The Gospel of Inclusion

The wait is over ! The new studio album "The Gospel" by the legendary Opera IX is finally released after six long years by the previous "Strix - Maledictae in Aeternum". The Gospel is a concept album focused on the Italian myth of "Aradia And The Gospel Of The Witches", written by Charles Godfrey Leland and containing what he believed was the religious text of a group of pagan witches in Tuscany, Italy, documenting their beliefs and rituals. The album includes nine masterfully composed tracks with sounds that represent a bit of a "return to the past" in terms of dark, mystical and occult atmospheres and sees the inclusion of a new witch on vocals (Dipsas Dianaria) that forges with its powerful and ritual voice every track keeping intact the Opera IX trademark in years.

While the first two volumes in the series spotlighted the history of African-American gospel, this volume peeks over the other side of the fence and sheds the light on six decades' worth of country gospel performances. It's all top-notch, too, with Hank Williams' "I Saw the Light" spearheading an 18-track collection that includes classics from Kitty Wells, Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, the Carter Family, the Louvin Brothers, Webb Pierce, and Martha Carson. That gospel is a long-running tradition in country is exemplified by the inclusion of tracks from modern stars like Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and old guard like Buck Owens, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, and Ernest Tubb. A delightful set.