ambient / drone / experimental

Polar Seas Recordings

Another album from from Polar Seas Recordings and mesmerizing piece of ambient. 'Up Below' by April Larson is a dark, mystifying and inspiring album that every fan of (dark) ambient needs to check out. I put the word 'dark' between parentheses because I'm not exactly sure if this is meant to be a dark ambient album, but it damn well is. The eight tracks on this one are eerie soundscapes and quite often sound like the desperate cries of doomed souls.

Not that I mind, on the very contrary. This album only came in a few days ago and it is already a constant in my ever growing ambient playlist. With good reason too, it's a brilliant album. It's so good that I only have one point of criticism: seven of these tracks are way too short. Like many of us, I am a fan of long, elaborate and stretched out sonic landscapes which seem to last forever. Oh well, I guess I'll just put them on endless repeat.

That being said, you might also say that this album lacks variation as pretty much everything here consists of these haunting soundscapes and drones. However, we ambient aficionados really don't mind, as long as the atmosphere is right. And in that April Larson definitely succeeded. This album comes highly recommended to all ambient fans, bright or dark, doesn't matter. I strongly suggest checking it out. You will not be disappointed.


​Serge

dark ambient / black metal

Astronomy is an ambient music/ atmospheric black metal album released in April 17, by Spanish musician Iván Ferrús Fernández. Almost one hour long, the album has only five tracks: Trappist-1, Disloyal, Forgetting... Is Time, Recalling In My Thoughts and Winds. With a very organic principle, and a predominantly serene atmospheric soundscape, Astronomy is very quiet, lucid and down to the ground. With beautiful and poetic melodies, Astronomy allows the listener to efficiently undertake a legitimate journey throughout the sensibilities of one’s soul, with a genuine layout of correlated virtuosity, celebrated by the possibilities of a complete process of undeniable discovery, that foretells precious allegories surrounding our own versions of universal truth. 

With a consistent musicality, surprisingly, for an album that does not feature a heterogeneous sonority, the work doesn’t sound monotonous in any moment; on the contrary, it can be strongly appreciated. With an interior vivacity of its own, there is an ostensibly atmospheric sonorous beauty attached to the life of the music. Dispersing a calm, delightful and abundant reality through the vicinities of a peaceful and relaxing sound, Astronomy masterly creates an alternate universe where everything that dwells deep inside your soul is enthralled in the eyes of the unknown.

Despite the somewhat ecstatic – almost frozen – nature of the music, Astronomy is a remarkable album. With an unforeseeable intensity that culminates – and perfectly juxtaposes – into the fascinating galaxy of its lurid propensity of eternal dreams, you have unexpectedly the wonderful opening of a marvelous atmospheric black metal layer, permeated by the astounding sensibility of cohesively written guitar lines, that draws a universe of soul’s disillusion into the absence of a monumental correlated sorrow, that creates beauty from the innermost abysses of melancholy. Summarizing it, an achievement that resulted in a splendid and very artistic record. 

Working in a brilliantly sculpting style the ambient music, as well as the atmospheric black metal passages, consolidating a marvelous mixture of both genres – as well as perfectly delineating a frontier and a limit in between them in the record, as both styles have its different moments of highlight – with discreet, but pragmatic elements of post black metal wonderfully added to it, Iván Ferrús has created quite a unique work, efficient in the sonorous torrential expansion of the harmonies over its infinite diagrams, provided by the primarily philosophic melodies ambitioned by the purpose of the work. 

Astronomy is, undoubtedly, a great record. Although it has a stronger appeal to ambient music enthusiasts, the general outline of the work is mostly solid and competent. A lucid and firmly created work, this is an album abundant on powerful qualities, capable of opening new horizons of sensibility, towards a fundamental principle of audacious, intelligent, renovated and highly independent originality.  


Wagner

ambient / experimental / shoegaze

metalcore / metal

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hard rock

classical / ambient

drum & bass / industrial metal

facebook

progressive / thrash metal

nu metal

synthpop / new wave

techno / industrial

alternative rock

post rock

death metal

dark ambient / black metal

experimental rock

facebook

gothic / industrial metal

punk

dark ambient

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. I knew that one day, Sombre Soniks would release an album that would be indistinguishable from some of those dark ambient classics, released by labels like Cold Meat Industry, Cyclic Law or Cold Spring. See, even the world of dark ambient has its underground and its mainstream. Acts like Inade, Svartsinn and Lustmord are well known among all dark ambient fans, but the scene goes deeper than that, a lot deeper. Druhá Smrt might not be known to most of them, but put this album in a playlist with all their favorites and they would not be able to pick it out. Why? Because it's a perfect dark ambient album.

'The Way And The Virtue' consists of two tracks, 'The Way' and 'The Virtue'. Each track is fifteen minutes and thirty seconds long, thus providing you with a total of 31 minutes of sheer dark ambient bliss. The previously mentioned acts regularly come to mind, along with acts like Predominance, Raison d'être and Desiderii Marginis, to name a few. Yes, that means soundscapes, haunting drones and minimal percussion. That also means a hypnotic sonic journey into the darkest regions of your own inner being, which can never be a bad thing.

So yes, this album comes extremely recommended to all dark ambient fans. Druhá Smrt have been perfecting their trade for years and now it results in their most epic work so far. My advice: purchase the album, close the curtains, light a candle, play this at high volume and start meditating. You will envision things you have never imagined, see worlds you never dreamed of, or just gently float on these breathtaking soundscapes. Whatever happens, it will be worth it...


​Serge

drone / dark ambient

Years ago, my musical endeavors focused mainly on dark ambient and ritual industrial. I devoured everything that labels like Cold Meat Industry released. In later years, pretty much after the demise of CMI, I start wandering into different territories to satisfy my dark ambient needs. Those eventually lead me to love and respect our own Belgian drone and ambient acts, including CHVE, Barst, Dirk Serries, Stratosphere, Ashtoreth, acts who inspired me to make my own little steps into the world of ambient, drone and noise.

Empusae, the alter ego of Nicolas Van Meirhaeghe is no stranger to me. During those old days, I often listened to his music, often in playlists along with acts like Sophia, Deutsch Nepal, Sephiroth, Raison D'Etre and so on. However, for some reason both forms of ambient have always been separated, at least to me. But at one point Empusae found his way to Consouling Sounds and started cooperating with Barst. Now, after all is said and done, there is this new album, one which once again proves the Belgian dominance in this scene.

