Christoph de Babalon / Triames - Invocation Of The Demon Vol. 1

This is a bit of an oddity for Giallo Disco Records as quite usually the label puts out music that covers the horror soundtrack side of life. "Invocation Of The Demon" is set to be a new series of split EPs that Giallo will release every now and again. The first of which comes from Christoph de Babalon, known for his work in the 90s digital hardcore scene, and Triames, an electronic musician from Bilbao. Respectively, each artist takes over one side of the EP, with Babalon on the A-side and Triames on the B-side. 

It was really, really hard for me to get into Babalon's starting track, 'Good Heavens'. It's not that it is bad drone work, it's just that the song has a hard time getting away from most drone tropes throughout a good portion of the eight minute duration. Aside from the standard and atmospheric one lined note that takes up six minutes and forty five seconds of the song, the final stretch is the most fascinating. A pounding drum takes over as eerie synth work darkens the mood. At this point is where I felt as if a dark spirit was about to rise from the gates of Hell and emerge into my life. 

Sadly, though the final stretch of the previous song really did get me into Babalon's work, 'Maudland' did not. An echoing, single and solitary note breaks forth with heavy atmospheric content, but does nothing more than that to immerse the listener into the experience. I have no question that Babalon is a skilled producer, but he needs to do more to his drone work to make it accessible. If I wanted to listen to something like this, I could easily browse through hundreds of other musicians with the same exact sound. 

Triames sort of has the same problem, but there's a little more to his songs that make them much more interesting to listen to. Aside from the drone structure of 'Closed Shell', what sounds like a downpour raging outside adds more to the atmospheric content. Added in are trickling digital effects throughout, ranging from the smallest footsteps of ghastly figures, to reverberating sonic waves. Every now and again, the drone base is reinforced, changing up the song. The track is better, a little bland, but still better than what's been produced on the split so far. 

A silent but strong build up leads the charge in 'Over', the last track on the EP, and this one I really appreciated. It fluctuates between blasts of noise and just a looming sense of dread and hopelessness. I have heard other artists try and do this before, but each and every time they attempted such a rhythm, they failed at it. I'm not entirely sure how Triames was able to make this work, but it came out just right. 'Over' marks the best track on the album just because of that. 

I do have mixed feelings about this split. I have a lot of positive things to say about it; the songs fit the mood, the production is fantastic, and each producer was able to mold their sounds into a chant of ominous fortune. However, at the same time, most of the tracks on it were pretty bland and needed something more to make them stand out from the crowd, which is a problem with most other drone artists. 

Giallo Disco always puts out quality releases, and while this one does not mark a high point for the label, I'm still interested in seeing what the next volume will crank out. Perhaps future volumes in the series will impress me more than this one, but that is yet to be seen. 
Sep 17 2015