The feeling of being trapped in an industrial wasteland brings the sense of claustrophobia, terror, and chaos and surround your every intention. It’s hard to separate reality from a vicious nightmare in the ghastly ordeal that you’ve been forced to deal with. All around are the agonizing voices of those who weren’t fortunate enough to escape the brutality of this living hell. This is the scene painted by the latest effort by Destruktionsanstalt called ‘Døds-Hymner’. Pairing hate filled death-industrial with dreadful dark ambient has culminated into a release that will give you horrific nightmares and send chills down your spine.
Album opener “Morbidus Atractio”, waste no time originating the onset of inner destruction with its deafening noise inclusion and barely-audible voice samples. It’s almost as if a demon is reeking havoc on a small community and we’re all forced to listen to the barbarous outcome. “Contangiosis” continues down the same destructive path and gives the listener a sense of confinement and dread. News samples about a deadly, contagious virus can be heard in the background, adding an extra layer of fright, as the listening pleasure becomes more intense. “Infectio” changes the pace of the album but in sound only. Although this track is more in lines of a dark ambient piece with eerie field recordings, it still provides a gruesome picture of chaos & torture that is happening all around. “Pax En Morte” is another dark ambient track that yields some heinous monotone soundscapes that can easily describe the aftermath of a diabolical killing spree. Following in the footsteps of this savage event comes the ominous track, “Psychopomp”. More cruel intentions are at play here, as ghastly voices can barely be heard throughout this calm, but gloomy track. “Nigrum Caelum” is another solid ambient track with bleak undertones and field recordings throughout. This signifies there are no survivors in the aftermath of the torturous events that have brought us to this point and a full-on apocalyptic outcome is imminent. The final track on the album, “Vale Patri Meo”, brings back the industrial edge as if the vicious cycle is starting all over again. The low-end reverberating tone is counterbalanced by a futuristic keyboard arrangement – which fits perfectly in the song – and signifies the start of somber times. As the track winds down to an end, more voice samples can be heard. It almost sounds like an end-of-days sermon but is barely audible, fitting perfectly in the mix.
Destruktionsanstalt have found a happy medium between death-industrial and dark ambient. Even though these two genres have similarities and intertwine quite often, rarely are they done in a fashion where it stands the test of time and remains relevant to both genres. ‘Døds-Hymner’ is the album that breaks those barriers and remains entertaining throughout. As a listener, I really enjoy an album when I can sit back and play the whole thing through, and visualize a story based on the music alone. This album easily contributes to all of those senses and then some. Please support this incredible artist and download this album from the link below!
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Dungeon Synth & Dark Ambient Reviews!! 