Hibernaculum is a beautifully packaged new CD/DVD set that continues to explore the incredible country-western post-rock of last years Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method, which took the group in an exciting new direction, sounding like some windswept combination of Low and Ennio Morricone, but still rooted in the spacious drone. On the CD portion of the set, Earth mastermind Dylan Carlson (along with Earth drummer Adrienne Davies, bassist Don Mcgreevy, and an assortment of guest apppearances from Steve Moore, Randall Dunn, and Sunn O)))'s Greg Anderson) re-approaches three classic Earth songs from their earlier drone-metal albums and performs them in the style of Hex, turning the heavy riffage and rumbling amp drones of the originals into stark, twangy epics. If yer a long-time Earth fan like me and dug Hex as much as we did here at C-Blast, hearing the Earth classic "Ouroboros Is Broken" (from 1991's Extra-Capsular Extraction) and "Coda Maesoso In F (Flat) Minor" (from 1996's Pentastar: In The Style Of Demons) refitted as slowly unwinding western epics is pretty breathtaking. There's also "Miami Morning Coming Down", a more obscure Earth track that originally appeared on the 1997 compilation Scatter, which becomes equally desolate and gorgeous. The final track on the CD is a new mix of "A Plague of Angels", a 16-minute twilight desert saga which had been previously released on a super-rare, tour-only split 12" with Sunn O))). It's good to heave that one available on disc since I never had a chance to get close to the vinyl release - it's one of Earth's most beautiful pieces. And I love the instrumentation on all of these interpretations, too; Dylan Carlson's twangy, slow-motion Morricone guitar lines sound even more beautiful and dusty when joined with the sounds of a Hammond organ and trombone. An excellent collection of beautiful, heavy darkness.

Additionally, Hibernaculum includes a DVD disc that makes this even more essential for longtime Earth fans. It's a documentary film titled Within The Drone which was filmed during a European tour with Earth and Sunn O))) in 2006 by noted designer and artist Seldon Hunt. The film contains lots of terrific live footage of Earth in various European cities, intercut with atmospheric scenes from the countryside in winter, and intimate interviews with Dylan Carlson that bring up the band's origins, the inspiration that Indian music and classic minimalists like LaMonte Young have had on Earth, the stylistic shift between Pentastar and Hex, and more. Pretty insightful stuff that reveals alot about Earth that I wasn't aware of, and which also shows Carlson to be a cool, soft-spoken guy that is firmly dedicated to his art.

The Hibernaculum set comes in a full color double-disc case with a booklet featuring some absolutely gorgeous woodland photography from Seldon Hunt that is a perfect accompaniment to Earth's shimmering, hypnotic instrumentals. Highly recommended!