Tag: Dark Ambient (Page 12 of 27)

Unsichtbar – Junges Liebespaar – Exclusive Music Video Premiere

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On December 1, 2017

In Articles

This Is Darkness is pleased to present you with the exclusive premiere of the new music video for “Junges Liebespaar” the fourth track from the new album Erlebnis by Unsichtbar. The video was recorded and edited by Turkish experimental filmmaker Müge Yıldız with a LomoKino Super 35 camera. The full album is available on Bandcamp here.

Press Release:
Unsichtbar, a mysterious project from Lima (Peru), debuts with Erlebnis: a truly rich, minimalist, meditative, expressive, and emotional project, where the use of clarity mixed with distorted instrumentation invites the listener to drift into a moving, tenebrous, soul-filled place. The album contains somewhat noisy ambient music, which, rather than being built around structured compositions or clear melodies, floats around you like early morning fog. There are moments of clarity too, though, moments when a clear light shines through like a single ray of the sun piercing the dark clouds after a storm. Erlebnis was released November 17 digitally and on limited edition cassette through London-based record label ACR.

Trying to explain this project is kind of tricky since I created Unsichtbar, my alter ego, to make music without thinking too much. If I give too many details, I go back to myself, and that’s something I am trying to avoid. Here, I experiment with completely different and new sounds with the only intention of experimenting. No hidden messages, no complicated concepts, nothing at all. Just textures and sensations. That’s what ‘Erlebnis’ is about.

Links:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/unsichtbarmusik/Unsichtbar
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/unsichtbar.music/
Twitter:

A Cryo Chamber Collaboration – Yog-Sothoth – Review

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On December 1, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: A Cryo Chamber Collaboration
Album: Yog-Sothoth
Release date: 7 November 2017
Label: Cryo Chamber

Tracklist:
01. Yog-Sothoth 1 – 1:01:08
02. Yog-Sothoth 2 – 56:49

Full roster of contributing artists:
ProtoU
Sjellos
Alphaxone
Gydja
Kristoffer Oustad
Aegri Somnia
Kammarheit
Darkrad
Atrium Carceri
Randal Collier-Ford
Neizvestija
Council of Nine
Dronny Darko
Flowers for Bodysnatchers
God Body Disconnect
Keosz
Kolhoosi 13
Northumbria
Sij
Ugasanie

Cryo Chamber are continuing to push the limits of what fans can expect from them. The label has been incredibly successful over the last few years in bringing a new generation of listeners to the genre of dark ambient. Through a heavy presence on Youtube and Spotify, Cryo Chamber prove that the use of these free channels of listening can and will result in increased overall exposure and the slow but steady recruitment of die-hard followers that will ultimately support the label for years to come. We have recently seen the first vinyl release from Cryo Chamber on Black Corner Den by Atrium Carceri and Cities Last Broadcast. Now we see another first for the label in this beautiful digibook physical edition, which houses some incredibly unique artwork. The music, as we’ve grown to expect over the last three Lovecraftian releases by the label, is also of top-notch quality, and provides the perfect soundscapes for extended reading sessions of H.P. Lovecraft‘s weird fiction.

Yog-Sothoth, as with the previous Lovecraft inspired albums from Cryo Chamber, focuses on one specific deity in the mythos H.P. Lovecraft created almost a century ago. Yog-Sothoth, while maybe not the most recognized in pop-culture, is probably the most frequently referred to of Lovecraft’s gods within his own tales. Yog-Sothoth, albeit indirectly, played a huge part in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward as well as The Dunwich Horror. In The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, written in early 1927, Yog-Sothoth is mentioned for the first time. His name is part of an incantation which Ward finds in writings of his ancestor Joseph Curwen.

Y’AI ‘NG’NGAH,
YOG-SOTHOTH
H’EE–L’GEB
F’AI THRODOG
UAAAH

As Ward reads more of these texts he begins to learn many of the ancient secrets which Curwen discovered and manipulated for his own purposes. Through the storyline of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, Lovecraft gives readers a rare glimpse into some of the real mechanics behind this particular god. So often in his stories, we are left to imagine most of the specifics. I will not go into these specifics here, as uncovering the details is a huge part of the suspense of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and it’s my personal favorite of Lovecraft’s works. So I highly recommend anyone that hasn’t already read the story to give it a try! You will find this Cryo Chamber release to be the perfect background music for reading that particular novella.

While The Case of Charles Dexter Ward referred to Yog-Sothoth in the context of ancient knowledge, The Dunwich Horror gives the deity a more central role. Through a ritual performed by Old Man Whateley, Yog-Sothoth is able to father Whateley’s grandson, Wilbur Whateley. As the story progresses Lovecraft reveals the secrets kept in the Whateley household, and the tale ends in a brilliant climax which directly relates to Yog-Sothoth. Again, revealing much more of the plot would take all the fun out of it for readers that haven’t yet read The Dunwich Horror, so I will recommend that you also give this one a read!

Yog-Sothoth is the first Cryo Chamber album to be presented in a digibook format. This particular format gives Simon Heath (Atrium Carceri, Sabled Sun), who is responsible for the layout and artwork included, the opportunity to make a sort of recreation of an old tome like the one Ward discovers in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Heath has included in the booklet some excellent passages pulled directly from various works of H.P. Lovecraft, most prominently The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and the short but brilliant tale “The Other Gods”. The booklet is all the more impressive for Heath’s use of his own imagination in creating various diagrams, symbolic charts, and other tidbits of data which would likely have been found in Joseph Curwen’s ancient tomes.

From my first encounter with the latest Lovecraftian mega-collaboration, Yog-Sothoth, I felt a sense that things were a bit different this time around. I’ve had several shifts in my overall opinion of the album over the last few weeks as I’ve played and replayed Yog-Sothoth upwards of twenty times. The first thing that stands out is its seeming to lean in a lighter direction than the previous installments. There are ritual elements here, and nature driven field recordings which both add to the darker atmospheres of the release, but there are also a number of sections where the dronework seems to have a light-hearted, hopeful sort of feel to it. How these various elements are interpreted will likely be different for everyone, and others may find the same sense of discovery and rediscovery that I’ve found over many deep-listening sessions.

There are subtle clues throughout the two hours of soundscapes that point toward instances of Yog-Sothoth appearing in various Lovecraft tales. These subtle uses could easily be overlooked, which gives a tangible purpose for listening to the album multiple times before casting any definitive judgments. As a die-hard fan of dark ambient music, I’ve found over the years that my favorite releases tend to be the ones that take a little extra time to fully appreciate. Those that boldly present their full depth in the first listen, often give little reward for going back and re-listening time and time again.

Yog-Sothoth was created in a similar fashion to its predecessors: Cthulhu, Azathoth and Nyarlathotep. It is a collaboration of incredible depth. The process is done by each of the twenty artists presenting layers of sound, which are then used by other artists which edit and manipulate these original layers. In this way, it becomes basically impossible to say that any particular part of the album was done by a specific artist. One might hear an element which seems to clearly be sourced from Ugasanie, but the element in question would likely be one of many layers, sourced from a number of different artists, which are all then used by another artist before returning to Simon Heath where there would potentially be even more editing. Nevertheless, it can be fun to try and pinpoint various elements provided by specific artists and seeing how they fit into the grander scheme of the release. With all that said, this seems to be a very unique production process which I would say has likely not been used before by another set of artists. These Lovecraftian albums by Cryo Chamber really do fit into a category of their own.

As I stated earlier, this album has a bit of a different feel to it than the previous three releases in the Lovecraft series. Many of its deeper characteristics will take multiple listens before any concrete judgment could be made about the album. That in itself is a positive to me. The digibook adds another new element to the series. I highly recommend picking up the physical version of this release to have a hands-on experience of browsing through these selected passages from Lovecraft’s texts as well as admiring the brilliant artwork created by Simon Heath. Cryo Chamber continues, with Yog-Sothoth, to push the boundaries of their genre and the industry standards of dark ambient. The music is incredibly thought-provoking and the visuals are in a class of their own. I, for one, will be pleased to see this series continuing for years to come, Lovecraft’s mythos and the pool of talent at Cryo Chamber are both fertile for many more iterations of this sort of release.

