Oranssi Pazuzu "Muuntautuja" (2024)

  

Well accustomed with their hypnotic breed of abrasive psychedelia, Oranssi Pazuzu still play a class act to these ears. Muuntautuja falls shy of the powerful impact such an unforgiving delve into obscurity would normally bestow. Privy to their mania, the joys of fresh madness come from moments of relief to a seemingly unceasing nausea.

This latest installment toys with an Industrial grit, felt in its stiff mechanical pace and dirtied gristly aesthetics. Each song marches into a spell, grinding the axe through mesmeric repetitions. Dense webs of darkly noise amass to paint feverish sweats of isolated lunacy, a punishing tour through the cramp canals of mental derangement.

Not every song releases the mounting pressure. Sticking firmly to gritty drones of eerie discomfort, occasional magic emerges through glistening piano melodies and emboldened baselines flashing touches of groove. Often shadowy by design, the relief is a less evil that offers respite, only to keep one swelled within its teary darkness.

Hautatuuli steps back from axe grinding intensities to spin cinematic style horror scores to a truly chilling atmosphere. Its steady brooding intensifies into a angered rumble, restraining itself in contrast to the rest of the record. A keen highlight among a steady cruelty this harrowing trip through the shadows of the mind bestows.

Muuntautuja is brilliant yet familiar. Its aesthetic entanglement, an orchestration of menacing details, plays to great strength. The rountine drone of repetitious loops relegates much of its intensity to a familiar despairing mood. A few moments among its forty plus minutes elevates its magic for brief passages. Those were its treasures.

Rating: 7/10

Caldon Glover "Metrophagy" (2024)

Here's one from the Dark Ambient vaults, a cinematic venture that's clearly driven by world building through its devastating atmospheres. This is no musical affair but a craft of sound design terror. Devoid of melody and rhythm, a textured layering of sounds brood unsettled tensions that tremor and quake with abandon. Hellishly cold and unforgiving, gentle swells of airy synths breed ambiguity over the creeks, groans and aches of its many murmuring lifeless voices. These are forlorn ghosts, desolate noises wandering an urban graveyard. Visions of an apocalyptic nightmare manifest in a post-life state, a technological nihilism of self-annihilation that's stripped this world of its habitability, leaving behind a scared wasteland of concrete, metal and electronics.

At least, that is the vision that arises for me, perhaps its cover art planted the seed of suggestion for a such a vision to manifest. I see a futuristic cyberpunk metropolis laid to ruins, with the sense of something evil lurking within but the evil is the place itself, like a densely radiated city-scape hostile to life itself, where a gush of wind could yield fatality. This one is hard to assess, enjoyment depends a lot on mood, Accelerated Decay and Liber Spiralis where the most powerful cuts. Paired with a visual movie matching this theme would be utterly intense! One can only dream of such shuddering cinematics.

Rating: 7/10

Arkhtinn "三度目の災害" (2023)

  

 Pulling no surprises, another intense installment of Symphonic Black Metal plunges into a familiar abyss. Using blast beats as its unrelenting propellant, rattling drums steer an unending wall of sound. Screams howl and distortion guitars roar. Choral keys gleam towards the night sky with an undying sense of rising epic. On occasion, glistening patterns of synths sparkle with astral wonder. The music sways, rarely taking its foot of the gas, predictably finding its way back to calamitous climaxes.

The second of its two twenty minute plus halves is more gratifying. The texture of its ferocity a dangerous concoction. Hopeful lead guitars tinge with shimmers of positive melody yet shrouded by a grim blackness. Its followed by glittery ascending, descending cosmic synths, an interesting arrangement stiring the pot on this frightening brew. After calms and void circling plummets pass by, the lead guitars return to unite the narrative, culminating in a last stand full of dying screams and relentless pounding that gives way to a bleak aftermath of pale distortions.

This track defines itself as the better of two but ultimately feels somewhat stale in the wake of all the other albums before it. Arkhtinn has mastered their own sound but now that mastery offers little new other than the comforts of returning to familiar footings.

