Moljebka Pvlse Examines Behavioral Impulses Through Chaotic Field-Recorded Soundscapes And Translucent Drones

If you’re a fan of the Cyclic Law Label, then chances are your musical taste expands greater than just Dark Ambient alone. Many of the artists have such a broadened sense of direction, that it’s hard to tie them down to a single genre, even though they may be solidly based in some type of ambient music. One artist that stands out in this endeavor is Swedish-based Moljebka Pvlse. Specializing in bizarre field recordings and extended droning rituals, Moljebka Pvlse drags the listener through an excruciating experience like no other. With hints of industrial ambience and apocalyptic soundscapes, one must be prepared for an audio journey that is equal inhuman and breathtaking. The four unfurled tracks that are presented on ‘Komoku’, are a resounding insight to the behavioral limitations of the mind, and the after effect that are conferred by the time the recording end has been reached.

The therapeutic festivities kick off with the seventeen minutes long “A Repetition Without Origin”. Right off the bat, the audio assault pushes the boundaries of sensory overload as various field recordings and drones clash in an epic battle for tone mastership. I can imagine walking in a pitch-black industrial containment area, in which evacuation alarms are ringing and escape routes have been demolished. As you try to escape your surroundings, matters get worse as additional eerie drones flood the senses. Haunting tones continue to invade your brainwaves as you’ve nowhere to go. This tracks is just test one of four. “An Emptiness Of Language” is an exhilarating track that shows no restraint for emitting audio atrocity. As the deep, extended drones penetrate the airwaves, you find yourself chained to a table in a small room, with a table and only lit by black lights. In your mind you can foresee the terror that awaits but are unable to call out. Unable to scream. There have been many here before you and you won’t be the last. The terrifying field recordings provide much anxiety on this track, even though it’s the shortest one on the album. Next up is the twelve and a half minute long “The Function Of Remembering”. To go along with the cyclic droning, bizarre instruments can be heard, playing non-melodious tones as if your in a circus full of deranged clowns with no means of escape. Even though no one in their right mind would dare enter such a place, you did, and without any recollection. At around the five minute mark, a grotesque recording creeps its way into the mix as panic begins to set in. You’re surrounded by these obscure noises but see absolutely nothing. As they get closer, the hair on the back of your neck stands stiff as you try to recollect your whereabouts. Suddenly you awake from this nightmare that seemed all too real, but find yourself chained to a table in a black light lit room. The final track on the album, “And The Farewell To All That One Has Lost”, could have easily been written for the final climactic scene for Stanley Kubrick’s, ‘The Shining’. For nearly twenty two minutes, there are evil forces at work on this dirge that administer a final sendoff of normal mental appropriation that abandons all hope of recovery and rescue. Although there is an eclectic mashup of styles on this track, and it’s less harsh than the previous ones, it still provides the resources needed to challenge the intellectual ability of ones mind when coping with traumatic experiences.

Moljebka Pvlse have a proven history of releasing drone and field-recording based albums. However, with ‘Komoku’ they’ve reached the pinnacle of their recording existence and have provided a platform for which the listener can place themselves in an imaginative scenario that exudes unlimited amounts of detail. This album’s is as much entertaining as it is intriguing. The German-based label, Cyclic Law, has provide a suitable home for such a wonderful artist. Show your support by downloading this outstanding recording at the link below.

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Link:

https://cycliclaw.bandcamp.com/album/komoku

Council Of Nine Dissects The Trials And Terrors Of Cult Followings with ‘Davidian’

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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Link:

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/album/davidian

MUUR’s bombastic approach to dark ambient creates a new level of ritualistic obscurity with ‘Bod’

Although the term Dark Ambient has a clear definition of what it represents on the surface, the genre goes much deeper than the aesthetics of droning soundscapes and eerie field recordings. From the early beginnings of analog synthesizers to the inception of electronics, field recordings, narrations, Gregorian chants, and acoustic instruments, dark ambient has developed into an intriguing, multi-layered spectacle that crosses multiple genres and appeals to a wider audience than ever before. MUUR takes all of this in stride and presents ‘Bod’, a fifty one plus minute dark ambient ritual that will equally appeal to fans of Sunn O))), Phurpa, and Neraterræ.

