AHERUSIA, return with their 4th album, NOCTOC ~ An Answer (?), a collection of eleven traditional songs from all over Greece, rearranged by the band and sequenced in such a way, so as to create a didactic parable through a loosely pieced but still coherent storyline.
The concept of emigration, the sensation of feeling nostalgic and homesick, but also the search of what exactly constitutes “homeland” for someone, what people love and wish to return to, (something that can be often irreverent to geographical bounds), is something that the band focuses on this album.
There are myriads of reasons for people to leave their land and their families behind. Some are uprooted by war, others driven away by socio-political oppression or even persecution and there are also those who want to cast their lot on foreign lands, hoping that a relocation will either erase their past or offer them an opportune future.
Some people cut all ties and never look back. Others choose to keep all the things that remind them of home close to their heart, as a talisman to keep them safe, in their journey into a brave new world. In many cases the very personal link that anchors them to their past, can become a heavy load, as it fills their hearts with nostalgia and the searing pain of homesickness.
The songs follow the journey of their anonymous heroes, who put their lives in harm’s way, sometimes in the name of a higher ideal, but oftentimes just seared from their homes, in an effort to provide for their loved ones, who they miss fondly. One of them will die, cursed and resented by the love of his life who thinks he has forgotten her, while another, will return, despite all the obstacles that make his journey look like an odyssey.
Who's coming back? What consists “home”? How strong can love be?
All answers lie within the journey itself.
NOTE: The chorus that can be heard throughout the album comprises of actors from the band’s artistic collective. The album itself was recorded live, with no keys or samples used and almost no editing at all, in a conscious effort to make it as straightforward and direct as possible.
Tracklist
Arapi Sousta~Arab’s Dance (Volissos of Chios)
Tsambasin (Pontus)
Agrimia~Wild Beasts (Rizitiko Crete)
Erie Pali~Here we sail again (Psara)
Palaios Ikariotikos~Old Ikariot Dance (Ikaria)
Anathema ton Aitio~Cursed the Malevolent (Lesvos)
Ad-Amman Palikari~When I was young (Thrace)
Paidia Tis Samarinas~Sons of Samarina (Grevena Macedonia)
Eche Geia~Fare thee Well, Life (Souli Epirus)
Mia lygerie Tragoudage~Willow’s Lament (Constantinople)
Black Vinyl + Booklet with lyrics.