seven

this very impressive release is a dedication to the occult; saturn gnosis in particular. eight bands present their tracks on two vinyl records, accompanied by a very impressive booklet packaged together in a small box.

this is one of those cases when the music together with the stellar packaging dramatically enhances the listener's experience. especially in this case, when the artists are dealing with the mysterious and frightening world of the occult. the pictures and texts coupled with iconographic imagery puts you in a right mood while listening to the music of almost epic proportions.

the majority of the material on this disk is very impressive, and most of the bands managed to create monumental and heavy tracks that are not oppressive, and not intentionally frightening; instead they are building mysterious and distant soundscapes that are alien and detached.

my favorite tracks include very impressive "velochrome1" by first law that introduces subtle percussive pulses and nicely orchestrated strings that blend beautifully into the grand atmosphere built by the track.

as usual, inade and herbst9 bring together the best in dark ambient building colossal slowly advancing dark masses that do not dominate the listener, but build up in the distance accompanied by fading noises, sparse percussion, multitude of lost mechanized noises and atmospheric sweeps.

"urfyr" by turbund sturwerk was a pleasant surprise; instead of overly politicized militant atmosphere presented on "weltbrand," it rises up to its peers and builds a dark atmospheric rack with familiar sparse clashing frequencies adding a disturbing touch to the music. other bands presented include endvra, srp, blood axis and predominance.

overall it is a very impressive showcase for loki, bringing out the best in the dark ambient at the same time keeping up with the conceptualism of the record.