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NERATERRÆ – Scenes From the Sublime – Review

On March 21, 2020

Artist: NERATERRÆ
Album: Scenes From the Sublime
Release date: 20 March 2020
Label: Cyclic Law / Liberation Through Hearing
Reviewer: Rich Dodgin

Tracklist:
01. The Last Abjurer (feat. Phelios)
02. Fate Unveiled (feat. Dødsmaskin)
03. In Deafening Silence (feat. Phragments)
04. Thou, Daemon (vocals by Yann Hagimont from Cober Ord and George Zafiriadis from Martyria)
05. Passion Domain (feat. Mount Shrine)
06. The Unfathomable Lives Again (feat. Xerxes The Dark and lithophone by Yann Hagimont from Cober Ord)
07. Doorway to the I (feat. Alphaxone)
08. The Collapse of Matter and Time
09. Towards Oneiric Truths (feat. Leila Abdul-Rauf)
10. Virtues of the Dawn (feat. Shrine)

NERATERRÆ‘s debut album, The Substance of Perception, was a daring work featuring collaborations with some of the finest dark ambient, drone and ritual musicians. The album received rave reviews and quickly established Alessio Antoni as a rising star on the dark ambient scene.

Now, less than a year later, NERATERRÆ releases Scenes From the Sublime, a ten track album inspired by visual masterpieces from the world of art – as Alessio Antoni describes in his own words:

“The album is my personal tribute to some of my favorite painters, to their minds capable of channeling the sublime, to their masterpieces. I realized 10 audial visions, each track is an ode to a different painting.”

It’s a fascinating concept, spanning across over four centuries of masterpieces, with musical collaborations from Alphaxone, Dödsmaskin, Leila Abdul-Rauf, Mount Shrine, Phelios, Phragments, Shrine, Xerxes The Dark, George Zafiriadis from Martyria and Yann Hagimont from Cober Ord.

Opening track, “The Last Abjurer”, is dark, brooding piece – with a cinematic edge, and an underlying sense of growing dread – that wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack for Bladerunner 2049. It’s an incredible start to the album, and when I first heard it previewed a couple of months ago I just knew I was going to have to buy Scenes From the Sublime on the strength of that one track alone.

“Fate Unveiled” starts in a similarly punchy vein and, as the track unfolds, it becomes increasingly unsettling and abrasive, before finishing with a more melancholic, almost soothing vibe. It’s impressive emotive stuff, demonstrating perfectly how NERATERRÆ is continually growing and developing as a dark ambient musician.

“In Deafening Silence” is an eerie, chill-inducing minimalist number. Listening to it, it feels like you’re waiting for something horrible to happen… for the horrors just out of sight to step out of the shadows and claim your soul… And in “Thou, Daemon”, with its scratching and screaming, and speaking in other-worldly tongues, it sounds like that is exactly what is happening.

“Passion Domain” is a more comfortable listen, with waves of delicate synth-work, overlaid with subtle clicks and glitches of distortion. “The Unfathomable Lives Again” is similarly chilled – though with a darker undertone – as an echoing soundscape and distant whispering merge together to create a sense of unease and unfathomable strangeness.

“Doorway to the I”, takes things even further, with the sound palette shifting into a starker aural experience provided by repeating drone sounds and shimmers. “The Collapse of Matter and Time” is a – relatively – warmer track, with its hypnotic ticking clock, and a soundscape of groans, industrial clanking and haunting chimes, but one that still conjures up a sense of claustrophobia of the disturbing unknown.

“Towards Oneiric Truths” begins with the sounds of waves breaking on the shore, before the melancholic piano and siren’s calls take over. The resulting track is a sad, thought provoking piece, that carries you along with it, deep in your own thoughts -before the music fades and the sounds of the sea return.

Final track, “Virtues of the Dawn”, finishes the album off beautifully – with an uplifting, inspiring ambience – as waves of synths wash over the listener, giving them a sense of hope that maybe, just maybe, things will be ok.

This is an incredible album, with so many textures and levels of detail that you’ll hear something different every time you listen to it.

Yes, the range of sounds and styles, and the large number of collaborations, does mean that at first, the album doesn’t seem to have an obvious overarching vibe or sound that noticeably links everything together. NERATERRÆ‘s careful craftsmanship, however, means that with subsequent listens you do get a sense of the whole, as the subtle nuances that connect the 10 tracks begin to come to the fore.

