Proscriptor...as a drummer
In the past 26 years, Proscriptor McGovern has established himself as one of the most important, extreme metal drummers in the world. He is best known for his percussive and poetic roles in the bands Absu and Melechesh and is probably the most charismatic drummer/vocalists of this genre.
Proscriptor’s tale began when his stepfather passed down his old Ludwig drum kit to him in 1981. A decade later, he would combine his arcane insight and accelerative drumming techniques towards the band Absu - a band that would invent a style called "mythological occult metal."
Musically speaking, Proscriptor is influenced by diverse types of music: from Slayer, Soft Machine and Styx to Kreator, King Crimson and Kiss.
Not only Absu, but Proscriptor has contributed his talents for other acts, such as Blood Storm, Demonic Christ, Equimanthorn, Equitant, The Firstborn, David Harbour, Heaven's Devils, Infernal Oak, Judas Iscariot, Magus, Melechesh, Ozark Empire, Roller, Starchaser Network, Thornspawn, The Turning, Vex and even his own solo works under his same pseudonym.
Proscriptor...as a solo artist
An instinctively diverse artist, Proscriptor has always been a maniacal man, caught between a desire to please his audience and assault it at the same time. This contradiction, muted in his Absu days, surfaced immediately in his keyboard oriented, solo albums and marked his career with desperation, smugness and secrecy.
Proscriptor began his break from the occult-like, heavy metal tempest of Absu in 1995 with his debut offering: "The Venus Bellona." (Cold Meat Industry/Dark Age Productions) "TVB" was a staggering, 22-track album about three steps beyond some combination of new wave, experimental and free-form folk music. Astonishingly advanced rhythmically, it also sports undisciplined songwriting and some of the most uncanny songs ever recorded. His voice (range: 4.5 octaves) sounds like a wild witch rupturing into lunacy. His lyrics are often so serious that they become humorous in a way; rambling discourses on the relationship between ancestry and immortality in medieval Scotland. The whole album has a wonderful, weird-like feeling about it, especially since it features a whispered rendition of A Flock of Seagull’s "I Ran (So Far Away)."
The sophomore release, "The Serpentine Has Risen" (Dragon Flight Recordings/Dark Age Productions), attempted to hone this fanatical style down to something closer to mellow - but not much closer. "The Serpentine Has Risen's" song structures, especially, are more conventional and prominent. The lyrics are written in a dream state mind and Proscriptor’s 70s leanings have become obvious on this record. The proof is palpable in two cover tracks: "Devil Woman" (Cliff Richard) and "Castle Walls." (Styx)
The "Thoth Musick" EP is quite similar with a delightful cover of the Aphrodite’s Child musical voyage "The Four Horsemen." "726", with Vincent Rossi handling guitar treatments, is Proscriptor meeting the ambient versus fusion forces. His songwriting is as terse and convincing as any Tangerine Dream album, and Rossi’s accompaniment shows unusual restraint.
726
Released in 2007
Tarot Productions
