Dark Ambient Review: Primal Destination
Review by Casey Douglass
If
you walk into a travel agent and ask for a primal destination, you’ll
probably get a baffled look and end up with a ticket to somewhere
with no toilet. In an ideal world, you would get a brilliant smile
and a ticket to an untamed planet somewhere far far away. Sadly, this
world is far from ideal, but just such a planet is envisioned in Dead
Melodies’ dark ambient album Primal Destination.
The
listener takes on the role of planetary explorer as the various
soundscapes Primal Destination contains unfold around you. There are
technological sounds such as static and electronic tones. There are
also field-recordings of nature, from the quiet dripping of water to
bird and animal calls that are twisted into something unusual and unfamiliar.
Both of these elements meet to conjure the ‘feel’ of the album,
which for me, was a chilled feeling of wandering among strange vistas.
I
think my favourite track is Subterraformed, a track that kind of
channelled a feeling of Lovecraft to me. It begins with dripping
water echoing in what seems to be an underground cavern. The bubbling
water that joins this a little later hints at the idea of a vast lake
stretching into the distance. Add in the distant drone and pulses of
ominous bass tone, and my mind was set to thinking about the entrance
to the abyss hidden deep under the Mountains of Madness.
Another
track that I really enjoyed was Pearlescent Dawn. Beginning with
sweeping birdsong and snatches of wind, the track creates a breathing
landscape, one with buzzing insect-like sounds and a mechanical feel.
For me, the “pearlescent” in the title made me bring to mind the
shimmering rainbow colours on the surface of an oil puddle, so I kind of viewed this as a scrapyard of alien technology. Actually, the
previous track, Somatic Mutation made me think of a robot graveyard,
so the technological feel of these tracks was clearly quite strong for me.
Glades
is also an intriguing track, containing a soundscape tinged with
swampy glugs and wind-swept threat. The strange animal/bird calls
feature here too, some of them even sound a little like the howling
of a wolf, but distorted into something a little different. There are
wading sounds a little later, and while this probably was meant to
suggest explorers pushing through, I had visions of a strange
cluster of creatures holding lanterns and walking through the mist in
a sombre procession. Both ways of viewing it are equally fun though.
Primal
Destination is just what its title suggests, an album containing raw and alien
soundscapes that takes the listener’s mind on a smooth, calm
journey through unknown valleys and caverns. The interplay of
technology and alien creatures adds a lovely amount of novelty to
things, and the soundscapes can all be enjoyed at an unhurried pace.
If you are a fan of sci-fi-based dark ambient / space ambient, you
should take a look at Primal Destination’s Bandcamp page here.
Check
out Pearlescent Dawn below:
I was given a review copy of this album.
Album Title: Primal Destination
Artist: Dead
Melodies
Label: Cryo
Chamber
Released: 1 Jan
2019
