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 | Lustmørd:Heresy (Soleilmoon - 1990) They call it "Dark Ambient" for a reason! Deep subterranean atmospheres sound like you've entered some dangerous underworld. If you like the dark though, you won't think it's Hell. |
| Lustmørd, aka Brian Williams, is known to dwell on the darker side of the ambient spectrum and this is one of his defining projects. He and sound technician Andrew Lagowski, have, according to the liner notes, utilised source material recorded "within crypts, caverns, mines, deep shelters and catacombs... with material of a seismic and volcanic origin." The utter darkness of the original sounds permeates this recording! Some hellishly wailing sax forms a duet with a foghorn-like bellow in Part I. The duo becomes a trio when anguished electronic roars join in. IMO, the animalistic growls, etc. are taken just a bit over the top, resembling dinosaur effects from an old movie. It's just another day in Lustmørd's murky world. Part II is quieter, and this perhaps makes it more unsettling. A low hum is the base over which distant rumbles echo. The sax-from-Hell wails again here and there over this spooky soundscape. Various shadowy moans, hisses and pulses are heard as well. The longest track at 16 minutes, Part III begins softly, with quiet gritty textures. Grumbling drones and windy sonic gusts roll across this dimly lit terrain. A not-quite-human voice deeply bellows somewhere within the wind. The final minutes are dominated by what sounds like a repeating two-note tuba blast interspersed with occasional electronics. Part IV is the CD's shortest track at 6.34. The air fills with a distance-blurred clatter of sound while various pipe-tones blow over it. Picture a foggy, desolate and bare alien shoreline. Muted explosions appear as well, adding more menace to the scene. Distorted mechanical sounds and animalistic squeals punctuate Part V, one of the "louder" tracks. Sonorous woodwind-like strains are accented by windchimes tinkling in Hell's sultry breeze. Assorted growls and groans also flow in that fetid air. Low-pitched strings and watery effects open Part VI. A heavily processed human voice chants some unknowable phrase. Dark pulses of sonic energy swirl and hidden creatures howl from the abyss. Muffled thunderclaps and reverberating drones choke off whatever fresh air remains. The dweller in the pit has been summoned... |
| Heresy is a shining example of ambient darkness! It's dreary, yet interesting. Spooky, but not campy. It's Dark! It's Ambient! It's Lustmørd! Here's my very appreciative thumb. |  |
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