Sun Addicted Family Ascend The Elements Of Atmosphere And Experimentation On Powerhouse Avant-garde Debut, ‘Solar Dreams’

I love the element of surprise, especially when it comes to music. However, due to the fact that I’m such a big fan of so many styles, I’m rarely caught off guard when multi-genre’s clash to form an experimental project that’s worth listening to. On occasion though, there have been encounters that weren’t meant to be and are better left alone and unheard of. However, there are times when everything just clicks and the songwriting is beyond captivating and the emotional charge cannot be matched. A project like this that has recently caught my attention is Sun Addicted Family. Auspiciously blending genres such as black metal, shoe-gaze, ambient, post-metal, and space rock, Sun Addicted Family seamlessly ties all of these together with masterful songwriting and with such strong emotion, you’ll find yourself listening to their debut album, ‘Solar Dreams’ over and over again.

The audacious album opener, “Solar”, fuses in haunting ambient keys, drum pads and strumming guitars right from the start. Distant clean vocals can be heard for a few bars before a powerful guitar riff forces its way in the mix. The synth arrangements have a strong shoe-gaze feel in this track, as it blissfully adds a nice layer of ambience throughout the whole song. At around the four and a half minute mark, the speed picks back up, with some black metal screams and wonderful melodic riffs. “Signals” is a slower, looming track with exquisitely layered keys that match the melody of the distorted guitar riffs rather well. The inaudible, harsh vocals are like an additional instrument in this track, and sound great in the spots they are added. The main riff is mesmerizing and you will find yourself drifting off into otherworldly places. The last minute of this song is one of my favorite moments on the album. “Orbit” is a ten minute instrumental track that showcases the atmospheric side of Sun Addicted Family. Leaning heavily on ambient tones and elongated drones, it is full of melodic and impassioned moments that will draw you in from the opening sound and will fill you with copious amounts of emotional feelings. At around the seven minute mark, when the clean keyboard notes begin to play, you will again be whisked away, as this section is so beautiful to listen to. “Levitate” begins with a soft, clean guitar riff, complimented with a drum pad sound. Soon, a grandiose keyboard arrangement fills the atmosphere, providing a majority of the melody. We are also graced with more clean vocals that have a distant & dreamy sound. At about the halfway mark, the atmospheric keyboards fade away, leaving a basic guitar and keyboard sound. However, this is just a preamble to more black metal style vocals and post-metal rhythms as they pummel their way into the song. The final song on the album, “Luna” begins with great atmospheric keyboard tones and then a full on post-metal onslaught begins. The harsh vocals have a very eerie & distant feeling to them, especially when combined with the melodic styling of the music. At about the four minute mark, the music temporarily calms to a relaxing guitar riff and a memorable drum beat before picking up for one final sonic assault.

‘Solar Dreams’ is a fantastic debut album by Sun Addicted Family and it’s apparent right from the beginning, they aren’t afraid to take chances, nor are they holding anything back. No genre seems to be off limits and no form of music is safe, as it all can be manipulated and fused into an experimental and super emotional track that only Sun Addicted Family can produce. This has turned out to be one of my favorite albums to listen to so far this year and I highly recommend this for anyone that loves ambient music and metal and who also has an open mind. Please show your support for this exceptional artist and download ‘Solar Dreams’ from the link below.

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Links:

https://sunaddictedfamily.bandcamp.com

Obsidian Towers Takes Us Back To Dark, Medieval Times On ‘The Call Of Black Majesty’

Although the gallant ways of Medieval times are behind us, we can thank the profusion of dungeon synth artists – that keep that spirit alive – by serenading us with the symphonic tones that are reminiscent of those valiant days. Even though there are many artists that step out and add modern innovations and twists to their craft, some tend to keep the vibe old school and that’s ok by me. One of those artists is Obsidian Towers. Gracing us with their debut EP of dark dungeon music, ‘The Call Of Black Majesty’ is an enigmatic offering of raw dungeon synth that is a compelling listen.