Rating: 6/10

Old Tower "Draconic Synthesis" (2023)

Esoteric, arcane and obscure, Draconic Synthesis engulfs us on a mystic venture the marvels of sound design. Tinkering and experimentation has led to fruitful explorations of ambiguous wonder, found in gaps between occult voicings, astral synths and ghostly reverberations. This new terrain still stems from foundations of old castly Dungeon Synth, Old Tower continues an intriguing evolution into dark ambience and soundscapes, while fluctuating to familiar footings on this entrancing forty minutes.

Heard through a candles flickering flame, wildlife sounds of night accompany a subtle tropical flavor on its lingering melody. A dusky opener signaling new sounds, Draconis Arcanum has beautiful balance. One could imagine it as the backdrop to a Diablo theme alike game. Ruins and Horned Glossolia ressurects this direction with its lonely steel acoustic guitar, followed then by Sacred Carvings. This song leans fully into this cultural resonance superbly, akin to Dead Can Dance's transformative magic.

Spirit Vessel has a similar incarnation, evoking forbidden spirits from the graves with classic dungeon dweller magics. Its a more "traditional" piece for this artists however the closing Crafting The Symmetry Of Aeons feels like their most ambitious work to date. With many distant clanks, rattles, drips and drops, ghostly voices breeze by forgotten corridors as the music strides into foreboding chambers of sequestered darkness. The emerging synths and percussion give one a sense of tainted triumph over what lingered before its arrival. The strike of a gong bringing it to a sudden close.

Rating: 8/10

Blut Aus Nord "Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses" (2022)

Not every band has to bring something new to the table, especially when in a stride most appetizing to the listener. Blut Aus Nord's latest rapture of nefarious psychedelic hallucinations was initially intoxicating but in the shadows of unflinching familiarity, tit turned into a moody slog of unruly madness, churning away in the background. That's not to be dismissive of Disharmonium, its charm simply wore off rather swiftly.

If not familiar with this sound however, it would be a welcome invitation to the maniacal delirium these French veterans conjure. Far evolved from the fundamentals of Black Metal, the duo compose unraveling sways of reality shattering sounds. Their unsettled atmospheres brood through melodies that slip through the fingers, melting away through pitch shifts as if physical reality is falling apart. Its a few keen ideas that foster this rich, dense tapestry of mental mood, always on an unpredictable move.

Slow and meandering, ever shifting direction, the percussion rarely holds down a groove or pattern for long. It too sways in stuttering intensity, following the cues signaled by its bleeding, oozing wash of melody. The duality is wondrous as the dark unrevealing of damaged consciousness is explored within bleak walls. Despite the record having a rather consistent aesthetic and tempo, the ideas explored are so well executed that its seven songs serve one continual plunge into the abyss of the mind.

I'd struggle to pick out a favored song, or even moment. It feels as if everything has been crafted to offer no anchor or reference points. You are always in the perpetual motion as demonic voices call from the depths of its lofty tone. So to do swells of high guitar notation sometimes puncture through, however its no bright guitar solo but often a breakout expression that is swiftly engulfed. I love the maniacal madness this pair have created, this one was fun but as described quickly lulled in its familiarity.

Rating: 6/10

Arkhtinn "二度目の災害" (2021)

 

Translated as Second Disaster, this latest Arkhtinn installment was a typical blasting of exhilarated, ferocious Black Metal from the cosmic void. To break format with its often Dark Ambient counterpart, both halves, two meaty twenty plus minute songs, are comprised extreme music led in by the beeping of Morse Code. The second track always strikes me as the better of the pair. Its resounding thumps of chunky groove and slick pedal kicks haunted by ghastly screams brings about a rhythmic distinction to an otherwise endless romp of blast beats and deathly guitar shredding.

Before it reaches that all too common intensity, the song embellishes a little Burzum alike discordance, something I would liked to of heard more of. Instead the howling choirs of fallen angels aligns with its perpetual plunges into darkness, competing with itself in a race to the bottom. The song structure and writing feels more apparent. Perhaps this is the first occasion I feel as if its low fidelity aesthetic holds things back. I'm reminded a little of Dimmu Borgir's PEM record as its fantastical darkly synths paint quite the wondrous madness within its hellish onslaught of crushing sound. After a while, the theme and search of new peaks to scale does get a bit tiresome as its main ideas circle back on themselves for a conclusion.

