S.E.T.I. – The Sphere Of Density 2CD Zoharum 2020 Andrew Lagowski’s long-standing project continues to forge ahead with his now trademark deep space focused drone/dark ambient musings. For this recent release it features an album of new studio material, in addition to a live recording from the 2019 Wroclaw Industrial Festival. For the studio material, it is characterised by galactic scale drifting drones, and with only five tracks spanning 114 minutes, it gives a clear hint at the slow pacing and evolution of The Sphere Of Density. Coupled with the monolithic widescreen drones are the tastefu ..read more

Shrine & Mytrip – Descent 7”EP Amek Collective / Corvus Records 2022 For this short two-track release, these two Bulgarian artists have teamed up with an apparent intent on bridging the gap between their respective sounds. To be a little more specific on that assertion, Shine are typically known for deep cinematic dark ambience tinged with organic toned field recordings, while Mytrip is concerned with electronic-ambient soundscapes which also push towards rhythmic and beat-driven spheres. The first track is Ruin Dweller is concerned with inky black tonal washes, deep guttural drones and l ..read more

J. Campbell – The Cormorant LP VAKNAR 2021 To start off, I know virtually nothing about this artist or the label (or the parent label VAAGNER), although what initially caught my eye was the consistent visual aesthetic and clean design of the labels’ releases. It then transpires that the artist J. Campbell is Australian, while the music is bracketed under ambient and modern classical descriptors. With The Cormorant being my introduction to the musical works of J. Campbell, this album has been on high rotation in recent months. An aching melancholia permeates all aspects of this album, where fi ..read more

Tehôm ‎– Phobos CD Zoharum 2021 Tehôm is an old name for me, being a late-1990s project who recorded two decent ritual dark ambient albums prior the untimely death of sole member Siniša Očuršćak. With Miljenko Rajaković having assisted with some recording elements on 2000’s post-humous album Theriomorphic Spirits, he then decided to reactivate the project in 2010 as a tribute to Siniša. While I note a number of Tehôm albums have been issued since the project’s reactivation they have passed me by, so I have picked up the thread again with this recent release. As vaguely alluded to by the title ..read more

Blind Ruler Cursed Land – Chrysantheme Delirium MC Rum Fixion Records 2021 Blind Ruler Cursed Land is a side project to UGFC which takes a slightly different thematic slant by: ‘exploring various shades of cultural & moral decline, post-defeat societies and dark esoteric “fanaticism” fascinations’. With some further investigation, Chrysantheme Delirium appears to be the debut tape from the project (after a couple of digital singles from 2020), while thematically focusing on Imperial Japan. Musically speaking the sonics issued under the Blind Ruler Cursed Land name is not worlds apart from ..read more

Browning Mummery – Live / Berlin & Melbourne CDr Inner City Uprising 2021 Andrew Lonsdale’s long-standing post-industrial / experiment project Browning Mummery has been reasonably active in recent years, including both new studio material as well as sporadic live performances. Obviously, the title of this album indicates the live context of this release, but in being more than a straight live recording of a single show, this album features material culled from two live performances. The liner notes further confirm the four chosen tracks cover the full history of the project by spanning th ..read more

Soleil Satan – Les Couronnes De L’Aube CD Cipher Productions 2021 Cipher Productions has released yet another previously unknown project for me, so the promo text is then useful in providing context by placing Soleil Satan from the culturally disputed Basque region of Spain. It also clarifies the project is helmed by Miguel A. García: a sound artist ‘working mainly in the field of electro-acoustic composition and improvisation’, while this album ‘is a solemn ambient exploration of voice, guitar and electronics, recorded in a deserted factory in Bilbao’. On this apparent debut album, an organ ..read more

Pterygium – A Blessing Withdrawn 7”EP Cønjuntø Vacíø 2021 Over a relatively short time span, Hank Gillet’s project Pterygium has demonstrated ambitious intent, as well as being something of a sonic chameleon that inhabits the in-between spaces between noise, dark ambient, and post-industrial spheres. Armed with this modus operandi, Hank has created a unique and now recognisable sound for Pterygium based on the well-received albums, including 2018’s Concealing the Past (via Tesco Organisation), and 2020’s Stoic Ubiquity (via No Recent Records). For his first release on Cønjuntø Vacíø (a Spanis ..read more

Lẽtum – The Face Of Life And Death CD Mathias Henriksson 2021 Personally, I have always viewed Lẽtum as one of the three pinnacle dark ambient projects emerging from the classic era of Cold Meat Industry, with the other two being raison d’etre and Desiderii Marginis. However, Lẽtum has ended up being lesser recognised and somewhat overshadowed given Lẽtum’s debut came out in 2001, which at that point in time the other mentioned projects were already well established. Yet now in 2021, it would be a significant mistake to continue overlooking Lẽtum given the project’s albums represent quintesse ..read more

Metadevice – Turba CD New Approach Records 2021 Following the disbandment in the mid-2010’s of the highly respected Portuguese industrial group Sektor304, former member André Coelho has since busied himself with other projects, with Beyond Enclosure and Metadevice being the most visible by virtue of being released on Malignant Records. Metadevice is the newest project, with Turba being the third album since 2020. In a general sense, Metadevice are concerned with a sound rooted in a rhythmically pummelling and broadly ‘industrial’ style, but has also incorporating wider aspects of dark ambient ..read more