REVIEWS
Last Added : 21.12.2021 (40 Reviews)
REVIEWS
1 Review
A project with multiple releases comprising fine examples of dark ambient. It is run by the Swedish Anile Dahl. The artist is a representative –the empowered, here and now- of Beauty and symbols. In the dark ambient genre, we meet the artist of agony, sometimes as the tremble, flickering torments of Caravaggio, elsewhere as the abstract-striking and grotesque messages of Dali.
Whatever the framework, this model of an artist embraces defeat-as the inevitability of the world’s outcome and takes the shipwreck of dreams and hopes as the next metro station from where he seeks to climb again at surface, light.
Dahlia’s Tear’s musical register is a mixture of forlorn tones, grey colours, and ethereal sounds pledging for a devastating passage where life disappears. It is music for ruins, debris of the modern civilisation after having suffered its eradication. Very convincing the musical dialogue is, poignant and assured, proving for Anile Dahl an acute dexterity in manipulating the ambient sound sources.
Post apocalypse etiquette is a reflection and an extension of the romantic age here, although it is deprived of hope or prophecy. The visionary eye has closed its lid, the world crumbled and there is no one to wish for its recovery. An ocean of emptiness, a tomb of forgotten times and only a distant listener lying adrift on the edge of infinity and hearing these echoes of a somber melody.
See the picture of the disc, the artwork by Simon Heath, the producer of the label that released the album this November, 2021, and listen over and over how these still waters of dark ambient sounds tide the edge of your heart.
Our previous journey with Dahlia’s Tear took us on a lunar excavation in Descendants of the Moon, and now, one year later, we are left Adrift on the Edge of Infinity. Methodical and precise, languorous in its presentation, this new album unfolds a dire future for mankind in the far distant future, of barren lands and dilapidation, of wither and starvation - and of the possible horrifying consequences of technology. It is the story of a dying planet, and one modified survivor who journeys upon the surface searching for survivors.
Dahlia’s Tear shows masterful use of reverb technique in every album, but this is some of the best reverb taming and mixing I have heard in an album. Haunting choirs drift in and out of the listener’s conscious awareness, layered with almost melancholy pads who drone listlessly into the void beyond our periphery.
There are tracks within the album that infuse the sounds of breathing apparati and machineries, while the narrative extols the end of an empire - a planet - and its dying landscape, a lone wanderer journeys along the surface, looking for any remnant of life; faint footsteps upon rock and dirt, meandering behind the veil of layered woodwinds and droning pads give this album a mysterious and alluring connotation. It is not horror, nor is it melancholy (at least, not in the direct sense), however the mystique of the album presents the listener with these faint concepts, while the masterful interplay between choirs and pads waft over your ears.
This is another fine example of the exemplary dark ambient that Cryo Chamber has to offer and you can pick up Adrift on the Edge of Infinity in CD digipak and digital format on the Cryo Chamber Bandcamp page.
Was das regelmäßige Publizieren von Tonträgern anbelangt, so kann man dem Projekt Dahlia's Tear kaum Untätigkeit vorwerfen. Denn mit "Adrift On The Edge Of Infinity" legt uns der Musiker Anile D nun ein weiteres Lebenszeichen vor, welches mit dem grandiosen Opener "Tomb Of Forgotten Times" verdammt stark eingeleitet wird und damit auch gleich die Richtung angibt. "Adrift On The Edge Of Infinity" ist ein wirklich starkes Dark Ambient Album, dessen Ausrichtung auch für Freunde von Raison D'Etre definitiv ein gefundenes Fressen ist. In warmer Atmosphäre getränkt, so gilt es sich unweigerlich fallen zu lassen, weshalb die Titelgebung auch perfekt gewählt ist.
Mit Dahlia's Tear werden wir nun in eine Post-Apokalyptische Welt entführt, dem eigentlich perfekten Spiegelbild unserer heutigen Welt- wo einst Leben ist nun Leere, stolze Naturpracht aufgefressen von karger Einöde und der wärmespendenden Sonne den Rücken gekehrt, so bleibt lediglich lebensfeindliche Umgebung. Jeder bekommt am Ende das, was er verdient, auch die selbsternannte Krone der Schöpfung- der Mensch. Lediglich in Stein gemeißelte Namen zeugen von verblichener Existenz. Jedenfalls eine interessante, wie auch sehr nachdenkliche Thematik, mit welcher der Musiker am Rande der Unendlichkeit reist. Wer hat den Mut, sich anzuschließen, auf der Suche nach einem unbekannten Ziel, welches eventuell Aufschluss darüber gibt, was falsch und was richtig ist.
Mit vorliegendem Output beweist uns Anile D ein weiteres Mal sein Gespür für atmosphärische Klanglandschaften, die die Seele umgarnen, aber auch täuschen und verführen können. "Adrift On The Edge Of Infinity" ist ein stimmiges Tondokument geworden, welches in seiner Gesamtheit durchweg hochwertige Kost bietet und deshalb in jede gepflegte Sammlung gehört. Meine Empfehlung!
Review: 9/10
Sweden’s ethereal Dark Ambient weaver returns, bestowing another epic ambient offering of mystery and grandeur, and this time, Dahlia’s Tear is using perhaps the oldest epic in written form. “Descendants of the Moon” is the latest album from Dahlia’s Tear, and third offering on the inimitable Cryo Chamber label, and much like his brethren in the Cryo Chamber stable, this album is based on a story narrative, however, this story is that of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of - if not the - oldest known written work in human history, written some 4000 years ago.
Dahlia’s Tear shows a penchant for enjoying the dream realms of imagination, of sparse narratives built with flourishes of historical theory and even macrocosmic subtleties. The previous album, “Across the Shifting Abyss” was a brilliant offering of introspective ancient history hypothesis, while being formed of a unique narrative and story concept. “Descendants of the Moon” is much the same, however, most of the story elements are left to the conceptualization of the listener, much like the epic from whence the story is taken.
The first track is a facade of melancholy and mysticism and as the songs unfold, the listener is treated to the grandeur of the dreamlike world; a story that has neither beginning nor end, and we are privy to only partial glimpses of the true scope of the epic tale.
The aural aspects in this album always feel barely out of reach; I write particularly of the final track, as we are ushered along this grand tale by the melodious voice of some ethereal guide, and in this particular instance, taking the persona of a woman. She speaks to us, and we know that her words are the underscore of the Ancients, the knowledge of eternities past, and yet, we cannot quite decipher what is being told to us, as we are led along the streams of the aether - the words of the song, like the words of the epic poem from which they are derived, are lost.
I mentioned before, this album is mysticism tinged with slight flourishes of melancholy and a macrocosmic introspection; a curiosity resides in the music that compels the listener along the journey of this great, and ultimately lost tale.
Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, Dark-Ambient.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Stockholm (Sweden) based Anile D. is now active for several years and has released different productions. His new opus is inspired by the Mesopotamian mythology and the epic poem about Gilgamesh, struggling to find the secret of immortality.
Content: Gilgalmesh quest has been exposed in 6 tracks. Dahlia’s Tear takes off with a rather mysterious cut, which brings the listener directly into the mood of this mythological adventure. Some piano parts are refining the track. Quite progressively the work starts to reflect a feeling of desolation. Dark strings create a haunting atmosphere, which is interfering with delicate sound treatments. The last cut features some whispering, ghost-like vocals.
+ + + : I like the progression of the songs, which are meticulously achieved with subtle noises and other sound treatments. Some passages reflect a strong visual appeal, which creates this sensation of despair. Even if the concept of the album brings us back 4000 years ago, this album also sounds like an echo of the world of today… the desolation and fear of people confronted with the pandemic. I think the secret of immortality is still pretty contemporary and that’s why this album filled with darkness and prosperity sounds accurate and fascinating.
– – – : The album has a strong potential and yet I get the feeling that Dahlia’s Tear could have achieved a few more passages with a true apotheosis.
Conclusion: Dahlia’s Tear brings a fascinating work dealing with a strong concept.
Best songs: “The Valley Of Unrest”, “Descendants Of The Moon”, “Thirteen Temples”.
Descendants of the Moon delivers incessant droning timbral atmospheres, reverberant textures with one appealing, charming and graceful crystalline flavor. It negotiates a balance between smooth ambiences and darkened ritualistic incantations and is highly recommended.
Smooth ambiences and darkened ritualistic incantations
Cryo Chamber‘s highly acclaimed production in catombesque, cinematic and ethereally spacious ambient music. The albums often come out with an assortment of conceptual lines with roots in antique beliefs, mystical arcanas and occult arts melted with utopian fascination for post-humanity and the religious eschatology. Its natural inclination to such complex thoughts and imaginary worlds fruitfully accompany ominous electronic soundtracks with a serious sense of evocativeness and uneasy feelings.
This new album by Dahlia’s Tear efficiently falls in this conceptual category, bringing to the listener a glimmering journey through paranormal and hermetic legends of the past, notably focusing its interest on the esoteric spiritual tendency and secret initiatic path which prevailed during the reign of the heroïc and semi-divine figure of Gilgamesh in Ancient Mesopotamia. Musically speaking Dahlia’s Tear is loyal to its usual sound sculpting signature which transcends the lines between mournful/bleak droney sequences, sily tones and sparse melodies obtained by a vast array of synthesized textures, processed micro-noisy waves and ambivalent digitized structures.
With albums from Sabled Sun, Shrine or Sphäre Sechs—it’s no doubt that this release corresponds to icy spaciness moments of Cryo Chamber. Descendants of the Moon delivers incessant droning timbral atmospheres, reverberant textures with one appealing, charming and graceful crystalline flavor. It negotiates a balance between smooth ambiences and darkened ritualistic incantations and is highly recommended.
Für Ambient Verhältnisse ist das neue Werk von Dahlia's Tear etwas kurz gehalten, welches sich diesmal mit dem Epos von Gilgamesh beschäftigt. Jene uralte Thematik fußt auf dem interessanten Aspekt, was den sumerischen König Gilgamesh betrifft. In jenem Literaturwerk gilt es dessen Abenteuern zu folgen, um das Geheimnis der Unsterblichkeit zu lüften, dabei von der Furcht des eigenen Todes angetrieben. In einer Art Paralleluniversum angesiedelt, so öffnen sich sechs Kompositionen, die den Konsumenten auf eine Reise in die Vergangenheit geleiten, wo rituelle Bezüge und auch das Unbekannte warten.
