Paul Roland - Hexen (2013)

English cult psych-baroque singer-songwriter Paul Roland has always had a fascination with magic and the supernatural, but only now with his new album 'HEXEN' has his obsession manifested in music designed to raise the very devil himself. Ever since his first album 'The Werewolf of London' was released in 1980 Roland has drawn inspiration from horror movies, fiction and comics with songs such as 'Blades of Battenburg', 'Lon Chaney', 'Edgar Allen Poe' and 'Re-Animator'. Whether it was with full gothic rock band or solo acoustic guitar and classical string and woodwind ensembles Roland created miniature movies for the listener to visualise in their own personal cinema of the mind, but now he has created an actual full-length movie soundtrack for the classic silent horror film 'Haxan' (1922) and produced an album that evokes disturbing and haunting images so you will never rest easy in your beds again. ""I had been wanting to record a special album for my dear friend Guido at Palace of Worms for some time. His catalogue of neo gothic medieval music and the tasteful covers that he created for his re- leases have been tantalizing me for several years. So as soon as I was free to record a 'side project', I took the opportunity to rework an abandoned silent movie soundtrack that had been haunting me since 2007 and made it the basis for a new album - one which would hopefully complement POW's other releases. While living in Germany in 2006 I had found a film project that I thought would be good to create with my musician friends - Ralf Jesek of IN MY ROSARY (now I-M-R) and Tobias Birkenbeil of Lakobeil. 'Haxan' was a remarkable Danish horror movie from 1922 with a cult following and a reputation as an early classic of the silent era. It was also in incredibly good condition for a film of that age and the imagery was striking. But the various soundtracks that had been used on earlier DVD releases (inclu- ding a free jazz jam, an orchestral score, an ind