'Lueur' consists of two tracks, each lasting a bit over twenty minutes. If you want a short description, you can see this as a perfect marriage between Sephiroth and CHVE or between Sophia and Barst. Both worlds of ambient and dark industrial come together perfectly well here, thriving on Empusae's talent for gloomy but immersive music and the brilliant guest appearance by Colin H. Van Eeckhout (CHVE, AmenRa). Track one alone, named 'Guiding Light' is a massive piece of constantly evolving dark ambient, sludge and drones.

That being said, this album is just as inventive and adventurous as 'The Western Lands' by Barst, although that one has a lot more tempo changes and eclectic elements. 'Retinae Tenebrae' seems to focus more on a mix between neoclassical and dark ambient, which is just as welcome in my book. Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio comes to mind here, but also some of those epic sludge metal bands, in a way. That cannot be just Colin's influence, that must be decades of experience in all sounds dark and heavy.

The verdict? As I said, this album only confirms everything I said about Belgian ambient acts. Of course this comes highly recommended. What else did you expect?


​Serge

electronic / ambient / downtempo / industrial

Denovali Records comes with two collaborations this month, both equally interesting in my personal opinion. I'll start with this strange and breathtaking collaboration between two Berlin based electronic acts, Monolog and Subheim. I don't think these are unknown names to fans of downtempo electronics and Denovali Records so I'm not going to go into introductions. However, I will have to warn you, this is not an easy digestible album. There sure is a lot going on here but the overall feeling is dark, heavy and often haunting.

​The album opens with 'Wone', a pitch black blend of dark ambient and industrial. As if Raison d'être, Lustmord and Author & Punisher have engaged in a sonic threesome. From there, things tend to become abstract, strange and definitely unusual. 'Benedict' reminds me of Scorn, much to my delight. It's been a while since Scorn has appeared in my playlist. 'Sumo Rimi' is probably the most radio friendly track on the entire album, doing something highly immersive with dubstep and the dark electronic sounds of the eighties.

'Make Stones Cry' grabs back to the eerie dark ambient sounds and layers it with sluggish beats. Perhaps this one is my favorite but that's a tough decision to make. 'Colourful Flight' closes the album, again with a gloomy electronic ambient sound. Yet, in a way, this song can function as the breather after all that sonic darkness. Nonetheless, it's another one of my favorites here, my five favorites. Yes, I know, there are only five tracks, each with a different personality and identity and each of them equally interesting. So - obviously - this comes highly recommended.


​Serge

ambient / dark ambient

Superspectrum is a Dark Ambient compilation featuring various artists, released on February 17 by Italian label Eighth Tower Records. With thirteenth tracks, they follow exactly on this order: Mørkerom, by Warpness, Wasted Land, by Sysselmann, Majestic, by Alphaxone, Oblivion, by Xerxes The Dark, Breath, by Heliocentrism, Attitude, by Gopota, Manuscript, by Ocadium, L'éveil de Baron Samedi, by Damballah, Az orias felfalja gyermekeit, by Nagaarum, Ceremony, by Sonologyst, Kvasaarit, by vÄäristymä, Canis Tindalos, by Cordis Cincti Serpente and Number Zero, by Vesicatoria. 

Despite the great diversity of artists, the record is vehemently solid and consistent, and follows a very somber, genuine, sinister and inhospitable atmosphere. With a general calm and serene tranquility that explores elusive nuances, solitary confinements and hopeless invisible places of eternal disdain and disillusion, Superspectrum manages to be a terrific compilation, that reunites in one record the best artists of the genre the underground scenario has to offer.

As usual for the genre, the general harmonies are calm, peaceful and quiet, but deep into the melodies, relies the greater doom of a more sinister and improbable expectation, that emerges ostensibly contaminated by a radical and dangerous wave of fear, anguish, apprehension and affliction. All thirteen tracks are exceedingly captivating in the way they absorb the abnormal and splendid ecstatic features of the genre. Although all tracks are exceptionally phenomenal, Oblivion, by Xerxes The Dark, Breath, by Heliocentrism and Ceremony, by Sonologyst, deserves special mention. Nonetheless, all of these musicians are superb in their capacity to filter, to exasperate, to exterminate, and to compose an aggressive, and yet calmly anxious and afflictively agonizing atmosphere of imponderable and exhilaratingly oppressive sonorous ordeal.

Superspectrum is a marvelous compilation. If you are a dark ambient supporter, you should listen to this wonderful album without any hesitation. You will be instantly captivated by it. Without a single moment of boredom or monotony, Superspectrum is a monumental Dark Ambient compilation. One that really deserves all attention from the genre enthusiasts, everywhere.    

      
Wagner

ambient / dark ambient / experimental

Unexplained Sounds Group

Another compilation featuring various artists, edited by Unexplained Sounds, Belgium experimental underground 017 suvey has twenty six tracks, from various groups and musicians specialized on the ambient music genre. Like all compilations, on this album you have a huge amount of different styles, several of them exceedingly good, vibrant and overwhelming, some ostensibly monotonous and despondent, others extensively ordinary, and a lot of them incredibly tense and surprising. The ambient genre primarily has to be heard and analyzed by experienced listeners, who really comprehend and love the genre. And Belgium experimental underground 017, above them all, have the best the ambient genre has to offer – both in the traditional and experimental verves –, in the underground worldwide scenario, so to speak. 

