July 2017 - This Is Darkness

Month: July 2017 (Page 1 of 2)

Frozen In Time – Weekly News 31 July 2017

On July 31, 2017

First order of business this week is a correction to the Vond review from last week. Vond Green Eyed Demon was re-released on Funeral Industries label, not Omnipresence! My apologies for the confusion.

I am again mentioning our Patreon page, where we could use some much needed support. I am currently not even making enough back to pay for the monthly maintenance of the bank account which I must have to accept donations! I really don’t want to see this whole thing come crashing down around me in the near future, and I really can’t stress how much the support of the community is needed. Please! Consider supporting This Is Darkness through Patreon, here.

There are a ton of new releases this week, also you will see at the bottom some very interesting new articles published here on This Is Darkness, which include an in-depth interview with Worms of the Earth, an exclusive streaming of a brand new track from the upcoming album by Asath Reon on Black Mara Records and my latest review of Cadabra Records Spoken Arts material, this time it’s No Ordinary Fairy by Roland Topor!

Music Videos & Promo Videos

Hilyard – New Video Released
Dustlight (feat. Andrew J. Klimek) is taken from the brand new EP, Suspension, released on Elm Records.

Sun Through Eyelids – New Video Released
Single from forthcoming album coming late 2017
Filmed on location in New Zealand.

Vacant Stations – ‘Clones’ Official Promo Video
Awaken. Force yourself up. Draw the blinds. Grey light burns your eyes. Plug yourself in. Step out of the door and fade in to the swim….
From the first opening moments of ‘Day’, you already know that you are about to experience something totally different from the artist ‘Vacant Stations’. As the first solemn sounding, notes play out, the mood is set, hanging in the air like a heavy, dark oppressive mantle. But all is not lost…there is always hope.
Vacant Stations is an ambient project hailing from London, UK who has a background in film and video. Through his music, Vacant Stations generally hopes to conjure visuals and inspire creativity. A little bit about the thoughts behind ‘Clones’ in the words of the artist himself.
“Some of the motivations and intentions behind ‘Clones’, are mostly concerning the theme of identity: A meditation on the conflict and pressures of striving for individualism in an era of homogenisation, while considering implications about the future of human identity as it inevitably merges with the technology it creates. A self-reflexive comment on what have come to be regarded as dark ambient genre conventions. Hopefully a sense of narrative also comes through.” – Vacant Stations.

New Releases & Preorders

A Bleeding Star – New Weekly Single (Digital Only)
Back like clockwork, A Bleeding Star hits us with another dark ambient delight. As always, the track is ‘name your price’, so give it a listen!

Acclimate – New Album Released (Digital Only)
Experimental/ambient veteran Acclimate releases their latest album, Dreams of a Mad Titan as “name your price” through Bandcamp. Give this spacey dark ambient album a listen!

Atrox Pestis / Strigae split c40
20 minutes of material from two dark ambient side projects. Atrox Pestis is Grant Richardson of Gnawed and Strigae is Leo Brucho. Both artists are know for their PE and HN material but come out strong with these tracks of eerie ambience reminiscent of being lost in the woods while you wait for the…
PHAGETAPES.MIIDUU.COM

Carbon Based Lifeforms – New Album, Derelicts, Announced (Blood Music / Leftfield Records)
Legendary ambient unit Carbon Based Lifeforms returns after a six year hiatus with their most haunting work to date. The Swedish duo’s fifth album “Derelicts” escorts the group’s massive analog ambiance to new heights.
Building upon traditions created in CBL’s early trilogy, the group’s calm, exoplanetary atmospheres are on full display – eliciting an unbelievable journey between Earth and the darkest of cosmos. “Derelicts” begins where the band’s incredible 2010 work “Interloper” completes and grows outwards from everything the band has delivered before.
Using a vast array of analog synthesis alongside sampled dishwashers, water pumps, escalators, and teething toys; the album comments on the most organic of life forces through its own constructed machines.
Recalling similar atmospheres as Brian Eno’s Apollo music, Aphex Twin’s early works, and Boards Of Canada – CBL is the obscure soundtrack to a longstanding search between the nature of Earth and extraterrestrial existence. Best enjoyed with a bottle of wine (or two) and a massive pair of headphones.
A co-release between Blood Music and the band’s own Leftfield Records.
RELEASE DATE: October 6th, 2017

Cousin Silas – New Album Released (Cephalopagus Records – Digital Only)
An album inspired by the various literary encounters I’ve had with Crowley, Parsons and Blavatsky. In journals like Fortean Times, the topic and subject of the ‘occult’ is often discussed and written about, and I’ve always found it rather interesting. The pieces on the album are a kind of aural soundscapes, moods, that were created with certain aspects of the occult in mind.

Eagle Stone – New Album Released (Eagle Stone Collective – CD/Digital)
Musique improvisée et composée entre janvier 2016 et juillet 2017, enregistrée en juillet 2017 par John Scott Gartner et Caleb R.K. Williams.

Gianluca Livi (& co.) – New Album Released (Modulator Records – CD/Digital)
This brilliant new work by Gianluca Livi and company is a blend of many different styles of music from neo-classical, to dark ambient / drone to post-rock. All this variation certainly makes for an interesting and somber listen.
Get an audio preview and read more about the album here.

Hilyard – Suspension EP (Elm Records – Digital Only)

Master Toad – New Album Released (Dark Forest Media – Digital Only)
“Enter into a world where danger looms, creatures lurk, and landscapes shift.”

Natural Orthodoxy – New Album Released
[Power Electronics/Industrial] (Digital Only)
While this certainly falls a bit outside the realms of dark ambient, it is tastefully subdued for being labelled as a power-electronics act, and seems to be worth exploring by fans of the dark ambient corners of the world. “name your price” so you can’t go wrong!
“Power electronics/industrial highly influenced by Con-Dom and The Grey Wolves. Aggressive yet miserable and hypnotic.
This album explores the meditation of death and human nature found in Camus’ ‘L’Etranger’.”

protoU & Hilyard – New Album Released (Cryo Chamber – CD/Digital)
ProtoU (Ukraine) and Hilyard (Maine, US) group up in this field recording heavy collaboration. Alpine Respire immerses you in field recordings from two continents. Warm drone contrasts raindrops and the call of animals in the wild. This damp album invites you to explore the unreachable corners of the Earth. From the harshest mountains to the darkest forests. Recommended for fans of Field Recording and slowly progressing drone.

Scott Lawlor – New Album Released (Digital Only)
“These 10 tracks were improvised in the month of March of 2017 for what I was planning to be Desert Nocturnes Volume 2 (More Ambient Excursions for the season of Lent). After 10 days of writing around 3 hours of music for the project, I abandoned this idea since I already have volume one, which is being reissued in 2018 as a remastered set with all new artwork. I decided that the tracks here under the name “A Broken Spirit” make a good collection so that is what you have. All tracks were one-take improvisations on the Roland fa-88 synthesizer with no overdubs. I hope you enjoy the music and I thank you, as always, for your listenership and support.”

sp3ct3rs – New Single Released (Digital Only)
Montreal’s Jim Wylde, also known for his projects Soft Altars and Mithraeum, has released a single with his dark ambient project sp3ct3rs. sp3ct3rs has released some music through Sombre Soniks ritual ambient label, and has a brand new eponymous album released which should be seeing a review here on This Is Darkness in the near future.

Thalaron – Pre-orders Available (Digital Only)
“Ambient space music with influences of berlin school electronics are a few words to describe the new project of Phelios mastermind Martin Stürtzer. Each track carries a set of carefully programmed sequences and sounds that are played and recorded in improvised live studio sessions using analog synths and drum machines as well as state of the art digital tools. No samples or presets have been used while creating this music.”

