Athanor ATNR030
The first release of Artefactum on the French label Athanor is a thematic work around the four elements and alchemy. Total playtine of the six tracks is 44 minutes which makes it a bit on the short side, but nevertheless the album gives a very good impression of a rising star in the land of dark ambient and occult imagery.
The opening track 'Aurora over labyrinth of the world' sets the mood for this release. With its dark sinister female (!) vocals over an ambience of in darkness performed rituals. After this introduction into the auditive world of Artefactum the CD covers the four elements.
Earth is first and gives us a massive neo-classical soundscape with ocasional pieces op rhythms (allthough repetitive structures would be a better definition). Air is a somewhat more thinner composition and the resemblence to rarefied air is very well struck as the chimes sound in the distance. Fire is for me the most gorgeous of the four elements and this track clearly portraits its danger as well as its beauty.
The final of the four elements is offcourse water and this is the most threatning of the four elemental compositions. Perhaps the usage of the sound of water is a bit too obvious, but it doesn't break the track as a whole.
'From sulphur to mercury: Hermetic triumph' is the closing track of "Chaos Elements". The voice is here and there just a little bit too loud in the stero-spectrum, but that's a matter of taste. It must be said that the underlying drone which slowly changes into a 4-note neoclassical theme is really truly gorgeous.
The sounds used on this CD are despite the variation in subjects quite strongly connected, which allthemore gives us insight in the unity of the four elements.
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