Analyzing a compilation like this one is thoroughly difficult, primarily because you have to deal with a huge amount of different artists, each one of them practicing their own peculiar style and particular understanding of the genre. Nonetheless, the compilation has a cohesive unity and a coherent uniformity all the way through, never being disparate, inconsistent or ecstatic in any moment. With a vast collection of excellent ambient tracks, the album relies mostly on very nervous, anxious and agonizing atmospheres, although more relaxing and calm harmonies can be heard throughout the album. A very singular collection of ambient music, Belgium experimental underground is a curious album, that managed to reunite the most talented, original, somber and sinister contemporary artists on the genre. The first few tunes already caught me by surprise: with conspicuous, subtle and funereal devices, they follow the more traditional layout on the genre, obeying the primary characteristics of ambient music. The apprehensive atmosphere is certainly amorphous and malevolent, and you evidently will find yourself caught into the dark underground of a depraved and doomed dimension of affliction and demise, if you listen to his whole album completely alone in the dark. The artists in the album are generally competent and skilled, knowing precisely how to properly create the exact harmonies for the sake of an ambivalent and nervous climax, precisely demanded on this type of music. If you really love ambient and dark ambient, you will definitely be thrilled by this album. With so many fantastic tunes, you will certainly find your favorites. One of the tracks that have completely captivated me is Requiem for a Star, by Aponogeton. A beautiful song characterized by a serene and transcendental harmonic cosmogony, it has an expressively poetic soundscape, infatuated by a corrosive, yet enchanted and graceful numbness, that runs free through the acquiescence of the rhythms, standardizing a correspondence between the subtle energy that flows between the invisible nature of the sincere grandiosity of a solitary universe and the dreams that unfold among the rivalries of ardent and infinite thoughts. 

Nevertheless, twenty six long tracks can be a tiresome journey. I strongly recommend you when listening to this album to divide it into two or three parts. In one day you can listen to songs from one to ten, the next day from eleven to twenty, and finally, from twenty one to twenty six. The songs are very long, and even if you are a very ardent enthusiast of ambient music, you will eventually feel tired if you listen to the album in a unique, long rush, like I did. 

But I should point it out the fact that the songs are impeccable, and the sinister atmospheres most tunes are able to evoke are simply fantastic. Belgium experimental underground 017 suvey is major ambient/ dark ambient compilation, that has everything needed to please the enthusiasts of the genre. With calm, serene, quiet and sometimes thoroughly ecstatic harmonies, the objectifying agony, the sensational anguish and the imperially dense and macabre virtuosity of these tracks really intensify a musical narration of fearful apprehension and unbelievable lethargy, as you feel yourself profoundly, physically and slowly transported to a vast and surreal dimension of delusional worlds, where nothing is what it seems.

With a prevalent hostile nature, full of afflictive vibrations, Belgium experimental underground 017 is a fantastic album, certainly the best ambient/ dark ambient compilation I have ever heard. Abundant in sinister nuances, dark grievances and derelict numbness, it is full of qualities, and has the best tunes created in the genre. A surreal collection with twisted expectancies, here ambient music escalates towards a new path of creative excellence, featuring the most melancholic, acerbic, pervasive, doomed, anesthetic, talented and experienced artists ever produced in the contemporary history of the genre.  


​Wagner

drone / ambient / jazz / krautrock

drone / krautrock / experimental

singer-songwriter

bandcamp

doom / dark ambient

metal / metalcore

thrash metal / hardcore

doom / sludge

metal / metalcore 

doom / sludge / black metal

doom

sludge / doom

Serge

dark ambient / noise / experimental / industrial

Last year, the apparent resurrection of Sielwolf pleasantly surprised me by releasing, 'Atavist Craft', a cooperation with German ritual ambient project Nam-Khar. Now, they return with a second effort, one that seemingly takes on an hypnotic, repetitive and industrial approach. Well, I cannot say that I'm disappointed by this direction, on the very contrary. This new album, 'Oppressfield' is pretty damn awesome, to be honest.

In fact, 'Oppressfield', both the title track and the entire album, are perfectly suited to function as the soundtrack for a post-apocalyptic horror game, or movie. There are unidentified noises coming from everywhere. The atmosphere is haunting and often quite intense. There are eerie soundscapes and drones. There is repetitive percussion, lulling the listener into a dark state of trance and taking him on an adventure through his deepest fears.

Of course, this is not an album for everyone. I cannot imagine people playing this at a dinner party or during a pleasant get together with friends and family. This is an album that should be listened to in absolute solitude, preferably loud. The gloomy drone track 'Failed States', for example, is a scary piece of work that only experienced ears can appreciate. But those ears will definitely adore this thing.

Who to recommend this to? Well, obviously to fans of MZ.412, Atrium Carceri, Brighter Death Now, Desiderii Marginis,... that kind of stuff. If you're into old Cold Meat Industry albums, 'Oppressfield' undoubtedly deserves a place in your collection. I only mentioned two tracks, but apart from the title track, I have to say that 'Crypt Trap' is the absolute highlight on this release, closely followed by the ritual droner 'Exorial' .

​Seriously, this is industrial ambient at its best...


Serge

dark ambient

Ex Machina is an album released by Italian electronic dark ambient group Vena, consisting of musicians Francesco Maggi, Stefano Tocci, Enzo Stante and Riccardo Martucci. With thirteen tracks – being them Prologo, Origins, Avatar, Abduct, Mental, Elohim, Progeny, Descent, Singularity, Horizon, The Solution, Ascension and Zeroclock – Ex Machina is a very smooth, simple and discreet dark ambient album, that revolves around a calm atmosphere, relying primarily on a constant sonorous axis of ecstatic acquiescence and rhythmic omniscience. 

With a stylistic approach that understands ambient music as an exercise on patience, but mainly as an ecstatic sonorous moment, Vena, on Ex Machina, comprehends the progeny of its musical universe on flexible ambivalent virtues, standardized by the consolidation of sagacious harmonies, that are as good in the composition of its sonorous shapes, as they are on the execution of its literal technique. With a sound that flows naturally throughout the expressive ordeal of an infinite galaxy of monumental emptiness, Ex Machina captures the ecstatic parameters of a moment frozen in time, to dissect the frames upon which its molecules writes the agony that frivolously wanders lost at the confines of a universe splendidly unseen, uncategorized and unknown.

Although the genesis of their music is exceedingly simple, they are amazingly genuine to the basic ordeals of the genre, creatively inserting their own peculiar elements and devices into the development of a genuine and more authorial musical context. Despite the lack of extraordinarily amazing passages, Ex Machina manages to be a very good record, that not only relies on an authentic disposition that embraces the genre in a consistent, but flexible validity of intuition, but also works in a profoundly envisioned and wider musical rhetoric, that ostensibly dissipates a formidably concentrated sound, that reveals the strength of a mature and fully developed style, maybe easy to imitate, but certainly hard to genuinely conceive or create. 

