at the moment yet, though we have already written one piece for "Walpurgisnacht" (the "Goulash aria" of Thaddäus Flugbeil).
Edited by BaldFriede - July 21 2007 at 04:07
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 BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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Rimantas B.
Forum Newbie
Joined: January 19 2007
Location: Lithuania
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Points: 22
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Posted: July 23 2007 at 04:10 |
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So this is where my topic has gone!
I'll really have to check that House of Usher, it sounds intriguiin.
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The Whistler
Prog Reviewer
Joined: August 30 2006
Location: LA, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 7113
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Posted: July 23 2007 at 04:16 |
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I somehow doubt it was based on horror, but Procol Harum's debut (read my review, shameless promotion) has some pretty gothicky moments ("Repent Walpurgis"). Still have to pick up the second album though...
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"There seem to be quite a large percentage of young American boys out there tonight. A long way from home, eh? Well so are we... Gotta stick together." -I. Anderson
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paolo.beenees
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 30 2007
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 1136
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Posted: July 23 2007 at 04:33 |
There's a psychedelic band from the USA called... HP LOVECRAFT! They released two albums between 1967 and 1968 before disbanding. I've got the second one, and it sounds pretty good (there's a song called "At The Mountain of Madness").
There are several prog and non-prog numbers linked to Lovecraft. Here's some:
- Black Sabbath "Behind the Wall of Sleep"
- Metallica (again) "The Things that Should Not Be"
- Vangelis's album "Dragon" (with Cthulhu on the cover artwork)
- A 1974 sampler of Le Orme, conceived for the American market, was called "Beyond Leng"
- Again Heavy Metal (but with progressive hue): Mekong Delta and their album "The Music of Eric Zahnn"
- The Blue Oyster Cult quoted "The Elder Ones" in their albums "Secret Treaties" and "Imaginos"
- It seems that on Marillion's "Grendel" you could find a reference to "The Lurker at the Threshold"
Well, that's all I know (ok, if you check heavy metal, you'll find plenty of reference to Lovecraft).
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A B Negative
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 02 2006
Location: Methil Republic
Status: Offline
Points: 1594
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Posted: July 26 2007 at 06:38 |
Again not strictly prog, but I love Cacophony by Rudimentary Peni which is based on the lives and works of Lovecraft and Poe.
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"The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar.... Now, that's my idea of a good time."
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: July 26 2007 at 07:39 |
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Univers Zero also have a track called "The Music of Erich Zann" (by the way, in my opinion one of the best, if not THE best short story of Lovecraft).on their album "Ceux Du Dehors".
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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Syzygy
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: December 16 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 7003
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Posted: July 26 2007 at 07:53 |
You could also check out a couple of moderately obscure Zeuhl bands:
Shub Niggurath - check out Certified's excellent review of Les Morts Vont Vites on this site,
and Yog Sothoth - I only know the name, never heard the music, but apparently there's a Shub Niggurath connection.
Incidentally, I've never really been into HP Lovecraft, although I enjoy horror as a genre, but I like a lot of the music he has apparently inspired.
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'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'
Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10266
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Posted: July 26 2007 at 08:28 |
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Peter Michael Hamel (not in the archives yet, though he would somewhat loosely fit into "Electronic Prog", "Kraut" or "Indian Prog"; somewhere in between all those) has a 23:40 track called "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" on his 1977 album "Nada".
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 26 2005
Location: Belgium
Status: Offline
Points: 10616
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Posted: July 26 2007 at 16:03 |
 paolo.beenees wrote:
There's a psychedelic band from the USA called... HP LOVECRAFT! They released two albums between 1967 and 1968 before disbanding. |
Yes! I always liked "The White Ships" by that band. Great drum rolls, really psychedelic, the same goes for the keyboards. Beautiful atmospheric sixties stuff.
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oddentity
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 28 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 248
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Posted: July 27 2007 at 02:31 |
Payne's Gray were an excellent German progressive metal band who put out an album called "Kadeth Decoded", which was based on H. P. Lovecraft's "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadeth". A very eclectic, interesting album.
A couple of reviews:
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
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Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
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Points: 65289
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Posted: July 27 2007 at 02:41 |
..and the many bands that were and are named 'Necronomicon' throughout the world   (including a little band formed by Daniel Denis which turned into Univers Zero in 1974)
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A B Negative
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 02 2006
Location: Methil Republic
Status: Offline
Points: 1594
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Posted: July 27 2007 at 04:13 |
Moogtron III wrote:
paolo.beenees wrote:
There's a psychedelic band from the USA called... HP LOVECRAFT! They released two albums between 1967 and 1968 before disbanding. |
Yes! I always liked "The White Ships" by that band. Great drum rolls, really psychedelic, the same goes for the keyboards. Beautiful atmospheric sixties stuff. |
That just reminded me of a cassette(!) I bought many years ago by a French band called Fondation. It was called Le Vaisseau Blanc (The White Ship) and consisted of instrumental tracks, interspersed with spoken-word passages in French. I assume they told Lovecraft's story but I can't speak French so I don't really know!
If I remember correctly, one of the members of Fondation was Ivan Coaquette from the experimental electronic band Spacecraft.
The tape had unusual packaging - it was in a large match box, complete with matches!
I really need to dig it out and have another listen.
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"The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar.... Now, that's my idea of a good time."
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Prog music influenced by H. P. Lovecraft
