Raison D'être
Metamorphyses
6.8
What’s On Tap: Run for your lives! It’s another dark-ambient release from Cold Meat Industry!
Anyone that’s been a fan of this particular genre over the past 15-years is probably well aware of Peter Andersson and his long running dark-ambient project, Raison D’être. Originally formed as a “tool of expression with the goal of self-realization”, the Raison D’être of today has ventured even further down the ambient path as compared to earlier releases, leaving one with the impression Andersson has become even more introspective and meditative over the projects’ 15-years of existence. Nearly gone now are the upfront Gregorian chants, bells and drum samples found on previous works, leaving Metamorphyses: Phase I-VI much more representative of the drone end of the dark-ambient spectrum. Because of this, fans of Andersson’s earlier works might find themselves initially put off by his latest release. In fact, my first spins left me completely unenthused because of what the album seems to deliver on the surface, and I came very close to writing a less than favorable review because of it. But, given Andersson’s long-standing reputation of releasing quality ambient recordings over the years, I decided to shelve things for a while and hope the right mood would eventually strike me so I could give Metamorphyses the attention I felt it truly deserved.
About a week ago, I had an evening to myself where I simply could not figure out what I wanted to listen to, and instead of spending an hour trying to find something in my collection that best suited the evenings’ somber mood, I decided to give Metamorphyses another spin. I turned the lights down, cranked it WAY-the-fuck-up, and let the cascading sound waves and emotions crash and tumble through the synapses of my brain. This time around the six passages found on the record did exactly what I believe they were intended to do – lull me into a quiet, lugubrious state, only to eventually, and very gradually, envelop my entire brain in a cacophonous, industrial wall of melded clanks, scrapings and metal grindings. I was left utterly amazed that a record I had nearly written off a week earlier was now completely and totally engrossing me with its murky (yet often noisy) atmosphere. When the album eventually came to an end, I was left wondering what I could possibly follow it with in order to keep the current mindset flowing, so I ended up listening to the record 4 times in a row. Another week has now passed and I still find myself reaching for this strangely comforting, yet challenging example of industrial-drone done really well.
It’s also worth my pointing out the excellent packaging chosen for this release. Andersson has been quoted in the past as saying, “The artwork of the album should match the content of the music”, and this certainly rings true here as well. One look at the album cover alone should give readers an idea of the swirling, dark-drone-ambience held beneath its surface.
In the end, while I found the dark-drone-ambience of Raison D’être’s latest to be enormously satisfying, I definitely would NOT recommend it to our readers at large. However, for those with a penchant for soundscapes outside the norm, Metamorphyses might fill an evenings void perfectly.
Related
Raison D'êtreReflections From The Time Of Opening
5/13/2005