Ex Machina is a very well done album. Far away from being just another generic or simple dark ambient record, here you’ll feel intensely profound and dense elements, like soul, passion, energy and, mostly, the sinister and evasive discretion that a good work on this genre should have. You may at first not be impressed at all by Vena, but – if you really like dark ambient – as you listen to this record, wonderful tracks will unfold behind your ears, slowly revealing the sound of ethereal realities, completely unknown by the measurement of ordinary standards.                  


Wagner

dark ambient / electronic

Eprom is an album released on January 20, by Italian electronic dark ambient musical duo Diaspora Psichica, consisting of Francesco Maggi and Riccardo Martucci. With eight tracks – Transmission, Vision, Equilibrium, Daleth, Vertigo, Aeternum, Hysteresis Human Mind and Thelema –, Eprom reveals itself to be a deep, transient and dense dark ambient album. With a somewhat awkwardly ostensive sense of originality, there is a coherent and expressive sense of objectivity present on this album, which greatly helps the development of its purpose, intensity and musicality.

Besides the ostensibly slow harmonies prevalent on the album, here the calmness of sound, the exhilaration of silence and the anxiety of expectation are brilliantly combined, to greatly express the agonizing drifts of the genre. Like a slow shadow descending into the nothingness of an abyss of conformity and obscurity, Eprom revolves around a salutary, creative and deep understanding of the genre, as the two musicians behind the project magnificently elaborate – from a genuine correlation of concept – their own style of sound. 

Contrary to a lot of other albums on the genre, Eprom is coherent, lucid, discreet and evasive, and you never gets resented of any boredom. Astoundingly building a resonating wall of delusional musicality – although the sound is merely concrete – Eprom is a great example of a Dark Ambient album done in the right way. It’s never vague or tedious, and its primary harmonic expansions are quite unique. A strongly recommended album, it’s by far one of the best I’ve heard on the genre. With very singular tracks – each one having its own musical characteristics –, but retaining a solid unity, Eprom is a very good record! Far from being redundant, ordinary or generic, this is an impeccable album, that not only deeply comprehends dark ambient, but thoroughly and truly communicates to the listener the real meaning and the primary purpose behind the genre. 

The right choice for each and every enthusiast of dark ambient, Eprom, by Diaspora Psichica, have the potential to become a reference in the genre. With an impressive sonorous quality that easily functions as a bridge between the reverberation of a marvelous sound and the ecstatic dread of a very subtle, but hopefully imminent darkness, this album has everything the genre demands, combined in the right order, with the correct components, exactly as it should! Nobody could have done this better.  
     

Wagner

progressive metal

dark ambient

post rock

shoegaze / psychedelic

symphonic doom

grindcore

alternative / metal

dark ambient

indie rock / pop rock

punk rock

rock / blues

funeral doom / black metal

noise / drone / spoken word

heavy metal

death metal / black metal

Serge

black metal

Vault Of Dried Bones

Aah, a new edition of Brieviews, and why not simply kick of with what will probably prove to be the most raunchy and ghastly piece of musical extremism in this article. Sorguinazia is a duo, dwelling in the deepest, darkest caves and tombs of the black metal scene. Don't expect musical ingenuity on this one, but prepare to get molested by fierce guitars, haunting vocals and a relentless tempo. One these three songs, the duo constantly balances on the edge between primitive black metal and harsh noise. This is not music, this is either an exorcism or an occult ritual and it's definitely suited only for the chosen few who can handle the extremest of the extreme.

stoner doom

On the slower part of the metal spectrum, we meet up with Brazilian psychedelic doom band Ruínas de Sade and their self titled three-track debut. I'm not sure when this band formed, but my guess is "not that long ago". However, despite the fact that the whole thing sounds like a first effort by some enthusiastic youngsters, there is some bloody awesome potential to be found here. The tracks are long and loaded with monolithic riffs, rough vocals and psychedelic solos which even bring Pink Floyd to mind. Of course, I would recommend this to all doom fans but another shoutout goes to labels: sign these guys, lock them up in a studio for a year, add a solid producer and they might come out with a classic. This is talent!!!

post rock / electronic / doom

Onto one of the most unique releases in this edition of Brieviews, an astonishing cooperation between Bulgarian doom metal band Smallman and drum & bass producer Ivan Shopov (Cooh/Balansky). The result of this cooperation is an often perplexing blend of styles, contrasting rhythms, dark ambient, folk and post rock passages and intense outbursts of metal. Bands that come to mind include Massive Attack, Coldplay, Primordial and Anathema. There is plenty of atmosphere and more variation than you can imagine but most of all, these are simply excellent songs, dressed in a modern and epic sound.

progressive metal

Since we're dwelling in the experimental and somewhat unusual corners of the music industry, allow me to introduce Jupiter Hollow. In the past few years, this duo has been absorbing all things progressive and now come up with a stunning blend of everything between Rush, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater and Tool. The five songs on this album are complex, often downright confusing pieces of progressive rock, interlaced with ambient passages. They not only show tremendous technical abilities but also a decent flair for songwriting. Fans of progressive rock should definitely get their hands on a copy of this. This is pretty much everything you like, pressed into one ep.

progressive rock

On the somewhat more gentle side of the progressive rock spectrum, we reconnect with Finnish masterminds Grus Paridae and their new single. I remember writing a review for this act in the early days of Merchants Of Air and I remember being quite charmed by their music. On this single, that is no different. 'Forthcoming Nonintellectual Decadence' is a classic progressive rock anthem, one where I can clearly hear influences from Pink Floyd but also elements from classical music. The piano and violins have a central role in this atmospheric and beautiful piece of music and the whole thing sounds well balanced, varied and as anthem-like as this kind of music should be. Nice work.

death metal / thrash metal

thrash metal / black metal

dark ambient

facebook

noise / experimental

dark ambient / experimental

black metal

post punk

progressive / power metal

Modern melodic metal from Canada, suited for fans of Kamelot, Symphony X, Alter Bridge and Tesseract, that's what the biography mentioned. Yet, I'd like to add bands like Moonspell to that list, certainly after listening to the brilliant opener 'Guillotine', which is an epic dark metal anthem. The rest of this ep is pretty much equally interesting with some very strong metal songs. Red Cain somehow managed to blend progressive, technical and dark metal into a mesmerizing journey. Personally, I really dig the clean but forceful vocals with this kind of music so in that Red Cain certainly delivered the goods. Closer 'Unborn' is my second favorite, especially with that epic intro. 