Physical Re-Releases

Krzystof Penderecki – Kosmogonia Re-released (Cold Spring – CD/Digital)
Unnerving, intense, bloodcurdling, sinister, dramatic – the music of “Kosmogonia” features Penderecki’s famous, unorthodox instrumental techniques, and some of the darkest music ever composed.
Hailed by The Guardian as “Poland’s greatest living composer”, Krzysztof Penderecki is the maestro behind the unforgettable, disturbing music on The Shining (including ‘De Natura Sonoris No. 2’, featured here). A complex tapestry of sound with striking use of pizzicato and flexatone, with aggressive barrages from brass and percussion, dissonant woodwind chords, spoken and hissing sounds, fervent strings, swirling organ, climactic choral and solo vocals.
Krzysztof Penderecki’s unique music has featured in films such as: The Shining, The Exorcist, Children Of Men, The People Under The Stairs, Shutter Island, and many more.
Thanks to the estate of Krzysztof Penderecki, Cold Spring are honoured to present this masterpiece in digital format for the first time since the 1974 vinyl release. Sympathetically remastered for CD by Denis Blackham and Martin Bowes. Digipak.
Order CD: http://store.coldspring.co.uk/index.php…
Order CD+DL: https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/kosmogonia-csr238cd

Trepaneringsritualen – Perfection & Permanence Vinyl Re-Release (Cold Spring – Vinyl)
‘Perfection & Permanence’ Blood Red Vinyl LP, Ltd 500.
“…a perversely satisfying experience. With Perfection & Permanence, Ekelund has created that most chimeric of beasts: an accessible, even what some might say commercial, noise album. The shadowy world of power electronics and by extension death industrial can be tough for a novice to navigate, but Trepaneringsritualen makes for an excellent starting point.” (Pitchfork) Out 21 August 2017.
Pre-Order LP: http://store.coldspring.co.uk/index.php…
Pre-Order LP+DL: https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/…/perfection-permanence-csr…
Listen: https://soundcloud.com/coldspring/trepaneringsritualen-7th

Sales

Loki Found Bandcamp 25% Discount
25 % OFF ALL LOKI & PAS ITEMS at Bandcamp
USE CODE: 25daysLOKI
16/07/2017 – 10/08/2017
loki-found.bandcamp.com

Malignant Records Bandcamp digital downloads sale.
It’s almost August, which means we’re officially mired in the dog days of summer. To escape the heat and suffocating humidity, might I suggest you stay indoors and take advantage of the newly applied 30% discount on digital downloads over at the Malignant bandcamp page? Just use the code dogdays30 at checkout and curse the sun as you drift into darkness.
https://malignantrecs.bandcamp.com/

This Is Darkness Week In Review

Asath Reon – Exclusive New Track Premiered On This Is Darkness!!!!
Asath Reon and the Black Mara Records label have provided This Is Darkness with our first exclusive listen! Check out the new track by Asath Reon and read the interview I conducted with him about his new album, beliefs and musical tastes.
Read the full interview and hear the new track here.

Cadabra Records – No Ordinary Fairy by Roland Topor
“If you are a fan of Topor’s works, enjoy the music of Theologian, or just love to collect unique and high-quality vinyl releases, the No Ordinary Fairy LPshould be right up your alley. Cadabra Records have quickly solidified themselves in the vanguard of the spoken arts. I really can’t recommend the works of this label enough, and No Ordinary Fairy is a perfectly suitable place to start.”
Read the full review here.

Worms of the Earth – Interview
Dan Barrett is the man behind Worms of the Earth. Over the last few years he has covered a lot of different ground with his musical project Worms of the Earth. While dark ambient has always been close to his heart and a staple of his music, he’s never afraid to blend and even traverse into new territory and different genres. He told me that he had a sale going on, 40% off his last two full length albums, Sitra Achra and Azal’ucel. He set this sale in motion as a nod to his previous accomplishments, but also as a notification of the rebirth of Worms of the Earth. Curious about the changes in store, and wanting to let readers know about these two excellent albums, I decided to interview Dan. You should really get to know a lot about Dan’s background as a musician, and the level of seriousness and spiritual energy he has put into the project over the years.
Read the interview here.

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Exclusive: New Asath Reon Track Revealed + Q&A

By Michael Barnett

On July 31, 2017

In Articles

Asath Reon is the latest artist to join Black Mara Records. I’ve been following the progress of Michal Polgar, the man behind Asath Reon for several years now, and we’ve become friends over the process of many chats about dark ambient and related topics. Michal and Black Mara Records allowed This Is Darkness to publish an exclusive premiere of one track, “The Damned” from the upcoming album Buried Visions which is set to release on 10 August 2017. I also decided to take this opportunity to pick Michal’s brain and give readers a bit of background on the music, the man and the message behind Asath Reon. I hope you will all enjoy!

“The Damned” by Asath Reon, from the upcoming album Buried Visions

Michael: Congratulations on the upcoming release on Black Mara. This looks like a pretty impressive debut. Are you happy with everything leading up to the release?

Asath Reon: Thank you Michael, I’m glad you have such a positive view on the release. Of course, I’m really happy about it. There were no difficulties or negatives in the creation process and I enjoyed working on it.

Michael: How would you classify the sounds of Asath Reon?

Asath Reon: Well, this is quite hard question. This music in general is characterized by most people as meditative, ritualistic, spiritual, or even ominous. But about the sounds its a bit different. The intention is to highlight the ritual instruments and their sounds. Classification of this is complicated, because their scale of use and their effects on the human psyché and beyond is very wide.

Michael: How long have you been into ritual/dark ambient music?

Asath Reon: I have been in this kind of music since 2013.

Michael: Is this your first endeavor as a dark/ritual ambient artist?

Asath Reon: No it´s not. When I discovered dark ambient music, I felt this is something more than music. I wanted to participate in it, because I knew there is a sea of feelings and thoughts to express. 2013 was the beginning, I had no project yet, just a few songs I put on Youtube. Then after that, a new project was born, named Morvranh. It was my first project, and in 2014 since there was support from many people who liked it, I continued to create music. Also, 2014 brought my first physical release, under the wings of Forest Path Records. Then there was a second project we were working on with Ruairi O´Baoighill named Order of the Black Dawn. This project had a physical release on the Noctivagant label. It was a pleasure to get in touch with people from various labels and also artists. Every person gave me inspiration and we were working on something very important for us, we were able to influence each other. I’m really glad for all of these experiences and the things we share. After all of this I realized that ritual ambient is something I really want to do, because it can evoke the deepest messages. That’s why Asath Reon was created. And I have to say, the approach to Asath Reon is much different from these other projects. My music-creation process has improved since 2013 and that’s why I can focus on recordings of, lets say “ritualistic” experiences, the things going on are much more complex. This word, ritualistic, is just an idea. With my improved skills in music-creation, I am able to produce sounds that can give a whole new concept to the songs.

Michael: What sorts of hardware was used in the creation of Buried Visions?

Asath Reon: There are a lot of instruments. I used two of my kangling trumpets, singing bowls in combination with bowed singing bowls, percussions, drums, chimes, mouth harp, other metallic objects, conch shell, vajra-shaped bell and more. As for the hardware, I used IC recorder with a studio microphone connected with two adapters, my laptop with DAW, keyboard, lots of plugins and of course my voice.

Michael: How long have you been working on Buried Visions?

Asath Reon: I started to work on it in 2016. But the concept was in my head earlier than this. The idea and specific way of expression of the whole project were things that needed to be here before the actual recording process could begin.

Michael: Is there a particular meaning behind the name Asath Reon?

Asath Reon: Yes, but it´s very subjective and has a deep meaning only to a very small, secret group of people in my country.

Michael: Do you expect future releases to follow the format of this album? Or, do you think that you will move into new territory for your next release?

Asath Reon: I’m glad for this question. I have to say, that for releasing this album with its whole idea and concept, working with the Black Mara label was simply the best decision. After Dmitrij, from Black Mara Records, asked me about it, I knew this would be the best suited home for the Asath Reon project. It was not because of how nicely Black Mara are doing their physical releases. It was about the treatment of ideas, the way of approach to the mentioned concepts, eye for art and what would be the best solution for the variety of aspects during the whole releasing process.

Michael: Can you explain a little bit about the physical release, as it comes with a handmade book?

Asath Reon: The album comes with a booklet of photos which I made, and a pendant with the eye used in the symbol of Asath Reon. All of the photos are thematically on one wave. They depict ritual objects, places, and archaeological finds along with a combination of old cultish ideas, funerary rites, and necromancy. That’s what the project is about. The photos give a better idea of the topic and the music. With the photos you can hear the music deeper and with the music you can see the meanings of the pictures.

Michael: How has your experience been so far working with Black Mara?

Asath Reon: I wish I could thank Dmitrij and all the Black Mara family enough for supporting the project. The road to release from the beginning of the Asath Reon idea was accompanied by many conversations with Dmitrij, who has always been very pleasant and helpful. I’m really happy about it and we are still in contact and have become good friends. We have the same perceptions of art, music and many other things. He and Black Mara are doing a wonderful job, and as I said in a previous question, all of the positive attributes should be known in the wide spectrum of music and ideas they are giving to people.

Michael: Do you have any musical influences that have had an impact on Asath Reon?

Asath Reon: Of course. There were plenty of artists and projects I used to listen and influenced me in thinking. I would mention Jindøich Spilka from Druhá Smrt, Endvra, Funerary Call, the Aural Hypnox label, Kammarheit, Metgumbnerbone, Vidna Obmana, and many many others.

Michael: What is the perfect environment for listeners to enjoy your music, alone in the dark, during meditation, etc.?

Asath Reon: This is very subjective, but worth trying at least one time is in the woods, or in a calm enviroment at night, in a calm state of mind, with concentration and with a good set of headphones.

Michael: Are there any rituals you perform in preparation for creating music? Such as burning incense, meditation, intoxication, invoking a god, etc.

