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The Figurehead is a self-titled release from the owner of the Swedish mirakelmusik netlabel. It is released on and downloadable for free from another netlabel, Benekkea. The music on this short album is best described as a mixture of dark ambient and industrial. The production is good, but headphones are essential in this case, or you'll miss a lot of the detail.
"Nightmares" is a fairly conventional dark ambient track with gloomy drones and some nice samples, and it is firmly placed in the tradition of the Cold Meat Industry school. "Walking Dead" sounds quite different, based on a very obscure rendition of what sounds a bit like a sample of the well known movement from Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet". Some other sounds are mixed in and out, most notably a very faint opera voice, but the whole remains dark and plodding, like the title suggests. "Behind The Black Sun" is more ambient again, based on dark synth drones and soft crackling noises. "The Awakening" shows The Figurehead from its more industrial and rhythmic side. The track is dominated by a noisy unstraightforward beat, which alternates with some dark waves of sound, and is very suitable for playing on dark dance nights (DJ hint). And in the end, we're back to the laid-back soundscapes with "Darkness Falls", again a mix of synth drones and soft samples and sounds, fading into a gently noisy end.
This is a very solid dark ambient release with a rhythmic touch here and there. I don't think this is groundbreaking, nor does it transcend any genre boundaries, so if you're not deep into ambient, you'd best leave this aside. But, especially considering it's a free release, this is definitely worth getting if you are fond of (dark) ambient and industrial. A promising artist and fine release.
O.S.
"Nightmares" is a fairly conventional dark ambient track with gloomy drones and some nice samples, and it is firmly placed in the tradition of the Cold Meat Industry school. "Walking Dead" sounds quite different, based on a very obscure rendition of what sounds a bit like a sample of the well known movement from Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet". Some other sounds are mixed in and out, most notably a very faint opera voice, but the whole remains dark and plodding, like the title suggests. "Behind The Black Sun" is more ambient again, based on dark synth drones and soft crackling noises. "The Awakening" shows The Figurehead from its more industrial and rhythmic side. The track is dominated by a noisy unstraightforward beat, which alternates with some dark waves of sound, and is very suitable for playing on dark dance nights (DJ hint). And in the end, we're back to the laid-back soundscapes with "Darkness Falls", again a mix of synth drones and soft samples and sounds, fading into a gently noisy end.
This is a very solid dark ambient release with a rhythmic touch here and there. I don't think this is groundbreaking, nor does it transcend any genre boundaries, so if you're not deep into ambient, you'd best leave this aside. But, especially considering it's a free release, this is definitely worth getting if you are fond of (dark) ambient and industrial. A promising artist and fine release.
O.S.