Dark Music Review – Khmaoch
Review Written By Casey Douglass
Exploring eastern esoteric traditions this will take you on a voyage through old civilization. The crackling sound of incense fills ancient ruins. A solitary flute by Ivan Ioanov leads you through dim lit passageways underneath. Deep drone summons forgotten spirits as lush noise of mother earth calms the soul. The contrast of dark and light on this album serves an enlightening experience.
ProtoU has already
created, or had a hand in creating, two of my favourite dark ambient
albums: Lost Here
and Earth Songs. When I saw Khmaoch about to be
released, I was hopeful of another album to add to that list, and
largely speaking, that is what I found. The atmospheric field
recordings of wind and water merge expertly with echoing soundscapes
and various melodies, each track seeming to give the listener
something new to listen to, or something familiar, in a new way.
Water seems to be a
common thread between many of the tracks, whether squally and rainy,
such as in opening track Bridge of Storms, or dripping and bubbling
as it appears in Voices of the Water, a lot of flavour is brought by
our aqueous elemental friend. Other elements are not overlooked
however, wind being shown favour in the form of the above mentioned
flute, which features in a number of the tracks, such as the
excellent Stygian Vortex. Stygian Vortex is a composition that also includes lots of
interesting scrunching scrapings, and a fun buzzing sound that put me
very much in mind of an insect buzzing from ear to ear in a
sun-bleached skull.
A particular favourite
track of mine is Skar Mekh, a deep and brooding space filled with the
sounds of furtive industry and an echoing beat. A low drone looms,
mixing with voices and flute that for me, created a scene of
preparation at some temple or other. Water flows, cries sound and, as
the second half continues, there seems to be much bone scraping and
the odd blood-curdling scream in the distance.
Khmaoch blends
elemental forces with a deft touch, sprinkling in some catchy beats
(such as in the track Pel), along with a healthy dose of darkness and
light. The end result is a dark ambient album that wraps its arms
around you in a strong embrace, but leaving you unsure whether it will
drag you down into the ground, or raise you up into the heavens. I
give it 4.5/5.
Visit the Khmaoch
page on Bandcamp here for more information, and check out one of the tracks, Skar Mekh, below:
I was given a free
copy of this album to review.
Album Title: Khmaoch
Artist: ProtoU
Label: Cryo Chamber
Releases:
October 11, 2016
