Headlines, Reviews

Nimh/Sleepwalker :: Empire of Sand (Ksenza)

Written by Philippe Blache on

More in Headlines:

Share this ::

Empire of Sand provides impeccably built darkened droning soundscapes with an emotional and nihilistic apex. The whole sonic architecture is centered on assaultive, multi-layered harsh electric guitar patterns; micro-noisy, grainy ambient electronics; and a grandiose, spellbinding dystopian cinematic component.

Dedicated to the defense of extreme music

Ksenza Records is an undisputed key indie label dedicated to the defense of extreme music, from merciless (post-)metal subgenres to deep ambient music, electro-cinematic spells, and abstract noise. I’m familiar with part of their catalogue, including releases by Nytt Land, who have also published major works on Cold Spring (U.K.), as well as Sutekh Hexen and Thisquietarmy.

This collaborative effort is the result of a groundbreaking artistic meeting between Nimh (the project of pioneering Italian post-industrial and ethno-ritual drone musician Giuseppe Verticchio) and Sleepwalker (the project of the mastering engineer behind Ksenza). Empire of Sand provides impeccably built darkened droning soundscapes with an emotional and nihilistic apex. The whole sonic architecture is centered on assaultive, multi-layered harsh electric guitar patterns; micro-noisy, grainy ambient electronics; and a grandiose, spellbinding dystopian cinematic component.

The brooding and elegantly evocative moving pieces lead the listener into a dense metaphysical post-human world surrounded by decaying fortresses, aural figures from the past, forlorn mythological creatures, ghoulish presences, and tearful angels. Some moments of lightness and serenity occasionally emerge from the desolate, isolationist sensorial bath, as in the elegiac gothadelic anthem “Empire of Sand” and the ascending “The Endless Journey.”

The perfect bleak soundtrack for an immersion into ominous sci-fi novels depicting subterranean, cold, anguished, demonic, fearful, and paroxysmal worlds at the border between real and imaginary time, notably found in the classic books of M. P. Shiel, C. Ashton Smith, N. Henneberg, and R. W. Chambers. An awe-inspiring album that is a highly recommended addition for those who enjoy mystical and dark musical odysseys where organic ambient meets drone metal and entrancing noise. Fans of Monocube, Shrine, Nadja, Locrian, Khanate, and similar artists won’t be disappointed.

Empire of Sand is available on Ksenza. [Bandcamp]

marconi-union-multiforms-ambient-transmissions-v3-out-now-728x90
Share this ::

Related posts ::

NIMH :: Nine Years of Decadence (Fluttering Dragon) Nimh :: Before And After Silence (Zoharum) Nimh :: Iron and Ice (Silentes) Nimh and Antikatechon :: Out Hunting for Teeth (Rage In Eden) Fomalhaut & Nimh :: From The Longest Winter (Zoharum)

Graduated in cultural anthropology, Philippe Blache focuses his researches on entrepreneurship issues in luxury industry, family business as well as in creative industry (musical topics). He has published several articles in the area of economic sociology and industrial geography. Still related to academic studies he developed a growing interest in the phenomenology of shared musical experience, let him contributing to a few several symposiums and thematical books. He has worked as musical reviewer since 2004 and his expertise is well appreciated in the fields of ambient, drone, downtempo, dark wave, industrial music as well as in new musicals scenes (mainly minimalist school) and electro-acoustic researches. In 2011 he formed his own creative musical project titled Day Before Us with an inclination for darkly ritualized gothic atmospheres, sampled droning textures and ethereal poetical escapism sometimes augmented by vocal lines. The project is officially signed on various indie labels and occasionally provides sound installations in a multiplicity of contexts.