"Descendants Of The Moon" birgt dabei warme Atmosphäre, die mitunter schon fast lieblich ("Thirteen Temples") anmutet, den Hörer damit aber anderseits auch zu verzaubern versteht. Und irgendwie hat es bei dem Album auch den Anschein, als dass "Descendants Of The Moon" im Laufe der Zeit immer besser fruchtet. Was hier als gutes Release beginnt, wird relativ schnell zu einer geisterhaften Achterbahn, die mit ihrem relativ getragenen Fundament emotional dennoch so einiges bewirkt. Auch ein "Ancient Skies" kommt mit enormen Tiefgang daher, wirkt schon fast wie eine Art Sog, in den man sich anderseits gerne freiwillig hinabziehen lässt. Stark!
Auch das Projekt Dahlia's Tear zählt zu jener Sorte, wo man sich im Grunde genommen keine Gedanken machen muss, ob man an einen starken Vorgänger anschließen kann. Wer zum Träumen bereit ist und sich vollstens auf vorliegende Publikation einlassen kann, den erwartet ein gefühlvoller Trip, bei welchem die Zeit leider viel zu schnell verfliegt.
Das auf 400 Einheiten limitierte Digipak kommt in einem schönen Artwork und eignet sich stilistisch perfekt für düstere Abendstunden, den Blick gen Himmel schweifend und dem Unbekannten hilflos ausgeliefert zu sein. In diesem Fall eine wunderschöne Erfahrung.
Review : 9/10
Auf seinem neuen Werk handelt der Musiker eine überaus interessante Thematik ab, die stilistisch kaum hätte besser umgesetzt werden können, als wie im elektronischen Spektrum. Man schrieb das Jahr 1901, als der sogenannte Mechanismus von Antikytherea entdeckt wurde, nicht unweit der gleichnamigen griechischen Insel.
Heute im Nationalmuseum von Athen zu bestaunen, so ward der damalige Fund überraschend aufschlussreich, was den einstigen Entwicklungsstand der Erschaffer angeht. Eindruck muss dies scheinbar auch auf den Kopfvon Dahlia's Tear gemacht haben, denn alte Technologie und uraltes menschliches Wissen bieten natürlich einen
fruchtbaren Boden für Musiker aus dem Dark Ambient Genre.
Entsprechend ist "Across The Shifting Abyss" stark in Atmosphäre und innewohnender Melancholie getränkt und legt sich wie ein wärmender Teppich auf die Seele. Neugierde wird da geweckt, der Schleier des Mysteriösen lichtet sich nur langsam, wird anderseits aber nicht
wirklich seine ganzen Geheimnisse offenbaren. Soll er auch nicht, denn nur so wird stundenlanges Schleichen durch scheinbar unendliche Nebelbänke garantierten Hörgenuss versprechen.
Es lockt das Fremde, doch wird die Offenbarung letztendlich auch das Erhoffte zeigen? Ein wunderschönes "Crystalline" geht meinerseits tief unter die Haut und weckt Emotionen der Begeisterung- wundervoll! Aber verwundert dies? Nein, denn Anile D. hält hier mal ganz locker ein enorm starkes Niveau, was in Sachen Qualität mit zum Besten gehört, was den ambienten Sektor der letzten Zeit betrifft. Wenn der Schwede so weitermacht, garantiere ich ein exzellentes Hörerlebnis.
Mit "Across The Shifting Abyss" meldet sich Anile D. in Topform zurück und schafft es mittels diesem Album sogar den Vorgänger zu übertrumpfen. Wer tief in alte Zeiten tauchen möchte, der wird somit nicht um diese Publikation herumkommen, die abermals unter Cryo Chamber vertrieben wird. Meine absolute Empfehlung. Wer zweifelt sollte mal "Crystalline" und "The Wreck Of The Forgotten" testen.
Review : 9/10
Background/Info: Swedish ambient musician Anile D. is striking back with the sixth full length album of his Dahlia’s Tear project. It’s the second work released by Cryo Chamber while some of you might remember his “Dreamsphere” album released in 2012 by the now defunct Cold Meat Industry. This opus embarks the listener on an imaginary trip ‘from the abyss to the portal of the stars. Come drown in ancient knowledge and technology at the end of humanity's beginning…’.
Content: The album features 9 cuts taking off with an overwhelming mix of drones, cinematic atmospheres, dark sound waves and some delicate electronic treatments. It in a way perfectly symbolizes the entire album. There’s an anguishing, but dreamy sensation emerging from the tracks, which from time to time –but definitely for the last track, are moving crescendo to an apocalyptic vision. Even if you feel there’s a danger nearby the album has something relaxing, like revealing a dark prosperity.
+ + + : I feel a strong sensitive aspect emerging at the surface of this album. It feels a bit like the composer wants to share his most inner thoughts and visions with his audience. The secret lies in little details adding refinement and elegance to the work. There are numerous beautiful passages running through the work, but especially the very last cut (cf. “A Pale Shroud Of Time”) is a brilliant exposure of this artist’s composing skills. This track is also more elaborate than the others so there’s no better final.
- - - : Dahlia’s Tear is not exactly innovating and that’s maybe a bit symbolic for Cryo Chamber, but on the other side “Across The Shifting Abyss” is a meaningful work.
Conclusion: It’s intriguing to realize that dark, frightening music production can also illustrate grace and beauty! This is an album I highly recommend to all lovers of cinematic experiences.
Best songs: “A Pale Shroud Of Time”, “The Wreck Of The Forgotten”, “Sidereal Gardens”, “Celestial Bodies”.
Dahlia’s Tear is a dark ambient project out of Stockholm, Sweden by sole member Anile D.Dahlia’s Tear debuted in 2005 with Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerising Our Existences in Radient Corpuscle and was followed up in 2007 with My Rotten Spirit of Black.
Yet, these two releases remained quite elusive, and have only recently been uploaded to the personal Bandcamp page of Dahlia’s Tear.
Therefore, my knowledge of the project starts with their masterpiece Under Seven Skies, also from 2007 and released on the now defunct Thonar Records.
The strength of Under Seven Skies would lead to Dreamspheres in 2012 which was released on thelegendary Cold Meat Industry. This all seemed to be leading toward Dahlia’s Tear becoming a first-class name within the
dark ambient genre. But, after their one-track inclusion on the Cryo Chamber compilation.
Behind the Canvas of Time in 2012, Dahlia’s Tear disappeared for the next six years. Each time I listened back to Under Seven Skies and Dreamspheres I would think of that track on Cryo Chamber, and hope that one day there may be a new album by Dahlia’s Tear released through that label. Dahlia’s Tear did, indeed, keep in contact with Cryo Chamber throughout these years, and the long-awaited follow-up to Dreamspheres has finally arrived!
Though plenty of time has passed, the core of the Dahlia’s Tear sound has remained intact. Those familiar with Dreamspheres and Under Seven Skies will find many of the elements they loved are still being incorporated on Through the Nightfall Grandeur. Each track is distinctly musical, in comparison to many dark ambient releases, on Cryo Chamber or otherwise.
Drones are constantly morphing and shifting. Piano arrangements feature often and distinctly in the mix. The female voice is incorporated throughout the album, taking the form of short, spoken word passages, (more in line with Dreamspheres than with the vocal performance by Carline Van Roos of Aythis and Lethian Dreams on Under Seven Skies).
One of the most moving elements of the Dahlia’s Tear sound, for me, has been its blending of the musical, dreamy, light-hearted elements with harsher industrial field recordings and tones. Again, this aspect of their sound is still intact, and further honed. This contrast is perfectly displayed on tracks like “Drowning in Delusions of Grandeur”, where the piano, female whispers, and distant chants, all play beautifully off one another, creating something that is at once familiar and warm, but equally harsh and remote.
The opening track, “Encroaching Shadows Beckon to Chase the Fleeing Light”, shows off the use of field recordings and subtle drone to create a dark but vibrant atmosphere. We get a real sense of the evolution of Dahlia’s Tear with this one. While, the following track “The Keeper of Broken Dreams and Tattered Spirits” seems like a direct continuation of the styles incorporated. It is nice to see how this musician manages to retain the magic of these previous releases, while also moving into new terrain.
The cover-art for Through the Nightfall Grandeur seems to also nod to the artwork from Under Seven Skies, with thick fog and clouds rolling across the mountainous landscape. Though here there doesn’t seem to be such a connection to alien technology as was on display with Under Seven Skies. While the cover-art was created by Simon Heath, the album was not mastered by him, as is almost always the case with Cryo Chamber releases. Instead it has been mastered by Jeff M. in the U.K. The vocal performances, as well as words, on the album have all been contributed by one Michelle Rippy, who also contributed to Dreamspheres in 2012.
Dahlia’s Tear has always been one of my favorite dark ambient musicians when I’m in the mood for something more musical and more active than most dark ambient releases. For anyone familiar with Dahlia’s Tear, I think you will likely agree that this album is equal if not superior to his previous output. For anyone new to the sounds of Dahlia’s Tear, I highly recommend this dark ambient project. I can’t overstate my pleasure that I can cover something new from them, when I was often unsure if I’d ever hear anything new from them ever again. It’s also great to see that they’ve found a home on Cryo Chamber, where their music will certainly now become familiar to many of the more recent fans of this genre.
It’s good to see Dahlia’s Tear is back, because I really thought he would be gone for good.
It’s been six years since “Dreamsphere”, and while such a long gap between full length albums isn’t anything unusual, the artists remained active during that time, playing live, collaborating with other musicians and so on. Svartsinn, Kammarheit are the first examples that come to my mind.
Yet Anile and his Dahlia have simply vanished in thin air. And somewhere in the deep corner of my heart I felt sadness, even though there was a lot of other great music around. All this because Dahlia’s sounds always were extremely efficient on both cinematic and emotional levels. Few artists manage to achieve it indeed, yet it’s not a standard within the kingdom of electronic music.
I remember when I got his first album from the late Ulvberth from Ravenheart Productions over ten years ago and read its title: “Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerising Our Existences In Radient Corpuscle Galaxies”. I thought: “With this title it will be either brilliant, either totally unlistenable, no third option”.
Expecting some cosmic black metal I played it for the first time and… it stayed with me for years to come. And “Voyage & Calaquendi” remains one of the most evocative tunes I’ve ever heard. What struck me then and strikes me now is how Anile can find balance, the golden key between what can be called the aural reflection of the journeys through fantasy realms and this more introverted and personal touch, the story of one’s lost love, the soundtrack to your failures.
