Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient.

Background/Info: One of the absolute leaders and most influential artists of contemporary dark-ambient music Peter Andersson aka Raison D’Être joined hands with the Canadian Cyclic Law to unleash his newest creation. “Alchymeia” has been inspired by the famous theme of archetypes from Carl Gustav Jung. The album is available as a CD and for the very first time in a vinyl format as well.

Content: The work takes off with church bells and lethargic chants, which often has been a trademark of Raison D’Être. Quite progressively the work moves towards dark sonic corridors reflecting a strong visual appeal. “Alchymeia” slowly touches the senses of the listener who rapidly will develop a state of paranoia. The grim sound atmospheres are regularly accentuated by ritual/mystical elements. Industrial sound treatments reinforce the icy sensation of the composition.

The album features 4 long duration cuts, each going over 17 minutes. The final track is driven by slow, monotone drone sections while new lethargic chants are once again joining in.

+ + + : The main strength and characteristic of Peter Andersson always has been to create a very unique and recognizable dark-ambient sound. He’s one of those artists with a real particular sound DNA. This album reminds me a bit of his earlier work and especially the sacred and ritual elements running through the work are brilliant. The lethargic chants accentuate this sensation while the global sound production recovers the tracks with an extremely anguished touch. All aspects together create a strong and freaky visual sensation, which remains the essence of great dark-ambient music.

– – – : I can’t really say there’s one single minus point on this work. I may be expected an ultimate climax, but got 4 cool cuts instead.

Conclusion: Raison D’Être hasn’t released that much ‘new’ studio albums during the past few years, but “Alchymeia” reveals the Master of dark-ambient music hasn’t lost his creativity to compose tormenting music.

Best songs: “Nigredo”, “Rubedo”, “Albedo”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: https://raison–detre.info / www.facebook.com/raisondetreofficial

Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw