Rasalhague - Rage Inside the Window

Dank, dour, dark and cold... here's your invitation into the world of Rasalhague. Are you a fan of Lacus Somniorum? 'Rage Inside the Window' is for you then. Within these six tracks resides the same love of feedback and poisoned Earth, Gustavf Hildebrand's last side-project embraced. This is not a complete copy, mind you, but the territory explored is very similar. The usage of slowly decaying industrial sounds is quite reminiscent of Hildebrand's last solo album 'Primordial Resonance'. It doesn't bother me to see someone else going off in this vein, but if Hildebrand had a new album out, I'd pick it hands down over Rasalhague's debut here. The songs themselves cast a gloomy shadow of foreboding doom and are a pleasant respite from the heat of late summer, they have a wonderfully abrasive feel to them and I have no doubt that Rasalhague will develop into something grand in the future....

There have been too many stunning albums in this style this year for this one to stand out against, it just doesn't have the fire of Tholen's latest or the twin triumphs of Psychomanteum and Triangular Ascension. As with most releases you find in the dark ambient basement, this one has a loose concept to it: The imprisonment of life inside the womb, it's eventual removal and subsequent submission to the order of the world it has been born into. Life is a cruel mistress, I get it. But what impresses me the most about 'Rage Inside the Window' is usually what I find so irritating: you get a little over 45 minutes worth of exorcising catharsis, which is perfect for what this album delivers as it isn't terribly original; the strength of overall composition is solid but it just drifts... and drifts. Where's the incisive instinct, where's the spite. Aug 23 2011