49 Acts of Unspeakable Depravity in the Abominable Life and Times of Gilles de Rais

by John Zorn

49 Acts of Unspeakable Depravity in the Abominable Life and Times of Gilles de Rais cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 30 September 2016
  • Label: Tzadik
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 42:00
  • Community rating: 4.13/5 from 3 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

This conceptual work channels the madness of its 15th-century subject, Gilles de Rais, through Zorn鈥檚 'extreme organ trio' Simulacrum, featuring John Medeski, Matt Hollenberg, and Kenny Grohowski. The album is a relentless sonic assault, built upon Zorn's through-composed pieces that defy easy categorization by blending the ferocity of death metal and grindcore with elements of jazz and noise. The trio navigates the complex, rapidly shifting compositions with virtuosic intensity, as Hollenberg's metallic guitar riffs, Medeski's shrieking organ, and Grohowski's hyperactive drumming create a cinematic descent into depravity.

Genres

Descriptors: complex, conceptual, through-composed, chamber, strings

Tracklist

  1. Scene 1: At the Very Gates of Hell (3:18)
  2. Scene 2: Angelic Voices (4:17)
  3. Scene 3: And to the Brimstone, Fire (3:25)
  4. Scene 4: Dark Pageant (3:36)
  5. Scene 5: The Tetragrammaton Labyrinth (3:02)
  6. Scene 6: A Cruel Ecstasy (3:24)
  7. Scene 7: Image of the Beast (2:53)
  8. Scene 8: Dance Macabre (5:30)
  9. Scene 9: Descent Into Madness (7:35)
  10. Scene 10: The Holy Innocents (5:00)

Credits

  • Kenny Grohowski - drums
  • Matt Hollenberg - guitar
  • John Medeski - organ
  • John Zorn - music by, composed by, arranged by, conductor [conducted by], producer [produced by]
  • Chippy (3) - design
  • Kazunori Sugiyama - executive-producer [associate producer]
  • Scott Hull (2) - mastered by
  • Marc Urselli - recorded by, mixed by

More from John Zorn: full discography