Music: Brown Book by Death In June, Disease Factory’s Take.
November 30th, 2007 by Hexfix93
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Brown Book
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So catchy, the songs are mostly short and sweet, to the point. Great harmonies. I love how the vocals are not perfect, instead they emote in this great way, some times they are slightly out of key, but to good effect, it adds this drone and drab to the vocals that really makes them perfect to me in creating that death in june sound. This pretty much is current 93 with Douglas P leading(this lp), well the line up on this lp any way. It is death in june, but David Tibet and Rose Mcdowell really are great on this and very present. For me it is Rose’s voice that really hypnotizes me and keeps me coming back to this record, but Douglas does a fantastic job as well, especially on touch defiles and Hail! the white grain. I started out as a Current 93 fan before the david became a born again christian, but now, I have gone back and bought all the Death in June and found it superior in every way. Douglas P is amazing. One of my idols. Not to mention he still makes great music unlike most of my idols these days.
The live video above is very different from the studio version on this lp. But you will get the idea. Death in June has done a lot of different music, many claim they invented neo folk. But to me, death in june is a genre unto itself. Because they have done so many styles over the years it is hard to put a label on them. This lp in particular is very acoustic guitar driven, and the drums are kind of like old old sisters of mercy. Very drum machine sounding. Love it. We are the lust, you can hear the coil guys making a guest appearance. My Favorite tracks on this LP are: Touch Defiles, Hail! the white grain(i love the backing vocal harmonies on this track, our death over and over), Runes and men, To Drown a Rose(this is my favorite track on this lp, so drab and hypnotic), The Fog of the World, Punishment Initiation (I love tibet’s vocals, and the awesome lyrics and spanish like guitars, the synth sounds like a juno 60 too), Burn again (also another tibet vocal track, poetic with spanish like guitar, dark, evil lyrics, love it). This music is not overly complex, but it is so catchy and memorable. This is my favorite acoustic goth rock folk whatever you want to call it music.
What really sucks about this record, it is really hard to find, I bought it when they re-issued it a while back. This is a cd I listen to over and over again. Death in june has a lot of great music out, this needs to be on itunes, and it’s not. Check ebay, and amazon often for used copies. This is a must have. Amazing.. This is one of my favorite bands. If you cannot get this, check out But what ends when symbols shatter or nada, you can get those on itunes. In the mean time Click Here! to go listen to some stuff on their site to get an idea of their sound. Be sure and listen to a lot of it, don’t assume it all sounds the same. and one last thing THEY ARE NOT A FUCKING NAZI BAND! GET OVER IT! Click Here! to read more about death in june, and how he has worked with jews in this band.
PS PS PS PS: UPDATE: Yes you can get it now, its 55 bucks, and its a super version of it, but its worth it! Buy now! Click Here to Buy The Brown Book!
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November 30th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Yeah, that´s one of the best DIJ albums, next to “The Wall of Sacrifice” and “The World That Summer”. These three albums are perfect. I´m not that much into the guitar driven “But…” and “Rose Clouds”…, ´cause it´s too much guitar. I really love the combination of acoustic guitar and synth effects.
My favourite songs are “Hail! The White Grain”, “Runes and Men”, “To Drown A Rose” and “Red Dog - Black Dog” (I love these hypnotic voices in the background). Also good are the b-sides from “To Drown A Rose”, “Zimmerit” and “Europa: The Gates of Heaven” (alternative mix from “We are the Lust”). They are really hard to find, only on the unavailable collection called “The Corn Years”.
Now I would like to see some older C93 release commented/reviewed by Mr. Erickson ;)
November 30th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
i’ve never heard the music of death in june,i only knew that that is kind of neo folk,it doesn’t sound bad,my friend is fan of it
November 30th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Since I’m a glutton for songs in 3/4, Punishment Initiation is my favorite. Very well written. This album has great atmosphere, but I prefer the more acoustic oriented sound of But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter? I love later DIJ than older stuff, though, when it was more folk than post punk/post industrial.
December 1st, 2007 at 4:44 pm
A wonderful album. I enjoy every second of this masterpiece ever since I got my Belgian copy from no_mercy. Everything fits just right from the beautiful cover art and pictures inside to Douglas’ amazing voice. Death in June has quickly become one of my top five favorite bands. I love everything they’ve put out just about and have managed to track down most of their CDs (quite expensive I might also add). If you are new to the world of Neofolk and Death in June, buy this album if at all possible. You won’t regret it. This is as good as it gets.
December 1st, 2007 at 4:50 pm
And yes Bryan is right. This is very difficult to find, at least for a decent price (unless $100 is pocket change for you). I was very lucky. All of their good CDs can end up being expensive and tough to find. Ebay is your best bet for Brown Book because Amazon has insane prices–especially the UK and German ones. I just got a copy of But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter? For under $30 in mint condition on Ebay which is awesome. Ebay has sort of become a DIJ paradise for me.
December 1st, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Hey folks, look at that: http://www.deathinjune.net
“Brown Book” will be re-issued with bonus material. Altough “Brown Book” is forbidden in Germany, I will try to get a copy of the re-issued one :)
December 2nd, 2007 at 7:04 am
Germany is stupid. i hate there censorship. and i think this is what keeps me away from that country at times..
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:39 am
Germany isn´t stupid, but the laws are stupid, which were made from the WWII winners (what are winners?)
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:19 am
Yeah, i agree, i don’t hate germany, i hate their government. that is what i meant. i have a lot of cool german fans and friends..
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:28 am
Thorsten Stroht being one of them? I think Thorsty should work with you on VAC. I think you once talked something about an collaboration?