Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows - Songs From the Inverted Womb

Year: 2000

Genre: Darkwave/Neo-Classical

Songs From the inverted Womb is dedicated to the "memory and resurrection" of Little Seven, a boy who died when he was six years old. This album was recorded in an attempt to resurrect at least the memory of the boy, producing some rather grim tales, especially the climactic opus "There Was a Country By the Sea". The music, now featuring a group of around ten guest musicians, contains many more cohesive and flowing arrangements reminiscent of progressive rock. "May I Kiss Your Wound?", from "The Inexperienced Spiral Traveler", makes a fresh appearance; "Résumé..." is in fact an extensive re-interpretation of "Time Stands Still... [...But Stops for No-One]" from Sopor Aeternus' first album, ...Ich Töte Mich Jedesmal aufs Neue, doch Ich bin Unsterblich, und Ich Erstehe Wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs...

Inward Escape - Sacred Nothing

Year: 2004
Genre: Dark Ambient/Post-Black Metal

Presented in two volumes over the course of as many disks, the first comprising of Atremores’ unique direction and approach of what could possibly be labeled under the ambiguous title of ‘avant-garde black metal’, with great emphasis upon the former half of this title. These works further substantiated by the prose and lamentations of its author, and in some respects in stark contrast to its second volume, distinguished by its subtle, atmospheric compositions based this time more upon the absence on human voice and delving its listeners into the disturbed waters of ones own consciousness. Despite the difference in musical exploration throughout its total playing time, Sacred Nothing is kept in harmony and continually bound by its introspection; a realization of the overwhelming worthlessness of human concepts and a defiant detachment from societal convention. Here ideas and manifestations of nihil are wielded and bought into new form. Sacred Nothing is an original, mature work wedding perfectly together celebrated musicianship and audial exploration with staunch individualism, and is a heralded beginning and beacon for art to come.

“To sever from life is to fly within dreams… Here, society’s nightmare is my goddess: Nothingness”

Aluk Todolo - Descension

Year: 2007
Genre: Psychedelic Black Metal/Ambient

This first full-length album shows the band developing the esoteric theorems established on it's debut 7-inch EP, and going far deeper in the methodical exploration of the occult powers of musical trance. With the goal to create a timeless, organic mixing of krautrock's strangeness and grim black metal's coldness, Aluk Todolo conjures rabid obsessive rhythms and abyssal disharmonic guitars, subliminal spiritualist vibrations and bizarre, magick summonings. By reducing psychedelic improvisation to a bare, telluric instrumentation, and basking in the archaic rawness of lo-fi production, the trio elaborates on an audio ritual meant to be monolithic and stabbing, hypnotic but unpredictable, minimalist yet teeming.

Alpha Drone

Year: 2007
Genre: Dark Ambient/Noise/Black Metal

The name Alpha Drone is taken from a science fiction short story inspired by Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" John Gill wrote at a younger age. After seeing the movie "Gattaca" and discovering too many parallels he decided never to publish the story. The name symbolizes the superiority of theozoological eugenics attempting to restore man's divinity over modern "bee-hive" genetic engineering attempting to increase man's economic productivity.

"This album is to be consumed in shimmering twilight and at high volumes. Extreme sleep deprivation, red wine and absinthe as conductors of drifting beyond common perception of reality can add to an optimal effect."

Staruha Mha

Year: 2003
Genre: Tribal Psychedelic Ritual Ambient

The tribal ritual music on this album sounds rather mysterious and distant. The inspiration for this project comes from archaic nature cults and psychedelic experiences. Most tracks have titles which refer to elements of nature. With no less than 80 minutes and 12 long soundscapes “Rusali” is filled to the brim.

You can hear death ambient, with harsh guitar drones and elements of industrial noise. But also more atmospheric passages, with ethno-ambient influences and sounds of field recordings. And indeed, the music of Staruha Mha has something otherworldly or out of line with modern times. I love the deep drones on "Grasses", making me want to close my eyes and wander to ominous ancient landscapes. The music is too noisy to be truly relaxing. But the dense textures have a lot of brooding atmosphere. There is also something machine-like about the music, industrial rumbling soundscapes like "On Branches" or "Deformation" go and and on, disturbed by nothing. A good piece of work if you like dark ambient and ritual drones.

Year: 2004
Genre: Tribal Psychedelic Ritual Ambient

This mysterious and short-living Russian project has always been a kind of unique folklore/musical mythology projection. Its conception seems to be far from modern world in terms of both aesthetics and social issues, taking us back to the roots, where forest is like fairyland, embodying the dream of every hermit creature. Follow-up to the first released, but last ever recorded album "Rusali", "Fires" goes beyond that obscurity edge and features more vivid forms of sound, but never like new-age sweetness. All compositions are undoubtedly anxious, uneasy by the nature; it will surely destroy your afternoon meditation and face you under the hostile, wild and indifferent atmosphere which nevertheless is not going against ambient harmony. Fantastic real music, which is intended in absence of words... Deep solitude softly transformed into selflessness - only ridding oneself of rational thought it was possible to achieve such alienation attitude. This is beautiful and very peculiar work, and there is no real comparison, neither surmising instruments nor similar projects. Sometimes I catch myself at thinking this music was recorded not in a studio but in a real forest, by the supersensitive facility which can feel the aura of the environment.