Written by: Michael Barnett

Cadabra Records – Fungi from Yuggoth by H.P. Lovecraft – Review

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On November 26, 2017

In Reviews

Artists:
Andrew Leman (Spoken Word)
Theologian (Soundscapes)
Jason Barnett (Art)
Album: Fungi from Yuggoth by H.P. Lovecraft
Release date: September 2017
Label: Cadabra Records

Cadabra Records has, by this point, solidified themselves as the forerunners in the genre of spoken word arts. Not that they have a ton of competition in this field, but even if that were the case, the works that they have been creating could only be described as premium in every element. Each chosen theme is given the absolute best presentation one could hope to find. Original album artwork, professional well-rehearsed readings and soundscapes that give the perfect atmosphere to each reading all come together in a packaging that is itself top-notch.

For myself, as well as for readers of This Is Darkness, the selections by H.P. Lovecraft have been the most appropriate to cover. The connections between H.P. Lovecraft’s works and the dark ambient scene run incredibly deep, with inspiration from his works going far back in the history of the genre. Though currently, more so than ever before Lovecraft is a prime inspiration for the dark ambient musicians and their albums. I could give a pretty lengthy list of all the tracks and/or albums of the last few years which have been inspired by Lovecraft or one of his weird contemporaries.

While Theologian doesn’t often tap into the energies of Lovecraft in his solo albums, he has become the face of the Lovecraft collection from Cadabra Records, contributing his brilliant and haunting soundscapes to most of the Lovecraft releases on the label. Fungi from Yuggoth is no exception in terms of energy or quality. Theologian again seeks to top his previous output on Fungi from Yuggoth and wholly succeeds in adding the perfect score to this beautiful collection of weird poems.

Fungi from Yuggoth is almost universally agreed to be the most successful collection of H.P. Lovecraft’s poetry. Where Lovecraft had previously written a large swathe of verse about everything from epic ancient Greek mythology to short and playful poems often included in greetings cards to his correspondents, Fungi from Yuggoth taps directly into Lovecraft’s knack for cosmic horror and weird fiction. We are given short fleeting glimpses of many of Lovecraft’s most recognizable components of his corpus of weird works.

Starting with “The Book”, we witness an account of someone taking a tome from some dusty shelves and hurrying it to their home. This singular act builds a backdrop for the rest of the poetry in the collection. We could take each poem as separate parts of a thematically similar whole, or we could see “The Book” as presenting the protagonist of the first few poems with a collection of dark tales, which unfold as he reads through the old tome, so as the protagonist and us, the modern reader/listener, become one and the same. The perfect start to the collection, “The Book” talks about an old tome from elder times, which holds some monstrous secret. Andrew Leman reads with perfect emotional emphasis, giving one particular line a whole life of its own that Lovecraft surely would have appreciated, when he says,

I entered, charmed, and from a cobwebbed heap
Took up the nearest tome and thumbed it through
Trembling at curious words that seemed to keep
Some secret, monstrous if one only knew.

With an emphasis on the word “charmed” Leman gives extra attention to the fact that Lovecraft was a life-long bibliophile. When writing this poem, Lovecraft surely would have been day-dreaming of how wonderful it would feel to actually discover a collection of books, all but lost to history, which told of occult secrets and ancient forgotten aeons. He would have equally felt the same exhilaration when removing one of these dusty tomes from the collection and spiriting it off to his home for further investigation.

By the third poem, “The Key”, the protagonist has made it home with this book and is now able to greedily consume its ancient knowledge within the privacy of his own home. Again, Leman’s recital of this poem and the emphasis on certain sections bring the story to life, giving it a level of emotional depth which surely would have made Lovecraft smile. In the last two lines we hear the greed of the protagonist in successfully getting home with the book, but we also hear the fear that immediately sets in as he realizes he might not be alone after all.

The key was mine, but as I sat there mumbling,
The attic window shook with a faint fumbling.

Whereas the first few poems seem to build a sort of narrative, giving a foundation to the collection, later we are presented with snippets of plots which are further elaborated upon in Lovecraft’s prose. Two of these particular poems, “Azathoth” and “Nyarlathotep” give accounts of several of Lovecraft’s ‘Outer Gods’. The “Nyarlathotep” poem works in a similar way to its prose-poem counterpart of the same name. It gives an account of Nyarlathotep’s emergence from Egypt and the ensuing chaos which befalls humanity at his hands. Taking Nyarlathotep to be the messenger for Azathoth, as he has been described in several stories, the poem “Azathoth” seems to describe the narrator/protagonist of the Fungi from Yuggoth collection being taking into the depths of unimagined space by Nyarlathotep to witness his master, Azathoth. The poem ends interestingly with an elucidation of how these two gods interact with one another.

‘I am His Messenger’ the daemon said,
As in contempt he struck his Master’s head.

The artwork for this release was created by Jason Barnett (no relation). In the insert which accompanies the physical release Barnett tells of his immediate reaction to the thought of working on a Lovecraft concept,

When I was approached by Cadabra Records to illustrate H.P. Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth, a sequence of 36 sonnets, my mind was immediately flooded with fleeting and horrifying glimpses of Lovecraft’s universe. As if these denizens had been patiently waiting in my sub-consciousness to be summoned.

Barnett went on to create a beautifully realized landscape painting which would be included as a whole on the inner two panels of the package as well as on a large 24″x36″ promotional poster which comes with purchases of the album directly bought from the Cadabra Records online store. This landscape artwork is brilliantly detailed with images of many of the elements from the Fungi from Yuggoth collection, including among many other things, the statue of Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep emerging from his tomb, Azathoth descending upon fog enshrouded mountains and the night-gaunts traversing the skies. While the outer-cover of the release is greatly darkened and subtle, the painting is certainly one of the best to-date from a Cadabra release.

As with most Cadabra releases, there are a number of different variants of Fungi from Yuggoth. The box-set edition, as usual, is the most impressive, with black swirls on clear vinyl making for an incredibly gorgeous album, probably one of the nicest variants of a vinyl I’ve seen to-date. To regular buyers, there are two options: the “Night-Gaunts” variant which is metallic silver and the “Nyarlathotep” variant which is a light blue and white opaque mix. The packaging is a thick sturdy cardboard which should withstand years (dare I say aeons) of storage without deterioration.

It seems with almost every Cadabra release I cover I must make this statement, and here again it is in order: this is one of my absolute favorite releases of the year, one of the best releases yet by Cadabra Records and absolutely worth the highest recommendation for fans of the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Theologian or both. Cadabra continues to put quality at the forefront of their consideration when releasing albums and seem to have no intentions of letting up on this rigid adherence to detail above all else. A highly recommended release!

Written by: Michael Barnett

Eislandschaft – Tales of the Frost – Review

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On November 18, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: Eislandschaft
Album: Tales of the Frost
Release date: 13 October 2017
Label: Lighten Up Sounds

Tracklist:
01. I Found Them Buried in the Ice
02. Demented and Lost in the White Plain
03. There’s Something Out There, In the Middle of the Winter Night
04. Ten Thousand Footsteps in the Snow
05. The Iced Plateau
06. The Tombstone Under the Aurora Borealis

Lighten Up Sounds‘ recent release, Tales of the Frost, is the latest by up and coming dungeon synth artist Friedrich Curwenius of Argentina. In March of this year, Lighten Up Sounds released Curwenius’ first album Tunnels Under the Forest, under the moniker of Goblintropp. Now his latest release, Tales of the Frost, takes his dungeon synth style into a totally different territory, often transcending that genre itself, with this polar ambient / winter synth amalgamation.

