Xerxes the Dark – Final Crisis (Album – Zāl Records)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Cinematographic, Experimental.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: Iranian producer ‘Morego Dimmer’ strikes back with a new opus of his beloved Dark-Ambient project Xerxes The Dark. He’s involved with other projects such as Morego, Nyctalllz, Blind Owl ao, but is mainly active under the Xerxes The Dark moniker. This album is inspired by the idea of a parallel existence.
Content: The album takes off with an impressive, heavy Ambient cut adding the listener into a dark universe. The sound universe of this artist is characterized by an impressive cocktail of noises and field recordings. He supported his work with a dense and obscure atmosphere, which can become disturbing at some moments. I also noticed a few tracks, which are more chaotic.
+ + + : This artist already impressed me for his production skills at the latest Morego releases. He now transposed these skills into the Dark-Ambient approach of Xerxes The Dark, creating a mind-blowing sound with a strong visual appeal. But the main strength of this work is for sure the impressive sonic canvas he created. The writing is extremely detailed, like a sonic puzzle filled with endless sound treatments and multiple field recordings.
– – – : The album is maybe missing a total climax and that’s maybe because most of the track reveal an impressive high qualitative standard. I’m less convinced by a more chaotic piece like “Crisis – Pt.1 Microspcopic Black Holes”.
Conclusion: Xerxes The Dark is one of the uncontested leading formations of the Iranian Dark-Ambient scene.
Best songs: “The Hiding – Alternate Edit”, “Interaction”, “Parallel Disturbance”.
Rate: (8).
Artist: www.facebook.com/xerxes.the.dark
Label: www.facebook.com/zaalrecords
About Xerxes The Dark
Xerxes The Dark is the dark-ambient project of Iranian producer Mohamad Reza Govahi, also known as Morego Dimmer. Alongside Xerxes The Dark, Govahi runs Morego, a project exploring IDM, psy-trance and experimental music released via labels including Ovnimoon Records. His Xerxes The Dark work is built from field recordings and analog synthesizers, shaping the dense atmosphere carried through releases such as “Final Crisis” on Zāl Records.
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