In Death​’​s Eyes, by Petra Hermanova

In Death’s Eyes

by Petra Hermanova

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UGD-009 Vinyl 2xLP
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2xLPs on heavy 180g black vinyl in a full colour matt laminated gatefold sleeve with lyrics inside. Designed by Odious Rot, with artwork by Enes Güç and photo on inner sleeves by Evelyn Bencicova.

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1.	Black Glass 03:53	lyrics	buy track
What is the weight of silence When the mind can't carry the load A drone of sorrow A thought I am to hold Words pour back down my throat Like black glass A mute song solidifies As a throat cast And all that is left is kindness And all unsaid is lost A look in the well of your eyes A muffled sound of breaking glass All that is left is numbness And a mouthful of black shards
2.	Two Deaths 10:26	lyrics	buy track
One death I carried within A glorious queen, tall and serene Behind a gossamer screen Before my eyes another one A rope hangs from her mouth Her skin is raw The air is dry They gaze at each other Like into a looking glass One moves to test the other Like one does after a long night One death, two deaths And they open their arms Some coins in my palms As I hang fire
3.	Perforatum (Eyes at Half Mast) 09:02	lyrics	buy track
Rub the sun Eyes at half mast This blinding light Rub it hard Blood comes fast This ruby dye Illuminate us In both eyes Guide us out
4.	Here the Harpies Make Their Nest 02:14		buy track
5.	Prayer 03:33	lyrics	buy track
Don't let death get away with it For one more day Just one more day
6.	Aurochs’ Lament 14:58		buy track
7.	Marrow Embers 03:50	lyrics	buy track
Lay your bones on the pyre For which the woodland All spring all summer Shed its limbs The body of water The lone orchard Weep in a choir Forlorn we watch the fire Weave its way through the ribs Marrow embers They remember the blood of our elders And their surrender to the pyre
8.	I Am the Lung 05:09	lyrics	buy track
I am the vines I am the living branches I am the bright garment of mercy Wrapping around the body in pain I am the blood I am the sap of life I calm the child at my ankles in tears of fire I am the grass I am the heather in the mountains I am the tide of living water Washing ashore a broken heart I am the lung you no longer have I am the air of your breath I am the hand I hold the golden lamb Shedding light on the closing path I am the lung you no longer have I am the air of your breath Up to the death of the flesh
9.	The Earthly Body 04:02	lyrics	buy track
The earthly body Born of love In time forgiven Shorn of vows The fear within is A heavy shroud That folds in layers Grows around Bloodless knuckles of our hands The life they hold is already gone The earthly body (Let it come our way) Gives way to time The mind is reeling High on life

about

DOUBLE LP AVAILABLE ON
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Petra Hermanova and Unguarded announce In Death’s Eyes (UGD-009), the debut solo LP under the artist’s own name. This LP features nine tracks utilizing folk and sacred musical technique and instrumentation which drift between song and heavy distorted drones. In a disciplined display of beauty, pain, and astute musicianship, Hermanova brings forth a notable accomplishment of an album. In Death’s Eyes confronts death from start to finish with a rare fervor that leaves one feeling it was utterly necessary for Hermanova to produce - to survive.

The transcendent impulse, or the influence of religious music, bears heavily on Hermanova’s compositions in her choir arrangements, but is most apparent in her use of pipe organ, opening the record on Black Glass. Having written organ parts for a significant portion of the record, she sought out the renowned organist Denny Wilke to record with her in the Merseburg Cathedral. Captivated by Wilke's profound skill as a player and knowledge of the Ladegast organ, Hermanova invited him to collaborate on Two Deaths where he delivers an impressive improvisation.

While religious music offers spiritual solace from grief, folk speaks to the human and earthly as told by the individual, be they songs of suffering or joy, sin or salvation. To Hermanova, the clean promise of liturgical music is not enough to alleviate the blunt pain of grief. Contrasting the spiritual is the voice of the individual sufferer - the folk musician. For Hermanova, the autoharp embodies this contrast. The autoharp, a familiar sound in Appalachian folk music since its mass production in the late 1800’s, is an affordable instrument designed for the unskilled player. It is the antithesis of the organ which is costly, gargantuan, reserved for skilled players, and quite literally a part of the church. Through In Death’s Eyes the sounds of transcendence blend with the worldly, the tension between them poignantly expressing Hermanova’s struggle for spiritual resolution against the reality of death and loss.

Like Hermanova’s lyrics, the artwork, conceptualized by Enes Güç and Evelyn Bencicova, is riddled with symbolism and allusion. We find Hermanova on the cover, digitally rendered. Reclining like an anatomical Venus, her vital organs are exposed, suggesting she is denied a transcendent death and is instead immaculately human. Bearing a sickle, her legs are metallic like armor, both symbols of protection. We see here in this image, as we hear in the nine tracks of IDE, the metaphoric state of someone ravaged by loss, choosing to tear herself open in an attempt to heal. - Reece Cox

credits

released October 13, 2023

Album written, arranged & produced by Petra Hermanova
Autoharp & voice recorded by Petra Hermanova & Jon Eirik Boska in Zwölf-Apostel-Kirche and Herz-Jesu-Kirche
The Ladegast organ on I, II, IV, V, VIII performed by Denny Wilke, assisted by Judith Olex and recorded by Philipp Hülsenbeck in Merseburg Cathedral
Choir on V and IX arranged by Petra Hermanova, edited & conducted by Johannes Weber and recorded by Philipp Hülsenbeck in Zwinglikirche; with Nicolas Fehr, Tim Roth, Jon Eirik Boska, Lo Selbo, Anna Lucia Nissen, Annika Stadler, Lisa Harres, Nina Hynes, Dounia Biedermann, Hanita Firoozmand, Annika Dörner and Eva Ulm; additional voices recorded by Petra Hermanova in Herz-Jesu-Kirche & Lottumstraße
Organ improvisation on II by Denny Wilke
Name of IV adapted from line 11 in The Inferno, Canto 13 by Dante
Mixed by Tim Roth
Mastered by Rashad Becker at Clunk
Visual Concept by Evelyn Bencicova & Enes Güç
Album Artwork by Enes Güç
Typography, Layout & Iconography by Odious Rot

UGD-009 © & ℗ Petra Hermanova for Unguarded MMXXIII

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Petra Hermanova Berlin, Germany

A harpy warping time one moment at a time.

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