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Artist: Cryobiosis Title: Within Ruins Label: Cryo Chamber Date: May, 2013 1. Enthrall 2. Frigid Silence 3. Somewhere Safe 4. Recollection 5. The Corridors Beneath 6. Murkfall 7. Corroded 8. Through Debris 9. Forgotten 10. As the World Decays 11. Departure 12. Serenity What I've come to understand about dark ambient is that it is a vehicle for your imagination. I suppose that could apply to all music, but definitely in this genre. This is pretty good dark ambient that explores the deserted structures of ancient civilizations. Recorded in Romania by Cristian Voicu it is characterized by that eerie atmosphere which Simon Heath (Atrium Carceri) is known for. One aspect I like about this is that while relying heavily on effects and melancholy tone it is more than just drone ambient. Isolating melodies and pads stir up memories of a cold December, perhaps of a fortress ruled by a long dead monarch. Maybe of ghosts wandering beneath a deserted temple. Murkfall conjures up images of a massive Viking vessel with its creaking planks as it lolls listfully at sea devoid of crew. But even though the album starts off strongly it eventually gets lost as you get deeper into it. What was once eerie and interesting soon becomes just background noise. Forgotten sounds like Cristian recorded his cat walking back and forth on his aunt's piano. It moves slowly (very slowly) along with all the sounds you come to expect from dark ambient and you'll notice that a lot of those sounds are repeated. It doesn't frighten yet it does bring about a feeling that you are not alone thereby accomplishing its goal in stimulating the imagination. Think of it as the soundtrack to a dark, slow journey through the past. Not the best I've heard, but worth a listen. If I had to put a number on it, 6/10. Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Dark Matter Title: How Cold Is The Sun Label: Cryo Chamber Date: July, 2013 1. Be Yourself For Me 2. Creature Called Human 3. Obscured By Clouds 4. Something Like...Home 5. Reality Is Just An Illusion 6. Of Fractured Light and Void 7. Every Empty Evening 8. Psychomachine Picture a frozen landscape and unending solitude. Or a deserted space freighter that should be full of crew. Just you and the sound of your own breathing. Perhaps the crunch of snow underneath your boot. Oh you'll hear voices and see things. Things like a people torn open. Blood splattered all over million dollar hardware. Things like the frost forming on your fingertips and your breath coming in ever shortening gasps. But is it the bone chilling cold or the shocking isolation that has you hearing and seeing things? Is it real or just...something else? Dark ambient bordering on drone can affect people differently. Some love the dark atmosphere and some think it's boring as hell. There are no beats to be found here so effects in this situation can make all the difference. Cryo Chamber is Simon Heath's digital label and it has done it again. The sounds of alien feasting in Creature Called Human is creepy and visceral speaking of an ancient evil that has been awakened. It rises to a cacophony of tortured souls. Something Like...Home is a downright pants sh*tter that will bring to mind all types of terrifying horror imagery. Other tracks rely on the hypnotic wail of drones to push you farther down into the darkness. If you love horror movies and aren't afraid of the dark, get this. It's cold, hypnotic and rife with terror. I found myself holding my breath on several occasions. But be warned...there is no daylight. There is no way out. Whether it's the cold of deep space or a frozen installation lush pads and effects will quicken the heart rate. You'll be carried away. Mdk

Artist: Atrium Carceri Title: Void Label: Cryo Chamber Date: July, 2012 1. Dear Diary 2. Humanity's Cradle 3. A Curved Blade 4. Reselected 5. Victorian Meltdown 6. Passage 7. Endless Deep 8. Debt 9. Trembling 10. Slower 11. Ancient Past 12. Reap Simon Heath is back with another entry into the macabre. If you like the dark side of ambient and horror movies are your thing then this is for you. With eerie melodies and a heaping dose of serial killer mystique this is sinfully delicious. We love to be frightened and the effects used will conjure up every movie you've seen where the dumb b*tch trips and allows the monster to gain ground. Where Jack the Ripper paralyzes an entire city with fear. Most of the tracks are bite sized morsels which helps maintain the shiver quotient, but even the long ones drip with regret. He is the master and if you put this on at 3 am in the dark you will see some sh*t. *rubs arms and looks around nervously* I need to go wake up my kids and play some Candyland in this motherf*cker. Check out all this guy's scary releases. Mdk

Artist: Atrium Carceri & Eldar Title: Sacrosanct Label: Cryo Chamber Date: August, 2012 1. Withering 2. Tomorrow's Dust 3. Freeman 4. The Vault 5. Betrayal 6. So They Speak 7. Sol 8. Of Salt 9. Burial "Hey there! Do you like excitement?" "Do you like suspense?" "Do you like Nell Carter?" "Good cause you won't find her here. This is the house of horror and for you it's absolutely free. Step right in." -ICP What? No Nell Carter? Give me a break... This is the side project (can you really call it a side project when he has released 9 albums?) of Simon Heath of Krusseldorf fame. Actually I think he has been more prolific with this project, so maybe Krusseldorf is the side project. Whichever is right Simon has been producing the dark spooky ambient that will have you recalling images from every horror movie you have ever seen. Be it a Japanese asylum or abandoned prison he creates the atmosphere that will stick with you. On this album he joins forces with another dark ambient producer Eldar. But you have to listen to this at the right moment. You can't bump this in your 64. Because like a husband that is stupid enough to truthfully answer his wife's question, "Does this make me look fat?" there is no bumping. I was gonna say like Dr. Dre with a broken subwoofer, but...you get what I mean. But 4am and you can't sleep cause you've had 4 glasses of caffeine heavy sweet tea? Oh hell yeah. So I sit in a comfy chair in the dark and put the headphones on and immerse myself in this macabre nightmare and hold up...did that...did that shadow just move? Nah, just a chair, I'm stupid. Withering begins the show with a science fiction feel as the cold impersonal sounds of higher technology hum to life. Ok, I'm thinking Event Horizon and the deep cold of an abandoned space freighter. Tomorrow's Dust brings the sounds of wind blowing through the twisted remains of some metal structure and it grows in noisy intensity as a continuous bass note strums. The Matrix when we realize that life outside of that computer program is a shell of yesterday. Man that tension builds. Freeman is my favorite with the percussive pattern and warning pads make this a dark delight. It moves slowly gathering fear of what's around the corner as a primary weapon. This is a lurk with an evil sneer. The Exorcist. Definitely the exorcist. The Vault is the discovery of a tomb that hasn't been opened in a very long time. It breathes with malediction, as if angry its slumber has been disturbed. But what I see is Johhny Depp's Jack the Ripper and the terror that must've enveloped London at that time. Deliciously evil as you can hear the cries of lost souls. Betrayal has more motion and I'm kinda like what the f*ck? This doesn't fit with any of the previous tracks. Perhaps it could be a chase scene before the pads dominate on the way out. I wouldn't have put it there. So They Speak hits you with a 19th century Dickensian London feel. Dark pads and eerie piano melodies slowly ring amidst the winds of early winter. London can be a dreary place anyway, but just imagining it back then and I'm looking for old Xanax prescriptions. Pull the coat closer as the heat begins to escape rapidly. Perhaps Sol could see you wandering the halls of a dilapidated building just waiting for that fat f*ck with the pig mask to fire up that chain saw. Where the f*ck is he? The dark pads rumble (yeah they do) while melancholy piano strings are plucked with remorse. Of Salt didn't impress me. It seemed unfocused and not something you want at over 7 minutes. Maybe unfocused isn't the right word. Lack of cohesion would work here. At times it was hopeful and others dark. In the end it didn't maintain the uneasy or fear quotient. Or...maybe it's the burning of the dead as the flames spit and crackle. Ohhhhh! You so qwever! Sorry, Asian slant. F*ck, that was an accident. I should stop talking. Simon ends with a great closer. Burial was dreary and unending and must've been how Europe felt during the Black Plague. Mountains of bodies, the very fabric of society ripped apart... Man that was 50 minutes well spent. Dark and apocalyptic in places it hit me just right. At 4 am. In total darkness. Look at the track names, this is not a carnival. Unless it's a dark carnival and then I'm sure ICP will have some copyright issues with you. There were some tracks I felt were misplaced, but the mood was maintained most of the way through. His music paints an avid picture and the let's your mind deal with the sordid details. Good stuff as usual. Cryo Chamber Mdk