The track begins with some ominous ritual sounds with a slow introduction of haunting whispers, chants and electric guitar chords. In the background banging drums can be heard and slowly get louder as they coordinate with the main riff of the song. At around the twelve minute mark, the drum beat turns into more of a tribal pattern as the fluidity of the track increases. Several minutes later, the music gives way to some breathtaking Gregorian style chanting that creates vocal-like ambient texture that isn’t rivaled by many artist in the genre. At the thirty minute mark, the tribal-like drum patterns make their way back into the mix, along with a few field recordings that provide the sensation of a climactic ritual observance. This is soon joined by the low-end tones of an electric bass and guitar with the same style riff as in the beginning of the song. More chanting is introduced, as if the high priest of the dark is presenting a sacrificial offering to the gods. With just twelve minutes left in the song, all of the instruments and soundscapes come to a halt and give way to a harsh guitar tone as if the sacrifice has been completed and the offer to the gods has been accepted.

‘Bod’ offers a very unique insight into the future of ritualistic dark ambient music. If you like the harsher, more experimental side of dark ambient, this just may be the recording for you. The many types of unique, atmospheric expressions offered on this album are very well put together and thought provoking. The Cyclic Law Label has picked another superb artist to add to their lineup and this one shouldn’t be missed. Please support MUUR by clicking on the link below and downloading ‘Bod’ and enjoy the ritual ambience that it provides.

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Link:

https://cycliclaw.bandcamp.com/album/bod

Hiemal Paints A Vivid Reminder Of Infamous Nuclear Disaster In ‘Ashen Winter Of Chernobyl’

It’s no secret that modern day humanity loves a good disaster story, especially if it made it’s ways to the annals of history at the expense of hundreds (or even thousands) of lives, or if the monetary value was so high, that it would take decades for companies to recover from them. Just a few off the top of my head that I can recollect are the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Bhopal gas spill in India, sinking of The Titanic, the Pan Am/KLM Tenerife Airport disaster of 1977, and most famously, the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. The Chernobyl disaster painted an extremely grim picture of how government & society – at the time – dealt with downplaying an incident of such a magnitude, that many lives were lost, a complete city was left in ruins and never to be inhabited again, and the cancerous fallout still lingers in survivors of the incident to this day. There have been many fictional and non-fiction movies and TV shows, and musicians that have become a sounding board for the incident in popular culture. However, none of them have quite hit home like ‘Ashen Winter Of Chernobyl’, a near two and a half hour-long monument by Hiemal.

The forty two minute long album opener, “Ghost Town” tells a dreary story of life in Pripyat after the last of the city’s population abandons for safety. These smooth, spacey drones sway back and forth in an eerie pattern as if you’re along in the sunless city, patrolling the streets to ensure the evacuation process has completed successfully. “Chernobyl’s Shrine” is a twenty six minute long, extremely bleak drone, that has a very calm and demeaning wintery vibe, as if you’re standing in one of the desolate parks looking out into the nothingness and holding your hand to catch the snow. Only it’s not snow but the traveling ash from reactor number four, less than twenty miles away. Next is “Falling Ash Over The Exclusion Zone” and it continues with the same atmospheric standard as the previous track. Knowing what this album represents, this track is especially relaxing and frightening at the same time. The final epic song on the album, “The Forests Claim Back Pripyat” is a heavyweight anthem coming in at over forty five minutes long and represents the many years of solitude the city has gone through and the only inhabitants allowed are that of Mother Nature. As the ash fades, and the smog gives way to sunlight, natural growth takes over Pripyat and reclaims its territory.

