This is Darkness is making great strides forward in our progress as a zine. The base of reviewers is beginning to expand and there are some big announcements on the horizon. I would like to take a moment this week to point out that a Patreon campaign for This Is Darkness has been launched. I, Michael Barnett, have been running this site thus far due to the support of friends. My physical condition leaves me unable to work and collect an income, so This Is Darkness, as a project, needs all the help it can get. Becoming a patron of This Is Darkness through Patreon will be the most important way that readers can help out. There are a number of costs associated with running a website and properly promoting material. Please have a look at the Patreon page and consider making a contribution to help keep This Is Darkness growing and thriving for years to come. You can find the Patreon campaign page here.
With that bit of business out of the way, let’s move on to the week’s news!
New Releases and Preorders
A Bleeding Star – New Single Released (Digital)
“The Lost Masquerade of Frost: Tonight Ye Are Mine & Our Cascade Shall Pour for Its Cost” is the latest single by the eclectic dark ambient artist A Bleeding Star. As usual his unique sensibilities shine through on this release, making it quite the interesting experience. With a “name your price” format, it shouldn’t be a hard choice to add this to your collections.
Ashtoreth – New Live Album Released (Digital)
Offering I was performed live at L’Auréole on Sunday 7th of May in Tinques, France. Recorded by Boris Guyot. Live mix by Maxime de Waegenaere. Edited and mixed by Peter Verwimp. Photography by Skink74
Black Box Memories – New Album Released on Sumatran Black Records (Digital)
Sumatran Black Records present a collection of hazy subconsciousness, enigmatic loops and nostalgic pads. Transmissions is the debut release of Black Box Memories, a side project of Sumatran Black. “While mixing and editing the follow up to In the Dread, I still felt I had some creative momentum and was producing a number of tracks that I was extremely happy with. They just didn’t fit in the overall sound and concept of Fathomz but I thought that together they made a pretty nice collection of ideas. So here they are.”
Bleach for the Stars – New Album Available for Preorders on Cromlech Records (Physical and Digital)
Bleach For The Stars is the dark ambient, drone & industrial project of Benjamin Power, hailing from the UK. His music is best described as an intense, raw and powerfully emotional journey into the dark regions of his mind. Ben uses his art to deal with his past and his life’s experiences. Without going into his personal details it is clear to the listener that Ben has had his fair share of tragedy and bleak moments in life. This results in extremely profound musical pieces that create a menacing feeling but also make you appreciate them as something very pure and unreserved. Seldom has music been such a direct and stark statement as with this album. The Time For Silver Flowers is a therapeutic and dramatic expression by an artist who is truly fascinating. The album releases June 12, 2017.
Fatal Insidious Releases A New Single (Digital)
Haunted Me Releases A New Album (Digital)
Haunted Me is an experimental solo project by Claudio Begovic, formed in 2016 and based in Reggio Calabria (Italy). After playing guitar for a few years in a local Tool cover band, Begovic started composing post rock and ambient music with his first creature, Ushiro Mawashi. Haunted Me is the natural evolution of this former project, adding noise and distorted synth organs to spooky vocal samples.
Lesath Releases A New Album (Digital)
On Density IV, Lesath delivers dark and haunting soundscapes. Sure to disturb the sleep of any listener faint of heart.
Murderous Vision – New Album Released (Digital)
The artist says about their latest album, My Necropolis, “The act of writing, recording and compiling tracks for My Necropolis began after returning from a successful tour with The Vomit Arsonist and Apocryphos, in June of 2015. Since that time, many things have been cut, reworked and reworked again. The end result is just over an hour of Dark Ambient, Industrial and Neo-Classical work, that is reminiscent of albums like Life’s Blood Death’s Embrace and Frozen In Morphia. Featuring some great contributions from guests Amanda Howland (Dead Peasant Insurance, Fascist Insect), Wyatt Howland (Skin Graft), Matt Hunzeker (Of Earth and Sun), Tom Orange (Lost Head, Vengeance Space Quartet) Steve Lull (Dead Corporate Eyes, Vengeance Space Quartet), Headstone Brigade and Rob Rosin. A hard copy version may surface at some point next year. Rather than wait that long, creating the album took long enough, it is now being offered digitally for a low price.
Paleowolf – New Single Released (Digital)
Paleowolf, the other project by Metatron Omega, has released their latest track, “Thundertribe”.
The Stone Tapes Announce Preorders For New Album (Physical and Digital)
The second album from The Stone Tapes is due out in August 2017, and the haunted electronica/storytelling duo is seeking pledges to support its release on vinyl through a Kickstarter campaign. You can learn more here.
Wolfgang Gsell – New Album Released on Aural Films (Physical and Digital)
While this is classified as a new age release, I thought there was enough surreal atmosphere and darkness to warrant a mention on This Is Darkness. Aural Films says about the new album, “Those who know Wolfgang’s many releases are used to his music and it’s connection with nature. On this outing, the German new age artist leaves the comfort of the outdoors for surreal landscapes. Here, he plugs into the subconscious to reveal some new works that reflect on the sounds of dreams.”