He has always had a tendency for these flamboyant titles, which one may find pretentious – this is the element of the whole Dahlia’s Tear entourage since the very beginning, but you don’t need to focus on them, follow their story while listening. It may serve as an alternative “Skyrim” soundtrack with all these misty soundscapes, field recordings, female vocals and whispers projecting the image of enchanted woods and snow covered mountain peaks. On the other hand the sorrowful yet intimate piano melodies and the overwhelming melancholic feeling move some tender strings in my heart, make me think of my past, the wrong choices I made.
Both layers of Dahlia’s Tear fit me very well. Emotions are the key, without them, the technical proficiency means nothing. And emotions are always on the forefront when it comes to this Swedish project. Back then, on the raw sounding album of this extremely long and peculiar title and today on this perfectly produced “Through The Nightfall Grandeur”. Long live Dahlia’s Tear.
After a long silence, Dahlia's Tear returns with a new release presented as a concept album based around a spiritual awakening during a search for meaning. As usual, his music uses elements from religious music, mostly voices and cymbals, as a counterweight to the sometimes abstract musical nature of drone and this creates a sort of emotive link with the listener.
The first track, "Encroaching Shadows Beckon to Chase the Fleeing Light", introduces the listener into a dark ambient form based on a long loop, rather than on a drone, with the addition of other sound elements like samples and voices creating something which is simple and complex at the same time. "The Keeper of Broken Dreams and Tattered Spirits" uses instead a drone crescendo as a backbone of the track while using voices to create a meditative atmosphere. "Forlorn Whispers on a Moonlit Path" uses a piano loop and an impressive barrage of samples and effects. After a quiet first part, "The Frozen Echoes of the Endless Moor" uses the samples to create a rhythmic structure for the samples. "Bitter Silence of Desolate Steps" is developed upon a drone and a variation of the piano of the third track giving the impression of an overall design behind the whole release. The stacking of sound masses of "Drowning in Delusions of Grandeur" is overwhelming and "Lamenting Memories Long Past in the Remnants of Darkness" continues instead with a crescendo which has the same means. "Drifting into the Void Grasping at Fading Starlight" is a suspended track with long tones and short loops. "Lost in the Crystalline Enigma" closes this release with wide spectrum drones which underlines the sparse cymbals.
This is one of the few release in this genre which shows a musical personality which uses a particular musical framework instead of repeating the canonical formula working only in the sound effects.
Highly recommended.
Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, dark-ambient.
Background/Info: Swedish musician Anile D.has already been active for several years now. Dahlia’s Tear previously released four albums on four different labels. The previous work “Dreamsphere” was already released in 2012 on the now gone Cold Meat Industry.
Content: This opus is a perfect mix between dark-ambient- and cinematographic music. Both together create an intimate atmosphere, which however dark has something dreamy-like. But quite progressively the tracks are becoming more overwhelming and more anguishing. Some spoken samplings are empowering the paranoiac atmosphere supporting some passages.
+ + + : “Through The Nightfall Grandeur” has something inhibited. It feels like opposite elements are coming together in a freaky, tormented sonic trip. The tracks have been accomplished with a real finesse illustrated by piano treatments and other subtle noises you better can hear when using headphones. The melancholia of the piano-like parts also injects something authentic to this album.
– – – : The work is a pleasant voyage throughout dark territories, but it all sounds a bit similar after a while.
Conclusion: What I especially will keep in mind from this album is the refined sound treatments. Dark-ambient music can be not only tormented, but also refined in its composition.
Best songs: “Drowning In Delusions Of Grandeur”, “The Keeper Of Broken Dreams And Tattered Spirits”,
“The Frozen echoes Of The Endless Moor”.
Long-awaited follow-up to 2012’s Dreamsphere from Stockholm’s Dahlia’s Tear.
Sometimes, with dark ambient music (as any genre), it’s a matter of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Sometimes you’re just in the mood for some crepuscular moods to make you feel like you’re exploring some gloomy, run-down cemetery in the fading sunset. Through the Nightfall Grandeur’s aesthetics will come as no surprise to the long-time dark ambient listener. There’s the epic church bells, the groaning atonal synth, and the distant, ominous whispers.
Through the Nightfall Grandeur features more melodicism than most of the other entries on this list, but that’s part of what makes it such a stand-out release. Dark ambient frequently rubs cobwebbed cloaks with both neoclassical music and dungeon synth. Through the Nightfall Grandeur excels, in that regard, by keeping it simple. The piano remains chilly, glacial, ruminative instead of succumbing to your usual post-Philip Glass minimalism so often heard in neoclassical music. Through the Nightfall Grandeur is much more menu music for some existential turn-of-the-century first-person occult mystery computer game than as a soundtrack for some Wes Anderson or Poulm Thomas Anderson flick.
It’s still got the lavish production Cryo Chamber has become known for, but it retains some of the malignant lo-fi charm of classic dark ambient records on Cold Meat Industry or Malignant Records.
by Jason Simpson
THROUGH THE NIHGTFALL GRANDEUR
THE DOORWAY
So experimental ambient and post industrial music is something over the last 30 yrs I have really fallen in love for to the point I have recorded it over many projects of my own as Broken Hands for brilliant minds and As All Die. With Dahlia's Tear we get three different elements all coming together in one visions. Minimalist Neoclassical, Dark Ambient waves of synths and strings and very Ethno ambient over tone with some distant vocals and they way the eastern tones come through the speakers.
There is a very jagged way the ambient tones come out of the speakers as well. The fractured nature to Dahlia's tear make it all the more personal and special to this reviewer. I hear so much Rapoon and Steve Roach in this album. Dahlia's Tear has been away from the scene for about 6 yrs so they have had the time to refine this album to ultimate levels and I think it really shows.
I want to Say in closing this album has the over all tone of Creation vs Death and how moving one grain of sand at the wrong time can make waves of changes that we will never know for hundreds of years to come.
"Through the Nightfall Grandeur" is a brilliant undertaking of modern Dark experimental music in 2018.
Swedish musician Anile. D. created DAHLIA’S TEAR project in the first half of 00s. The first three albums the Swede were published on not known European labels and the fourth came out already on the popular Industrial record company Cold Meat Industry in 2012. After that, for 6 years nothing was heard from the musician and now in 2018 the sixth album, ‘Through the Nightfall Grandeur’, is released on the respected and known label Cryo Chamber belonging to Simon Heath of the ATRIUM CARCERI.
New work of DAHLIA’S TEAR is made in a classic enswathed gloomy Dark Ambient. Grim sombre music using squeaks, rustles, rare piano notes fully reflect the essence of the album’s name ‘Through the Nightfall Grandeur’.
The sun is almost set below the horizon.
Trees sway and rustle in the soft cold wind. Somewhere a thin water stream flows down from the cliff. Somewhere a squirrel settles its lair on a tree. Somewhere a hungry wolf runs in search of a new victim. Somewhere the hunters made a fire. Somewhere in the forest a little lost girl is trembling with fear. And over all of them hung the shadow of the Forest Demon preparing his night bloody ritual...
Parlare di Anile Dahl (DAHLIA'S TEAR) significa parlare di un artista che partecipa attivamente allo sviluppo della musica drone/dark ambient, nei cui confronti è stato capace di mantenere sempre un metodo sperimentale, aperto verso tutte quelle possibili soluzioni in grado di ampliare il suo spettro sonoro. Le tracce di "Through the Nightfall Grandeur" sono fonti di illuminazione duratura che colpiscono i due diversi volti del mondo: quello interiore e di conseguenza quello esteriore.
Anile Dahl mette in evidenza le proprie linee guida interagendo con la rappresentazione di un Tutto che possiede una forza celebrativa e mistica. Artwork, songwriting, produzione sono stati elaborati con maestria, a favore di nove tracce che si distinguono per la loro singolarità e magnificenza. Non deve stupire, pertanto, se "Through the Nightfall Grandeur" verrà considerato uno dei migliori album del genere usciti nel 2018. Pura catarsi sonora.
Nach einer langen Zeit des Schweigens ist Anile D. mit seinem geistigen Kinde Dahlia's Tear wieder zurückgekehrt, der mit "Under Seven Skies" für mich einen wahren Klassiker erschaffen hat. Das anschließende "Dreamsphere" war dann ein etwas anders aufgebautes Werk, komplex und ehr schwer zugänglich, und auch das nun vorliegende "Through The Nightfall Grandeur" erfordert eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit.
Auf Anhieb zu begeistern vermag das sehr stimmige Artwork, der Einstieg hingegen wirkt ehr gemächlich, wenn auch überaus angenehm. Allerdings wird im weiteren Verlauf enorm Atmosphäre aufgebaut, weshalb "Through The Nightfall Grandeur" den Kreis schließt und sich stilistisch wieder mehr an erstgenanntes Album anlehnt. Auf fast schon als weich bettend umschrieben, so trägt uns der Opener "Encroaching Shadows Beckon To Chase The Fleeing Light" behutsam in diese Welt, ehe mittels dem folgenden "The Keeper Of Broken Dreams And Tattered Spirits" stimmige Melodiebögen aufbrechen, dezent und feinfühlig in ihrer Ausstrahlung. Eine Stimme (für welche sich eine gewisse Michelle Rippy verantwortlich zeigt) dringt aus der weiten Ferne, und dominiert von zarten Tastenanschlägen, so gemahnt mich "Forlorn Whispers On A Moonlit Path" etwas an Atrium Carceri. Eine Tür knarrt, irgendwo werden Apparaturen betätigt und auch sakrale Elemente birgt die folgende Umsetzung- man kann bemerken, dass Anile D. in jede Vertonung versucht, gewisse Elemente einzubinden. Dies gelingt dem Musiker auch überaus gut, auch wenn mit "Bitter Silence Of Desolate Steps" der Bogen etwas abflacht.
Beim nächsten Stück steigt hingegen die Atmosphäre wieder schlagartig an und ein Hauch von Melancholie liegt in der Luft, ehe ich bei den letzten Stücken dann aber leider doch irgendwie das gewisse Etwas vermisse. "Through The Nightfall Grandeur" ist ein feines Dark Ambient Album geworden, welches viel Interessantes birgt, allerdings im zweiten Abschnitt irgendwie Leerlauf spendiert. Die zwischenzeitlich etwas abflachende Atmosphäre vermag allerdings nicht jene Hörerschicht stören, die sich bei angenehm dahinfließenden Klängen wohlfühlt.
