Dark Ambient Review: My House Is Full of Faces

Review by Casey Douglass

Sometimes, it’s the most innocuous things that we focus on. Maybe you notice the sound of a blackbird singing in the garden while you are vomiting into the toilet, or maybe someone is insulting you and all you can notice is the dried skin on the side of their nose. It feels surreal, to me anyway. Mutestare’s My House is Full of Faces is a dark, ambient experimental album that, pleasingly, left me feeling the same way.

Mutestare describes the album in his email to me: “It fits into the broadness of the ambient genre but never really settles into it: There's electroacoustic, noise, modern classical and electro influences throughout. The tone is generally surreal and emotionally, it's got something to do with memory, intimacy, sexuality, regret, and the feeling of being bound to a situation that's inescapable. It runs through the path of darkness and recovery and light.” I have to admit that the mention of feeling stuck in a situation is what really spoke to me, as I often feel quite futile about my own life.

Broadly, upon listening to the album, I found a pleasing blend of tones and drones, from plucked guitar strings to fuzzy vibrating low tones, with plenty of warping and echoing for good measure. Certain of the tracks also included field-recorded sounds that helped give the soundscapes a feeling of depth and distance, whether snippets of bird song seemingly caught through an open window, or the more visceral and central use of the sounds of crowds and applause. What all of the tracks seem to share is a dose of the surreal, and it was fun to ponder what was actually happening during each one.

One of my favourite tracks is the opening track Golden Furniture in a Fading Room. It features guitar notes and other twisting and warping tones. There is a squeaky floorboard aesthetic too, with various beeps and crackles creating a charged but heavy atmosphere. Towards the end of the track, there are snatches of voice and birdsong, along with echoing footsteps. This track really did bring to mind the atmosphere in a room, with snatches of outside life wafting in through the open window.

Predicament is also a track that stood out as, once again, it seemed to deftly embody the track title. A low growing drone gets things started, with higher tones becoming apparent at the edges. A faint jitter and whisper-like vibration dances around plucked notes, creating an airy but dark feeling. There are echoes and a metallic clink, and a sudden buffeting feeling. Things get screechy and distorted, like a storm is brewing, and after a while, a male and female voice can be heard. For me, this track felt like two people who live together having a big row, and the anger and calm that ebbs and flows as a consequence. This track seems to contain a whole host of feelings and moods, and this adds a tension that feels like a maelstrom of peace and frenzy.

Another track that I really liked was Faces. It begins with horn-like tones. These are soon joined by the sounds of clapping and whistles. This track feels like the curtain call at the end of some kind of show, but one in which a hint of dark discord begins to grow. After the midpoint of the track, the notes begin to distort into a kind of self parody. There is a topsy-turvy feeling, a low metallic vibration, and a harsher high pitched tone that chimes and warps and makes everything seem to waver. To me, this track had a number of moods, from the way that our self critic berates us when we make mistakes, to the folly of trying to gain approval from other people and how quickly it can be taken away for no reason. The track ends with a pounding beat that merges with the following track, which I will talk about next.

Feels the Same in the Crimson Room creates the soundscape of sitting in a nightclub, the babble of voices, music and the tinkling of glasses. There is a slight warpy feeling and things halt around sudden laughter. There is a distorted mic thump and a feeling of isolation and anxiety that feels similar to the previous track Faces. This track felt like trying to get away from your mental demons by going out and meeting people, only to find, as always, that you can’t get away from yourself or your shitty mental health. I enjoyed the way that this track was a total departure from the others in the way of being a beaty, dancy affair, but one corrupted by a darkness that still keeps it in line with the general tone of the album. A pleasant surprise.

The final track that I wanted to mention was Imp. Twisting, tinny electronic tones rise and fall, soon joined by piano-like notes that feature a bit of a lumping “spang” at the fringes. A high buzz joins a while later, with a higher tone sitting above everything. For me, this was a track of creeping shadows, of sitting in a dark room with the door opened a crack and a narrow dart of light highlighting the bare floorboards. Later, there are scuffing motions and warbling, twisty plucked notes. A flute-like tone also joins the fun. This track felt like a peaceful exploration of numbness, of that nothing feeling where you and the world both feel like nothing, and all there is, is the light cast on the bare wooden floorboards.