The first track explores a similar dimension with plenty of whirling astral synths buried between instruments. It comes through with some strong Industrial rhythmic chops and plenty of breaks in the flow with ambient interludes and build ups that loose sight of the bigger structure in its lengthy stay. Again its residing in furious intensities can be a bit grinding and the shifts can feel a little sudden in execution, rather than natural and flowing. All in all, the music follows the path laid out and given this Darkspace inspired sound is still interesting to me, its was a fun experience, however as always, new ideas and progression for the sound would be most welcome.

Rating: 6/10

Den Sorte Død "Den Sorte Død" (2021)

All to keen to explore this newly discovered Berlin School niche, I snapped up this side project by Offermose. Now, I feel a little burned by an impulse decision. What I initially heard at a glance alludes me through this dreary bleak experience that Den Sorte Død is. Translated to The Black Death, its inspiration makes sense of its glumly harrowing tone that hopelessly drifts through a sombre graveness. Track after track drones with an empty loneliness devoid of hope and wallowing in defeat.

This context has given me a greater respect for the record but before learning of this, I was somewhat dulled by it, having anticipated a more adventurous set of songs. Instead its a grueling journey of pale sorrow, a defeated human spirit trapped in perpetual misery, drifting from place to place with no uplift insight. The occasional swells of dark and menacing music gives a sense of seeing the horrors, carcasses piled high and the burning of bodies, a particularly grim endurance for any soul.

 Without the context, these aesthetics gave me strong cosmic vibes. Atmospheric synthetic strings and meandering saw wave melodies painted the astral skies at night. Thus initially it reminded me more so of Grimrik. There is also a ghostly wobbling synth instrument suggestive of cheesy old school horror soundtracks. Because of this it all felt a bit empty, set in the vacuum of space with an eternally drifting nature. I've come to enjoy it more now, the ending of Det Tabte Slag being a memorable note as it descends into gristly and unsettled territory but otherwise I could of passed this one by.

Rating: 4/10

Old Tower "The Old King Of Witches" (2021)

 

Embarking with a renewed spirit and refined aesthetics, The Old King Of Witches is both familiar and surprising. Having established a niche within the confines of Dungeon Synth, this ten track release of three to five minute spells has Old Tower side stepping their current conventions mastered on The Last Eidolon. Now we have what feels like the background ambience to a Horror movie, an impression marked by its ghastly jump scare conclusion on the opening track Wych Totem. At its conclusion a harrowing, tormented scream lunges out of the dark as the song then fades to black.

The following Night's Spell gifts us an astral respite, a contemplative soundscape not adrift from the likes of Steve Roach. From here, the plunge begins as ambiguous atmospheric ambiences and mischievous eerie sound design conspire. Brief reprisals of that astral charm can be heard infrequently but otherwise is lost between its dark, lonely voyages through shadowy caverns and hallowed grounds. It takes on a burdensome delusional experience, as flourishes of unsettled synth drones briefly add disorientation with a psychedelic quality, akin to a tiresome paranoid mental trip. Although the horrors of the opening track are never quite as vivid again, this spooky journey does end with a warmer note as closing track, Temple Of The Blue Sun, brings about a little of that cosmic charm again with its final passing cry.

Reflecting on Old Tower's previous sound design, the difference here is staggering. The temperament of its esoteric suggestions and the brooding ambiences of emotional unease are ripe for the imagination to run wild. The balance is charming and satisfying, feeling complete as a collection of songs. I'd also bring praise to the album art too. Corpse paint is a tired tradition but paired with the creepy skeletal fingers and candid nature of the photo, its suggestion of stumbling across a beast in a cave is fantastic and really ties up what this record is about. You can picture that cursed creature lurking around for eight of these ten songs. The Old King Of Witches is a very well inspired and executed concept.

