It’s been a few months since we last heard from Fredrik but it appears that the manic musician is as busy as ever, no doubt slaving over machinery to make strange and sinister sounds from somewhere deep beneath the bowels of the earth where the sun never shines. With ‘Epitome Of The False Dichotomy’ he is presenting four tracks that are completely free for you to download and listen to at your pleasure. I should hasten to add that these tracks are best played when the sun has set and darkness has descended but then again if you are of a nervous disposition that might not be quite such a great idea.
I found last release ‘Works Of Woe’ a bit too minimalist for my liking as it centred just on spooky but fragmentary piano pieces. Here however Fredrik has gone back to the roots of terror to decompose some real horror movie soundtrack music that is designed to make your skin crawl. Starting at ‘4.18 At The Morgue’ you hear a rumbling sound that increases in volume before the ambient throb is desecrated by orchestral flutters and nightmarish sounds unravelling. This is highly atmospheric and it certainly sends shivers down the spine as it builds into a crescendo. Think Christopher Young and his work on the Hellraiser movies perhaps as we descend into a vision of hell that is overwhelmingly alien and terrifying. ‘Transition Or Separation’ has gloomy keyboards quietly in the background and violin and lone drum beat up front. These all fade as the keys and scratching noises like insects crawling through your brain take over and you can simply close your eyes and let it take you where you want, into a very dark place. ‘Unreleased’ explores darker and deeper domains, there is plenty of tension from the strings here and this is loud and fantastical and genuinely scary. Perhaps this is where the problem lies in getting this music to the right audience, it would be excellent on the soundtrack of a horror movie but it is simply too damn creepy and full of tension to work in anything but the sort of frightener we hardly ever see nowadays. Finishing with ‘The Cleansing Moment Of Clarity’ the nightmare is perhaps a short one but it is sharp and leaves you unsettled and in shock as it fades into the distance and releases you from its grip.
It would appear that ‘Entrance’ will be the next release from the ever prolific maestro and on Cold Spring no less but in the meantime go and grab these songs and spend 14-minutes in the presence of sheer unadulterated fear, you only have your sanity to lose after all.
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