Asath Reon: Yes. Most of the sounds were recorded whilst I was performing a ritual. Mostly it was recorded in the woods, on the place you can see on the picture in the booklet, or in the video teaser. I also use incense, and create in a dark environment, mostly at night, when I’m ready to compile the recordings. There are also several natural entheogenics involved in the rituals, but they are used occasionally, because of everything that they can tell and everything that needs to be ripened in the head. That’s why they are only used occasionally and during these times I can’t record anything and I have to be in a “clear environment” to understand the meanings. These kind of rituals produce much more than mere recordings.

Michael: Thanks for your time, I will leave the final words to you!

Asath Reon: Thank you too Michael. It was a pleasure and I wish good vibes for you and for all the readers.

Asath Reon links: Facebook, Bandcamp
Black Mara Records links: Facebook, Bandcamp, VK

Cadabra Records – No Ordinary Fairy by Roland Topor

By Michael Barnett

On July 28, 2017

In Reviews

Artists:
Laurence R. Harvey (Spoken Word)
Theologian (Soundscapes)
Roland Topor (Artwork)
Album: No Ordinary Fairy by Roland Topor
Release date: 13 February 2017
Label: Cadabra Records

Side A: No Ordinary Fairy
Side B: Laying the Queen

We likely live in one of the greatest times throughout history, if only for dreamers. We have instantaneous access to the works of artists, great and small, which span literally thousands of years. An attempt to absorb even 1/4 of the “must experience” artists throughout history becomes nearly impossible, even for someone with nothing but time. My first encounter with Cadabra Records came in the form of H.P. Lovecraft’s Pickman’s Model. I made the discovery thanks to a night of browsing the Theologian discography. Since that portentous first encounter I have fallen madly in love with the works of Cadabra Records. Not only because of their well-above average physical productions (Pickman’s Model remains the most physically impressive vinyl release I’ve ever seen), but because of their choices in material to cover.

My first new discovery by way of Cadabra Records was Clark Ashton Smith, on their release of The Muse of Hyperborea, read by S.T. Joshi, the leading scholar on Lovecraft, and the music again performed by Theologian. A name that often cropped up in my reading of Lovecraft’s biographical coverage, I hadn’t actually delved into his works. Though, once introduced, I’ve been rabidly consuming all his poetry and weird fiction that I can manage.

Roland Topor is yet another name that I had only encountered in passing. Though I quickly found out that he was responsible for the novel, The Tenant, which would, a decade later, be brought to the big-screen by Roman Polanski, one of my very favorite film directors. Roland Topor was one of the leading visionaries of the mid-20th century. He, alongside others such as Alejandro Jodorowsky and Fernando Arrabal, worked within a version of surrealism that aimed to retake the movement from the mainstream, watered-down version that it had become on account of its increasing popularity and exposure. Topor’s works are dark, shocking, often crude.

The No Ordinary Fairy LP brings out a slightly different side of Topor than many would guess. The vinyl contains two short stories: No Ordinary Fairy and Laying the Queen. They complement one another perfectly in their dark humor and crude nature. No Ordinary Fairy is a tale of an encounter with a real-life fairy, three wishes and all, going sour. Laying the Queen, true to its title, documents the journey of one deranged fellow with the solitary goal in his existence of having sex with a queen, any queen. In both these tales absurdity is pushed to the max making for quite a hilarious scenario. But there is still a dark shadow looming over each of these tales, especially No Ordinary Fairy, a tale which takes place directly following a bout of horrific domestic abuse.

Theologian, at this point one of the top contributors to the Cadabra Records soundscapes, again delivers top quality dark ambient music to complement the story as well as its diction by Laurence R. Harvey. We move from broodingly dark moments through more whimsical sections of sounds. From claustrophobic frenzy into vast vistas of solemnity. Theologian takes a grasp on the story content and always manages to heighten the appropriate emotions as the story moves among them. It is no wonder that Cadabra Records keeps returning to him as the musician for so many of its projects.

Actor Laurence R. Harvey makes his first appearance on a Cadabra Records release with the No Ordinary Fairy LP. Harvey is best known for his parts in The Human Centipede II and III, as well as The Editor and Rats, among others. His performance here is, like Theologian‘s, a perfect fit for this release. His vocal diction is creepy, to say the least. Not in a horror sense, but in a “maybe I’ll sit on the other side of the bus” sense. He takes the concepts behind these absurdly dark comical stories to brilliant new heights with his various inflections. In particular, toward the end of Laying the Queen, his performance of the narrative is stunningly appropriate to the story.

Cadabra Records pride themselves on the physical manifestations of these releases just as much as the aural content. No Ordinary Fairy does not break from this tradition. The cover-art is the work of Roland Topor himself. The 150 gram opaque purple vinyl comes in a deluxe tip-on jacket with liner notes by Heidi Lovejoy, giving us a bit of history of Topor’s legacy. The packaging is sturdy and attention to detail is paramount. The vinyl is in the 30 cm 45 rpm format.

If you are a fan of Topor’s works, enjoy the music of Theologian, or just love to collect unique and high-quality vinyl releases, the No Ordinary Fairy LP should be right up your alley. Cadabra Records have quickly solidified themselves in the vanguard of the spoken arts. I really can’t recommend the works of this label enough, and No Ordinary Fairy is a perfectly suitable place to start.

Written by: Michael Barnett

Worms of the Earth – Interview

By Michael Barnett

On July 26, 2017

In Interviews

Dan Barrett is the man behind Worms of the Earth. Over the last few years he has covered a lot of different ground with his musical project Worms of the Earth. While dark ambient has always been close to his heart and a staple of his music, he’s never afraid to blend and even traverse into new territory and different genres. He told me that he had a sale going on, 40% off his last two full length albums, Sitra Achra and Azal’ucel. He set this sale in motion as a nod to his previous accomplishments, but also as a notification of the rebirth of Worms of the Earth. Curious about the changes in store, and wanting to let readers know about these two excellent albums, I decided to interview Dan. You should really get to know a lot about Dan’s background as a musician, and the level of seriousness and spiritual energy he has put into the project over the years. So let’s get into the interview!

Interview with: Dan Barrett
Conducted by: Michael Barnett

Michael: How long has Worms of the Earth been an active project?

Dan: I had been messing around with writing electronic music for a few years, but I didn’t take it seriously until about 2007. That was when I first distributed a demo to other people & started playing live and it dawned on me that “hey, maybe I should pursue this as a serious hobby”.

Michael: During this initial phase were you using the same sorts of programs and instruments to write your music, or has this evolved as new technology and hardware have become available over the years?

Dan: I think I took the opposite path of most bands. A lot of guys working in similar genres started entirely with hardware and then moved towards more software because it’s easier and cheaper, whereas I started with all cheap software and as I got more into writing music bought hardware. In the early stages of Worms of the Earth it was all the garbage you’d expect: Fruity Loops 3 or 4, Vanguard, Vengeance sample packs, and whatever other hot pirated VSTs of the time. But I’ve always felt like hardware sounds better; it just has more character or soul or whatever you want to call it. A good filter just can’t yet be replicated in software. So anyway, I’m using a combination of hardware and software now but it’s all totally different than in the beginning. For hardware I’m relying heavily on the Nord Lead 2, Virus rack, and Virus TI for my synth needs and the Roland JV2080 + expansion cards and Korg Trinity for rompler stuff: strings, pads, ethnic instruments. For software I’ve been getting into LuSH-101 and Superwave Ultimate (something of a JP8080 clone) and I use EastWest VSTs a lot. I have more gear but those are my favorite tools. I’ll probably sell the Virus TI Snow soon and buy a couple of the new analog synths – an enormous amount of cool shit has come out recently.

Michael: Your music as Worms of the Earth has always had a bit of variety and didn’t necessarily fit into specific genre categories. I’ll be referring to it in this interview as a dark ambient project, but I’m aware the sounds often move outside that genre. Up until this point, how would you describe your sound as Worms of the Earth?

Dan: I’m a fan of many different types of music so it’s been difficult for me to stick to one particular sound. I also find that as a producer it greatly bolsters your abilities and keeps your creativity flowing to write different styles of music. And frankly, it’s just boring to write the same thing and the same sounds over and over. That said, I eventually settled on “ethno industrial & ritual ambient” to describe Worms of the Earth.
My albums run the gamut from industrial to power noise to tribal to dark ambient, but behind that there are consistent currents that run through all the releases. At it’s core I am trying to make interesting, spiritually potent music that combines all the things I like about different genres.

Michael: As I’m not particularly familiar with some of these other genres, and maybe some readers aren’t either, would you please explain how the “ethno” part works within the context of your sounds?

Dan: Ethno = tribal/ethnic/world sounds. Basically just infusing ethnic melodies/instruments and percussion into my stuff. It’s mainly been used as accents thus far, although songs like “18 Hands Of Cundi” have that stuff as a focal point.

Michael: How long have you been interested in dark ambient music?