Other News
Algol / Stuzha / Black Wanderer New Paintings For Sale
Cadabra Records – New Album Available For Preorders
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles LP with Sir Derek Jacobi & Bleak December ships in late July. Cadabra tells a little about the story, “In 1893, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had tired of his infamous creation, and killed Sherlock Holmes off at the hands of his arch nemesis, Professor Moriarty, in a dramatic plunge off the Reichenbach Falls in the appropriately-titled The Final Problem. Eight years later, in a response to public furor for more Holmes, the author wrote the story as a hitherto unpublished work from a period in the detective’s career prior to his fateful encounter with Moriarty. The Hound Of The Baskervilles was indeed a massive success, and Conan Doyle soon resurrected Holmes from the dead, continuing to write new adventures until 1927.” Find out more here.
Dehn Sora / Treha Sektori New Artbook For Sale
40 pages artbook including Head Collection series, “We won’t keep you as a trophy, we want you to watch forever” 250g fineart print / black and white
Including a link on a regularly updated audio page, with ceremonies and unreleased improvs, lives, etc… Released at COR weekend in Vooruit, Gent, 12/13 May 2017. Find out more here.
Weekly Specials
Deep-Audio
Cryo Chamber
This week Cryo Chamber focus on albums that are centered around times of war.
Save 50% on these digital downloads:
Atrium Carceri – Phrenitis
The cold wind blows across the battlefield on this album by Atrium Carceri. Phrenitis takes the listener to a twisted place where the walls between worlds are razed. The ruinous cities of wars long past, where time itself is but a prisoner and the warlords roaming their purgatorial halls are free to destroy the very foundations of the natural order.
Neizvestija – Majak
Be sure to bring your Geiger counter on this release by Neizvestija. This album from Swedish producer Daniel Wiklander will take you deep into the radioactive zones of Chelyabinsk. If you are a fan of STALKER and are fascinated by Chernobyl, this album should be right up your alley.
Kolhoosi 13 – Monuments of Power
The barren soundscapes from Finnish duo Kolhoosi 13 paint a bleak picture. A world in the aftermath of reckless experiments and actions made in the name of power. Manifesting complete disregard of life and man’s own habitat. A world where both lives and nature are expendable. Where the grim consequences are just another record erased and forgotten.
This Is Darkness Week In Review
Polterngeist – Levels of Perception
Polterngeist is the side-project of Pavel Malyshkin, best known as Ugasanie. Hailing 
from Belarus, Pavel has created over the years a sound which is uniquely recognizable. His work as Ugasanie focuses on frozen landscapes and the supernatural occurrences which present themselves within these barren lands. A recurring theme throughout much of his work is the effects that these supernatural occurrences have on the mind. Sometimes this takes the form of some malign deity consuming one’s soul, and sending them rushing into the elements, forfeiting their lives in the process. While at other times, it tells the narrative of northern shamans, purposefully communicating with these deities, bringing themselves in contact with the netherworld.
Read the full review here.
Sonologyst – Interview
Raffaele Pezzella is the man behind the experimental dark ambient act, Sonologyst. He is also the head of Unexplained Sounds Group as well as its sub-label Eighth Tower Records. I had a chance to speak with Raffaele about some of his musical background, his inspirations and the vision he has for the future of his labels. Thanks for reading, I hope you will enjoy our conversation.
You can find the full interview here.
Sacral Dark Ambient Mix
This mix is full of irreligious splendor. Wander the halls of long forgotten cathedrals and churches. Perform the sacrilegious rites to bring the daemons upon our lands once again. This beautiful, yet disturbing mix takes a look at some of the sacral dark ambient music of the last two decades, with many newer tracks but some classics mixed in. Much of the mix stays calm and relaxed, but toward the middle some ghastly daemons arise, wreaking havoc on the land before slowly residing back into their slumbers.
Listen to the mix here.
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Raffaele: You’re welcome Michael. Before Sonologyst I just made a mini album in 2000, under the name Memorie Elettroniche Sonore. It was published as CD by 
Raffaele: For a long while, maybe 3 years, with the Sonologyst project, I went deep into electric guitar experimentation, playing the instrument on a sort of surgery table, and trying to get a sound that was not recognizable as a guitar sound.
Raffaele: I started this project just because many followers of my Facebook group asked me to create something like a label. Actually my original idea was to build a sort of network, rather then a traditional label, cause I believe in a constant relation between people, and I wouldn’t like to be behind the curtains, just producing and selling records. It would be boring to me. So the first challenge is to preserve this original spirit, I mean the “human side”, without being absorbed by the business. This is the reason why I run a streaming radio transmission every Sunday night. There’s a lot of human feeling there, opinions and sensations exchange. If I lost that, it would be the end of my project.