Tunnels Under the Forest was a proper dungeon synth release which showcased Curwenius’ ability to create a spectacular and enchanting atmosphere within the tried and true style of previous dungeon synth masters. The album nods to the sounds of artists like Murgrind, and of course the forefather of the genre Mortiis. On Tales of the Frost Curwenius goes by a different name, Eislandschaft, which can be roughly translated to mean ‘icy landscape’. This is an appropriate title for the new album which can find comparisons to works by Vinterriket, Northaunt, Elador and Foglord among others.

While comparisons to these aforementioned artists would be helpful in describing the general direction of Tales of the Frost, it only begins to cut the surface of this brilliantly realized and well-honed release. The album could easily fit into the confines of the polar ambient or winter synth styles, but where it really stands out from the crowd is in its use of straightforward piano sections. Indeed, the album is heavily laden with this neo-classical flavor. Looking no further than the opener, “I Found Them Buried in the Ice”, the piano work sounds and feels as if it is the real deal, not a synthesizer version of a grand piano. One can almost imagine Curwenius sitting behind a beautiful Steinway, in the midst of a deep winter whiteout, winds whipping the fine granules of snow into massive drifts against the window of a cabin, high in the mountains.

The piano work is certainly the highlight of this album for me, but there is still plenty more to be said for Tales of the Frost. When incorporating the more conventional droning synth styles of other winter synth artists, like on the second track “Demented and Lost in the White Plain”, Eislandschaft proves to be a worthy competitor with some of the greatest of the style. The synth notes find that perfect balance between mid-range and a shimmering high-pitched timbre.

By the third track, “There’s Something Out There, In the Middle of the Winter Night”, we are presented with the last element which makes Eislandschaft such a successful project. As the synths take on a more subtle drone style, there are equally subtle field recordings layered in the background. These field recordings, unlike those of many winter synth artists, are perfectly balanced with the track. There is no overbearing attitude forcing this wintry atmosphere upon us. The layers of drone and field recording commingle exquisitely, making for a track which is as incredibly relaxing as it is isolating.

The original release by Eislandschaft in August 2017 would have been the middle of winter for the southern hemisphere, so we need not think of this as a summer release. The October re-release on Lighten Up Sounds gives the physical album the perfect amount of time to find its way around the world, before the winter months of the north commence. The beautifully realized cassette version of this release by Lighten Up Sounds fits the soundscapes splendidly with the cassette, cover-art and Norelco case all in white and the lettering on the cassette itself in a shimmering silver.

Tales of the Frost is a combination of winter-synth, polar-ambient and neo-classical at its absolute finest. The album makes for the perfect background to a cold winter night, nestled in one’s favorite chair in front of a blazing fire. For me, this album will be getting plenty of play through the coming winter months of the northern hemisphere. I would highly recommend the release to anyone with a deep love and respect for the frigid months of winter. Tales of the Frost is close to a perfection of its musical equivalent.

Written by: Michael Barnett

Frozen In Time: Dark Ambient News 17 November 2017

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On November 17, 2017

In Frozen In Time: Weekly News

Michael’s message:
What an incredibly turbulent month! I had no time to feel sorry for myself about missing the CMI 30th Anniversary show, I’ve been moving into a new (temporary) home over the last few weeks. I’ll likely be moving again within the next month or two (hopefully to my own place finally).  In the meantime I’m going to try my hardest to keep This Is Darkness going at a reasonable pace. But the good news is that I was approved for disability a few weeks ago and have now moved out of the place that was demanding entirely too much of my time. So This Is Darkness should be my number one priority and should be updated at a much more frequent pace in the very near future.

There are a few really interesting articles in the works, some should become available over the next week, others will take a bit longer to be fully prepared. This edition of Frozen In Time is covering about 2 1/2 weeks and there were a good many interesting releases over this time. I definitely recommend that everyone watch the two music videos at the beginning of this article, they are both really awesome! I hope everyone is doing well and that everyone made it home safe from the CMI and Wroclaw Industrial festivals.

Anyone interested in helping to support my relocation fiasco, anything is appreciated. As usual, you can find several ways at the bottom of this article to support This Is Darkness. Now that my personal crap is out of the way, let’s get into the music!

Music Videos

Anemone Tube – “The Three Worlds” live set Berlin 2017
1/2

2/2

Mebitek – “The End of Everything (Funeral Movement)”
“A shortfilm by mebitek cinematics (mebitek & Serena Pilloni)
A bizarre, surreal and grotesque pantomime, in which the Unconscious (based on Jung’s thories) is explored, inside a mind afflicted by a personality disorder.
After the whirl and creation, we finally reached the final chapter: the funeral. Leading us to a Shakespearean reborn, but sentenced to survive in an eternal loop, until the end of time.”

Qeight – “Eniloctus” feat. Polina Leonteva
Get the track on Bandcamp here.

New Releases & Preorders

A Bleeding Star – New Single Released (Digital Only)
“I May Be Drownin’ Underneath Icy Current…But At Least I’m Not Homealone Reboundin’ In Regret” is the latest ‘name your price’ single by A Bleeding Star. An interesting release which incorporates many experimental uses of electro elements along with some bold percussion comes together brilliantly for a warm thought provoking track.

Ajna – Preorder Available (Reverse Alignment – CD/Digital)
“2016 saw the release of Ajna’s debut on Reverse Alignment; “Inevitable Mortality”. An isolationist journey through desolate landscapes. External, but most of all internal. On “An Era of Torment”, Chris F plunge deeper into the darkness of the soul. This time derived from psychological battlefields contemplating on lo-fi textures, blackened drones and abandon hopes.”
Releases December 22, 2017.

Alone in the Hollow Garden – New Album Released (2xCD/Digital)
“This present material is a follow up to the former “Akashic Records” double CDr released two years ago. But most of the present channellings were actually recorded prior to the above mentioned material.
The current collection celebrates the healing & renewing power of the Total Solar Eclipse which took place on the 21st of August 2017, by symbolically releasing the past to invoke a clear space for future manifestations.”

Aram 17 – New Album Released (Cephalopagus – Digital)
“’Necromancy’ is the third official album of the Armenian dark ambient project Aram 17,album idea inspired by a supposed practice of magic involving communication with the deceased – either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily – for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge, to bring someone back from the dead, or to use the deceased as a weapon, as the term may sometimes be used in a more general sense to refer to black magic or witchcraft.
The word “necromancy” is adapted from Late Latin necromantia, itself borrowed from post-Classical Greek νεκρομαντεία (nekromanteía), a compound of Ancient Greek νεκρός (nekrós), “dead body”, and μαντεία (manteía), “divination by means of”.”

The Cherry Blues Project – New Album Released (Petroglyph – Digital)
Note: As with all Petroglyph releases, this album is ‘name your price’.
“It is a collection of tracks inspired by childhood memories and vacations spent in the city of Gualeguaychu (Entre Rios province, Argentina) during the nineties. We tried to capture the feeling of the city on those days, the noise, the train, the cars, the winter, and most of all, the memories attached to that special place for us.”

Coven – New Album Released (Noctivagant – CD/Digital)
Coven deliver an album in Suicide which is filled with field recordings, crushing drones and ritual undertones. Enjoy late at night, enshrouded in incense, by the light of a single candle.

Eighth Tower Records – New Compilation (Eighth Tower – Digital)
“One of the great axioms is, “Within everything is the seed of everything,” although by the simple processes of Nature it may remain latent for many centuries, or its growth may be exceedingly slow. Therefore, every grain of sand contains not only the seed of the precious metals as well as the seed of the priceless gems, but also the seeds of sun, moon, and stars. As within the nature of man is reflected the entire universe in miniature, so in each grain of sand, each drop of water, each tiny particle of cosmic dust, are concealed all the parts and elements of cosmos in the form of tiny seed germs so minute that even the most powerful microscope cannot detect them. Trillions of times smaller than the ion or electron, these seeds–unrecognizable and incomprehensible–await the time assigned them for growth and expression.”

