I love repeating myself as much as the next narcissist, but even I’m starting to get tired of talking about the inherent contradictions in “metallic” Dark Ambient. The Universe doesn’t want me to stop, however, and have sent Trepaneringsritualen & Sutekh Hexen (T&SH – I’m not typing that again) to record a live album. The live album – sloppy, raw and drenched in shouts and cheers – seems the very essence of Metal’s Rock n’ Roll heritage, and the exact antithesis of such a delicate, deliberate style of music as Dark Ambient, but One Hundred Year Storm (Pesanta Urfolk) is a two-track, hour long live recording of Pagan/Ritual Ambient that’s easier to imagine coming from a studio.
The good news is that it works surprisingly well, T&SH building up an effect atmosphere through the use of static, guitar drones and distorted vocals. One reason for the success is that this is much more dynamic than a lot Dark Ambient – though atmosphere is still paramount, each track has a sense of moving forward towards a particular goal. Things “happen”, to put it crudely, and the music avoids the aimlessness that their peers sometimes fall into. The sound is generally effective, though sometimes a little distant or fuzzy, and the different layers of sound are clearly audible.
As I’ve already mentioned, however, One Hundred Year Storm is a live album – and that means crowd noise. There is something genuinely disorientating about the cheers and clapping that sometimes breaks out during quieter moments. This is music that builds atmosphere and tension – having a bunch of “Wooh! Yeah!”’s intrude upon that is like watching someone doodle a smiley face on a piece of modern art, and can drag you rather awkwardly from the effect T&SH create.
One Hundred Year Storm is a genuinely effective, captivating piece of dynamic Ambient Noise, and possibly a good starting place for Metallers who want to explore this style but fear that it may bore them.
8.0/10
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RICHIE H-R