My House Is Full of Faces is a dark ambient album that does a fine job of creating moods that sit at the more subtle end of the spectrum. While it might be easier to give audible voice to more clear-cut and extreme emotions, this album nestles languidly in the grey areas, seemingly presenting those moments of pre or post-emotional numbness and despair that are easy to miss when more overt feelings of doom dominate. If you enjoy music that explores feelings of stagnation, ennui and disconnection, you might like to check out My House Is Full of Faces on Bandcamp.

 

I was given a review copy of this album

Album Title: My House Is Full of Faces

Album Artist: Mutestare

Released: 23 March 2025

Dark Ambient Review: Pit Fiend

 Dark Ambient Review: Pit Fiend

Review by Casey Douglass

I’m always interested when dark ambient music situates its concept in Hell. Whether it's a brooding rumbling hellscape or a wider theme of good versus evil, there’s just something primal and ominous about music that bathes itself in brimstone and murk. Insectarium’s Pit Fiend released a week ago, and is an album that tells a Hell-backed tale of pride and ruin.

Pit Fiend follows the story of a mighty paladin, one who is very successful in eradicating evil in the land. That is, mostly successful. There was one encounter that saw him bested by a pit fiend, and as time passed, this loss ate away at him, making him foolish and prideful. One day, he decides that only he can beat this creature, and so against all advice, he braves the infernal realms to snuff out the evil at its source. There, he is tripped up by over-estimations of his own power, and lets just say that he meets a mucky, yet eternal end.

The Paladin’s Journey opens proceedings, its low, echocardiogram-like beats echoing in space. A small chime and a metallic resonance sound, and are shortly joined by lone male chanting. The track feels meditative in this phase, and gave me the impression of dust motes catching the sunlight in some kind of stone temple. It’s also pleasing how the lighter elements in the track make a fine balance for the ominous deep beat. Low string-like notes appear off to the right, and as the midpoint nears, piped-notes suddenly set the soundscape agitating. Things gain a rough and pleasing texture, with a raspy quality. After the midpoint, the track quietens into a susurrating static space. It felt windy with low buzzing notes and eddies of power swirling. Sharper grinding tones zither and abrade the air, but there are some peaceful tones that nestle beneath the perturbations. As the end of the track nears, things quieten to a chant-based space once more, but with the added difference that, at times, there seems like a second voice mirroring the first. It occurred to me that it could be some kind of spirit or demon making a mockery of whichever ritual is being performed. This is a great track, full of texture and atmosphere.

Pit Fiend is the next track, and it's a very different beast. It opens with blaring horns and trumpets, and is a clashing jittery jiving space, one that is carried along by a rattling beat. It settles down into snippet of choral chanting, with low plucked notes, echoes and gentle gong reverberations. A juddery swirl builds and dies. Tinny high pitched notes begin to buzz. The coral chant returns and around the midpoint, things quieten to beats and wavering insectoid horns. The second half of the track feels like a squelchy scratchy gurgling thing, gnat-like horns and vibrations creating a soundscape that feels like an angered-up bee-hive, or the festering wriggling of maggots on a corpse. You can almost smell the stench of demonic rot.

Track three is Unearthed Arcana, and I think it’s my favourite track on the album. It begins with muted clinking echoes in a breath-laced space. This track also feels insectoid and hive-like, a background buzz and rumble making the listener feel like they are surrounded by millions of creatures. Whisper-like scratches and chitters begin, a deep single beat their companion at times. A growing drone begins, with more beat-like rasps and squealing electronic tones sitting in the high places. There is a trundling droplet kind of feeling off to the right of the soundscape. The space that this track creates feels pregnant and brooding. As the track continues, there are hints of voices amidst the buzz. A delicate high tone begins to insinuate itself, a little like a fairy flying through the abyss. Geiger counter-like clicks rattle and echo, and the drone, beat and vibrations of the soundscape envelop the listener in a steam engine whistle-like pressure of arcane energy.

