Ritual by Armchair Gods

Progzilla Radio – November 2024 Steve Lazenby

“On October 31st Armchair Gods, a duo consisting of Paul Kearns and Steve Peckover, released Ritual which they describe as English Zen Rock and I describe as simply magnificent.”


MUSIC INSPIRED BY PAGAN CELEBRATIONS

On a visit to the White Peak in England, we came across a young woman meditating near the central cove of a Neolithic stone circle. We saw her leave, walking bare foot through the grassland carrying her shoes. She had left behind a token, a garland of wildflowers placed on a large fallen limestone slab. The giant stone was encrusted with moss and lichen, weather worn by the aeons of time. The central cove was obscured from view from the entrances, a sacred place of ritual.

This was the genesis for this EP release together with later visits to ancient sites through the seasonal festivals of Mabon, Samhain, Ostara and Beltane.

Many believe ancient stone circles served as early cosmic observatories. Their alignment with equinoxes and solstices heralding the changing seasons and the procession of pagan festivals through the Wheel of the Year. Amongst these mysterious stone giants, one is drawn to muse their origins as we tread venerably in the footsteps of our ancestors and join them in celebrating seasons anew.

Come Join Us!

Watch the Samhain video: https://youtu.be/mEL0VDDgg-Y

Brum Beat review – November 2024 Mike Davies Column

“Celebrating the Autumn equinox and harvest, Mabon opens things up with a cosmic swirl of keyboards drums and guitar, proceeding to Beltane the Gaelic May Day festival, the mood calming down to a dreamy haze with stuttering, repeated acoustic guitar patterns, drums and virtual brass. Out of seasonal sequence here since it takes place in March, named for the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostra, Ostara marks the spring equinox, the track with military snare beats, tinkling piano, orchestral keys and timpani returning to the cosmic swell before gently ebbing away on strings. Coming from old Irish and meaning ‘end of summer’, Samhain is synonymous with Halloween and, the longest track at almost six minutes (with a video on YouTube) is suitably brooding and robed in shadowy musical shapes with its steady, relentless drum beat and the hovering ghostly keys and wailing guitars. Something to celebrate indeed.” – Mike Davies

Armchair Gods are zen rock instrumental duo Paul Kearns and Steve Peckover. With a full pantheon of sound their mission is to create nuanced and multi-faceted musical compositions to engage and immerse listeners in a sonic tapestry.

They love creating English Zen Rock and hope you enjoy their music.

armchairgods.com