The Embers of Tara – New Album Released
(Grey Matter Productions – Cassette/Digital)
Grey Matter delivers some exquisite lo-fi dark ambient / dungeon synth music to drag you into the haze of night in the Realm of Sleep.
“As summer lays dead and the fiery hues of autumn fall to the ground to be covered by frost each morning, the Realm Of Sleep shall soon come to mourn the seasons of warmth and plenty, and usher in the frozen desolation of Winter.”

Fabio Keiner – New Album Released (Petroglyph Music – Digital)
Note: as with all Petroglyph releases this one is ‘name your price’! “Fabio Keiner came late to music and music making; interested in sound rather than in music. (‘I hate music, but I love sound’:)) – in the sound of wind and waves (and windharp and generative programs and humming:). if a decisive influence, than that of giacinto scelsi and of klaus wiese, whose music taught me a lot and is stull teaching me.)”

Fief – New Album Released (Digital Only)
Dungeon Synth masters Fief have returned with their third album, III. Expect the same levels of beauty and craftmanship seen on their first two releases, but taken yet again to a new level. For anyone unfamiliar with Fief this is certainly one of the better current dungeon synth acts, so definitely check this out!

The Inquisitor – New Album Released (Dark Age Productions – CD/Digital)
Note: This is a dungeon synth release!
“The debut album ‘Rise & Fall’ by THE INQUISITOR uses an epic orchestra to tell the story of an adventurer who sets out for glory only to find his path marred by dread and despair.

Lugubriousness – New Album Released (Cephalopagus – Digital)
Some harsh and deeply disturbing dark ambient music that I suppose would fall under the banner of “horror ambient”. This release is sure to take your mind to the darkest of territory.

Macelleria Mobile Di Mezzanotte – New Album Released
(Signora Ward Records – CD/Vinyl/Digital)
Macelleria Mobile Di Mezzanotte bring together the genres of dark ambient, dark jazz and a bit of harsh noise to create an album that feels truly unique and atmospheric. Not your typical dark ambient, but definitely worth a listen!

Melankolia – Preorder Available (Hypnotic Dirge – Digital)
“Ambient / Neo-classical artist Melankolia presents their fourth full-length album ‘Vividarium Intervigilium Viator’. Founded by musician Mike O’Brien, (Appalachian Winter, Veiled Monk, Ritual in Ash) Melankolia has been releasing introspective and thoughtful music since the project’s beginnings nearly 10 years ago.”
Mike O’Brien states:
“This album bridged nearly 5 years of hardship and resurrection in my life. Thematically, this album is a journey of OUROBOROS in my personal life; self-cannibalizing at one end, enigma of absolute perpetuality at the other. It wasn’t the project that changed, but me. The music was always there, but I had to learn to extricate it from the ruins of a life that was no more. In this way, the album is a study of personal catharsis.”

Mykja – New Album Released (Faint – CD/Digital)
“North Paths is the first album by Mykja. An immersive journey through frozen soundscapes.”

Poetry of Thorns – New Album Released (Kalpamantra – Digital)
Eyes To Breath is an experimental dark ambient release with ties to glitch which brings to mind the music of acts like Access To Arasaka, Subheim and Bad Sector. A worthy listen for those that don’t mind a bit of electronic percussion and other techno-leaning soundscapes.

Rafał Kołacki – New Preorder Available (Zoharum – CD/Digital)
“Rafał Kołacki’s new album entitled ‘Ā’zan. Hearing Ethiopia’ is another set of field recordings of this artist in which he aims at an in-depth analysis of the audiosphere of a big city. This time of Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia, the place with an extremely wide range of sounds. A multicultural city, both ethnically and religiously, where there are many different languages and different forms of religious activity. The voice of Muezzin praying in the distance, the Christian songs sung in the church or played through loudspeakers throughout the day. It all remind us of the openness and tolerance of the Ethiopians, their ability to function in mutual symbiosis, beyond religion and politics.”

Shivrag – New Album Released (Noctivagant – CD/Digital)
An intriguing dark/ritual ambient album that includes a combination of sweeping drones, rituals which include vocals and percussions, and extended vocal samples.

Winterblood – New Album Released (Digital Only)
Winterblood gives us the entirety of the Waldeinsamkeit trilogy in this latest release. Waldeinsamkeit I-III are some of the coldest tracks yet by Winterblood and are highly recommended!

This Is Darkness Recently Published Articles

Danny Mulhern (with London Contemporary Orchestra)
Reflections on a Dead Sea – Review by: Maxwell Heilman
Minimalism and atmosphere are nothing new to contemporary composers like Mulhern, but Reflections on a Dead Sea bridges the gap between dark ambient and modern classical in ways not often heard on either ends of the spectrum. Rich compositional potential commingles with introspective sonic platitudes, yielding a profoundly stimulating experience.
Read the full review here.

Frigid Horizons – Dark Ambient / Dungeon Synth Mix

Follow the protagonist through the coldest and bleakest northern horizons. From cold windy shores to the peaks of the tallest mountains he moves through these landscapes unwaivering in his will to push forward, searching for new lands and better days. Dark ambient and dungeon synth come together for this calming yet bleak and unforgiving wintry mix.
Listen to the mix here.

Sky Burial – Chapel Image
Review by: Przemyslaw Murzyn
“You may think of dozens of expressions to describe Sky Burial music, but “intimate” or “austere” definitely are not one of these. Michael Page surely knows how to overwhelm the listener with his vision and this album proves it once again.”
Read the full review here.

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This Is Darkness has gone live with the help of friends and supporters. I have been disabled since 2015, due to a spinal injury. Any support that can be given is greatly appreciated. Donations will go toward the maintenance of this site as well as additional promotion to increase its reach and influence. You can help through the donate button below,  or follow this link to the This Is Darkness Patreon page here.

Sky Burial – Chapel Image – Review

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On November 17, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: Sky Burial
Album: Chapel Image
Release date: 1 October 2017
Label: Wrotycz Records

Tracklist:
01. Chapel Image

 

It’s been a while since the last time I reviewed a Sky Burial album. But it’s one of these projects which are difficult to forget about, even when it is quiet about them for a longer period of time, because each release by Mike Page is like an epic journey, like watching the Earth from the perspective of the stratosphere, when you get the bigger picture. Literally and metaphorically.

This time we get only one monumental track lasting 45 minutes. “Chapel Image” came out through the effort of Wrotycz Records from Poznan, Poland. Iwona and Szymon produce about 2-3 releases a year, yet you can always be sure of the high quality and – what’s perhaps the most important – their honest and unconditional love of each and every record they work on.

And what’s not to love about “Chapel Image”? Maybe the cover as I really find this picture rather ugly. As for the music though, once again we get an epic ambient form in equal proportions deriving from the dark branch of the genre, the ethereal and the noisy/experimental one. The music is waving, slowly changing shapes and atmospheres, you don’t even notice when the turbulent “earthly” noise transforms into a spectral journey into the unknown. It pulsates slowly like the cosmos combining the massive drones with the multitude of different sounds and effects, natural and digital.

You may think of dozens of expressions to describe Sky Burial music, but “intimate” or “austere” definitely are not one of these. Michael Page surely knows how to overwhelm the listener with his vision and this album proves it once again.

Written by: Przemyslaw Murzyn

Danny Mulhern – Reflections on a Dead Sea – Review

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On November 16, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: Danny Mulhern and London Contemporary Orchestra
Album: Reflections on a Dead Sea
Release date: 10 November 2017
Label: 1631 Recordings

Tracklist:
01. Ganfuda
02. Captive
03. Night
04. Libya
05. Clandestine
06. Undercurrents
07. In the Hands of Strangers
08. The Dead Sea
09. My Child’s Name is Hope
10. Libya (Instrumental)

The cross-pollination of classical and ambient music is nothing new, as exemplified by more minimalist strains of the former coincided with the latter’s atmospheric entrenchment. Their shared evocative nature also gave them common ground in film scores, which Danny Mulhern’s newest outing proves as the London-based contemporary composer blurs the lines between modern classical and dark ambient to a magnificent effect.