With Scenes From the Sublime, NERATERRÆ / Alessio Antoni has done an amazing job of surpassing the high bar he’d set himself with The Substance of Perception, and if you’re a fan of dark ambient you absolutely have to get yourself this album!

Written by Rich Dodgin

Additional album information

Produced, mixed and engineered by Alessio Antoni
Mastered by Kjetil Ottersen
Artwork by Anirudh Acharya
Artwork layout by Alessio Antoni

The Last Abjurer – Inspired by Zdzislaw Beksinski’s AA72
Fate Unveiled – Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s Visions of the Hereafter
In Deafening Silence – Inspired by Ilja Yefimovich Repin’s Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan
Thou, Daemon – Inspired by Francisco Goya’s The Exorcism
Passion Domain – Inspired by Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
The Unfathomable Lives Again – Inspired by Johann Heinrich Füssli’s The Nightmare
Doorway to the I – Inspired by Zdzislaw Beksinski’s AE78
The Collapse of Matter and Time – Inspired by Salvador Dalì’s The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory
Towards Oneiric Truths – Inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead
Virtues of the Dawn – Inspired by Joseph Mallord William Turner’s Light and Colour (Goethe’s Theory) • The Morning After the Deluge • Moses Writing the Book of Genesis

Links

Purchase limited digipak CD from Cyclic Law
Purchase limited edition cassette from Liberation Through Hearing
Purchase digital album from NERATERRÆ on Bandcamp
Official NERATERRÆ Facebook
Official NERATERRÆ Instagram
Official NERATERRÆ Soundcloud

NERATERRÆ – Interview

By Michael Barnett

On April 13, 2019

In Interviews

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Interview with Alessio Antoni of NERATERRÆ

Alessio Antoni introduced himself to me several years ago, when he released The Nhart Demo(n)s, as Nhart. Since then the project has morphed into NERATERRÆ. As NERATERRÆ, Antoni has quickly taken the dark ambient community by surprise with this incredible debut, The Substance of Perception. For this debut he has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the dark ambient scene: Northaunt, Phurpa, New Risen Throne, Treha Sektori, Taphephobia, Infinexhuma, Xerxes the Dark, Ugasanie and Flowers For Bodysnatchers (in order of appearance on the album). Such a surprising debut in the dark ambient scene warranted a closer look at the person behind the project. I hope this (relatively short) interview will help readers to know a bit more about Antoni and his new album, which is set for release on 26 April 2019 through Cyclic Law.

Interviewer: Michael Barnett
Interviewee: Alessio Antoni of NERATERRÆ

We are proud to share with you an exclusive stream of the final track from ‘The Substance of Perception’, “Echoing Scars (feat. Flowers for Bodysnatchers)”

Michael: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me Alessio. I’ve very much enjoyed your brand new release, The Substance of Perception on Cyclic Law, and I’m looking forward to finding out more about this unusual debut!

Alessio: My pleasure, Michael, thank you for having me. I’m glad you enjoyed the album, It’s great to hear that, especially if it comes from you.

Michael: The Substance of Perception is one hell of a debut! You have an all-star cast of dark ambient musicians collaborating with you on this album! How long in advance had you been planning this to be a fully collaborative album?

Alessio: Ha! Thanks. There’s over two years of work behind “The Substance of Perception” (almost 2 and a half if we also consider the mastering process, which took me a while to complete it), but in the beginning there were no plans about collaborating with other musicians. The fact of sharing ideas, creating together and collaborating came out gradually and I really can’t tell you ‘why’, It just came out spontaneously.

Michael: Is there any fear that people will have a hard timing knowing the specific NERATERRÆ sound, since the album is 100% collaborative content?

Alessio: No, I wouldn’t say that, honestly; I only thought about it maybe once in the beginning, but I enjoyed the whole process and, more importantly, I still like the result; this is way important to me. I hope the listeners will enjoy the results too.

Michael: Did you reach out to each of these musicians professionally. Or, did you already know some of them on a personal level?

Alessio: I approached them all professionally, I did not know anyone on a personal level, and this made the whole thing even more exciting and, of course, gratifying, since they considered and “judged” my music and ideas in total honesty. As you can imagine, to have worked with immensely talented artists (such as Alexey Tegin from Phurpa, Flowers For Bodysnatchers, Infinexhuma, New Risen Throne, Northaunt, Taphephobia, Treha Sektori, Ugasanie, Xerxes The Dark) from all around the world means a lot to me.

Michael: Do you remember when you first discovered dark ambient music? Who were your favorites back then? Has this changed over the years?

