The Haxan Cloak

Is it cold out? Do the nights still feel long and dark? Are you troubled by a sense of foreboding?

I missed this very fine album when it was released last year, and only really decided to hunt it down after the Quietus made it their #4 record of 2011. Bobby Krlic’s extraordinarily atmospheric record weaves together droning, rumbling strings, rattling percussion and the occasional haunting piece of choral singing (‘The Fall’, for example). There’s also lots of silence, the space in which the sounds happen.

The name, and the general feel and look of the record, have occult resonances, and you might expect something a bit more metal from the label (Aurora Borealis) – the first track is called ‘Raven’s Lament’, and the third is ‘Burning Torches of Despair’. Whatever you call it, this is an experimental record that sounds cold, scary and bewitching.

This music is chilling. Ben Frost, without the growling. Play loud, and listen carefully.

‘An Archaic Device’ – The Haxan Cloak – The Haxan Cloak

Buy from the label here

Jkneale

Advertisement