Pain of the Saints

5 years have passed since Navicon Torture Technologies' 2009 masterpiece finale "The Gospels of the Gash", and the last time Lee Bartow recording something specifically for release on Malignant.
His "new" project, Theologian, as a consistent and fruitful source for epically scaled and sprawling industrial soundscapes, and the 2CD set "Pain of the Saints" continues that trend, laying forth a dizzying 2 ½ + hours  of music.  Once again, Bartow has sculpted an impeccable and highly detailed excursion into tortured yet brilliant realms, where contrails of burning frequencies and blackened atmospheres intersect with densely concentrated rhythmic pulsations, ethereal, blissed-out shimmer, and the majestic monoliths of smoldering, post-apocalyptic desolation.  There's a lot to absorb here, but the focus is precise even as the palate of sounds is broad and varied, a true testament to the deft skills of someone who's spent the last 15 plus  years creating some of the most inventive and revolutionary sounds in modern industrial music.

Lyrically and thematically it represents Bartow's rallying cry against Christianity and more specifically Catholicism - 
an "Anti-Theist manifesto" - and  sonic diatribe exposing hypocrisy within the church and a broader questioning of what sainthood means. 
In his own words, "...in many cases, it seems almost like a prerequisite for Sainthood is to suffer at the hands of the Church.
It was common to imprison, torture, execute anyone with ideas that ran contrary to what the Church dictated, to brand them as a heretic or a witch, or an apostate, and then end their lives using some of the most brutal methods humans have ever conceived.
Then, the ultimate hypocrisy: to turn around and dub these victims of the Church as saints, centuries after having murdered them."

Comes in luxurious 8 panel DVD Digipak with stunning artwork, mastered by John Stillings.

Tracklist
1-1 Savages     13:09
1-2 Infection     8:11
1-3 Serpentine Angels     6:22
1-4 Piss And Jism     8:53
1-5 Gravity     9:34
1-6 Without Trust, Your Love Is Meaningless     6:41
1-7 Of Foulness And Faithfulness     4:50
1-8 Iron Pierces Flesh And Bone Alike     3:45
1-9 You Are The End Of The World     9:07
1-10 Sainthood Is Suffering     7:31

2-1 The Lies Of The Past Become The Prayers Of The Future     6:23
2-2 Suppuration     9:49
2-3 Witchfinder     5:14
2-4 Their Gelded And Rapacious Hearts     10:17
2-5 Deprivation     4:45
2-6 Blessed Prey     11:02
2-7 With Eternal Derision     4:12
2-8 Redemption Is An Impossibility     6:06
2-9 It Was You Who Taught Me Indifference     9:38
2-10 Self-Flagellation As Faith     11:22

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