Crooked Messiah is up next. It starts with a low watery echo and beat. There is a growing low drone, one that is sandwiched between companion tones a little higher and lower than itself. There is a chant effect and swells of large numbers of singers singing choral music. The soundscape feels large yet corrupted, maybe a dark cathedral with blood red clouds roiling in the arches of the impossibly high roof. There is a slow single beat and a repeating clopping sound. There are scuffling snatches of music in the right ear. Things begin to warp more, a little like an old vinyl record slowly melting in infernal heat. They also feel like they get stuck, yet they unstick a little later when a variety of drumbeats begin to sound. This is a fun track, a sinister hymn to a bleak religion, and the snatches of choral voices create a fine feeling of a dark voyeuristic space.

Sharpening The Vorpal Blade is another track that I’d say is one of my favourites. It features a growing string-like quivering tone, with hints of other notes at the periphery. The drone takes on a voice-like aspect, muddying the waters as to whether you are listening to chanting or a purely synthetic tone. There are rushes and hisses of air that bring to mind the pumping of bellows. A metallic grinding tone appears shortly after. Things then quieten to a relaxed drumbeat accompanied by a pure piped-tone. The second half of the track escalates things further, and features breathy clicks and echoes, swells of chant-like vocals, and even more instances of rasping metallic scrapings and sharpenings. This track is aptly named as the soundscape really does seem to depict many of the sounds that might come with the sharpening of a blade.

Sermon on The Mount is a vibrating, reedy track that hints of wind and whirring. There are also tones that add some sparkling and whining, giving the soundscape a mechanical feeling. A wah-wah-ing beat sets the soundscape pulsing, and high, light tones dance at the edges of things. A whistling tone emerges and lower vibrating notes. A low, distorted broadcast-style voice begins, intoning words about sacrifice, God and desire. This sermon continues until the end of the track. 

The 10 of Swords is the penultimate track, one that gets started with a juddery tone that is accompanied by hollow, vibrating notes that whistle and grind into echoes. There is a low beat at times and also a variety of knocking and some chanting. As the midpoint approaches, a low droning note vibrates the soundscape, a shimmering metallic jitter its companion. For me, this track felt a little like Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space mixed with the calls of some deep sea leviathan, which is quite a mixture!

It Came To An End is aptly, the last track of the album. It opens with a lighter yet sad feeling, a mid range drone mixing with wispy higher notes, echoes and a shimmering feeling. There is a knocking metallic rhythm and a little later, low sweeping string notes that add to the melancholy feeling. Some of the tones seem to gain a raspier edge after the halfway point, and others intensify, but the track does stay largely peaceful for the duration. It is very much the kind of music which you’d watch behind the scrolling credits at the end of a good horror film, and a fine track to round off the album.

Pit Fiend is an atmospheric journey into the depths of Hell, with each track painting some lovely vivid impressions of various locations along the way. As I mentioned above, Unearthed Arcana and Sharpening The Vorpal Blade were two tracks that I felt really excelled at this, but there were certainly others that deftly created a wonderful impression of ominous events; Crooked Messiah for example. If you like your dark ambient music to be Hell-themed, deep, and to take you on a journey through dark spaces, you’d do well to check out Pit Fiend on Bandcamp.

I was given a review copy of this album

Album Title: Pit Fiend

Album Artist: Insectarium

Label: Befalling Silence Productions

Released: 25th Feb 2025

My Dark Ambient Album Winding Down At The Edge Of Oblivion Is Out Now

I just released my ninth dark ambient album on Bandcamp: Winding Down At The Edge Of Oblivion.

It is themed around an android slowly losing function, sitting at the end of civilization, surrounded by ruin.

I tried to make a slowly building, subtle album, one to listen to with a nice comfy pair of headphones and a comfy bed to drift off into imagination on. I'm quite pleased with it.

If you'd like to check it out, you can find it on Bandcamp for £1.95. If you decide to pick it up, many thanks :)

Casey aka Reality Scruncher.

 Dark Ambient Review: Nephilim

Review by Casey Douglass

Myths are an endearing and enticing source for creative inspiration; the way that some of their elements seem shared by disparate cultures being an added tasty enticement for minds that are happy to ponder such things. The Nephilim fall into this category, and they are the subject of Nephilim, a dark ambient album from the Spanish music project Hiemis.

I’d heard the word “nephilim” before, but beyond some vague notion that it was a biblical thing, I knew little else about them. The album description relates how these beings are “fallen”, and also mentions that they liked to share forbidden wisdom, when they weren’t too busy boffing eligible women who were game for a bit of fun. The result of these couplings happened to be the birth of a race of giants, which caused a fair bit of a ruckus before things settled down again. Sorry, I don’t know why I went all “British 60’s seaside postcard humour” in this paragraph. I guess I`ll never know.

