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dark ambient

Stars Without Light – Beneath And Before (2023)

Harlow –Funerary Call, Sistrenatus– has a new project: Stars Without Light. “Beneath And Before” is announced for 15 December and will be available on cd in an edition of 300 copies. The album is announced as “dark ambient”, but as usually with this artist, the genre is stretched into more industrial and noisy directions as well.

Most of the tracks are indeed dark ambient, but more in the soundscapish end of the genre. At other times the ‘scapes’ are more noisy and here and there SWL goes into more rhythmic and ritual directions. The atmosphere is dark and threatening (‘of course’ I would almost say).

Not the dark ambient of stretched sounds, but more that of the industrial ambient sound collage type.

Link: Cyclic Law

She Spread Sorrow – Huntress (2021)

I have known this Italian one woman project for a while, but I apparently never came to review anything of hers until now. This latest album will be available through Cold Spring like the earlier four releases.

Alice Kundalini (as goes the artist name) can get pretty loud every now and then “Huntress” is mostly an ambient album. 6 Tracks, 40 minutes of mostly industrial sounding ambient soundscapes with Alice’s whispered voice.

The music is alright, but not entirely my cup of tea. Perhaps this is why “She Spread Sorrow” never made it onto Gangleri.nl.

When you like soundscapish industrial ambient, have a listen to this (and previous) album(s).

Out 1 October.

Links: She Spread Sorrow, Cold Spring

O Saala Sakraal – Heven (2021)

The Dutch collaborative project O Saala Sakraal released a mini album a few years after their debut album “Etmaal“.

Three tracks and 21 minutes that remind of the previous album, but “Heven” is more ritual ambient / industrial perhaps. The music is pretty dark, has vocals reciting poems, more ritual elements such as drumming and singing bowls. Last but not least, in the third track the vocals are by Michael Idehall.

Very ice again.

Link: Cyclic Law

Det Kätterska Förbund – Lidaverken Del I: Att I Vådeld Förgås (2021)

Det Kätterska Förbund are Trepaneringsritualen and Nordvargr. Of course this is not the first time these two work together. They have cooperated on each others albums and have released two split albums, one with their ‘common names‘ (a remix album) and one as ᚾᛟᚢ ᛁᛁ // ᚦᛟᚦ ᚷᛁᚷ.

“Lidaverken” has been five years in the making. The first two tracks lean more towards the sound of TxRxP than the somewhat more pomp sound of later Nordvargr, but it is not as muffled as TxRxP can get.

The third track “Att i Vådeld Förgås” is perhaps a bit more typically noisy as we are used to from these gentlemen, but the tracks that follow remind a lot more of Nordvargr.

The Bandcamp version of this album is already available. A cd and two vinyl versions can be preordered from Cold Spring. It is a descent album of which a “del 2” is forthcoming.

Links: Trepaneringsritualen, Nordvargr, Cold Spring

Subklinik ‎- Neuroskizm (2021)

“One of the longest running Death Industrial – Death Ambient projects still active in the USA.” The name sounds familiar, but I do not think I ever listed to Subklinik. Many releases, mostly on labels I am not familiar with. Good that he now appeared on Cloister! For the first time too it seems.

“Neuroskizm” opens with a dark and monotonous, yet interesting dark ambient track. After this the sound becomes almost wavey with a simple rhythm. “Pulvursive” slowly becomes a bit more industrial, but not much.

The last two tracks are more dark ambient again, but slightly leaning towards death industrial, but mostly remaining ambient.

Not great, certainly not bad. I am going to try to listen to some more material of Subklinik.

Links: Subklinik, Cloister Recordings

v/a – Dies Natalis Invicti Solis (2020)

For decades I have played the “Mysteria Mithrae” compilation (1996) on ‘dies natalis invicti solis’. This is a folky compilation with bands such as Blood Axis, Ernte, Endvra and Scivias.

Almost 25 years later this compilation gets an ‘industrial counterpart’. The long-running project Murderous Vision has gathered some other long running projects for this thematic compilation. We find Brighter Death Now, Deutsch Nepal, Theologian & The Vomit Arsonist, Contrastate and Dream Into Dust. I have not checked, but I think this is mostly new material. There is the younger project Gnawed and also projects that are new to me. Kleistwahr, ORD, Envenomist and Falling Lights.

The sound is mostly dark ambient, sometimes with a (death) industrial edge, which is not unexpected when you see the artist list.

