The Great Beast

“The sin which is unpardonable is knowingly and willfully to reject truth, to fear knowledge lest that knowledge pander not to thy prejudices.” These are the adjective words of none other than Aleister Crowley, the master of occult practices, the wickedest man in the world, the source of sex magick, but also a renowned painter, poet and ceremonial magician. A man who was ahead of his time – but seems to widely be swept under the heavy rug of modern zeitgeist, despite his undeniably remarkable influence on it.

Now, Aleister Crowley’s biography and practices are about to get embarked once more in the most honorable way possible: Netherlands-based artist Dan Brooklyn has been in touch with the other side ever since his early childhood. The result of a lifelong bond with all things spiritual, occult and mythical has cemented in  The Great Beast – a concept album about the life and practices of Aleister Crowley, released digitally on December 1st, the 75th anniversary of Crowley’s death. No other than Athanasia’s Caleb Bingham (former Five Finger Death Punch) went shoulder to shoulder with Brooklyn to carefully weave the bizarre, yet intriguing story that The Great Beast set out to tell.

On the full-length album, the versatile musician, who has studied at the prestigious Metal Factory in Eindhoven, Netherlands and has already toured the stages of Europe as the drummer of Athanasia, takes the listener on a journey throughout Crowley’s life and practices, while never glorifying, but rather raising awareness of Aleister Crowley’s practices and philosophies. About Mr. Crowley himself and the story of the album, Dan Brooklyn says: “Crowley was feared by his god-fearing contemporaries; celebrated as a pioneer and free thinker by the counterculture generation of the 60s and 70s. But which of the many faces is Crowley’s true face? Was he the misunderstood, libertine pioneer that paved the way for the Age of Aquarius? Or was he the selfish, sex- and drug-addicted narcissist that his critics claim him to be? Listen to The Great Beast and find out for yourself!”