O SAALA SAKRAAL - Oastar (2025)

If you check the RYM page of the Dutch project O SAALA SAKRAAL, you will find that it consists of four drummers. The drums in this tribal ambient pagan outfit are in the spotlight, indeed, but they are not everything that is going on in this chaotic and eclectic music. It's time to dive into this spiritual experiment for the third time.

The album is said to be an artistic response to an event nobody from outside of the Netherlands heard about: the "destruction of an ancient solar temple by local authorities in the eastern region of Hamaland, a land still shadowed by the enduring influence of the Church". This alone shows the vibes that dominate in O SAALA SAKRAAL's music: the spiritualism is here, but it's spiritualism that is much, much older than what people may think and it involves tons of drumming, humming and whispering. The dark ambient meeting tribal sounds is such a unique experience! I sure would love to see the project performing live one day!

The album is meant to be a response to "a yearning for restoration, for a return to the primordial harmony that once bound all things". The mesmerizing compositions transport the audience in time and not so much in space, but basically to whatever was there, at the location of your home, when it was still the wilderness. Listening to the dark but profound music of the talented artists, you can be sure that they "come cloaked in the guises of the woods".

Oastar costs 8 EUR.

Check: (We Come) Cloaked in the Guises of the Woods

Country: The Netherlands

Genre: dark tribal ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

O SAALA SAKRAAL - Heven (2021)

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Born Erased - Birds Drink My Blood (2025)

Angel Simitchiev has appeared on this blog twice already but never under the moniker of Born Erased. His dark ambient soundscapes are of the best quality and now this is further certified by the fact that the December album was released by Cyclic Law. 

If you wonder what's the deal with the surprising and gory title of the album, its description explains it: the album is inspired by the brutal yet impressive nature of... nature. If you (metaphorically) squint a little, you can hear the album as a distorted soundtrack to documentary movie on the wonders and dangers of [insert any place that is not yet entirely tamed by humans]. Especially the moments where Simitchiev's dark ambient reveals some more ethereal sides (as in Voider). This probably means that, although still in the realm of ambient soundscapes, the tracks here are structured in a cinematic way, making them way more approachable to fans of other kinds of music.

Until, of course, this facade is completely destroyed by the industrial anxiety in Throne of Cages, but I guess it also fits the topic quite well. The nature is brutal, but the humans canbe even more so.

Birds Drink My Blood costs 8 EUR.

Check: Voider

Country: Bulgaria

Genre: cinematic dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

Shentov, Simitchiev, Lukanov - Pain and Power (2024)

Angel Simitchiev & Linus Schrab - Airborne (2021)

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Hand to Earth - Ŋurru Wäŋa (2025)

This is a special project, you can see it in the album title in Wáglilak language, you can see it in the multi-ethnic line-up and the music itself. The latter can be only described as world music meeting dark ambient and this thought alone would make me very excited to try these sounds.

There is a lot to read about the album (and I recommend doing so on the project's Bandcamp page), but the main things are that sense of belonging and the notion of home are the main themes here. This cannot be a surprise since the members of the projects come from very different places. However, whenever this happens, people very soon discover that it doesn't matter at all as their home can easily encompass entire planet.

There are Korean poems and singing in one of the native Australian tongues that represent the folk/world music part and the minimalist, dark but also quite surprisingly uplifting and soothing backgrounds that add up to the ambient part of the music. The effects are mesmerizing, especially that they are fueled by the use of various (and so different from each other) instrument as the music here is "written in the scribble of electronics, in the sighs of the clarinet and trumpet, in the broad brush strokes of the yidaki, and the snap of the bilma" (kudos to those of you who know what those are, I didn't). 

Ŋurru Wäŋa costs 9 USD.

Check: Gaḏayka

Country: Australia, South Korea

Genre: dark world music

Label: Room40

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Hekla - Turnar (2025)

Hekla Magnúsdóttir shares her name with the tallest volcano on Iceland. There's no connection to her music, I just like these geographical-musical facts. The artist herself released her third album this year and frankly speaking, it's gotta be my favourite one of the two which is backed up by the fact that Hekla received a lot of attention recently.

Hekla is a theremin player. I wouldn't be able to hear that I think, the music on the album sounds like it could well be made out of samples and synthesizers, but there is something special about playing such an outstanding instrument. Does it always sound so... dark? Mysterious but mostly ominous? No wonder that her Bandcamp account advertises the album as a "paranormal plane of haunting dread". I can hear the elements of ethereality and cosmic psychedelia, but I feel mostly darkness pouring out of each of the compositions. But maybe it's just the state of my mind. Still, I feel the strength of this music lies in the fact that everyone will be affected in a slightly different way. The only common thing is how beautiful the album is.

Turnar costs 9 EUR (7 GBP).