Amazing! (9/10)
This year started in a really strong manner for the dark ambient scene. Few solid releases were out on Loki and Cyclic Law during the first months of 2012, giving it a promising start. Some of the CD's were reviewed here and there by Brutal Resonance crew members to bring our readers the part of our inspiration from those albums. And now it is April to spread even better news.
One of most honorable and veteran labels of the scene which we thought to be out of business already; regains power, takes a deep breath and blasts out with a set of solid albums and again proves the fact, that once you put your leg into the scene, you can never pop off without regret.
Today it is Cold Meat Industry to bring delight into my heart resurrecting the line of its artists. And one of the bullets that shoot me down, is Dahlia's Tear long awaited album called 'Dreamsphere'. Five long years passed from the last record of Dahlia's Tear. Finding its new home at Cold Meat, this formation naturally leveled the expectations from the new album. And here it is, right in my hand while I willingly dive into that creation.
It is always hard to review the albums that are highly abstract and individually oriented. Those albums can touch different strings inside each individuality, rising subjective feelings. And this is the case of 'Dreamsphere' as well. The album welcomes the listener with "The Transition" and top level cinematics hit me from the very beginning. Opening the gate into obscure haunted house, diving into the deep lake of horror and terror, this is the first step of the journey. Each door inside it hides a different nightmare; each floor is covered with a blood of innocent victims.
Extremely complex sound layers are engraved with samples of women chanting, creepy children ghostly voices fill the ambience, percussion and huge amount of field recordings. The usage of tribal soundscapes inside the structure rises the feeling of an ancient cults and human sacrifices to beseech cruel gods of long forgotten times. "Carousel of the Headless Horse" brings the vision of the abandoned park with the real carousel and rotten childish zombified figures, dead trees spread their branches over the decaying pool, death and devastation is everywhere. Able usage of different sampled gramophone sounds, various field recordings, church bells ringing and cinematic manipulation with the musical structures are the key to the heart of a squeamish listener like me. Extremely mystical "Dreamscape (Liquid Chamber)" captures me with more and more elements,like a slight background piano melodies, cracking, clicking, running water effects.
And here they come, two most powerful tracks of the album for my taste. First of all "Toward the Dark Cellar", a totally massive, which fully consists of a deep piano melody, enchanting me with its uncovered dark beauty and sadness, supported by background field recordings. And of course, "An Enigma in the Black Gap", which wide and colorful tribal soundscapes rise ancient spirits of earth and water to transform by the end of the track into enormous flow of strong droning dying layers. Six long compositions create a vast landscape that fit a hundred percent into the concept of Cold Meat Industry scene vision,cultivated almost two decades. An example of successful mix between experimental, industrial and neoclassical cultures, and as a result is a brilliant record to inflame the hearts of even the most hard-boiled fans of dark ambient genre.
Wunderschön und melancholisch. Dies sind die Worte, die mir spontan in den Sinn kommen, wenn ich an das Vorwerk “Under Seven Skies” von Dahlia’s Tear denke. Mittlerweile sind schon einige Jährchen ins Land gezogen, fünf sind es genau an der Zahl, und inzwischen fand man ein neues Zuhause, was das Label betrifft. Ein wichtiger Schritt, um den Status dieses hervorragenden Projektes auszubauen.
Was mir auf dem neuen Werk “Dreamsphere” sofort ins Auge springt, ist die hervorragende optische Aufmachung, die sich in stimmigen, geheimnisvollen Bildern widerspiegelt. Ebenso geheimnisvoll ist auch der Inhalt ausgefallen. Aber nicht nur das, denn im Gegensatz zum erwähnten Vorläufer ist “Dreamsphere” weitaus unruhiger und vor allem von verdammt düsterer Natur. Das sollte eigentlich nicht weiter verwundern, wenn man bedenkt, dass die Inspiration jener abtrünnigen Klangwelten in diversen Albträumen liegt.
Musikalisch unterliegen somit die warmen Gegebenheiten klar den finsteren Visionen, wobei aber dennoch Momente der Hoffnung gelegentlich von ihrer Anwesenheit künden. Um “Dreamsphere” in all seiner Pracht zu erfassen, sollte man sich keinesfalls mit nur wenigen Durchläufen zufriedenstellen. Es sind schlicht und einfach zu viele Feinheiten, die der Musiker zu einem kleinen Kunstwerk verwebt, als dass man jene auf die Schnelle komplett
erfassen könnte.
Kinderstimmen, das Flattern von Flügeln, Glockenläuten, Zirkusmusik, entferntes Gelächter – hier gibt es arg viel zu erkunden! Wer mag, der sollte mal eine Runde auf dem “Carousel Of The Headless Horses” drehen, welches sich langsam aber sicher in Bewegung setzt und auf eine unheimliche Fahrt in einen düsteren Strudel einlädt.
Ob ihr stark genug seid, hier von alleine wieder herauszufinden, das müsst ihr allerdings selber austesten. Einmal in die Tiefe von “Dreamsphere” eingetaucht, ist man schnell umgeben von Visionen und Geschichten, die einen glücklicherweise im wahren Leben wohl eher nicht heimsuchen werden. Es bleibt ein finsteres Märchen, welches den Hörer für viele Stunden beschäftigen wird.
DAHLIA’S TEAR to szwedzki projekt industrialno-darkambientowy, majacy do tej pory na koncie trzy wydawnictwa (“Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerising Our Existences In Radient Corpuscle Galaxies”, Ravenheart, 2005, “Under Seven Skies”, Thonar, 2007, “My Rotten Spirit Of Black”, Alcor Productions, 2007). Ich muzyka charakteryzuje sie wykraczaniem poza sztywne ramy gatunku i wykorzystywaniem elementów neoklasyki, dzwieków organicznych, avant-garde/experimental, a nawet okazjonalnie sladami noise’u. “Dreamsphere”, wydana
przez odradzajaca sie CMI, to ich czwarty album, w mojej opinii jak na razie najlepszy. Gdybym byla mocno przywiazana do etykietek, opisalabym plyte jako “horror neoclassical dark ambient”, jako ze cala plyta naznaczona jest wyraznym klimatem filmowej grozy.
Wraz z pierwszymi dzwiekami, sluchacza zaczyna wabic ciemne piekno plyty. Calosc przenika aura widmowej nostalgii i staroswieckiego wdzieku, od oprawy graficznej na szesciopanelowym digipaku do samej muzyki. Plus ten tekst na stronie oficjalnej projektu, zaczerpniety z “Rebeki” Daphne du Maurier: ”: “…last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. it seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate.
I called in my dream to the lodge-keeper, and had no answer, and peering closer through the rusted spokes of the gate I saw that the lodge was uninhabited. Moonlight can play odd tricks upon the fancy, even upon a dreamer’s fancy. As I stood there, hushed and still, I could swear that the house was not an empty shell but lived and breathed as it had lived before… ”. Stare, na wpól otwarte wrota na okladce zapraszaja nas do krainy snów, krainy pomiedzy swiatem zywych a umarlych, zawieszenia pomiedzy iluzja a rzeczywistoscia. Gdzie wszelkie fantazje przybieraja forme upiornych cieni, a kolo czasu stoi nieruchomo. Niezidentyfikowane monstrum wpelza do srodka, a my kuszeni jestesmy aby podazyc jego sladem. Sugestywna i elegancka oprawa graficzna w duzej mierze pomaga w zrozumieniu konceptu. “Dreamsphere” sklada sie z szesciu dlugich utworów pelnych przeszywajacych, niesamowicie wyrazistych i zlozonych pejzazy dzwiekowych, gdzie kazdy element wykorzystano w pelni, od recytacji i mrocznych, poetyckich pasazy, do dzwieków organicznych, odglosów dzieciecych zabaw, przerazajacych wrzasków, minimalistycznych melodii i wszystkiego tego, co mogloby utozsamic muzyke z rozpadajaca sie, opuszczona posesja i niepozadanym gosciem, który ma sie wewnatrz calkiem dobrze. A calosc okryta jest warstwa dojmujaco zimnego, niezwyczajnego dark ambientu. “The Transition” rozpoczyna sie meskimi i zenskimi zaspiewami religijnymi, wspólgrajacymi z dzwonami, dzwonkami i innymi subtelnie brzmiacymi instrumentami perkusyjnymi, które z kolei sa klute przez przerazajace, wysokotonowe smyczki. Kobieca recytacja przewija sie przez caly czas trwania utworu. “Entrance to Dreamsphere” rozwija ten sam motyw, podazajac jednak w bardziej eksperymentalnym i agresywnym kierunku. Rezonujace metaliczne dzwieki oraz wsciekle niewiescie krzyki mieszaja sie z operowym spiewem, po to aby zostac przelamanym przez drony, rytualne bebny i kolejny kobiecy monolog – teksty i glos M. Rippy dodaja mnóstwo poetyckiego uroku plycie, wystepujac w dwóch najistotniejszych utworach.
“Carousel Of Headless Horses” przedstawia motyw strachu z dziecinstwa – to szczególnie zinternalizowany, industrialno – eksperymentalny fragment, jeden z najciezszych na plycie. Za to “Dreamescape” kreuje bardziej
abstrakcyjna atmosfere poprzez zastosowane porozciaganych dronów, mnóstwa eksperymentalnych dzwieków i neoklasycznych melodii wspomaganych stlumionym wokalem, dobiegajacym jakby spod kaskad wody. “Toward The Dark Cellar”to po prostu jeden z najlepszych zabarwionych groza utworów neoklasycznych, jakie kiedykolwiek slyszalam, który wraz z delikatnymi, nostalgicznymi dzwiekami pianina wywoluje uczucie zimnej, martwej rozpaczy. Album zamyka “An Enigma In The Black Gap”, gdzie wszystkie duchy sieja spustoszenie, a melodie jednocza sie w dudniacych dzwiekach, wyjacych dronach, magicznych glosach i narastajacych darkambientowych sekwencjach.
“Dreamsphere” to niesamowicie uwodzicielska wizja koszmaru, zobrazowana w sposób tak bogaty i szczególowy, ze linia pomiedzy rzeczywistoscia a kraina snu zaciera sie, a sniacy gubi sie w swoim snie. Jej hipnotyzujaca atmosfera, nienaganne wykonanie i produkcja, oraz laczenie w oryginalny sposób zróznicowanych muzycznie elementów, czynia plyte fascynujaca w odsluchu. Taka, która pochlonie Cie w swoich zakurzonych pajeczynach,
tak ze zanim sie zorientujesz, bedziesz zachwycony.
