Style.....: Dark Ambient Label.....: First Fallen Star
Innfallen represents the fourth release on First Fallen Star and continues to walk the ambient realms, albeit in far more darker passages. Seeing their first three releases, this is going to be a promising new dark-ambient label with quality releases. Innfallen delivers with "Three Days of Darkness" their debut release. The members of Innfallen are Kevin Scala and Doyle Finley, known from Invercauld, and is mastered by J. Stillings of Steel Hook Prostheses. So my expectations run instantly high.
Innfallen created Lovecraftian dark-ambient with pinches of black ambient. While most black ambient is Lovecraft themed, this is still a very striking and authentic release. The most striking thing is the layered and very immersive sound. I've heard dime a dozen Lovecraft inspired ambient works, and much of it is not always very inspired. Some go for a more minimal approach; others make it more of an ambient noise release. Well, it doesn't matter what route you take, it's what you're doing with it. Like size! Innfallen create some very dense and dark atmospheres, without sounding cheap. It's also told as a travelogue, where you have a built-up with the first couple of tracks, then the middle of the album represents the three days of darkness, spread over three tracks, and the last three songs belong to the epilogue. Where a lot of those themed albums go wrong with putting random evil sounds to get an effect, this works as a kind of sound story that is very much the equivalent of reading something by Lovecraft. The album has a great storytelling quality that really works very well. It does also not sound evil for the sake of it, and has some lighter moments too, so it creates of well-balanced album of light and darkness.
I'm really very impressed with this album. While the concept of a Lovecraftian dark-ambient album may not be original to say the least, this album as a whole is amazing! The sounds and structures are very inspired and inventive and have great depth. Part of this of course is because of the great mastering by J. Stillings. Well it seems like the last couple of weeks before this year is over keeps overwhelming me with really great albums, to follow the saying, the best for last! And lest not forget the great A5 packaging, which perfectly compliments the music! So I highly recommend this album by Innfallen and First Fallen Star will be one of the new highlights of dark-ambient labels.
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