Rating: 7/10

Wampyric Solitude "The Splendor Of Loneliness" (2021)

 

So distant now from its curious origins and sparks of individual majesty, The Splendor Of Loneliness has me checking out from this artist as a clear downward trajectory continues. It is never fun to be critical but this record has been bloated with lengthy and repetitious loops of grating low-fi. Its ideas are obvious but the execution misses the mark too often. Its opening track holds its own, the sparse percussion and esoteric gong strikes from the deep push along a slow whirl of shadowy synths. Devoid of uplift, it stares into the cold, lonely abandon that lays before it.

The music has a chemistry between instruments that overcomes its deliberate distortion and wavering fidelity. The issue is, this approach to tonality swiftly falls apart with tracks like Crypt Of Vampyric Darkness, Eternally I Hate, Enthroned Amongst The Eldritch Shadows and A Putrid Stench From The Grave Of Hope. They all push minimalism on repetition with uncomfortable synth tones that miss the sinister, imposing or demonic presence they likely aim for, sadly faltering to become an irritant for the ears. Singular notes, or small groupings of, lethargically drone sluggishly, cycling incessantly with little sense of building up tension or atmosphere.

For me, it doesn't even work as mood setting background music. Ironically its two shortest songs have flashes of magic. Grave Syndrome ushers in a creepy yet charming sinister energy as its brooding acoustic guitar gets mustered into action as a devious baseline propels it along. Ultimately, I had very little to take away from this experience given I didn't vibe with the aesthetic. I do think a lot of this musicianship rests on a blades edge. Tricky to pull of the chemistry but step wrong and its game over.

Rating: 2/10

Arkhtinn "Astrophobia" (2020)

 

As one of my favorite discoveries from last years music journey, Arkhtinn has returned with another colossal twenty minute ravishing of extreme Black Metal fury from the void. As the first release to have a name of sorts, Astrophobia plays perfectly into their established astral tinged sound. One halve of a split record with Starless Domain, this lone track was a little difficult to love at first, its shear, howling screams an ear-piercing blunt force attack assaulting my mood. With some repetitions and adjustment, the music beneath its tropes and aesthetic harassment are quite brilliant in moments.

The format is as to be expected. Passageways of darkly scene setting build up tension for slabs of thumping rhythmic bass to drive us to expectant plunges into despair as walls collapse with the pummeling of instruments on full throttle. Channeled through its low fidelity aesthetic, one has to adjust attention to pick out the finer crafts of sound between its perpetual blast beats, manic assaults on the fretboard and devilish howls of pure exhilarated despair that penetrate it all with a vile menace.

Maddening whirls of astral synthesizers twinkle through the gaps like stars shimmering in the night sky. Its symphonic component is most exciting as the guitars tend to thrash into a drone of fury. When deploying demonic melodies in syncopated shifts, the music takes form akin to the like of Dimmu Borgir. Another ear catching element, a recurring operatic voice, was slipped in the distant regions of this dense mix. Cropping up inline with the howls and screams, its human intensity distinguished it from the synths with an air of cryptic mystic. Not utilized often but on the rare moments it arises the song found renewed energy.

The monstrous sprawl of a twenty minute song, perpetually plunging us into dizzying depths of extremity has its limits. The broader structure didn't seem to other much more in its duration than the elasticated of easing tensions to simply strike again. Although some elements reoccurred, the lack in differing extremes tends to drone on, most of the compositions making its mark early on. The format is as such but it does feel like room to forge something a little grander. As for the other half of the split I didn't care as much for it, so this blog simply focused on the band I was most interested in. I've never really brought into split releases and the pairing of tracks here doesn't convince me.

Rating: 6/10

Old Tower "Plague Harvest" (2020)

With a history of patchy release in Old Tower's beginning, a stride of good form developed into a unique craft of darkness, culminating with The Last Eidolon. It is a stellar record, the apex of the Dutch musicians scenic Dungeon Synth spell. News of fresh music excited but ultimately disappoints as its lengthy, fourteen minutes halves dabble in the black ambience that usually builds to bigger and grander things. Plague Harvest however, meanders in the moments before, its shadowy reverberated sounds of eerie mystique and foreboding despair barely enriched by the creaks and cracks of movement in the tunnels of darkness ahead. Being a creature of atmosphere, the music drags its way into denser constructs, with only a flicker of melody and brief sense of event as lightning strikes under the downpour of glum rain and howling winds.