Hiemal have created a wonderful story that tells the harsh reality of mans mistakes and the disappointment of never recovering. ‘Ashen Winter Of Chernobyl’ is well written and produced and the atmosphere on this album is simply stunning. Support this outstanding artist and download this album by clicking on the link below.

Link:

https://hiemalambient.bandcamp.com/album/ashen-winter-of-chernobyl

‘The Mist Between Mirrors’ Provides A Safe Haven For Dealing With Anguish & Isolation

Ambient music is a truly powerful art form. It has the ability to open your mind, emotions, and inner consciousness to take you to another realm, albeit temporarily. Even though many genre’s of music have that same capability – especially music with lyrics that the listener can relate to – ambient, due to its longer song compositions, can take the listener on a complete escape and then a return to reality with a renewed sense of vigor. The Dark Ambient juggernaut known as God Body Disconnect has made a career out using this platform for segregating the conscious and unconscious minds and then filling them both with a storyline of chaos and hope. On latest effort, ‘The Mist Between Mirrors’, we’re taken on a slow motion journey filled with disappointment, isolation, anguish, & despair and given the tools to combat those feelings with an outcome of ambition and desire.

Opening track, “Grief Of The Living” has an intro filled with field recordings taken from every day life and they are all thrown together in a way we can relate to. A short narrative describes the emotional state of the protagonist and the situations that he is dealing with, along with possible negative outcomes. With so many choices to be answered, soothing drones take over to put the listener in a meditative state in order to become one with the protagonist. “Binding Years” has a harsher, industrial-like ambient sound at first and then soothes into a dark reality filled with lush guitar tones. The next track, “The Longer I Dream, The More Disconnected I Become” has the effect of calming rain with distant thunderstorms, while opulent keyboards and pianos provide a melodic adventure. “Where Our Ghosts Disappear” is a beautiful track filled with soulful droning tones that finally provide a sense of hope in this story for the protagonist. The next song, “The Existence Of Stars” continues the emotional campaign as the song slowly builds in volume in the first half and then slowly fades in the second half. “Old Feelings Always Return” is a short track, that although calming, gives the listener a sense that the protagonist has doubts about his new found hope and is unsure if dealing with his struggles in this way is the correct thing to do. The final track on the album, “Another Lullaby From The Abyss” begins with some low end droning and water-based field recordings before erupting into some transcendent vocals and finally ending with elements of warm cinematic ambient.

God Body Disconnect is one of those rare artists that can actually take you on a beautiful – but dark – cinematic adventure without any visuals and very minimal vocals and spoken words. Although GBD has only released three albums on the Cryo Chamber Label, veteran status has been reached as these albums are meticulously crafted and elegantly produced. I look forward to many more releases by GBD and am excited for what they will bring to the dark ambient community. Show your support for this exceptional release by clicking on the link below.

Link:

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/album/the-mist-between-mirrors

Melanohelios Finds Warmth On The Brink Of Infinite Space

The struggles of fathoming time and space are real and the theme for a lot of space ambient releases is to expose the elements of deep space to the point where certain aspects are justified for exploration. Typically in most releases, there is an introduction of calmness before journeying to the outermost regions of the unknown. There, the music becomes darker with obsidian themes, usually resulting in a harsh ending with no turning back. However, on the latest recording by Melanohelios called, ‘VII: Warmth Within Endless Emptiness’, the cosmic ambient adventure takes us in the opposite direction.

Album opener – the near twenty minute long, “Void” – slowly builds into a dreadful flight of the unknown, that at first seem hopeless and endless for the protagonist. By the end, deep drones provide optimism for the mission at hand. Continuing on with “Inner Self”, morbid field recordings and industrial-like soundscapes provide an additional nightmarish spectacle that once again abolished all hope of success. “Fathoms” is twenty eight minutes of purgatory for the protagonist as the transition to light space is upon him. During this reasonably lengthy blackout period, we hear heavy breathing as he can only hope and wait out the middle-ground terror that is providing the safe passage to warm space. “Warmth” and “Warmth II” is the culmination of light space travel and the successful completion of the mission and/or the arrival at a safe destination to an Earthly environment where the scenery is alive and two way communication between beings exists.

