Flowers for Bodysnatchers' 'Infernal Beyond' is an Album of Inspired, Dread Narrative
From the first strike of the decaying pad, you will know that this is an album of inspired, dread narrative. The sliding of the strings, the lilting choirs, and thin veneer of dissonance give Infernal Beyond an ever-present impression of imposing doom.
Helmed by sound design maestro, Duncan Ritchie, the dark ambient project, Flowers for Bodysnatchers is known for evocative and emotionally introspective sound designs and ambient explorations, as well as dread tales of horror, ranging from terrifyingly personal explorations to Lovecraftian-tinged science fiction in the far-flung depths of outer space (you should really listen to the collaboration titled, Locus Arcadia, which includes a track from Flowers for Bodysnatchers). The most recent offering being Infernal Beyond, a monumental continuation to the horrific tale begun in the previous album titled, Asylum Beyond.
The storyline of Infernal Beyond is sure to please horror connoisseurs, taking place in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and more specifically, Ravenfield Asylum. The setup for this narrative is straight out of a marketing plan from a haunted attraction, and it is within this type of ambiance the more the listener invests their imagination into reading the story outline, the more the tracks contained within shine. Breathy passages and sound effects, linked with distant noises and field recordings create the atmosphere of stone and abandoned grit, of empty halls and bland, sterile corridors; foundations of the sanitariums of old; Bedlam.
The unfolding story of Infernal Beyond is an homage to the gothic tales of yore - of a mysterious and dangerous patient committed to an asylum, his proclivities for the occult being cause for his murderous rampage. Then we read of the strange relationship between the patient and his caregiver, his doctor. We read of the massive fire that destroys the asylum, killing 68 of 70 people; there are two bodies never found, that of the murderous patient and his doctor. From this we read only of the news reports, of the massive fire that scorched the asylum to the ground. The final pieces of the narrative reveal strange occurrences in the ruins; of bodies displayed in blasphemic pose, and of ghostly shadows walking among the ash. The gothic horror influences are evident - to me, the most notable being The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
This is not music of a typical nature, of structured cadence - this is more of a setting, of world-building brilliance the likes of which Cryo Chamber excels. This album builds the narrative of a film in your mind, giving you just enough of a launchpad for your imagination to “fill in the blanks”. The stylized use of certain period instrumentation and rhythmic patterns help ground the listener into the setting whence the album resides, while various cues and sound palettes keep the story moving forward, keeping the listener engaged with the horror of the tale.
Infernal Beyond is a tremulous tale of cosmic dread steeped in Gothic horror and yet another brilliant example of the masterful manipulation that Flowers for Bodysnatchers can exert upon a canvas of imagination.
Infernal Beyond is available in CD Digipak and digital formats on the Cryo Chamber Bandcamp page.
Read more within the Museum of Macabre Media on Monsters, Madness and Magic here: A Killer Stalks the Streets of London in Crier’s Bane