These details of particularity return in the second stint as distant clanks echo against the crackle of a dying fire. Its light stays as light, airy synths of temporal presences sway in against the gloomy weathers, overtaking it to eventually hear the trickle of a river and sounds of life in the distance. Eventually the flickering returns and darkness prevails on a rather uneventful affair. Writing these thoughts out makes it all seem more obvious that this is an exercise in a different approach to story telling. Against the backdrop of what came before it, Plague Harvest often feels like the calm before the storm this artist had forged before. On their own, it does feel underwhelming but its temperament is its own. Expectations may of caused disappointment but I don't think so this time around.

Rating: 3/10

Oranssi Pazuzu "Mestarin Kynsi" (2020)

Returning from a cosmic darkness of maddening psychedelic infused in the Black Metal abyss, Finish outfit Oranssi Pazuzu serve up another engrossing slice of darkly paranoid wonder. Four years on from Värähtelijä, the group return with six lengthy tracks of mystic torture and devine black magics. Atmosphere is ripe, the music brimming with thick busying layers of sound decorated with whirls of cosmic ambience between its pounding baselines, thick distortion guitars and aggressive instruments.

Toying with the listener through repetition, tension and menace brood as simple arrangements loop with a hypnotic persuasion. Between the cracks an eeriness lurks, croaks and groans are heard deepening the bleak persuasion as the music lunges into upheavals of spite and hate with the most harrow and distressing of tones amending its peaks. It does find balance however with a glorious sense of galactic mystique emerging through stunning synths. It gives balance to a challenging listen.

Every track feels fleshed out with a concept. Some central idea hinges and holds together an intense journey through the mental madness this band explore. In its best moment, Kuulen Ääniä Maan Alta deploys an utterly snappy groove to underpin its spat with the heavens. It births a strange dance of demons you could almost move your feet too. Followed by Taivaan Portti, my least favorite, abrasion is dialed up on an incessant drone that stiffens all the weird yet wonderful progression behind it.

The rest of the record is remarkable, a progressive journey with many a bizarre and curious assemblies of sound that suck the nectar dry on this psychedelic horror they incur. Front man Ontto deserves a nod for the utterly foul vocal performance. Regurgitating guttural groans are wrenched from within, delivered with a spite and hate heard through the bleak textures tortured from his chords. Its a style Ive grown bored of but when done right, its a treat. Great record, they have a finger on the pulse.

Favorite Tracks: Ilmestys, Kuulen Ääniä maan alta

Rating: 7/10

Old Tower "The Last Eidolon" (2020)

The evolution of Old Tower has been a fascinating journey to follow. Always showing much promise the Dutch musician know as The Scepter has reached a peak. After the wondrous and deathly "dark alchemy" trilogy of mini records, the Last Eidolon arrives as a natural extension to those dark temporal and meditative sounds previously explored. Its three tracks, all lengthy epics feel like a mastery of structure, scale and aesthetic molded to command a chilling immersion within the listener.

The sense of scale and grandeur gets of to an almighty start. Lonely cries of a desolate synth call out across the vastness. Thunderous quakes and rumbles, gong strikes with an utterly devastating reverbs paint a impending sense of might and mystery. It steadily calms across the minutes to suddenly erupt with a deep pounding drum and ceremonial melody of ritualistic fever. Its swaying between these ideas in the closing stage will let the imagination run wild as this baron world finds density.

Reading the albums footnotes, one can see this vision of a world set ablaze by the corruption of mysterious magics and ancient rituals really come to life in the music. The minimalism in composure is oozing in this depth of tone and the mystique that comes with it is simply a dark delight. It revels and embellishes these lonely, ancient alluring synths and gothic choir voicing with a timeless quality as its long passages meander and break down the sense of forward momentum. It is a world unraveling.