Dan: To be honest I’m not really sure when, specifically, I discovered dark ambient. I remember in high school discovering industrial and IDM which somehow led to finding and being captivated by songs like Coil’s “Dark River”. Then at some point later – I don’t remember where it came from, but I just had In Slaughter Natives and Desiderii Marginis on my hard drive. I’ve always been drawn to atmosphere in music – in fact I think that is the most important characteristic. So I think getting into dark ambient was inevitable. It also helped that, for whatever reason, the power noise genre of the late 90s, early 00s was closely linked to dark ambient – labels like Ant Zen and producers like Iszoloscope and Ah Cama-Sotz were instrumental in fostering my love of the genre. I’ve got to give credit to Miguel from Connexion Bizarre as well; I was writing reviews for him years ago and he kept pushing the dark ambient stuff on me because no one else was covering it, haha. That exposed me to great labels like Cyclic Law and Malignant. Additionally, my girlfriend of many years (who I met through Connexion Bizarre oddly enough) is also a big fan of dark ambient and that was a major point of bonding between us. So she filled in the gaps of some of the stuff I had been missing out on, introduced me to Fred from Cyclic Law, and so forth.

Michael: Which artists have had the most influence on you before and during your career as a musician?

Dan: There have been a lot; like I mentioned I listen to a lot of different stuff. But I think Iszoloscope, Ah Cama-Sotz, and This Morn Omina probably had the biggest effect on me – guys that were mixing together all the styles that I loved (industrial/power noise, dark ambient, and tribal – with an occult slant).

Michael: Since you mention the occult slant on these genres here, what does the occult mean to you on a personal level? Do you consider it a point of interest or does it permeate your being with its religious components?

Dan: Hidden knowledge, wisdom. Magic. Basically the knowledge of our connection to and place within the universe, which has been lost over the ages. And the knowledge of how to be free from negative bindings, seen and unseen. When you’re a practicing magician (for lack of a less cheesy term), and you’ve achieved a level of awareness then you live magic. I can’t really explain it better than that. It’s not so much permeating my being as becoming aware of something that’s already there.

Michael: What territory do you expect future Worms of the Earth albums will move into?

Dan: The new stuff I’m working on is predominately Goa/Psytrance, and I’m utilizing the tribal components even more. It’s not a total departure from past work however, there are still industrial and ambient elements. This may seem strange, but in the context of Worms of the Earth thematically it makes complete sense. Azal’ucel was the first true magical album I did – the call to the higher self, opening the gateway to connect with it. That was successful and Azal’ucel was the most well received of any Worms of the Earth album, despite being a huge departure from previous material. That awakening made me realize that I was being held back by something; creatively and mentally blocked. So, to address that I worked on Sitra Achra in which I explored the darkness and chaos of my own psyche, plunging into qliphothic realms. This was the most difficult and destructive album, but it illuminated to me the darkness of this world, so to speak, and I was able to understand how truly consumed by and mired in this darkness I was. So after descending into the depths and, metaphysically, destroying myself (and the project along with it, since it is ultimately an aural projection of myself) I kind of thought Worms of the Earth was over; but later I realized that this breaking down was essential to truly move beyond the darkness that was inhibiting me. After that I did The Nightside Of Creation EP, which was the end of my working with the qliphoth and moving beyond it. It didn’t fully make sense to me at the time, but when looking back it makes complete sense in the context of my spiritual progression. I was leaving the blackness and emerged into this “desert” – solar magic, the scorching heat of desert air (air & fire; the return of intellect and will) and the sturdiness of earth, etc. After doing the destructive rituals via Sitra Achra I was looking to ascend from the darkness of nigredo and this journey set me looking for a true source of magic, which naturally led me to old kingdom Egypt which is regarded as the last truly magical society (again: desert, solar energy, etc). So the new WotE material is about the rebirth of myself and, by extension, this project. I’m writing about the Am-Tuat which in Egyptian mythology chronicles the sun god Ra’s journey each night into Amenta (the hidden place) after the sun sets. Here he sails his boat (Sektet) through 12 realms during “the 12 hours of night”, eventually being reborn as the sun (Ra in his Khepera form) when it rises the next day.
Musically speaking, this new material marks a progression in many elements of the music. My goal since the emergence of WotE was to write really complex, meaningful, and potent dance music, and I feel that psytrance is a style where I can accomplish that. In a lot of ways I feel like goa/psy is the last bastion of complex, intelligent dance music. I love that this is a genre where it’s not only acceptable but essential to write long songs with lengthy intros, breakdowns, layer upon layer of melody, and spiritual elements & themes. Additionally, I feel like the standards for production and sound design are high, so it pushed me to work hard in order to improve my own knowledge of synthesis and sound design. I’m really excited about the new material, I think it’s quite different from what people are making and I hope that this new combination of sounds will resonant with others in the way it does with me.

Michael: You mention that Azal’ucel was your first true magical album. Do you consider the writing, performing and/or listening of this album to be part of a religious experience for you and/or your listeners?

Dan: Spiritual experience, yes. I wouldn’t say religious, to be succinct: religion is bullshit. But yeah, the process of creating Azal’ucel was definitely something profound. For me first and foremost of course, because it involved rituals I did for my own development so it’s going to connect with me in a specific way. But it’s a magical work that will resonate with people who are open to it. Even those who are not attuned to “magic” stuff will, I think, recognize an unseen depth to it that is lacking on other albums. When I was younger I used to experience this with Coil albums, for example.

Michael: Can you elaborate on what you mean when you mention the terms qliphoth and nigredo for those of us not well versed in this topic?

Dan: To explain qliphoth first we have to talk about the Tree of Life in Kaballah. Now I’m not going to go into that because that’s a colossal thing on it’s own and is generally interpreted in a few different ways to symbolize myriad profound concepts (as in, the universe, man’s place in the universe, etc). But to keep it extremely concise: the Tree of Life is a map of 10 spheres, which represent “traits of god”: wisdom, benevolence, and so forth – basically, useful, positive traits. Qliphoth is the inverse of the Tree of Life, and the realm is called Sitra Achra. In this realm the 10 spheres represent “the failures of god”, which are basically chaotic and negative traits. Not EVIL per se, but either purely negative traits or good traits which get corrupted / become detrimental; these traits can cause us to lose willpower, creativity, connection with the divine source, etc. Again, the qliphoth can be viewed in a number of ways, but that’s the basics as it relates to the album. In short, when working with the qliphoth you are confronting the shadow; all the negative traits you carry and are connected to.

Nigredo is from alchemy which is another core component to my music. Nigredo is the first phase. In a regular alchemical sense it means decomposition or putrefaction; it’s where the alchemist cleanses and cooks a thing into a uniform black matter before it can eventually be transmuted into the end result of gold. In a spiritual sense it’s basically the initial phase of spiritual development where you confront the shadow (negative) aspects (see above^) of yourself so that you can conquer them and proceed to ascension.

Michael: Does your belief structure apply itself to your music and vice-versa?

Dan: Yes, absolutely. Worms of the Earth is the aural representation of my spiritual journey and sometimes ends up being an auditory ritual to aid in whatever spiritual goal I’m pursuing.

Michael: Do you follow a specific religious order or do you borrow concepts from various disciplines?

Dan: I’m a very isolated person so I don’t have any interest in joining a lodge or temple or whatever. Magic and “occult stuff” is extremely personal in my opinion and the stuff you do will largely only hold meaning to you and will be irrelevant to others.
In terms of concepts, every path is basically working with the same fundamental ideas, but they’ve been filtered through a person or people’s experiences – so to the initial scribe the ideas no doubt held significant meaning, but as each passing generation moves further from that initial experience then the ideas become increasingly more abstract and ambiguous. But in the end it doesn’t matter what you follow because once you drill down past the extemporaneous crap and find the core concepts, the things that really resonate with you on a metaphysical level, they are intrinsic to this existence. A significant part of process of studying magic is filtering through all the bullshit and finding the stuff that resonates with you specifically, and in the end you realize that it doesn’t really matter how you got there.

Michael: Do you feel you’ve exhausted your inspiration as a dark ambient musician or are you just wanting to try something fresh?

Dan: Absolutely not, I love dark ambient. It’s a core component of my sound and there are plenty of elements of it in the new material. There will be a couple of dark ambient interlude tracks and I’m hoping to close the album with a fully ambient track. I tend to work in cycles; I’ll do some beat-oriented material and then when I’ve written that album and exhausted my creativity I’ll work on a dark ambient album to bring the fire back and get inspired in a different way. I like to use different genres to explore alternate facets of a topic. I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but at a minimum there will always be elements of dark ambient in my music and perhaps more full length dark ambient albums. I’d love to do a full length album of ancient Egyptian themed/sounding ambient.

Michael: Ager Sonus recently released Book of the Black Earth, which focuses heavily on ancient Egyptian themes. Does this album resonate with you or do you find the theme isn’t well represented by the sounds?

