Atrium Carceri – Codex (CD Album – Cryo chamber)
Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, dark-ambient.
Background/Info: Cryo Chamber label owner Simon Heath returned to his Mother-ship project Atrium Carceri releasing the thirteenth solo-album of the project. “Codex” took three years to finish and features 11 tracks.
Content: “Codex” brings the listener instantly in a sonic labyrinth of dark vibrating sounds, bursting noises, resonating drones and multiple field recordings. It creates a sensation of desolation mixing oppressive sound passages with more evasive parts. The work also reveals piano passages and arrangements adding an authentic touch to the work.
+ + + : It’s interesting to see the evolution of Atrium Carceri from his very first releases on Cold Meat Industry towards the recent productions. It’s a move from pure dark-ambient towards a more dark-cinematic work. The common element remains the overwhelming darkness supporting all of the productions and, which now again characterizes the new work. The anguishing passages have a very strong visual appeal. Simon Heath creates an obscure, but harmonious fusion between all the dark ingredients. The musician transforms himself into a truly sound scientist who knows the formula to transpose sounds into imaginary images.
– – – : I maybe would have preferred a few longer and more elaborated cuts instead on these eleven cuts. But globally speaking, Atrium Carceri remains faithful to its poignant sound universe.
Conclusion: Darkness can become something intimate and even personal so you sometimes feel as a voyeur discovering the sonic universe of “Codex”.
Best songs: “Sacrifice To The Machine”, “The Ancient City”, “The Void”, “The Citadel”.
Rate: (8).
Artist: www.atriumcarceri.com / www.facebook.com/Atrium–Carceri-376509390774
Label: www.cryochamberlabel.com / www.facebook.com/CryoChamber
About Atrium Carceri
Atrium Carceri is the dark-ambient project of Swedish musician Simon Heath, launched in 2003 with the album “Cellblock” on Cold Meat Industry. Heath went on to found the Cryo Chamber label in 2012 and also runs the side-projects Sabled Sun and Krusseldorf. The catalog continued with “Seishinbyouin” (2004), “Kapnobatai” (2005), “Ptahil” (2007), “Souyuan” (2008), “Phrenitis” (2009), “Reliquiae”, “Void” and “Sacrosanct” (all 2012), and “The Untold” (2013). Heath also teamed up with Apocryphos and Kammarheit for “Metropolis” and “Onyx” (both 2015) and “Echo” (2017), alongside the archive release “Archives I-II” (2016) and the soundtrack work “Black Corner Den” (2017). “Codex”, reviewed here, took three years to complete and arrived alongside “Miles To Midnight” and “Ur Djupan Dal”, both also released in 2018. Atrium Carceri continued with “Black Stage Of Night” in 2019, “Colossus” in 2022, “Forgotten Gods” in 2023 and “Apparatus” in 2024.
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