Neither will it surprise you that this compilation is much darker than the other one. (“To assist in your solitary winter rituals…”) A link is made because the new compilation uses the same Mithras poem of Rudyard Kipling as Blood Axis put to music before.

I do now know if this compilation will be the classic its ‘predecessor’ is, but new material of ancient industrial projects is always a nice thing.

2020 Murderous Vision

Dream Into Dust – Fragments Of Legacy (2020)

“So Beautiful And So Dangerous” was the first album in nine years. Now we are again almost nine years further, but “Fragments Of Legacy” is not a new album, rather a compilation.

Here we have contributions to different compilation that we released between 1998 and 2001. Four new tracks have been added. Yes this project is that old. I am too. Derek always refers to the pre-2007 name of this website when he addresses me.

In 1998 / 2001 I still must have followed DID closely, but I only recognise two tracks from this album. Unfortunately I cannot yet see which track is from which compilation so I can fresh up my memory.

“Fragments Of Legacy” does not contain the rock tracks of “So Beautiful”. Most tracks are quiet, ambient, soundscapish with only here and there a guitar or Derek’s vocals (or those of someone else). Coming with the times, some tracks have a bit of a “martial” touch.

Not a new album, not your ‘typical’ DID music either, but mostly dark(ish) ambient music.

Links: Dream Into Dust, Chthonic Streams

Murderous Vision – Abscission (2020)

How me and this project go back, I described four years ago in my review of the “Hidden Histories” tape.

The activity of this project goes back well into the previous millennium. As a matter of fact, the initial release of “Abscission” marked 25 years! First released on tape, now three tracks are added and the same label has made the release available on cd.

As on most releases of the project, the sound is varied. the album opens with dark ambient, continues with slightly ritualistic dark ambient with some rhythm and chanting bringing a faint reminiscence of early Coph Nia. The next two tracks are more dark soundscapes and with “Autumn Black” we slowly work towards more of a ‘noisescape’. This erupts into a death industrial track called “Open The Night Sky” with the extreme vocals that you hear in Murderous Vision tracks every once in a while. A quieter track closes the 50 minute album.

The dark ambient tracks are pretty dark. Not the kind of music that I listen to a lot, but not bad at all. I prefer the rougher side of this project so I am treated with one track.

An album for people who like the dark rumbling border between ambient, industrial and noise.

Links: Murderous Vision, Chthonic Streams

Beckahesten – Vattenhålens Dräpare (2020)

This is odd. Cyclic Law sent a promo for this album (out 20 November). The project is new to me, so I usually check Discogs to see if there are earlier releases in such a case. Discogs does not have have Beckahesten listed. So I search the web a bit and I run into a Spotify release (which I cannot play) of this album, released in 2017 on a label I do not know: Skullevartslapptigar Records. So I check Discogs again, but they have nothing of the label either.

So I do not really have more information than the Cyclic Law blurb. Members of this Swedish outfit are two people whose names do not ring a bell and Per Åhlund who you may know of Sophia.

Both first two tracks are 5:35 and dark ambient in style. Long stretched sounds, quite minimalist and with singing of sorts. The singing starts to get a bit ‘folky’ towards the end of “Ropet”. This is even more so in the third track where we are introduced to the female member. The music gets a little more pomp too. The next track is the most interesting to me. A bit of an old Wardruna style. The first half of the 10 minute of the closing track is much less dark than what came before, but this is made up in the second half, which brings memories of the ambient side of Sophia.

The album is not the kind of music that I listen to a lot, but in spite of being quite minimalist ambient in basis, it is really not bad. There are some ritualistic and folky elements that go well with the style.

Links: Beckahesten, Cyclic Law

Undirheimar – Heljarrúnar (2020)

Cyclic Law is busy rereleasing old Cold Meat Industry material, but here they found a new project that would have fitted well on that Swedish label.

“Heljarrúnar” opens with an ambient track with drumming, think Sephiroth or Vortex. Then follow minimal dark ambient tracks that could have been released by Loki. Sometimes a bit of chanting, sometimes a drum, ritualistic and all lengthy, haunting tracks of descent dark ambient.

It is not a style of music that I listen to a lot these days. When I do, I do prefer a style darker than most CMI releases of old and I must say that however “Heljarrúnar” may sound fairly typical, the album is well executed and even manages to keep my attention in spite of the minimalist approach.

Links: Undirheimar, Cyclic Law