The Watchers is the opening track, one with fuzzy vibrating tones, dense echoes and a light shimmering that wafts through the soundscape. The space seems to throb and thrum, and it put me in mind of some kind of a dark temple fizzling with energetic manifestations. Around the midpoint the track quietens into a smoother pulsing space, with hollow chiming tones resonating into the perceived darkness.

The second track, The Decent, begins with a low, rough drone and an echoing space. Tension begins to grow, and it begins to feel like sensing the sound through your skull rather than with your ears. Hints of other tones insinuate and then burst into life, soon joined by low, string-like notes.There is a buffeting feeling at the edge of things, and distortions that pick at the threads of the soundscape. This track is a fun excursion into an energetic and wind-blasted realm of low bassy turbulence, and is one of my favourites as a consequence.

Track three, Forbidden Wisdom, opens with light plucked notes and a vibrating drone. An airy static hiss comes and goes, and the drone evolves into a meditative Om-like sound. The various elements begin to build into a busier soundscape, hinting at energies collecting. The static is harsher, sharper and more distorted as time passes, almost as if it is abrading something. Things stop suddenly around the halfway mark and the listener is left in a smoother, larger space. I wonder if this track depicts the way that we might take in forbidden wisdom, the way that the mind churns as it digests something new, and the sensation of horizons expanding once we have integrated our understanding. This was another track that I really enjoyed and would call it a favourite.

The next track, Heavenly Lineage, opens in a more abrupt way. There is a kind of ricochet-like pop of wind sound, which then goes on to settle into a distorted vibrating space with drones and lighter tones as the backdrop. Vibrating electronic tones judder and arc away, sometimes taking on the mantle of screams, in my own ears anyway. The second half of the track quietens into a calmer, more peaceful space.

Track five, Abyss, is another track that starts with an echoing, windy feeling. This one also features a feeling of movement or tension by way of a low rhythm that gently agitates the space. Small swells of hissing air or voice punctuate the fringes, and help to create a pleasing impression of the soundscape throbbing with some kind of pregnant presence or potential. As the midpoint approaches, the soundscape feels like it begins to whir and shimmer, and a female chant-like vocal seems to appear at times. 

Chaos is a track that opens with a slowly growing drone. There is a subtle impression of air currents that soon fill with beguiling high tones that throb and nestle. A short time later, a bassiness gently pumps the ears, accompanied by a wailing-like tone. Things quieten for a while and then a hint of whispering emerges at the edge of hearing. High tones impinge again, bringing a ghostly choral vocal effect along with them. The second half of the track quietens and then swells into life again in a similar way to the first half.

The penultimate track, Darkness, sees a return of the string-like notes. A low drone is their companion, and everything pulses and distorts in a bouncing, throbbing manner. Things become quiet and then as they build again, clearer notes begin to describe a brief, slow melody. After further periods of quiet and swelling, and after the halfway point, chiming notes coming from the right of the audio field set the soundscape reverberating. There is a subtle falling cluster of tones in the centre of the space, a bassial throb and a falling hissing sound. For me, this track had a sad, hopeless feeling, and the various effects made me think of something gently imploding.

The final track, Apocalypse, opens with a horn-like blare, one backed with a low drone and a shimmering throb. This is a juddery, echoing soundscape, with a chime-like quality that softens the harder effects. The track reverberates and increases in tension, the pulsing pressure intensifying as the horn-like blares repeat at intervals. This feels like a desolate space, one wiped clean of anything that might come close to warmth or kindness.

Nephilim is a dark ambient album that is full of restful, yet interesting, droning spaces. Each track felt like it made a great use of busyness and quiet periods, and the soundscapes themselves had plenty of subtle details and textures for the listener’s mind to focus on and to explore. Nephilim is an ominous yet peaceful trip into myth, and if you like your dark ambient on the more soothing end of the spectrum, you might like to take a look at Nephilim on Bandcamp.

