Review Summary: No human can create this sound, no band will be able to mimic this but most importantly no light will ever pierce Darkspace.
As many of you may know (or not) Darkspace is an ambient black metal band hailing from Switzerland. They are highly regarded and respected for creating black metal that is fresh and original but still follows the format of traditional black metal. The band is made up of three members, Zorgh who plays bass and Wroth and Zhaaral who play guitar, also all three of them participate in the vocals.
So what makes Darkspace different from any other black metal band? First off is the way they construct their albums. The album covers are all exactly the same except each has a different picture of something to do with space. The songs are all numbered because it’s supposed to be one continuous song. So for example Darkspace 2 finished off at 2.10, 2 being the second album and 10 being the 10th song so Darkspace 3 began with 3.11, three being the third album and 11 being the 11th song. Space is never ending and no matter which way you look you will always be staring into a dark abyss, Darkspace employs this idea in the way they create their albums, the first song they created is still continued into their latest release. Another thing that makes them unique is the fact that they don’t use any lyrics. Instead of making a song called Worshipping Satan under the Veil of the Morbid Moon they allow the listener to imagine what they want, to create a space of their own.
The music is very raw, think of Burzum or Paysage d’Hiver which helps add to the blanketing vacuum sound they try to create. Anyone relatively new with black metal may have a problem with the rawness of it all but other veterans in the sub-genre will appreciate it. Darkspace use a drum machine which is honestly a great decision because what this music needs is something fast, powerful and most importantly consistent. This music needs a drummer who can hit a blast beat for five minutes straight at extreme speeds. Not many people can do that so it could have been hard to find a drummer however that isn’t the case. It seems Darkspace uses the drums the same way Darkthrone does, it’s in the background not doing anything spectacular just keeping the flow of things. The guitars are heavily distorted and are used almost like a vehicle to guide you through the album. The riffs can be repetitive at times but that is done on purpose to help you envision the music.
The keyboard is almost as important as the guitar if not more so. Tones and moods are set by the keyboards and without this Darkspace would not be what it is; ambient passages are implanted within the music to give off the feeling of isolation, coldness and fear. Take for instance the ambient passage of the first song 3.11; it starts off calm and relaxing then quickly turns into a sound so diabolical only to be consumed by the immediate crushing vocals and drumming that comes after. The keyboards lift the music into the cosmos past the moons and the planets deep into the black hole where only hatred and fear live.
Lastly but the most important aspect of the music is the vocals. Without the vocals the music would be half of what it is. The vocals are everything; they are the emotion, the dark matter, the horror, the celestial force that pushes the music. Alien like and otherworldly, these eerie screeches and unrelenting screams transcend into dimensions past our own.
No human can create this sound, no band will be able to mimic this but most importantly no light will ever pierce Darkspace.
