Review Summary: The song of a long forgotten sad spirit.
Is Russia the new Norway? Plain and simply, the answer is no, although that country appears to be fertile ground for the seeds thrown by a number of Norwegian black metal artists in the early '90s: in recent years Russia has become home of a vast community of musicians and fans devoted to "dungeon synth", an offshoot of old-school black metal which main forerunner is to be found in self-styled "dark dungeon music" artist
Mortiis. Skarpseian is one of the most interesting acts out of this breed.
While not being particularly original or innovative, Skarpseian's debut album "Skygge slottet" (Norwegian for "shadow castle") shows an engaging personal take on the old-school masters' lessons, as it sounds very much like a crossbreed of
Mortiis and
Burzum circa 1993, combining the epic fantasy leanings of the former's "Era I" releases with the sheer hypnotic quality and cyclical structure of the latter's early ambient offerings.
Compositions are quite minimalistic and drenched in a decadent, rusted atmosphere, giving off images of abandoned, half-collapsed castles and broken towers in overgrown wastelands, haunted by the ghosts of former dwellers.
Arrangements are built on a combination of low-end synthetic orchestral patches and pure synthesizer tones, which infuse the overall sound with a distinct raw, old-school vibe; the lo-fi recording also contributes to creating the illusion of listening to a '90s demo tape. There is no real standout moment on the album, almost all tracks follow the same structural scheme, based on a main repeated riff upon which the arrangement unfolds; while this successfully manages to give the music an hypnotic and entrancing feel, in the long run songs tend to get a bit repetitive, but fortunately the short album length prevents this from becoming too much of an issue.
In conclusion, "Skygge slottet" is a good album, firmly rooted in the old-school and featuring the classic, well-established dungeon synth sound which will surely please fans of the genre, while at the same time revealing hints of further development that, hopefully, will be fulfilled in future releases.