I was given a review copy of this album

Album Title: Nephilim

Album Artist: Hiemis

Label: Noctivagant

Released: 22 September, 2024

 

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

Dark Ambient Review: Awakening

Review by Casey Douglass

Who we are is an ever changing continuum of narrative, memory and biological impulses, and a few other things to boot. Anyone who has dabbled with meditation for longer than a few sessions soon learns to see that the self is an always moving target. Nevertheless, in most of the ways that allow us to function in the world, we have a pretty firm hold on our identity. How horrific then, to wake up as a self in a body that is not your own. This is the theme of Crypthios’s latest album: Awakening, released by Cryo Chamber at the start of October.


As with all tasty horror, things get even worse however. Not only does the subject of this album awake in a stranger's body, but they realise that they have died, they are in a laboratory, and once free from that, that they’re dwelling in a city that is also a prison. If you are familiar with the phrase “turtles all the way down”, this is “horror all the way down” in a pleasing and unnerving oil-slick filled slide into the bowels of dystopia. It isn’t all gloom and hopelessness however, there are oases of peace and beauty even in the most grim of settings.


The opening track Awakening, warbles and buzzes the album into life. Small scratches and echoes blend with electronic tones that poke and prod into the mental unease and disconnection of a rude awakening for the character. An airy drone and throb emerges as the track progresses, the inference of numb incomprehension vying with the amazement of being alive at all. A jaunty melody and beat kicks in before the end, almost hinting at things not being as bad as they seem, but this all ends in a chirruping glare of sound that soon dispels such notions.


The tracks that follow all have names that hint at what the album protagonist is viewing, and here, I’ll go into a handful of my favourites. Above The Skyscrapers begins with what seem like hints of bird song and growing, swaying tones. The birdsong takes on the mantle of burbling beeps as rattling dragging noises emerge in the soundscape. A scratchy beat and pulsing rhythm arise, and as a whole, I had the impression of all of the frogs in a swamp suddenly finding their rhythm and crooning together. That’s not to say that this track seemed swampy, but more to describe the fun quirkiness I found in the mental vista that opened up.


West Wall is another track that stood out for me. There are what sounds like wind noises, creaking, and distant clatters and scrapes. Juddery tones like machinery spinning up and down echo and vibrate in cycles, and a low, cat-like purring sound nestles against the droning notes. For me, this track felt melancholy, and depicted a cold night in a harsh city, where pouring rain and architecture have conspired to leave one tiny scrap of street sheltered from the elements… and there’s a big pile of vomit there, only visible by the two-tone neon light cycling across the street.


Energy Flow is the last track that I’ll mention by name. It begins with a low drone and muted scraping. A high tone insinuates itself and swells into chiming notes. There is a warbly quality to the space, and also a peaceful crystalline purity to the tones. A strong wavering electronic tone rises and falls after gasping injections, taking on a siren-like quality at times. Around the halfway point, the soundscape feels like a kettle coming off the boil. There are creaks and movements under a sustained light warble that made me think of an arthritic robot mumbling to itself as it searched for something. The track quietens towards the end, bassy notes hum and nestle with buzzing droning tones, before ending with some tinny rapid beats.


Awakening is a fun, bleak dark ambient album, one that wraps the cold horror of the protagonist with the warm embrace of the fleeting pleasures of life. While the theme is very dark, as a whole, I didn’t find the album particularly so. There is a lightness, a jauntiness at times, and for me, it strongly brought to mind my experiences playing the cat-based robot dystopia game Stray. Bleak, sometimes ominous or slightly jarring, but also cosy, neon-infused and light-hearted at times. If you enjoy your dark ambient with a technological, futuristic and dystopic feel, you’d do well to check out Awakening on Bandcamp.


Also, if you enjoy knowing if a dark ambient album is good for relaxation, I’d have to say that, for me, Awakening has a little too much drama and quirkiness to be enjoyed in this way.



I was given a review copy of this album.


Album Title: Awakening

Album Artist: Crypthios

Label: Cryo Chamber 

Released: 1 October 2024

My New Dark Ambient Album Trying is Out Now

I've been struggling with my health, both mental and physical, for years. I decided to create a dark ambient album around this theme and I released it the other day under my Reality Scruncher music project. You can find Trying on Bandcamp and you can check it out by clicking on the embed below.

Witchcraft, Murk and Madness is Out Now

Just over a month ago, I released Witchcraft, Murk and Madness, the 7th music release under my Reality Scruncher dark ambient project. It's themed around idiots provoking ancient powers and meeting a mucky end.

