Drowning The Light – Lurker Of The Void [EP]

Very hot on the heels of Drowning The Light’s latest offering, Azgorh’s seventeenth full-length album with Drowning The Light ‘Haunter Of The Deep’, he returns with the already announced first of a series of new EP’s and demos: ‘Lurker Of The Void’. On the ever-tastefully designed cover art we see Azgorh standing at the very same rocky coast as on the cover of ‘Haunter Of The Deep’. This makes us believe we are to expect a similar musical and conceptual ride. The accompanying text gives a little more explanation of what to expect. In contrast to the musical offering, which is largely in the same spirit as the recently released album, ‘Lurker Of The Void’ seems to dwell within its very own dimensions.

Musically, this EP has two Black Metal tracks to offer and one four-minute ambient track that might be regarded as some sort of outro. The musical direction is indeed largely in the same dreamlike fashion that marked ‘Haunter Of The Deep’. While the drums go on in a rather stubbornly, relentless pace, they are a bit tugged away in the overall sound, that is largely dominated by the guitars. The outstanding keyboards again provide the music with that soft and almost soothing kind of backdrop, which contrasts so nicely sharp with Azgorh’s distinctive raspy voice (in the second track, ‘Setapophian Flame’, also interspersed with some grunt-like vocals). Out of those buzzing guitars and humming synths, Azgorh again masterfully forges an ambience that doesn’t sound and feel as haunting or distressing as some of Drowning The Light’s earlier works. Instead its much smoother sound has a deeply emotional touch, melancholic and in a way strangely humbling.

The overall sound of ‘Lurker Of The Void’ is a little more raw, which actually gives the music a slightly different feel compared to ‘Haunter Of The Deep’. Yet it is unmistakably clear that ‘Lurker Of The Void’ is more or less written under the same star, the samples of calm, rushing water certainly contribute to that idea.