post-metal / drone / ambient
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Even though, since I founded Merchants Of Air, I have encountered a massive number of bands, some still seem to slip through my perceptive senses. When I received this album to review, I wondered what I had to do with since I had never heard of a band named Trysth before. I asked myself, "should I listen to the original album first?" I decided not to, and instead focus on the six remixes. Why? Well, mainly because sometimes remixes can perfectly stand on their own and these six certainly can.
Trysth is a post-metal band from Sofia, Bulgaria. They released 'Soulchambers' in November 2014. Now, half a dozen of electronic, drone and ambient artists have reworked the songs and made a coherent and interesting album out of these, even though there are plenty of differences between the acts. Of these artists, I know two, opener Environments and Antwerp's own Ashtoreth. The others are also new to me.
Environments opens with a massive drone piece, driving on a post-metal background. 'Undying' is a great piece, heavier than their own work but still highly atmospheric and immersive. 'Weeping Orbits' by Balkansky is probably my favorite, a dark, electronic, almost trip-hop like piece of music. Balkansky is a dubstep & drum & bass producer with a background in metalcore and the combination works brilliantly. This song is awesome, regardless of what you think about dubstep.
Modern Ghosts of The Road bring back the drones, noise and soundscapes, eerier and bleaker than Environments' contribution but just as interesting. I think it's safe to say that this track is the most minimalistic of them all, another thing that post-metal rarely is. Ashtoreth delivered another highlight of minimal percussion driven dark drones. This one really is making me curious about my own upcoming remix project. This track might be the gloomiest piece of work on this album.
One Tru Odd's contribution is an alienating piece of work; hypnotic and repetitive but completely devoid of percussion. It's also the shortest track and a welcome variation from the tons of darkness in the other tracks. Like closing act Mytrip's addition which finally plunges the whole into eternal gloominess. The original song once was an intro for a Trysth album and now it completes the circle.
In all, as you could probably have guessed by now, this is a great album. It's remarkable how six different projects can turn six songs into one coherent album but perhaps that's pretty normal if you know the atmosphere of the original album. Nonetheless, this simply is another great addition to your dark collection, one which comes highly recommended, of course. So check it out while I check out Trysth themselves.
Serge
Trysth is a post-metal band from Sofia, Bulgaria. They released 'Soulchambers' in November 2014. Now, half a dozen of electronic, drone and ambient artists have reworked the songs and made a coherent and interesting album out of these, even though there are plenty of differences between the acts. Of these artists, I know two, opener Environments and Antwerp's own Ashtoreth. The others are also new to me.
Environments opens with a massive drone piece, driving on a post-metal background. 'Undying' is a great piece, heavier than their own work but still highly atmospheric and immersive. 'Weeping Orbits' by Balkansky is probably my favorite, a dark, electronic, almost trip-hop like piece of music. Balkansky is a dubstep & drum & bass producer with a background in metalcore and the combination works brilliantly. This song is awesome, regardless of what you think about dubstep.
Modern Ghosts of The Road bring back the drones, noise and soundscapes, eerier and bleaker than Environments' contribution but just as interesting. I think it's safe to say that this track is the most minimalistic of them all, another thing that post-metal rarely is. Ashtoreth delivered another highlight of minimal percussion driven dark drones. This one really is making me curious about my own upcoming remix project. This track might be the gloomiest piece of work on this album.
One Tru Odd's contribution is an alienating piece of work; hypnotic and repetitive but completely devoid of percussion. It's also the shortest track and a welcome variation from the tons of darkness in the other tracks. Like closing act Mytrip's addition which finally plunges the whole into eternal gloominess. The original song once was an intro for a Trysth album and now it completes the circle.
In all, as you could probably have guessed by now, this is a great album. It's remarkable how six different projects can turn six songs into one coherent album but perhaps that's pretty normal if you know the atmosphere of the original album. Nonetheless, this simply is another great addition to your dark collection, one which comes highly recommended, of course. So check it out while I check out Trysth themselves.
Serge