Sentivamo di aver visto giusto quando, oltre quattro anni or sono, avevamo promosso a pieni voti il terzo album di questo solo-project svedese, e non ci stupisce affatto che ad assicurarsi le prestazioni artistiche di Dahlia's Tear sia stata un peso massimo della dark ambient (e affini) come la rediviva Cold Meat Industry. Se col precedente "Under Seven Skies" (edito dalla defunta Thonar) avevamo accolto con piacere la nuova e spiccata propensione melodica insita nella materia dark ambient sapientemente lavorata da Anile.D., col nuovo "Dreamsphere" ritroviamo un artista il cui suono, maturo e consistente come raramente ci capita di sentire, rinnova il proprio oscuro splendore e riesce nuovamente ad emozionarci con la ricchezza delle sue forme cangianti. La produzione, a dir poco superiore, ci permette di apprezzare ogni singolo dettaglio dell'ampia gamma di suoni e campionamenti che il Nostro incastra con splendida maestria fra le cupe trame di una materia dark ambient che, nella fattispecie, è stata ispirata da un incubo sognato ripetutamente dallo stesso autore. Uno spunto altamente suggestivo che Anile.D. riesce a musicare e a rendere palpabile con classe innata, esplicato in sei magnifiche tracce che, fra voci sfuggenti e spoken words femminili (ad opera di Michelle Rippy, ottima nel completare i momenti salienti dell'opera), cori gregoriani, fughe simil-sinfoniche, modulazioni industriali, percussioni, motivi di piano e quant'altro possa calzare alla perfezione per rendere al meglio lo stato d'animo desiderato, costituiscono i tasselli di un flusso sonoro di enorme pregio artistico e spessore concettuale che sarebbe impensabile scomporre e/o interrompere.
Le indiscutibili capacità tecniche e compositive del Nostro, unite ad una personalità non comune nel filone d'appartenenza, superano di gran lunga gli standard del settore, e valgono a Dahlia's Tear un meritatissimo posto nel gotha delle sonorità dark ambient di maggior spessore ed efficacia descrittiva: una definitiva consacrazione che era solo questione di tempo dopo una prova maiuscola come il precedente "Under Seven Skies", all'epoca penalizzato dalla limitata esposizione mediatica. Nessun dubbio sulla qualità di un'opera così riuscita, che si fregia inoltre di una magnifica confezione digipak a sei pannelli: non è davvero il caso di esitare di fronte a tanta oscura bellezza.
“…last night i dreamt i went to manderley again. It seemed to me i stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while i could not enter, fo the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate. I called in my dream to the lodge-keeper, and had no anser, and peering closer through the rusted spokes of the gate i saw that the lodge was uninhabited. Moonlight can play odd tricks upon the fancy, even upon a dreamer’s fancy. As i stood there, hushed and still, i could swear that the house was not an empty shell but lived and breathed as it had lived before…” – beeindruckende Zeilen mit Visualisierungseffekt, oder?
Nachzulesen auf der Dahlia’s Tear Homepage, die die “Wiedergeburt”, nach 5 Jahren in der Versenkung, mit “Dreamsphere” verkündet, das derbste Alpträume vor Augen führt. Letzterer Kontakt mit Dahlia’s Tear fand im Rahmen der Veröffentlichung “Under Seven Skies” (2007, Thonar Records) statt, welches ebenfalls auf ganzer Länge überzeugen konnte, aber von seiner Grundausrichtung her, majestätischer bzw.erhabener ausfiel, “Dreamsphere” hingegen, entstand im Übrigen in 2009, erschien über Cold Meat Industry , dem schwedischen Vorzeigelabel für Dark Ambient, wo beklemmende Soundcapes Tradition haben.
Hinter Dahlia’s Tear verbirgt sich der Schwede Anile.D., der auf “Dreamsphere” erdrückenden Dark Ambient offenbart, den er mittels klassischer Pianoklänge, industrieller Einlagen, Sprach- wie Tonsamples (Vom Rummelplatz bis hin zum tibetischen Glockengeläut!) und Gesangslinien von Michelle Rippy akzentuierte.
Insgesamt ein sehr komplexes Gesamtergebnis, das aufgrund seiner Vielfältigkeit einige Hördurchläufe mehr benötigt, um komplett vom Konsumenten erfasst zu werden. Zudem führt die enge Verzahnung der Tracks untereinander, zu einer weiteren Dichte, die einem niemals enden wollenden Sog gleicht – Wahnsinn! Heißt, Soundtrackfetischisten erleben in “Dreamsphere” ein packendes wie berührendes Highlight, dem zu keinem Zeitpunkt die Luft ausgeht, wofür unzählige unvorhersehbare Spannungskurven sorgen.
Einen Innovationspreis gewinnt Anile.D. mit “Dreamsphere” definitiv nicht, aber in Sachen Intensität gehört der Schwede zu den Großen der Bewegung, welche Hörer(-innen) auch nach x Kostproben noch berühren bzw. einfangen. Anspieltipp? Alle Tondokumente verfügen alleine über ihren Reiz bzw. Charme, aber besonders als Einheit überwältigen sie Interessenten, deren musikalischer Fokus auf Lustmord, Atrium Carceri (Sabled Sun) oder Lull liegt.
Fazit:
Im Endeffekt lässt sich “Dreamsphere” von Dahlia’s Tear nicht in Worte fassen, dessen Atmosphären von Anfang bis Ende vollends packen, einfangen wie berühren – meine absolute Empfehlung! PS: Individuen, die nach der Extraportion Kopfkino verlangen, müssen “Dreamsphere” von Dahlia’s Tear ihr Eigen nennen!
Da poco è uscito sotto la svedese Cold Meat Industry un album dei Dahlia’s Tear dal titolo Dreamsphere.
E’ molto importante questo album perché rappresenta un aggiornamento sulla definizione dell’album “ideale” per il suo genere di riferimento. Pensavo che l’album dark ambient per definizione dovesse essere Within The Depths Of Silence And Phormations di Raison D’etre. Anno 1995. Da poco, invece, questo album è stato soverchiato proprio dall’ultimo disco dei Dahlia’s Tear. I tempi sono cambiati e il dark ambient ha passato delle fasi altisonanti: da qualche momento interessante ad immensi spazi di noia. Con Dreamsphere vengono messi nuovamente i puntini sulle “i” per definire il genere. Innanzitutto viene ripresa in considerazione la qualità del disco a livello complessivo e al contempo quello dei singoli brani – particolare che con la massificazione delle produzioni era quasi scomparso. In seguito viene ripresa e rivalutata la componente multidisciplinare: le canzoni di questo album sono quasi tutte abbinate a video creati per l’occasione e reperibile su youtube. In aggiunta a questo, il dark ambient, non deve aver paura di contaminare e farsi contaminare e quindi è giusto trovare all’interno di un lavoro delle influenze elettroniche, atmosfere ruvide e ritualistiche, spunti neoclassici o schizzi di sound etnici o orientali. Sta nella mente dell’uomo sapere racchiudere il tutto senza perdersi nel proprio ego o in qualche raccolta di suoni pre-confezionati.
Dreamsphere è un disco maturo, interessante e molto variegato che va assolutamente sentito senza nessuna scusante.
Cinque anni dopo "Under Seven Skies", ben accolto dalla critica, il progetto di Anile D. tocca i confini della compatriota Cold Meat Industry per proporre un'opera dal tessuto cinematografico, che riesce a interpolare elementi concreti a pure divagazioni narrative. Se il concept su cui si basa il disco è piuttosto ovvio, per non dire banale, il trattamento che ne subisce è fuorviante nel suo gioco stilistico, che lo rende uno specchio magico da attraversare e contorcere a piacimento più volte.
La parte iniziale, ovvero la coppia "The Transition" - "Entrance To Dreamsphere", è quella più vicina al gotico moderno amato della celluloide. Tra rumori sinistri e gracchiare di corvi camminiamo lentamente tra le rovine fredde di abbazie, mentre il silenzio si distorce e nasconde i nostri sensi per il rito di passaggio, quel "Carousel Of The Headless Horses" in cui il bianconiglio ci mostra il suo mistero.
Un liquido onirico astratto in cui gli oggetti dell'orrore fluttuano rallentati si fa largo davanti a noi, annegandoci in una vasca di deprivazione sensoriale: "Toward The Dark Cellar" e "An Enigma In The Black Gap" uniscono nella loro ossessiva paranoia fraseggi melodici, piccole opache apparizioni di una realtà in fuga dal maelstrom del sogno. Il senso superficiale di concretezza, di realtà, che traspare da alcune tracce è un semplice bagliore intermittente, un riflesso morente di un disco dalle radici sotterrate in un'altra dimensione. Non un singolo secondo è lasciato a sé, in quello che si rivela non solo un buon esempio di dark-ambient, ma anche un'avvincente esperienza fantasmagorica.
Пугающий и чарующий калейдоскоп из звуков, образов и тем. Путешествие вглубь себя, в мир детских страхов и фантазий. Вот несколько робко и нервно переминающиеся у порога в Иллюзион клавиши испуганно замирают при скрипе двери... Вот отстранённый, холодный женский голос начитывает свои медитативные мантры... Вот мелькнула чья-то тень, там, в старом, треснувшем зеркале... Этот мир реален, он всегда был здесь, мы лишь потеряли ключи, но заботливый Anile.D. соглашается быть нашим проводником в этот заповедный, леденящий душу край.
Пять долгих лет мы ждали нового откровения Dahlia's Tear и, наконец, дождались, - вот он, загадочный "Dreamsphere". Теперь ночь наполнится иными видениями... Неторопливо, последовательно вплетая в ткань повествования всё новые и новые элементы музыка уносит души куда-то далеко-далеко, в заброшенный цирк уродцев, а может, на обезлюдевшею детскую площадку. Лишь ветер играет проржавевшими конструкциями неизвестного (и от того ещё более ужасающего) назначения да доносит до слуха эхо былого. Неба нет, оно здесь и не нужно, - в "Dreamsphere" правит балом ветер. Неумолимый, беспристрастный, живой. Из шести представленных на альбоме треков сложно выделить какие-то отдельные, обособленные. Все они хороши в равной мере, и так же, как нельзя разложить на эпизоды симфонию, так и здесь вырвать кусок не получится. Да и нужно ли? Конечно, было бы слишком смело заявлять, что новый релиз шведского проекта превосходит предыдущий, гениальный "Under Seven Skies". Нет, не превосходит. Но вполне на уровне, что, учитывая далеко не обнадёживающее состояние сегодняшней dark ambient-сцены, лишь добавляет ему баллов. Томительное ожидание того стоило.