Dan: I was really excited when I heard about that one, but to be honest, to me it just sounds like a regular drone album and I didn’t get any kind of Egyptian or even middle eastern/related ancient society vibe from it at all. The best “ancient middle eastern” album in my opinion is Herbst9 – Buried Under Sand And Time. It’s based on Sumerian themes, not Egyptian, but it impeccably captures the sound and feel of the ancient world.

Michael: Has your interest in the dark ambient community, as a whole, diminished? Or, do you just feel that your own personal output needs to move in a different direction?

Dan: One thing I really like about dark ambient is how…unchanging…it is. What I mean is that it exists in its own kind of ‘pure’ realm and is completely unaffected by trends, drama, etc. People write and listen to dark ambient because they love it and genuinely connect with it, the themes, or whatever. And no one will ever score cool/trendy points for pretending to be into it. That said, one negative thing is that there really isn’t much of a “community” for it beyond people who talk on the internet here and there. Most of the fans I know are involved in a different scene but “also like dark ambient” if you get what I mean. Anytime I have been to an event (and this is probably different in Europe where they actually have dark ambient festivals), it’s always been “genre x, y, and also some dark ambient”. So to answer your question, my interest in the community is the same, but I don’t really think much of a specific “dark ambient” community exists to be interested in. If anything it’s more of a “post-industrial” scene, but even that is quite small here in the US.

Michael: I would have to agree. It seems like most of the “post-industrial” scene in the U.S. comes from the North East and artists like Theologian, The Vomit Arsonist, Compactor and their sort of community. Do you have any connection to any of these guys or their labels?

Dan: Yeah I know all the guys you mentioned and have played shows with them. I did a remix for the Theologian/The Vomit Arsonist split Nature Is Satan’s Church vinyl re-issue that came out last year. Great dudes, all of those guys work really hard and run labels, put on events, and generally support the scene. Lee/Theologian especially, holy shit he has done so much for the scene and booked so many incredible bands! I think that’s one reason that scene does somewhat “well” – a lot of the musicians do things for the scene beyond just producing music.

Michael: I totally agree about Lee Bartow / Theologian [Prime]. I really think he deserves more credit for his efforts in creating tours and festivals, especially here on the East Coast US. Do you see any other large post-industrial scenes here on the East Coast that readers could keep an eye on for attending future events?

Dan: New England and New York City are the big ones where I see events happening pretty frequently. I worked with one of the guys in T.O.M.B. / Dreadlords to put on a couple of Filth Fest events in Baltimore where we had noise/experimental and dark ambient bands play, although that was a few years ago. He moved and left social media so I haven’t been in touch. One of the nicest dudes ever though and it’s great to see them blow up and get signed to Peaceville now! Anyway, I think that Baltimore and Richmond have pretty receptive audiences to this kind of music, but they don’t have a promoter that is doing bigger events consistently like the North East. Additionally, there is a strong techno scene in DC/Baltimore that seems to throw a lot of “industrial techno” events. I haven’t been, but it may be of interest to people.

Michael: Since your music is shifting gears, can we still expect to see your input as a dark ambient journalist in the future?

Dan: Most likely yes. I still absolutely love dark ambient and listen to it frequently. In the last few months I haven’t kept up with new releases much, but that’s a thing that ebbs and flows with me. I love having an outlet to use to both write about and promote good music. It’s hard for me to find time to run a zine, write reviews, do interviews, etc., but if I can find time then I’ll likely continue.

Michael: Have you done many live shows as Worms of the Earth?

Dan: Yes, quite a few actually! I think I’m up to around 60 or so. That’s one great aspect of working in multiple genres, I can play shows in different scenes for different audiences. When playing live I typically play the more beat-oriented music; maybe because I’m more connected with the industrial scene, or maybe because there isn’t much demand for dark ambient where I live. Playing the upbeat stuff is a bit more engaging anyhow, and seeing the audience react/dance to it is more stimulating than a sea of people standing around (this can still be good, but not quite as good haha).

Michael: How have your experiences been at these shows?

Dan: Well, since WotE was my first real project I’ve experienced the entire spectrum – from shows in dilapidated art spaces with 5 people attending all the way up to playing with Brighter Death Now & raison d’être. It really depends on the space and the audience. I’ve played some terrible places and some great ones. For a long time it was difficult because people had trouble accepting the one man “laptop” performance, but technology has become more pervasive in music & at live shows so people have learned to take it more seriously. In the right atmosphere playing live is one of the best parts of being a musician.

Michael: With WotE switching gears, will you be spending more of your time producing and performing as Venal Flesh?

Dan: Again, it’s cyclical for me. After I’m finished working on a project with WotE then I’ll go and work on something for Venal Flesh to keep things fresh. But it’s more complicated with VF since it’s not just me; it really depends on what the other member VanityKills wants to do.

Michael: Are you already creating new material that reflects your revamp?

Dan: Yes, the new album is almost done! I’ve been working on it for about 2.5 years now. I just started submitting it to labels so we’ll see what happens.

Michael: How soon can we expect to hear samples of this rebirth of WotE?

Dan: I have a clip on Soundcloud and on my Instagram. It really depends on what happens with labels, but I’m planning to post more clips from the studio on Instagram. Obviously, I’d like to get things moving as soon as possible but we’ll see.
Some remixes I did in the last couple years show a glimpse of the new sound, the ones for Venal Flesh and Caustic specifically.

Michael: I briefly mentioned Venal Flesh earlier. Would you like to give a bit of a description of that project and how it differs from WotE?

Dan: Venal Flesh is the joint project of myself and my partner VanityKills. We also have a live keyboardist, Joseph Myers aka DJ Biodread. We’re trying to capture the sound of late 90s, early 00s dark electro like yelworC, Suicide Commando, Aslan Faction, VAC. I love the sound of dark electro and terrorebm, but terror ebm is one of those genres that existed for a short time and no one really took it and evolved it from it’s initial stage (instead a lot of upstarts assimilated the worst characteristics and it devolved into watered down vst trance later called aggrotech). So one of the main goals with this project is to take that sound and push it to the next level; to bring back the darkness and emphasis on atmosphere of albums like Suicide Commando’s Construct/Destruct and yelworC’s Brainstorming. Thematically, it’s very dark and explores some of the most confrontational and painful parts of our psyche. To the extent that it can be difficult to work on the project. The lyrics are all up on the website, you can read them if you want to see what I mean. That’s kind of changing though and the project is getting more into magical and esoteric territory – which seems inevitable since we are both heavily involved in magic.

Michael: Are you involved in any other projects, aside from WotE and Venal Flesh?

Dan: No, just those. I barely have any free time left so I hope I don’t get involved in anything else, haha! That said, I have been working with Henrik from Seven Trees here and there on some dark ambient/death industrial material (you can hear two of our collaborative tracks on compilations from Kalpamantra and Terra Relicta). We are working on a couple of songs for compilations, and we’ve been talking about putting together a full album which will likely happen later this year or early next year. I think that will end up being affiliated with the WotE moniker (and his Subverge moniker) though as opposed to a new entity.

Michael:Thank you very much for your time, Dan. I’ll leave the final words to you!

Dan: Thanks so much for the support!

Worms of the Earth Related Pages: Bandcamp, Instagram, Soundcloud, Facebook

Frozen In Time: Weekly News 24 July 2017

By Michael Barnett

On July 24, 2017

In Frozen In Time: Weekly News

To start off the week, I’d like to mention another friendly reminder (since we haven’t made any recent progress on this front) that This Is Darkness is run by a disabled individual severely lacking in the funds department. So any help that could be given through Patreon, here, or through a one time donation (at the bottom of the page press the donate button) would be extremely helpful. If you think these weekly news updates are essential to the scene, please consider supporting the zine.

With that business out of the way, we have a ton of new releases this week to cover. You will also find a good bit of ongoing sales from some of the leading dark ambient labels, so now is the time to get some music!

In the last week on This Is Darkness, we’ve released the ‘Dark Ambient Classics Mix’, as well as reviewed the latest albums by Pär Boström’s new project Bonini Bulga, Council of Nine’s latest opus and a retro-review of an old Vond album, a side-project of Mortiis from the late 90s.

Enjoy! May the darkness forever guide your paths!

Music Videos

Creation VI
Fresh off the release of his latest album, Deus Sive Natura, on Cryo Chamber, CreationVI has released a music video for one of the album’s tracks, “Cycles of Life”.

New Releases and Preorders

Ajna – New Track Released (Digital Only)
After his recent collaboration with Dronny Darko, Black Monolith released on Reverse Alignment, Ajna has released a new track which likely gives some preview of his next album, though not explicitly stated as such.

