Stevie Floyd of Dark Castle and Taurus collaborates with Erik Moggridge (A.K.A. Aerial Ruin) of Old Grandad, Drift of a Curse and thrash metal band Epidemic. The music that they manage to conjure in this release has a distinctive ambient nature. On one hand Stevie Floyd is offering the more experimental vibe on her songs, relying on minimalistic structures and haunting atmospheres, while the Aerial Ruin tracks seem to be existing within the melancholic acoustic territory.
The weird effects of “You Scathed the Sun” are expanding the soundscapes of the song, while the vocals are slowly mesmerizing you with and the hypnotic melodies are dragging you within the core of Floyd’s dystopian structures. “Failure” is the first time where Aerial Ruin contribute into Floyd’s songs. The tone of “Failure” is quite dark and pessimistic with a depressive emotion encircling you very essence. Still, the second collaboration with Aerial Ruin, in “This Has Gone”, is even more intriguing; mainly due to the dissonant nature of the song and the way that Floyd manages to build up the tension.
The disturbing aura in “Dissapear” is evoking the fears within. The ethereal background voices create the perfect setting for Floyd’s music while the abstract structures are overflowing with feelings of despair and anguish as the minimalistic instrumentation awakens the necessary claustrophobia. “Ungod Reappear” sees Floyd taking a more menacing form, with the abstract, horrifying voices and a hellish ambiance locked in, it invokes a sense of imminent doom. Of course the highlight of Floyd’s songs has to be the seven-minute long “Wrest In Natur”, and yeah you guessed it…with a guest appearance from Wrest of Leviathan. This is by far the most deranged and dark moment of the release, with the haunting vocals pulling you down into the abyss. The track retains its unwelcoming and menacing tone throughout which in turn creates a cold, eerie ambiance that will paralyze you.
On the other hand, Aerial Ruin seem to have a more straightforward vision. From “Where The Shadow Stands” you get the fact that Moggridge can seriously craft great acoustic tracks. The very emotional tone of the track with the vocals and acoustic guitar right on the spotlight is sending waves of melancholy to all that listen. The pace is then picked up with “November”, one of the highlights of this split/collaboration. What is intriguing is that even though Aerial Ruin have moved into faster territories, the vocals are still opening up mystical pathways into the music, giving the ambiance an almost spiritual quality.
The mystical nature still strong in “Less Than Decay”, also first track of Aerial Ruin to feature Floyd, is enthralling with the guitar and vocals still leading the way. The more melancholic aura of “Blood for Fall” takes over before the second collaboration between Aerial Ruin and Stevie Floyd comes in. “Ascending” is implementing a distressing vibe with some of the vocals spitting pure malice along the way. The melodies found within this track are very strong while the different vocals are working together splendidly, creating an intriguing sonic contrast. And then everything fades away, just as if it was all a dream, with “The Only Road” and its enchanting nature putting an end to this split/collaboration.
All in all, this is an excellent release. You get both Stevie Floyd with her experimental investigations into unknown sonic territories and Aerial Ruin’s more melancholic and emotional music. Sounds like a win-win to me.
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