Не рискну рекомендовать данный альбом всякому, но если качественная, атмосферная электроника Вам по нраву, то "Dreamsphere" подарит немало приятных минут. В этот материал нужно вслушиваться, погружаться, растворяться в нём. Только тот, кто найдёт в себе смелости заглянуть в самые тёмные уголки чердака своей памяти, сможет получить истинное наслаждение и не только от сей пластинки, но и от всего творчества Dahlia's Tear в целом. Остальным же будет куда спокойнее жить без этого. Путь к свету по сумеречным тропам - удел не для всех.
Alpträume an sich sind ja schon keine angenehme Sache; aber immer wiederkehrende Alpträume haben sicherlich noch ein ganz anderes Bedrückungspotential. Zur Bewältigung dieser Situation wird den Betroffenen unter anderem auch schon einmal vorgeschlagen, sich den Alptraum in Musik vorzustellen, um die seelische Belastung zu verarbeiten. Eben dies scheint ANILE D., der hinter dem schwedischen Projekt DAHLIA’S TEAR steckt, beherzigt zu haben, entstand „Dreamsphere“ eben aus dem Erleben und Verarbeiten eines wiederkehrenden Albtraums. Das Album, das schon länger mal angekündigt wurde und bereits 2009 entstand, stellt somit die perfekte klangliche Rückkehr des COLD MEAT INDUSTRY- Labels in das Land der Lebenden dar.
Dem Album gelingt es vor allem, eine absolut drückende, surreale Stimmung zu erzeugen, indem eine echte Breitwandszenerie aus bedrohlichen Flächen, Pianomotiven, ausufernden Klängen und Geräuschen aufgebaut wird. Schon im Eröffnungsstück scheint geisterhafter, rufender Frauengesang hinein in den Abgrund des Traums zu locken; es knarzt und schlägt an jeder Ecke; die drückende Atmosphäre wird spürbar.
Auch im zweiten Stück „Entrance To Dreamsphere“ begegnen dem Hörer diese Rufe wieder, wobei eine weibliche Stimme – die weibliche Unterstützung auf dem Album liefert MICHELLE RIPPY – quasi in den Traum hineinbittet. Mit „Carousel Of The Headless Horses“ lauert schließlich das überzeugendste Stück, wenn man ein altes, morsches und verlassenes, sich einsam drehendes Karussell quasi vor sich stehen sieht. Man hört jedes einzelne Geräusch; es knackt und knarzt, eine Glocke schlägt düster im Hintergrund. Die Intensität ist schon erstaunlich, lässt man sich auf das Gehörte ein. Im Allgemeinen geht man ja davon aus, dass Alpträume kreative und sensible Menschen öfter heimsuchen. Hier möchte man fast von einem Vorteil sprechen.
Nach diesem atmosphärischen Höhepunkt geraten die Musik und die Atmosphäre etwas versöhnlicher. Kleine Pianomelodien ertönen und das Klangbild zieht sich etwas stärker auf Flächenklänge zurück. Ob es hier um vielleicht erlebte Trauergefühle geht oder ob bereits die Verarbeitung in die Klangkreationen hineinspielte, bleibt natürlich offen. „Dreamsphere“ ist für mich eines der überzeugendsten Alben der letzten Monate in diesem Genre. Stimmung, Ausführung, die gebotene sehr gute Klangqualität und nicht zuletzt das gelungene Artwork fügen sich nahtlos ineinander. Gegenüber dem etwas luftig, leichten, nicht unbedingt herausragenden Under Seven Skies“-Album von 2007 hat dieses Projekt jedenfalls einen deutlichen Schritt nach vorne getan. Vielleicht braucht es doch echte emotionale Anstöße, um etwas Kreatives zu schaffen.
Tony F. für nonpop.de
A distanza di cinque anni da "Under Seven Skies" torna Dahlia's Tear, progetto dello svedese Anile D. "Dreamsphere", album dall'artwork cupo e gelido, affronta un oscuro e onirico viaggio in un mondo di sogno, che si traduce in paesaggi neri, agghiaccianti e desolanti, in cui il lontano tintinnare di carillon da film horror - come in "Carousel Of The Headless Horses" - rimanda alle più folli atmosfere carroliane, e il funesto gracchiare di corvi, unito a echi di voci lontane - "Intrance To Dreamshpere" - trasporta l'ascoltatore in un'atmosfera gotica, claustrofobica e inquietante. Rari vocalizzi, modulati da una melodiosa ma lontana e flebile voce femminile, rendono ancora più dantesco e visionario il trip attraverso il quale l'artista scandinavo costruisce atmosfere di tangibile terrore e tragica desolazione. "Dreamsphere" è senza dubbio un'ottimo esempio di genere dark ambient, dalle trame sonore quasi cinematografiche, rassemblanti alla colonna sonora di un film vampiresco ma high-tech, in stile "Underworld".
DAHLIA’S TEAR is a Swedish industrial dark ambient project, counting three releases until now(Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerising Our Existences In Radient Corpuscle Galaxies,Ravenheart, 2005, Under Seven Skies, Thonar, 2007, My Rotten Spirit Of Black, Alcor Productions, 2007).
Their music is characterized by the expansion of the genre to include elements of minimal neoclassical, organic sounds, drone, avant-garde/experimental, even traces of noise in some occasions. “Dreamsphere”, released under the renowned CMI label, is their fourth album and to my understanding, their best so far.
If I was hard pressed to label it I would say “horror neoclassical dark ambient”, as there is a distinct atmosphere of cinematic horror throughout the recording. The listener is lured into the dark beauty of this release as soon as the first track begins. Everything is permeated by an air of ghostly nostalgia and antique grace, from the artwork on the 6 panelled digipak to the music itself, and the text on the project’s website taken from Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca”: “…last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. it seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate. I called in my dream to the lodge-keeper, and had no answer, and peering closer through the rusted spokes of the gate I saw that the lodge was uninhabited. Moonlight can play odd tricks upon the fancy, even upon a dreamer’s fancy. As I stood there, hushed and still, I could swear that the house was not an empty shell but lived and breathed as it had lived before… ”. The old, half-opened mansion gate on the cover invites us into the dreamworld, the realm between the living and the dead, dwelling between illusion and reality. Where all fancies linger on in the form of ghostly shadows, and the wheels of time stand still. An undefined creature creeps in as we are beckoned to follow. The evocative and elegant imagery of the artwork really assists in the understanding of the concept.
“Dreamsphere” consists of six long tracks of sharp, incredibly clear and admirably complex soundscapes, where everything is brought into play, from recitations and obscurely poetic passages to organic sounds, children’s play, horrific screams, minimalistic melodies, and all else that could constitute the music of a decrepit, abandoned mansion with unsuspected life thriving within it. Always covered in the mantle of painfully cold and unusually inspired dark ambient. “The Transition” begins with male and female religious chants, interposed with bells, chimes and other types of delicate-sounding percussions, in their turn pierced by horrifying, high-pitched strings. A female recitation repeats throughout the track. “Entrance To Dreamsphere” continues in the same motif, but on a notably more aggressive, experimental tone. Resonating metallic sounds and seething female screams are mixed with operatic vocals, to be broken by drones, ritual drums and yet another female recitation – M. Rippy’s texts and voice add a great deal of poetic charm to the recording with their appearance in two of its most crucial tracks. “Carousel Of The Headless Horses” expresses the theme of childhood terrors with an especially internalized, industrial-experimental track that is among the heaviest in the album, while “Dreamescape” creates a more abstract atmosphere with wide-ranging drones, lots of experimental sounds and neoclassical melodies coming through with a muffled voice, as if transmitted through waves of water. “Toward The Dark Cellar” is simply put one of the best horror neoclassical tracks I’ve ever listened to, with its serene, nostalgic piano evoking a cold, lifeless despair. The recording ends with “An Enigma In The Black Gap”, where all the ghosts wreak havoc as melodies unite with clanging sounds, howling drones, arcane voices and escalating dark ambient sequences.
“Dreamsphere” is an extremely seductive vision of a nightmare, portrayed in such a vivid manner that the lines between reality and the dreamworld become blurred, and the dreamer is lost in the dream. Its hypnotizing atmospheres, impeccable execution and production and its very original combination of diverse musical elements make this a fascinating listen. One that will not fail to engulf you in its dusty cobwebs so that before you know it, you will be enthralled.
Mit “Under Seven Skies” schenkt Thonar Records dem Hörer eine kleine Perle, welche bereits beim Erstkonsum voll begeistern kann. Die Rede ist von Dahlia’s Tear, ein Projekt, welches 2005 von Anile D. ins Leben gerufen wurde. Und der Schwede versteht sein Handwerk, gebärt uns dieser hier doch 7 wunderschöne Klangcollagen mit stark prägendem Charakter. Schon mit dem Opener “Sky Minimalism” serviert uns der Künstler eine melodische Klangebene, die sich aufgrund einer gefühlvollen Tastenmelodie unweigerlich festsetzt. Wer jetzt denkt Anile D. hätte hier sein gesamtes Potential in diesen Song gesteckt irrt sich gewaltig. Diese Art der Melodieführung füllt das gesamte Werk, welches vor melancholischen Elementen nur so strotzt und eine wahre Achterbahn der Gefühle auslöst.
Die Tracks sind rein instrumenteller Natur, nur gelegentlich vernimmt man dezent im Hintergrund platzierte Gesangspassagen, wie in “Sky Convergence & Pointless”. “Under Seven Skies” lebt somit von teils hypnotisch pulsierenden Elemente, die perfekt mit dem hier gebotenen Dark Ambient harmonieren. Dabei ist dieses Album nicht einmal unbedingt als richtig düster zu bezeichnen, Dahlia’s Tear birgt enorm viel Melodie und erweckt Emotionen von unglaublicher Intensität. Ein klitzekleines Manko könnte man “Under Seven Skies” dennoch anlasten – die Kompositionen sind derart prägend, dass man das komplette Werk bereits nach zwei Durchläufen im Kopf hat. Somit gibt es dann leider nichts neues mehr zu entdecken, was aber einem wunderbaren Klangerlebnis keinen Abbruch tut. Mit diesem Werk wird der Schwede wohl bald zur Spitze des Dark Ambient aufsteigen, wer die Werke von Desiderii Marginis mag wird dieses Album lieben!
