Immundus - You Will Never Get Out Of Here Alive

The cracked and old staircase of some abandoned and forbidden place glares at me on the front cover of Immundus' You Will Never Get Out Of Here Alive. Where here exactly is is a mystery that I do not think will ever be answered. However, thanks to Immundus self describing his creepy music as ghost ambient, I am most assured that whatever Hell-hole the listener is traversing in his latest album is not a friendly one. No, it is a scary, dark, demonic portal to another world disguised as a building which once stood as a functioning part of society, but some cult, person, or being awoke something dangerous, and as the title of the album states, you surely won't be seeing the light of day again. 

Immundus is the solo project of Bruno Duarte, who's formation occurred after his previous band Nekrocult of Kronos split in 2003. He moved to Norway afterwards to let the haunting noises that have always filled his head escape into reality. "I have always been very interested in the paranormal, in hauntings, and in the afterlife and ghosts, so to be able to write music about subjects I’m interested in is definitely a great thrill," Bruno has stated. 

Ever since then, it has been history. Under the moniker of Immundus, Duarte has released six albums (including this one), two EPs, and one single. Never ceasing nor failing to please, his combination of neoclassical elements, horror soundtracks, and dark ambient music provides thrills and chills that are guaranteed to spook. 


On You Will Never Get Out Of Here Alive, dark and clanging piano keys are struck heavily. Whether it's the second song on the album, 'Drained For Blood At The Alter', or the title track, 'You Will Never Get Out Of Here Alive' (which does have a bit of a cabaret influence to it), Immundus used his skill with the piano to the fullest function. All of these piano keys are always backed by heavily atmospheric ambiance, and sometimes occult-like choral samples. 

However, that's not to say that each and every single song is a creepy piano ballad. One of the most striking songs on the album is the first one, 'Nightcrawler', which utilizes said choral samples and atmosphere to deliver one of the most spine tingling tracks on the album. Though 'The Pit' does utilize the piano in simpler form, it's more or less fiddling background noise for the thick ghostly sounds that are present up front. Think of it as a lone teenager traversing in the wrong house, and whilst they explore the area, four keys are struck on an abandoned piano in the background, luring them right to their death. 

Immundus has a lot going for himself; this is not the standard cinematic dark ambient album that is becoming trendy in the scene, and it doesn't fall for any gimmicks other than using horror as a basis for its sound. His neoclassic mash-up of cult horror films and occult imagery is one that is great and I don't think I've heard another musician with this type of sound before. For anyone in the horror film industry, take note of Immundus. If you need a soundtrack, I'm sure he'll be able to deliver an award winning OST. 
Mar 13 2016