If you like dark ambient, drone, horror music, you can check out Witchcraft, Murk and Madness below or on Bandcamp.

Dark Ambient: BlackWeald Interview

BlackWeald Interview

Interview by Casey Douglass

BlackWeald is a dark ambient and experimental music creator that has produced some truly monumental albums for fans to enjoy. His latest release: The Fermi Exhibit, is themed around the Fermi paradox, which in the broadest of terms, is the question of why we haven’t detected alien life. In this interview, we talk about how he became interested in the Fermi paradox, and what his thoughts are about some of the “solutions”. We also delve into the role that Lovecraft’s fiction has played in his creative life, the value of ambiguity in creating, and what kind of equipment he uses to create his dark marvels. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.

(Photos used throughout provided by BlackWeald. They depict some of the views from his local surroundings).

***

Casey: As we begin this interview, you are just over one week away from releasing your latest music creation: The Fermi Exhibit. It’s a dark ambient album themed around the Fermi paradox, the mental itch in scientists’ brains about why the sheer size of the universe lends itself to the idea that advanced extraterrestrial life should be commonplace, but that we seem to catch no sight nor sound of them. How and when did you first become interested in the Fermi paradox and what is your favourite potential solution?

BlackWeald: I was always interested in anything dark, morbid or mysterious. The nature of life, consciousness, and the insane scale of the universe are of course the oldest of these enigmas, also the toughest to get your head around.

I must state that I do not believe in intelligent design. Sure, it seems like the universe is fabricated in a way to facilitate human needs. You know the argument, if you’d change any universal constant (speed of light, Planck constant, ratio of matter-antimatter, etc.), the universe would be so different, that e.g. planets would not form, and no life would be possible. But I believe the answer for this isn’t intelligent design, rather it’s science’s most beautiful theory, the Anthropic principle. If the universe would NOT suit us, we wouldn't be here to observe it. There might be a crap-load of universes with different values of these constants, but there would be no life in them, and no observer in them to say “Hey, it seems to be 100% designed for us!”. So it’s the other way around. It’s not that the universe is designed to our needs, but we are like we are, because the universe is the way it is.

Back to the Fermi Paradox, although there are fascinating esoteric answers (which the album mostly deals with), the truth is probably much more mundane. And most likely the truth does not lie within ONE of these “solutions”, but a combination of the few. Perhaps interstellar travel simply cannot be solved, and you cannot bypass the speed of light anyhow. Combine this with the vastness of the universe and how specific a planet needs to be, to be able to develop and sustain even the most primitive life. These together would mean that although there are/were intelligent species, they are so far away from each other, that we would never ever be able to witness their existence, let alone communicate with them. It’s like an ant and a penguin inhabiting Earth alone, one in Europe, one in Antarctica. What are the chances they’d ever meet? The ant barely lives a year, they could not travel that far on land, there is the impassable ocean between them, and even if they met, they would not even recognize each other as another living being (despite these two examples descending from the very same tree of life).

In short, sure, there must be similarly intelligent life out there, but I doubt two of these species would ever come in contact with each other.

Casey: In an interview you gave to DarkUndergroundMusicZine, you touched upon your love of H.P Lovecraft. Do you enjoy contemplating the Fermi paradox because it in some ways touches the notion of cosmic horror that Lovecraft so adeptly describes, that sense of awe at the momentous forces and vast distances involved?

BlackWeald: I adore his work, he is my favourite writer. Anything Lovecraftian you can throw at me and I’ll probably like it. But I have to agree with the general consensus that he isn’t technically the best writer, rather it’s the “universe” he created and the way he tells his stories, that’s what really resonates with me. It’s very much like what Hidetaka Miyazaki does with his games. You have to piece the puzzle yourself, and even then, many things are left ambiguous. Which is great, because you can put your own thoughts, fears, feelings into these stories, making them personal. Anything that’s too straightforward, without any room for imagination, well, those are just stories. Unlike these ambiguous works, which create a framework, then it’s up to you to fit yourself into that.