Alessio: I fell in love with Dark Ambient and related around 2008, when I used to search for particular music to play in the background, especially while reading Lovecraft’s works. I used to listen to the same people who I listen to these days, and I keep on expanding my horizons. Anyways, I’ve always been into: Amon, Archon Satani, Atrium Carceri, Coph Nia, Deathprod, Desiderii Marginis, Deutsch Nepal, Kammarheit, Lustmord, New Risen Throne, Nordvargr, Northaunt, Raison D’Etre, Svartsinn, Yen Pox and some more.

Michael: Now that The Substance of Perception is released, have you already begun plans for a follow-up, or are you taking some time to rest and let this album run it’s course?

Alessio: To be honest, I’ve been working on a follow-up for a few months already. I’ve been kinda hyperactive lately. Anyways, I can’t really tell when it’ll be out nor what’s gonna sound like, but I like it so far.

Michael: Do you have any plans for, or interest in, live performances?

Alessio: Yes, I do have interest in live performances, but I got no plans by now. Never say never though, we’ll see what the future brings.

Michael: Not only is The Substance of Perception a veritable ‘who’s who’ of dark & ritual ambient artists, but you’ve also managed to get Nihil & Daria Endresen to create the artwork. How did this come about? Was Frederic responsible for the contact there or did you have a friendship/communication with these artists?

Alessio: I’ve been a fan of both Nihil and Daria Endresen for quite a long time; I contacted them for the first time almost over a year ago (if I remember correctly), since I wanted them to realize the artwork for the record (record which I was still working on at that time, btw). Quite a bit later, when I got “The Substance of Perception” ready and I got in touch with Frederic Arbour/Cyclic Law, I knocked at Nihil and Daria’s doors again, and as you can see they did a spectacular job, which I’m very proud of.

Michael: Does religion or spirituality play any role in your music?

Alessio: I do live music in my own ‘spiritual’ way (which is pretty personal and I feel like I’m not even able to describe it), even though I don’t consider myself a religious person.

Michael: I see that you are Italian, from the album blurb on Cyclic Law, may I ask which region you reside in? Does your Italian heritage play any important role in your music, or do you consider yourself a more internationally-aligned person/project?

Alessio: Correct, I am Italian and I live in a region named Liguria. But, I gotta be honest, I don’t feel like being Italian plays any particular role in my music. I’d say I consider myself a more internationally-aligned person/project.

Michael: Your previous release, The NHART Demo[n]s, is currently available for free on your Bandcamp page. These tracks were recorded back in 2009. Why such a long break in between the Nhart project and the dawning of NERATERRÆ? Were you still creating any music over this period? Or, did you need a break and a re-focusing before continuing with your musical ventures?

Alessio: I wanted to start NERATERRÆ in a very precise moment of my life. I wanted to have a clear vision, I considered the options, and I took all the time I needed to decide. I’ve been exploring music on a deeper level and I’ve been studying for years; now I feel like I did the right thing.

Michael: I am greatly enjoying the new album, and I wish you the very best in the future with NERATERRÆ! If there are any topics I haven’t mentioned, which you’d like to discuss, let me know! Otherwise, I’ll leave the final words to you!

Alessio: Thank you very much Michael, and I’m really glad you like my album. I’d just like to say that I highly appreciate what you’ve been doing for the Dark Ambient scene, It is remarkable. Thank you.

You can follow the link in the below player to the Cyclic Law Bandcamp page and purchase The Substance of Perception which will release on 26 April 2019!

Frozen In Time: This is Darkness playlist – April 2023

By Rich Dodgin

On April 28, 2023

In Frozen In Time: Weekly News, Retro Reviews, Reviews

Here are the dark ambient albums that we at This is Darkness have been listening to this month – some are new releases, but a few are older gems we’ve just (re)discovered.

Please check these out by clicking on the Bandcamp link next to each review (or by clicking on the BNDCMPR link at the bottom of the page), and please consider supporting the featured artists. Enjoy!

Darja Kazimira & Zura Makharadze – Songs from an obscure matriarchal tribe

The latest release from the ever awesome Unexplained Sounds Group label is the impressive Songs from an obscure matriarchal tribe by Darja Kazimira & Zura Makharadze. By mixing together creative vocalism, electroacouustic improvisation, and Eastern ethnic music influences, they have created an album that sounds genuinely unique and is jaw droppingly good. This is an album that will transport you to another time and place, as it soothes and disturbs in equal measure. Incredible.