“The Call Of Black Majesty (Part I)” begins with a grand keyboard intro that sees heavy use of multiple notes played with a distorted element to give it that retro feel. This twelve plus minute track add layers of solo style keys that illuminate a glorious harmony that can be heard throughout. Irresistible as it is relentless, this track doesn’t let up from start to finish and would serve as a proper welcome home anthem for wounded warriors and knights returning to their kingdom after honoring their king in battle. The second and final track on this EP, “The Call Of Black Majesty (Part II)”, is an almost nine minute magnum opus that has the sound of victory. With much of the same premise of the first track – heavy lower keys combined with higher pitched keys playing a solo like canticle – the overall tone for this one is not as dark and doesn’t represent demise. Instead, it’s a call to order after a victory for the kingdom.

If ‘The Call Of Black Majesty’ is a proper introduction of the direction of Obsidian Towers, then they will be a force to be reckoned with in the dungeon synth community. Although, I fully support and love the innovation of expanding the dungeon synth sound, there is nothing better than that good ole Medieval vibe when listening to dungeon synth in the raw. Sometimes stepping out means stepping back and that’s exactly what Obsidian Towers has done on this EP. I highly recommend checking out this album and supporting this superb artist.

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Links:

https://obsidiantowers.bandcamp.com/releases

IDFT’s ‘The Great Gate’ Is A Dismal Collapse Of Life’s Essence That Will Leave You Lost In Reverie

You find yourself all alone as you awaken from a deep sleep. As darkness permeates around you, curiosity of your present situation lingers. How did you get here, and for how long have you existed in this state? As you begin to drift around the endless void searching for answers, you realize it’s filled with nothing – no solids, no visuals, and no memories. However, as you continue the unsighted venture, you come upon a structure more massive than you can imagine. It’s solid, cold, and familiar, yet mystical. You’ve reached the gate to the unknown, where the quintessence of nothingness will leave you in a trance-like state forever. You’ve reached ‘The Great Gate’, the horrifying portal provided by IDFT that will transform the psyche of the mind. For over sixty minutes, these mesmerizing sound sequences, synth pads, and minimal drones will besiege your soul and distort your judgement of reality.

As you enter the gate, the first audible sound you hear is “RS”, the lead off track on this stunning album. Sounding more like a warning alarm from hell, this short track, provides an eerie expression of the emotional journey that is to follow. “ZT” calmly starts with deep, single key tones like a fleet of abandoned ships in a doomed harbor, sounding their horns as if to give of vague warning signs for a ghostly invasion. The creepy keyboard arrangement and delicate soundscapes increase the angst of the situation. The searing noises of “eRD” coincide with the distresses of embarking on this dark adventure through the gate. The unfamiliarities all around you are synchronized with horrific tones and screams emitted from this track. “FH” is full of dreamy textures as if you’re suddenly floating through the darkness. An evil presence has overtaken your physical being and is pulling you deeper into the abyss. The dreams then turn to nightmares as the tones shift to a deeper frequency, exuding a more malevolent vibe. “NT” is a deep space drone with chilling vocal sounds that are layered to perfection. Giving off that wall-of-sound type of production, this track is like a powerful passage into the next surreal dimension. Once through the passage, you’re greeted with the sounds of “YUt”, a bleak and doom filled dirge, that showcases IDFT at its very best. The spectral bass effects and supernatural vocal melodies will send chills down your spine. Not only is this track extremely thought provoking and will get your imaginative juices flowing, it’s also my favorite track on the album. “Kulj” begins with savory vocal echoes and field recordings that provide the soundtrack for a discordant landscape. With emptiness all around, there is nothing to reflect upon other than the dark emotions excreted by the frequency of the keys that play them. “KT” shows a particular brightness not visualized on any other track. However, that doesn’t make this less sinister than the rest of the album. The tones are clashing and dynamic enough to leave you in a state of reproach. “Kelo” is another minimalistic drone that also has a cinematic quality to it. Once the muffled vocal tones begin, this track blasts off into something astonishing. For over ten minutes, this piece will have you in a trance-like state and you’ll not want it to end. The albums final track, “MW” contains some enchanting orchestral parts and layered keyboards to give a big climactic ending. As you reach the end of the dark journey, you find yourself back at the entrance of ‘The Great Gate’.

IDFT has a unique perspective on dark ambient. Instead of perpetual deep droning, and heavy use of field recordings, IDFT relies on minimalistic tones, deep & emotional vocal sounds, and the occasional melodic vibe to create a sound of its own. ‘The Great Gate’ is a haunting album that has many amazing moments and the artistic imagery that it provides is simply amazing. I can not recommend this album enough and you should add this one to your collection immediately.

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Links:

https://noctivagantcollective.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-gate