black metal

progressive / alternative rock

progressive metal / djent / post metal

Some more relentlessness from our neighbours in France, this time with a genre called "djent". I'm not very familiar with it and many of the bandnames don't really ring a bell but I know what I like, and I like what I'm hearing right now. Short, nervous riffs, energetic drums, loads of atmospheric sounds and a harsh, screaming voice create a captivating blend of post metal and hardcore. No doubt that songs like 'The Wall' and 'Broken Streets' will be absolute blasts when played live, certainly with that amount of energy and intensity. This definitely is one for the newer generation of metalheads, but I think Meshuggah fans can easily appreciate this slab of aggression too.

indie rock / psychedelic

dark ambient / drone

Another project of Spanish musician Vadym Sycantrhope, City No Signal, released under his nom de plume of Enearth, is a very smooth, linear and transcendental album, severely different from everything he has made so far! Filled with a serene soundscape, that has, a little disguised in the atmosphere of his music, a severe, but hidden layer of anxiety, that subtlety explodes in each and every note of the panoramic conscience that his dimensional sound vastly explores, this album has a beautiful nervous antagonism, that hides in a poetic display of omniscience a delicate and fragile serenity, aligned with a cosmic strength that relies over an afflictive sideline of majestic agony, where your feelings predominantly have to be exceedingly prepared, for the journey you are about to endure. 

A marvelous ambient album, permeated by a lucid fury objectified by a soft calmness and an outward uneasiness, City No Signal is filled with a very discreet demand in form, shape and character. In a hallucinatory device that disperses darkness everywhere its harmonies seems to go, this album is made primarily by fearless, but very insinuating rhythms, lost in a perpetual night of doom and demise. Unrestrained by a vicinity of shadows that never obliterates realms of haze, an agonizing tension, a sublime hostile expectation and a deranged feeling of frightful affliction will make you feel bound to a life in a very different world.

City No Signal is an album perfect for ambient music enthusiasts that really love a more obscure, sinister, dismal and unknown approach to the genre. An astounding album, corroborated by a funeral procession that will lead you into the darkness of an infinite urban night, the conspicuous rhythms that we have here will make you feel trapped into another dimension, a more tough and difficult one. Nonetheless, you will understand the proficiency of a style that never gets tired of exploring into the depths of its musical confluences the never ending nuances of the most depressing, lugubrious and restless side of existence, in a sonorous stream of sensorial  efficiency that has produced an exceedingly singular cornerstone of downward abysmal atmospheres.      

With melodies that resonates the intensity of a darkness that dwells into the highlight of a deep penumbra, City No Signal is an album that impersonates the light of a serene tension, filled with the blackened skies of an easier disgrace, dispatched by the sincerity of a ruined and painful expectation. So, no matter how far you can go, you will rapidly perceive that this is a work that only the most intuitive ones can understand, and the brightly genuine followers will appreciate.       


​ Wagner

A few days ago, we published fifteen songs for your Halloween playlist. If you know a little bit about the history of this holiday, you'll know that it originates from Samhain, the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. To celebrate Samhain, English label Sombre Soniks comes up with a Samhain Sale on 31 October and 1 November. So if you're still looking for some decent spooky music to play or if you're simply a fan of dark ambient and related genres, this might be your chance to pick up some grizzly gems. On this label special of Brieviews, we guide you through some of Sombre Soniks releases. To see all of them, click here. 

A Most Accursed  is a side project from members of Druhá Smrt, who are also a part of the Sombre Soniks stable. With this new album, they deliver three strange and haunting tracks, each one lasting exactly thirteen minutes. They're all grim, dark and droning pieces of work, with the second one, 'Where Owls Shriek All The Night', being the most unsettling one. You can actually hear the owls shriek in a vague and gloomy tempo. On opener 'In The Valley Of Feral Dogs' you can also hear the hounds creating this hint of rhythm. In all, this definitely is a must-have for fans of dark, mystic and obscure ambient music, certainly those who like to crossover to noise once in awhile.

From Finland comes lo-fi obsessed experimentalist Fecal Fetal with his second offering on Sombre Soniks. On this album, the artist works with a wide array of instruments and materials, from kantele to styrofoam, to create otherworldly pieces of music. The result are six strange and often uneasy pieces of music, here and there coming up with mere hints of melody and rhythm. The whole thing reminds me of other experimentalists such as De Fabriek, Maurizio Bianchi and Zoviet France. So if you're in for strange, bizarre, unconventional and downright odd, this album definitely is something for you. But beware, it might cause horrifying mental images.

Grist is a master in slowly evolving layers of soundscapes and loops and on this album he further explores that art. In three long tracks, the artist slowly drags you into his mystic, hypnotic world where you will experience visions and emotions you never knew existed. This constant building-up has a captivating and almost trance inducing effect, especially when it's played loud and in absolute darkness, which is obviously exactly what I would recommend. The tracks also seem to balance on the edge between musicality and noise, another constant throughout the career of Grist. If you're looking for something deep, droning and repetitive, this definitely is your cup of tea.

After his splendid cooperation with Yumi Hara on the 'Wheels Within Wheels', Guy Harries returns for his first solo effort on Sombre Soniks. On this album, Harries invites us on a long and mystic journey through soundscapes, noises and pulsating drones. The result is a gloomy and eerie album where unexpected sounds turn up. That being said, this would make an excellent soundtrack for a horror game. The five tracks consist of field recordings, modular synths and found objects which Harries turned into sonic adventures which will certainly have an effect on your psyche. This is something for fans of Zoviet France, Rapoon and Inade.

bandcamp

The 'Dark Ambient' series have become a constant throughout the oeuvre of Sombre Soniks. These compilations contain a lot of exclusive tracks from artists from the stable but also several songs from acts outside the label. On this twelfth edition you can find tracks from Akoustik Timbre Frekuency, Misantronics, Druhá Smrt, Backyard Ghost and Grist but also Kristus Kut, Catacombs Of Doom and Oneirich, amongst others. And, as usual, this is a highly recommended album for every dark ambient fan out there. If you're looking for a decent playlist for your Samhain activities, look no further and download this compilation. You simply can't go wrong with this.

