Amon – Mer

There is scarcely more than inky gray dimness on this CDr... Dying glimmers of sounds, saturated with the acoustic blueprints of infinite chasms and the coldness of subterranean stone, then cloaked in a deep and supernatural sleep inducing fog. Amon have noticeably excluded the repetitious / ritualistic percussive and looped elements employed by other dark ambient practitioners like Lustmord and Archon Satani, and brought spacial mixing and production subtleties to the fore for a mindbending dream journey to make Thomas Koner proud. The smooth ebb and flow of the sound is never broken or disturbed for the duration of this aptly titled disk, which will clearly bore some and mesmerize others. Rich, ear pleasing resonances can be found all throughout the album and Amon prove to be naturals at channeling the natural perfection of the overtone series. All the tracks are generally similar in timbre, tone and pacing, as is typical and fitting for albums of this kind.

The first track, "Foundation", starts in the thick of it with a round, bassy hum that begins to slowly breathe in and out like the respirations of a hibernating dragon. "Osirion" by slight contrast, is rushing and active, with sweeping patterns like air currents forming within a vast metallic space. "Secret Chamber" starts as an eerie shimmer akin to the glint cast by gold coins on a cave wall, or the fleeting silhouettes of massive underwater behemoths passing below. By the end, faint choral voices can be heard sounding out in the distance, and it's as if they're sounding out across time from some ancient place. "Darkside Return II" is a hollower, more rapidly undulating howl joined by beastly whispers, flanges and echoes of far off avalanches. It's probably the most threatening and urgent piece on the album. In the closer, "Gateway", a little bit of light and melody filters through, and the movement of the central chordal tones recalls cloud movements in much the same way as Steve Roach albums like "Dynamic Stillness".

I think "Mer" is a great album for people who are already fans of vast, dim soundscapes evoking subterranean locales. I would especially recommend it to fans of Yen Pox or Lull, who make music quite similar in sound to this disk. If you're new to dark ambience or long form, minimalist soundscapes in general, try out some Lustmord or Robert Rich first.

4/5

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