SONOLOGYST - 'Ancient Death Cults And Beliefs'





CSR270CD (13 March 2019)
CD in digipak
Barcode: 0641871745326

Profound, ritual dark ambient and apocalyptic drones from Italy’s Sonologyst.

The veneration of the dead plays an important role in mythology and (nature) religions. It is inspired by fear for wrath of the deceased, and by obtaining their council and favours. A large part of the religious life concentrated therefore around the death cults. This led to the erection of huge monuments (mastabas, pyramids, grave-temples, and rock-graves) in Egypt… but in ancient China, Mesopotamia, and India the dead were also honoured by impressive monuments and elaborate rituals.

Although the death cults and burial rituals may be different among the nature religions, the reasons are the same; either affection towards the deceased or else fear for the soul wandering in the vicinity of the corpse and which must be appeased (with offerings, prayers, incantations). Common is also a form of cannibalism where the body is eaten in order to obtain some of the strength of the deceased. The mummification of the dead, which originated in the belief of life after death, was an important part of the death cults too.

This album is a deep musical investigation of those cults and beliefs in ancient times. Presented in a matt digipak with evocative, ritualistic artwork by Abby Helasdottir.

Track listing:

1. Purgatorium (8:07)
2. Ceremony (5:50)
3. Primeval Science (6:24)
4. Popol Vuh (4:23)
5. Anubis, House Of Dead Prince (14:59)

Reviews:

"...this is the exact kind of material that easily finds its way underneath your skin to enact its poison as quickly as it can, and the entirety of “Ancient Death Cults and Beliefs” is guilty of nothing but pure intoxication. These are some of the strangest and darkest halls that ambient as a whole have ever taken me down, and every few minutes something comes bounding around the corner to catch you off… an exciting slow burn that has much more within its depths than what it gives away, and Sonologyst uses all of that to his highest advantage to make this album a damn good listen for any fan of ambient and beyond" (5/5, Head-Banger)

"...an album in the same style as Lustmord's Heresy, and executed very skillfully. It is a stygian exploration filled with suffocatingly palpable airspace, the characteristically muted timbres of subterranean, and myriad hints of mammoth emptinesses... convincingly vast and deep... Ancient Death Cults and Beliefs is a very solid and evocative album in a classic dark ambient style, with some added diversity from cleverly blended instrumental playing. In a crowded genre, this recording stands out as one that reaches the level of the classic" (5/5, Musique Machine)

"Sonologyst remains driven and inspired by experimental- and abstract sound treatments, but this album also has something more accessible. The artist reveals a more explicit dark-ambient and ritual input. He creates an astounding atmosphere accentuated by drones and glaring sound treatments. You sometimes get the sensation being purchased by giant scissors so in the end this work still has something paranoiac, which in a way became a kind of Sonologyst trademark... The concept behind the title of this work has inspired Sonologyst to release a meaningful work, which might be considered as a true reference in the artist's work" (8/10, Side-Line)

"Sure, it is dark and mysterious; it is atmospheric and sometimes noisy. But, for example, in 'Primeval Source' there is a soprano saxophone, played by Paulo Chagas, and that gives the music another dimension… I very much enjoy the mixture of styles that Sonologyst offers. He uses some fine set of field recordings, rustling like leaves in 'Puragtorium' or the wooden percussive sounds of 'Anubia, House Of Dead Prince', the mixture of synthesizers and digital processing (in 'Ceremony' most present) and the slow, minimal development he uses in his music… Sonologyst paints a fine musical story with these sounds" (Vital Weekly)

"Ancient Death Cults succeeds because its ominous vibe does not feel forced even if it is overwhelming at times. SONOLOGYST effortlessly takes from genres like drone and dark ambient but knows what to take from them in order to improve upon their formula… an album vastly rich in texture and depth, containing pieces that, even when dealing with the topic of death, feel pretty much alive" (Densidad 20.25)

"The result is a tense feel evoking both ancient and modern technology. Organic and oppressive, the sounds investigate the mysteries of death through the listener’s subjective experience.... Ancient Death Cults And Beliefs stands out as a compelling slab of modern dark ambiance enhanced with generous doses of processing. Well done" (Avant Music News)

