Council of Nine - Dakhma

Whenever I go and listen to a dark ambient album, I always check and see where the artist's influences stem from. In the case of Council of Nine, their debut album Dakhma doesn't necessarily beg to any one path or another, but seems to go about and present itself as music in a timeless form. No matter where you are or what you do, Dakhma is something that can be set down and put on for easy listening.

By enlisting ideas of an ancient past, Council of Nine places the listener in a place beyond death, described as a void. This void can be one of many things; Heaven to Christians and Lutherans, Nirvana to the Buddhist, Hell to the Satanist, or just an abyss of complete nothingness for those who don't believe in a higher power or life after death. This, however, is just my own personal thoughts and feelings on the album; explore it on your own and perhaps you'll find a different meaning.

Needless to say, from the start of the first track, The Magi, the feeling of being enveloped in a wide, desolated landscape surrounded by naught but your thoughts comes to mind. A deep, rolling drone serves as the main base for the song, as various echoing, off distance effects and multi-layered synths come out to play. You would think that such a simple formula would fail as it has been tried and tested time and time again, however, Council of Nine is somehow able to make it work and they make it work proudly.

Subliminal echoes of spirits of some sort of being come in during Tower of Silence. Each sound that finds its way within this song manages to reverberate across the walls of whatever isolated structure they may find themselves within. More deep, haunting drones come out in Sacrifice. Now, the song did sound good and wonderfully mastered, but this song did not keep me as settled as the other two did so far.

A main drone comes on through, but there are hardly any other sounds or noises that come on through to make it really shape up. And, mind you, this is a nearly sixteen minute song so more sounds, more noise would have been well appreciated. I suppose that it would make good background music for any random activity, but in general, I would pass up on this one. I think the final three and a half minutes, though minimal as they are, are the most successful part of this track. The drone work goes away, and are instead replaced by light synths. It was appreciated as it changed up the dull pace of the song.

However, not to stay on the negative for too long, the glitchy like effects placed on both the music and vocals within The Ossuary were a lovely, and noted, touch. The piano work within made way for a menacing sound, and the later whispers and ominous tones made way for a graveyard of despair. I indulged every moment this song had to offer me. I feel as if the last song, Circle of the Sun, followed up on the themes presented in The Ossuary, but had just a slight tribal feel to it in comparison, which means I enjoyed it even more.

But, yes, Council of Nine has succeeded in almost every aspect on this album. As I said, aside from Sacrifice sort of disturbing the mood for me, every other song on the album was very, very well made and I'm sure Dakhma will be put on a list when I am doing creative writing or in need of some meditative music. Very well done album, with great production values. If you like dark ambient, certainly give this album a shot in the dark. Apr 16 2015