News and reviews on all macabre melodies: Metal in its many manifestations, dark and synthwave, audio dramas, soundtracks, ambient, and dungeon synth.
ProtoU’s layered sound design approach carries us along the currents of subconscious languor, with narrative hints of computer-aided artificial enhancement, maybe even consciousness storage, but just as the doldrum science fiction precis implies, the hypnotic droning from ProtoU lulls us into a quiet sense of submission, and we merely waft with the eddies of the textured pads.
Read MoreAfter five years the ring of salt around Yonkers, New York has been broken and the flames of hell are seeping back into a changed world. 2017 was the last time death metal four-piece Immolation cast their blistering curse on mortal ears.
Read MoreThe curtain is withdrawn in our mind, and our ears are greeted with a gradual thrum and distant sounds of ephemeral choirs. Within its depths lie secrets, mystery buried within the folds of time, and perhaps even more dread horrors.
Read MoreThe listener will be guided through the cascades of imaginative synthscapes at a seemingly capricious gait, but Storonskyi is always in control… the exuberance of Klaus Schulze, but tampered with precision to the purpose of the atmosphere.
Read MoreThese are hypnotic tracks - a soundscape of soothing pads, washing over the mind while various background sounds help fill in the transom of the periphery, delivering a calming serenity to the songs.
Read MoreThese albums are always a treat, as they are presented in unbroken, hour-long tracks wherein a Who’s Who of Cryo Chamber alumni…
Dagon begins exactly as it should: the subtle roar of ocean waves undulating, lapping at imposing rocks and possible ancient, antediluvian structures obscured by moss and lichen, weather-worn and hewn by the incessant pummeling of the water. Ominous howls of synth horns and drones begin their call from above gaping pits adorned with ceremonial “eyes”, many of which are certainly ringed with worshippers proclaiming their tenets of faith according to their Esoteric Orders.
Read MoreThis is an album for those who enjoy the dread notions of an Arthur C. Clark novel; of the slow, tense dread of a Ridley Scott sci fi film, and Quasi is perfect as a background listen for relaxing, or for imagination fuel and daydreaming.
Read MoreIt is quite a feat for an artist to maintain narrative and musical excellence for so many albums sequentially, and yet, here is the newest album from God Body Disconnect, The Dormancy, proving that it can be done.
Read MoreHaunting choirs drift in and out of the listener’s conscious awareness, layered with almost melancholy pads who drone listlessly into the void beyond our periphery… [a] masterful interplay between choirs and pads waft over your ears.
Read MoreAlphaxone returns with a new full-length sound exploration, after the brilliant split album.... The artist’s unique approach to layering and textures returns with Ghost Machine, another futuristic tale of ambiguity - the story’s timbre and mood are largely left to the interpretation of the listener
Read More“…paints a frost-capped land of dread and danger, beginning with a cadenced approach of tribal drums, and slowly introducing more elements into the tracks all to ease the listener into the plane of the Viking. It is a concept album of the concept of the chilled, forlorn world of the dead in Norse mythology, and I must say this album exudes every element of the senses it evokes.”
Read MoreI love this album. It is the soundtrack to a movie I wish had been made in that magical ‘85-’90s era of films. Each song has a body of imposing aura, as each song expands upon the story BtG has crafted, yet every song stands alone and can be identified by their individual sounds (many times this is a difficult task in this particular genre of music).
Read Morevarious interpretations and religious figures are represented and displayed through each song, while also drawing upon the eclectic stable of contributing musicians to add their own personal flavor to each respective part. The end result is a patchwork quilt of sonic sui generis. Essentially, how does one comprehend a god, and more importantly, how does one begin to describe that god to others?
Read More“…Certain movements within the structures of the evolving pads and drones help convey topographical nuance to the alien landscapes of the mind, but also colossal scales of ships and derelict craft, drifting solitary among the nebulae, testament tombs to erstwhile forgotten life…”
Read More“Brevity is the soul of wit” as the saying goes, and Gdanian’s inaugural journey with Cryo Chamber exemplifies this statement. The album description reads: ‘Submersion is a deep underwater album where retro bass lines are swallowed by thick textures and lingering strings’. And there you have it - simple, straightforward; to the point.
Read MoreThe artwork is the listener’s first impressions for what they are being offered musically… This album delivers. Timbre is of the utmost importance in presenting new music, and Fifth Nature conveys exactly the mood presented in the artwork.
Read MoreProlific composer Pär Boström (Cities Last Broadcast / Kammarheit) and Bruce Moallam (God Body Disconnect) are among the definers of modern cinematic dark ambient, and now the two have joined forces with a new collaborative project called Underwater Sleep Orchestra
Read MoreEveryone’s favorite Norwegian politician/postal service employee, Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell, and his ever-silent, ever-watchful supplier of friendship and dark money, Ted “Nocturno Culto” Skjellum, have managed to find time out of their busy schedules of campaigning, letter sorting and fundraising to grace our ears with another album from their little-known side project, DarkThrone.
Read MoreThe story alone commands your attention, and this is certainly the type of high-concept dark ambient that I crave and Dead Melodies has certainly delivered!
Read More“…somewhere between a David Lynch and James Wan film, this album rests upon its textured nuances, ready to enthrall its listeners.”
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