I think this is what Lovecraft gets right. Instead of spoon-feeding you something tangible that he finds scary, he rather makes you think about a concept that might kick your existential dread in. “The universe is incomprehensibly large, and compared to that, you are incomprehensibly small. What do you think about it?” or “Have you ever thought of ancient civilizations that were once thriving but now are buried underneath the soil?” These are more inspirational thoughts than anything.

I mean, one could say that Lovecraft himself made specific monsters, but I think even though we have a quite universally agreed representation of Cthulhu, it’s more about “What might lie beneath” than an actual monster.

Next to ambiguity, it’s important for me (either as a story-teller, or as a consumer) to actually take part in putting the story together, as opposed to just being told about the story. There is a very thin line between the two. Like, in a movie, when two dots should be connected, do you leave it up to the viewer to make that connection? You can give the viewer a flashback scene, or make a character say it out loud, but then the viewer does not actually participate in solving the mystery. But if you give them less, and let them figure it out, they will be like “Aha!” and it’s immediately more engaging.

Regarding how it’s tied to BlackWeald, I usually try to make my musical output ambiguous enough that there is always some room where the listeners can project themselves into. Some riddles to be solved, some connections to make yourself, something hidden, stuff that is not so obvious. This is why the song titles on The Fermi Exhibit are a bit shady. “Civilizations might be too far away from each other” not only sounds shit, but leaves no room to figure out what the song represents.

Of course it does not apply to all BlackWeald releases, e.g. Leonov and She and the Devil’s Sons follow a specific narrative, but I think it applies well for most of the others. Maybe on the “From Dust..” album the ambiguity went a bit too far and without the additional text, the framework of the album might not get through (the analogy between the timeline of a day and the timeline of a life). But e.g. with Sedna I tried to approach it in a Lovecraftian way. You know what happened, you know what it is capable of, but it’s up to you to imagine what it actually might be.

Casey: Why did you decide to form The Fermi Exhibit in the style of a museum exhibit, and what do the different sections represent?

BlackWeald: In short, if someone would have put a pistol to my head saying “You have to cut the album down to 2 hours!”, I would have chosen the first 13 tracks of the album. Fortunately I don’t have to tailor my output to any restrictions.

As a longer story, I started working on this album almost 3 years ago, right after 666 Minutes in Hell. As it happens often to me, a seemingly quick project turned into a huge monster. In a few weeks I found myself having 2000+ sound fragments and about 30 song concepts. Shaping it into finished songs seemed impossible and the weight of the project felt unbearable. So first I thought I’d slice the work up and have it released in a series of EPs. Then I got caught in the flow and during months of never-ending sessions, I finished everything at once.

When I saw that it turned out to be 8 hours long, I started cutting the fat off several songs and even threw away complete songs. I narrowed it down to 2 hours, having like a “best of” version of all the composed material, but I started missing many of the leftover material. I found myself listening to the “B-sides” more than the rest, so I just said “fuck it” and decided to keep quite a few of them. Today, I still have my own favourites in the more experimental, longer, less “traditional ambient” tracks. All that remains of this back-and-forth hassle is those two lines regarding the first 13 tracks being the “main hall” and the rest existing on the “gallery annex” of the exhibition.

Oh, and why an exhibition? Most of the stuff I release has some kind of narrative going through the whole album, but this one is among the few that is “just a bunch of tracks without any connection between them”, except for, of course, the overarching theme of the Fermi Paradox. My brain felt that I still needed to give the album a frame, which is this virtual exhibition, where each track is like a painting hanging on the wall, representing one solution to the Fermi Paradox.

Casey: When talking to The Dungeon in Deep Space, you explained that your music is created in a no budget, lo-fi kind of way, using an old PC, only using the integrated sound-card etc. Is this still the case, and what do you think that this minimalistic style of creation does for your creativity? I do a similar thing myself but it’s mainly to avoid overwhelm, perfectionism, and my OCD kicking my backside up and down all day long.

BlackWeald: Yeah, it’s still pretty much the case, although my PC aged 2 additional years, so it’s now 12 years old. Makes video rendering take ages. Although I bought the cheapest Behringer soundcard, so guitars and vocals can be recorded slightly more easily, but there are neither of them on The Fermi Exhibit.

The “no budget” nature is by my circumstances, not by my will. I’d love to have a dedicated room full of instruments and synths, having a top tier computer, etc, but that’s not my reality. Still, if you want to, you actually can compose and release with minimal gear and finances. Anyone saying otherwise is fooling themselves. My first few releases were made without a DAW, using only Audacity. Of course the methods used limit what the outcome can become. But, it is what it is.