Most of these record have been immersive in the moment but I have not frequented one like this. The experience is engulfing and I think the producer may of had a hand. I was surprised to read The Scepter had teamed up with talent Arthur Rizk, producer of Cavalera Conspiracy, Code Orange and Power Trip. To what extent he played a roll in bringing this incredibly deep and foreboding sound to the table, I don't know but this has been a giant leap forward for the Old Tower project and the best album to date.

Rating: 8/10

Old Tower "Finsterströmung" (2019)

From disappointment to delight, today we have a release Id been anticipating for some time. In the few days since its released Ive binged and enjoyed every moment of the mysterious and esoteric experience. It is the first new project from Old Tower this year and the second of the "grim alchemy trilogy"... Ill admit that made me chuckle for some time. The first chapter was Drachenblut and like it, three dark and meditative tracks are assembled for a short plunge into a conspiratorial loneliness of abandoned hallways and crumbling ruins where mischief lurks beyond the shadows.

There is a clearer sense of voicing than I remember, as the artist moves further away from the core styling of Dungeon Synth. Once again choral synths are woven in with deep reverberations and atmospheric vibrations. In the mix a monk like voice sounds lost in between layers of foggy sound on Saturn's Essence. It has a menacing pace as strikes of drums echoing from the deep create an unsettling presence lurking in the beyond, keeping one on edge. The following title track is my favorite, the construct is similar but a lighter tone dominates as bells and star like synth glisten with a dark magical energy. Given the trilogy name, it is this track I can most envision some musky robed magician hunched over a messy workbench of chemicals and jars of animal parts. Its not a striking image but it would suit the musics pallet.

Moonchamber sees out the short project on the most minimal of tracks. It builds slowly to the mid point where more voicing come into play as the monk returns. They are now cries from the depth lingering on a collapse into the darkness. The ambiguity here plays a fantastic roll in capturing a moment not fully immeresed in darkness and that is what I like most about Old Tower. How the evil in the music isn't overplayed, its used to explore a wider sense of mystery in darkness. This progression more towards Dark Ambient is fantastic and these three new songs are too, can't wait for the final chapter now!

Rating: 6/10

Arkhtinn "V" (2017)

Back for another plunge into the cosmic abyss we plunder V, the fifth Arkhtinn chapter. Although structured with the same two track format, both the shivery cold Black Metal onslaught and its complimenting Dark Ambient piece make their distinctions. Opening with an astral gleam of shimmering distant stars, its mysterious synths get to breath and make themselves known between the angular walls of sound we shall be battered with. When the blast beat thunders and the ferocity engulfs, slow and steady guitar chords let the synths flicker through in an epic delight. It opens up to a true sense of ascension and the drums switch into a double pedal blitz that rolls too its own groove.

As a rare moment of suspended calm takes hold, the fractured nature of the songs design reveals before the flick of a switch plunges us again into peril-less void only illuminated by the flickering astral synths. The guitars again offer elongated power chords showing a wider range of temperaments, eventually leading into more chunky palm muted guitar grooves. It furthers its descent with a break of unsettled bleakness, a psychedelic guitar lead shimmers from the shadows with a touch of Oranssi Pazuzu black magic! The song finds its way back to shrill pummeling and howling roars as an enchanting lead guitar climaxes the music around the thirteen minute mark.

From that point the song again shifts through similar phases, meandering through an extended section of unsettling synths that give one last burst of horror as a final blast of black noise surprises the listener. Its a far more diverse song with clear and stronger influences from traditional Symphonic Black Metal taking hold, yet its progression and structure do not birth more than the momentary arrangements. They do however dazzle in the spectacular darkness of low-fidelity mysteria. It makes for a far more memorable song but strays from the formula, probably for the best.

Its eighteen minute counterpart is more of a freight than the last Ambient piece. Its slew of mysterious and esoteric synths are complimented by howls and screams that lurk in the shadows and ride cold winds into focus. Its melodies elude and plenty of ambiguous rumblings create an atmosphere of wonder suspended before the arrival of dreaded horrors. An illuminating track keen to liven any imagination for the darker side. Overall this is a much better record, maybe the band show signs of developing a more refined and unique approach to the Darkspace motif. Lets see where they go!

