Schloss Tegal - Neoterrik Research "The Unearthed History of Schlo [Tegal Records - 2022]Here is twelve track CD compilation focused on rare & unreleased tracks from Schloss Tegal- the American post-industrial project who helped give birth to the dark ambient genre. The release originally appeared back on Cold Spring in 2004- here on the project's own Tegal label, this reissue offers up a slightly adjusted track listing, with a few tracks that didn’t appear on the original comp. The CD comes presented in a monochrome six-panel digipak, which is rather made to look like some form of creepy medical pamphlet. This of course ties in nicely to the project’s themes, and tracks featured within. Detail of each of the twelve tracks appears on either side of the inner unfold- though oddly no mention of when each track was actually made/ appeared- but we get details of the releases said tracks appeared on. The release is Ltd to just 300 copies- so I’d advise acting sooner, than later if you want to get a copy. To find out more drop in here. The release opens the five- and half-minutes of “Bones Of Tartarus” which moves from murky yet dense ambient industrial sweep ‘n’ ebb, and adds in a chorus of ghoulish like moans-drops them, before shifting into eerier drifting to the bottom of sea trench ambient. As we move on we have the eerier hovering abduction-like ambience meets pressing post-industrial jangle of “Collapse Of The Wave Function” which comes in at just under the six and half minute mark. In the release's second half we the just under five minutes of “Invitation To An Outrage (Reptilian Mind)” which blends together creepy bubbling ‘n’ rushing water tones, unsettling wave tone drift, and muffled-slightly slowed male eyewitness account samples. We have “Invitation To An Outrage (Reptilian Mind)” which is six and a half minutes of eerier low-key machine churn ‘n’ flutter, slowly snaking reptilian or insect-like tonal shift, and general building unease. And release plays one of the shorter tracks here just shy of four minutes of “The Hidden Variable” which pulls together low-key junk texture ‘n’ knock and a swirly uneasy dark ambient undercarriage. It is nice to see this compilation back in print once again- as it offers up a good selection of tracks, with a nicely presented and looking Dipak release. I just wish there had been year dates for the tracks featured, as it would have been nice to put tracks in context with album releases the project did at a similar time. Nevertheless, if you enjoy where low-key post-industrial meets dark ambience, this will be of interest. Roger Batty
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