CLXIII. Flores Funebres | A Moment Before Nothingness

FLORES FUNEBRES

A Moment Before Nothingness

©Ambientaria. France, 2010.

 

‟Flores Funebres is an one man band from Poland, formed by Mespheris in 2001. From the beginning, the project was based on elements of orchestral/classical music, dark wave, dark ambient and on instrumental parts inspired by black metal.

Flores Funebres music is often symbolic. It includes elements of the philosophy of nihilism, fear of death with a simultaneous fascination with the phenomenon of passing. The music is sometimes inspired by the metaphorical character of Lucifer, but also deals with universal issues and questions about the meaning of existence.

Flores Funebres explores the feelings of despair, grief, melancholy, suicidal thoughts, emptiness, pain of life… It is a musical exploration of the literary world of the late 19th century and of the aesthetics of decadence.‟

Ambientaria

CXXXIV. Dark Muse | Sounds From Beyond The Silver Wheel

DARK MUSE

Sounds From Beyond The Silver Wheel

©The Fossil Dungeon. US, 2002.

‟Obtuse gothicism blurs and loops into an ethereal wonderland in this hour of shadowy she-spawned eardreams. Rising and falling on eerie waves with vague accents, "Queen of the World of Spirits" calls from faraway with her phantasmal moans. Throbbing ceremonial drums resonate from behind the wispy vocal veils fluttering in "Certain Angst," reminiscent of a homegrown Dead Can Dance.

A fogbank drone seeps into/out of "Luna Flow (The Deep)," its gaseous movements obscured by boiling grayness, occasionally gleaming with mysterious energies, rarely identifiable as instrumentation. So nice to have a feminine force operating in such vaporous realms! The mist-ified tinkle of metals is buoyed by a weirdly rolling sonic sea in the slow-simmering abstract murk of "Silver Wheel Flow" (5:22). Muted/mutated strings toll before "Disorder" (11:30) is swallowed in layers of female croonings, swaying like tattered scraps of lace in a twilight breeze.

Besides weaving entrancingly dank atmospheres in her Dark Muse mode, Phyll also crafts intricately jeweled adornments at ...eyescreamjewelry.... The seemingly disparate endeavors are in fact entwined. Both sound and jewelry merge Gothic, Victorian, Renaissance, Medieval, Art Nouveau, Celtic, Egyptian and Pagan influences into beguiling new shapes. Decorate your own chambers with the melancholy majesty of "Sounds from Beyond the Silver Wheel.‟

David Opdyke 

 

CXIX. Faith And The Muse | Elyria

FAITH AND THE MUSE

Elyria

©Tess. US, 1994.

‟Faith and the Muse found me at a very good time, a time i was searching for something new to listen to, something i could really latch on to - the 'next big thing'. And they fit the bill perfectly. 'Annwyn, Beneath the Waves', their second, was actually the one to reach me first, but it was only a matter of time from there that i delved into the rest of their catalogue, including Elyria, their debut.

Very diverse band, tying in lots of gothic, Celtic, and even tribal influences... and i love tribal influences. Dark, atmospheric, moody, heavy, they run pretty much the whole Gauntlet of Goth. Vocalist/instrumentalist Monica Richards, formerly of Strange Boutique, has a wonderful, vaguely-Siouxsie Sioux-ish voice, and while she may be a little 'pitchy', the studio finds her at her best, and former-Christian Death/Mephisto Walz instrumentalist William Faith is simply incredible. And Elyria was a beautiful starting point for this highly-recommended band.‟

Drakkar