Tunnels Of Āh – The Smeared Cloth 2012-2018 Unearthed (Album – Zoharum)
Genre/Influences: Ritual, Industrial, Dark-Ambient, Drone, Experimental.
Format: Digital, 2CD.
Background/Info: British Industrial music veteran Stephen Āh Burroughs (known from Head Of David) released now twenty years ago the debut album of his solo-project Tunnels Of Āh. This album is a selection of previously unreleased tracks which have been released as a double CD.
Content: The first disc features 11 tracks originally released in between 2012 and 2015 which means we here get compositions from the period of the official debut album. The second disc reveals 10 more unreleased cuts originally composed in between 2016 and 2018. The common element between all cuts is the very particular, specific, sound universe created by Burroughs. The sound is a perfect mix between noticeable Ritual elements, Dark-Ambient atmospheres, and Drone. It’s a cold sound universe featuring spoken vocals empowering the mysterious and Ritual sphere of the work.
+ + + : I think it’s a damned good idea these previously unreleased sonic pearls have been recovered from dust. The composition perfectly stands for the obscure universe of Tunnels Of Āh and doesn’t really sound outdated. This work brings us back to the perfect sonic osmosis between Ritual, Drone and Dark-Ambient. The work features multiple outstanding cuts. I’ve a little preference for the second disc. This work will appeal to lovers of Z’Ev and co. I also have to say a word about the great, sober, artwork of the album.
– – – : Most of the tracks are pretty extended so in the end it might be a true marathon listening to this album. The fans will be pleased…
Conclusion: Great previously unreleased material by sonic master Stephen Burroughs.
Best songs: “Camphor”, “To The Paschal Victim”, “Circumcision (Hunter Christ)”, “Brute World”, “Keys King At Womb Door Again”, “In A Pig Ark dark”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/TheTunnelsOfAh
Label: www.zoharum.com / www.facebook.com/zoharum
About Tunnels Of Āh
Formed in January 2013, Tunnels Of Āh is Stephen Āh Burroughs (previously part of the cult band Head Of David).
Tunnels Of Āh signed to historical UK label Cold Spring Records in 2013 for the debut album “Lost Corridors”, followed by “Thus Avici” (2015), “Surgical Fires” (2016), “Charnel Transmissions” (2018), and “Deathless Mind” in 2020. “The Smeared Cloth 2012-2018 Unearthed”, released on Zoharum in 2023, collects previously unreleased material recorded during those same years.
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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.