"...Annubis, House Of Dead Prints, un quarto d'ora di cupa soundtrack music non distante da Coil, che rappresenta probibilmente l'episodio di maggior spessore della sequenza, e nell'esoterica sostanza di cui - intessuta Popul Vuh, mentre Purgatorium si incanala in una valida, sulfurea, dark ambient, Lustmordiana, otto minuti in cui sembra in lontananza di avvertire un pertinente flauto... ed in Primeval Science, dove trova spazio anche un sassofono, si stagliano freddi suoni metallici su un tetro drone" (7/8, Blow Up)

"Sonidos segmentados entre el dark ambient y el ritual...en Ancient Death Cults And Beliefs el artista nos plantea una suerte de recreación acerca de los ritos celebrados por las primeras culturas que poblaron el planeta hace ya más de seis milenios... Las atmósferas generadas funcionan como canales de conexión con el otro mundo. Son portales de acceso a lo desconocido en los que Pezzella nos expone una perspectiva muy realista acerca del contexto generado en una celebración cuya única pretensión es consumar este objetivo... [Sonologyst] logra subsumirnos en las profundidades del inconsciente, donde la oscuridad guía al espíritu por caminos delineados por el misterio" (4/5, NOmelody)

"...decisamente oscuro, dedito, quasi come un'analisi antropologica, alla scoperta dei culti dei morti delle civiltà antiche e al ruolo che la morte ha avuto nella mitologia e nelle prime religioni... Pezzella compie quindi un tragitto basato su un susseguirsi di droni tra synth e sax manipolati... il brano più imponente si trova alla fine, nei quindici minuti di “Anubis, House Of Dead Prince”, statici e monumentali, nuova colata di nero tra synth, archi, clarinetto e percussioni, un lungo percorso in compagnia di esseri misteriosi verso l’ignoto" (Ondarock)

"...un nuovo tema ispiratore che porta il suono a piegare verso la ritualità, in ossequio alla venerazione dei morti ed al timore della loro ira... Non una costruzione artefatta ispirata alle visioni evocate dai temi proposti, bensì un'intima esplorazione delle atmosfere che caratterizzano la ritualità dei culti legati alla morte, non senza un apporto dronico che arricchisce le minimali trame dark ambient. Un passo cerimoniale che odora di secoli perduti... sprofonda in un buio minaccioso...  Decisamente consigliato agli esploratori della ritualità intellettualmente più sincera." (Darkroom)

"L’album ci richiede di chiudere gli occhi e mettere su le cuffie per cercare di cogliere le più piccole sfumature, per farci entrare nella storia di queste civiltà, consegnandoci una vera e propria pagina di storia... Sembra quasi che sia la divinità a mostrarci il mondo di cui è custode, tanto il dark ambient unito ad una atmosfera particolarmente mistica ci porta alla scoperta di un mondo lontanissimo e irreale, ma senz’altro ricco di pathos... Se volete approfondire la storia di queste antiche culture attraverso un medium differente, quello musicale, questo è l’album che fa per voi. Curato nei particolari, suggestivo, atmosferico e cinematico" (Flux Project)

“SONOLOGYSTs neueste Vorstellung führt uns in die menschlichen Abgründe, gleich einem Naturschauspiel. Denn Angst war gestern als auch heute keine erquickliche Voraussetzung, das irdische Leben zu bestreiten... [ein] klaustrophobische Achterbahnfahrt... Das Abenteuer scheint tiefer und tiefer, durch die Höllenfinsternis zu gehen... In der Stille stellt sich hernach die Frage, was dies eben gewesen sein mochte? Cinematic-Dark-Drone-Rituals” (Streetclip)

"Questo lavoro è terribilmente attuale nel trattare un tema che nell'era moderne e vissuto senza accettazione.... un'analisi della morte, come culto nelle religioni e eiviltà antiche, atraverso cinque brani che catapultano l'ascoltatore in un immaginario sonoro tra cuo dark ambient e musica tribale" (75/100, Rumore)