Woodwind/percussion/electronics duo from Massachusetts, Enuma Elish—which has performed live film scores throughout the country—will be presenting a brand new all original live soundtrack to the cinematic treasure Metropolis as part of a special East Coast limited engagement tour stopping at Arlington’s Regent Theatre on Thursday, November 20 at 8pm. Though live soundtracks to Metropolis have been staged by other ensembles, Enuma Elish’s unique musical vision evokes a mixture of the ancient, mystical and the futuristic presenting a new musical perspective that perfectly captures the grand scale and mythic grandeur of the film like never before.

Perhaps the most famous and influential of all silent films, Metropolis had been issued only in shortened or truncated versions for 75 years.  Restored in Germany with state-of-the-art digital technology, the film can now be seen in a form as close as possible to its original conception by director Lang.  Set in the year 2026, Metropolis, tells the story of a populace divided between workers who must live in the dark underground and the rich who enjoy a futuristic city of splendor.  The tense balance of these two societies is expressed through images that are among the most famous of the 20th century, many of which presage such sci-fi landmarks as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner.  Lavish and spectacular, with elaborate sets and modern style, Metropolis paved the way for all cinematic science fiction. The definitive and authorized version of this towering classic—over one-third longer than any previous release, for the first time on film with a brand new live score—captures and heightens the epic drama in ways never before achieved.

Enuma Elish—whose latest Lithiq release “Leviathan” has been described by Britain’s Ptolemaic Terrascope Magazine as a “glorious psychedelic jazz noise” and an “Eric Dolphy meets Bitches Brew” hybrid by Canada’s Exclaim Magazine—has been performing throughout the Northeast and beyond since forming in 1999.  Born of a vision to create a cohesive synthesis of world music, free jazz, and electronica, Enuma Elish (Warren Jones and Yuri Zbitnoff) is distinguished from most live/electronic hybrids by its use of loops created from original field recordings, acoustic percussion, ethnic strings and winds, in addition to conventional electronic instruments.  This exotic sound palette provides the backdrop for Jones’s volcanic excursions on various wind instruments while Zbitnoff churns a mind-bending assault on his electronically triggered acoustic drum set.  Together, they are charting a new course for instrumental music that employs, yet greatly exceeds, the bounds of the established genres from which their music is generated.