Check: Í Ösku og Eldi

Country: Iceland

Genre: dark theremin ambient

Label: Phantom Limb

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Masma Dream World - PLEASE COME TO ME (2025)

Unsettling but spiritual, dark but filled with emotions, her live gigs are titled ceremonies. The Gabon-born and New York-based Devi Mambouka, known as Masma Dream World, opens up fantastic spaces to your personal use on her new album and it is recommended to follow her.

Her music involves "invokes, magic, and healing as a form of worship to the universal Dark Mother", making it clear that the experimental industrial dark ambient's biggest trait is its spiritual character audible in the forms of chants and backing vocals that are the leading force of the new album. But there is more, so much more. Even the pace changes as Seeking Your Protection offers a unique, industrial tribal vibes. Not every face of the artist on this album is what I like, but I appreciate the fact that the rather diverse album still feels like a coherent mass of sound.

I'm happy that I will be able to partake in one of her ceremonies during this year's dunk!festival in Ghent. I'm looking forward to this and getting ready my spiritual self. 

PLEASE COME TO ME costs 10 USD.

Check: O, Dark Mother

Country: New York, US

Genre: spiritual dark ambient

Label: Valley of Search

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EERIÆRMOR - EERIÆRMOR (2024)

Kevin Gan Yuen known from the black noise Sutekh Hexen and as Fermentae released his first album under the moniker of EERIÆRMOR. The self-titled LP makes a great combination of two sides of electronica: the lively ambient and industrial noise. And those contrasting vibes go together surprisingly well.

The album is designed to convey "a powerful emotional imprint, guiding the listener from states of liminal ecstasis to expressing unification of beauty and brutality". The way the artist achieves it is combining beautiful ambient () passages with moments of harsh noise, creating this kind of contrast that is very satisfying to listen to. Although, to be fair, the harshness of the noise is softer than I'd expect so the barrier to entry is not that significant. 

EERIÆRMOR costs 7 USD.

Check: I, Rainmaker

Country: California, US

Genre: noisy electronica

Label: Cyclic Law

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Shentov, Simitchiev, Lukanov - Pain and Power (2024)

Amek Collective always brings to my ears something that is worth mentioning. This time the ambient label from Bulgaria released a joint-effort from three their compatriots: Ivan Shentov (aka Krāllār), Martin Lukanov, and Angel Simitchiev (aka Mytrip).

This is the second collaboration of the gentlemen after the 2022's Palimpsest. Like on that album, Pain and Power offers minimalist but extremely dark ambient sounds that build up the reflective state in one's mind the longer the album plays. This is music that feels like the earth's subtle movements, like the dark caves look, like a persistent call to go back to the simpler times. It should be listened to in complete darkness and then it's felt in your bones.

Pain and Power costs 5 EUR.

Check: Light Barrier

Country: Bulgaria

Genre: minimal dark ambient

Label: Amek Collective

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Cruel Diagonals - Fractured Whole (2023)

Megan Mitchell makes music as Cruel Diagonals. Her new album is another example as of late of music created entirely with the artist's vocals (very recently I posted about Aphir's new album with similar theme), but Fractured Whole is as experimental as it's ethereal.

When you look at the titles of the tracks, you automatically think of Lingua Ignota and it's not my only connotation: there is something from Kristin Hayter in the vocals as well. But unlike her, Mitchell drowns the compositions in both extremely airy and very glitchy vibes. If you like sacral-like, ethereal vocals surrounding you from every direction but also being reshaped by experimental electronic music, this is definitely something for you. The compositions are rarely put within more formulated structures and often freely go wherever the artist wants them to.

Fractured Whole costs 8 USD.

Check: Penance

Country: California, US

Genre: vocal-only electronica

Label: Beacon Sound

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Pascal Savy - Simulacra (2023)

Pascal Savy, a French artist based in London, is said to create "organic ambient and drone music as a way to reflect on erosion, transition and decay". This makes him a perfect match for the French label, Cyclic Law, which released his new album called Simulacra.

This album is the artist's answer to the nervous political situation around the world with the music here  that is filled with "feelings of alienation and powerlessness as well as convey(ing) ideas of anger and latent violence". The industrial, aggressive dark ambient is a perfect way to express this kind of atmosphere of constant danger and uncertainty. But there's another layer to his music: the always-changing, looping backgrounds create an otherworldly atmosphere that can feel airy and soothing as well as dangerous and poignant at the same time. A lot of approaches towards the same goal: unnerving space/dark ambient.

Simulacra costs 7 EUR.

Check: Hyperspace Without Atmosphere

Country: France/UK

Genre: industrial dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

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CHAIGIDEL & NERATERRÆ - Lama​š​tu (2023)

Alessio Antoni is one of the ambient artists I respect the most. This time, he joins forces with CHAIGIDEl, making it a duo of extremely dark ambient music from Italy. They released their album Lama​š​tu  through Cyclic Law in March.

