White Willow - Ex Tenebris - CD

"Ex Tenebris" is the classic second album from Norwegian prog legends White Willow, originally released in 1997.

It was made after the Ignus Fatuus line-up had disbanded. Originally intended to be a solo album by Jacob Holm-Lupo, it turned into a White Willow record when he realized it was going more in a progressive direction than anticipated.

The recording was quick and dirty, done on a shoestring budget, but there is some charm to the natural drum ambiance and first-takes-only feel of the album.
Overall, Ex Tenebris ended up being a more stripped-down, somewhat darker album than Ignis Fatuus.
No krumhorns or renaissance vocal groups, more electric guitar and synths.

The songs range from almost neo-progish mini-epics like Leaving the House of Thanatos, via acoustic balladry (The Book of Love, Thirteen Days) to more overtly Gothic stuff like A Strange Procession & A Dance of Shadows.
The album has become a bit of a cult favourite with the band’s fans and was White Willows’s first step towards something more original than the first album’s retro-styled psych-folk.

This re-release was meticulously remastered by the band’s own Jacob Holm-Lupo and is presented with the classic original cover art, for the first time on vinyl.
This is the second in a series of six White Willow re-releases on Karisma Records.