Deeply ritualistic ambient, Lapis Sacrificialis is the latest offering from Russian outfit Corona Barathri. Composed of four rituals, this dark collection was recorded between 2018-2020 and is dedicated to the memory of fallen band member, Andrey Kein. Engaging and cinematic, these rituals are more like short stage performances and are best visualized on a stage vs in a dungeon. 

Four long-form rituals detail the freeing of a witch's soul, her restarting her earthly rituals, the calling forth of an ancient being, and her descent into Tartarus. Tightly structured and strictly designed, Lapis Sacrificialis offers up a well-scripted glimpse into mystical machinations and allows the darkness at hand to take center stage. Although purely audio, the album is presented in such a way that it is impossible to see this as anything but a stage performance or presentation. The dramatic spoken lines, the rigidly outlined "rituals," and even the musical cues hearken to what may have come between the strophe and antistrophe in a Greek tragedy. While this leaves less to the imagination as a straight-up audio interpretation, it allows for a different part of the brain to focus on fleshing out the scenes and viewing what Corona Barathri has created. While a bit more dramatic and cinematic than ambient, Lapis Sacrificialis is an engaging album, well crafted, and despite sometimes feeling a bit heavy-handed, it is still very restrained and is able to maintain overall balance. It's clear that Corona used the two year recording time wisely, not only for detailed arrangement, but with making sure each layer and level was exactly where it needed to be. This is very well recorded and mixed, and presented in a way that effectively builds their narrative.

Heavily detailed and wonderfully arranged, Lapis Sacrificialis details four "rituals" regarding an unnamed, ancient witch. While a bit more like an audio play set to music than a full-on ambient recording, the compositions stand out and are built very well to draw in the listener. Deliberately paced, Corona Barathri's latest shows the Russian act firing on all cylinders and crafting quite a sonic tale of dark majesty.