EMPTINESS WITHIN

Having gone on a hiatus from full-length releases in favour of shorter EP experiments, the dark ambient project Misanthrofeel is back with another development in it's sound. This time focusing more on the ambient side of things over the heavier 'metal' sound, 'Emptiness Within' is without a doubt the mysterious composer's most professional full- length effort to date, although some of the work's more adventurous samples end up coming across as somewhat tacky.

While all of the instruments here are completely virtual, Misanthrofeel makes the right decision here to go for a more ambient and electronic approach over the doom/ethnic metal roots, which made Misanthrofeel's music feel more like a GuitarPro file than a finished product. However, unlike 'XII-XIII-XIV' (his purely ambient EP released in 2010), there are still some traces of a metal sound. Many of the tracks are very minimalistic, although effective in the way they slowly build. While Dmitry (the man behind this work) is indeed a good composer and has shown as much throughout his time working under the Misanthrofeel pseudonym, the music here focuses much more on the way he is able to arrange different sounds together on the computer. The result is ultimately mixed.

Many of the songs here almost feel like short auditory films; they give a very vivid mental image that is usually tied in with the title. 'Nightmares' for example sounds like it's scoring a gothic horror film, whilst 'On The Shore' takes us to some dark and tattered beach. The music and vibe throughout is consistently dark and filled past the brim with despair. While this does work well to some extent in many of the songs, it can get overbearing to the point where it's hard to take the atmosphere of the music seriously. The legitimate album closer 'Ortni' for example, features a repetitive machine gun firing sound, along with a dog whimpering, and a woman crying throughout the second half of the track. Unfortunately, Misanthrofeel lacks the darkness necessary to make subject matter like this really work.

While this is far from the best thing Misanthrofeel has released musically, it does show a very profound development in his sound, especially when looking back at the rather raw and unpolished demo. However, a return to the beautiful, intricate compositions of 'Sampleria' would be very welcomed, albeit with the new, more computer-oriented and professional sound arrangements this Russian artist now employs.

Misanthrofeel are an experimental project created and performed by the Russian composer. The album is fully instrumental with horror themes. As soon as the album begins the room will go darker as we hear a scratchy vinyl sound of eerie piano. The doomy metal chords created on the next few tracks generate a heavy ominous atmosphere. The keyboards are well executed and it is at times difficult to believe the whole album was created on a computer. The stark cold synth lines and crunching guitar sounds juxtaposed together form a layer of Gothic ambience. The front cover of the album may well be the scene of a death or suicide which would be fitting to the music. This is not an album for the faint of heart as it is downright creepy.

'Nightmares' has a chilling vibe, very downbeat and ethereal, as if it is a soundtrack to a horror movie. The creaking footsteps and crying baby effects augment this haunting atmosphere. The effects tend to tell a story, albeit a macabre one involving a pervading portentous occurrence. The music threatens to scream out suddenly and jolt the listener but never does, yet the permeating distorted guitar chords over a layer of keyboard motifs are the main threat.

After a musical box is heard, a symbol of innocence, there is the sound of waves on a beach, a symbol of isolation. 'On The Shore' features a very ambient synth line and some chittering effects until a strong piano is heard playing a haunting melody. The wind howling adds to the atmosphere of doom. I liked the high piano notes that are as sinister as the soundtrack to "Eyes Wide Shut". The slow melodies patiently meander along, and this track has a spacey sound on synths. One of the better tracks.

'Through Anxiety' has a nice bassy synth and strong descending chord structures. It builds very slowly, with stark gloomy sounds. It is one of the darkest tracks especially due to the disturbing effects. It may be the soundtrack of a killer stalking his prey in the darkened forest.

'Wreckage' begins with a car driving off and we can guess that the track will be based on a horrific car crash. The melody is downbeat and foreboding, as we hear the sounds of cars driving past. One may imagine a lonely road with a driver about to meet their fate. The car screeches and crashes eventually, heavy breathing is heard, so we can presume the driver survived.

'Ortni' is another scratchy track with weird backtracked effects. We hear the sounds of a gun being cocked back and then there is the disturbing sound of a machine gun firing and dogs wailing. The atmosphere is blood curdling on this. The sound of a woman crying is heard as she discovers the dead animals. This is as bleak as I have heard; a very disconcerting track.

The bonus track 'Expectance' is more of the synth lines and cold glum atmospheres. The distorted guitar chords return and it ends the album with some more skittering effects.

Overall this album would work as a chilling soundtrack to a stalk and slash movie or a movie that centres around death or shadowy ghostly occurences. It was certainly worth a listen but I am not sure I would return often to this rather unsettling eerie music.