The Providence, Rhode Island based (Dark Ambient) label Slithering Black Records collects numerous known and lesser known acts that do fit into a certain hiatus; a hiatus once risen after the sad passing of the mighty CMI organization. Together with some other labels within the magnificent Ritual / Ambient / Esoteric Music genre (Dark Odyssey Records, Cryo Chamber, Cyclic Law, Eighth Tower Records, Raubbau and several more), Slithering Black Records delves deep into the ritual and ambiental pits of both fairness and darkness.
The release of Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus makes no difference. It’s a lengthy six-track creation by the mysterious project Kathodos. Everything audible (song-writing and lyrics, recording and concept, production and mix) was created by the project itself, with assistance of Lavinia Mari, who guested with vocal assistance (evocative soprano vocals, whispers and spoken words) and additional strings. Besides the digital release, there’s a limited physical one too, being a compact-disc (jewel-case, pro-CD-r) with truly stunning cover artwork (only 100 copies printed). That visual spectacle is called The Eye Like A Strange Balloon Mounts Toward Infinity by French lithographer Odilon Redon. All additional artwork (plus layout) have been taken care of by label-owner Omen North (and the logo, FYI, was created by guest musician Lavinia).
As mentioned before, Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus is a lengthy album, with six compositions that last in between six and fifteen minutes. It has a total running time of almost sixty-four minutes. Seen this lengthy duration, in combination with an extremely varied and open-minded approach, and with inclusion of an extremely obscure, ritualistic and psychedelic approach, it is a harsh adventure that needs several listens for sure. After many listens, one might still get confronted with previously unknown elements, hidden details, and seemingly new aspects. But it is worth it! You’ll notice that the amalgam of aural approaches (Ritual Music, Death Industrial, Dark and Black Ambient, World Music, Devotional, Martial Industrial, Experimental, Psybient, you know…) actually maintains a very solid coherence.
The album opens with the most lengthy track, …Window (14:38). It is like looking through a dark window glass, behind which hidden things seem to reveal, and to hide. It starts extremely ominous and scarifying, like a haunting passage of anesthetic synths with a repetitive character. Step by step, slowly yet unavoidable, new elements enter: first distant beats with a dark-ceremonial attitude, followed by frenzy sounds, evocative -almost sacrally devotional- voices, and other additional layers of keyboard-driven and vocal-based nature. It creeps forward, slow, growing, oppressing, permanently expanding. This mostly disturbing ambience gets penetrated by elements from Dark / Post Industrial and Occult / Black Ambient and continuously works hypnotic, even claustrophobic.
Next comes A Memory Dwindles… (10:33), which trespasses the portal into a dimension of dark-shamanistic transcendence. Soaring ritual voices (plus witchy / bewitching vocals and whispers), ritual percussions, eldritch keyboard-waves and distantly rumbling noises gather into a minatory, oppressive experience at first. At about half of the track, melodic chanting, catching drums / percussions, rousing strings and deep drones take over the initial obscurity, repainting the whole in a scala of kaleidoscopic colors and psychotropic sound-textures.
Phantom Of The Throne Room (13:31) is a vivid piece, delving as well into a mind-expanding amalgam of psychedelic, ritualistic, mesmeric and transcendental structures and melodies. With a twisted hint of Oriental provocation, this track evolves through the procreation of both in-depth introspection and exuberant decadence. Befuddling choir chants, avantgarde guitar-picking, incentive drum patterns, esoteric percussions, and abyssally droning waves interact, interfere, inject, and then again fade into untouchable oblivion, before manifesting and reacting once more.
With The Dark Priest (09:54), Kathodos sculps a militant soundtrack to accompany the listener into, and through, an ancient, previously unexplored world behind one’s Inner Eye. It summons inner demons through a totally disturbed interplay of many vocals (haunting choirs, invocative sermonizing, whispering spells and much more), percussions (ritual, martial and eccentric approaches) and noises (the use of keyboard-driven finesse works both intoxicating as manifesting). Evil prayers, the convoking of secret spirits, it’s like an elegy for a dark power yet to be reborn, mocking the Holy Being.
Hanging Tree (08:38) might be the most ‘ethereal’ piece with hints of Dead Can Dance, if you want to. But of course, this epic plunges into another sonic ocean an sich. I just wanted to refer to the outsider-thinking approach in combination with World Music alike ingredients. Once again, a conceptual reference of divinity and solemnity works extremely well in combination with a schizoid execution. Listen to these progressive strings, opiating melodies, humming soundwaves, and those remarkable vocals.
Parasomnia: Pavor Nocturnus ends with the ‘shortest’ composition, A Message Sent To Earth (06:19). It’s an expression of psyche-twisting composing, with a post-progressed (or whatever you will call it) mixture of spacy elements, crackling drones, jazzy percussions, discordant piano, unusual samples, weird electronics, and more; all mingled and, then again, dismorphed (a definition that does exist as from now on) into a lullaby for the next generation of homo sapiens perturbatus.
In a very wide sense (please do accept / ignore / this open-minded vision), one might compare it to Coph Nia, early Morthem Vlade Art, Mođir, Corona Barathri, Swartalf, Stars Without Light, In Blind Embrace, She Spread Sorrow, Paranoia Inducta, or quite some acts from the Cold Meat Industry family (and related labels). And then again, it’s like none of them at the very same time, for Kathodos do bring very own-faced - and highly seductive - material!
https://slitheringblackrecords.bandcamp.com/album/parasomnia-pavor-nocturnus
https://kathodos.bandcamp.com/album/parasomnia-pavor-nocturnus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRU9RHdvyXE
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/maris-anguis
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/insectarium