Wolfskin — O Ajuntas das Sombras

O Ajuntas das Sombras is a darkly enchanting, often hypnotic and at times very creepy shot of earthy woodland and ritual based dark ambience and chilling drone craft with hints of slowed and damned folk matter woven in here and there along the albums deep dark and compelling woodland track.

The albums cover sets the tone simply yet perfectly with its picture of a dusk setting dense forest, and from the outset and the first organic drones like revolutions of the opening track The Body Of Chaos you feel like your been pulled deeper and deeper into a strange half-light forest that your both getting lost - in and slowly but surely been soaked in dank ageless dread. Standout tracks are hellishly difficult to pick as this works at it best as one long journey into the wooden and ritual unknown - but if pressed I’d say a few of the highlights come in the form of: The Yew Column which starts off around a slow moving twin layer drone; with grim dark ambience synth textures rolling in and out with a droning horn textures. As the track progresses a mournful hunting horn/sinister bagpipe drone comes into play as well as foreboding ritual drums and joint male spoken word chants. The track feels at first like the forest is growing into you, then later a ritual begins around you, but you cant move from your spot beneath the trees and vines arching dark presences due to fear and literal been part of the forest. Or the title track with it’s feeling of slow forming sonic dread as the dank eerier drones seem to slowly grow and envelope you like a swirling banks of earthy and greenery scented fog. Before it opens up into a mournful doomed folk drone and ritual drum work-out; giving one the feeling that your been carried head high by a group of dammed followers deeper and deeper into the forest dark heart.

All told O Ajuntas das Sombras is one of the most eerier, chilling and hypotonic dark ritual ambient releasers I’ve come across; Wolfskin really seem to capture a rich primal and dark air perfectly and have the ability to make their sound crawl, worm and grows its way into you.