*200 copies limited edition* Does Abdul Alhazred’s cursed Necronomicon, the best known of the 'forbidden books', really exist? Is it really part of the so-called "pseudobiblia" (books that do not exist) or did Howard Phillips Lovecraft, (the "Loner of Providence") base the Mythos of Cthulhu and all the vast, incredible Pantheon that pervades his fascinating and disturbing literary adventures? 

In February 1937, in a letter written to his friend Harry O. Fisher, Lovecarft wrote, ‘The term Necronomicon (from the Greek "nekros", corpse; "nòmos", law; "eikon", image, i.e. "Image, or Representation, of the Laws of the Dead") came to my mind during a dream, including the etymology “. Despite this, the belief that the Necronomicon is a real book persist. In reality, of course there are many magical books that have vanished and that are very sought after. Some do resurface. In Renaissance Florence the translations of Plato were put on hold when the legendary writings of Hermes Trismegistus were rediscovered, and their translation was deemed more important. They actually weren’t lost; they just weren’t in Europe. We can also add The Steganographia of Trithemius to the list, a book that was deemed blasphemous, black magic and in reality, turned out to be a canon of cryptographical techniques. We also have the very strange and compelling Voynich Manuscript, that still hasn’t been decoded but attempts to do so have driven people insane, allegedly. It seems that magical works need translating from either dead languages or codes and that the world of the dark arts is surrounded in mystery, secrets and blasphemy as underground esoteric groups attempted to avoid the wrath of persecution. 

The Necronomicon, like the books mentioned above, has its own legends and the waters have been thoroughly muddied through hoax, creative invention and rumour. My first understanding of it was that Lovecraft’s grandfather was an occultist who had a vast library of occult books that young Howard used to engulf himself in, reading all of them with fervour and becoming a black magician. The Necronomicon was amongst this library as were many of the books that he mentions throughout his writing. By creating the Necronomicon and alluding to the contents without revealing them, has he not invented something that carries weight and mystery to such an extent that readers believe it to be real, because the other books he describes are? And there we have it. The mad, Arab Abdul Alhazred was Lovecraft himself. The Necronomicon does not exist and yet it does and is living and breathing. Long may it continue in the writings, movies, games, comics, music and all future media to come. This is precisely what Lovecraft wanted. 

In this collection of music pieces and soundscapes, Eighth Tower Records and the musicians involved tribute their homage to the Necronomicon and expand the enigmatic mythology with the same passion for the subject as all the other ‘Mythos’ creators. What’s more, for your perusal, the artwork is beautifully designed by Mr Zarono.