Originally conceived as the score for a short film released last year called The Dead Sea, which follows the story of Libyan refugees caught trying to enter Europe, Reflections on a Dead Sea is the product of Mulhern’s collaboration with the London Contemporary Orchestra. Two violinists, a violist, a cellist, a harpist and a pianist join ranks and wash over the listener with arresting austerity.

The longest and most formed track on Reflections, “Libya” demonstrates Mulhern’s concern for modernized production within his orchestral pieces. Over a ritualistic chant, the song’s swaying lines find support from a sampled bass pulse and intentional use of white noise. This combination between traditional and synthetic sounds captivates with its gushing crescendos, yet remains intimate in its lurking dread. In fact, the album’s conclusion reprises this instrumental maze, proving its re-playability while emphasizing its instrumental strength.

Though certainly minimal, Reflections diverts from ambient conventions with its relative brevity. Five of these songs fall short of two-minute mark, none rise above five minutes and the album itself clocks in at 27. While those looking for something to soak in might find this underwhelming, Mulhern proves that length isn’t the only means of effectively transporting listeners out of a state of mind. Mulhern’s ensemble gives every track a unique stamp of musicality, pulling the album out of nebulous gloom and molding it into something undeniably memorable.

Whether it be the immense soundscape created by Oliver Coates’ cello and Vicky Lester’s harp in “Night” — along with piano interplay between Katherine Tinker and Mulhern — or the subterranean swells and thuds in “Clandestine,” these shorter cuts create their own vibes while bolstering the emotional weight of longer ones. Time limits certainly don’t stop “Undercurrents” and the title track from finding their respective footing in purposeful atonality, tremolo trills, and gargantuan drones (“My Child’s Name Is Hope” even pulls off a convincing arrival point in just over a minute). Of course, it goes without saying that the longer cuts allow Mulhern to truly shift reality for the listener.

Amorphous phrasing and chords envelop the listener in “Ganfuda” as the tonality of each instrument gushes through speakers and pulverizes the senses, while densely arranged cuts like “Captive” submerge the listener in monolithic textures. As it consistently avoids convention, the core of Reflections remains one of stark darkness.

“In The Hands Of Strangers” represents the most uplifting point of the record, but it still features an overarching sense of melancholy. The movie it bolsters certainly imparts beauty within suffering, and this song embodies this quality spectacularly. Harp and piano provide a melodic and modulative nucleus from which the other musicians blossom into heart-rending progressions. Though the tale he tells is marred with tragedy, Mulhern’s music still finds room to impart aspiration to the listener.

Minimalism and atmosphere are nothing new to contemporary composers like  Danny Mulhern, but Reflections on a Dead Sea bridges the gap between dark ambient and modern classical in ways not often heard on either ends of the spectrum. Rich compositional potential commingles with introspective sonic platitudes, yielding a profoundly stimulating experience.

Written by: Maxwell Heilman

Frozen In Time: Weekly News 2 November 2017

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On November 2, 2017

In Frozen In Time: Weekly News

This is covering the last two weeks, so needless to say, there will be a huge selection of music this week for readers to discover. Tons of great releases here so take your time with this one! For all those at the two huge dark ambient festivals in Europe this week, be safe, have fun, and take pictures!

New Releases and Pre-orders

A Bleeding Star – Two New Singles Released (Digital Only)
The latest track by A Bleeding Star is a thirteen minute a cold and contemplative track, entitled “Mesmerized Night: Amidst the Solace’s Mist of a Witch’s Crystallized Sight”.

“With Icefire Coursin’ Deep Within Me?.?.?.?I Hunt’d Her Killer through Kyoto’s Nightglowin’ Streets” is just short of six minutes. And yet, within this short time, A Bleeding Star takes us for a journey through the depths of Kyoto’s underworld. A harrowing journey which is made all the more attractive by its release in the ‘name your price’ format!

Akoustik Timbre Frekuency – New Album Released (Sombre Soniks – Digital)
“This month sees thee 17th release from Akoustik Timbre Frekuency on thee Sombre Soniks label. After thee mainly akoustik work of ‘Shamanik Sessions Vol. I’, ATF returns to a more processed elektroakoustik sound with a 52min Drone piece designed to augment thee listener’s meditative and trance Workings.
This is thee kulmination of nearly 2 years of experimentation fokusing on thee psykoakoustik properties of Drone Muziks. Instrumentation for this inkludes a range of processed Singing Bowls, Gongs, Bells and synthesised sounds.”

Anemone Tube – New Trilogy Released (The Epicurean – CD/Digital)
Far reaching pleasures will be at hand – Anemone Tube reveals a series of three CDs entitled “The Three Worlds: Allegory of Vanity / Forget Heaven / Vanity of Allegory”, referencing a cosmological treatise on the universe from the Theravada Buddhism of the 14th century, the subject matter of which is the description of three levels of existence of all beings and mythical creatures.
This extensive retrospective release contains selected tracks from various tapes released between 1997 and 1999 – mostly rare and unavailable today – as well as yet unreleased tracks recorded between 1997 and 2013, a.o. outtakes from the “Death Over China” recordings, handpicked and recontextualized by Anemone Tube, representing the project’s roughest and most atmospheric material up to date, ranging from depressive ritual experimental ambient over dark rhythmic industrial soundscapes to whirlwind noise. Sharply mastered by Hunter Barr for a powerful, contemporary sound, each CD comes in a 6-panel digifile featuring beautiful photography by Dario Lehner and is available as single CD as well as a limited edition 3 CD set in a lavish slipcase with poster, sticker and patch.

Aram 17 – New Album Released (Cephalopagus – Digital Only)
“Gloomy Angels is the second official Dark Ambient LP by an Armenian dark ambient project Aram 17, the album idea inspired by The Book of Enoch,an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, although modern scholars estimate the older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) to date from about 300 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably to the first century BC.
This first section of the Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim and narrates the travels of Enoch in the heavens. This section is said to have been composed in the 4th or 3rd century BC according to Western scholars.”

Arcana – Preorder Available (Cyclic Law – CD/Digital)
“Petrichor, the strong scent that emerges from earth when rain has fallen. Compiled here are songs from Arcana’s various eps and a gathering of compilation tracks, songs that may have been forgotten, gathered now for the first time as a whole. Throughout the years, the music of Arcana has morphed sonically, through various instrumentations, production techniques and most importantly it’s members. This compendium is another prime example of Arcana’s multiple facets and ethereal sound.”
Releases November 8, 2017.

Corona Barathri – New Single Released (Digital Only)
“A new ritual material written on the eve of the Great Sabbath, dedicated to all the dark souls – Faithful to the Diabolus!
Night of Evil, Night of the Nights, Night of the Triumph of Evil Force, Feeding the Fire with our blood.
Samael is the Father of Sins, the Source of Death.
Children of Nahema – Sons of Death, Dark Warriors, curse to god, curse to the world, curse to mankind.
Keep Black Fire Burning!
Honor Satan with your shed blood, evil word and evil deeds!
One Heart – One Essence.
DCLXVI”

Cryo Chamber Collaboration – Preorder Available (Cryo Chamber – CD/Digital)
A 2 hour dark soundscape album recorded by 20 ambient artists to pay tribute to H.P. Lovecraft.
Field recordings from foggy towns to desolate mountains. Deep space drone and crackling amplifiers combine into a black sky devoid of stars.
Yog-Sothoth is a cosmic entity and Outer God of the Cthulhu Mythos and the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. Born of the Nameless Mist, he is the progenitor of Cthulhu, Hastur the Unspeakable and the ancestor of the Voormi.
Yog-Sothoth is omniscient, and is locked outside the universe, meaning he knows and can see all of space-time all at once, that there is no secret hidden from Yog-Sothoth.

