Yet another project from Norwegian mastermind Karsten Harme of (Veiled Allusions, Penitent, Arcane Art), and I think I actually prefer a lot this over most of the other work that I've heard from related projects. The entire disc is made up of billowing dark ambient soundscapes with an excellent touch of subtle orchestration and melody, all wrapped up in a lot of low-end density that creates a consistent feel for the duration of the disc. Field recordings or something of that nature are employed at times that sound like flowing water or the scraping of chains against concrete, but they're very tastefully used, nothing is overpowering or blatant. I like the fact that not all of the songs are long, the range varies from less than three minutes to around 10 minutes. "Into the Abyss" gets slightly more sinister with some of the foreground textures, which I like, but at the same time the track's musical layers are a bit more structured and obvious, and I don't like that aspect of the piece at all... it lacks the abstract soundtrack type of quality that most of the other compositions possess. That thread continues through a good chunk of "Wait for the Wheel" and snippets of "A Life in the Dark" as well, perhaps representing a conscious variation in direction for the latter portion of the record, but I prefer the less tangible melodies of tracks like "The Return". The recording quality is of course very nice, with a lot of density and a really clean delivery. The mastering is perhaps on the quiet side, but that may have been intentional (or necessary) due to the calm nature of the material and the prevalence of bass tones. The layout is all done in black and white with dark photographs of statues (probably either church or graveyard statues) with minimal text. Simple and consistent. Pound for pound this is a nice disc that has amazing promise. I was totally pleased with it until the musical influences starting getting more prominent and brought in some irritating synth patches that rub me the wrong way. But, despite a few flaws, this is still an interesting release.
[Beauty and Pain]
Running time - 56:40, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: The Return, Time Lost, Hidden Memory]
Beauty and Pain - http://www.beautyandpain.com
