Once again Cyclic Law satisfy my ear drums with a monumental offering, Proslambanomenos by ONUS. ONUS? Indeed, ONUS. It is a new collaboration with two creative and influential musicians, being Empusae’s Nicolas Van Meirhaeghe (you might notice his name from co-operations with Project Arctic, Triarii, In Slaughter Natives or Ah Cama-Sotz too, for example), and Peter Bjärgö, mastermind behind Arcana and Sophia (note: look out for the upcoming review on Sophia’s newest album in a very near future!).
The material for Proslambanomenos was initially created by Peter over a period of several years, eventually revisited by Nicolas. It gets released in an edition of 600 copies, and the six tracks clock over forty minutes.
For sure this project expresses the known identities of both members involved, but ONUS go another direction for sure. Proslambanomenos starts off with When The Innocent Dies, which starts somewhat minimalistically droning, quite so(m)ber and obscure. After three minutes, distantly-present acoustic guitars and ethereal percussions join in, and at 4:30 there are those warm vocals that complete the esoteric package. It turns out to be a convincing expression of Aural Beauty after all… But that isn’t but the beginning. Next comes The Dreams Die Young, which might be my favourite piece on the album (or the one but…). After a semi-acoustic introduction, with guitars, keyboards and percussion, the atmosphere turns grimmer, darker, quite more integer, when a multiple-layered guitar basement takes over the experience. The melody created is so intense, so overwhelming, so covering, and then these semi-narrative, warm voices at the background… The Dreams Die Young for sure hypnotises, it’s like a formless, amorphous dream while being awake, caressing and, at the same time, teasing your consciousness. Let’s call it ‘beautiful’ this time, all right?! My Black Wave, which is quite ‘short’ (less than six minutes) might be the most Van Meirhaeghe-meet-Bjärgö alike song, for coming with the floating ambience of Arcana and earlier Sophia at the one hand, and the coldness of Project Arctic at the other. Towards the end, I think the whole even includes oriental-ritual elements too. Into Higher Self then again comes with a certain touch of Dead Can Dance’s latest release, also injecting some ritual-traditional instrumental elements, but this song goes much further. This composition truly floats towards post-magic dimensions of the subconscious (hehe, I even didn’t know this did exist…); no, seriously, it’s like a mysterious aural trip through spheres of quietude and levitation at once – and when those truly magical female chants join in, I’m gone into self-oblivion. I listened to this album about ten times in mean time, but this specific track bewitches me over and over again (even more than The Dreams Die Young). Of Two Minds is the most oppressive and suffocative piece on this album, hiding a secret and somewhat forbidden touch of the very early ‘true’ Gothic scene (you know, the late eighties / early nineties, when the atmosphere prevailed above poppiness). The first half of Life’s Burden, finally, is a minimal-transcendental piece of Ambient-injected Drone (such great reference to how it all started with When The Innocent Dies), slowly morphing into a rather hypno-meditative Trance composition.
ONUS do not bring joy, nor unhappiness. It’s like self-meditative introspection, like aural dreamwaves experiencing untrodden paths of man’s soul, through acoustic ambiental droning passages. It’s like a ‘grow-into’-experience, but it deserves being ‘grown-into’ for the multiple layers of depth in combination with mesmerizing tranquillity. No further comments…