Shrine – Nausicaä (Album – Cyclic Law)
Genre/Influences: Cinematic, Dark-Ambient.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Bulgarian artist Hristo Gospodinov is back on track unleashing a new album of his Shrine music project. After having released an album on Cryo Chamber he moved back to Cyclic Law releasing an album based on ‘a Japanese manga from the 80’s by Hayao Miyazaki and the subsequent anime of the same name.’
Content: Shrine remains faithful to elements of Dark-Ambient and Cinematic music. It remains a dark work mixing the aforementioned influences together with slow rhythms and analogue-like sound treatments. I also noticed a few different cuts like a pure ambient piece reminding me of pioneers in the Electro-Ambient style and a last cut, which sounds like early Delerium.
+ + + : Shrine doesn’t exactly repeat itself, but dares to explore new sonic paths. The work sounds diversified revealing different noticeable tracks. “Extinction” is a brilliant and poignant creation revealing pure darkness, but I especially like the way this cut has been progressively built up. That’s a trademark which also comes back in a few more songs and even creates a Trance sensation. “A World Reborn” is the most surprising cut for being something different. I like the slow cadence, but especially the icy sound treatments. This track will appeal to early-Delerium lovers.
– – – : This is probably the most unique Shrine album I’ve ever heard. I can easily imagine it will not please all Shrine lovers.
Conclusion: Shrine remains an interesting experience in Dark-Ambient and Cinematic music.
Best songs: “A World Reborn”, “Extinction”, “Twilight Of Man”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: http://shrine.me.uk
Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw
About Shrine
Hristo Gospodinov founded Shrine in Bulgaria in 2003. Early releases came out on Corvus Records. The project later joined Cyclic Law, releasing the full-length albums “Somnia” (2012) and “Nihil” (2014), followed by the concept album “Ordeal 26.04.86” (2016), a 6-track release dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, issued in a limited edition of 500 copies as a 4-panel CD digipack with artwork by Dehn Sora and Hristo Gospodinov. Shrine went on to release an album on Cryo Chamber before returning to Cyclic Law for “Nausicaä”, based on the 1980s manga and anime of the same name by Hayao Miyazaki.
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