February 01, 2006
As the album progresses the listener travels through water bound places in the wild as you struggle alongside unknown companions to escape unseen forces in the night. Time shifts and landscapes morph into new and undetermined lands as if you walk through a reality constructed of dreams. What was an open marsh under the stars becomes a moment of deep inner reflection alone in an alley. One moment you are exploring the abandoned remains of a deteriorating building and the next moment you are running breathlessly for your life.
Horus CyclicDaemon recently released the fourth deluxe CD in the labels series of illustrious releases. Musterion continues the Horus CyclicDaemon legacy begun by its predecessors the deluxe CD releases “Chaos,” “Lust From The Underworld” and “AL: 100th Anniversary.” With the release of Musterion “Black Lodge” Horus CyclicDaemon once again invites music enthusiasts to partake in a new narrative that is carefully presented through visual and musical media. Like previous deluxe packaged CD’s “Musterion” is a multi-sensory experience constructed with artistic precision and noticeable dedication. The CD comes accompanied by an A5 Booklet printed in color on impressive art grade paper. The CD is housed separately in its own art paper sleeve while the CD and Booklet both come nested in a dedicated and shared envelope. Unveiling Musterion is like unwrapping an elaborate gift from afar. The opening of this package reveals an invitation to a dark world filled with mystery, agony, and dark rites.
Simon AA Kölle is the artists behind the vision of “The Black Lodge.” Readers familiar with the fantasy inspired ambient band Za Frumi or the label Waerloga Records from Sweden may be familiar with Simon AA Kölle’s established musical accomplishments. Those who secured their copy of “AL: 100th Anniversary” from Horus CyclicDaemon may remember Simon AA Kölle’s numerous musical contributions under various names and titles on the album. Simon AA Kölle has established himself as a recognizable force in dark ambient and cinematic ambient music. Simon regularly impregnates his music with dense mantles of narrative that clearly explains characters, plots and even chapters that are meant to be related to the listening experience. Another distinguishing aspect of Simon’s musical output is his excursions into myth, fantasy, and occultism. His work as Za Frumi has explored the world of the Orc as well as the eternal and passionate suffering of the vampire.
On Musterion “The Black Lodge” Simon brings together his talent as a storyteller with his prowess as a cinematic dark ambient musician. The resulting creation is a surreal musical tale based around secret agent Dale Cooper. We are informed that agent Cooper is trapped in “The Black Lodge” which is a dark world that exists independent of our own. He currently inhabits the body of a deceased man named Jerzy Grotowski. We are informed that he is wandering through a stream of dreams, memories, and locations. The tale is loose and many aspects of the story remain shrouded in mystery. Who is agent Dale Cooper? How did he arrive at “The Black Lodge?” Why and how does he inhabit someone else’s body? These questions remain unanswered by the artist and help to generate a particular obscurity that is reminiscent of H. P. Lovecraft. Simon wisely allows the listeners imagination ample room to fill in the missing information so each listner may find their own path through “The Black Lodge.”
The music of Musterion is a cinematic blend of dark ambience, sparse ritualistic percussion, acoustic instrumentation, and carefully placed samples combined with expert sound manipulation and editing. Unlike most dark ambient music Musterion does not linger on a laborious sonority indefinitely. Rather the music evolves dynamically shifting instrumentation and impressions effortlessly in a quest to seduce the imagination of the listner. The album consists of vast soundscapes that drift darkly through foreign lands, exotic rituals, and acts of dark ritualistic depravity performed upon the innocent. As the album progresses the listner travels through water bound places in the wild as you struggle alongside unknown companions to escape unseen forces in the night. Time shifts and landscapes morph into new and undetermined lands as if you walk through a reality constructed of dreams. What was an open marsh under the stars becomes a moment of deep inner reflection alone in an alley. One moment you are exploring the abandoned remains of a deteriorating building and the next moment you are running breathlessly for your life. From the darkness come sinister sounds of unrighteous creatures, romantic nostalgic music wafts by only to dissolve into a rumination of foreign prayers. From all sides come the struggling gurgles of the demented and the screams of the frightened and dying. Just as you become rooted in any of these lengthy songs you blink and find yourself transplanted into yet another surreal reality. From the monasteries of Tibet to the forbidding confines of the “The Black Lodge” you drift in and out of different worlds sometimes as a participant and other times as a victim.
In order to induce such a hallucinatory listening experience Musterion creates music using a wide array of instrumentation ranging from traditional and classical acoustic instruments to purely electronic based sounds. Though many songs are shadowed by dark ominous drones the music in each song reaches way beyond the range and habit of standard dark ambient music. Musterion has striven to bring experimentalism to dark ambient music and has successfully created a cinematic environment previously only pursued by too few capable musicians.
Musterion “The Black Lodge” is definitely the most powerful full length album I have heard Simon AA Kölle participate upon. Fans of Simon’s previous work as Za Frumi will find the cinematic quality of the music familiar though be informed that the scope and intricateness of the songs far exceed Simon’s work with Za Frumi. I highly encourage dark ambient fans that like music that reaches beyond standard drone music to check out Musterion as well. Anyone with a fetish for H. P. Lovecraft or other dark occult inspired narratives is also encouraged to discover Musterion. Musterion is an invitation to close your eyes and be led into a world of shifting shadows, intrigue, and horror. This excellent release is limited to 500 hand signed copies so collectors be aware of the limited nature of this release.
Malahki Thorn