View source for Neonism

{{About|the album|the sense of a "recently coined word or phrase"|neologism}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Neonism
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Solefald]]
| cover      = Neonism cover.jpg
| caption    = Cover to 2007 reissue and later editions
| alt        =
| released   = December 7, 1999
| recorded   = Autumn 1998 at [[Sunlight Studios]], [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[experimental metal|Avant-garde metal]], [[black metal]]
| length     = 50:11
| label      = [[Avantgarde Music]]
| producer   = Solefald
| prev_title = [[The Linear Scaffold]]
| prev_year  = 1997
| next_title = [[Pills Against the Ageless Ills]]
| next_year  = 2001
}}
{{Album reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/neonism-mw0000449699 |title=Neonism - Solefald : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic |last=York |first=William |work=[[AllMusic]] |accessdate=5 September 2012}}</ref>
| rev2 = [[Chronicles of Chaos (webzine)|Chronicles of Chaos]]
| rev2score = 6/10<ref name="CoC">{{cite web |url=http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/Articles.aspx?id=2-1412 |title=CoC : Solefald - Neonism : Review |last=Azevedo |first=Pedro |date=10 December 1999 |work=[[Chronicles of Chaos (webzine)|Chronicles of Chaos]] |accessdate=5 September 2012}}</ref>
}}

'''''Neonism''''' is the second [[studio album]] by [[Norway|Norwegian]] [[experimental metal|avant-garde metal]] band [[Solefald]]. It was released on 7 December 1999, through [[Avantgarde Music]].

== Background ==

The album takes its name from a synonym for the word "neologism",{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} which means a made-up word which enters everyday use.

The album's recording sessions were marred by a [[audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]] console that caught fire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avantgardemusic.com/HTML/content/album/detail.php?id=album_77 |title=Neonism, House of Avantgarde |work=avantgardemusic.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201015/http://www.avantgardemusic.com/HTML/content/album/detail.php?id=album_77 |archivedate=27 September 2007 |accessdate=5 September 2012}}</ref>

=== Sound ===

On the sound of the album, band member [[Cornelius Jakhelln|Cornelius]] said, "The hard will be harder, the passion will be more passionate, the ecstatic more ecstatic."<ref name="CoC"/> The band wanted to utilise a "true black metal production" sound, having it recorded at Sunlight Studios (home to many reputed black metal acts in the mid 90s).{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

The album expands upon their debut ''[[The Linear Scaffold]]'' by bringing a concept to the unique sound. It is in theory a [[black metal]] album, but contains many sonic elements and themes the genre usually does not touch on.<ref name="AllMusic"/> The vocals by Cornelius and Lazare are different on this album than the first; though Lazare retains his clean singing and Cornelius continues his black metal screams/growls, some are delivered in a [[rap music|rap]]-like cadence and one song, "Omnipolis", is sung in [[French language|French]]. Some songs feature keyboards and electronic sounds unlike those typically used in other black metal songs. Indeed, the album was so far from traditional black metal, the band received a death threat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wormgearzine.com/2009/01/11/solefald-interview/|title=Solefald – Interview|date=11 January 2009}}</ref>

=== Lyrical content ===

Although there is some thematic continuity between songs, the album is not as strictly a [[concept album]] as some of the band's later works. The lyrics to the album focus on [[consumerism]] and pop culture, which is a departure from many metal lyrics. American and European consumption seem to be targeted, as there are countless references to many brands and consumer icons throughout the record, including [[Naomi Campbell]], [[The Marlboro Man]], [[Coco Chanel]], [[Calvin Klein]], [[Disneyland]], [[Prozac]], [[Tom Cruise]], [[Special Agent Dale Cooper]], [[James Bond]], ''[[Jurassic Park (franchise)|Jurassic Park]]'', [[Visa Inc.|Visa]] cards, [[McDonald's]] and [[Michael Jordan]]. There are also references to philosophers and thinkers such as [[Charles Darwin]], [[Karl Marx]], [[Plato]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] and [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], as well as references to various religious allusions, such as [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], [[Noah]], [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodoma]], "[[Satan]]istan", etc.<ref name="AllMusic"/>

== Track listing ==

# "Fluorescent (The Total Orchestra)" – 5:20 
# "Speed Increased to Scaffold" – 8:27 
# "CK II Chanel No. 6" – 3:31 
# "Proprietors of Red" – 6:33 
# "A Motion Picture" – 1:55 
# "Omnipolis" – 5:36 
# "Backpacka Baba" – 5:24 
# "Third Person Plural" – 4:03 
# "04.34 PM" – 3:22 
# "The New Timelessness" – 6:00

== Personnel ==

* [[Cornelius Jakhelln|Cornelius]] – vocals, guitar, bass guitar
* [[Lars Nedland|Lazare]] – vocals, keyboards, drums

== References ==

<references/>

{{Solefald}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Solefald albums]]
[[Category:1999 albums]]
[[Category:1990s concept albums]]
[[Category:Avantgarde Music albums]]