I remember being positively surprised by Whisper A Red Voice, an experimental and obscure Industrial / Ambient / Noise release from early 2022. So, my enthusiasm was quite triggered when I read somewhere that the project behind that release, with the cool name She The Throne, did release some new material recently. In August 2023 there was the independently-released EP Orion, and shortly after it got followed by a lengthier album, called Nuntis.
The whole thing was written, recorded and mixed by the project, and the awesome abstract / surreal cover-artwork too is courtesy of She The Throne. This time the result was not self-released, yet officially printed and distributed by UK-based Trepanation Recordings, focusing on ‘extreme, experimental, progressive and dark sounds’. And hey, extreme, experimental, progressive and dark; doesn’t that cover the aural approach around She The Throne’s creations? Besides the digital opportunity, this stuff has been printed physically as well on compact-disc (with an extremely limited edition on mini-disc too) and tape (yellow case), as well as on vinyl (although I am not sure it has already been released in the meantime) and on VHS (with printed insert).
Nuntis lasts for sixty-one minutes and continues the path of Whisper A Red Voice and Orion; yet then again, it goes further once more, exploring new sonic territories, and trespassing borders of orthodox musicianship and aural tolerance at the very same time. All nine creations on this album are quite differing in execution, yet there is a remarkable, and more than acceptable, coherence in between the whole adventure.
It would be an immense work if I should individually dissect each piece out of nine, yet then again, I think a small description about each of them would not be that unfair either. That’s why, etcetera…
Uath (07:08): it immediately opens within an obscure, oppressive way, with creepy, little industrialized drones, haunting female voices and down-tuned soundwaves; soon joined by a vocal sample and moral ethereal voices, as well as confident beats and other field-recorded additions; eventually evolving into an overpowering symbiosis of deep-droning patterns, eerie voices, haunting synth-lines and noisy electronics, creating a huge feast of decadent sound-manipulation and sonic mischief…
Clonus (05:49): starting off very ominous, with chilly vocals from different angles (whispers, narratives, electronic voices, chants), Angst-Pop laden basses, eldritch samples, climbing up towards an intensive second half, where multiple vocalizations, electronic industrialization and metallic forces seem to coalesce. …orgiastic energy…
Nirodha (04:13): a fragment of atmospheric noise, of glitches and manipulated sounds, with Vocaloid-like (female) voices, soft EBM-oriented percussion and malformed gothic sequences…
Vril (08:05): smoothly completing its predecessor, evolving into totally different orbits of sonic experimentalism; it’s calmer at first, with down-tuned and down-tempo structures, ethereal female voices, and some Psybient-like elements; after three minutes, things turn nastier, more grotesque and persuasive, strengthening the female vocals and militant beats with harshly-droning sequences and enduring patterns; the final fragment, by the way, returns to its womb, like an embryonic expression of introspective iniquity yet to come…
Nephilim (07:21): at first, it’s an eclectic, yet transcendental and manipulative, mixture of Angst Pop, Dark Electronica and Dark Industrial; but this track, with those manipulated voices, pounding beats and electronic textures, goes beyond the limits of sonic comfortability; which makes the result extremely satisfying within the mind of the alienated listeners, I guess???; towards the end, a shattering skull-pulverizing fragment stands up to satisfy the malformed-minded spirits amongst us; demolishing strings, perishing noises, abolishing structures, all kindly sacrificed in order to disarrange…
Apsara (07:48): this piece is much more ethereal, ritualistic, heathen in atmosphere; almost danceable within spheres of Gothic / Electro-laden excellence, transjected with mesmerizing beats and seductive harmonies, interspersed with dynamic pitches and disoriented plots…
Clare (06:42): starting of within a territory of Witch House / Glitch alike taste, evolving towards combative proportions (belligerent beats) and ethereal spheres (fairylike voices), crawling up unto a level of ultra-dark Techno / Electro / Post-Noise enigma (f*ck, this does exist as from now on!) - an expression of the finest equilibrium in between harshness and delicacy…
Larentia (05:23): after a naturalistic / shamanistic introduction, this composition reflects introspection, expression and exuberance, with ritualistic percussion patterns, vivacious harmonies and the characteristic animate voices, eventually joined by additional vocal samples and vexed samples…
Fulcanelli (08:50): a full-convincing monument of Gothic / Electronic / Ambient / Esoteric / Vaporwave experimentalism, with a fine-tuned and well-balanced progression, from ethereal textures over hyper-kinetic energies, resulting in a ‘grande finale’ of ultimate sonic satisfaction…
…or, to keep it brief and concise: Nuntis explores the outsider areas of Noise / Ambient / Electronic / Drone / Witch House / Industrial Music in general, canalizing elements from all these genres into one unusual yet intriguing gathering-of-harmony. Each listen delves deeper into the core of this symbiotic aural experience – after 665 listens I am still excited for what I will experience the next time…!
https://shethethrone.bandcamp.com/album/nuntis