Year: 2024
Label: Werewolf Records
Rating: 8,2 / 10
V-Khaoz's decision to transform DRUADAN FOREST from soulful, but not too necessary fantasy metal into an elite ambient project was one of the most correct actions of a talented musician in his entire life. If the early DRUADAN FOREST was SUMMONING for the poor, then the ambient DRUADAN FOREST is one of the true pillars of the genre.
"The Night Circus" is a sequel to the album "Dismal Spells from the Dragonrealm" from 2019. Let me remind you that in 2022, the ingenious and bottomless “Portals” was released, which demonstrated a completely different approach to music and aesthetics. Now V-Khaoz is returning to more familiar matters. The first "Dismal Spells" was mostly about fabulous landscapes and magic, the second is thematically closer to VARGRAV, as there are witches, orgies, hooded warlocks and black towers. But its sound is almost as deep and transparent, although not devoid of little islands of darkness in the vein of BURZUM. Also, the new album is much more intense because of its modesty: the predecessor lasted 72 minutes and had only 4 huge tracks, and the novelty carries as many as 8 tracks, but lasts only 38 minutes. In my opinion, this is not enough. I compared the first "Dismal Spells" to reading a big interesting book, but the second one rather resembles an episode of a good fantasy series. Which is also not bad, of course.
I can't say anything new about the technical component. The flute was added as one of the main instruments, but otherwise, as before, it is a noble, extremely high-quality ambient, preserving the depth and atmosphere usually inherent only in primitive old synth music.
English (UK) 
Крыўская