ranges: the path of the ascensionist [cassette series]
Existing just beneath the surface of the albums ‘The Ascensionist’ and ‘Babel’, another narrative has been slowly playing out to a very limited audience. This story follows the classic structure of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey” and features the Ascensionist as its primary character. The stages of the journey are thematically marked by (12) individual albums released on cassette tape featuring a more experimental and ambient approach to the music than is usually heard with RANGES’ more public offerings.
The cassettes were released at regular intervals starting before ‘The Ascensionist’ (2017) and concluded after the full release of ‘Babel: Confusion of Tongues’ (2020). The cassettes were limited to editions of 33 and each contained a single Æterno coin which could be redeemed for exclusive merchandise via the Gods of the Marketplace online store.
In order to access the store, it was necessary to complete a puzzle unique to each release. The puzzles associated with ‘The Ascensionist’ utilized a “ouija-board style” decoding process while those associated with ‘Babel’ featured a rudimentary “cypher disk style” to unlock the password. Both styles made use of the entirety of the album packaging to help solve the puzzles. The artwork accompanying each release correlates directly with a phase of the Hero’s Journey as well as a specific section of the respective albums. The themes for individual cassettes are outlined below.
OVERVIEW
The exterior artwork for the cassette jackets was planned in such a way that when all 10 cassettes were collected it would reveal contiguous graphics running the length of the spines. While overall visually similar, each release featured a unique set of symbols indicating its place in the sequence, most notably evidenced by the position of the Sephirot in the octagram.
The Æterno coins were developed as a unique RANGES-specific currency intended to be physically mailed through the postal service in order to redeem them for limited-edition merchandise. These coins were placed in envelopes bearing the official Æterno Insignia and sealed with black wax using a custom RANGES signet.
All materials were devised and hand-printed, in-house by LUXINVICTUS and RANGES.
PRELUDE
RELEASE DATE: 04/22/2017
This cassette sets the stage for the forthcoming release of ‘The Ascensionist’ by summarizing the musical progression of the previous seven RANGES albums in the form of remixes of a selected track from each.
The artwork introduces the main character (The Hero) which will later make his official debut in the music video for ‘The Ascensionist’ and also samples design elements from the first RANGES album ‘AB SA RO KA’ (2014) inferring the true starting point of the impending journey.
CASSETTE I: THE CALL TO ADVENTURE
RELEASE DATE: 03/30/2018
This cassette is the first installment in the contiguous series of (10) and represents the Ascensionist leaving a state of normality and heeding a call to venture off into the unknown. The comforts of home can no longer satisfy the longing for adventure and discovery.
The theme expressed in the artwork is one of a vast wilderness, overlaid by the checkerboard floor, oftentimes used as a symbol of base consciousness of unrefined man, confined to the dualities of black and white, good and evil.
The tracklist alludes to the base matter of the earthly ‘AB SA RO KA’ giving way to the promise of the celestial ‘Solar Mansions’ above.
CASSETTE II: CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
RELEASE DATE: 06/30/2018
After wandering in darkness, the Hero at last arrives at the inner sanctum, the temple which represents the threshold, the veil between worlds. This is the point where he leaves the known limits of his world and ventures into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are unknown.
The artwork alludes to the royal arches of a temple and an alter on which is sacrificed one’s former life. The Hero must choose, under his own volition, to become a Novitiate and pass through the grand pillars of duality by himself embodying the third pillar, or the Middle Way.
The tracklist infers a blackening, the Nigredo phase of alchemy; putrefaction of the dross in order to be made ready for transmutation. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
CASSETTE III: THE ROAD OF TRIALS
RELEASE DATE: 09/30/2018
The hero begins the ascent; the winding stairway which must be taken one step at a time. A series of tests await him on his climb, ever increasing in difficulty.
The artwork highlights the mountain, the thematic focal point of ‘The Ascensionist’. The tracklist alludes to the various illusions and temptations confronting the Hero, threatening to cause a misstep on the narrow path. The light of day turns to the dark of night. Confusion reigns.
