System Morgue – Gegenstrom (2013)

DNA Production

• Drone 
• Post-industrial 
• Abstract 
• Ambient drone 
• Dark ambient 
• Avant-garde 
• Microtonal 
• Experimentalism 
• Sound art 
• Drone doom

Comment: elementally I have reviewed Russian-based artist System Morgue`s brand new albums like Froid (2017, Frozen Light) and Distress (2018, DNA Production) but Gegenstrom is a thread from earlier years and aesthetically there are up some distinct features regarding comparison. The recent issues are more polished and structured (yet not suppressing its enchanting magic) and by its structure come into the experimental/avant/post-rock genre, however, Gegenstrom is conversely more hazy and foggy and subsequently oneiric. At its nucleus all of that is being headed by a ghost-alike drone which is galvanized and impelling by its physical and emotional appearance. It is like the maelstrom or black hole governing all the matter coming into their realms. For sure, it is not a sort of rock music with regard to the artist`s latter albums, it is more like a decent manifestation within the dark ambient, drone and partly sound art genre. Yet the self-titled track is the exception because it is the sort of drone doom rock by flourishing through oscillating pulses and lofty apexes. At first glimpse, it may seem the listener is trudging across a barren landscape where all is thoroughly destroyed and eradicated yet the more you listen to it the more you will see interesting echoes, glimpses, flickers, vibrations, even colours to come out of these five compositions. I cannot be wrong by bounding it geographically to northern, even subarctic hemisphere being generally dominated by northerly airflows and lengthy darkness. In a word, it is an outstanding work on a Russian imprint, DNA Production.

System Morgue – Distress (2018)

DNA Production

• Ambient drone 
• Post-rock 
• Shoegaze 
• Micronoise 
• Alternative 
• Avant-garde 
• Experimental rock 
• Avant-rock 
• Dronegaze 
• Minimalism

Comment: System Morgue is a Sankt Peterburg, Russian one-man-project whose music could be categorised as meta-shoegaze because this 4-track issue opens up new perspectives from different points of view. Shoegaze as an approach has been developed by using techniques already known yet employed by other genres like ambient, noise, drone, minimalism, post-punk, melody hooks enriched easy listening. All these techniques were distilled within indie music to an extent until thereafter we could speak about it as a new genre. Since the 00s the coil started to close up because the aforementioned genres of which shoegaze as a genre was spurred by started to incorporate the genre's own distilled qualities to the mix. It can be admitted while listening to the release one can hear the aforementioned process in its beauty. More profoundly, you actually feel no need to draw the line between indie, and metal, between pulsating minimalism and distorted guitar and sublime synth induced ambient (rock), between atmospheric droning and watered-down yet still gritty noise. In a word, is it an example of abstract shoegaze? Top notch by any means.

Somnium & Alenda - Split (2011)

 DNA Production

9.2 

/Dark ambient, Drone, Neoclassical music, Soundscapes, Dystopbient, Minimalism/

Comment: there are up 3 long-running tracks which take on murky ambient, rigid drone developments, dystopic soundscapes and silentful yet quite malignant sort of burning. Of course, it is masterfully produced, more profoundly, exploiting the templates of minimal music slowly growing and ascending thus ultimately acquiring the characteristics of neoclassical music. On the other side, although it is austerely treated it used to evoke more feelings than most of the instances of pop music are able to do.

Parchim - Tribal Sun (2011)

DNA Production
Lastfm

8.7

/Tribal techno, Ethnotronica, Crossover, Psytrance, Avant-industrial, Big beat, Dark ambient, Experimental, Downtempo, Illbient/

Comment: This is Parchim`s sophomore album, the follow-up to Инстинкт Самоуничтожения (which can be translated as instinct of self-destruction) issued in 2009. 5 tracks within 26 minutes will create a fabulous, trance-induced scape compiled of soothing ethnic/tribal downtempo and psychedelic trance paces and stomping big beat rhythms and bristled tribal techno paces backed up with dark ambient/illbient/industrial forays and layouts. And esoteric storytelling snippets as well. Altogether, all is finely channelized and designed to create unusual ambiences and elusive soundscapes waking up far-flung memories in a listener`s mind in any cases.