''Neonism'' is the second studio album by

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

avant-garde metal band

Solefald Solefald is a Norwegian avant-garde metal/black metal band that was formed by members Lars Are "Lazare" Nedland and Cornelius Jakhelln in August 1995, with Nedland singing and playing keyboard/synthesizer/piano and drums, and Jakhelln singing ...

. It was released on 7 December 1999, through

Avantgarde Music Avantgarde Music is an Italian record label, formed as a continuation of Obscure Plasma Records, focusing on black and doom metal artists. The label had a sub-label called Wounded Love Records, which has released albums by Dolorian and Taake. ...

Background

The album takes its name from a synonym for the word "neologism", which means a made-up word which enters everyday use. The album's recording sessions were marred by a mixing console that caught fire.

Sound

On the sound of the album, band member Cornelius said, "The hard will be harder, the passion will be more passionate, the ecstatic more ecstatic." The band wanted to utilise a "true black metal production" sound, having it recorded at Sunlight Studios (home to many reputed black metal acts in the mid 90s). The album expands upon their debut ''

The Linear Scaffold ''The Linear Scaffold'' is the debut studio album by Norway, Norwegian avant-garde metal band Solefald. It was released in 1997, through Avantgarde Records. The cover art features Odd Nerdrum's 1986 painting ''Return of the Sun''. Track listing ...

'' by bringing a concept to the unique sound. It is in theory a

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

album, but contains many sonic elements and themes the genre usually does not touch on. The vocals by Cornelius and Lazare are different on this album than the first; though Lazare retains his clean singing and Cornelius continues his black metal screams/growls, some are delivered in a

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

-like cadence and one song, "Omnipolis", is sung in French. Some songs feature keyboards and electronic sounds unlike those typically used in other black metal songs. Indeed, the album was so far from traditional black metal, the band received a death threat.

Lyrical content

Although there is some thematic continuity between songs, the album is not as strictly a concept album as some of the band's later works. The lyrics to the album focus on

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...

and pop culture, which is a departure from many metal lyrics. American and European consumption seem to be targeted, as there are countless references to many brands and consumer icons throughout the record, including

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

, The Marlboro Man,

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...

, Calvin Klein,

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

Prozac Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

, Special Agent Dale Cooper,

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

, '' Jurassic Park'',

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

cards,

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

and Michael Jordan. There are also references to philosophers and thinkers such as

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

and

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

, as well as references to various religious allusions, such as Gaia, Noah, Sodoma, " Satanistan", etc.

Track listing

# "Fluorescent (The Total Orchestra)" – 5:20 # "Speed Increased to Scaffold" – 8:27 # "CK II Chanel No. 6" – 3:31 # "Proprietors of Red" – 6:33 # "A Motion Picture" – 1:55 # "Omnipolis" – 5:36 # "Backpacka Baba" – 5:24 # "Third Person Plural" – 4:03 # "04.34 PM" – 3:22 # "The New Timelessness" – 6:00

Personnel

* Cornelius – vocals, guitar, bass guitar * Lazare – vocals, keyboards, drums

References

{{Authority control Solefald albums 1999 albums Concept albums Avantgarde Music albums