Review. MIEL NOIR. The Phoenix-Swarm (2019). Suddenly mountains Appearing, disappearing Lightning silhouettes

While you can listen to the album here https://mielnoir.bandcamp.com/album/the-phoenix-swarm-album, as well you can acquire the 16 track CD from the labels Aorta (Austria) and FolkWorld (Germany). Another edition comes with 10 track bonus EP Fiery Wings.

The album was recorded, mixed and produced at Dungeon Studio, Rhenania (2017-2019) by Marcel P. Additional recordings at Studio Vitosha 4, Bavaria and at Haus zur letzten Latern, Austria. Mastered at Pixelstudio, Berlin.

Personally, my favorite is brlliant piano ballad Anymore (Vocals - Marcel. P, Piano – Sathorys Elenorth). The original version appeared in MIEL NOIR's album Honey-Beat (2016):

So many words, so little sense
Nothing there to make amends
Time has passed, the years just went
And I regret the time I spent

Should have noticed from the start
Before I let you in my heart
Was just the means, never the end
Wasted time’s all I lament

Chorus:
I don’t know you anymore
Nothing left, I kept the score
What did I do it all for?
[1:] I don’t know you anymore
[2:] I just don’t know it anymore

Verse2:
So many faces, which was real?
More and more layers to peel
And you played your chosen part
A mirage snuck in my heart

Your borrowed words just made me blue
Both old and new were never true
Eternal love to keep and hold
And all my trust was bought and sold

Chorus:
I don’t know you anymore
Nothing left, I kept the score
What did I do it all for?
[1:] I don’t know you anymore
[2:] I just don’t know it anymore

Verse3:
No nostalgia for the past
Why in the world did this one last
I broke all ties, left you behind
Just leave me be, just don’t you mind

If you would pass me just by chance
You wouldn’t get more than a glance
In retrospect with open eyes
Was just a fool, in love with lies
    
It's superb when musicians like Marcel P. and his friends are of such a wide range, so here style of MIEL NOIR extends to almost every possible (for now, except metal, perhaps) style. I could say this band and music in general are getting better and better.

Another highlight is "Mother Kali (for Swami)" with two versions of it this album (Lyrics – Traditional, Music By, Arranged By, Electronics, Keyboards – Marcel P., Vocals – Estella Plunkett).

Also, these songs make me listen them on repeat:  Reclaim Your Story (Lead Guitar - Tommi Stumpff, Vocals - Estella Plunkett),  The Phoenix-Swarm (Vocals - Lisa), Swelling Drone Of Bees (Music By, Arranged By, Electronics, Keyboards – Marcel P.Vocals, Lyrics By – Robert N. Taylor),  Im Traum Sind Wir Uns Nah (Music By, Arranged By, Vocals, Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Sampler, Cello – Marcel P., Vocals – Gerhard Hallstatt), My Hate (Lead Guitar – Krys. Koseda, Music By, Arranged By, Vocals, Lyrics By, Rhythm Guitar, Electronics, Keyboards – Marcel P.).

Robert N. Taylor's poetry and shamanic voice are strong, as always:

White Blossoms
Wide with anticipation
Swelling drone of bees.

In the humid dawn
Fleecy clouds move slowly by
April's crescent moon.

Suddenly mountains
Appearing, disappearing
Lightning silhouettes.

Circles expanding
One ring into another
Puddles in the rain.

In the spring twilight
All that remains this day
The nightingale song

This morning at dawn
A joyful promise of Spring
Canada Geese honking.

A windy Spring day.
Small sailboats in the distance
Bobbing on the waves.

In the late Spring night,
A brainless dog barking
At its own echo.

White Blossoms
Wide with anticipation
Swelling drone of bees.

The rest songs tend to be more electronic-oriented (Empty Earth, Prepare, Primary Mission (Survive), Honig Aus Heliopolis, Schlag Für Schlag, Der Himmel Fällt). Very strong EBM music, rather different from the first part of this album (more than 70 minutes, not to mention the bonus EP of the limited edition!).

Cover of the album created by Zerbe-Medien, graphic design, layot, typography – by Aestheticthrill.

All in all, this is a perfect album for a rather wide audience: acoustic music meets electronic, cello meets guitar, but the line of the Black Honey is as always the same: quality music.

Useful links:

https://www.facebook.com/mielnoirscapes

http://www.radikaliai.lt/garsas-sound/3427-apocalyptic-chanson-band-miel-noir-without-boundaries-or-rules-of-any-genre

P. S. MIEL NOIR did release a metal track!