Is she really a witch? Are they really a pagan band? But that one song has some pretty heavy witchy overtones… Everyone knows that the symbol on the third album is really the sign of a second degree Alexandrian initiation…
These kinds of debates have been a part of paganism for as long as there have been pagans. In the 60's, people asked if Jim Morrison was initiated to Dionysus. Today it is Tori Amos and Alanis Morisette who are marked as pagans for occasionally singing about nature or female empowerment. Stevie Nicks has been dodging the "witch" label forever. My answer is that if you have to ask, they are not pagan enough.
The English band, Inkubus Sukkubus (I.S.), is a pagan band and proud of it. Every album they make radiates glorious paganism and witchy seductiveness. I first encountered I.S.'s music on a trip to London. I was checking out one of the local pagan book shops and I saw a copy of Wytches, their third album, that had just been released. It was green and had ivy on the cover surrounding a green pentacle. And that was it — no track list, no band pictures, nothing. I bought it with the faint hope that it might be interesting. At the very least, I figured, it would give me a taste of what British pagans like.
I took it back to the U.S. and opened it. The CD had one of those medieval "music of the spheres" charts printed on it, which I thought was a good sign. Then I saw the track list. The first three songs were: "Wytches," "Queen of the May," and "Pagan Born" — also a very good sign.
O.K., they are a pagan band, but what kind of music did they play? I had spent years looking for good pagan music and hadn't found much. The U.S. pagan scene is dominated by slow, folky "blah" music that is only one step removed from the science fiction convention filking that spawned it. It is good for chants during rituals, or singing around the campfire, but is seriously lacking as entertainment.
I'm a child of the eighties. If I'm going to actually listen to music, I want drums. I want a guitar AND a bass. I want processing so it doesn't sound like it was recorded in a bathroom. I want high-energy rock you can dance to, not some "respect all disabilities" slow circle chant someone recorded on a Walkman. For years, American pagan music had disappointed me, so my expectations were pretty low when I put the CD in the stereo.
"Wytches" started playing. First came an energy-filled prelude in the finest rock tradition. Then the lyrics started. "Come join with us in our rune tonight, and feel the circle spin. Let your spirit soar in the moonlight, as the spiral dance begins…" This was it, actual pagan rock music. The kind of music I had always dreamed of, but never found. When they finished the song with a fast, musical version of the "Isis, Astarte, Diana…" chant, I was hooked.
The very next day I sent off a letter to the "for more information" address in the liner notes, and soon had ordered all their albums. I also got a nice letter from Candia, the lead singer and an autographed picture. They are still small enough that they answer their own mail.
The band lineup varies from album to album, but at its heart are Candia and Tony McKormack, who are always there writing and singing nearly all the songs. Actually, Candia does all the singing. Tony's voice is only heard in a few chants and whenever a demonic, but seductive, supernatural being needs to torture someone. He is also on a few of the limited edition short albums, which I will explain later.
Inkubus Sukkubus' music is magic. There is no other word for it. Candia's voice is low and seductive, the stuff of dreams. The lyrics are complicated and fascinating. They tell stories that range across the wide breadth of paganism. The music itself is beautiful and haunting.
I.S. has 6 main albums: Wytches, Vampyre Erotica, Heartbeat of the Earth, Belladonna & Aconite, Wild and Beltaine. They also have a few limited edition short albums with a blend of live material and new tracks. They release the main albums roughly every 2 years, and fill in the off years with the limited editions to keep the interest up.
To give you a feel for the kind of songs they write, I'm just going to mention some of the songs on different albums. Each album has a title track, of course, which is usually really good.
From Wytches, we have "Burning Times" (much better than the Charley Murphy one), "Song to Pan," and "Church of Madness." The end of "Song to Pan" is an invocation of the Horned God that has saved me on occasion.
On Heartbeat of the Earth: "Underworld," "Craft of the Wise," and "Witch Hunt." "Craft of the Wise" ends with the refrain, "Be my lover and be my God. Take my soul and take my heart." It is a perfect description of why I am drawn to Goddess religions: they blend love in all its forms.
On Vampyre Erotica, there is "Woman to Hare," "Heart of Lilith," and the ever-so-haunting "All Along the Crooked Way." If you ever wanted to know why you would want to worship Lilith, but not want to mix with a succubus, the difference between those last two songs will make it clear. I also have to mention "Away with the Faeries" and "IO Pan," which are some of their best songs from their limited edition album Away with the Faeries.
I found their latest album, "Wild", a bit of a disappointment. "Rune" and "Reptile" are both really good, but I found the album too dark. It was their first new album that I didn't think, "Wow, this is great album!" on first listening. The albums above are listed in my order of preference.
They do have a tendency to get a bit too gothic at times, especially on the Vampyre Erotica album. I think that is a consequence of their many goth fans. They also have a fair amount of what might be considered "Christian bashing/burning times" songs, but if you have read my articles, you know that kind of thing doesn't bother me.
You can sample their music at www.mp3.com. Type "Inkubus Sukkubus" into the search area. There are 14 songs, mostly from their more recent albums. If my review or the clips convince you, the easiest way to get their music is to order it from (where else?): Serpentine Music, P.O. Box #2564, Sebastopol, CA 95473 or www.serpentinemusic.com. Or you can reach them directly at: Pagan Fire Muzick, P.O. Box #666, Gloucester, GLI 3YJ, England or wkweb5.cableinet.co.uk/sukkubus/INKUBUS.HTM.
They tour extensively in Europe, but so far have only visited to U.S. at a few goth/vampire conventions in New York and New Orleans. Hopefully, someday we can get them to come out to the west coast. If you like pagan rock music, don't miss Inkubus Sukkubus.
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