Soriah — Ofrendas de Luz a Los Muertos

Soriah is a performance artist right out of the same neck of the woods as the label which represents him at the moment, Beta-lactam Ring Records. The location: Portland, Oregon. Soriah's known for his ritualistic performances involving strange costumes, and decorated spaces. The spiritual/ritual atmosphere is something that's often difficult to transform to the recorded media, as the visual aspects of the performance play such a huge part. Ofrendas de Luz a Los Muertos is my first exposure to the work of Soriah, and it's an intriguing listen.

According to what I have read, this album is a bit of a detour for Soriah because of the enlistment of power electrician, ahem, Power Circus. The Power Electronics are evident, there's plenty of ominous background rumble and occasional blasts of crushing noise. Soriah seems to be the sound sculptor of the two, weaving these sounds into dark ambient atmospheres.

But what separates Soriah from the average drone-ologist, or dark ambient purveyor is his vocal ability. He is apparently practiced in the field of Tuvan throat singing. While I have heard throat singing before, I make no pretense that I'm an expert on such things, but that hardly matters. I know how to play guitar, yet I know that Neil Young doesn't play "correctly", but I still feel he's the greatest guitar player in the history of the recorded medium. Soriah's throat singing, at least on this release, is at a minimum evocative and creepy, and sometimes it makes for a downright scary sound.

This music often sounds like the music for a ritual involving nothing but the most malevolent prospects. It's not something I'd want to listen to everyday, because, well, it's pretty fucking scary, but it's certainly respectable for the mood it evokes. Definitely something to play at the next friendly neighborhood Samhain feast.