Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Cadabra Records has been releasing really great weird fiction pieces on specially packaged vinyl for a while and it is no secret that I'm a huge fan of what they are doing. Their latest offering is from Clark Ashton Smith and is entitled "The Muse of Hyperborea". This release is a collection of 18 of Smith's poems hand picked and narrated by S.T. Joshi, a renowned Lovecraft and weird fiction scholar.

Once again, Cadabra is delivering this release in a slick package that comes with incredible artwork by C.M. Koseman and an opaque red vinyl with liner notes provided by Lee Bartow of Theologian. This is the second release of CAS work proffered by Cadabra. The first was an epic poem of Smith's called "Inferno", also narrated by Joshi. With "The Muse of Hyperborea", Joshi culls from Smith's rich catalogue of poetry and delivers Smith's colorful poetry with a deep, enchanting voice. There are some fairly cool tracks on here and once again, the music is spot on. Atmospheric, brooding and at times intense, the music matches wonderfully with Joshi's voice and the poems that were chosen for this album.

The one drawback I would say there is to "The Muse of Hyperborea" is that once again it is poetry selected for Smith and not one of his stories. I know his poetry is less known than his literary works but I would like to see a story or two of his come to light soon and get some of the Cadabra treatment like his poetry has been receiving. That being said though, "The Muse of Hyperborea" is another great endeavor from Cadabra Records who are working to continually up their game and continue to bring literary works to the masses in some really cool, creative and just downright fun ways. Keep up the great work Cadabra!