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Band: Taphephobia
Album: Escape From The Mundane Self
Release date: 8 October 2013
Label: Cyclic Law Records
Tracklisting:
01. Into The Night He Disappears
02. My Worthless Self
03. White Chamber
04. To Storm The Field
05. Stranger In This Century
06. In The Heart Factory
07. Corporeal Escape
08. Earth Bound Spirit
09. Leave Their Sinking Ship
10. Placid Hours Of Quietness (The Final Day)
11. All Night Near The Water
Pure relaxating darkness! The sixth album from Norway based drone/dark ambient one-man act Taphephobia is another adventurous and horrifying sonic extravaganza made by man named Ketil Søraker (ex-Northaunt). Escape From The Mundane Self is in comparison to his previous, self-titled album (read a review over HERE), more dynamic, if we can talk about any dynamics in this genre at all, but yes, it has kind of a special flow. If said that Ketil manipulates those sounds just by using a guitar and it's pretty amazing how profound and sometimes mesmerizing atmospheres are made. Yes, Taphephobia is once again kind of pure icy cold Nordic experience, it's like looking and hearing the screams of frozen nature, chilly streams, lakes and in winter dying land. Yet everything is mesmerizing and breathes, it's an escape from mundane world, maybe you can find some peace in there.
In those eleven tracks and 52 minutes of darkness there's no place for light. Escape From The Mundane Self is a very intimate sonic voyage and must be taken with oneselfs pure devotion. Sometimes the sound gently caresses, but there's always a thing in the background that hides and it doesn't give a rest, just listen to meditative "My Worthless Self" and you'll get the point while you'll hear those shading picturesque sounds. Almost depressive "White Chamber" is rather psychedelic momentum with a bit of industrial scent and the nervous female speech by serial killer Aileen Wournos at the end of the track is something really unexpected, but very effective. Later on we can experience many really dramatic compositions, sometimes becoming very intense, fearful, yet sometimes claustrophobic. "Stranger In This Century" is a pure dark ambient masterpiece, male and female voices that are used like one of the sounds to deepen this nightmarish, self-torturing, yet ambiguous soundscape, because in its perversion is almost a sweet experience. The ghostly "Leave Their Sinking Ship" must be the pure example in soul disturbing sonic malevolence, so gloomy, mind seducing, suffocating, almost epic self-escaping profane dark vojage. Then some provoked sounds are almost like orchestrations on "Placid Hours Of Quietness (The Final Day)", reserved for kind of relaxation that reaches its peak on the final chapter titled "All Night Near The Water".
It's difficult to promptly describe this album, because I believe that each one who'll be drowned in those very personal sounds will experience different things. Escape From The Mundane Self is like each album from Taphephobia, a sountrack for your deepest nightmares, but this time Ketil surpassed himself with creating this multidimensional work. It's a call from afterlife, some ambiances might resemble to the soundtrack of Twin Peaks series. It's a reflexion of the things dead, living and dying in the mundane world. It might be relaxing, even very metaphorical, yet softer than many other dark-ambient things, but it makes a huge impact on the listener.
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 8,5/10
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