Rating: 7/10

Sorath "Devil Daggers OST" (2016)

Devil Daggers is a hellish, brutal and difficult game that hails back to the glory days of fps and Doom clones, where the themes were menacingly dark and demonic beasts assaulted the player, putting them under an intense physiologic challenge. The game was too much for me to handle, in terms of staying alive. The free soundtrack that came with it caught my attention. There is nothing quite like the sinister soundscapes these dark ambient tracks can conjure up and so the four tracks that barely make thirteen minutes have been playing over and over. I could find next to know information about who made the music, Sorath is simply the name of the developers studio attached to the MP3 files that came with the game.

"I" starts with the sound of a dead orchestra, dense layers of deep synths and organs unite with a tonal presence that commands attention as in the distance shimmering voices and bells can be heard. Its bright, luminous yet shrouded in mystery as no comfort can be drawn from its presences. "II" Plunges us into the darkness with whispering noises lurking in the shadows. A prominent voice calls out like a cry from the abyss, a warning to an intruder. With disjointed, alien synths a few notes feel devoid of musical meaning but speak like words of the danger approaching. The pitch shifting and distortion of this instrument is fascinatingly detailed and dense in its short bursts of life between the darkness.

"III" sets in the waves of fear and terror as wretched noises observe from the black culminating to a section of heart racing paranoia as pounding industrial strikes pound rhythmically alongside shrill screams and a growing arsenal of hellish sounds as the walls close in to a narrow escape that provides some respite despite a sense of dread not over. "IV" has a sense of conclusion as a melody creeps into lead synth. The shadowy noises are in retreat and its as if a bright light is shining deep into the abyss, revealing its corruption through the oddities of electronic distortion. It ends with the darkness still breathing, awaiting its next move.

Sorath has created a very memorable set of short dark ambient pieces that are both cinematic and nontheatrical in nature. There is a plethora of textures and intrigue to the sounds at play, they don't conclude and so the music hangs in a dreading sense of ambiguity. A lack of melody or convention leaves each listen feeling fresh new, and not so memorable as the record does not stale with each returning listen. Each time the harrowing adventure starts over again.

Rating: 7/10

Neptune Towers "Caravans To Empire Algol" (1994)

This record had the makings of something great, a mysterious album cover, the promise of dark and eerie ambient music. Side project of Norwegian Darkthone musician Fenriz, at the bands creative peak and released on Moonfog Productions. Unfortunately the music didn't quite live up to what one might expect but nothing appalling is in store, rather a mediocre ambience piece that does enough to define itself with a touch of memorable atmosphere that it can call its own.

An organic horn like noise confronts us as it morphs into a deep wall of fuzzy noise. Perilous to any tune or melody it shifts and transforms through bizarre and claustrophobic sounds packing sharp wave forms into a narrow range of frequency. Eventually a deep plodding melody creeps into the forefront to find itself quickly replaced by roaring noises and sweeping hisses. This continual metamorphosis resembles organs at one moment before our baseline returns to be replaced by a fluttery, swirling, heaving growth of sound around the twelve minute mark. At the sixteenth minute the rapid fluctuations make an uncanny zap lazer sound, dispelling the ambience with its lack of subtlety. The second track starts by falling to a black, unnerving atmosphere with low, creepy, rumbling distortions, soft and hidden in the tracks reverb. The rest mostly experiments with cascading sounds often feel as if they are descending, being sucked down into the darkness before ending with some rather paranoid sounds.

Its a strange and unusual experience, reminding me fondly of old black and white sci-fi horror movies with its stark and and adventurous use of primitive technology. I now find myself fascinated as to how this record was composed, in many moments the turning of knobs and dials can be felt but many of the tones and sounds created are quite mysterious and do not lend themselves to be understood. The process behind its creation could well be remarkable as its ambiguity serves to be its strength. Great listen but I didn't experience much that warranted my return after a few listens.

