Church Of Ra

Artist: 
Album Title: 
Church Of Ra
Release Date: 
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Review Type: 

Following the -in mean time legendary- Brethren. Bound Of Blood.-series (a series of split-EP’s with cult-act Amenra and one of the other projects involved within the Church Of Ra-alliance), it was time to create another highlight, going further than the four former splits. As a matter of fact, this is not just a split with individual material from the collaborators, but rather a unique project of magical proportions. Most bands or projects involved in the Church Of Ra contribute with own material, carefully ‘dissected into single instruments, single notes, distant sounds, all mingled; they sought to become a new language, a new world …’. The result was created, assembled, mixed and mastered by Treha Sektori, one of the projects behind Dehn Sora (check this webzine’s update on July 15th 2014 to read the review on Severh Sehenh, the newest epos by Treha Sektori, released via Cyclic Law).

The original pieces re-worked right here are done by Amenra (evidently…), Oathbreaker, Hessian, The Black Heart Rebellion, Pieces Of Quiet, Hive Destruction, Sembler Deah (which also includes Amenra-members as well as Dehn Sora, by the way), and Treha Sektori. Dehn Sora (or in extension, his solo-outfit Treha Sektori) divided these experiments into two pieces, called CORREMIXES01 and CORREMIXES02. The first one lasts for twenty minutes, the second for eight and a half.

CORREMIXES01 (‘church of ra remixes 01’…) starts the nihilistic, monotonous and lo-fi way, misty and desolate. But after a couple of minutes, this slowly evolves into a mostly obscure, asphyxiating Drone-work with an atmosphere that is both haunting / ominous as esoteric / spiritual. And there is more to come, for this first piece on the Church Of Ra-EP conjures with hints of Sludge, Minimal Industrial, introvert Ambient, Death Industrial and atmospheric / melodic sounds from different yet related angles. What about, for example, the moony, deep-emotional lead at nine minutes (close your eyes and let this shoegazed feeling caress your brain)?

CORREMIXES02 goes on in the very same setting, but it comes with a floating, droning and hypnotic back-ground sound and an approach much more monotonous and minimalistic. Because it’s shorter and more within a coordinating mood, this second creation is less exciting, but it does not mean less interesting. Something to dream away…

With Church Of Ra, Dehn Sora proves to be a crafted sound-wizard. The result of this conceptual experiment is above expectations. Don’t let Consouling Sounds or the Church Of Ra-ensemble down and buy this obscure yet refreshing stuff.

And to Church Of Ra: I hope this is just the beginning, not a one-off collaboration within this specific vein…!

95/100