TheForgotton

This is hard for me to review as I really like what's going on in each song but I hate the sound of it. Vulv'air strikes me as a general MIDI guide-track that was never fleshed out. I'm a fan of this type of rhythmically interesting progressive rock and was reminded of British groups like Van Der Graaf Generator and Egg at times.

I would love to hear this album properly recorded or perhaps with some decent VST instruments.

This song to me is like a picture window. A thin pane of glass is all that keeps the elements out, and a storm seems to be entertaining to those inside up until the moment it shatters into shards under the strain of nature's fury.

The Gate of Silence is an excellent album for fans of deep, spacey ambient and meditative, textured drones.

I generally prefer my ambient to be beatless, so I was a little less than thrilled by part 1. The ethnic percussion lingers over some very subdued background pads. It seems like an intro to a song that never materializes.

Much more atmospheric than its predecessor, part 2 evokes underground spaces. There are some cavernous echoes and drops of water throughout and sweeping pads come through at a couple of key moments. Very cool.

The third part has more of a hypnotic, minimalist approach, with a synthesizer and piano pattern played throughout. There is enough variety to the ostinato that it doesn't bore, and there are a lot of layers that peek through behind the moving notes.

Part 4 puts me in the same introspective, heightened state that I get from Steve Roach's Immersions. I think it's fairly fast-moving for a long-form soundscape, as it carries a sense of motion within its seemingly still drones. There are lots of sonic flutterings as it builds to a crescendo of waves crashing on a beach. Brilliant!

This is my first experience with the artist's work and it made for a very nice surprise. I'd say that the 2nd and 4th tracks are the strongest. Soundscape enthusiasts may want to skip Part1 on their first listen.