"King and Queen" is my favorite Sol Invictus album, and from what I've heard of the rest of the band's discography, it seems to me clearly the best. The purest musically, the most beautiful melodically, the most poetic, the most melancholic and sentimental. It is the record that introduced me not only to Sol Invictus, but to dark folk in general, that is to say more than just folk music, but to this unique mix, at the time, of folk, paganism, European consciousness, and a curiously sweet and childish aesthetic with those covers designed by the wonderful Tor Lundvall. I quickly equated dark folk/neo folk/apocalyptic folk, whatever you want to call it, with this naive and melancholy imagery, more than with the big Nazi boots. And never mind Tony Wakeford's past or present political involvement - never mind his insecure vocals, always highlighted in reviews, when they are just another human element. Tracks like "Tears and Rain", "Edward" or "Someday" go far beyond the sometimes narrow thematic framework of dark folk and are pure poetry.
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