Ivan Tibos.

Cor unum, essentia una sumus (one heart, we are one essence)… One truth, the core of ritualistic in-depth and the spirituality of the Dark Side…

Hailing from Norway, Therapy Productions is a new label for the mentally disturbed, so it didn’t take that long for me to get in touch. Their aim: Pushing the limits of sound / redefining what genres are / exploring new territories / not trying to conform / showing the world something new / crossing boundaries / making art. Please enter the world of sonic deformation…

Robert C. Kozletsky was a known artist in Psychomenteum, but that project did split up, unfortunately, a while ago. He also collaborated in the high-profile collaboration Kerrstillingskozletskynyströmpetrus, with Stephen Petrus, John Stillings, Larry Kerr and Peter Nyström, and he’s part of the Shock Frontier line-up as well. But I think his best-known outfit will be his solo-project Apócrýphos, which he started almost a decade ago.

From the cold, stormy Atlantic shores of Canada, please bid welcome to Nocturnal Prayer, a trio that gathered to spread evil, blasphemy, misanthropy. Three human (I guess) entities, being Murder (all strings), Nausea (drums) and Cancer (chants), joined forces under the blood-dripping flag of Nocturnal Prayer.

For some reason - do not ask me how - or when, where, whatever - I did not review Nur Ein Moment…, the predecessor of …In Stille. A pity, for this band deserves some (any) additional support and promotion. The same, evidently, goes for the label involved, Hypnotic Dirge Records (although, for this magnificent Saskatoon, Canada based label, I did several other reviews before, for this label deserves any additional attention whatsoever; but that is another story).

First I have to make a confession. I did not know this band from Belarus. Seriously, I had not heard of Reido before. And you know, I am gonna make it up all right, because this release… Nope, first things first.

In the ancient Greek mythology, ‘Chthonia’ referred to several personalities, amongst which the mystic ‘subterranean’ deity – but I think the Internet will give you all information you are searching for. And hey, this isn’t a wiki-alike webzine, but a promotional entity for (dark) Aural Art. So let’s get over to the next step…

About one year and some months ago, I had the pleasure to enjoy the official debut recording by Polish one-man army Czarna Magia. That EP, called Inwokacja Pierwotnej Mocy, was released via The End Of Time Records, a nice label from Polish soil that never disappointed me.

Collaborations are a trademark, or better: one of the trademarks, when talking about Cryo Chamber. Being one of the most impressive and open-minded labels within the worldwide (Cinematic) Ambient genre, Cryo Chamber released tens of albums that actually are a partnership of two, or more, Ambient artists from all over the globe. I am not talking about splits, but about mutual efforts, in which different musicians join forces in order to create something new, a symbiosis of their individual craftsmanship, canalised into a unique result.

Not that long ago, I got in touch with a young lady from Belarus, Olga Kann. I didn’t immediately recognize her name, but still I had to know some of her works, for she is quite ‘famous’ as visual artist (besides painter / drawing artist, she’s also photographer and sculptor, by the way, with a very open-minded artistic vision, drawing influences from different angles).