Andrew R. Grant – New Project / Album Released (Digital Only)
“I’ve decided to take this whole ‘trying to freelance as much as possible’ thing a little more seriously, so I created a new Bandcamp page for my solo work that doesn’t fit under The Vomit Arsonist. The header for the page says ‘dark ambient sound design & scoring’ and that’s exactly what this is: a score to a film that does not exist, though I do hope to shoot it. I also have several other similar releases that are finished, although I’d like to work on physical releases for those, but that’s a different discussion..
I have no hopes of getting any kind of soundtrack work from this one single page, but I needed a place to put this stuff. If you like it and want to buy it, that’s cool. I’m not asking you to, though. it’s short.
So.. yeah. I make creepy weirdo sounds and I want to put them in your movie or video game or radio play or podcast or whatever. really.”

A Bleeding Star – New Single Released (Digital Only)
By now frequent readers should know what to expect from the dark ambient project A Bleeding Star which has been on a pattern of weekly single releases. While I generally don’t like to entertain weekly output from single artists, these singles are short tracks which, in my opinion, are given enough time to be properly created before release.
“Violin’s In Season: Crestfallen?.?.?.?I’m Headin’ to My Final Destination?.?.?.?Go Enjoy thy Freedom”

Kristian Westergaard – New Track Released (Digital Only)
“Kristian Westergaard is a Danish composer and sound artist living in Barcelona, Spain working in electronic music. Westergaard’s music is constantly searching and evolving but with great sense of direction, with a physicality only possible to achieve with a sensitive instrument and a sensitive player.”

Liturgia Maleficarum – New Track Released (Digital Only)
“New track from upcoming release. Recorded in one night in June 2017. Liturgia Maleficarum is the sountrack of the most hideous nightmares of your subconscious. ‘Sinite Parvulos Venire Ad Me” is a new track from their upcoming album.”

Nocht – New Album Released (Digital Only)
Seattle based dungeon synth / black ambient artist Noct releases his latest album, Lore of Sorrow.
https://nocht.bandcamp.com/album/lore-of-sorrows

protoU & Hilyard – Preorder Available (Cryo Chamber – CD/Digital)
“Alpine Respire immerses you in field recordings from two continents. Warm drone contrasts raindrops and the call of animals in the wild. This damp album invites you to explore the unreachable corners of the Earth. From the harshest mountains to the darkest forests. Recommended for fans of Field Recording and slowly progressing drone. Available in 24 bit. Releases July 25, 2017.”

Sombre Soniks – New Album Released (Digital Only)
“Sombre Soniks is proud to present thee full performances from ‘Thee Sakrament IV’ event that took part on thee 15th June 2017 at Haunt in Stoke Newington, London. It featured a Drone set from raxil4, a live performance of thee recent ‘Fault Line’ release from Guy Harries and a full Blood Ritual from Akoustik Timbre Frekuency. Harmergeddon also took part providing bakground Visuals for raxil4 and Guy Harries.
Thee release also inkludes a pdf booklet with info for each of thee Artists involved and photos from thee event itself!”

Shelter of Trees – New Track Released (Digital Only)
“An Unholy Breach” uses sub-bass drones and daemoniac field recordings to create an atmosphere steeped in darkness swirling with an aura of evil energies.

sp3ct3rs – New Album Released (Digital Only)
“pulled those three large meditative medicative tracks into an album which is now released for pay what you like. thank you all for your support”
“a triptych of medicative meditative pieces designed around granular synthesis…”

The Wyrm – Preorder Available (GH Records – CD/Digital)
“These invocations to the old powers were described as a pact with the Devil, when the truth is that the demons of a religion are always the gods of its predecessor.
After nearly two thousand years of papist rule, the ancestral gods began to resurface. In Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Britain … there were many who wanted to turn a blind eye to their traditions, recovering the promethean essence of Europe.”

Urals Vector Plant – New EP released (Human Lessons – Digital Only)
This album is the first dark ambient works by Japan based Human Lessons. Deep drones and mesmerizing field recordings create an interesting and engaging atmosphere for the listener.

Urs Wild – New Album Released (Eighth Tower Records – Digital Only)
“Urs Wild is a musician and sound designer from Switzerland working on multiple ambient music declinations. Hidden Universe is his first full length album, and it’s the first individual release of Eighth Tower Records. The Urs Wild ambient music is fluid and cinematic. His eidetic textures tell us a story that is never really unveiled, but at the boundaries of an abstract consciousness of something we barely perceive. Something that is confined into a hidden universe. A dark minimalism, crossed by ‘gentle’ noise and oblique synth passages, that explores the territories of space, ritual and dark ambient.”

Waeltaja – Preorder Available (GSP Productions – CD/Digital)
This interesting new dark ambient / dungeon synth album releases on 1 Aug 2017.

Sales!

Cryo Chamber
“In this weeks sale we are focusing on two artists that have each released 2 albums on Cryo Chamber. Keosz and Randal Collier-Ford Save 50% on their digital downloads here.

Loki Foundation / Power & Steel
25 % off all titles!
Use code: 25daysLOKI
16/07/2017 – 10/08/2017
Check out their discography here.

The Rosenshoul
50% off all albums on Bandcamp
“Leading up to the release of the new album from The Rosenshoul next month we’ll be offering the albums Hidden Field, Low Winter Sun (Deluxe Edition) and Yokai at 50% off! That’s only $3.50 USD per album or $5.25 USD for the full discography!”
Check out their discography here.

Worms of the Earth [New Interview Coming Soon On This Is Darkness!!!]
“Myself and, as it is intrinsically linked, this project are in the midst of a major rebirth, always moving towards a more ascended state. It’s been a long journey through the darkness, but the path is becoming illuminated. I’m working on some big things for the fall and beyond. In the meantime, I’m having a sale on my two ritual ambient albums Sitra Achra and Azal’ucel. Use the code “rebirth” here for 40% off either or both of these albums!!”

This Is Darkness Week In Review

Dark Ambient Classics Mix
This mix features some of the greatest tracks throughout the history of the dark ambient genre. It contains a who’s who of several decades worth of post-industrial music as it evolved into what we know today as dark ambient. The mix was created by Przemyslaw Murzyn, who is currently the only other contributor to This Is Darkness. Przemyslaw has a fantastic resume in the dark ambient scene, as he’s been publishing dark ambient news and reviews on his website Santa Sangre for years. He is also an artist himself in the dark ambient project Embers Below Zero. I hope you will all enjoy his mix!
Listen here.

Bonini Bulga – Sealed
It seems that the coming years will be ripe with output from Hypnagoga Press. Whether this will continue to be the sole production base for the siblings, Pär and Åsa, or if some of these other locations hold introductions to new partnerships and collaborative output is anybody’s guess. But, if we consider what we have already seen as an indicator, we are in for one hell of a collection of works.
Read the full review here.

Council of Nine – Trinity
Trinity is obviously the last part of a three album sequence. It is a closure to everything that Council of Nine has done within his three solo releases. This leaves a big question mark for listeners as to what will come next. Trinity being the most personal of these three releases it seems quite possible that we will now move into some territory that is much less connected to the artist’s personal life and more aligned with his external interests. Trinity can be seen as the closure to his period as a new artist. What comes next will come from a musician that has honed their skills for several years, and is prepared to deliver their craft with a purpose and mastery that can only come from a veteran artist. For now we have plenty of great Council of Nine music to keep us entertained, and we can patiently wait to see where this artist will direct his attention next.
Read full review here.

Vond – Green Eyed Demon
For long-time fans of Mortiis, there will be nothing new here aside from the beautifully crafted re-release editions. But, for newer fans, just recently discovering his older phases and side-projects, Green Eyed Demon, as well as the other Vond albums, should be a delightful discovery. Vond definitely shows off a side of Mortiis’ talents that should be highly attractive to fans of dark ambient music. Its gritty production is a reminder of the old days of the dark ambient genre, back before everything could be done with a computer and midi controller. It’s also a reminder of the varied nature of Mortiis‘ interests. I would love to see these old albums draw enough attention to maybe get Mortiis to consider opening the vaults of Vond for one more chapter.
Read the full review here.

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Bonini Bulga – Sealed – Review

By Michael Barnett

On July 22, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: Bonini Bulga
Album: Sealed
Release date: 21 June 2017
Label: Hypnagoga Press

Tracklist:
01. Each Named
02. By A Higher Thought
03. Each With Six Wings
04. Becoming
05. Sealed As One

Bonini Bulga is the latest manifestation from the enigmatic mind of Pär Boström. While the symbolism of the album seems to draw allegories to both himself and his sister Åsa, the music was solely created by Pär. Bonini Bulga is the most subtle project yet from Pär Boström, the man behind the lauded project Kammarheit as well as Cities Last Broadcast and his other recent output, Altarmang, along with Kenneth Hansson. We also can not forget to mention the brilliant launch album on Hypnagoga Press, Orgelhuset by Hymnambulae, the collaboration with his sister and equal in Hypnagoga Press.

