Dark Ambient Review: Theater of the Mind Volume II: Cthulhu

Review by Casey Douglass

The human imagination is one of our greatest assets, and one of our biggest curses. We can mentally simulate and solve problems in ways which keep us safe; only lifting a finger once we’ve settled on a path to take. We can also be overrun by our fears and cognitive distortions, trying to solve problems that don’t exist, or that are just a symptom of our mental processes. Tormented or triumphant however, we can also use our imaginations to escape into other worlds and times, enjoying the spectacle of some cosmic horror, or the awe of seeing another world. Mindspawn’s Theater of the Mind Volume II: Cthulhu provides a dark ambient Lovecraftian soundtrack to deepen those experiences.

The album presents a number of eldritch vignettes, from the reality-shifting experience of drifting in an opium den, to hot and painful sex with a primordial dark god. Each track is named as such and the descriptions of each provide the listener with plenty of anchor and jumping off points for their imagination to roam from. I was particularly pleased to see the Plateau of Leng get a mention in the description of Rituals of Goatswood, as each time I hear that locale referenced in anything Lovecraftian, I experience a pleasing mental shudder at the name, and I’m not even sure why. It just creeps me out!

The opening track is Liao Cabaret, a hazy yet quirky piercing of the veil. A low throbbing hum, bubbling bass and tinny whines are joined by electro-static whirls, warbling spectral tones, and a coy drone that strengthens and then leaves you questioning if it was there at all. A buzzing thing does a number of flybys from ear to ear, snagging your attention in time for faint piano melodies to insinuate themselves at a distance. As the track progresses, there are bell-like tolls, scratchy scuffs and swells of gritty thick static that sit with a guttural low tone. This track really does suggest the listener is blissing out in some kind of opium den, with thick wafts of mind-altering smoke masking a macabre stage show that seems to hang just out of reach.

Peter Cushing as the Investigator is track number two, and for me, it brought to mind images of someone pouring over arcane papers while sitting at a lamplit desk. The piano-like notes have a warbling twang about them, and everything seems to revolve with languid echoes and a whirling shimmering. There are swells of low tone, distortion, and whisper-like scuffing sounds that I think were mostly responsible for my paperwork-themed imaginary description.

Rituals of Goatswood is up next and is one of my favourite tracks. It features a low throbbing quality and a drone overlaid with a chiming resonance that seems to create a shimmering spiritual space. Gentle chiming notes seem to be tapped in the middle distance, and a whirring metallic tone judders as the drone and static grow in force. Around the midpoint the track takes on a pulsing quality, and the thing as a whole left me with mental images from the woodland scene in the classic horror film The Devil Rides Out. A fun yet sinister track that hints at ominous forces turning their dark intentions towards our reality.

Another of my favourite tracks is Ghorl Nirgral, a swampy, echoing space that hints at the abyss. The soundscape is full of deep echoes and what seem like guttural voices and croakings. Low prolonged pulses of drone vie with a higher wavering electronic tone. There are furtive scuffling sounds, and later, the soundscape takes on a kind of vocal humming aspect, creating a peaceful or meditative impression. This track led me to think about the entrance to the abyss that sits under the Mountains of Madness in Lovecraft’s tale. Deep, dark and wet, with strange creatures marking the listener’s passage through ancient cavernous structures.

The penultimate track is The Mating of Idh-yaa, the hot and painful sex I mentioned above. The track description reveals the Mighty Mother, smoldering skin, and loins pouring forth the darkest of matter. The audio landscape itself is a highly textured rasping blare of sound, beat and tone, with rushing wind and insect-like rattling. It pulses and whirls with horn-like tones, with energy building and disappearing before ending in an “ooh-like” resonance that hits the aching void.

The final track is Black Sun of Sorath, which for me, was a sci-fi tinged cosmic horror-informed tableau. A low vibrating tone starts with a high whine behind it. An electronic, screechy whistling tone sets the sci-fi vibe, a juddery call to the uncanny nature of coming face to face with a cosmic horror. There is a low moan-like sound, a mechanical drone that roams from ear to ear, and pulsing fuzzy notes. Strange things seem to flit past your awareness, and in the second half of the track agitated yayayayaya bouncy whistling tones join the increasingly busy soundscape, hinting at a culmination of dark energies reaching their trippy zenith.

Theater of the Mind Volume II: Cthulhu is a dark and loving Lovecraftian creation that pays great homage to the cosmic horrors that Lovecraft describes. The tracks have a pleasing variety in texture and sound, but they all manage to evoke that unsettling otherness that keeps fans of Lovecraftian horror coming back for more. If you enjoy Lovecraftian horror and dark ambient music, I think that you should check out Theater of the Mind Volume II: Cthulhu on Bandcamp now..

I was given a copy of this album for review purposes.

Album Title: Theater of the Mind Volume II: Cthulhu

Album Artist: Mindspawn

Vocal Contributions and Cover Photography: Glenda Benevides 

Released: 22 Sept 2024