Alessio Antoni's NERATERRÆ Paints a Masterpiece of Dark Ambient, Inspired by Painted Masterpieces

Painting and music are two forms of expression comprised of the same motivations, evocation of emotion; an instigation of timbre. I love to hear of one being influenced by the other; love to read in an artist's biography that they listened to particular albums and artists while painting. What occurs in the reverse fashion, though? I recently listened to a new collage of sound evocations by Alessio Antoni's NERATERRÆ. This album is a truly inspired sound design masterpiece - literally inspired as it paints homage to notable famous works by artists such as

Referencing and even giving homage to many of these artists would seem to be "Atelier Populaire" - certainly Beksinski and Bosch - however, NERATERRÆ not only evokes these classics with sound, but I daresay actually repaints them in a new light. I must say, from the first few moments of the first track, I was enthralled - the sign of a true ambient artist.

NERATERRÆ wastes no time with shy introductions to politely acquaint the listener with this musical construct; this album begins with "The Last Abjurer'', informed by Zdzislaw Beksinski's haunting (and my personal favorite) "AA72". There is an eerie, atmospheric texture underlying the "space", a mammoth sensation of looking down upon lesser beings, and immediately, a cascade feeling of Cyclopean dread washes upon the listener. This "looks'' like a Beksinski painting - no - this ambient piece feels like a Beksinski painting.

Woven tapestries of pain-fueled melancholy; a seminal half-life of despair creeping into our world, laid bare before mortal eyes, and the only way we have to interpret the feelings is through the morbid paintings of the long-dead artist. "The Last Abjurer'' is a dismal, oppressive castigation of sound that embodies the visage of the titanic statues as they gaze downward upon the lowly human staring up at the Cyclopean monuments, and the music conveys exactly that.

Ilya Yefimovich Repin - Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan (1883-1885)

Additional tracks daubed onto this inspired fresco of haunting atmospheres are works by Heironymous Bosch (Visions of the Hereafter) and Johann Heinrich Füssli’s "The Nightmare". Every track is dark and enthralling, with notable mentions needing to go to “In Deafening Silence” (Track 3), the aural landscape transporting us to the very room wherein sits Ivan the Terrible, clutching his son, the despair and grief in the eyes can be felt in the trepidation of the tones used in this song. A silence that builds in timbre, barely breaking the temerity of the void surrounding the listener; giving me the sense that I was actually in the room depicted in the painting, the despair sapping the very sound from my throat.

When an artist states they created a dark ambient album encapsulating celebrated artists’ paintings, it would immediately cause one to pause (I do), or at least to cynically accept that said album is going to be the same as every other release of its ilk: spastic flourishes of varying styles failing to capture one singular evocation; this is not that type of album - this is a Who's Who among the Cinematic Dark Ambient scene, with appearances by notable artists in the genre such as Alphaxone, Mount Shrine, Xerxes the Dark, and more.

In all, "Scenes From the Sublime" by NERATERRÆ is an eerie delight - a delectable, foreboding treat across multiple frames of creativity put to canvas, but man, that first song strikes a delicate and delicious note of otherworldly fear and awe, and it is by far my favorite track.

Scenes from the Sublime by NERATERRÆ is available on CD through Dark Ambient and Industrial stalwarts Cyclic Law, on cassette via Liberation Through Hearing or direct from the artist, himself, NERATERRÆ on Bandcamp; also available to stream on all platforms.

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