Artist: William Control
Album: Nouvus Ordo Selcorum
Genre: Wil Francis
Label: self-released

Now over a decade into his career, Wil Francis has traversed a vast musical landscape. From his early punk days of scene glory with Aiden on Nightmare Anatomy, to his sonic journey of self discover that flooded Conviction, and the later releases which showcased that he had not only found his voice, but knew what needed to be said, Wil has repeatedly proven he is going to do whatever he wants. There is perhaps no clearer example of this than his work on William Control, the dark synth rock side project he has been developing since 2008. After two releases exploring the underbelly of world through tales of sex, violence, and religion he is once again taking some new turns with his latest release, Nouvus Ordo Selcorum.

Opening with a track that rings true to the rest of his WC discography, Nouvus Ordo Selcorum gets a kickstart from “New World Order (A New Kind Of Faith).” The track has a larger-than-life feel, showcasing the best instrumentation to date from WC, and finds Wil speaking his mind on the topics of government and religion. These areas have been quite common in Francis’ work in recent years, but for good reason. Francis sees behind the veil of society that so many find themselves caught in, most without even knowing it, and realizes music offers him an opportunity to reach them. This is a call to arms and it is one you will want to answer over and over.

“Disconnecting” keeps the dark synth rock alive, but slows things just a tad for an atmospheric tale of losing touch with one’s self told as only Francis can write. Where the opener was directed towards the listener, this song gives us a sense for Francis’ developed storytelling abilities. This same writing style is applied to “Love Is Worth Dying For,” only with instrumentation directed towards the sadistic world of love we’ve found on previous WC releases (complete with orgasm samples).

Nouvus Ordo Selcorum goes from a great William Control release to the greatest William Control release around halfway through “1963.” I say this because it will take you roughly that long to fully grasp the genius of the song and what Wil Francis has been able to accomplish with this project. Where many musicians launch side projects to avoid being pigeonhold to a sound or ideal, only a few actually pull it off, and even less do so as well as Franis has with William Control. He can literally try anything he wants and make it work for the overall world of his creation. This damn-near lighthearted sounding track is proof of that.

Before anyone gets too caught up in the “bright” sounding vibes of “1963,” Francis takes us straight back to the bondage dungeon with “Perfect Servant.” This ode to the world of master/servant role playing is the evolved version of Hate Culture condensed into one naughty, yet terrific track and fades perfectly into the album’s closer, “The Optimist Within Me.” This ballad, yes I said (read: wrote) ballad, features Francis and a piano telling of their desire to see another human die (painfully). It is a song only Wil Francis could write, let alone get away with, and it serves as the perfect ending to this incredible release.

On his first release outside Victory Records, Wil Francis has taken his alter ego William Control to new heights. While still maintaining a steady flow of dark synth rock, William goes into full-on exploration mode for Nouvus Ordo Selcorum and comes out better than ever as a result. It is clear that he not only has more to say, but more ways to showcase himself and his ideals as well. There is no genre or “box” for Wil Francis anymore, he has gone where no one expected, said what no one knew needed to be heard, and still strives on to better himself with each release. Just call it what it is: Art.

SCORE: 10/10
Review written by: James Shotwell

• Author
• Recent Posts

James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

Latest posts by James Shotwell (see all)

• 2015’s Most Underrated Films - December 29, 2015
• Passing The Torch: The End Of An Era For UTG - December 1, 2015
• UTG PREMIERE: Before The Streetlights – “Private Browser” - November 26, 2015