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Canadian act Sp3cd3rs returns with a droning and epic album which will definitely disrupt your consciousness and gnaw on your self esteem. I think it's safe to say that the songs on this album are lingering harsh ambient tunes with loops, soundscapes and unidentified noises. Yet, it's the repetitive nature of the whole thing that gives this album a certain vibe, a quite immersive one too. It's easy to get lost in these drones and let your imagination do all the work. For fans of minimal but harsh experimental music or "death industrial", this definitely is a must-have. If you have acts like Luasa Raelon, Brighter Death Now and Tim Hecker in your collection, you should add this one too.

This might be one of the most varied albums on Sombre Soniks. In no less than fourteen tracks, each one dedicated to a different element or planetary sphere, Portuguese experimentalist Babalith delves the listener in a whirlpool of drones, dark ambient, minimal folk and noise. The tracks differ quite a lot from each other, although they all have that gloomy dark ambient atmosphere. My favorite one is the long 'Venus Oscillation' which is a pulsating piece of music that reminds me of some of Deutsch Nepal's compositions. Anyway, this is already Babalith's fifth album for this label, one where you can certainly hear an ever evolving artist.

More reviews for Sombre Soniks releases:

Akoustik Timbre Frekuency - Harmonik Radiance
Babalith - The Dream Cycle
Misantronics - Contraformance
Druhà Smrt - Mythologem
A Most Accursed - Imaginal 
Sielwolf & Nam-khar - Atavist Craft
Yumi Hara & Guy Harries - Wheels Within Wheels
Druhá Smrt - Occurrentium
Weltensprung b Kaiserwetter - Prag​

dark ambient / drone

On a Deserted Path is a collaborative album between two artists, Hungarian István Csarnogurszky – here operating under the alias Black Hill – and the American Scott Snee. One of the best albums of the year, On a Deserted Path is a joint effort between two astoundingly different, but very skilled and creative musicians, here united by the desire to produce the most persuasive, beautiful and atmospheric anthems of underground music that you will ever hear in your entire life!

The first track already blew my mind away so overwhelmingly, that I could not believe what I was listening to: Desert eagle, the first song of the album, is a melancholic masterpiece, filled with a universal gloom where minor and major tons mix together, to make you feel literally above the clouds and below the earth at the same time. Beautifully executed, this calm, transcending and soft atmospheric guitar lingered meticulous abrasive sound is constructed very carefully under notes played by the spiraling shift of a sonorous colorful poetry never seen before. Note by note, you can almost feel the harmonies dwindling into your soul, as the peaceful atmosphere of its sound easily correlates your senses with the unbelievable life that comes out from the musical layer. I think I’ve listened to this song at least forty times, nonstop.  

Easily, the album goes upwards, in these same directions. Great introspective songs pervaded by the minimalist timing of riffs very well constructed under the basis of the infinite background of an unrestrained sensitive domain, ordained in an increasing path of meticulously premeditated sagacity, very well dosed by the concentrated objectivity to achieve what both where searching for: atmospheric layouts of reconnaissance harmonies, emerged in a catatonic setting of an eternal night filled with a serenity undefined by space and time. The second track, Stevie Slimm in bloody mood, a deep rooted postmodern pervasive piece, grounded in a very polished ambience of universal solitude, like the rest of the album, could easily be very well defined by the guys who made this beautiful full length: according to Black Hill himself, “The album On a Deserted Path was inspired by the sand of the south, western movies, desert creatures, and blues heroes.” And this is exactly where the album goes. It really evokes deserted landscapes, desolate places, sad dust glories and loneliness in interior and exterior deserts, that could be located somewhere, in outer planets. You can almost feel those beautiful songs coming up as the possible soundtrack of life itself, especially in downplayed moments of outstanding arid melancholy, that these two guys easily create so beautifully with guitar strings, filled with composite, but at the same time very soft harmonies, that seems to rise by a life force of its own, in the insurgent path of a calm transcendental music, filled with the never ending creativity that only musical geniuses have in a very higher ground, exposing it in a true setting that really benefits the music, and the ambient it creates. 

Although being very different musicians, each one with its own unique abilities, peculiar tastes and very singular backgrounds, the combination of talents here is quite interesting: they work together very well as a team, and maintain a structure that creates a cohesive identity for the album, that fits very well the awesome characteristics that make On a Deserted Path such an outstanding work of musical proficiency!

Despite the innovations, and the singular capacities of each musician, they bring some of the old stuff as well, albeit reinvented in very creative forms. You can easily identify some seventies rock and roll influences in the guitar layered outback sensitive atmospheres of at least some of those tracks, highlighting the outstanding inspirations that both musicians bring with their respective musical crafts, very well balanced in intriguing sensibilities, correctly placed in profound melodies, that easily tells to your soul a story filled with an outstanding and enthusiastic creative mission.

This is music for true underground fans. After hearing one time, you will have the desire to hear it numerous other times as well, over and over again. And of course, this is an album that obviously deserves and receives the maximum score! What these two guys have done is a great masterpiece, and all that underground fans will do next is to demand for a follow-up, certainly! What can I say, besides reiterate the fact that this is not just another marvelous album, but an outstanding masterpiece, that could easily be regarded as a magnum opus of underground music? I can say thank you, Black Hill, and Scott Snee, for this groundbreaking musical experience!  
   
 
​Wagner

drone / dark ambient

Narwhals is the most recent release by Gimu, a drone and dark ambient artist from Brazil. With only one track, divided into four parts, Narwhals is a more typical, but straightforwardly substantial Gimu album, that exposes and delineates the more usual elements used by the artist on his compositions.   

With a profound, but nevertheless easy layer of inextinguishable expectations, Narwhals is filled with a delicate and imponderable sensibility, that compresses tension and expansion within a wider scope of infinite visibilities, all vehemently caught below an intuitive sense of mostly ethereal harmonies. Like most of his albums, Narwhals is an ambient track that takes the listener into a vast, cosmic, serene and mostly intrinsic journey, into the inner depths of his own self, drawing abysses of external landscapes, that plays the goal of universes within universes, holding the projection of one’s interior personal world, traveling to the exterior outside world, devoid of any major feelings of rapture.