Cyclic Emanations – New Single Released (Ksenza – Digital Only)
Asylum is the latest single from Cyclic Emanations. It is a teaser for their upcoming cinematic horror / dark ambient release on the Russian Ksenza label.

Dark Awake – New Album Released (Dark Awake – CD/Digital)
“A combination of Martial Industrial and Dark Ambient soundscapes towards a deep and beautiful experience and even a sense of the sacred. Neoclassical arrangements with obscure and ritualistic dark ambient atmospheres.
“Atropos Of Eudaimonia” is not music for the entertainment…is a path for the wisdom.
Through the years DARK AWAKE have established their own identity and quality.. the new album is full of beauty, strength and spiritual evolution and the tracks convey and spread the ideas of aestheticism and transcendentalism.”

Dawn Tuesday – New Album Released (Digital Only)
Entity is a crushing drone ambient release by Dawn Tuesday. The sounds are quite interesting, sometimes giving a deeply malevolent feel, other times bringing forth a sense of calm ponderance.

dB/Mz – New Album Released (Frozen Light – CD/Digital)
“Frozen Light presents second album by Power Drone duo dB/Mz. Heavy Drone music with Ambient, Noise and Industrial elements. Dark sceneries of surrounding forests inhabited by strange animals, frightening birds and revived mushrooms…. Loud music for uneasy perception.”

DeepDark – New Album Released (Digital Only)
“New mysteries of the mind.
New dimensions of the soul.”

Elador – New EP Released (Digital Only)
Drowned Dreams, the latest release by Elador, showcases all his many talents in the varied fields of medieval dark ambient, dungeon synth and neo-classical. A brilliantly fantastical journey, as could only be expected of Elador!

EugeneKha – New Album Released (Aural Films – Digital)
“Aural Films is very happy to announce the return of Russian poet, musician, sound and visual artist, EugeneKha. His new album Breathe Slowly is a glorious showcase of the artists’ many talents. Blending field recordings, synthesizers, and sources from other artists with thoughtful musical passages. EugeneKha creates a unique, yet highly inviting music that drawls the listener into a warm sonic environment.”

EvilNox & Chaostetic – New Collaboration Released (Digital Only)
This is the collaboration of two dark medieval ambient projects, EvilNox and Chaostetic, from Russia and Moldova respectively.
The track “Silver Blood Of Moon” was recorded in 2014 year, but only now we want to publish this ambient manifesto.

Fear-Modern-Man – New Single Released (Digital Only)
“Desolation of the Wicked” takes listeners into the depths of an abandoned prison complex. In the bowels of the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, recognized as one of the most haunted properties in the United States, prisoners rot away in their pitch black, cold stone cubicles. Solitary confinement tears at the very fabric of one’s sanity in the best of cases, but in the underground solitary cells of this earliest form of the modern prison system, prisoners felt an acute discomfort and disconnect from humanity, as they would in few other places within the “civilized world”.

Halgrath – Two New Releases (Digital Only)
This latest EP by Halgrath brings together three of her recent tracks. The music certainly displays some of her established style, but this EP aims to be used as a tool for “deep space meditation” and taps into a space ambient style of sound that we wouldn’t usually associate with the Halgrath project.

Existence Beyond the Edge takes Halgrath even further into her new deep space ambient territory. Music perfect for meditation and contemplation of the vast barren expanse that is our universe.

Hermit – New Album Released (Grey Matter Productions – CD/Cassette/Digital)
“A series of of negative vibratory expulsions from my conscious joined together with depressive anti-mantras swirling in my mind during the most difficult time of my life thus far. Consider this a transfer of energy from my personal emotions and feelings during that time into sound.”

Jinthra – New Album Released (Sombre Soniks – Digital)
“Sombre Soniks is very excited to announce thee debut release from Jinthra, thee new solo Projekt of Jindrich Spilka (Druhá Smrt & A Most Accursed).
From thee Artist:
‘As Jinthra is a solo project, the manifestation of sounds are from a strictly personal magickal/existential Weltanschauung. This was recorded during rather extreme magickal practices; deconstruction to a Non-Self from a radical perspective of aut(arch)ist in the moment that awakens from flowing cycles of time/times…'”

Maha Pralaya – New Album Released (Digital Only)
Chronos is a live set performed by Maha Pralaya at a live summer session in 2017. Expect all the darkness and ritual ambient that Maha Pralaya have to offer!

Moloch – New Album Released (CD/Digital)
“At last, after eleven years since the debut, the dungeon synth / dark synth legacy of Moloch will finally be released on CD. It’s not your ordinary “The Best of Record” but a true journey through time and space…
This upcoming, huge compilation, “The Vatican Cellars” will feature a total of 36 tracks that have been meticulously selected by Moloch himself. The 2CD collection will include both full-length releases “Withering Hopes” and “Onoskelis” as well as the “Yog-Sothoth” EP released previously on CD-R and digital by Moloch under the guise of I.A. SERPENTOR. Above all that the compilation will also include never before released tracks written and recorded between 2004-2011.”

Nunc Stans – New Album Released (DataObscura – CD/Digital)
“Deep ambient excursions from Nunc Stans. Journey to the edge of invisibility and uncertainty. A more purely drone based release than recent Nunc Stans albums, but also a little more enigmatic, minimal, and exploratory. This is music for the beginning of things. Composed and performed by Anthony Paul Kerby.”

Old Sorcery – New Album Released (Garavlúth Records – CD/Cassette/Digital)
This is one of the most talked about new dungeon synth projects of the last year. When Old Sorcery posted this album to their Bandcamp several months back there was a frenzy in the industry deciding where the album would be physically released as fans patiently awaited the outcome. Garavlúth Records is giving Realms of Magickal Sorrow a proper release on CD and Cassette. I highly recommend this release to those that only find few dungeon synth releases which they enjoy. This one is top-notch.

Randal Collier-Ford – New EP Released (Digital Only)
“‘Everything has brought you here… You were never in control.’
[APEX] is an effort to fill in the blanks in the Apocalypse trilogy, the sombre story of Promethean’s protagonist before embarking on the pilgrimage of metamorphosis during the third chapter in the series. Here, we’ll see the reality of his life play out in individual stories through each track through avantgarde industrial drone music.”

Rapoon – New Album Released (Winter-Light – CD/Digital)
“In celebration of this, his 25th Silver Anniversary, we are releasing a triptych of new work from Rapoon entitled The Mercury Rising Trilogy. The Mercury Rising Trilogy will comprise of three brand new studio albums, all with exclusive material. The albums will bring a new feel to Robin’s work, that of a more off world spacious feel, jazzy in parts with a ceremonial thread running throughout. Each album interlinked by this feel and theme, as the titles suggest, but with each one still having it’s own unique identity.
Sanctus Equinox is a portrayal of that world, a painted landscape of the secret rites and ceremonies practiced by it’s inhabitants. Celebrations and rituals created to overcome the sense of loss and abandonment, after being discarded by their creators, deemed to have no further worth. Scattered across the many moons in their new solar system, they gather en masse to worship under alien skies, bathed in the fractured light of moons and suns. Dressed in splendid costumes, they sing and dance along great winding, standing stone pathways; a procession of vibrant colours and chants moving hypnotically towards stone circles raised high to the heavens.”

Robert Davies – New Album Released (DataObscura – CD/Digital)
While certainly more in the realms of ambient than dark ambient, this latest release by Robert Davies is awash with brilliant field recordings and somber, relaxed dronework. Highly recommended for those that love field recordings of nature to be a major component in their ambient listening experiences!
“A gorgeous new release from Robert Davies, a perfect follow up to the earlier Estuary. Consistent and delicate pastoral ambient beauty.
A work that brings the listener into intimate liaison with a nature both beautiful and profound.”

Scott Lawlor – New Album Released (Digital Only)
The Origin of Supernatural Astronomical Phenomena 5 is a three part album, coming in at over an hour play-length. The music consists of three long-form ambient drone tracks which take a spooky sort of space ambient theme.

