abasio Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Evan Bartholomew Secret Entries Into Darkness Somnia 2008 Tracklist 1 Secret Entries Into Darkness (9:53) 2 Cracks In The Fabric Of The Known (6:32) 3 Soft Spots In The Tyranny Of Matter (11:10) 4 Where Forgotten Days Slumber (9:11) 5 And Ancient Hurts Dwell (8:34) 6 Light Reflecting Black In Shadow (6:54) 7 Freedom Found In Surrender (3:23) Evan Bartholomew (Bluetech) is out with his second release on his sub label Somnia. It's his second release in quick succession & alarm bells should be ringing that someone with such a high production rate is probably sacrificing quality for quantity. But as Caverns of Time was so good, I had to get this as soon as I could. So how did it turn out? Well it's a very descriptive piece of ambient. It's dark, paranoid & very trippy. Let me share with you my journey. 1. Secret Entries Into Darkness A cold night wind moves silently through the soundscape. The feeling of soft paranoia & a sense that I am somewhere I shouldn't be flow through me. I imagine standing in a construction yard at night, the large machines looming ominously in the shadows. (P)sirens wail from out of the shadows adding more to the sense of danger. The machines although completely stationary seem to come alive, they stare at me menacingly. I must know they are inanimate but I can't help but feel they are plotting to do me wrong. A very paranoid state of mind. 2. Cracks In The Fabric Of The Known From my mild paranoia in the construction yard I fall deeper into my own insanity as the walls of my reality come crumbling down. Every shadow has a presence, every building has teeth and everyone I see on the street has a motive. I run through the dark streets, I cross the road to avoid others, I run down the back alleys to be alone but always there are presences. The doors here have eyes, they are staring at me. I crouch in the corner so they don't see me. The trash on the ground though, I think it wants to attack me. Why me? Why do I have to suffer the wrath of the night? The wind rushes around me, it is the wind of lost souls trying to take me down I know. I can't let them, I can't let them take me. I must be strong. 3. Soft Spots In The Tyranny Of Matter I fail in my attempt and the trash souls grab my hair & drag me down, under the concrete of the pavement, deep down passed the soil, passed the fossils & the packed layers of history into the realm of the lost. Here I stay, crouched, cornered, alone. There are things all around me, moving and paying me no attention. Occasionally one will come in contact with me but it's cold. So cold. This whole place is cold, strange, I thought it would be hot. Funny how preconceptions are usually completely wrong. Swarms of locusts engulf my senses, all around me. My brain panics but my body does not respond. I sit there with the swarm engulfing me in it's blackness. All I can see for a while is the moving nothingness of the swarm. As the swarm dissipates my body moves. I don't direct it but it seems curious as to the soft light in the distance. I slowly crawl towards the light, scared of what I might find in these depths that could cast such a light but unable to slow my progression. The light casts dirty shadows on the walls beside me, each one has a mind, a face an ill intent. From the light I can here the sounds of birds being dishonoured & suddenly a light melodious voice bleeps out. Then I see her, standing there, surrounded by the suffering game. 4. Where Forgotten Days Slumber She turns to me & her smile makes me forget myself. Where I am, who I am what I do or ever did has become like a dream. I want to remember everything but mind is now filled with only one thing and as my lust grows I can feel the wall of my existence being pushed until bursting point. I can't quite grasp what's happening & despite my overwhelming desire to retreat inwards I can't help but push out. The speed with which my new reality is removed surprises me & the percussive sounds I hear only drive my mind further & further into an abyss of nothingness. My memory blank, my cognitive reasoning deactivated all I am left with are primal feelings & instinct. My feelings are based around fear, paranoia & malevolence. My instinct tells me to seek asylum from the darkness. I dream of light, I dream of the light that used to fill the sky, of the light that used to keep me company at night & the light that was so recently taken away. Or was it recent? Was it not a different lifetime ago? 5. And Ancient Hurts Dwell As music drives me further into the centre of the world I see myself across from me. I am standing tall looking back at me looking over at myself. How do I see me? Do I look as tall as I do? This place has lots of living things. I can hear them milling about musically. The buzz here and there & each one makes a sound that connects to another sound making music they are unaware of. I know it though, I can detect there secret song. They can not keep their ancient secrets from me. Trains sing as they go round corners. Demons laugh as they rise up through your heart. Psirens are here, they call to me and so deeper I go. I see their loathsome beauty & I itch for it, their song has bewitched me with it's gruesome melody & the simplicity of it is imprisonment of my mind, body but not my soul. My soul has gone AWOL & I hope it is safe somewhere far from this desperate ancient abode of the damned. 6. Light Reflecting Black In Shadow After years, if not minutes, of wandering I finally find myself somewhere else. The light has gone but everything is clear. I cannot see yet everything casts a shadow. The shadows lift & as my eyes follow them I can see the pinpoints of light in the night sky. When did I come outside? My only memories in life have been underground but now those are fading away & I'm over come with the openness of the celestial sphere. Huge metal creatures hang in the sky, there reverberating statement bearing down on me as I stare up bewildered. Wondering how the black can look so different from the black. A shadow on a black canvas I realise is as perceptible as on a white wall. 7. Freedom Found In Surrender As my world crashes in, the demons desert me, leaving me isolated & alone. the fear of my solitude is fierce until I give into it. As soon as I give myself over my soul rejoices. I can hear a beautiful melody played on an Earthly instrument. I think it's called a piano. It calls to me & as I open my eyes I find myself on a deep set sofa, I look around and people glance at me, I don't like how they are staring but the human contact after so many years alone in the darkness of the Terran Abyss is comforting. Nice trip they ask! What? Quite a trip I think. What was only around an hour managed to feel like an eternity. In a good way! This has a little more rhythm that his first album but this is just as descriptive & manages to tell more of a story. It's a dark story however you tell it. how dark I suppose depends on your state of mind & mood when you listen to it. However it's always a dark journey into the depths of my soul. A fantastic feeling of death without having to die. To sink deep into the bowels of the world without having to leave your own physical body, or even your living room. Like ambient? Get this! Like journeys? Get this! Like instantly gratifying shallow music? Get away from this! I hope other people enjoy this as much as I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melancholyman Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Thx for a great review, I was planning on reviewing this but..never have the time to dig in. I like the way Evan has made it feel on some tracks thats you are falling down a spiral deeper and deeper. Very clever use of sounds, great album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 is this more ambient/slow style, or more like psytrance fast ? tnx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anoebis Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 is this more ambient/slow style, or more like psytrance fast ? tnx Very slow, but with a little rhytm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 is this more ambient/slow style, or more like psytrance fast ? tnx So how did it turn out? Well it's a very descriptive piece of ambient. It's dark, paranoid & very trippy. Like Ambient? Get this! Like journeys? Get this! Like instantly gratifying shallow music? Get away from this! Very psychedelic but not trance! Extremely ambient. Just a few beats here and there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nurbs Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Great review Abasio . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healium Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 So you would recommend Caverns of Time then? I'm looking for some fresh and innovative downtempo - was there a review posted for Caverns of Time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 So you would recommend Caverns of Time then? I'm looking for some fresh and innovative downtempo - was there a review posted for Caverns of Time?Yes I would! & yes there is Click Here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkraver Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I absolutely love this! More than "Caverns Of Time" I think. Evan is a magician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trancedigital Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I enjoyed this album. It's best experienced when listened to as a continuous mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 I enjoyed this album. It's best experienced when listened to as a continuous mix. It most definitely is. Most albums are IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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