Rating: 4/10

Gnaw Their Tongues "Abyss Of Longing Throats" (2015)

Its been a while since Ive delved into the hell hole of depravity that is Gnaw Their Tongues, one man band of Dutch musician Mories. I discovered this project back in 2009 and it has remained as one the most haunting and bone chilling sounds Ive ever heard. Its a noisy, claustrophobic and harrowing musical experience with an unrelenting apatite for discomfort in the exploration of perverse corruption in humanities darkest corners. With a large, patchy discography littered with EPs and limited releases in between its hard to stomach it all, but of what filth I've wadded through there is plenty of quality compositions to be found in the full lengths, including this one, his eighth in nine years of the project.

In the earlier days Morries's music was a catastrophe of symphonies colliding in a haze drenched with thunderous crashing symbols and tormented screams. Over time inklings of structure and Black Metal crept into the fold and made "Abyss Of Longing Throats" a vastly more approachable listen than I previous remember. The constant ticking of buried drums and their alterations helped guide the listener through the shifts of tone and direction under the constant haze of evil and discernible noise. Erie distortions, muffled screams, bellowing baselines, distant bells and howling winds. There's an endless list of what might be happening in the frenzy of noise these songs concoct.

The opening track is by far the records best. A discordant fuzz of guitar sets an instantly unwelcoming tone as the screams of restless spirits drag us below into the sound track of hate, pummeling crashes and strikes of metal. The nefarious choir chants build a dreading atmosphere that continually shifts one to the next before reaching an interesting conclusion in the endgame of the track as buried horns cry out from an industrious soundscape of grueling mechanical construction. The guttural vocals and lighter atmosphere on the following track also made a mark but beyond that the record descends into an expected trail of endless noise that fails to spark a memory. I'll always be interested in this project, however I find it no longer has the capacity to be unexpected or as mesmerizing as when first discovering such godless music.

Rating: 4/10

Leviathan "A Silhouette In Splinters" (2005)

American one man band "Leviathan" is the project of Californian musician Jef Whitehead, often considered one of the finest "third wave" Black Metal musicians alongside Xasthur and Black Funeral. After the Norwegian scene's sound made its way across the Atlantic in the mid 90s the evolution was frighting. The Americans played down the satanic themes in favor of even darker spiritual ideas that coined the terms "Suicidal" and "Depressive" Black Metal. Although its heavily debated if there is a "third wave" there is an undeniable shift in sound and approach that separates this scene from the other. Having my curiosity sparked I went over my Leviathan collection and picked out this record which turned out to be a Black Ambient record, supposedly recorded in 2002 before the debut release of debut "The Tenth Sub Level Of Suicide".

Its dark, haunting and nervy backdrop music that starts of with fading guitar distortions that buzz and howl in and out of focus, creating a sinister setting that in its lack of intensity lures the listener in to a calm, serene mood as if staring into the abyss from safety. The guitars and distortion cautiously grow their anxieties as slow strum chords ring unsettling melodies. The danger grows nearer and ghostly rumbling vocals feature as the voice of undead spirits murmuring and groaning their pain through deep guttural talkings burred under lonely guitar leads. Into the later part of the forth track, the guitars start to fold into chilling rattle sounds that echo and brood in the deathly reverb before throwing us deep into the despairing black as the title track whips up a punishing desuetude of sound.

Howling winds morph and transform into eerie sounds of communication from beyond the grave. Alarm bells scream the oncoming dread before a calm leads us into ghostly whispers that swell in the ambiance of an atmosphere ever echoing a noise slowly collapsing in on itself. Its bone chilling audio horror painting vivid images of hell's hallways and demonic creatures of abomination. There's no climatic moment, we leave this place as if it was never there and the final track leads us home through a similar setting of mesmerizing distortions fading in and out of consciousness while acoustic guitars strum out eerie chords of warning.

"A Silhouette In Splinters" is a real audio trip for those minds that can envision the music. Its a vividly haunting and spellbound listen that can be both frighting and calming at times. Its construct and vision has both expression and design meeting on the plateau. For those interested in the technical details there are many spooky sounds that leave wonder pondering their creation, alongside some obvious guitar reverb tricks. Its a wondrous and unnerving experience that rewards the patient listener.

Favorite Track:A Silhouette In Splinters

Rating: 7/10