Verlag : Thonar Records
Bewertung : 9.5 von 10 Punkte
Nonostante il progetto Dahlia's Tear abbia preso forma solamente verso la metà del 2005, il suo artefice unico Anile.D. è già arrivato alla terza fatica sulla lunga distanza, peraltro approdando alla corte dell'attenta label tedesca Thonar Records giusto in tempo per dare alle stampe un terzo lavoro che ne svela la rinnovata ed ormai pienamente raggiunta maturità artistica. Se nei due lavori precedenti ("Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerizing Our Existence In Radiant Corpuscle Galaxies", edito nel 2005 dalla Ravenheart, e "My Rotten Spirit Of Black", pubblicato dalla Alcor lo scorso anno) il suono di Dahlia's Tear aveva mostrato tutta la propria predilezione per la materia prettamente dark ambient con poche timide aperture melodiche, stavolta queste ultime entrano a pieno titolo nella struttura portante dei sette brani che compongono il nuovo album (edito in una bella confezione digipak e limitato a sole mille copie), imponendosi senza 'se' e senza 'ma'.
Seppur ancora profondamente oscura e legata alle sorti di certa dark ambient meno ferale e minimalista, la musica creata da Anile D. si tinge con colori che ne evidenziano gli aspetti drammatici, il grande pathos ed una capacità di scrittura che sa andare oltre la solita stratificazione di droni tipica del genere. Le semplici, efficaci e splendide melodie di piano, opportunamente dilatate ad arte, si incastrano alla perfezione con le architetture sonore plumbee e gli intensi muri sonori che fanno da sfondo ai vari brani, andando a completare il quadro con ritmi elettronici sapientemente dosati, cori solenni usati in maniera mai banale e taluni azzeccati inserti di voce femminile, gentilmente forniti da Nephelia (Stellaria Fennica) e dalla a noi già nota Carline Van Roos (Aythis).
Un disco capace di andare ben oltre i canoni della classica dark ambient per approdare ad un suono in grado di coniugare melodia, passionalità e capacità di suscitare emozioni ben più forti rispetto a certe sterili 'discese agli inferi' che troppo spesso ci capita di sentire. Un lavoro di rara bellezza ed intensità, perfetto per chi alle sonorità ambientali chiede sempre quel qualcosa in più e per chi vuole realmente emozionarsi, superbamente confezionato da un artista che ha molto più da dire rispetto a tanti nomi più blasonati.
Acquisto decisamente caldeggiato.
DAHLIA’s TEAR was formed in 2004 and the project has released three albums since its foundation with ‘Under Seven Skies’ being the latest one.If you take a short look at the track list, you’ll notice the categorization of the tracks into 7 skies. This concept should be familiar to those, who read the entire Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. In the third part (Paradise) Dante’s travelling through different skies as well i.e. Jupiter & Saturn Sky.
The world of ‘Under Seven Skies’ is filled with an all overshadowing darkness and a wind made of despair is wafting through the gloomy soundscapes Anil is painting. The 7th Sky begins with a threatening appearing wall of synthesizers and field recordings. He also initially introduces wailing guitar sounds into the mix; what sounds kind of strange in that dense entity of ethereal and floating sounds. Rhythmic sounds are mostly used as a gentle and not too obtrusive accentuation, except for the 6th sky, where they become a major part of the composition as a demanding percussion whirlwind which gives the song a ritual feeling.
There seems to be a sort of common re-appearing ambient theme in some of the songs, appearing in a different shape every time; sometimes as a male choral or just as an extremely widened synth layer. The highlight for me and the final track is the first sky with the title ‘Minimalism’ which begins with a recording of a thunderstorm and you can hear the rain falling down on earth and slowly electronic elements sneak into the storm of which the most beautiful surely is the violin whether it’s a synth or a real one doesn’t matter; the feeling of endless melancholy it creates is what counts and this is deeply touching.
‘Under Seven Skies’ is ambient in a very pure form and conjures up dark pictures in the listener’s mind.
The music unfolds its true beauty when listening to it in twilight, then just close your eyes and drift away.
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9
Manchmal glaubt man, in bestimmten Genres könne es einfach nichts mehr Neues oder Bemerkenswertes geben. Dark Ambient ist so ein Genre. Diese düstere Musik erfährt zwar keinen massiven Ansturm, aber doch einen regen Zulauf, woraus man eigentlich schließen müsste, dass sich der Ideenreichtum irgendwann erschöpft.
Das schwedische Ein-Mann-Projekt Dahlia's Tear ist zwar noch ein recht junger Vertreter dieser Gattung, da das Projekt erst seit 2005 existiert, aber jetzt schon ganz vorn mit dabei. Mastermind Anile D. ist schon seit 1998 musikalisch aktiv und auch bei seinem Projekt Dahlia's Tear zeigt er wahren Arbeitseifer.
"Under Seven Skies" ist bereits sein drittes Album in drei Jahren. "Under Seven Skies" ist eine atmosphärisch dichte, düstere und träumerische Meditation. Anile D. verwendet dazu einfache aber ergreifende Melodien, die er mit Streichern, Synthies und Klavier erzeugt. Ähnlich wie Vangelis auf seinem Bladerunner-Soundtrack hinterlegt Dahlia's Tear diese Melodien mit weiteren, gesetzteren Melodien und einem packenden Rhythmus. Dabei rollen die Songs ständig auf und ab, sind Ebbe und Flut zugleich und ehe man sich versieht, schweift der eigene Blick in die Ferne, beginnt man zu träumen und nachzudenken.
Die Songs des Albums erinnern manchmal ein wenig an die Klanglandschaften eines Pete Namlook, nur bei weitem nicht so minimalistisch. Durch die Fülle an Sounds und Wahrnehmungen entsteht vielmehr ein differenzierter Eindruck der sieben Songs bzw. der sieben Himmel, von denen das Album handelt. Eine ganz besondere Stimmung erzeugt Dahlia's Tear durch eine Vielzahl an Sprachsamples, die von Kinderlachen bis zu nervösem, gehetztem Atmen reichen. Dezent, aber sehr effektvoll sind die dunklen, männlichen Choräle, die "Under Seven Skies" einen sakralen Hauch verleihen. Nicht zu vergessen ist der Gesang von Carline Van Roos (Aythis) und Nephelia (Stellaria Fennica), der aber mehr gehaucht und ätherisch ist, als dass er stark ins Gewicht fällt. Nephelia, der Anile D. dieses Album gewidmet hat, war neben dem Gesang auch für die Covergestaltung verantwortlich.
Die erste Auflage des Albums erscheint im Digipack,
ist auf 1000 Exemplare limitiert und ein unbedingte Kaufempfehlung wert!
Leserbewertung 10/10
Wow, was für ein Album!
Mit DAHLIA’S TEAR beweist das kleine Augsburger Label Thonar Records erneut seinen hohen Anspruch in Sachen Dark Ambient. Hinter dem Projekt steht der Schwede Anile Dahl, der uns mit „Under Seven Skies“ bereits sein drittes Album vorlegt. Und das ist wirklich äußerst gelungen.
Mit den sieben Tracks führt uns DAHLIA’S TEAR auf eine atmosphärische, hypnotische und teilweise beklemmende Reise. Dabei verwendet Anile Dahl auch verzerrte Gitarren, Geigen und andere Instrumentierungen. Gelegentlich hören wir eine zarte Frauenstimme oder dezente Männerchöre. Typische Zutaten für Dark Ambient, aber eben doch ganz anders und einzigartig. Alles wird so harmonisch und abwechslungsreich mit düsteren langsamen Flächen umschmeichelt, dass die Musik eine derartige Tiefe bekommt, wie es selten in diesem Genre erreicht wird.
Mit „Under Seven Skies“ kann sich DAHLIA’S TEAR bei den ganz Großen des Dark Ambient locker einreihen.
Die Erstauflage von 1000 Exemplaren erscheint in einem sehr schön gestaltetem Digipack. Absolute Kaufempfehlung.
Fans des Genres werden „Under Seven Skies“ lieben.
Dahlia’s Tear (solo project of Anile D.) first came to my attention a few years ago through his album,‘My Rotten Spirit Of Black,’ which was quite a pleasing album, though it’s his 2007 release, ‘Under Seven Skies’that has become a true favorite of mine over the past year.
Dahlia's Tear music is within the dark ambient genre, though his music is noticeably far more harmonious and generally more dynamic, fascinating and varied than your typical dark droning ambient band, which are nearly a dime a dozen these days. The music has a very strong dreamy and otherworldly quality to it which allows the listener to pass into a realm of unknown thoughts and visions which may very well elude them when not listening
to music like this. This is truly a great album to listen to while lying in bed since personally I’ve had some very interesting thoughts and dreams pass through my brain while under the influence of Dahlia'a Tear songs.
It’s interesting since the music is more than just lush melodic synthesizers; Dahlia's Tear music also features distorted electric guitars in the background, industrial characteristics, sampled voices, female and male chanting, treated field recordings, piano and some well placed subtle beats too. I also love the way the music carries a very cold atmosphere to it and even though it’s fairly hot outside today I still feel a slight chill as a listen to this album and occasionally notice the hairs on my arms standing on end too. Wonderful.
Additionally the album comes packaged in a sharp looking digipak with wonderful artwork too. If you have any love for dark melodic ambient music then this is surely not one to miss as its absolutely fantastic for its entire forty eight minute duration.
Dahlia's Tear jest moim odkryciem. Mówię to może ze złośliwością ale w muzyce wielu projektów czuć niestety ich
metalowe korzenie. Na ”Under Seven Skies” z instrumentów które używa się do ciężkiej rockowej muzy pozostała jedynie gitara. Zresztą jest ona jedynie dodatkiem, gdyż Dahlia's Tear jest 100% dark ambientowym tworem.
Zacznę od brzmienia: selektywne i czyste, całą masę nałożonych na siebie dźwięków możemy usłyszeć bez specjalnego wsłuchiwanie się. W tak intensywnej, bogato zaaranżowanej muzyce jest to bardzo ważne. Teraz czas na materiał audio: niezwykle piękne 7 utworów kreuje niesamowicie przeplatającą się wzajemnie eteryczno- hipnotyczną atmosferę, czuć że autor poświęcił sporo pracy, co zresztą doskonale słuchać w efekcie finalnym. Warto pochwalić całą masę użytych tutaj dźwięków: wspomniana gitara, śliczny kobiecy wokal i chóry, fortepian, skrzypce oraz obowiązkowe w tym gatunku ambientowe szumy, nagrania terenowe itp.