Playing vastly with the ambiguity of emotions, Narwhals seems to be a more soft journey, not as painful and not as desolate as his albums normally are. But as the listener’s descent goes deeper and deeper into the abysses of the darkness of his own mind, surpassing the surface of a world of dreams in all of its vicious antagonisms, it is possible to feel at home, when an immensurable light of instinct tells consciousness that it finally arrived there, at the core of the palace that Narwhals wants the listener to be. 

Sometimes disguised as a premise, and not a promise, Narwhals has its fair share of ambiguities, although set up in more discreet manners. As the song evolves into a more prominent static feeling, everything that stands between the listener and his emotions starts to fall apart, but not in a conventional manner. As the listener feels himself able to organize thoughts and rationalize, Narwhals dismantles feelings and sensations, to rearrange it again differently, in a more axiomatic pattern, according to a vastly anomalous line of communication, established by the lurid atmosphere of the music, to see, at least for a brief moment, everything according to Gimu.

As I wrote above, although this is more a typical ambient album, with less texture lines, less experimentation and a more stabilized atmosphere, nevertheless, the journey offered by Narwhals is a very emotional and compelling experience, although only more avid enthusiasts of ambient music will really appreciate. But for sure, it is highly recommendable for them all. Gimu is always a musician you deeply want to have in your collection.      


​Wagner        

dark ambient / experimental

Worship is a five track album, by Coven, a dark ambient experimental musical project of Spanish musician Vadym Sycantrhope. With very sinister punctuation devices, Coven’s music is primarily characterized by a nervous tension, and an implicit agony that summarizes the breakdown of a soul’s disillusion. With songs that rely on an afflictive insinuation of a dark expectancy, Worship, by Coven, is a very sinister and tense dark ambient album, effective in the way it rapidly and precisely evokes feelings of fear and demise, at the core of the agonizing and disguised ferocity hidden below the surface of its lurid and opaque rhythms.

Consolidating a somewhat macabre atmosphere, that apparently reverberates the frivolous capacities of everything that seems unknown, paradoxically, the very calm harmonies that underlies the entirely hideous melodies responsible for the creation of a universe of divided tension and apprehensive fate rests silently at the heart of a serenity that screams below the surface of a world doomed to fade and disappear forever. But that will, somehow, give birth to a sinister layer of unsatisfying grace, and eventually, be stuck in your head. 

With an intriguing ability to create and sustain a hideous and sonorous world of mist and dust, nobody has the ability that Sycantrhope has, of creating tension and anxiety, as well as disseminating fear and affliction, departing from such calm, vague and mesmerizing harmonies. A master of ambient devices, he certainly can be regarded today as one of greatest ambient sound artists in the underground scene.

With a disparaging reliance on ambient techniques, diffused over the atmosphere of an incisively agonizing nothingness, built under the auspices of a lenient and intrusive musical scenario, these five tracks present in Worship can be considered a vicious voyage into the heart of a desolate realm, filled with inconspicuous dark forests, arid and inhospitable landscapes and intriguing lost palaces, all built by the daydream commoner disillusion of a world lost at the bottom of a ruin.

So, to be clear, on Worship, the most recent album by Coven, Vadym Sycantrhope gives to its listeners a sordid journey throughout the most abhorrent places conceived in his mind. Creating unexpected worlds of grief and sorrow through sound, Coven invites you to go on a journey of sound sensations and vitreous melancholy, where everything is bound by the unknown. Nevertheless, this is such an appreciative trip that, for all ambient music lovers out there, is it unconceivable not to step on it.   


Wagner
        

death metal

We kick off this edition of Brieviews with two brutal old school death metal songs, courtesy of Icelandic horde Narthraal. This digital single is the forerunner for the upcoming full-length, which is scheduled to be released somewhere in 2017. An important aspect of their sound, is the use of the Boss HM-2 pedal which creates a filthy, raunchy sound. Furthermore, the main influences for this act are the old school bands we all love so much, including Grave, Dismember, Unleashed and Carcass. I don't think you need any more convincing. Go ahead, download the album, and prepare to fiercely bang your head. You know you want to...

death metal / metalcore

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Somewhere between the realms of death metal and metalcore roams the Belgian quintet Dead End Path. They handed out this three-track ep at the latest edition of Rocktoberfest, where the played an all-consuming set in front of a handful of people. Well, my friends, you can see this little review as a nudge to get your attention on these guys because they're damn good. Melodic yet brutal death metal which quite often reminds me of something between At The Gates, All Shall Perish and Unearth. In three tracks, these guys show a tremendous technical ability, along with the skills to write and perform decent songs, all of course as brutal and crushing as it can get. Harsh stuff!!!

noise rock / hardcore

Something a little different, but in no way less in-your-face, is this ep from Spanish noisemakers Balcanes. What starts out with an impending piece of drone and noise, quickly turns into a hardcore punk infused frenzy in 'Combustible'. 'Masada' drags the ep deeper down into the world of sludge, driving on inelaborate but damn infectious riffs and monotonous drumming. That being said, no, there is not a lot of variation to be found but Balcanes definitely makes up for that by creating an intense wall-of-sound and beating you into a pulp with it. If you're a fan of sludgy noise rock, like Melvins or Harvey Milk, you should check out this little gem. Oh, and Balcanes need to tour Europe, like now!

alternative rock / hard rock / grunge

Back in Belgium, a country that still teems with people who hold rock music close to their heart. That certainly counts for hard rocking squad Daddy Was Wrong. In five songs, and about fourteen minutes, they showcase some of the first songs they have written together. Although they have a firm hard rock sound, I do sense some influences from grunge and alternative rock, but of course, they mainly add to the level of variation. My favorite track is the groovy 'Immortal', probably the most headbanging-worthy track on this ep. Anyway, if you're ready for a decent portion of good old fashioned hard rock, you should give these guys a shot. Rock on!!!!

heavy metal

Once upon a time, this Canadian act start out as a Venom cover band. Yet, gradually they grew into what they are today, a headstrong heavy metal act with lyrical inspiration from Tolkien and musical inspiration by bands like Venom, Amebix, Manowar and several others. What you can expect on this album is pure, uncut heavy metal in the veins of their predecessors but with a raunchy, somewhat experimental edge. To me, is sounds like some of the very old school black metal albums, when the genre hadn't discovered blast beats and corpse paint yet. For you, this might be a good way to start checking out today's heavy metal scene. There is some great stuff to be found, including this one.