As with all of the previous Melanohelios albums, there tends to be a well thought out theme that encompasses each track, that takes the listener on an unfathomable journey. ‘VII: Warmth Within Endless Emptiness’ is an exceptional story that is told well by a voiceless protagonist. Not only is the name – Melanohelios – a cool name for a dark ambient artist, but the logo has to be one of the best of the genre! Initially, one would think this would be a black metal album based solely on the logo, and although black metal & dark ambient do have similarities, this is strictly ambient art at its best! If dark, space ambient is your thing, it doesn’t get much better than Melanohelios so click on the link below and support this amazing artist!

Link:

https://melanohelios.bandcamp.com/album/vii-warmth-within-endless-emptiness

Linnea Discovers The Perfect Balance Between Dark & Light On Latest Release

Linnea is an ambient artist that often rides the fine line of creativity. One would wonder if she is a light ambient artist that dabbles in dark ambient or vice versa. Whatever the case may be, there is such a soothing and harmonious effort to her songs that you’ll find yourself often stuck in the gray – trying to decide if you should reach for the dark or the light.

On her latest monumental recording, ‘Finding Light In The Dark’, we can safely come to the conclusion that Linnea is an all around gifted ambient artist that can pretty much take her craft wherever she wants. On the near twenty three minute long “Fierce Onset Of Wintry Malaise”, droning keyboards shift from the background to the forefront taking the dreary blackness with it. “Finding Light In The Dark” is a beautiful track filled with synthesized orchestral patterns that is the polar opposite of the previous track, showing just how versatile this album really is. “The Aloneness” is perfectly titled, as it matches the music and gives the listener a sense of confinement, abandonment & restraint on society. This track is very minimalistic compared to most of the other tracks on this album but is probably one of my favorites, as it also has a very similar post-dungeon synth vibe.

In closing, this six track (over sixty seven minutes) collection will take you on a back and fourth journey through the darkest and light, but as the title suggests, will end on a bright note. That is a good thing though, because Linnea has successfully provided us with the soundtrack to our conscious, struggles, desires & demons and in the end provides the coping mechanism for how we deal with them. A big thanks to Scott Lawlor for recommending that I listen to this as it has been a wonderful experience and I am now a fan. Please show your support for Linnea and check out this album at the link below!

Link:

https://linnea1.bandcamp.com/album/finding-light-in-the-dark

ØjeRum Calls Into Existence A Calming Nightmare That Is, ‘Without Blood the Sun Darkens’

Have you ever had a dream where you’re suddenly wandering through an endless field of waist-high meadow grass, with the wind blowing slightly, just enough to cause the meadow to sway back in forth in unison. As the green meets the blue at the horizon, you spot an old house in the distance so you make you’re way there without hesitation. Slowly, you climb the broken wooden steps and transverse the splintered planks on the porch and realize the house is completely dissipated and the front door has been left slightly ajar. As you make your way into the house, your attention is drawn to the forsaken antique relics throughout. A feeling of sorry comes over you for no apparent reason, and you feel ashamed for the unknown legacy of the houses’ past. On the kitchen table is a photo album, covered in dust, with initials in the bottom right corner. Those initials are yours. The pictures inside are of you. You’re stuck in this dream forever….well, for the next hour at least because that the exact melancholic emotion one would feel upon listening to the latest ØjeRum opus called, ‘Without Blood The Sun Darkens’.

With just a single track, covering nearly an hour of time, ØjeRum provides a proper soundtrack to the inner darkness you never knew you had. One would think that deep drones and evil soundscapes would be the ultimate device for gripping the terror in you’re mind. However, that is not the case here. Trance-like organ patterns that repeat over and over again, are just as threatening to the psyche as anything else. The calmness of this track is so intense, it continues to draw you in and requires repeated listens just to understand how thought provoking it really is.

