Bestia Centauri "The Self Immolation Rite" CD
[Somnambulant]
This is a great looking and curiously conceptual release that is sadly on the somewhat boring side in my opinion. First things first, the idea of the release was initiated by a member of a traditional satanist group called the Order of Nine Angels, who contacted this experimental project about creating an updated version of "The Self Immolation Rite", a ritual musical piece originally recorded more than 10 years ago. Rather than simply update the existing music (which was apparently a somewhat tongue-in-cheek effort, I'm not completely clear on that aspect of it), Bestia Centauri opted to create an entirely new "rite", resulting in four untitled tracks running 11 - 13 minutes each, consisting of eerie dark ambient minimalist drones and hums, with undercurrents of subtle melody. Now, the layout looks quite nice, especially the exceptional cover art. After two pages of introductory text explaining the basis for the release as well as some historical information about "The Self Immolation Rite" itself, there is one page each devoted to brightly colored artwork for each of nine "gates" (I guess representing connections to the Order of Nine Angels and such?) - all encompassing the same sort of otherworldly galaxy aesthetic of the cover - which is also an excellent fit for the ethereal, spacious ambience of the soundscapes within. Where do "problems" arise, you ask? Well, I'm not saying they do, I'm just of the opinion that the four tracks herein could be a bit more interesting or forceful on some level. I'm usually a definite fan of consistent minimalism, and I can appreciate those aspects of this work, but while certain bubbling electronic sounds and murky foreground textures add more vibrancy to the work along with a number of panning effects and occasional light distortion that brings swells of volume across a composition, I'm less interested in those sounds. They almost create some sort of sci-fi aesthetic, perhaps also fitting of the visual accompaniment, but I personally am not clear on what such elements have to do with any sort of satanic practice/philosophy or self immolation of any kind. Perhaps that's because I'm not interested in satanic practice/philosophy or self immolation though, who knows? For the most part it is a consistent listen that carries along nicely and flows well, and there are definitely some great sinister passages here and there... it's not a bad record at all, it's just not meeting the high expectations I held for it, based on its appearance, concept, and the fact that it comes from a label whose work I tend to admire quite a bit. I'm not familiar with Bestia Centauri, so I'd like to hear some of the project's other work to see what it might sound like without any sort of pre-determined conditions to meet/derive inspiration from. Not bad. Not something I can totally get into, but not bad. (6/10)
Running time - 47:32, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: they're all untitled]
Somnambulant Records - http://www.somnambulant-records.org

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