Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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First album released by british Dark Neofolk project Fire + Ice, as well as their only album released under "New European Recordings" label.

00:00 The Horseman's Word
00:43 Long Lankin
05:34 Corpus Christi
09:33 Ljósálfar
14:59 Fire Above
18:03 Sir John Barleycorn
22:05 Blood On The Snow
27:20 Basilisk Abode
32:15 Gilded By The Sun
38:41 Long Lankin Threshing

Fire + Ice formed in 1991 after several members had been playing in Sol Invictus for years. As their website states, "the callousness of modern consumer society ruins the lives of many. FIRE + ICE takes the purity and philosophy of ancient music and blends it into a message fragrant with the seeds of honor, truth, and loyalty, along with the bonds of true friendship".
The music reflects Read's interests in magic, runes, Renaissance, Middle Ages, norse mythology, and other esoteric subjects.
If the quality of the individual tracks is excellent, however, there is a lack of stylistic and conceptual cohesion, which will instead characterize the subsequent efforts of our artist. Another point of criticism unfortunately goes to the production, rather rough and not without flaws. But what makes us wrinkle our noses is the vocal performance of Read himself, who, on one hand, gives us great emotions with his always heartfelt and passionate interpretation, but on the other hand, he is capable of irritating us repeatedly with some monstrous off-key notes that he could very well have spared us. And this will always remain a mystery to me: since the times of Sol Invictus and Current 93, Read sometimes manages to pass himself off as a virtuoso, capable of weaving beautiful vocal tapestries that other non-singers like Wakeford, Douglas P., and Tibet do not even dream of. Yet, the next moment, good Read makes such terrible slips that not even the worst amateur would be able to emulate. The music of Fire + Ice, in any case, is spontaneous music and without too many frills, music that springs directly from the heart, and for this reason, the inaccuracies certainly do not constitute a reason for rejection. In my opinion, there remains the regret and bitterness for the lost opportunity, for the missed masterpiece that we would have in our hands today if a bit more attention had been paid during the recordings. In this "Gilded By The Sun," indeed, we find splendid gems that will remain among the best things done by Fire + Ice, such as the already mentioned "Blood Of The Snow," which will fully earn its place among the undisputed classics of the project.

Lineup:
Ian Read: vocals, keyboards
W.M. Owens: guitars, keyboards
Mouse: vocals, bass, recorder

Other credits:
Photography by Douglas P.
Engineered by Daniel Freeman.

#FireIce#Neofolk#England