Genre: Neofolk / Folk Rock

01. Intro (1.24)
02. The Tree of Evil (2.22)
03. Teacher of Righteousness (3.43)
04. Sons of Dawn (6.06)
05. The Man of Lie (4.38)
06. The Son of God (4.04)
07. Setting Sun (2.23)
08. Calling of the Twelve (5.29)
09. Wedding at Cana (2.10)
10. Magdalene (2.52)
11. Dream of Him (3.32)
12. Gospel of Judas (2.34)
13. Last Supper (3.36)
14. Spring in Mird (1.31)
15. Crucifiction (4.32)
16. Final Journey (3.00)

The sign of The Green Man, a male head surrounded by leaves, or foliage, is probably one of the most pervasive and easily recognised symbols of the arcane arts surviving throughout the centuries. Representing the concept of fertility and rebirth, foliate heads have long been employed as symbolic devices in both Pagan and Christian traditions, in the case of the latter, most probably becoming absorbed into the religious fabric as a way of effectively eradicating the pagan associations. Nevertheless, parallels still exist between the pagan celebration of the harvest and the traditional harvest festival embraced by the Christian tradition that still survives, today. What I didn’t fully appreciate, however, was that The Green Man symbolism isn’t just peculiar to European cultures but has been, and is, prevalent throughout many different cultures & civilisations throughout the whole world in some shape or form. As an internet search on The Green Man will demonstrate, foliate heads, in their many forms, can be found in the cultures of Borneo, Nepal and India, the earliest example being found in an 8th century temple in Rajastan. Even more interestingly, foliate heads can be dated back to certain 11th Century Templar churches in Jerusalem and back to the 2nd Century in Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Lebanon. Indeed, parallels have been drawn between The Green Man and the figure of Al Khadir in the Koran. It is tentatively believed that the concept of the Green Man was actually imported into Europe from Asia Minor where it was subsumed into our culture becoming deified in Pagan religions and eventually becoming synonymous with many folklore and occult figures, spirits, deities and myths including: John Barleycorn, Puck, The Green Knight, Pan and Cernunnos.

In a symbolic sense The Green Man is a complex figure that embraces many different cultures and forms an intrinsic part of both traditional folklore and religious teaching. As we shall see, this complex universality that crosses European, Asian and Middle Eastern cultures sets the scene quite nicely for the review of ‘The Teacher & The Man of Lie’ CD by Italian neo-folk duo, The Green Man. Why ? Well, for a start there is a definite Middle Eastern tinge to ‘The Teacher and the Man of Lie’ that elevates this release above standard neo-folk fare, however, we’ll come to this in more detail, shortly, after an intro to The Green Man, the band.

Comprised of song-writing nucleus Eliahu Giudice & Marco Garegnani, The Green Man first appeared on the scene back in 2005 with the release of their debut CD ‘From Irem To Summerisle’ and, subsequently, a 10” release entitled ‘Irem’. This release received excellent reviews at the time of its release and created ripples of excitement throughout the neo-folk scene. Two years later and signed to the Italian division of Albin Julius’ Hau Ruck label, SPQR, 2007 sees the release of The Green Man’s latest offering, an apocalyptic concept album entitled ‘The Teacher and The Man of Lie’. Rooted firmly in Gnostic interpretation and gospel, the ‘Teacher and The Man of Lie’ takes its inspiration from the controversial and radical interpretation of the life of Jesus by Prof. Barbara Thiering from the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran and tells the tale of ‘The Teacher’ and ‘The Man of Lie’ who battle to save their followers from eternal damnation in the face of the perceived fast approaching End of Times back in 1BC/1AD. Eliahu’s passionate interest and detailed, almost scholarly research in the field of Gnostic mysticism is evident in the wonderfully descriptive and apocalyptic lyrics written for this album and which are reproduced in full in the booklet that accompanies the CD.

‘Intro’ and ‘The Tree of Evil’ are short, spoken word narrative texts that set the scene for the unfolding tale of ‘The Teacher & The Man of Lie’. Set to a musical backdrop that blends folkish elements with a Middle Eastern percussive feel these tracks pave the way for the ‘Teacher of Righteousness’. Part sung, part spoken ‘The Teacher of Righteousness’ preaches of coming baptisms of fire and atonement on ‘the fated date’ of the apocalypse and is steeped in psychedelic folk-rock motifs reminiscent of sections of Paul Giovannis’s ‘The Wicker Man’ soundtrack. ‘Sons of Dawn’ develops the theme of the foretold apocalypse in a more traditional folk vein before morphing into a folk-rock workout over fluid, Middle Eastern percussive rhythms. Here ‘The Sons of Dawn’ defiantly declare their resolve to fight against their enemies and ‘stand fast and strike without reserve’ following ‘trails of Angels wings’.

‘The Man of Lie’ starts off with what sounds like a Hassidic vocal chant that leads into an up-tempo, almost psychedelic, folk workout that introduce us to the Man of Lie, the second protagonist in this epic tale. ‘The Son of God’ and ‘Setting Sun are heavily imbued with Middle Eastern influence though still both still retain the hallmarks of contemporary neo-folk. ‘The Calling of the Twelve’ is a progressive folk trip calling the apostles to battle and instructing them to spread the word of coming doom. Starting off frenzied and fast paced this slows down to a more subdued tempo toward the latter half of the track; the calm before the coming storm. After the short, pleasant Arabic tinged ‘Wedding at Cana’ the following track ‘Magdalene’ turns back to a more sinister psychedelic folk-rock that, again, reminds of the ‘Wicker Man’, mellowed only by the female voice that sings the first two verses. ‘Dream of Him’ and ‘Gospel of Judas’ carry on the themes already developed, blending narrative dialogues with stunningly performed folk-tinged music. ‘The Last Supper’ is a simple European structured folk song reminiscent of Death In June at their most potent. Penultimate track, ‘Crucifiction’ is a narrative track over pounding percussion and droning guitar that slowly begins to distort and fizz with an apocalyptic urgency before decaying to a close. A ponderous church organ refrain launches ‘Final Journey’, before being joined by a narration and plucked guitar, subtly pitch bent to give it a sinister folk-rock sound, ending abruptly on a fading chord.

Well, after all is said and done, I have to conclude that The Green Man have pulled off a magnificent tour de force with ‘The Teacher & The Man of Lie’. Steeped in Middle Eastern lore and myth The Green Man have managed to forge a unique album that blends traditional European folk music with prominent Jewish and Arabic, Middle Eastern influences to great success, creating a unique and contemporary sound. Just as the name ‘The Green Man’ is symbolic of an intrinsic multi-cultural heritage, the band have taken the symbolism of their adopted moniker and carefully woven this concept into ‘The Teacher and The Man of Lie’ giving release to a unique and refreshing take on neo-folk that is outward looking, intelligent and enigmatic. Don’t be put off by the ‘concept album’ tag this is one album that delivers on all fronts and which, in my opinion, raises the stakes in the neo-folk genre, considerably. This will certainly appeal to fans of apocalyptic neo-folk looking for an intelligent and refreshingly different take on the genre. I look forward to hearing more from The Green man in the future.