(Ritual Ambient, Organic Ambient, Ambient) VA - Infernal Proteus - A Musical Herbal (4 CD) - 2002, MP3 (tracks), VBR 192-320 kbps

1-01 Ô Paradis — La Flor De Loto (3:42)
1-02 Circe — Myrtle (3:48)
1-03 Allerseelen — Edelweiss (4:25)
1-04 Hekate (2) — Wegewarte (5:13)
1-05 Amber Asylum — The Forest Deep (5:23)
1-06 Rain.- Purity (5:01)
1-07 Alraune (2) — Mandrake (5:24)
1-08 Waldteufel — Eibenlied (7:50)
1-09 Venereum Arvum — The Heavenly Gates (10:38)
1-10 In Gowan Ring — Dandelion (3:05)
1-11 Alio Die — Borage (4:59)
1-12 Unto Ashes — Sunflower (3:44)
1-13 Endvra — Medicine Of The Poor(Hops) (3:22)
1-14 David Woodard — Calea (2:49)

2-01 Apoptose — Eichensiechtum (8:13)
2-02 Ultra (3) — Yohimbe (7:57)
2-03 Jonathan Coleclough & Tim Hill (3) — Beech (8:49)
2-04 Troum — Khan Arachnid (5:47)
2-05 Israfel In Necropolis — The Great Sycamore (8:40)
2-06 Steve Roden — The Pineal Body (6:42)
2-07 Yannick Dauby — Sundew (6:02)
2-08 Kern And Van Pelt — Pomegranate (3:27)
2-09 Seth Nehil — Birch (6:48)
2-10 Inade — Dues Aderit (4:47)

3-01 Red King, The — Opium Poppy (13:22)
3-02 Numinosum — Lilly Of The Valley (7:11)
3-03 Jason H. Craban — Yarrow (5:17)
3-04 Ah Cama-Sotz — Morning Glory (6:47)
3-05 Wolfskin — Thornapple (4:53)
3-06 Nerthiagh — Belladonna (6:27)
3-07 MNortham* — Her Inaccessable Reaches (10:25)
3-08 Baradelan — Bonsai (12:34)

4-01 Mania (4) — Allergic (5:03)
4-02 Igor18 — Venus Flytrap (7:52)
4-03 Aube — Ki-Ku (8:58)
4-04 Lotus Eaters — Marijuana (11:14)
4-05 Chaos As Shelter — Bellflower Song (6:01)
4-06 Makoto Kawabata — Why You Are Here (12:13)
4-07 HU (2) — Tea (5:27)
4-08 Dave Knott — Sequoia Redwood (7:23)

Infernal Proteus is a dream come true. Rarely does such an offering appear in the musical world. This four disc CD compilation encompasses the contributions of forty unique artists and bands. Contributors include neofolk/neoclassical luminaries such as O Paradis, Allerseelen, Hekate, Amber Asylum, Waldteufel, In Gowan Ring, Unto Ashes and Endura. And that is just a sample from the first disc! Other well known artists from various underground genre’s also include Apoptose, Ultra, Troum, Inade, The Red King, Ah Cama-Sotz, Wolfskin, Aube, and Chaos As Shelter. If I do not have your attention now your either dead or listening to the wrong music.
What could attract such an array of artists from so many different genres and labels? A really well conceived idea. Infernal Proteus is the first “Musical Herbal.” Combining the traditional herbal (a botanical text) with the concept of using plants, flowers and trees as inspiration for musical compositions. Each of the forty featured artists was asked to contribute a song and picture of the plant they chose. Some artists also chose to contribute text in the form of lyrics or written references to these plants.
The four CD collection is accompanied by a “herbal” text. The book explains the concept of the musical herbal and catalogs the artists and songs in a convenient index. The book is divided into four “chapters.’ Each chapter refers to its companion CD by color. Each CD groups musicians who chose similar approaches to the herbal concept. Such grouping allows for the listener to have a more fluid listening experience. The Infernal Proteus comes as a glossy hardback book that holds the four CD‘s within its inner front and back cover. All of the interior pages are in full color and printed on thick glossy paper. Each artists is represented along with a full page illustration, photograph or artistic representation of their chosen plant. Each plant is accompanied by its common and botanical name as is in a traditional herbal. Infernal Proteus is a true artistic achievement and will definitely find its home on your bookshelf.
It would be impossibly tedious to introduce each artists and describe each song on this compilation of 40 bands / musicians. I will instead introduce each CD through profiling a couple of artists whose contributions really stood out for me.
For read the complete review of this beautiful compilation...please go to: http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20040312020117586