Sea of Åland – New Album Released (Throne of Bael – Digital)
A new dark ambient experience that focuses on the mystery of the 1959 disappearance of 9 ski-hikers at the Dyatlov Pass.

Sun Through Eyelids – New Album Released (Digital Only)
“Impermanence, also called Anicca or Anitya, is one of the essential doctrines and a part of three marks of existence in Buddhism. The doctrine asserts that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is “transient, evanescent, inconstant”.
“Awareness of impermanence and appreciation of our human potential will give us a sense of urgency that we must use every precious moment.” ~ Dalai Lama

Sven Laux – Pre-order Available (Dronarivm – CD/Digital)
“Paper Streets is a deeply intimate and vulnerable affair. Released on the Russian label Dronarivm, Sven paints minimal landscapes with watercolors in shades of violin, cello & piano; stripped bare & soaked in memory.
The artist’s works bares a sense of detachment & reflection that usually occurs with the passing of time. Forlorn irony shows itself as it reminds you what feels like to fall in love for the first time, while conjuring ghosts from the last time you shared a gaze.
Now residing in Berlin, Sven Laux has done anything but conform. His unique take on music making has him sharing the company of artisans like Pheek, Ezekiel Honig and Marc Neyen. Laux has become notorious for manipulating foundsounds and employing layers of field recordings in his work. In a discography that stretches back to 2006, there remains a prevalent underlying passion for the obscure.”
Releases November 3, 2017.

Theologian – New Album Released (Danvers State Recordings – Cassette/Digital)
“Theologian returns from a trek into the deepest internal chasms, after drowning in misery and self-defeat, to the gates of the Forced Utopia, released in time for Theologian’s appearance at INTO THE AETHER, a two-day festival in Portland, Maine.”

Troum – Preorders Available (Black Mara – CD/Digital)
“It is a musical labyrinth in which we go from our earliest days, reliving every moment of the immense awe of the sublime. One topic gives way to another like the meandering paths. And revelation comes when seemingly no way out of a confusing puzzle. And if you’re a wanderer, your journey is complete. You’ve found yourself.” Releases 10 November.

Waeltaja – New Album Released (Digital Only)
The Cold Journey takes Waeltaja into the cold foggy mountains of Northern Europe. A nice combination of winter synth and dark ambient which brings to mind the sounds of Vinterriket. Definitely worth checking out.

Wolves and Horses – New Album Released (Digital Only)
Many readers will be familiar with Wolves and Horses from the their recent contribution to the Tomb of Seers collaboration on Cryo Chamber. Sangreal takes us into the rich history of Arthurian legend. “Every track was written with this story in mind and is an evocation of a place or a character.”

Sales!

Reverse Alignment
Reverse Alignment Autumn Sale!
Check out Reverse Alignment’s distro page here for their Autumn Sale with many discounted items. Move fast it will be ending on 12 November!

Cryo Chamber
Council of Nine Sale!
In this weeks sale we are focusing on Council of Nine and his beautiful, melancholic and dark ambience. Save 50% on these digital downloads:

Council of Nine – Dakhma
“After two outstanding pieces on the Tomb Of Empires split, the first LP by Council Of Nine raised high hopes. And even if I found Dakhma pretty hermetic at first, persistence paid and revealed this album as a great personal overview of a thousand-year-old Persian ritual.
Not unnecessarily subtle, the massive drones and cryptic sonic elements serve the aural descriptions of ancient rites revolving around the topics of spirituality, death and purification.
A captivating release.”

Council of Nine – Diagnosis
“Council Of Nine’s Diagnosis feels personal, deep, dark, and yet still warm and inviting. It doesn’t warn us of the twisted mind as much as it invites us to join it. Council Of Nine offers the perfect meditative experience here.”

Council of Nine – Trinity
“The subtlety and nuance on Trinity is only possible for an artist that has been fine-tuning his craft nonstop over the last few years. Council of Nine has had little downtime since his first appearance on Tomb of Empires. He has become a master at pulling the emotions of the listener in any direction he chooses, all the while delivering top-notch musical output.”

This Is Darkness Week(s) in Review

Svartsinn – Mørkets Variabler – Review
Mørkets Variabler is an absolute success and well worth the long wait since the last proper full-length release. Svartsinn proves that he is still at the very top of his game on this one. Each will have their own opinions, but to me this is the apex of his work. The further addition of Amund Ulvestad’s cello and the bolder format of the majority of the album give Mørkets Variabler a character of its own, allowing it to distinctly stand out from the rest of the Svartsinn discography. If you are looking for pure and utter darkness, one need look no further than Mørkets Variabler. This is darkness in its purest form.
Read the full review here.

Aeoga – Obsidian Outlander – Review
For those familiar with the previous works of Aural Hypnox, and Aeoga in particular, there should be little motivation needed to purchase this release. For those, likely many, dark ambient fans that have not experienced the music from this label, Obsidian Outlander is a great starting point. It showcases some of their more stripped down ritual ambient style, while other parts of the album move into that more subtle and hypnotic territory, which I find to be such a draw to these projects.
Read the full review here.

Bell Witch – Mirror Reaper – Review on the Periphery
Funeral doom stands apart from metal stereotypes in that its exploration of death goes beyond something to deal or be dealt, instead exploring the philosophy behind finality and the combination of fear and serenity it entails. Since Funeral’s first demo sparked the genre into existence, no band has embodied a metallic procession quite like Bell Witch. The duo have done to funeral doom what Sleep did to stoner metal with Dopesmoker — taking the genre to its limits while epitomizing its potential on a grand scale. Mirror Reaper will be remembered as a triumph for this movement, an encapsulation of its most moving attributes.
Read the full review here.

Please consider making a donation!

This Is Darkness has gone live with the help of friends and supporters. I have been disabled since 2015, due to a spinal injury. Any support that can be given is greatly appreciated. Donations will go toward the maintenance of this site as well as additional promotion to increase its reach and influence. You can help through the donate button below,  or follow this link to the This Is Darkness Patreon page here.

Aeoga – Obsidian Outlander – Review

By

On October 31, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: Aeoga
Album: Obsidian Outlander
Release date: 18 May 2017
Label: Aural Hypnox

Tracklist:
01. Initiatory Boil
02. Rot-Magnetism
03. The Black Loom
04. Obsidian Towering
05. Outer Observatory
06. The Sublime Canvas

(Note: I would usually place an embed link to the music here. Aural Hypnox doesn’t sell their albums in digital versions and thus there are no online players which I can use. The album can be found un-officially on Youtube, but I would urge readers, especially those new to Aural Hypnox, to give this album a try in its physical version as intended by the label and artists.)

Aeoga is a solo project by Antii Haapapuro, one of the founding members of the Aural Hypnox label. He is also part of other Aural Hypnox projects including Arktau Eos, Halo Manash and I.Corax. Beginning in 2004, Aural Hypnox entered the dark ambient / ritual ambient industry of music. Surrounded by labels like Cyclic Law, Malignant Records and Cold Meat Industry, Aural Hypnox made a name for themselves with their uncompromising attention to uniqueness and detail as well as a rigorous do-it-yourself attitude.

Beginning with their debut, Coav: AH02, Aeoga set about on their mission “To exhaust mind and body in order to obtain a condition of non-consciousness and thus receive, realize and create material based on both primal and absent vision”. Over the following decade Aeoga would continue to adhere to their primary goal and simultaneously improve upon their musical performance. Now with their latest release, Obsidian Outlander, Aeoga break new ground as the first project on the label to release an album in the vinyl format.

It should be little surprise that this vinyl release is beautifully realized and given all the care and attention expected of an Aural Hypnox release. The vinyl edition comes in two variants: gold or the more limited silver variant. The album, in its vinyl or CD versions, comes with three art prints with text about the album on their reverse sides.

