There is no rush for O Saala Sakraal. After a debut in 2018 and a second release in 2021, this is the third album again four years later. All albums are released by Cyclic Law.
“Oaster” is again a ritual sounding album, sometimes ambient, sometimes with drumming or weird vocals. As on the previous two albums, the atmosphere is dark and good. A recognisable sound that is quite uncommon in general.
Indeed, another very interesting album. Just a bit short, 40 minutes.
Even though the Discogs of this Portugese project goes back to 1995, in 2001 I reviewed a promo cd in a luxury package. I remember a cork package of which the tape has withered by now. At the time I did not like the release much, too ‘soundscapish’ for my liking.
Almost a quarter of a century later, Cyclic Law presents an upcoming (4 December) dark ambient album with alchemical themes. The music is again/still droning dark ambient soundscapes. I have not listened to this type of music for a long time and “Ring of Spheres” reminds me why. This is not (or no longer) my kind of music. Not that it is bad or even boring, it simply does not do much to me.
Should you like minimalist dark ambient, you could try this long running project. The album does not have a vinyl length for a change, but a cd length of 74 minutes.
Even more luxury as Michael Idehall’s “Apokryphos” 7″ with book. This time you again get a book with black and white photos, but TxRxP got a hardcover, plus -smartly- the 7″ sleeve is glued to the cover.
The 7″ has a very ambient opening and closing track, nothing too exciting. Then there is the excellent title track, which is fairly uptempo in TxRxP’s discography. Also the first track of side B is a good Trepaneringsritualen track.
Instead of a vinyl with book, you can also get “Diadem of Fire” as a 3″ cd. If you are quick of course.
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.
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).
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.
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.
“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.
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.
“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.
