Sonisk Blodbad - 2022 - The Shores Of Oblivion

(71:50; Apollon Records)

Track list:
1. Sonisk Blodbad 3:14
2. Alan Vega 2.0 6:00
3. Photons 4:26
4. The Shores of Oblivion 9:40
5. Dark Clouds Passing By 7:24
6. An Echo in the Dungeon City of My Heart 6:42
7. Aspik 11:20
8. Blue Triptych [CD only] 23:04

Line-up:
Ole Christensen
Kristian Stangebye
Niklas Rundquist
Nils Wohlrabe
Heidi Torsvik
Ulf Knudsen
Sam Fossbakk
Haavard Tveito
Wolfgang Seidel
Conrad Schnitzler
Tord Litleskare
Laurie Amat
Katje Elise Janisch
Beate Jacobsen
Helene Rickhard
Oliver Kersbergen
Steven Cerio
Jan-Morten Iversen
J. S. Theracon
Sandra Minter


Prolusion.
Norwegian project Sonisk Blodbad have been around for just over a decade at this point, initially releasing material through the label Inner Robot Records and then switching over to Norwegian label Apollon Records a few years back. This spring they released their fourth studio album "The Shores of Oblivion".

Analysis.
Sonisk Blodbad are purveyors of progressive electronic music, and they are a creative unit that doesn't stick nicely and neatly into one specific part of that universe either. Which may or may not be the result of all the artists they cooperate with: The main core of this project is Ole Christiansen from what I can understand, with the majority of the rest of the credited performers being guests and contributors rather than what one might call band members as such if I have the right understanding of the facts.

In this case this leads to a multifaceted album exploring a few different corners of what many might describe as both progressive electronic music and ambient music, with the opening cut 'Sonisk Blodbad 4' arguably being the main provider of what most people will recognize as clear cut progressive electronic music with it's heavy set rhythms, ongoing delicate electronic motifs and a vast array of cosmic sounds. The next couple of tracks have a darker, more dystopian and industrial character to them, with noise textures and silence as vital ingredients on 'Alan Vega 2.0' and 'Photons' having more of an art rock approach that gave me associations to some of the material made by Norwegian band Munch back in the day.

'The Shore of Oblivion' and 'Dark Clouds Passing By' are ambient excursions with more of an elegant, melancholic and sacral feel to them, with haunting vocal and violin details as key ingredients of the former and the combination of a rich but soft keyboard motif and delicate effects playing upon it as the primary ingredients of the latter. The following 'An Echo in the Dungeon City of My Heart' takes a sharp turn into the haunting beauty of darker moods and atmospheres in an otherworldly manner that for me came with associations towards the soundtrack of good, old 'Twin Peaks'.

The CD version of this production concludes with two longer minimalistic creations pairing off dark drones with light toned, careful electronic effects that have more of a hypnotic quality to them, where very subtle developments and repetitive motions combine in a suitably engaging manner.

Conclusion.
Sonisk Blodbad is a project that I guess will always have more of a limited appeal, as the material is a bit hard to grasp at times and the material tends to be demanding and challenging, especially in terms of some of the moods and atmospheres explored. Those who have an affection for haunting, otherworldly ambient electronic music and cosmic oriented progressive electronic music should find a lot to enjoy here however. A solid production as far as I am concerned.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, May 2022

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/soniskblodbadmusic
https://www.apollonrecords.no/