Może ta lista nie jest zbyt długa ale ”Under Seven Skies” jest tak skomponowana że ma się wrażenie ich wielkiego bogactwa. Na mnie ta muzyka zrobiła niesamowite wrażenie, są to dźwięki wybitnie klimatyczne oraz wspaniale działające na wyobraźnię. Sam nie wiem jak to się stało że ta płyta dotarła do mnie dopiero teraz, a nie rok temu gdyż w moim prywatnym plebiscycie na najlepsze płyty ubiegłego roku znalazłaby się na wysokim miejscu. Szczerze polecam „Under Seven Skies” wszystkim fanom dark ambientu, choć nie tylko gdyż jestem pewien że inni słuchacze mniej wprawieni w antymuzycznych bojach będą oczarowani tym pięknym, magicznym albumem. Brawa należą się również młodej niemieckiej wytwórni Thonar Records za ładnie zaprojektowany digipack.
Rekomandacja.
Ocena:
8,5/10
Kein neues Release, sondern eine Neuauflage unter Infinite Fog ist es, mit der uns nun das schwedische Dark Ambient Projekt Dahlia's Tear beehrt. Einst unter Alcor Production publiziert, so ist das vorliegende "My Rotten Spirit Of Black" die zweite Veröffentlichung des Schweden Anila D., wobei schon der Titel hier irgendwie Unangenehmes verbreitet. "My Rotten Spirit Of Black" zeigt dabei die bislang wohl mit düsterse Seite von Dahlia's Tear auf, denn im beklemmenden Ambientkleid, so warten die acht Vertonungen auf ihre Entdeckung, deren Fundament ebenso Field Recording Elemente beinhalten.
Die gebotene Klangwelt offenbart sich nicht als wirklich gemütliche Basis, sind die dunklen Elemente doch die eigentliche Grundstruktur, welche atmosphärische Passagen nur bedingt tolerieren. So etwa in "But Death Does Not Come To Easily", wo warme Schwaden im letzten Drittel für ein schön-schauriges Gefühl sorgen. Diverse Feinheiten werden geschickt eingewoben, seien es nun fein wahrnehmbare Stimmen, ein melancholisches Klavier, oder eine geheimnisvolle Aura, die sich gekonnt durch ein Stück wie "Unbearable Times" schlängelt. Dennoch sollte man dem Album etwas Zeit widmen, damit sich der innewohnende Spirit auch voll entfalten kann, da sich das Geschehen erst so richtig nach einer gewissen Anlaufzeit offenbart.
Für das wunderbare Artwork zeichnet sich Michal Karcz verantwortlich, der damit ein gelungenes Werk abzurunden vermag, welches sich im weiteren Tiefgang als weit stärker offenbart, als wie man dies zu Beginn eigentlich vermutet. Man bekommt vielmehr den Eindruck vermittelt, als würde die Welt von Dahlia's Tear in diesem Fall immer vereinnehmender, was letztendlich eben einfach darauf beruht, da "My Rotten Spirit Of Black" immer atmosphärischer wird. Keine Frage, Anila D. hatte schon recht frühzeitig seinen Weg gefunden, und beschert in dieser Sache allen Hörern von Dark Ambient eine interessante Scheibe.
HARMONIOUS EUPHONIES FOR SUPERNATURAL TRAUMAS MESMERISING OUR EXISTENCES IN RADİENT CORPUSCLE GALAXIES (REMASTERED)
RABEN REPORT
Komplett genannt, so lautet der Titel des ersten Werkes von Dahlia's Tear "Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerising Our Existences In Radient Corcusple Galaxies", welches 2005 in einer Auflage von 500 Einheiten unter Ravenheart vertrieben wurde. Der schwedische Musiker erschuf in diesem Fall zehn Kompositionen, die sich doch merklich vom späteren/aktuellem Schaffen abheben.
Dies ist aber keineswegs als Kritik zu verstehen, vielmehr ist die Beschaffenheit der Stücke für meinen Geschmack schön eingängig ausgefallen, wo die Basis von Melancholie bis desolaten Klangebenen ein wunderbares Spektrum abgleicht, welches mitunter manchmal etwas an Raison D'etre gemahnt. Ohne Probleme schafft es ein Stück wie "Scarlet Ad Infinitum" den Hörer zu entführen, in eine endlose Weite, wo Zeit keine Rolle spielt und man sich vielmehr treiben lässt.
Auch "Radiation" ist ein starkes Beispiel für bemerkenswerte Atmosphäre, wobei dieses hohe Level aber nicht gehalten werden kann. Oder sagen wir mal so, der folgende Mittelteil vermag in mir nicht die gleichen Emotionen wecken, was aber auch im Ohr des Hörers liegt. "Hydrangea Wept In Emerald Lake" steigt sodann wieder ganz schnell an die Spitze- Unglaublich, was Anile D. hier mitunter zaubert!
Ein Stück zum Innehalten, als stände die ganze Welt still, nicht für Minuten, sondern Stunden. Wahnsinn! Scheinbar schwebend geht es dann mit dem ruhigen "Voyage & Calaquendi" weiter, ehe "Neptune's Sore, The Blueness" mittels innigen Tastenklängen "Harmonious Euphonies For Supernatural Traumas Mesmerising Our Existences In Radient Corcusple Galaxies" ausklingen lässt.
Sammlerfreunde von finsterem Ambient sollten sich ruhig mal nach diesem Album umsehen, welches qualitativ mitunter wahre Perlen aufzeigt und im limitiertem Digi erscheint.
Zudem gibt es noch zwei zusätzliche Tracks, was die ganze Angelegenheit würdig abrundet. Es bleibt fast erwartungsgemäß hochwertiger Dark Ambient, der gelegentlich derart vereinnahmend klingt, sodass man sich hier die Perlen regelrecht herauspickt, die für eine entsprechend starke Wertung sorgen.
Just imagine the idea of making dark ambient darker...so exciting. With this second release, Dahlia’s Tear engage this concept in a most sinister and provocative fashion while simultaneously branching off in a fairly different direction than the debut. My Rotten Spirit Of Black is similar to Harmonious Euphonies in that what is incorporated
as far as methods of arrangements are unchanged. However, what makes it stand far apart is its incorporation of said methods in persistence towards a much more disturbing forum. Between each clutter of banging metal and shriek of pain, Dahlia’s Tear still makes you feel each and every inch of sound.
My Rotten Spirit Of Black appears to be a loosely conceptual record about being haunted, utterly alone, suicide, and the darkness and horrors of the afterlife. Placing this concept along with each track helps to differentiate the impacts of each song, also rendering the imagination of the concept all the more foreboding. In ambient music it is important to be able to separate yourself from any contemporary, and this record does so with the very obvious and incredibly involved method of dynamic. How loud a sound is, which instrument you use for this part, and countless other things come to mind.
While these things can take extensive care to undertake, Dahlia’s Tear seems to understand restraint towards over analyzation and when to let certain sections flow as you had first written them. This natural process of composition is vital in producing unique and more personal pieces, and with the awareness of creating something this unsettling just makes it a more cohesive listen.
While Dahlia’s Tear has successfully progressed in multiple ways from the debut, there is still the issue of repetition of instruments, which allows certain areas to clutter. While moving the main progression of keys and strings to the front of the mix creates a much more abrasive character, the use of different methods of harmonies or dissonances within the of unheard instruments or sounds would have made the record as a whole all the more interesting.
Nonetheless, My Rotten Spirit Of Black is a welcomed step towards wherever this act is treading, and the infinitely dismal indication of this record allows one to assume future releases will be even more involved, blackened, and comprehensive.
HARMONIOUS EUPHONIES FOR SUPERNATURAL TRAUMAS MESMERISING OUR EXISTENCES IN RADİENT CORPUSCLE GALAXIES (REMASTERED)
SPUTNIKMUSIC.COM
For the music lover who can sit and enjoy the evolving sound of someone else’s nightmares. Out of the countless amount of ambient artists, how can you tell what is better than the rest, or even worth your time" Judging the book by its cover is a standard method but can still lead to useless albums, so does ambient music just have an attraction towards its own potential listeners" Simply, yes, music can actually pick the consumer on the sole of reason of what some call intuition or whatever outwardly force you wish. It’s merely another way music reaches out to you, and with all the fog cluttering themasses, ambient listening seems like yet another method of stepping apart.
With Harmonious Euphonies, Dahlia’s Tear begins this passage through expressions any normal mortal wishes to suppress. How welcoming. Sweden’s recent output of more atmospheric music has been glorious. Besides Dahlia’s Tear, we have Arcana, Atrium Carceri, Desiderii Marginis, Raison d’etre, Rome, and many others thanks to Cold Meat Industry records. But amongst all these acts, they can all stand apart from each other respectfully as they each explore their own realms of creativity.
Dahlia’s Tear in particular boasts a more comfortable tone than the rest while retaining the unsettled consciousness dark ambient tends to share. Endless Snow Spiralling Gentle is such a track, with quick piano runs above slow, churning noises and harmonized flutes. The sound effects on the whole album are extremely well-arranged, always adding a new color to the sound. As the title and art of the album might have hinted, the overall sound is fairly celestial, or mystical if you will, which becomes all the more of a grabbing element as the album continues.
While some may misunderstand ambient music as just a bunch of keyboard layers, let them be pathetically mistaken. Anything from white noise to single female choirs to squeaking gears or chiming bells can be found here, amongst the subtle keyboard progressions. Babies crying, women screaming, it’s all good. But what’s important is that none of it feels forced. The arrangements are as natural as can be because of the space provided to allow each section to spread its wealth. Also featured are a few moments of hypnotic string passages beside creaking raindrops for an unknown amount of time, something featured and built upon more and more on the future releases.
As far as musical progression goes, it seems like ambient is starting to take the lead. While most of rock and metal are stuck in pop structures, ambient doesn’t even glance back as it forges its own molds of what music is supposed to sound like, that being whatever the artist envisions to be a worthwhile expression. Dahlia’s Tear is, especially with the next two records, standing at the forefront of this movement along with many dark acts waiting to be found. This is not an album with hooks, but an album meant to overcome you. Music is a higher power, and this is a good start to understand it.