industrial / dark psy

When band photos show the man behind this projects with respectively a KMFDM  and a Godflesh t-shirt, you know you might be in for something interesting. That certainly is the case with this ep. Dwelling in the realms of industrial metal and dark dubstep, these four songs pretty much sound like modern day electronic remixes of songs by Fear Factor or Ministry, created by Infected Mushroom in a darkstep mood. For an electronic album, it's damn heavy, coming close to the stuff Amduscia, Xotox, Ambassador21 or Noisuf-X have been blasting out over the years. My favorite track here is 'Dragged By The Shadows' which or more suited for headbanging than dancing. Check it out, this is pretty awesome

drone / ambient / post-rock

The album from Argentinian band Bhutan was submitted by a fan. According to his email, Bhutan was the support act for Nadja in Argentina and are considered a household name in the drone-scene of their country. Well, dear fan and band members,  as far as I'm concerned, this trio should find an international record deal and a world tour to show of their beautiful blend of drone, ambient and post-rock. I mean, when an album reminds me of acts like Klaus Schulze, Pink Floyd, Aidan Baker ànd Godspeed, You Black Emperor, something fascinating is going on. This is a damn varied piece of sonic art, one that will undoubtedly be a stunning experience live.

drone / doom / psychedelic

What does a psychedelic doom act with an ever-changing line-up of no less than fourteen musicians sound like? Well, apparently like a jamsession between Master Musicians Of Bukkake, Earth and Jimi Hendrix.  The word "jamsession" is important here because that's pretty much how this whole album feels. There is a number of drones and soundscapes, some strange vocals, minimal drums and a load of psychedelic guitar solos to be found on this album, all seemingly improvised on the spot. The result is an set of immersive vintage seventies psychedelics, which are at best when played at a loud volume.

trip-hop

Now this is something nice. Luxembourg resident trip-hop act Monophona come up with a little pleaser to soften the wait between their brilliant 'Back To Black' album and the new one. On this 7", the band covers respectively Johnny Cash and Morrissey, both in Monophona's beautiful blend of gentle electronics and Claudine's fragile vocals. My favorite here is 'Folsom Prison Blues', which is an excellent cover version, bringing the song into this era. 'Every Day Is Like Sunday' takes on a different approach, a heavier, one showing some dark drum & bass electronics and a funky breakbeat rhythm. But, you know, like I said, this is a pleaser, and I'm here waiting for the next full-length.

dark metal / death metal

Back to the heavier side of the musical spectrum, this time with Swiss combo Xaon and their debut ep 'Face Of Balaam'. At first glimpse, it might be easy to place these guys into the melodic death metal scene of the nineties, reminding of bands like Soilwork, In Flames to Children Of Bodom. However, listen deeper  and you'll find some more influences. From Type O Negative to My Dying Bride. Deeper still, and there is a flash of metalcore hidden beneath the violent, crushing guitars, which drags the entire melodic death metal scene into the current era. It certainly is a varied piece of work, this ep, and it shows a band that can easily pull through to the top of today's extreme scene.

hard rock / alternative

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Greek rockers Fliptop Box are masters in balancing on the edge between rock and metal. In that aspect, they remind me a lot of bands like The Foo Fighters. Their heavy rock is influenced by acts like Therapy?, Danzig, Volbeat and Alice In Chains and that's exactly where you could place this album. With awesome songs like 'Blast', 'Class Of Underdogs' and the highly immersive and quite Deftones-inspired 'Desert', these people are paving their way to today's alternative rock scene. As a rock fan, I think you should definitely check this one out, and as a metal fan I suggest you do the same. This thing rocks and, from the sound of it, it pretty much guarantees a party when played live. 

black metal

And we're back into the realm of all consuming darkness and dark misery. The album by Danish horde Gespenst is a tensive, harsh and fiercely immersive piece of work. It draws elements from black metal, funeral doom and dark ambient and blends them together into a massive whirlpool of sonic violence. The four lengthy tracks will undoubtely maintain their grasp on fans of today's post-black metal scene. In other words, this album is an epic piece of atmospheric extremes, one that you should definitely own if you like to be hypnotized by eerie guitars and haunting screams. I hope these guys come over to Belgium soon because I definitely want to see this live.

stoner / doom

Hailing from Jaén, Spain, this trio comes with an excellent blend of stoner rock and doom, a delightful must-have for the fuzz-freaks out there. Firm drums accompany vintage stoner doom riffs, while here and there an immersive post-rock passage appears. That's all good and fine and nice and stuff but what I really like on this album are the vocals. They remind me a lot more of acts like Jesus and the Mary Chain or Slowdive. You know, the shoegaze way. Sometimes, there are some Conan or Yob chants, which also fit quite well. The combination of those epic riffs and these distant vocals make this ep a stand-out for me. I hope these dudes will tour Europe soon. Recommended? Definitely!

crust / hardcore / black metal

Why the hell is this band named 'Rest'? I can easily imagine people seeing this in the window of a record store and buying it because they expect something calm and relaxing. Then they come home and play the record, only to be completely wrecked by the intense blend of black metal, crust and hardcore. 'Rest', as if they want to say, "you can, you need and you will have some rest after this spiked steamroller grinds your eardrums and leaves you behind traumatized".  Italians have a weird sense of humor I guess. Now, I have to say that this is one fierce motherfucker with four brutal tracks and one epic piece of music, the closing track 'V'. If you like crust, hardcore and black metal to be relentless, intense and harsh, you need this.

dark ambient

Welcome to the Organ House. You may enter after you have become silent. Feel free to have a look in each room, but try not to make any noise. You don't want to interrupt what you're about to witness. Oh, and beware of the god... 
Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast's Pär Boström joined forces with his sister Åsa, not only to create Hypnagoga Press (their publishing house and record label) but also to share Orgelhuset with the world. This is a dark ambient album of extreme quality, like we're used to from Pär (read). The right soundtrack to your inner travels. 
One can hear the cathedral of aerophones, the organ, blow in every room of Orgelhuset. In some rooms there are people hypnotically chanting, in other places the flute or the piano is present - never obtrusive but always in harmony with the rest of the sounds. Wherever you go, there's subtle sound effects intertwined with the drones, creating ever varying soundscapes. For fans of Raison d'Être, Subheim, In Slaughter Natives.