We are all likely familiar with the Battle Hymn of the Republic, but I was less familiar with the work of Fabio Keiner, who hails from Wien, Austria and describes his work as “came alone, will leave alone and all my lifetime I stayed alone (zen buddhist wisdom:)).” The notes state that “These 3 tracks are Fabio Keiner's rendition of Julia Ward Howe's famous 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' (so often misappropriated by the most diverse political forces for their own purpose) as a short tribute to the spirit of the fight against slavery and racism; a fight which still is raging in US as well as the rest of the world.” Sounds interesting, so let's march on.

We begin with "Truth is Marching On," which is droney and heavy, with snippets of voice interspersed, like someone yelling at you from a distance in the middle of a storm. There are a lot of layers on this giving it a sense of weight. "Shall Never Call Retreat" is a bit noisier than the previous track, and the whole thing is more unsettling, with a lot of hiss. Heavy synth layers are still present and accounted for, but this is the sound after the battlefield has become still. If I had to describe this in one word, it would be "spectral." We close with "Let Us Die to Make All Free," which is a bit more cinematic, with a suspenseful feel. Bass strings and heavy synth are the bedrock of this composition.

Overall, this is very well done and does a good job of evoking a kind of feeling, but not the one generally associated with the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Rather, this is the haunting aftermath of war, where broken soldiers return to bombed out homes to see if loved ones are still living. There is no parade. No tickertape. No marching band. Just memories and dreams. This was very well done and well worth picking up. This is limited to 42 copies and weighs in at around 21 minutes.