Here are the dark ambient albums that we at This is Darkness have been listening to this month – some are new releases, but a few are older gems we’ve just (re)discovered.

Please check these out by clicking on the Bandcamp link next to each review (or by clicking on the BNDCMPR link at the bottom of the page), and please consider supporting the featured artists. Enjoy!

Ugasanie – Cold World of Eternity

 

I’m a big fan of Ugasanie‘s music, but with their latest release – on the ever awesome Cryo Chamber label – they have taken things to another level. Cold World of Eternity is an incredible album of dark ambient / drone, with a polar ambient soundscape guaranteed to knock your socks off. I’ve had this on repeat play since I first heard it several weeks ago, and after 30+ plays I am still absolutely loving it! Very highly recommended!

Adam Wiltzie – Eleven Fugues For Sodium Pentothal

 

Now this is very cool – an album of dark ambient / drone, with classical instruments brought to the forefront, and a melancholic undertone. The end result is an album that provides an emotional listening experience – one in which the listener is drawn into introspection and valuation of their life and the world around them. Definitely one of those albums for listening to alone, late at night, with a glass of wine. Gorgeous!

Harvestman – Triptych: Part One

 

The latest release from HARVESTMAN (the psych/folk/ambient project of Neurosis’ Steve Von Till) is the first in a three-album series titled Triptych, and has been released to coincide with April 23rd’s Pink Moon (the next two parts of the series will be released to coincide with July 21st’s Buck Moon and October 17th’s Hunter Moon, respectively). This is an album of dark ambient / drone, with other elements added to the mix – including folk, psychedelia, and sludge. The resulting album is wonderful multi-layered experience and a must have for fans of dark ambient that does something different. Awesome!

Abul Mogard & Rafael Anton Irisarri – Impossibly distant, impossibly close

 

This impressive release of dark ambient / experimental  electronica sees Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri working together to create something very special indeed. This is a beautiful music, full of unfolding melodies and gradually evolving tracks that introduce multi-layered soundscapes that are quite simply breath-taking. If you like your dark ambient with an electronic, synth-based edge, then this well worth checking out. Stunning!

Noctilucant – Deadlier Meat

 

Deadlier Meat, the latest release from Noctilucant is a re-recording of their classic 2015 album, Dead Meat with additional re-recordings of other Noctilucant obscurities. Even if you never heard the original album, this is well worth checking out because it is more than a remix album – full of haunting dark ambient tracks with industrial and post-industrial undertones, this is an album of apocalyptic soundscapes – subtle and melancholic in places, aggressive and disturbing in others. Wonderful!

IO – Saturn Devouring His Son

 

Inspired by Francisco Goya‘s Black Paintings, the latest release from IO is this deliciously dark track that perfectly evokes Goya’s own psychological struggles and anxieties. With an otherworldly vibe, and strange haunting field recordings and echoes, this a track that manages to be both reassuring, yet wildly disturbing – offering a vague sense of familiarity, while simultaneously making us feel out of our depth and alone in the dark. Incredible stuff!

Various Artists – Anthology Of Contemporary Music From Far East

 

The latest release in the impressive “Sound Mapping project” series from the Unexplained Sounds Group label is this collection of Far Eastern dark ambient / drone / experimental music, featuring tracks from China, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Nepal. The music here varies in genre and style, but each and every track is fantastic and has something to offer the listener, so whatever your tastes, this album deserves your attention. Stunning stuff!

Scott Lawlor – Screaming at the Dark

 

Scott Lawlor‘s second release on the awesome Slithering Black Records label is this wonderful album of depressive dark ambient. This is an album of bleak, despairing music, that provides the listener with an audio experience that is the equivalent of finding yourself dragged into purgatory. And I mean that in a good way – yes, this beautifully haunting music is dark and suffocating – but listening to it is an incredibly rewarding experience. Highly recommended!

Sam – Organic Faith

 

The latest release from Sam is Organic Faith – a fantastic 3 track album of acoustic guitar based dark ambient / drone. With bluesy undertones, this is another quality release from this talented musician who has created their own distinctive ‘guitar dark ambient’ sound and continues to develop that with each every album. This is one of those albums that sticks in your mind when it’s finished playing, and you find yourself drawn to it again and again. Beautiful.

Archaic – Into The Void

 

The latest release on the Zero K label is Into The Void by Archaic (the electronic music project of Jelle Groen and Pieter Hooghiem). The release notes say that “Discovering the complexities of modular synthesis and navigating the labyrinthine pathways of signal flow, they created intricate eerie sonic landscapes” which summarises this brilliant 43 minute track perfectly. Minimalistic, electronic, and glitch filled, this is provides a delightful sonic journey into the realms of wires and circuits. Amazing!

Scott Lawlor – The Road of Peril

 

The Road of Peril by Scott Lawlor is an impressive release by this talented musician. The music here is a wonderful mixture of dark ambient, drone, and ritual ambient, with religious and spiritual undertones. This is perfect for listening to on a rainy day, as you consider yourself and the choices you’ve made, and the choices that still lie ahead of you. Every time I listen to this album I lose myself deep within the music. Simply mesmerising.

Click on the below image to go to this month’s This is Darkness playlist on BNDCMPR, which features 1 track from each of the above albums: