Bass Communion - Loss (2006)

Dark Ambient Drone/ Minimalist

Another fantastic album from Bass Communion.

Loss is a dark, twisted and brilliantly conceptual effort with complex layering and textures. It explores the emotions surrounding loss, grief and mourning in the living and a ghostly, haunting remnants of the dead in a person's mind or the environment.

There are no electronic samples used on this album, the sounds are either instruments or field samples. The first side starts with the instant realisation of loss. A single moment in which the grief starts and descends into melancholy – possibly represented by the girl on the album cover. The dissonant, lonely piano at the start throws you right in whilst haunting samples and ambient noise are gradually introduced until the piano dissapears and is replaced by an open, surreal soundscape. Side 2 is the decent into madness with the piano now concentrating on the much lower frequency with distant swirling ambient noise.

This is a brave and ambitious endeavour, to interpret using sound the manifestations of the thoughts and processes of the mind when struggling with intense and inconceivable melancholy of the loss of a loved one and, in some cases, the permanent damage to the metal health of the grieving. The emotions explored in this work are so surreal and subjective, that words can barely suffice to explain it. Only music such as this brings it out and visualises these feelings in a person's consciousness.

If this appeals to you, I highly recommend buying the CD as it contains a 24 bit high resolution stereo mix and a 5.1 mix so this work can be listened to as it was intended.

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Bass Communion - Chiaroscuro (2009)

Style: Ambient Drone

Chiaroscuro: (a contrast between light and dark)

This is the first and only live recoding my Steven Wilson under the pseudonym, Bass Communion. It was recorded in Antwerp, Belguim, in November 2008 entitled "Frenzy Of The Absolute Show" using just a laptop and guitar.

Bass Communion is one of the most interesting side projects that Steven has undertaken and by far my favourite. I have never come across ambient music that is so genuine, atmospheric, dark and twisted. The only other act that comes close to achieving the sense of limitless atmosphere and 'super natural' sounds, is the highly recommended work of Dirk Series (Fear Falls Burning) and the collaborative act between him and Steven Wilson (Continuum)

This recording is certainly one of the 'heavier' recordings that he has put out. The sound gradually builds into a swirling white noise then slowly slipping into a spectural, guitar orientated drone similar to the 'Ghost on Magnetic Tape' sessions. The sound then falls into an eerie and spooky textural soundscape with slow pulsing bass notes.

The second track, Fusilier, a gradually building pulse of textures culminating in more swirling white noise, was recorded in Mexico City and London in February 2008 again just using a laptop and guitar but with some post-production layering and editing.

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Cynic - Focus (1993) (Reissue)

Style: Progressive Death Metal/ Jazz/ Fusion influences.

Please read review below (Traced in Air) for a more detailed explanation of this band's sound.

This is Cynic's debut album and musically it is much heavier than their latest album, Traced in Air. The vocal style utilises far more elements of death metal and the use of the vocoder to achieve the 'robotic sounding' vocals.

The overall sound on this album is heaver, darker and twisted than that of their latest album. The riffs are more dissonant, the solos are more death metal influenced, but they have retained their jazz/fusion influences and employed them in a darker and atmospheric way.

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Cynic - Traced in Air (2008)

Style: Progressive Metal/ Jazz and fusion influences.

I remember seeing this band open for Opeth in Bristol (2008) for the first time and their sheer professionalism and musicianship really shone through.

Cynic are a progressive death metal band from Miami, Florida, that uses elements of jazz and fusion in their highly complex music. The release of their debut album, 'Focus', in 1993 was widely regarded as one of the best examples of the genre. 15 years later they reformed and released this album. The main stylistic trait that is immediately apparent is the 'robotic' sounding vocals, achieved using a vocoder.

The death metal and vocoder elements that can be heard in Focus have been toned down on this album and have instead opted for a more softer, melodic vocal style, while still retaining the highly complex, technical sound of their previous album. Although technically this album is similar to their previous work, musically it follows the softer more harmonious vocals with interludes of clean dreamy guitars, tight metal riffs and solos that contain a heavily influenced jazz/fusion sound. The tracks 'Integral Birth' and 'Adam's Murmur' are good examples of this.

It is clear that elements of Cynic's sound have influenced other bands like 'Necophagist' and 'The Faceless.'

Highly recommended.

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Katatonia - Night is the New Day (2009)

Style: Melancholic Doom Metal

This is, in my opinion, Katatonia at their best. This is the latest offering by the Swedish masters of melancholy and, to be honest, musically it is it similar to their last album, 'The Great Cold Distance.'

Katatonia have been touting their particular brand of melancholic doom metal for a while now, and what I have been observing is a gradual evolution in terms of their own distinctive sound, and in this album everything comes together just a bit better than their last effort. All of the key ingredients are here for a typically polished Katatonia record: Jonas Renske's vocals are sad and mournful, heavy, tight riffs from the guitars and bursts of atmospheric melatron and top quality production to set it all off.

While I feel that the songs rather seem to blend together, each seems to have their own flavour, bearing in mind that their songs over the last few years have been sounding very similar. Not that I think this is anything bad though. The band have obviously realised they have hit upon a certain sound that they have honed and developed it culminating in this work - with Liberation being by far my most favourite track.

The more I listen to this record, the more I think that this music would suit to have David Lynch behind in making some of their music videos, that would be a real visual treat. If you don't agree, load up Wikipedia and observe the film poster on the Mulholland Drive article, whilst playing particularly 'Liberation,' and see how well it fits. But I digress.

My favourite album released this year so far.

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Esoteric - Subconscious Dissolution into the Continuum (2004)

Style: Slow Doom Metal

Please read the review below for this band's latest album, 'The Maniacal Vale,' to give you a taste of what this band are all about.

Another great example of this band's work. Although the production is weaker to that of their latest album, the sheer insanity and hopelessness that this music induces is still conveyed just as effectivly.

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Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale (2008)

Style: Slow Doom Metal

It's not often that I pick up a new album by an artist I've never heard of before and hearing something so new and whose material is hard to compare with other music I've listened to before.

This album did just that for me. Esoteric are an obscure band from Birmingham specialising in very slow, doomy, disturbing insanity. This is their latest album, clocking in at an epic two hours spread over two discs, give the listener an illusion of never-ending hopelessness and futility if they are brave, or patient enough, to sit through this onslaught.

The first track, 'Circle,' starts off in a deceptively tame fashion, then slowly it begins to build. Just when it gets to the point where you are comfortable, the carpet gets pulled from underneath your feet and the insanity begins. It drags you down in a slow never ending spiral into a void where everything is hopeless. Dissonant chords melt into crushing riffs, scarred throughout with eerie and sorrowful guitar melodies. Half way through the song, just as it seems to reach its climax, the whole structure collapses, leaving you in an empty ambient soundscape with a lone guitar pushing things along. There seems now to be hope, it sounds like it might be winding down. No chance. The massive, dissonant chords start up again, even slower and more aggressive. After this, what seems like eternal drone, collapses under its own weight, and the remains slowly die out into a single synth chord where it finally rings out. Truly epic. And that's just the first track.

The second disc starts off with 'Silence,' a similar melodic intro, then dragging you down into the bowls of Hell once more. The last track 'Ignotum per Ignotius' is by far my most favourite and encapsulates all of the twisted brutality, hopelessness and the ambient atmosphere of the previous hour and a half.

One of my favourite albums of last year.

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Oceansize - Frames (2007)

Style: Progressive Rock/Indie

It took me a while to get into this album, but I am now really pleased that I persevered with it. Whilst I have not had the chance to listen to any of their earlier material to compare, Oceansize have certainly produced once of the most professional and well produced albums I have heard this year so far.

The first track, 'Commemorative______T-Shirt,' pulls you in gradually, but effectively. It starts off with a lone piano ostinato and introduces other instruments as the song progresses. What first stuck me was the quality of the production and recording and how creatively the other instruments were introduced round one central theme.

The overall flavour that follows features lots of shimmering guitar melodies and melodic vocals, with 'Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions' being a heaver, almost Meshuggah or Nine-Inch-Nails like exception to this rule.

Whilst I believe there are a couple of weaker tracks on the album, the other songs are very catchy and well-written. I found that after the hooks caught in my head, I started listening to this album a lot more. The tracks 'Unfamiliar,' 'Trail of Life' and 'Savant,' as well as the first track, is a perfect example of how remarkable this album can be in terms of its aforementioned guitar melodies, textures and melodic vocals.

This is certainly a rewarding album to those willing to listen intently to its subtitles and excellent production.

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Richard Barbieri - Stranger Inside (2008)

Style: Art Rock/Dark Ambient

This is the latest solo album from Porcupine Tree's keyboardist Richard Barbieri, mastered by Steven Wilson.

It is a largely instrumental album with the overall mood being dreamy and textural. It features some cleverly produced voice samples - from Tim Bowness and Susan Barbieri – which adds even more depth to this dark and atmospheric work.

The first song, 'Cave', stands on its own as a more industrial sounding track, and makes way for the slower, calmer tracks that are to follow. It is clear that the sound of Porcupine Tree has influenced the sound on this album, more so than his previous works; tracks like 'All Fall Down' and 'Morphia' are good examples of this. These tracks feature a gorgeous double bass that pushes the music along, which is reminiscent of the kind of sound used on Porcupine Tree's 'Recordings' album.

This is the sort of album which gets better every time you listen to it. The textures, and the clever use of sampling, creates a rich soundscape that listeners will no doubt hear something new each time.

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Lunatic Soul - Lunatic Soul (2008)

Style: Progressive, atmospheric rock.

A recently discovered gem. This is an album by Mariusz Duda, the vocalist from the Polish Prog band Riverside. This dark, conceptual album explores the philosophy and reflection on death and the possibility of life after death.

As you can guess from the brief synopsis above, this is not shaping up to be a very uplifting album, however, don't let this put you off. The songs contained within this album are elegant and atmospheric and exults Mariusz's talent as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Musically, this album is very simple, and focuses on the incredible vocals and the complex production. The vocal harmonies are rich and sorrowful and the bass and drums deserve special attention in terms of their production and role within the album. The drum sounds are partically effective on the tracks 'Near Life Experience' and 'The Final Truth' in terms of conveying a more atmospheric mood.

The choice of instrumentation is interesting too. It is a lot softer and slower than the work of Riverside that Mariusz has previously become associated with. There is a wide range of timbre, including a flute on one of the first tracks 'The New Beginning,' setting the theme of a transient, out-of-body experience, hinting at the overall mood of what's to come.

This certainly stands on its own as a well-written, conceptual album, with a solid performance all round. Ideally, you would want to be listening to this on a decent Hi-fi system that really shows off the subtleties in this work.

Mariusz has announced that he is working on a second Lunatic Soul album which I will be most looking forward too. In conclusion, a highly recommended album in terms of the quality of the song writing, musicianship and production.

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Bass Communion - Ghosts on Magnetic Tape (2004)

Style: Dark Ambient/Minimalist/Experimental


As this is my first post, I thought it appropriate to showcase a slightly obscure record from Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree - who has been one of my greatest and most loved artists of all time.

This album comes from one of Steven's more ambitious projects, Bass Communion, an experimental ambient drone project, specialising in dark and textural sounds.

The theme for this album explores the phenomenon known as EVP - or Electronic Voice Phenomenon - which is the name given to random electronically generated sounds or noises, normally heard when playing back a recording on reel-to-reel tape, that the human mind mistakes for voices. It is a real phenomenon that some people have suggested that these sounds or voices are a connection to some sort of spirit world.

The sounds on this album are incredibly haunting and consist of long ambient drones that has been beautifully produced resulting in one of his best works. It is highly recommended to listen to this with headphones at night to really give it the attention it deserves.

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