Neraterrae – Scenes From The Sublime (Album – Cyclic Law)
Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, cinematographic.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: One year after his debut album “The Substance Of Perception”, Italian composer Alessio Antoni strikes back with a similar concept. He again invited some familiar names active at the wider fields of dark-ambient music to contribute each on one track. So you’ll discover collaborations with Phelios, Dødsmaskin, Phragments, Yann Hagimont (Cober Ord) and George Zafiriadis (Martyria), Mount Shrine, Xerxes The Dark and Yann Hagimont (Cober Ord), Alphaxone, Leila Abdul-Rauf, Shrine. And there’s like a concept in the concept as each track is inspired by a famous painting (or writing).
Content: The tracks are varied, but the cohesive element between them all is the fascination for darkness. The album reflects a kind of nearby disaster, which is created by overwhelming sound waves and sinister sound arrangements. Some tracks are featuring extra elements such as drones, astral atmospheres, sounds of classical instruments and even a few vocals.
+ + + : Just as on the debut album, this work reveals a great selection of guests. The difference however is that this album sounds more accomplished. There’s a stronger visual strength emerging from the work. I was mainly impressed by the overwhelming sound production running through “The Last Abjurer” featuring Phelios. Other noticeable cuts are “The Collapse Of Matter And Time” (which is the single cut from the album without any contributor) and “Towards Oneiric Truths” featuring Leila Abdul-Rauf. But my favorite cut is “Thou, Daemon“ featuring vocals by Yann Hagimont (Cober Ord) plus George Zafiriadis (Martyria). This track has something dark and even tenebrous.
– – – : I can’t say that some tracks remained unachieved, but some are missing a true apotheosis.
Conclusion: I think it’s not an easy thing to manage such a work featuring multiple guests on each composition, but there’s a noticeable evolution from the debut album towards this new one.
Best songs: “Thou, Daemon”, “The Last Abjurer” “The Collapse Of Matter And Time”, “Towards Oneiric Truths”, “Virtues Of The Dawn”.
Rate: (7).
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