Interdimensional Review
Written by Casey Douglass
Interdimensional is the
first dark ambient album to be released by musician Ager Sonus, a
composer who enjoys mixing real world ambient sounds with electronic
and synth to create deep soundscapes that entertain the ear.
In this review, I take
a listen to Interdimensional and try to give an impression of how it
affected me.
The first thing I
noticed was the crispness of the real-world sounds used in many of
the tracks. Rain, footsteps and nature all managed to blend into the
soundscape and yet still seemed defined and separate. I found this
with most of the other sounds in Interdimensional too, they all seem
to occupy their own space and claim it, rather than, as with some
other ambient tracks, undulate and oscillate in a more symbiotic way.
It’s not a bad thing, not at all; it's just something I noticed.
Now for each track in
turn:
Nocturnal Stroll
This is the longest
track with a running time of around ten minutes. It begins with
footsteps and the sound of the falling rain, leisurely and at ease.
As the track continues a catchy background melody chimes in, which to
me hinted at crossing into a fantastical dark city.
Distant Water
Starting with more
footsteps and the sound of water, a background droning carries us
through this track, changing as it progresses to what I could only
liken to sounding like sci-fi energy rushes building around a great machine.
Voce Arcanum
An echoing voice
recites verses in an unknown language (to me at least) with a pulsing
simple sound for accompaniment. As the composition continues it
becomes louder and slightly discordant as it nears the end.
Orbital Exploration
Light and bouncy sounds
seem to reverberate back into your ears. I found that it conjured
images of trajectories and star charts in my mind.
Hive
Aptly named as begins
with the sound of distant droning, like bees far away. It also features chimes and
sounds that you aren't sure are music or screams.
Magnam Noctis
Begins with the sound
of an owl and the broader sounds of night time. A crackling fire and
insects a joined by an ominous drone, with a main melody that sounds
like an insect swarm mingling with the howling of wolves. It has a certain majesty
about it that hints at lofty events unfolding in a strange valley.
Pillars of Creation
(Featuring Ivan Black)
This track feels
spacious and peaceful, conjuring the image of a row boat on a still
lake under a starry sky. Then things flip upside down half way, you fall into the
sky and everything becomes cold and abyssal dark.
Dystopian Visions
Simple and light tones
with an airiness until the drums and bass guitar comes in. A pleasing
melody.
Horologium
The simplest way to
describe this track is it makes me think of a chittering darkness, alive with the movement of strange insects.
What’s in those
sewers?
Footsteps on a journey
to find out the truth. Strange cries and haunting piano hint at the
answer being something familiar yet all the more fearsome for it.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed listening to
Interdimensional, as attested to by the fact I am on my third or
fourth listen as I write this review. I appreciated the sound quality
and the variety of soundscapes conveyed. The tracks themselves take
you between nature and ruins, to space and the void, and right back
down to the ground again. I thought they all had a great feeling of
space (as in a large area rather than the black starry kind) and used
some interesting melodies to give the mind something to focus on
amongst the drones.
I give Interdimensional
4/5. It was a very enjoyable listen but as I stated in another dark
ambient review, wasn’t twisted enough to my own personal taste, but that's just me.
Visit Ager Sonus on
Bandcamp here to view buying options.
I was given a free copy
to review.
Album Title : Interdimensional
Artist : Ager Sonus
Released : 22nd October 2014.
