Merciful Nuns – Kvltan XI (Album – Solar Lodge)
Genre/Influences: Industrial, Psychedelic, Goth-Rock. Rock.
Format: Digital, 2CD.
Background/Info: Artaud Seth (in a previous life involved with Garden Of Delight) and his acolytes Jawa Seth and Jón Tmoh have unleashed their newest album. It became a double disc featuring eight songs on the main disc and four extra cuts on the bonus disc.
Content: The sound universe of Merciful Nuns remains a true sonic enigma which you simply can call a fusion between different genres. It sounds Industrial-, Rock- and Gothic like but supported by a Psychedelic touch. The common color between all influences is black while artwork and themes are definitely into rites and mysticism. The songs have been progressively built-up, mixing guitar playing and overwhelming electronic sequences. The songs are extended with over the top powerful vocals which have something exclamative.
The bonus disc features 2 alternative edits of the main song “The Kvltanians” plus 2 extra songs which are rather short. One of these songs sounds like Cinematic music.
+ + + : First there’s the sober, ritual and artistic artwork of the CD. Next you’ll discover a band with its own sound which remains the main characteristic and originality of this band. Merciful Nuns is hard to label and definitely the result of multiple influences. I noticed a Psychedelic touch on top of the production which makes it even more original, and I dare to say visionary. The songs have been progressively built up and mainly carried by solid, Industrial-like guitar play. My favorite song -which also appears to be the ‘main’ one (cf. “The Kvltanians”) features an irresistible electro sequence merged with overpowering guitar play. I like this song for its progression and total climax.
– – – : Merciful Nuns are hard to label so it’s not easy going music but at the other side it also makes their strength.
Conclusion: Merciful Nuns remains a true discovery and revelation.
Best songs: “The Kvltanians”, “Altered States”, “The Kvltanians – The greater Hight”, “Kvltan – The Origin”, “The Flood”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.mercifulnuns.com / www.facebook.com/MercifulNuns
Label: www.SolarLodge.de / www.facebook.com/SolarLodgeRecords
“Kvltan” appeared on 18 March 2022 through Solar Lodge, digitally and as a limited double CD. Side-Line reported the record four years after “Anomaly” when the band announced the album in January 2022. The main disc runs “Kvltan: The Origin”, “Altered States”, “A Sermon From Another Dimention”, “Down Dark Hallways”, “The Kvltanians”, “Melting Memories”, “The Flood” and “Olympus Mons Peak”. The four bonus-disc titles are not listed on the label’s own Bandcamp page.
Listen to “Kvltan”:
About Merciful Nuns
Merciful Nuns is a German gothic rock and post-punk band formed in 2010 by Artaud Seth, who had previously fronted Garden Of Delight. The line-up on this record is Artaud Seth, Jawa Seth and Jón Tmoh. Every release has come out on Solar Lodge, the label Artaud Seth runs himself.
The band numbers its albums in sequence. “Lib. I” arrived in 2010, followed by “Hypogeum II” and “Xibalba III” in 2011, “Goetia IV” in 2012, “Exosphere VI” in 2013, “Meteora VII” in 2014, “Thelema VIII” in 2016, “A-U-M” in 2017 and “Anomaly” in 2018. EPs and compilations run alongside them, among them “Body Of Light” in 2010, “Ancient Astronauts” in 2011, “Genesis Revealed” in 2012, “Occvltation” and “400 Billion Suns” in 2015 and the “Nekrolog” set in 2018.
“Kvltan XI” ended a four-year gap. Later the same year Solar Lodge issued the “H.A.T.E. / Ethereal” EP, and Side-Line carried its second videosingle in August 2022. Artaud Seth discussed the return to the band’s starting point in the Click Interview with Merciful Nuns in May 2022, and set out his position on the scene at length in a 2025 Side-Line interview. The sequence continued with “Oneironauts XII” in 2024 and “God Aeon XIII” in 2025.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
