Behold! A secrecy, an enigmatic moment in the near future, a diamond in the rough yet to come…
I admit: a dramatic introduction, but hey, there’s a new Idylls Of The Last King album coming up soon, now in its finishing phase, erelong available for the audience. The working title will be A Year At The End Of Time, and probably it will be released via Heimat Der Katastrophe from Italy. It is supposed to be a reflection of earthly time, a narration around our natural cycle, a proclamation of seasons that come and go.
Out of the dungeons and into the great outdoors…
‘Devoted to shaping immersive soundscapes of decay, memory, and fallen grandeur’, Idylls Of The Last King have always offered magic, mystic, and mysterious Dungeon Ambient (Dark Ambient, Ritual Drone, Dungeon Synth, Winter Synth, Martial Ambient, Comfy Synth, you know…). This time, it is not different. Even-though we do not have any concrete web, oops, I mean, any concrete cover artwork yet (at least not officially; I have a possible opportunity, kindly provided by Mister Lawrence Kalogreades himself), nor an official release date (that is why I just added today as date-of-release), but I still, and already, want to lift a corner of the velvet veil.
This new work consists of ten titles, representing the four seasons that we know in a huge part of our globe, on both the Northern and Southern hemisphere, in between the polar areas and the tropical parts. Besides an intro and an outro, each season (Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn) is represented by two compositions. But as said, A Year At The End Of Time starts with an introduction, Prologue: From The Ashes Of Our Kingdom, A Prophecy Is Born. It’s not a short piece at all, with a very rich, varying sonic palette. It represents an unprejudiced approach of Dungeon Synth majesty, balancing in between dark mysticism and illuminated hope. Martial and bombastic passages, haunting fragments, operatic symphonics and integer moments are all canalized into this portal towards the registration of one earthly (and unworldly too) passage-of-time. …an orchestration of sheer beauty, sheer darkness, sheer chastity…
The Winter season consists of Awaiting The Thaw Along The Mountain Pass and Come In Weary Traveler And Rest Yourself. The first is an extended piece of oppressive obscurity, floating in dimensions of Esoteric Drone and Dark Ambient, with dark background synth-waves and dreamy, illusory lead melodies. This song is rich in instrumentation and desolate in concept. The latter, then again, is an older piece (released at the very beginning of Winter 2024-2025), being ‘a minimalist mediation on a warm fire-lit room’. While listening to the subtle sound of burning wood, one feels both isolation and resignation at the very same time. Is it tristesse or is it compliance…
Spring comes with A Journey Across The Lands And Through The Seasons and the 2023-recorded piece Kestrel. A Journey … is based on piano especially, influenced by the fine-tuned sphere of Contemporary Classical Music with a gloomy edge. Kestrel, as you might know (or not [yet]), is a mesmeric piece of Dungeon Doom Ambient; or Comfy Synth, if you want to. It defines a vision of a fresh-green meadow, covered in sweet dewdrops, brought in a cordial yet somehow simple glow (with ‘simple’ not being something negative at all).
A Festival Of Opposites and Dragonflies And Rat Skeletons represent the Summer season. The joy of fervor and ardor results in brisk celebration. A Festival … joins the listener on a memorable meeting, where souls gather to praise the gifts of Nature; I guess the curses in man’s existence and the cures to recover too are of importance for the balance of Life; hence ‘opposites’ in the title, and the interplay of cheerful melodies with oppressive drones. Dragonflies … too is an older work, originally released on the EP In The Gardens Of Our Forefathers. It brings an enlightened minimalist tune at first, like the hint of a lullaby, but slowly evolves towards a piece of introspective concern, while playful tunes and murky sound-textures float together.
As you know, Autumn comes after Summer, here introduced as Our Fate Amongst The Fallen Leaves and The Night We Lit Your Funeral Pyre. Our Fate … is surprisingly ‘positive’ at first, for the equinox prolongs the nights and shortens the days. Yet soon, the dreamy synths introduce a sign of grief. Not yet sorrowful, but the emotive melodies (with cello- and violin-like notes) try to absorb the last rays of heating light. The Night … jumps into the abyss of doom and despair through mostly mournful keyboard lines. Accompanied by nice martial-oriented drum patterns and neo-classical, even gothic-like sound-shaping, this orchestral composition defines the withering of life’s vigor.
However, the circle of Mater Terra’s existence is figuratively orbicular. The album ends with Epilogue: And Nothing Beside Remains, which does not restrict finitude. This is a multi-layered, abundant piece, created through several layers of keyboard symphonies and additional yet characteristic drum beats. It’s a message that Winter might overwhelm the world once again, yet the fertile life of Spring will reappear once more…
Mind this: all (digital) sale incomes go to the support of orphaned kids in conflict zones all over the world. Respect, deep respect!
https://idyllsofthelastking.bandcamp.com/music
https://idyllsofthelastking.com/en-eur
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-0
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-1
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-2
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-anglachel
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-3