If this introduction to the works of Pär Boström seems a bit dizzying, it is understandable, as he has literally exploded with creativity over the last few years. But for those of us that are huge fans of his sparse but fantastic output over the last 15+/- years, this new spurt of energy and output is nothing short of a revelation.

Bonini Bulga is a hypnotic experience. A subdued collection of tracks which rely heavily on various hardware to create their strange, otherworldly soundscapes. Tape loops make up much of its foundation. The loops having been connected to various equipment, like effects foot pedals and other machinery, take on a dark and mystical quality. The darkness of the album predominately comes in the form of this odd, mystical structure. Yet, there is a pronounced darkness which occasionally rears its daemonic head. “Becoming”, which is my favorite track from the album, seems to be the climax, it brings whatever has been lurking in the shadows out into the open.

The album offers us hints at its meanings in a variety of ways. For example, each of the track titles can be read together to form one coherent statement: Each named by a higher thought, each with six wings, becoming sealed as one. The mythical and religious elements presented are clearly intended to build the foundation for the work. We can also read the passage that accompanies the album to understand more of its purpose:

”Beyond theophany and behind revelation, they arrived. Bonini and Bulga. An unlikely manifestation, of being and unbeing.

They stood there. They bowed and they bent the room they had entered.

Behind the Hierophant’s mask, Bonini, with the power to know, to shift and to unveil. The paths of hidden light and eclipses turning inward. A cowled head, overlooking thought.

Behind the mask of the Other, Bulga, with the power to create, to root and to merge. All shapes there to inhabit, all geometries there to unfold. A crowned head, overlooking process.

And they sang. Sealed as one.”

I interpret this as connecting Pär to Bonini, his work often coming in spurts of creative productivity. Much of his inspiration and direction coming from the dream world. To connect it to literature, I see him as someone like Randolph Carter from H.P. Lovecraft‘s Dream Cycle. He visits these strange beings and places in these furtive dream worlds and brings them back to us, puts thought to vision and sound, often depicting strange creatures and mystical dilapidated vaults, underworld kingdoms of ancient beauty.

Åsa Boström corresponds with Bulga. She is the mediator. Taking the so-called “geometry” and making sense of it, giving it form, purpose and direction. Restoring the ruins of ancient peoples to life, more directly a second life, a rebirth. She “roots” the meaning out of the complex visions, “merges” the uninhabited dream kingdoms with the real world. In so far as Hypnagoga Press is concerned, we have still only seen hints of the potential that she brings to the label. As the months and years progress, we will surely see much more of her direct input and influence surfacing in upcoming projects.

This is part of why The Solar Zine no.3 is so important and interesting. It literally draws a map of the future endeavors of these two visionaries. We know Kammarheit “the city, the catacombs, the mountains”, Hymnambulae “the desert and the organ house” as well as several of these other locations on the map. But, we are also given the opportunity to guess at the other upcoming works and visions of the siblings. What lies ahead for The Seafarer “the lighthouse”, or The Astronomer’s Garden “the observatory”. Then we have locations like Kalsamenen and Insomniska which give us no real hints at their purpose or how they will manifest themselves.

It seems that the coming years will be ripe with output from Hypnagoga Press. Whether this will continue to be the sole production base for the siblings, Pär and Åsa, or if some of these other locations hold introductions to new partnerships and collaborative output is anybody’s guess. But, if we consider what we have already seen as an indicator, we are in for one hell of a collection of works.

Written by: Michael Barnett
D

Dark Ambient Classics Mix

By Michael Barnett

On July 22, 2017

In Mixes

This mix features some of the greatest tracks throughout the history of the dark ambient genre. It contains a who’s who of several decades worth of post-industrial music as it evolved into what we know today as dark ambient. The mix was created by Przemyslaw Murzyn, who is currently the only other contributor to This Is Darkness. Przemyslaw has a fantastic resume in the dark ambient scene, as he’s been publishing dark ambient news and reviews on his website Santa Sangre for years. He is also an artist himself in the dark ambient project Embers Below Zero. I hope you will all enjoy his mix!

Scroll to the bottom for the full set-list and links to the artists’ music!

01. 0:00:00 Carmine Cappola – Voyage
02. 0:03:37 Lustmord – Permafrost
03. 0:10:01 raison d’être – The Hidden Hallows
04. 0:19:36 Asmorod – Night of the Skies
05. 0:27:09 Mathias Grassow – Baraka
06. 0:31:50 Robert Rich- Buoyant On Motionless Deluge
07. 0:40:08 R|A|A|N – Sandrin
08. 0:46:10 Shinkiro – Way of the Gods IV
09. 0:52:40 Alio Die – Brace Di Transformazione
10. 1:03:00 Penjaga Insaf – Djalan
11. 1:11:13 Necrophorus – Ice Shifting
12. 1:20:51 Netherworld – Iceblink (Aurora Borealis Mix)
13. 1:34:09 Sleep Research Facility – 72°S 49°E
14. 1:46:52 Northaunt – Horizons
15. 1:53:13 Shrine – The Iron Water
16. 2:00:37 Parhelion – A Lament of Whales
17. 2:05:46 Sola Translatio – The Entrance
18. 2:21:15 Troum – Skaun[ei]s
19. 2:28:49 Alio Die / Robert Rich – Sirena
20. 2:38:35 Nimh / M.B. – Before the Light
21. 2:46:02 Atomine Elektrine – Veiled Clouds
22. 2:54:38 Ildfrost – Past is No Coral Moon
23. 2:59:37 Opium – Heavy Dark Blue
24. 3:07:52 Tho-So-Aa – Disintegrated
25. 3:15:00 Biosphere – Ballerina
26. 3:22:58 Ben Babbitt – Ghosts in the Static (Marquez Farm)
27. 3:25:51 Cisfinitum – Audiochemie
28. 3:33:23 Paranoia Inducta – Scars
29. 3:43:38 Foundation Hope – Illusionconsumer
30. 3:49:14 Apoptose – Vivian Und Viebke
31. 3:54:34 Kammarheit – Spatium
32. 3:59:31 Nordvargr / Drakh – Into Darkness Forever

Council of Nine – Trinity – Review

By Michael Barnett

On July 21, 2017

In Reviews

Artist: Council of Nine
Album: Trinity
Release date: 11 July 2017
Label: Cryo Chamber

Tracklist:
01. 527
02. Memory
03. Bargaining
04. January 3rd
05. I No Longer Hear You
06. Silent Dawn
07. Trinity

“This is my catharsis. The many stages of grief and the acceptance of loss, deeply personal, unforgiving, cold and painful. This is the story of the greatest loss I have suffered, the death of my mother. This marks the end of a chapter and the closure I was desperately seeking.”

Council of Nine first appeared on the dark ambient scene with Tomb of Empires, the collaborative compilation between four artists using the theme of fallen civilizations as the basis. Since then he has released three full-length albums on Cryo Chamber as well as a follow-up collaboration in Tomb of Seers, and we also cannot forget about the massive Locus Arcadia album, which was the first time that Simon Heath allowed his Sabled Sun cycle to expand outside of his own work and into the hands of his label-mates.

On each of these releases Council of Nine has shown us his adaptability, attention to subtlety and his evolution as an artist. Trinity will follow most closely to Diagnosis, his last full length album. Diagnosis seemed, as its name would imply, to be the realization that there was a problem with his mother’s health. It was a look inside his mind as this news had its chance to sink in, and the artist had a chance to unload some of his emotional baggage into his music. Trinity moves forward in that narrative to the final period of her life. As the man behind Council of Nine attempts to cope with what is likely the greatest emotional roller coaster of his existence, the physical world moves forward, and the earlier diagnosis manifests itself in the physical form, bringing a demise to one life and a brush with the edges of sanity to the other.

So we can see that the narrative of this album is probably one of the most fitting imaginable for the inspiration of a dark ambient album. It is also quite unusual in terms of the common narratives covered in this genre. So often artists prefer to tell an abstract story, something of horror or science fiction or the occult. Actually diving into such a personal landscape of events must be a heart-wrenching experience for the artist, and thus it is often pushed aside in favor of more palatable and superficial topics.

The “darkness” in Trinity is overwhelming. It is crushing in its execution. On “January 3rd” we are confronted by actual recordings of his mother’s voice. She is literally present within the album. This must make the listening experience for the artist all the more emotional. While there is a hopeful beauty to some of the songs by Council of Nine, particularly those on Tomb of Seers, we hear none of that side of the artist manifest itself on Trinity. Council of Nine downplays the crushing bass drones on this one. He allows the lighter elements of his sound to come to the forefront, without actually allowing the mood of the tracks to be uplifting. These kinds of things allow the overwhelmingly somber subject matter of the album to expose itself fully without becoming overbearing on the listener.

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.