Most of my favourite artists made music this way anyways. Sure, Swans has top tier gear, experience and several human talents behind them, but Dylan Carlson makes music almost all by himself, often with a single guitar only. Similarly, Hate Forest is practically one guy writing the best riffs ever and uses a drum machine. If my own favourites are often just “a dude with a guitar”, why would I fool myself thinking that gear matters the most.

I myself tend to overthink stuff by nature, so I have to keep pushing myself to accept “It’s good enough, move on!”. But also, restrictions can spark up creativity, whether they are artificial or not. So anyone planning a compilation work, feel free to ping me, as I love these kinds of works!

***

Thanks so much to BlackWeald for his time spent answering my questions. If you would like to check out The Fermi Exhibit, you can find it on Bandcamp at this link. 

Dark Ambient: Shadowlands 4 Is Out Now!

 

Owl Ripper Recordings has just released a big slice of dark ambient and dungeon synth goodness: Shadowlands 4. I'm honoured to say that one of my own Reality Scruncher tracks, Breaching The Threshold, is nestling amongst the 19 other tracks it contains. Head over to Bandcamp to check it out. It's set to Name Your Price, which means you can even get it for free if you like.

Breaching The Threshold is from my Ennui and Terror in the Void album, and if you like the track, you might like to know that you can pick up any of my albums (or all of them) for 25% off until Sunday 12th Nov. Just enter "realityscrunched" at the Bandcamp checkout :).

Dark Ambient Review: Mørketsland

Review By Casey Douglass

The technological progress of the modern world is amazing, but it can also feel oh so feeble. Our days are filled with the tedious “Marimba” of iPhones and the steady beep-beep of drip-fed pseudo approval from strangers. When held up against the heady, tangible world that the Vikings lived in, the present day appears to be little more than the cellophane wrapper on some tasty roasted boar meat that’s about to be offered to the Nordic gods. Mørketsland is a dark ambient album from ProtoU & Oljus, one that tears through the cellophane with its teeth.

Mørketsland contains echoing ritual drum beats, deep drones and eerie spirit-laced echoes that seem to bounce around a harsh, weather-swept landscape. Wind howls and swells, rain patters and drips, and distant thunder rumbles ominously in a pleasing, distant way. Every track of Mørketsland is a darkness-bathed, drum-fuelled homage to the Vikings, with the rites and chants being enacted by the voices almost certainly finding their way to the gods that they hope are listening.

I think that Spirits of the Water is probably my favourite of the seven tracks on the album. It begins with a low, slightly vibrating drone. A bell-like chime agitates the soundscape and a low chant begins. A slow echoing drumbeat is there also, and some strange little bird-like tweets. What sounds like distant thunder cracks in the distance, a ghostly vocal insinuating itself shortly after. Later, there are impressions of wind and waves, strange intonations, and as the drumbeat intensifies, a very deep vibrating tone. For me, this track felt like it was depicting a longboat out on open water, a moonlit fog enshrouding everything except the immediate blackness of the waves.

Wall of Thorns (ft Ager Sonus) is another track that really got my attention. It opens with low echoing drumbeats in a howling airy soundscape, the scratchy pattering of rain filling the ears with threat. There are rustles and creaks, and these are soon joined by a plucked melody and morose pipe notes. The soundscape slowly ratchets up into increasingly booming drum beats and ever busier howls, cries and swells of wind. The plucked melody, taken with the other elements of the track, gave me Witcher 3 or Game of Thrones flashbacks, which is a fun thing to return to.

All of the tracks of Mørketsland transport the listener into dark primal soundscapes, the kind of space in which the ritual drumbeats lend a trance-like energy to the swirling chaos and hardness of the landscapes hinted at. If you like your dark ambient to give you the impression of sitting in the firelight while the ever darkening shadows beyond its limits press every inwards, you might want to check out this album.

Visit the Mørketsland page on Bandcamp for more information. You can also check out the Spirits of the Water video below:

I was given a review copy of this album.

Album Title: Mørketsland

Album Artist: ProtoU & Oljus

Label: Cryo Chamber

Released: May 2, 2023