There are absolutely millions upon millions of examples of music that are meant to mystify the listener in a way that leaves them in awe at the beauty which the band in question weaves out of nothingness. But, it’s every now and then that you need to take some darkness instead of the light in order to get a proper balance of themes amongst it all. Dark ambient, in particular, along with many other ambient works are perfect for me when I want to drown myself in nothing less than pure darkness, and it’s in my return to Neraterræ that this act yet again delivers fantastically.
I’ve always stuck to the simple idea that ambient music is the exact sort of thing that I just let it wash over me without even thinking about it, and whatever happens happens. It’s led to my mind being taken to vast corners of darkness that are as bottomless as they are entrancing to the highest degree, and it’s with “The Substance of Perception” that Neraterræ taps on that very experience as these seven annals of voiceless drifts through the abyss progress slowly but efficiently. Bringing in additional help from all over the world of dark ambiance, Neraterræ brings forth a great body of work that improves upon everything that was laid down with his previous release from not even two years ago and you can really feel that in every aspect of this record. From the immersion to the diversity in sound amongst the tracks to the ability to continuously draw the listener in with each and every track, there are very few essential goals of a good piece of dark ambient that “The Substance of Perception” doesn’t check off in every instance. And it can be very easy to slip up somewhere along the line and have the final product result in a retread of what many other acts have done before, but Neraterræ easily rose up to the challenge here to provide an experience that’s familiar, yes, but still fresh and ripe for eating right up.
Dark ambient is by far the calmest style that I’ve ever found myself being into, but I find its bottomless depths to be simply enrapturing and it’s thanks to the works of acts like Neraterræ that have and will continue to keep me coming back. With “The Substance of Perception”, I’ve found another ominous piece to guide my way through the dark depths of existence and I can’t wait to see what new sights Neraterræ will have to show us with future works.
LISTEN to “The Substance of Perception” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Neraterrae on Facebook here.
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