CHAIGIDEL & NERATERRÆ – Lamaštu

I’m a huge fan of NERATERRÆ‘s 2020 album, Scenes From the Sublime, so I was thrilled when I learned that he and and CHAIGIDEL had joined forces to create an album of “deeply evocative ritualistic” music. The resulting release, Lamaštu, is simply stunning – with gorgeously gloomy soundscapes and haunting whispered vocals this is an album that is dripping with atmosphere. Highly recommended for fans of dark, ritualistic dark ambient / drone. Fantastic.

Dev-I-Ant – Progression Of The Wolf

Progression of the Wolf sees Dev-I-Ant (Canadian duo Devin Sabatini and Anthony Prugo) channeling their mutual love of horror films and soundtracks into an album of deliciously dark music combining elements of drone ambient and post-industrial. These is seriously unsettling stuff, and not for the faint-hearted – with haunting soundscapes and eerie field recordings working together to produce an unforgettable audio experience that will have you reaching to switch the lights on. Wonderful.

PLANKTAN SANQUIN – MOIRA

The latest release from Australian musician PLANKTAN SANQUIN is this awesome album of experimental ambient / dark ambient / electronica. Combining repeated rhythms, phasing beats, and machine-like glitches, the end result is an album that provides a rewarding listen that offers something new with each and every listen, as you discover new pieces hidden in the multi-layered sonic textures. A must have for fans of dark ambient with electronic elements. Remarkable.

Cliffdiver – Cliffdiver

Oh wow. The latest, self-titled, release from Cliffdiver is a one of those albums that you fall in love with as soon as you hear it. This is an album of heartfelt, melancholic ambient – with minimalist electronic soundscapes and guitar based tracks working together to produce a life-affirming soundtrack that is quite simply incredible. Highly recommended for those looking for something a little less dark, but with a strong emotional edge. Outstanding.

GALÁN / VOGT – The Dark Opens The Way (Markus Guentner Remix)

This breath-taking ethereal track is the second digital single from the forthcoming GALÁN / VOGT remix album, All The Time In The World (due for release later in 2023). Evolving drones and shoegaze sensibilities combine together to create a hypnotic listening experience that has me itching for the full album to be released. Definitely worth checking out if you like drones you can lose yourself in. Stunning.

Pulvil – Asura

Decaying Spheres continues to be one of my favourite labels, and their latest release, Asura by Pulvil, is another fantastic album of drone based ambient. This is atmospheric soundscape at its best, with the listener being taken on an audio journey of differing moods and textures of unfolding drones. I’ve had this on repeat play since I first heard it, losing myself in the multi-layered depths each and every time. Amazing.

AstroPilot, Spacecraft – Lights in the Sky

I’m a big fan of Mumbai based Spacecraft, so was delighted when I heard he and AstroPilot were releasing an album together. This is an album of wonderfully soothing ambient tracks, featuring rich, immersive and warm drones that do an incredible job of transporting the listener away to a place of lush cosmic soundscapes. This album is a must have if you’re looking for something to listen to when trying to relax and unwind. Beautiful.

jarguna – Explorations of the Unconscious

The latest release on the wonderful Reverse Alignment label is this impressive dark ambient album from jarguna. The music here is introspective, multi-textured, and meditative – with dark ambient soundscapes and evolving drones working together to create an album that is light and positive in places, dark and despairing in others. Absolutely sublime.

Karen Vogt – Le Mans

Now this is a very cool concept! Using recordings taken from the 2022 24 hour Le Mans race, and adding only vocals, Karen Vogt has created an incredible album of experimental ambient / drone that expertly blends human and machine. The music here is uplifting and haunting in equal measure, with an underlying dream-like ambiance that is wonderfully hypnotic. Highly recommended for fans of ambient / drone albums that do something a little different. Gorgeous.

Click on the below image to go to this month’s This is Darkness playlist on BNDCMPR, which features 1 track from each of the above albums:

Frozen In Time: This is Darkness playlist – March 2020

By Rich Dodgin

On March 28, 2020

In Frozen In Time: Weekly News, Retro Reviews

Here are the dark ambient albums that we at This is Darkness are currently listening to – some are new releases, but a few are older gems we’ve just (re)discovered. Please check these out by clicking on the Bandcamp links, and consider supporting the artists. Enjoy!

New Risen Throne – The Outside

This album of post-industrial dark ambient is incredible – its dark, cinematic soundscapes providing an audio experience that is simply breathtaking. Both Michael and Rich here at This is Darkness and have had this album on repeat play since they first heard it. Read our full review of the album here.