DEEP IN OCEAN SUNK THE LAMP OF LIGHT

Æthenor is a band consisting of Daniel O'Sullivan from the avant-prog band GUAPO, Vincent De Roguin from the heavy post-rock band SHORA and Stephen O'Malley from the Drone Doom band SUNN O))). With all of these guys in one band one would think this will be one of the heaviest bands ever in existence! Sorry to pop your balloons because that's not going to happen here.

Instead of turning the volume up they lower it down. This is the ambient music that one would expect these guys to make. It's ghastly, dark, sinister and downright creepy. The playing is more on the abstract side and they focus more on making surrealistic soundscapes instead of creating melodies and such. These surrealistic soundscapes are done by various sounds and instruments. Whether its a rumbling drone in the background getting louder by time, the sound of creaking wood, the clattering of metal objects or the haunting keys of a rhodes piano, all of these sounds help to create the dense and disturbing atmospheres of the album. The sound manipulations and sound effects are also an integral part of their sound like in the beginning of the second song when weird screeching noise takes over the rhodes melody giving it a sci-fi vibe to it.

Most of the song here are rather calmed and atmospheric. The album is very dense and layered and although it may seem that there's very little things going on at first glance, more in depth listening will prove the opposite. The last song on the album is maybe the exception since the instruments and sound are more upfront than in the other three songs and also the fastest one to get its message across making it the most accessible one of the bunch.

This album is wonderful to get lost in. The soundscapes created by this band will suck you in and never let you go. It'll take you to place never seen before and I have to warn you that those places are anything but pretty.

Aethenor's Deep In Ocean Sunk The Lamp Of Light is the sound of the earth's ancestral spirits invading your mind, altering it into insanity of the darkest persuasion. The album begins with the sounds of furious winds, crashing oceans, klanging of metals upon a close-by vessel, sounds of distant lighthouse sirens echoing across the water. This is the signal of the rising of the high priest of the Great Old Ones from out of the ocean's depths - Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

But seriously, this album really does have a Lovecraftian effect on the mind, and could very well be inspired by the infamous mythos, considering the album's name and pseudo-cryptic cover. For those not too impressed with progressive electronic of the spacier variety, perhaps this dissonant and earthy take on the genre may be more to you're liking. Highly recommended cryptic, dark, dissonant, empty, and creepy progressive electronic from Cthulhu's house at R'lyeh.