Dark Music Review – Dakhma
Written By Casey Douglass
Council of Nine (California, USA) debuts with a carefully crafted and masterfully produced album that carries the listener to a place of ancient history, through death into the void beyond. Previously known for his celebrated work on the Tomb of Empires split album, he shows here what he can do when given free range to encapsulate the listener on a full album. The bowed reverberation echoes across time and space while the holy sub frequencies of the universe are used to great effect to create a textural backdrop to isolation.
Council
of Nine created one of my favourite dark ambient tracks of recent
times: Chimes of the Unfortunate on the Tomb Of Empires album
(you can read my review here). Seeing a whole album come from
him in the guise of Dakhma made me hope that I would find some
more tracks to pin my praise to. While none seem to match the lighter
tone of Chimes of the Unfortunate, what he has produced in Dakhma
is a darker, more insidious album, one that shakes the listeners
sensibilities in its own gently rumbling way.
My
descriptions of the tracks below incorporate a continuous narrative
that suggested itself to me as I listened, taking into account the
track titles and the images created by the music in my mind.
The
Tracks
The
Magi – A very quiet start gently guides the listener into an
expansive drone punctuated with smaller and more delicate sounds and
reverberations. The title and soundscape conjured images of an
abandoned temple, shadows the only thing to lace its walls. In the
centre, an elderly robed figure is knelt, liver-spotted hands weaving
traceries of light in the air, the dust motes floating down from the
ceiling the only other movement as the atmosphere thickens.
Tower
of Silence – A sound that conjures the nature of wind swells with a
harsher fluctuating tone that fizzes and undulates with speed
variations and movement. Some of it sounds like thunder slowed and
sped up. Haunting piano competes with the atmosphere. The figure from
before has completed their occult working and now the structure
around them trembles in contemplation.
Sacrifice
– A shuffling marching sound seeps into the ear, a drone growing in
strength with hints of higher tones and reverberation nestling
quietly at its back. Then everything grows with an echoing melody
flirting with a larger drone, like pent up forces about to be
unleashed. The distortions and higher pitched tones create an
oppressive soundscape that rumbles and looms, consistent yet fluid at
the same time. The figure collapses in a heap, a trickle of blood
slinking from the edge of their open mouth and slowly pooling on the
dusty stone floor beneath their cheek. All becomes quieter before
loud disturbances erupt near the end of the track. Something is
coming.
Nasu
– Piano and a dopplering beat are soon met by a rumbling drone,
hints of whisper and threat permeating the space in-between. Its like
the ‘shhh’ equivalent of ‘psst’, for want of a better
description. Whistling joins just after the midpoint, an eerie sound
that mingles uncomfortably with the soundscape. The robed figure is
voiding, their juices and essence giving the stone floor the first shine it
was had for many an age.
The
Ossuary – This track enjoys a more electronic sound, the piano from
the last track joining with a tinkling sparking sound that shrouds
itself in a soft drone. The stained grey stone flakes from the walls
around the figure, the glowing ethereal façade of crystal shining
through from beneath. The whole temple shudders and jerks itself free
of its previous form, the sole remains of the figure consisting of a
skull and bones. This track has a sadness to it, like the tang of a
life wasted.
Circle
of the Sun – A looming dripping track that echoes with pent up
whispers and shifting forces. As the volume grows, everything around
the skull and bones becomes hazy, darkness seeping through and
blurring the outlines, tiny sparks of gold dancing along the edges
that are still visible. The air rumbles with a steady drone, an
electro-string note arcing like the call of some strange beast.
Chanting follows, the vocals fading into the droning abyss that is
slowly claiming everything.
My
Opinion
Dakhma
is certainly a dark album, the soundscapes it creates all seem to
drip with unseen forces and hints of sadness. The instances where the
sound is wound up and down in tempo (I’m thinking of ‘Tower of
Silence’ here), is an effect I personally very rarely, if ever, hear in dark
ambient music. It brings to mind an image of a sinister DJ
entertaining the legions of hell.
Dakhma is a smooth album, one that can be relaxed to, your mind left to wander, but it’s also an album that rewards the attentive listener with its various layers of sound.
I
give Dakhma 4.5/5 and I hope to see more come from Council of
Nine as soon as possible.
Have
a look at the Dakhma page here on Bandcamp to find out more.
I was given a free
copy of the album to review.
Album Title: Dakhma
Artist: Council of
Nine
Label: Cryo Chamber
Written and Produced:
Maximillian Olivier
Artwork and Mastering -
Simon Heath
Released : 28th April 2015