Trinity is obviously the last part of a three album sequence. It is a closure to everything that Council of Nine has done within his three solo releases. This leaves a big question mark for listeners as to what will come next. Trinity being the most personal of these three releases it seems quite possible that we will now move into some territory that is much less connected to the artist’s personal life and more aligned with his external interests. Trinity can be seen as the closure to his period as a new artist. What comes next will come from a musician that has honed their skills for several years, and is prepared to deliver their craft with a purpose and mastery that can only come from a veteran artist. For now we have plenty of great Council of Nine music to keep us entertained, and we can patiently wait to see where this artist will direct his attention next.

Written by: Michael Barnett

Vond – Green Eyed Demon – Retro Review

By Michael Barnett

On July 18, 2017

In Retro Reviews

Artist: Vond
Album: Green Eyed Demon
Original release date: 1997
Re-release date: 10 January 2017
Original label: Cybertzara
Re-release label: Funeral Industries

Tracklist:
01. My Dying Day
02. Living Among the Remains of Dead People
03. Satan at My Back
04. To the Dreamer Dead and the Dreamer Dying
05. Hell Starts Now

Green Eyed Demon is the third and final album by Vond, a side project of Mortiis. These three albums were created from 1994 through 1998. Green Eyed Demon was initially released on the Cybertzara label. Now, almost 20 years later, Mortiis has re-released this album through his own label, Omnipresence.

Many of our readers should be very familiar with Mortiis. Several of his Era 1 albums were released through the late, legendary Cold Meat Industry, which was the launch pad for many of the forefathers of the dark ambient scene. The main project of Mortiis started as what is now called dungeon synth. He would later transition into dark wave / goth rock / goth metal or whatever other classification would best describe his varied sounds. But the lesser known side-project Vond, is the one which would be best suited to fans of the dark ambient genre. Vond may not in every aspect fall perfectly into the framework of traditional dark ambient, but it is probably the closest genre to this music.

The album Green Eyed Monster consists almost exclusively of the manipulation and layering of cinematic samples. Throughout the album, Vond sets the foundation for each track with a blend of dense industrial soundscapes and noises. This is industrial in the literal sense of the word, not the genre. We can hear machinery humming, the crashing and hammering of metal, steam releasing through valves. On top of this foundation Vond pieces together a plethora of samples of various cinematics.

The opening track, “My Dying Day”, focuses on descriptions of the early use of the electric chair in the United States prison system. The samples of a narrator describe the procedure in minute detail. Occasionally intertwined with these samples are Gregorian chants, which add a sort of perverse beauty to the composition. All this is placed on top of a thick foundation of industrial noises, which easily brings to mind early works of raison d’être, with particular similarities to the album Within the Depths of Silence and Phormations. As both artists were on the Cold Meat Industry roster during this period, it isn’t hard to imagine that they were likely borrowing a bit of inspiration from one another. Though I should make it clear that these similarities are not nearly enough to warrant calling one or the other a follower or copycat of the other’s style.

The following track, “Living Among the Remains of Dead People”, incorporates large portions of an old film, which appears to be of a documentary format, though it is actually a horror film posing as documentary footage. The story follows the demented and evil deeds of a psychopath by the name of Ezra Cobb. The narrative explains the progression of Cobb’s mental collapse from his initial attempts to cope with the death of his mother through his later acts of grave-robbing and necrophilia. Along with the narrative, Vond layers in samples of the man screaming “mother!” and other sound clips which add to the immersion for the listener.

My favorite track from the album, “To the Dreamer Dead and the Dreamer Dying”, takes us closer to the sounds of Era I Mortiis than much of the other output on the Vond albums. There is much more prevalent use of the synthesizer on this track. Initially, we can hear a wind instrument, later it shifts to a sound which comes closer to a bass guitar that eventually is treated with distortion. As the track progresses the synth work moves into territory that would be very fitting on some soundtrack to a film, which is obviously a natural choice here, on an album that is full of cinematic samples. Aside from the synthesizer, Vond incorporates a variety of cinematic samples which seem to take us into some of the worst sagas of Christian history.

Green Eyed Demon has been given an impressive re-release. While it doesn’t appear that there was any re-mastering done, the physical copies of this album will be a delight to the avid collector. Through Mortiis‘ web-store there is finally an official digital copy of the album. A limited edition LP is presented in several different variations, including: black, blue, testpress, and there are even some copies of the original 1997 pressing available. The album is also released for the first time on CD in an A5 digipak.

For long-time fans of Mortiis, there will be nothing new here aside from the beautifully crafted re-release editions. But, for newer fans, just recently discovering his older phases and side-projects, Green Eyed Demon, as well as the other Vond albums, should be a delightful discovery. Vond definitely shows off a side of Mortiis’ talents that should be highly attractive to fans of dark ambient music. Its gritty production is a reminder of the old days of the dark ambient genre, back before everything could be done with a computer and midi controller. It’s also a reminder of the varied nature of Mortiis‘ interests. I would love to see these old albums draw enough attention to maybe get Mortiis to consider opening the vaults of Vond for one more chapter.

Written by: Michael Barnett

Frozen In Time: Weekly News 17 July 2017

By Michael Barnett

On July 17, 2017

In Frozen In Time: Weekly News

This week’s edition of Frozen in Time is a bit short, as the summer is usually the slowest quarter of the year for music releases. However the albums that are available to share are certainly worth a listen and probably a purchase. This downtime will surely not last too long before all the major labels are back to their frequent release structure this fall. During this slower period I will be working on reviews for more albums ‘On The Periphery’ which have drawn my attention over the last few months, but have been previously pushed aside in order to cover more strictly dark ambient styled releases. Stay cool, enjoy your summer, and until next week, let the darkness consume your souls!

Music Videos

Ashtoreth – New Video Released
Tim Van der Schraelen has collaborated with Ashtoreth again for the music video to “Wani Yetu” off the recent album Morana released through Unexplained Sounds Group.

Eidulon – Teaser Video for Upcoming Album on Malignant
We first heard the works of Eidvlon several years back on their Malignant release Idolatriae, which you can listen to here. They are now back with their sophomore album which has some huge guest appearances that are mentioned in this teaser video.

New Releases and Preorders

Asath Reon – New Album Preorder (Black Mara – CD/Digital)
The debut by Asath Reon, Buried Visions, is something that I have been anticipating for a while now. The final product makes the wait worth while. Asath Reon finds a perfect home on Black Mara with their ritual dark ambient sounds which have been honed to perfection. A brilliant new album, that comes in a beautifully realized limited edition CD and hand-made leather book.

Giuseppe Falivene – New EP Preorder (Shimmering Moods – CD/Cassette/Digital)
“This work was born from the idea to propose a Drone\Ambient reinterpretation of 90’s feelings.
The sound created from this it’s like an unrestrainable flow of memories where the emotions re-emerging.
To make the idea of low, all the tracks starts and ends with a tape\vinyl noise, to make sure that the mix is continuous and endless like the flowing time.”

Noctivagant – New Compilation Released (Noctivagant – Digital Only)
The Collective III is the latest compilation from the Noctivagant label. This “name your price” release features an introduction to all the great artists they have to offer. Darkness meets ritual meets experimental on this label which releases music from a wide-variety of artists and yet they all seem to have a very central commonality. Recommended especially for anyone unfamiliar with Noctivagant.

Shelter of Trees – New Singles Released (Digital Only)
“A Sudden Sheltering” is the first release by Shelter of Trees. True to the project’s name, this track is a slightly dark mix of subtle dronework and crisp field recordings. The forest comes to life over this 7:25 track, taking listeners on a contemplative journey in their minds. Shelter of Trees is certainly worth following, with a single of this caliber we are likely to hear some great things for them in the near future.

Their second single was released several days later. “The Unwelcoming” takes us onto a more droning and much darker territory. As if we’ve wandered aimlessly through the forest, and now night is setting in, predators come out for the hunt.

Sales

Loki Foundation

They are currently running a sale of 25% off all their releases on Bandcamp! Now is the perfect time to pick up some of these classic dark ambient releases! View their releases here.

This Is Darkness Week In Review

Anima Nostra – Atraments
“Atraments is far from my usual musical interests. In general, I’m not always a fan of the many varied works of Nordvargr. but I greatly enjoyed the aforementioned Körperwelten and obviously some of the works of Mz.412, so I gave this latest release an honest chance. My first impressions were a bit negative, again I’m not a huge fan of doom metal in particular. But, after the second and third playthroughs I started to really understand the project and slowly but surely fell in love with each track and the nuances and progressions that take place throughout the album. This is why I would never review an album without giving it numerous listens, first impressions can be misleading, some things, especially those that fall outside the usual genre boundaries, need time to make sense to the listener. At this point, I could say that I highly recommend Atraments to any fans of the varied output of Malignant Records. It seems that the variety of releases from the Malignant label all find their way of making sense within the frame-work of this one single album. There is the dark, the brooding, the beautiful, and the ugly, all making appearances on Atraments.”
Read the full review here.

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Month: July 2017 (Page 1 of 2)

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