Sabled Sun - 2145

In mid-July, I did a review for Sabled Sun's 2146, which is the follow up album to this one, 2145. If you were to think about it, both albums are just like novels set to the tone of dark ambient music, which is so melodramatic. Everything within this release is definitely set to the tone of an apocalyptic wasteland, but, better yet, why not let the artist describe his own music? Here is how Simon Heath, the owner and also artist under Cryo Chamber, explains this artistic piece:

The album '2145' will take you to the desolate landscapes of a fallen future, where a mans voyage after being released from deep freeze hibernation turns into a realization of his own shattered mentality.

Now, while i do agree with what the man says, I also have to disagree in the same respect. Just like its predecessor, the music scream of dark ambient, and comes off peaceful and relaxing in a sense, but the dark and moody atmospheric sounds also speak of danger and the fact that something is just blatantly wrong.

I did enjoy the Intro to the album, as the narration in the song really sets the mood for the album. However, the story telling could've done without the slight digital distortion; I think without it, everything that the narrator was saying would've came out to be so much more impactful, meaningful, and much more serious rather than not.

However, like a lot of other albums that have been released on Cryo Chamber in the recent years and days, I'm actually finding this one to be not all too ecstatic. Just like I wrote out for the sequel to this album, yes, it is dark ambient. You could probably find a decent story in the music, but this really just isn't something I would really plan on listening to again.

A lot of the drone effects within the album are decent, such as in Retina, but they otherwise bore me half to death. And, what I do find to be a nice touch is that the project does try and make use of a wide variety of noise and sounds, but the failure to implement them in order to really get the listener into the music. I mean, Date Expired makes use of really down piano tones, but the horrible thing about the song is that it really just loops over and over for its almost three minute length.

And I suppose that's a problem that I find myself facing a lot on this album; repetition in the songs. They just keep going on and on and on with the same notes, and maybe have a pitch difference every so often here and there, but nothing's really done to completely blow you out of the water. I feel as if A New Sun, Singularity, and Signals all fall very well underneath this description.

The one song I can honestly praise on the album would be This is Where the World Ends. It's a drone song, with a singular note pervading the mood, with what I would consider to be film grain sound effects coming through. I could really see this song being used to rectify the start of a sci-fi space film about the exploration of the unknown, and I found it to be brilliant.

So, the problem isn't that I don't like Sabled Sun's techniques displayed within the album, it's just that I don't like their execution. As I usually say, there is talent in this project, and I can see that, it's just not being put to full use. The album does give you a glimpse of the post apocalypse, but with more work, it can give you a whole view of it, and make you truly feel like you're surrounded by nothing but a wasteland of broken dreams. Aug 01 2013