Year: 2021
Label: Заиндевевшая Рябина
Rating: shamanism
The ESCHATO LOGIC project, as it turned out, belongs to the man who works under the pseudonym Sergius Strix; he has a rather peculiar pagan metal band НЕЯСЫТЬ, which after the first albums turned into something between ILDJARN and LEGION 666, and I wrote a review on his actual release. At ESCHATO LOGIC, mr. Sergius does very different things. Since 2007, he has dedicated this project to experimental music. I went through the old recordings and found that there is a rough electronic ambient, and the epic “dungeon synth", and drone, and so on.
I would describe "Таинства" as an attempt to convey the feeling of shamanic rituals and related spiritual changes through music. The album is divided into three "Sacraments" of terrifying duration - two tracks of 25 minutes each, one is "only" 16 minutes. The cassette edition also includes a small additional track, similar in style to the rest. At first, it seems that nothing is happening on this album, as it has a rather unusual sound palette. Synthesized sounds are not used here, and, in fact, there is no synthesizer at all. Only live instruments and live samples. Therefore, there is no keyboard background which usually makes up half of the ambient sound. Instead, in the first track, for example, we can hear gurgling water. Very slowly, gradually, the author adds new elements to the sound and simultaneously removes the previous ones. This is done in such a calm and inconspicuous way that you don't even notice. There are simply no climaxes or intense parts, but the empty space is occupied by a quiet hum and the ringing of wind instruments.
Voices also play an important role. They more often act as additional instruments and sources for looped samples, however, in the second and third tracks there are real vocal parts where women sing/whisper ritual spells. These tracks are a little more intense due to the tribal rhythms, but they also have a very calm and hypnotic nature.
As a result, I have to say that “Таинства” leaves an impression that is not easy to convey in words. On the one hand, all the albums I know that are at least somewhat similar sound several times richer, more ambitious and more diverse. On the other hand, if Sergius Strix intended to create ritual music of an esoteric nature, then he succeeded. In a positive sense, this is an autistic ambient, to which you will not jump around the stage in animal skins, showing your naked ass from under them. It's more like a soundtrack for a certain kind of spiritual, that is, ritual, affairs. Or, alternatively, for a computer game, because in some places “Таинства” strongly reminds me of the horror game Kholat. You can take a closer look at the cassette edition on a video.
