Artist: Lustmord
Album: Much Unseen Is Also Here
Label: Pelagic Records
Release date: March 2024
What can be said about one of the forefathers of the genre that has been putting out consistently great dark ambient releases for more than 35 years now? Even though the artist in question has always disowned the genre name, Lustmord's seminal 1990 release Heresy has a very strong claim to single-handedly spawning the dark ambient scene, followed by equally hallowed mid-90s albums The Place Where the Black Stars Hang and Stalker, the latter in collaboration with Robert Rich. Although none of these are my personal favourite of Lustmord (that accolade belongs to 2004's Carbon/Core), the legacy and impact of Brian Williams on the dark ambient scene are undebatable. In March 2024, a full 8 years since Lustmord's previous bona-fide album Dark Matter (the longest gap between any two albums of his), a new Lustmord release was unleashed upon the world, clocking in at more than 80 minutes. Was it worth the wait?
The opening track, Behold a Voice as Thunder, builds up in a surprisingly slow manner considering the name, and the same is valid for the first third of the album in general. That's because over the previous four decades of activity, Lustmord has perfected the art of dynamics to a frankly incredible degree, and each track is given sufficient time to build and flesh out its own atmosphere. In fact, out of eight tracks on this album, seven clock in at more than eight minutes, having been given plenty of breathing room to expand their wings fully. In terms of sound, this release offers few surprises, as all trademark Lustmord elements are there - cinematic, yet subtle, almost choir-like synth passages, monstrously deep drones and rumbles, and a general sense of awe. That said, the compositions seem a bit more introspective this time around compared to the previous few releases, with less experimentation (such as the vocals that gave The Word As Power its ethereal quality or the titanic 20+ minute track lengths of Dark Matter) and more focus on building a sense of storyline with the core components of the Lustmord sound, as the unusually evocative and somewhat biblical track titles also suggest. This isn't to say that the album introduces no new elements at all, as exemplified by the fifth track Invocation of the Nameless One and its atypical (for Lustmord) reliance on a repetitive wind instrument melodic pattern, slowly dissolving into a closer not too unlike the Scandinavian dark ambient school of the early 2000s. The album peaks with the delectably cinematic Hence Shall They Be Devoured All of Them, the longest and in my opinion best track on the album, with a compilation of the best Much Unseen is Also Here has to offer: the subtle high-pitched background noise creating a sense of dread, another windpipe melody, chiming bells, and most importantly the beautiful, piercing bass drones coming through every so often; never have 14 minutes flown by so effortlessly on a dark ambient album. The closing track Other Woes Are Yet to Come suitably reflects its threatening title through a combination of deep rumbling drones and the same orchestra of instruments interspersed throughout the album, with the trademark bass bang to finish things off.
Coming back to the last sentence of the first paragraph, Much Unseen Is Also Here is unlikely to be anyone's favourite Lustmord release, but it does scratch a very particular itch that is difficult to treat elsewhere. It's a worthy addition to the Lustmord discography with plenty of replay value, which is impressive in itself for an artist whose musical career spans 45 years at this point. I just selfishly hope we don't have to wait another 8 years for the next album.
Rating: 8/10
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