CASSETTE IV: APOTHEOSIS
RELEASE DATE: 12/30/2018
The final cassette associated with ‘The Ascensionist’ concludes with the ascent of the Hero to his ultimate apotheosis; the point of realization in which a greater understanding is achieved.
The theme of the artwork combines the Tree of Life with the Ouroboros (the serpent eating its tail) which both aspire to an ideal beyond common perceptions of space and time. One step beyond the limits of perception is revealed the mystery. The tempting serpent is usurped; gods and kings regain their crown.
The tracklist consists of only two songs; ‘Holy Grail’, symbolizing the ultimate boon and the first appearance of ‘Babylon The Great (Part II)’, hinting at the inevitable return of the Ascensionist back into the world and acting as a thematic bridge between this album and the next.
PRELUDE II
RELEASE DATE: 07/23/2019
This cassette served as a teaser for the upcoming full-length album ‘Babel’ which was due for release on 09/30/2019. The songs were essentially the official tracklist for ‘Babel’ but stripped down to their most minimal components and given alternate synonyms for names.
The eye motif on the cover would be revisited in the inner gatefold artwork for the expanded album ‘Confusion of Tongues’ (released 09/30/2020).
CASSETTE V: REFUSAL OF THE RETURN
RELEASE DATE: 12/30/2019
Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man. The entire cycle of the journey is only half complete. What was attained at the zenith must be returned to the material world (Babylon) for its benefit.
The artwork for the four cassettes related to ‘Babel’ utilize the archetypes exemplified in the layout of the 2XLP vinyl version of the album. Cassette V references the Scarlet Woman of Revelation and the Lust card in Crowley’s ‘Thoth’ tarot deck. This woman is known as ‘Mystery Babylon the Great: Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the World’ and represents the inevitable fall into decadence in the grand cycle of civilization.
This is the point where the Hero makes his entrance back into the world.
CASSETTE VI: THE MAGIC FLIGHT
RELEASE DATE: 03/30/2020
The return road can be just as perilous as the ascent. The Hero is often aided by the forces which have explicitly commissioned him to re-emerge into the world with the elixir for the restoration of society.
The navigation of the great city of Babylon continues through the complex machinations of the monetary system and all its corollary aspects. One must recognize this as a religion unto itself in order to become unshackled from it.
CASSETTE VII: RESCUE FROM WITHOUT
RELEASE DATE: 06/30/2020
The Hero may have to be brought back from his supernatural adventure by assistance from without. That is to say, the world may have to come and get him. Society is jealous of those who remain away from it and will come knocking at the door.
The artwork exemplifies the State, bloated and overbearing in its insatiable desire for dominance and control. The concept of the individual is verboten. The benevolent king twisted into the tyrannical demagogue.
CASSETTE VIII: CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD
RELEASE DATE: 09/30/2020
The returning Hero, to complete his adventure, must survive the impact of the world. The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into human life, and to attempt to share it with the rest of the world.
The theme of the artwork is Religion and the function it serves in the Babylon matrix. The religious institutions inherit the Holy Grail in all its modesty and transform it into an opulent goblet intended to transfix the material gaze and induce a hypnotism which supplants the Light with its shadow.
Worship of object itself, not what it represents.
CASSETTE IX: MASTER OF THE TWO WORLDS
RELEASE DATE: 12/30/2020
The Hero has at last achieved the freedom to pass back and forth across the world division, not contaminating the principles of the one with those of the other, yet permitting the mind to know the one by virtue of the other.
The Ascensionist has completed his journey and comprehended the equilibrium of duality. With this comprehension comes the understanding that all paradoxes may be reconciled. He stands as the perfect exemplification of the Middle Way.
Echoing the concept of equilibration, the music contained in this release is intended to synchronize with the original ‘The Ascensionist’ album, presenting an entirely new, immersive auditory experience. The artwork features the Ascensionist as he appears in the ‘Confusion of Tongues’ 3XLP gatefold as the embodiment of the Fool archetype (Il Matto).
CASSETTE X: FREEDOM TO LIVE
RELEASE DATE: 12/30/2020
Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live.
Similar to Cassette IX, the audio on this release is intended to synchronize with the combined album ‘Babel: Confusion of Tongues’, creating an entirely new listening experience for those familiar with the original material.