Subterrestrial – Conspiracy Music : Dark Ambient / experimental

Reviewed by Gird_09

We have reviewed these guys before and convincing us to do it again isn't hard. Subterrestrial has to be one of the more fitting band names out there. Their music does not belong under the bright light of the sun. It's fragile, obscure and nocturnal – and at times it feels like one is somewhere down in a cavernous space surrounded by the chirps of unseen, gigantic, blind, albino insects and rodents. It's not pleasent, despite being ambient. Unsettling is the word on my lips. Conspiracy Music is another venture into this underground labyrinthine landscape. Travelling down Acheron with a single torch to light the walls and ceiling above us, while the black water hides a world better left undiscovered.

The music is detailed, yet also very minimalistic and mostly made up of treated sounds, echoes and soft strings with squelching synthesizers providing a sort of shadow puppet theatre against the granite walls. In one way it's like a soviet sci fi film from an abandoned Mars colony, while at other times it's like standing in a lost temple complex in Peru. The music is cinematic and evocative, but also very contamplative.

As downloads go, this is one of the best I've heard. The power of the track the Bohemian Grove is something I rarely come across, and the contrast between the melodies and the minute soundscaping is effective as well as admirable. It takes me back to when I first discovered ambient music, despite being miles away from the likes of the Orb and KLF. Still in a track like Black Helicopters I hear touches of both Orbital and Future Sound of London. The tracks stand out against each other in a good way, and they are allowed their own personality. While the album concept is cohesive as few each track is still an individual track. I'd be hard pressed to find the fillers on this one.

I also feel an urgent need to address the "weight" of the instruments. The music never sounds computer generated or like its been composed on software synths. While there is no doubt that the music is electronic (and atleast mostly digital) it sounds and feels real and organic. The reverb and textures feels entirely natural.

I do have trouble relating the titles to the mood of the music though. There's very little that feels like black helicopters and Illuminati, or the cross and bones society in this music. Still, I'm not going to let that stand in the way of my enjoyment. I can literally feel my heartbeat and breathing slow down as the album progresses. And that is despite having to pay extra attention to write a review. That's a rare quality.

Subterrestrial has done it again, and they are rapidly becoming one of our favorite bands of the genre here at Kaliglimmer HQ!

2010, Free Download, Self Released

1 Bovine Mutilator [07:50]
2 The Bohemian Grove [8:00]
3 322 [8:08]
4 October 13 1307 [8:04]
5 Black Helicopters [808]
6 Illuminati [15:34]
7 Things Seen in the Sky [8:18]

http://www.archive.org/details/SUB004_Subterrestrial_Conspiracy_Music
http://www.subterrestrial.blogspot.com/