Strange Lights and Distant Sounds

Not one to repeat himself, Wraithlord sole proprietor M aka Maximilianus Transylvanus has brought out a beautiful dark ambient work in "Strange Lights and Distant Sounds", following on from the cinematic tapestry of symphonic / atmospheric doom BM / black'n'roll that is "The Ballad of John Joel Glanton". A single-track EP, "Strange Lights …" is inspired by the music of 1970s-era German experimental cosmic psychedelic rock acts Klaus Schulze, Popol Vuh, Ash Ra Tempel and Cosmic Jokers, and of later artists who were also inspired by these bands, like Fenriz's Neptune Towers. As such, this is actually a very good companion piece to "The Ballad …" EP as it is very streamlined and minimal in its execution, serene for much of its length, hypnotic and immersive … in short, it's nearly everything "The Ballad …" is not, save for the misanthropic point of view they share. The front cover artwork for the EP release – well it would be the front cover artwork if the EP were to be released in physical format, as at this time of review it is available only as a digital work on Bandcamp – may suggest creepy sci-fi horror.

For the first ten minutes the track is a gradually growing and developing dark ambient dronescape with an underlying counterpoint synth rhythm busily beavering away as if to erode the church organ drone and various other effects (including a sighing heavenly choir) above. More and more effects plus a rhythmic percussion loop and howling guitar feedback pile on top. At this point the entire track is very ominous and sinister in mood. Everything then recedes into a compressed noise drone out of which a new dimension threatens to emerge. And emerge it does, in distant droning guitar feedback and spooky atmospheric synth effects that transform into quivery streaming metallic drone blur and whistling streams of noise swish. Depending on your mood, you can feel a sense of dark floating tranquillity or wonder at this strange and unique phenomenon. A lead guitar solo here is very likely to hold you spellbound even as you're being absorbed into this amorphous monster and background freezing winds rise up overhead and obliterate the dark skies. Droning church organ, guitar doodle melody and the sounds of forest night creatures serenade you as you pass into yet another dimension in time and space.

I did find the first half of the EP more enjoyable than the second half, though the later music in its apparently heavenly serenity may well be the creepier, more insidious half: the early music has a real sense of wonder and radiance, and there's something a little Darkspace-y here too that the real Darkspace hasn't managed to recapture since that band lost Zorgh back in 2019. The transformation, almost amounting to a rebirth, from the busier, more cosmically oriented music into a steady sinuous beast is smooth and well crafted: you really can't help but be drawn into this second birth of a new and wondrous realm even as it spells danger and demise. At the end, your friends and family will wonder where you've gone, as all they will find of you is maybe your torchlight and trodden leaves from the forest where you were last seen.

While this homage to Kosmische Rock and Neptune Towers fits its theme and achieves what it sets out to do - to hold you spellbound and draw you into its trap - I do have the impression that much more could be done with the music here, that could turn it into a real, almost three-dimensional soundtrack to an imaginary sci-fi horror film. Probably sometime in the future this work can be revisited and remade into a new incarnation with some of the original themes but with more original, even eccentric music.