As with all of ØjeRum’s albums, he creates the magnificent collage artwork as well. It not only adds to the story, but it draws you in even before the first listen. ‘Without Blood The Sun Darkens’ is an astonishing piece of work and Cyclic Law have added another great artist to their lineup. Support this amazing label and artist by downloading this album!

Link:

https://cycliclaw.bandcamp.com/album/without-blood-the-sun-darkens

Scott Lawlor & The Flesh, Full Of Black Sand Culminate Greatness on ‘Unseemly Sequenced Conscience’

Isn’t dark ambient a wonderful thing? Throughout the years – and with the help of expanding technology and more keen-eared artists – dark ambient has taken on a massive life form of its on, even producing multiple sub-genre’s to distinguish the many soundscapes that make up this wonderful culture. Of these sub-genre’s, space ambient seems to be taking off (no pun intended) into the outer limits of our hearing zone! Space ambient is usually known for its super long track lengths, droning tones that give you that feeling of claustrophobia, and ethereal soundscapes that provide a launchpad to endless reaches of the universes. If a dark ambient track can accomplish all of these, then in my opinion, it’s a successful space ambient recording.

‘Unseemly Sequenced Conscience’, the third collaboration effort by Scott Lawlor and The Flesh, Full Of Black Sand, accomplishes all of that and then some. In this single track, seventy six minute opus, they take us on a horrific journey through deep space as if we’ve been traveling for decades in the confined quarters of a spacecraft on a one-way mission to nowhere. I love the song intro, as it reminds me of the quirky sounds that are heard while walking through Disney’s Space Mountain attraction. I can imagine the imaginary protagonist that this journey portrays heard those exact same sounds as he left earth decades ago, knowing his fate of never returning. As the song slowly drones on, the sounds thicken, to represent the endless travels through the unknown regions of deep spaces. As claustrophobia starts to set in, the silence becomes deafening, and the layers of sound builds and climaxes several times.

The production on this recording is crystal clear and the mix is a bit louder than on the previous two collaborations by these two stellar artists. As the droning fades in and out, there isn’t any loss of clarity in the track, easily paving the way for additional elements to be introduced throughout. Although this single-track album is seventy six minutes long, there is so much going on that before you know it, the song is over with and you’ll be wanting more.

This is an excellent representation of dark ambient and the space ambient sub-genre and I’m definitely a fan! Scott Lawlor & The Flesh, Full Of Black Sand are on to something here and I hope to hear many more collaborations from these artists. Don’t pass this one by, head on over to the link below and support this awesome body of work!

Link:

https://scottlawlor.bandcamp.com/album/unseemly-sequenced-conscience

In Quantum Brings Us The CyberPunk Reality Of The Apocalyptic Future!!

The Cryo Chamber Label has been on a roll lately, but then again, when haven’t they. In 2019 alone, they’ve consistently released some of the most genre-bending dark ambient releases in existence. Adding to that track list of greatness is label newcomer In Quantum, bringing fourth their debut of CyberPunk Ambient called, ‘Memory 417’.

Sounding more like a cinematic score, ‘Memory 417’ contains elements of soothing ambient drones, soundtrack-like soundscapes, the occasional vocal narration, and anything in between that enhances the element of this massive story.

As with most dark ambient albums, it’s hard to just pick a track and listen to it as albums like these (specifically on the Cryo Chamber & Cyclic Law labels) need to be listened to from start to finish. There is so much to take in, and so many elements to this story, you can’t just listen to one or two songs and be done. However, that being said though, there are several standout tracks such as, “Dream”, “Sarapis”, and “Odyssey”.

If you’re a fan of cinematic ambient and the Cryo Chamber Label, chances are you’ve already heard this masterpiece. However, if not, I recommend hitting the link below and and downloading this right away as it’s probably one of the best dark ambient releases of the year!

Link:

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/album/memory-417