Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, soundscape.

Content: Last year Cryo Chamber released one of the most noticeable conceptual albums in history of dark-ambient music. “Cthulhu” was a collaboration of multiple artists in the genre accomplishing a phenomenal work around Lovecraft’s famous Cthulhu mythos and Dream Circle.

“Azatoth” is the successor to this impressive work. It again deals with the fantasy universe of H.P. Lovecraft, which has been transposed into dark sonorities by an impressive list of bands. It’s important to mention this is not a compilation, but an amazing collaboration featuring Atrium Carceri, Kammarheit, Foundation Hope, Taphephobia, Alphaxone, Alt3r3d Stat3, Apocryphos, Aseptic Void, Cryobiosis, Dark Matter, Darkrad, Dronny Darko, Halgrath, Mystified, Wordclock, Sabled Sun, Neizvestija, Randal Collier-Ford, Sjellos, Svartsinn, Tarradaemon and Ugasanie.

Each disc features just one single track. The 1st disc featuring “Azathoth 1” will hold you in its grip for almost an hour. It’s hard to imagine how this collaboration took part, but it once more stands for a real coup de force. You simply don’t get the impression this work resulted from the common efforts of all those bands. You’ll immediately get the impression of embarking on a heavy ambient trip leading you to imaginary freaky places. Low sound waves reinforced by overwhelming dark treatments are emerging to the surface creating a dark and frightening sensation.

Multiple sound treatments suddenly emerge like small pieces of a wider sonic puzzle. “Azathoth” stands for the chemistry of dark sounds, but especially for the chemistry between all those great artists. It’s hard to find the real input of every single formation, but I can assure you the impact of their common labor simply will leave you stupefied. This is for sure one of the most ambitious releases in history of dark-ambient music!

Cavernous passages joined by icy chain and humming sounds of imaginary spirits, plus multiple field recordings imprison the listener in a great, but freaky sonic cage from which you don’t really want to escape. You’ll progressively beg for more, just like reading a thriller which you cannot but down until the very end.

The 2nd disc featuring the track “Azathoth 2” will bring you more than 60 minutes of new chilling experiences. The style hasn’t changed and will directly lead you again towards the darkest corners of your imagination. I get the impression of being aspirated by the mouth of an evil force. This composition is carried by low vibrating sound waves featuring a kind of white noises. There’s a very progressive evolution towards darker and overwhelming passages.

This composition is also characterized by a few more accessible parts accentuating some prosperity. The work however remains ultra dark revealing chilling strings and echoing sound treatments.

Conclusion: It simply sounds incredible how this album has been realized while revealing a perfect cohesion between the input all of artists. I guess there’s no better sonic ode to Lovecraft than this work.

Best songs: “Azathoth 1”, “Azathoth 2”.

Rate: (DP:8½)DP.

Label: www.cryochamberlabel.com / www.facebook.com/CryoChamber

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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In 2014 Cryo Chamber got some of the most prominent dark ambient artists together to synchronise their studios during a year of collaboration creating the album “Cthulhu”. This year Cryo Chamber almost doubles the effort with a rumoured 2CD release follow-up. No less than 20 artists have been working for the last year to synchronise and co-create “Azathoth”. The album is scheduled for release in late 2015.

Note that “Cthulhu” and “Azathoth” are not compilations but collaborations.

The full artist list is as follows: Atrium Carceri, Kammarheit, Foundation Hope, Taphephobia, Alphaxone, Alt3r3d Stat3, Apocryphos, Aseptic Void, Cryobiosis, Dark Matter, Darkrad, Dronny Darko, Halgrath, Mystified, Wordclock, Sabled Sun, Neizvestija, Randal Collier-Ford, Sjellos, Svartsinn, Taphephobia, Terradaemon, Ugasanie.

Here’s a glimpse on what “Cthulhu” sounded like:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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