The album opens with “Initiatory Boil” which incorporates rattling chains, ominous pads and a variety of other field recordings to set the tone and atmosphere for the album. “Rot-Magnetism” follows with manipulated loops that create a dream-like atmosphere, which bring to mind the works of Kammarheit. These loops are built upon with field-recordings of strange mechanical noises which give the track a duality of super-natural and industrial influence. Treated voices are heard emerging from the background, as if lost souls are calling from just beyond the void, reaching out to the musician as the lines of his craft are blurred, between the creation of music and the strong ritual presence, which drenches all releases on the Aural Hypnox label.

“The Black Loom” and “Obsidian Towering” take a more traditional ritual ambient role than the rest of the album, using chants and tribal drums to build their foundations. Whereas we were previously winding through mystical realms residing outside the laws of space and time, these two tracks ground us in our earthly haunts. The minimal nature of these tracks do not take away from their potency. They work as a captivating bridge between the two halves of the release.

“Outer Observatory” is one of the highlights of the album. Gently morphing synth, melts into distorted dronework and minimalistic field recordings to create an atmosphere that could be considered the most straight-forward dark ambient on Obsidian Outlander. The shifts in intensity take it from subdued soundscapes into harsher territories reminiscent of Yen Pox. The beauty is in the masterful handling of these dynamics, moving between two opposing elements, without any clashes in atmospherics.

While Aural Hypnox has long been known for the quality and craftsmanship of their CD and cassette releases, Obsidian Outlander gives us the first taste of what to expect for the future of Aural Hypnox. The enthusiasm in the market for vinyl releases has made it possible for many of these smaller but well-established and respected labels to take the plunge into this format. The Obsidian Outlander vinyl comes in a beautiful and unique package and I can only imagine what Aural Hypnox will come up with for coming releases to keep delivering on their mission to create premium physical releases in this medium.

For those familiar with the previous works of Aural Hypnox, and Aeoga in particular, there should be little motivation needed to purchase this release. For those, likely many, dark ambient fans that have not experienced the music from this label, Obsidian Outlander is a great starting point. It showcases some of their more stripped down ritual ambient style, while other parts of the album move into that more subtle and hypnotic territory, which I find to be such a draw to these projects.

Written by: Michael Barnett

Svartsinn – Mørkets Variabler – Review

By

On October 19, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: Svartsinn
Album: Mørkets Variabler
Release date: 31 October 2017
Label: Cyclic Law

Tracklist:
01. And In This Cloak Of Darkness I Cast My Shadow Short (Ghost Boy)
02. Doubt As Sin (Nietzsce’s Lament)
03. Echoes Of Silent Cries (Among The Sea Of Trees)
04. In The Wake Of Azathoth (A Lovecraftian Epilogue)
05. Yearning Part 2 (Å Kjenne På Ensomheten)
06. Where No Other Can Follow (Demon Stalker)
07. Vemod (Cello Mix)

Svartsinn has long been lauded as one of the foremost names in the dark ambient genre. He is one of a number of renowned Scandinavian dark ambient musicians that have left their mark on dark ambient since the earliest parts of its second wave. Where Svartsinn differs from his fellow countrymen is in the general themes of his music. Svartsinn, more so than almost any other musician in the genre, conjures images of pure darkness like a true master. This is the sort of darkness we can expect from horror films, not in its execution, not like a horror soundtrack, but in its ability to invoke a pure crushing sense of darkness. The darkness of shadows, dark sorcery and the depths of a demented murderer’s mind.

Svartsinn first caught the attention of the dark ambient world in 2000 with his debut, Devouring Consciousness on Eibon Records. Following this release, he was part of the seminal release Nord Ambient Alliance. Along with his fellow Scandinavian dark ambient artists Northaunt and Kammarheit, Svartsinn would go on to become one of the most recognizable acts on the Cyclic Law label, a label to which he still calls home to this day. Yet in this time, we have only seen four previous full-length releases, Mørkets Variabler being the fifth.

While many artists become prolific in their release of new material, Svartsinn broods over his releases for years on end. He makes sure to create something that will easily stand the test of time, each becoming an integral element of his discography. Though his last proper full-length release was way back in 2009, its opener track “Vemod” can still be seen as a perfect example of how truly dark, dark ambient can sound.

As mentioned previously, “Vemod” has arguably become the most familiar and favored track of Svartsinn‘s career. One of the main changes in his style of sound can be perfectly reflected in the rendition of this track on Mørkets Variabler. The closer of Mørkets Variabler, “Vemod (Cello Mix)”, showcases the talents of Svartsinn‘s recent partner in darkness. Amund Ulvestad has been traveling with Svartsinn for the last few years. They have conducted Svartsinn live performances as a duo, with Jan Roger Pettersen as the dark ambient maestro and Amund Ulvestad applying his cello work atop the soundscapes. Amund Ulvestad has now been brought into the studio alongside Pettersen to contribute his cello talents to a great portion of Mørkets Variabler. Though we know he is on a portion of the album, the specific tracks are not named, so we can keep our ears and minds open to those subtle cello sounds, permeating much of the release.

Speaking of subtleties, Svartsinn, in my mind, has always been one of the more subtle of dark ambient artists in his execution of soundscapes. Much of his catalog of songs is steeped in eerie sounds which linger in the background, building up a nuanced but potent atmosphere. Mørkets Variabler deviates a good bit from this template. Much, if not all, of this album is bold and thick with atmospherics. The most direct example of this is in the use of vocal samples through a portion of the album. There are Gregorian chants, which fit perfectly into the background of “Doubt As Sin (Nietzsce’s Lament)”. The same track closes with haunting female whispers. I will leave it to the listeners to discover her exact words. “Echoes of Silent Cries (Among The Sea Of Trees)”, possibly the darkest and most unsettling track on the album, features samples of the screams and cries of some tortured souls, as if the track had captured field recordings straight from the fiery depths of hell. In general, the entire album seems to be awash with numerous thick layers of sound, building each track into a monumental amalgamation of horrifying soundscapes.

Svartsinn isn’t known to focus on any one sense of darkness or thematics throughout an album, instead his music touches on various elements of darkness in any one of its incarnations from track to track. In this habit Mørkets Variabler does not differ. Some tracks seem to take on a personal tone, while others like “In The Wake Of Azathoth (A Lovecraftian Epilogue)” or “Doubt As Sin (Nietzsce’s Lament)” focus on literary or philosophical themes. While, for some, this could be seen as a downside, it is what Svartsinn has always done, and he has found praise and recognition throughout his career because of, not in spite of, this point. Svartsinn attracts the listener with many and varied mini-stories and themes throughout his albums, taking listeners throughout a tour of deviant, lamented and horrific domains.

There is no question that Frederic Arbour, owner of Cyclic Law, sees Svartsinn as one of his most prized artists on the label to this day. One need only look at the regal manner in which this release has been conducted. The cover art benefits greatly from the brilliant dark arts of Dehn Sora, who has contributed one of his most potent images to date. This artwork is given a greater chance to be appreciated through the 2LP version of the album. The vinyl edition also is of note because it houses an exclusive extra track, a remix of “Echoes Of Silent Cries” by Kammarheit. This brings the total running time of the vinyl edition to 72 minutes of pure darkness. For the CD, we are offered a well-crafted 4 panel hardcover digibook which includes a 16 page inner-booklet. The release is further accompanied by a new t-shirt donning the Svartsinn white bird logo.

Mørkets Variabler is an absolute success and well worth the long wait since the last proper full-length release. Svartsinn proves that he is still at the very top of his game on this one. Each will have their own opinions, but to me this is the apex of his work. The further addition of Amund Ulvestad’s cello and the bolder format of the majority of the album give Mørkets Variabler a character of its own, allowing it to distinctly stand out from the rest of the Svartsinn discography. If you are looking for pure and utter darkness, one need look no further than Mørkets Variabler. This is darkness in its purest form.

Written by: Michael Barnett

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