Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Kerovnian - Far Beyond, Before The Time [Cold Spring Records - 2015]

Here we have a recent reissue of an distinctive, often dungeon bound, & fairly undated slice of dark ambience. Originally released in 1999, Far Beyond, Before The Time was the first album from this project. Behind Kerovnian was one Vlad K, who in the past had been a member of a few Croatian black metal  bands, such as Ashes You Leave.

This reissue gives the original albums six tracks a 2015 remastering, and adds in four unreleased tracks from the same recoding sessions. The reissue also replaces the albums original crude, grim, yet slightly muddled artwork of skulls & a crypts, with sections  from various Hieronymus Bosch paintings- and these very much fit the dark archaic & grim hell bound feeling of the sonics with-in.

As dark ambient albums go this is fairly varied in both its sound palette & the structure of tracks. We go from lose & drifting mixes of slow-mo drone, wonky harmonics, and stretched 'n' guttural alien demonic mumbles. Though to blends of hovering & dark vocal choir samples, murky & dragged-out  vibe/ synth tones,  and sudden deep demon vocalising.  Onto mixes of watery & alien stretched-out chatter, whistling & baying lo-fi electronics, and sudden sustained doomed synth simmers. Through to slow mournful yet harmonic ambient drifts, which are ebbed with moody dragging & slipping’s. Onto slow moving & horror filled church organ weaves, which are ebbed with all manner of dungeon like chain knocking, dragging & weird guttural vocalising. As well as a few dips into slightly more intense & noise moments too.


Like any form of genre dark ambient has own it’s trade marks, genre traits (and sometimes clichés). And while Far Beyond, Before The Time does adhere to many of these, there is something fairly uniquely & distinctive going on through-out this album.  So if your a fan of darker ambience, and haven’t already heard this, its well worth checking out. And even if you picked up the original version of the release there’s enough here to make it worth picking-up again

Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5

Roger Batty
Latest Reviews

Kerovnian - Far Beyond, Before Th...
Here we have a recent reissue of an distinctive, often dungeon bound, & fairly undated slice of dark ambience. Originally released in 1999, Far Beyond, B...
041125   Anton Lambert and Thanos Poly...
041125   Charles Bobuck, - GOD O: Musi...
041125   Etant Donnes - Les Cents Jou...
031125   Sluta Leta - Drift Dekoder
011125   Kleistwahr - Winter/Music for...
311025   The Residents - American Comp...
311025   Mondo Keyhole - Mondo Keyhole...
311025   Video Psycho - Video Psycho ...
301025   H.M.S. Defiant - H.M.S. Defi...
301025   Daughters Of Darkness - Daug...
Latest Articles

Michael Hurst Interview - Unbalan...
One of the more creative & original horror films I’ve seen/ reviewed recently is Transmission, a 2023 film which, a few months ago, received a DVD ...
281025   Michael Hurst Interview - Unb...
071025   Xiphos - The Rise And Fall Of...
030925   Third Window Films - A Label ...
130825   HNW fest- Barcelona- 12th Apr...
250725   Raté interview - Walled-in F...
180625   Matthew Holmes - Of razor-sha...
280525   The Residents - Visits From T...
090525   Ennaytch - Of walls, abused ...
150425   Dead, Dead Swans interview - ...
110325   Sebastian Tomb - Walls of unb...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2025. Twenty four years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom