Triumph does not always follow tragedy, especially when it comes to the likely results of climactic cult endings when hundreds – sometimes thousands of followers – are tricked into thinking that a mass suicide is what it takes to live the eternal life with their supreme being. Unfortunately, only the non-participating living are able to carry on the historical stories of the fallacies that were created to brainwash so many misfortunate and innocent people. Council Of Nine’s second album dedicated to the atrocities of mass cult followings, ‘Davidian’, is a stark reminder that sometimes it is too late to get out once you’re in too deep.
“Mt. Carmel” is a soothing, yet bleak droning track that sets an excruciating tone for the album and provides a feeling of helplessness even if there is the ability to reach out for help. “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy” contains the sounds of ghostly, hollow tones and the sense that something evil (hidden amongst the good) is about to take place, almost as if this is the calm before the storm. “Blood On Your Hands” finalizes the bizarre cult ending with its sweeping orchestration-like sounds and frantic field recordings to symbolize that this is the epic ending for the countless followers that are mesmerized by being whisked away by their supreme being. “Revelator” paints a scene of total silence, and by silence I mean a compound filled with multiple deaths, lying silently and dressed the same in their beds as if their souls had been lifted from their lifeless bodies and transported through another realm. “Day 51” is a gorgeous, space ambient track that provides closure to these heinous cult crimes. The title track, “Davidian”, adds layers of peaceful synthesizers with the addition of acoustic piano to provide a calming effect after all of the tragedy that has already taken place. “The 7 Seals” is a deep and evil sounding drone that is a reminder that even after the tragedies of one cult is complete, another will commence to take many more innocent lives.
Council Of Nine has done an excellent job creating another dark ambient album dedicated to the tragedies of cult followings. This first album in this nature, 2018’s ‘Exit Earth’, was heavily influenced by the Heaven’s Gate cult. ‘Davidian’ continues down the same path and delivers quite a punch. This is dark ambient at its best, especially when the listener can imagine and formulate a story based solely on the music alone. This makes for a truly valiant effort from Council Of Nine and I hope more albums continue down this same path. Show your support for the Cryo Chamber Label and for Council Of Nine and download this magnificent album!
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A spooky little album, but in my opinion somewhat missed the mark.
There was no mass suicide. Their “heinous cult crime” was being singled out by the ATF to make an example. There are plenty of documentaries about this.
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