[In Brief] Skadi, Letum, RAAN

Chthonic Cathedral Project recommendations

Today I bring you the third in my series of capsule album recommendations, as seen on my Bandcamp fan page. I’m moving all the mini-reviews I wrote onto Substack, to make sure they’re preserved outside of Bandcamp.

You can also check out the earlier installments: the first covers Holotrop, Abandoned Shelter, & Catonium) and the second covers HEXA, Phragments, & Hyios.

If you’re familiar with these brilliant works, enjoy the trip down memory lane. If they’re new to you, you’re in for a treat!

In Brief: Skadi - Love and Sorrow

The dreamlike and hypnotic "Remembrance" draws me in, the intricate percussive elements of "Dreamcatcher" inspire me to dance…then the melancholia of "Infinite Sorrow" followed by the deep and cavernous "Respectus" take me on an extended journey through the emotional terrain of loss, grief, and the shadow self. And that dramatic, unnerving sudden shift near the 4-minute mark in "Lost" is stunning. Never fails to give me chills.

In Brief: Letum - The Fifth State of Grief

Letum's trademark bleak atmospheres mix beautifully here with the more bombastic passages he's also known for. I own the CD as well as the digital version of this long-awaited release, and I must say that the gloomy funereal art on the CD - which is also the work of the multi-talented Mathias Henriksson - is gorgeous. Can't decide if my favourite track is "The Mourning Ritual," "Cast Me Into the Depth," or "Let Go," but in any case, I'm impressed.

In Brief: R | A | A | N - The Nacrasti

This lush, masterful audio travelogue through bleak desert landscapes is listed as "required listening" in many best-of-dark-ambient lists, and for good reason. Subdued but densely and alluringly layered, Stig Berg's work is in peak form here. Standout tracks include "Passage Nacrastan," "Lilin," and "Arrival of the Sek."

Headphones recommended to pick up the subtleties of the really faint sections.