Rafaelle: Visions of Darkness in Iranian Contemporary Music is the 2nd compilation released by 
that this depressive take on those styles would feel so perfect for me. Listeners who enjoy taking a step outside the usual formula will find a lot to love here. But if you were never too interested in these mentioned genres or if you prefer your dark ambient to remain orthodox, then this will not be the album for you. But for those of us who do enjoy this stretch, there is a lot here to fall in love with. Epilogues for the End of the Sky feels like a bit of a risk for Glacial Movements, as it moves a little further outside their usual format than one might expect. But the album is truly worthy of attention, and the years of experience behind its creator is obvious from beginning to end.
enough subtlety to not distract from the experience provided by Andrew Leman. Listening to the full performance a handful of times over a few short days was by no means a labor. Each listen allowed for the focus to either fixate on the narrative, analyze the musical composition of Theologian, or to allow the full breadth of the release to unfold with no particular focus. No matter the mindset or time of day going into the release, I was met with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction in listening to this story.
brings together the finest elements of each of its contributors. The years’ experience of Reed and Bladh are brought to a pinnacle on DARKLEAKS. While the experimental elements of the accompanying disc prove to be an utter success. This could be the perfect entry point for discovery of the works of Infinity Land Press, giving readers a bit of an introduction to many of the contributors to other works in their catalog of releases. DARKLEAKS is a whirlwind of emotions and contrasting styles which keep it fresh and engaging from introduction to conclusion.
The technical aspects of the sound design are mind boggling. The replay value, given these two elements, is extremely high. This is likely the most accomplished album to date from Dronny Darko, taking dark ambient to such experimental heights that it seems to be in a galaxy of its own. Fans of a more traditional dark ambient style may be scratching their heads in confusion at this release. But anyone with a colorful imagination and a willingness to step outside the ordinary will find a delightful listen. Dronny Darko continues to prove innovative with each release, and this one has taken him leagues further than its predecessors.
various splits, collaborations, compilations or live show announcements on social media. So I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when I realized that Liquid Circuits is only the second album by this project run by Zhelezobeton label manager. Second album in 12 years – who would’ve thought?
detail to allow the listener to continually find new elements on multiple replays. The tape edition is the perfect fit for a release of two 20 minute tracks. I would recommend this as the first place to delve into the discography of Cromlech Records, as well as Weinberg’s music as a whole. Fans of the analog side of dark ambient will find much to love here. Even those who feel a bit pessimistic about fully analog dark ambient are likely to find aspects to love about this release, and to find it a pleasant experience. Cromlech Records seems to be off to a great start, and there will surely be more well produced releases to come in the near future.
The vinyl only release gives followers a way to have that special feeling of opening a physical product for the first time, looking over its artwork and extras, pulling the vinyl from its slipcover for the first time to witness the unique colored variant of their particular purchased edition. Placing this beautiful piece of art onto the turntable for the first time and giving it an inaugural spin. Each release has its own combination of graphic artist, story-teller and soundtrack composer.
The gate-fold is of a heavy-duty ultra high quality cardboard, printed on all four sides with the beautiful artwork of Alan Brown. Each panel conveys a different imagining of the creatures Lovecraft describes in this story. The full-size booklet included is packed with even more of these original compositions. In these images, we have ample opportunity to let the creatures unfold in our own minds as Pickman’s paintings are described throughout the story.
Lovecraft’s work is often evoked through dark ambient artists. There are numerous attempts, some more successful than others, in bringing the magic of his writings to life through their own musical interpretations. Theologian, the main musical project of Lee Bartow whom also owns 
considered a normal format. The Void Ratio by Shane Levene and Karolina Urbaniak brought together photography and poetry to form a powerful picture of the life of mental destabilization matched to crippling drug addiction. Altered Balance by Jeremy Reed and Karolina Urbaniak delivered an unorthodox variation of a tribute to Coil, through the memoirs of Reed and the emotive monochrome photography of Urbaniak. The Rorschach Text by Martin Bladh showcased his brilliant use of collage in creating a narrative. Many of these elements have come together in DARKLEAKS – The Ripper Genome to form what I consider to be the best work yet by 
While Martin Bladh’s cuts are even more literal. Martin uses the scalpel to cut the pieces for his collages which at times bring the faces of two or three different men together, as if drawing them all into a set narrative. For me, the most frightening example of this was toward the end of the book where he combines Aleister Crowley, Anthony Hardy and the physician who was believed to be Jack the Ripper himself, adorning the right page. With the clippings from three articles detailing the works of these three men on its opposite. The combination is a fitting example of the way this entire book works. We are given snippets, flashbacks and narrated accounts of the thoughts and desires of so many different people throughout recent history, since the time of Jack the Ripper. This amalgamation of swirling narratives comes together to form a picture of this ‘ripper genome’, this hardwiring of the brain in some people which naturally inclines it toward these savage deeds.
IRM and Skin Area, takes on one of his more chilling vocal styles reading several of his notes written by the killers. While Reed recites some of the more poetic clips from his works. With the disc being full of spoken-word elements it should be looked at as its own individual addition to the set, not as a background listen when reading. Each track helps color the stories in even more detail, bringing each segment to life in a totally different format from the written words and collages.