Darkspace have a certain charm to them. From their avoidance of song and album names to the completely unrelenting nature of the music, they show a delightfully single-minded focus on what they want to do.And what do they do? Their namesake, the only word in their discography, tells you all that you need to know. Darkspace are an ambience-heavy black metal band focused around (surprise) space. Their formula is simple: constant blast beats, whirring guitars, and howling vocals all blended together in a miasma of cold synths. It's the exact same recipe as used in their sister band, Paysage d'Hiver, albeit without the extract of winter. As the album drifts on, it's common for the guitars and drums to blend into a cosmic static, leaving the synths to take the brut of the songs. Sometimes the journey pulls back into more corporeal realms with the gravity of chugging guitar sections, but, in general, III is all about the ambience. And it works. It works rather well. Although none of the individual elements on the album are impressive on their own, they achieve power when taken as a whole.
The problem, as you might guess, is that the songs can start to blur together, at least for the first half of the album. However, I find that it's hard to hold this against them due to the trance-like sound they fashion. Plus, III isn't just 79 minutes of watching the stars go by in lightspeed - "3.14" mixes it up, bringing the pace down to a doom level, while "3.15" gives us a gorgeous little ambient interlude. I will complain about the last song, though - you can barely tell there are any vocals going on. Raise that shit up already!
If you're willing to give a little on musical prowess in exchange for atmosphere, don't pass this up.
Verdict: Win [4/5] (metal anti-particles)
http://www.myspace.com/darkcyberspace
No comments:
Post a Comment