Once again, Antoni delivered what can be only described as a perfect dark ambient music. The gloomy and unnerving electronic drone soundscapes are made even more touching by whispering vocals and even some throat singing vocalization in A'Arab Zaraq. This theme of oriental-sounding elements is actually the unique leitmotif throughout the album, although it's not overwhelming. Because the overwhelming part is the darkness that speaks through the duo's music so well.

Lama​š​tu costs 8 EUR.

Kegaal - Pillars: Seeds of Ares (2020)

NERATERRÆ - Scenes from the Sublime (2020)

NERATERRÆ - The Substance of Perception (2019)

Check: A'Arab Zaraq

Country: Italy

Genre: dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

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Lost in Reverb - (H)ours (2023)

Nicolás Madrid from the Argentinian city of Marcos Paz is a drone artist whose music creates some beautiful, although harsh soundscapes. Ones that I'd imagine would fit perfectly the southern end of the artist's home country. His new EP is called (H)ours.

The music here is a nice combination of space, dark ambient with uncomfortable presence of drone music. Some of the cosmic peace, represented by the cover art's picture of the Moon, is also audible here. Especially in the hopefully titled second track on the album. And the more beautiful face of this music is shown when the piano keys are introduced in The Hours in Mare Imbrium, my favourite track here.

(H)ours costs 3 USD.

Check: The Hours in Mare Imbrium

Country: Argentina

Genre: droney space ambient

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VIRUS2020 - SECT ط​ا​ئ​ف​ه (2022)

Rami Harrabir is an artist from Tunisia who creates various kinds of electronic music, but as VIRUS2020 focuses on very dark ambient soundscapes. His album SECT ط​ا​ئ​ف​ه makes it very clear.

His gloomy soundscapes are extremely immersive, one can feel them coming from every direction. Like an incoming night somewhere in the Tunisian desert. Especially that some parts include some obvious references to local, Arab folk which makes it only very unique. But the album is not just an oriental gimmick, Harrabir is really fluent in creating dark and bass-heavy drony ambient and I'm here for it. Interestingly enough, probably the most ear-catching track here, Crucified but ... مصلوب و لكن features Oiseaux-Tempête's Frédéric D. Oberland which only adds to the album's rich sound.

SECT ط​ا​ئ​ف​ه costs 3 USD.

Check: Crucified but ... مصلوب و لكن 

Country: Tunisia

Genre: oriental dark ambient

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Departing / Serein - Elegy (2022)

Some music is meant to convey certain feelings and messages. Like it is with this kind of dark drone soundscape from the split release by Departing and Serein. 

I can't say much about the two artists but this album was born out of death of someone they cared about so much that this sudden loss lead to the sonic way of mourning. The two tracks are filled with drone soundscapes that are as dark as the feeling of loss and so touching as well. The music here is static and cold, filled with sadness and regret. I can't think of a better way of expressing those.

Elegy costs 1 USD.

Check: The Emptiness in Loss

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: dark drone

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Ascending Divers - Watery Domain (2022)

Hugo Champion, known as the half of the Lisieux duo, makes his solo music under the moniker of Ascending Divers. The French producer has released several albums already, the newest oh which, Watery Domain, was shown to us this August.

His ambient music is dark and monumental, industrial and epic, no wonder that his new album is released by Cyclic Law. The label house describes him as a man providing us with "massively deep atmospherics and drone Sonorites". When his music is not reigned by mountain-reaching electronica, it is wrecked by deep and heavy basses that can make you cry. It's the kind of music that involves so many emotions; even if most of them are dark or darkish, they are definitely worth going through.

Watery Domain costs 8 EUR.

Check: Daybreak in Waves

Country: France

Genre: monumental dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

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SHRINE - Nausicaä (2022)

I learned about Hristo Gospodinov's music from NERATERRÆ's album Scenes from the Sublime on which Shrine featured. This year's Nausicaä is my first time with the artist alone and I must say, I am so impressed with his unique attempt at dark ambient experience.

The album is said to be inspired by a Japanese manga called Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - which doesn't mean anything to me, but apparently it is a text about a gloomy, post-apocalyptic world and it is all clearly audible on the release. Gospodinov achieves this thick and unnerving atmosphere by mixing the soft and dreamy ambient soundscapes with dark and extremely overwhelming industrial parts. It is unbelievable how easy it is for the artist to create this dangerous world the soundscape of which we are lucky to explore from a safe (for now) place at our homes.

Nausicaä costs 8 EUR.

Check: Like a God of Death

Country: Bulgaria

Genre: industrial dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

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ROOK - Infinite Empty (2022)

Just before this year's edition of dunk!festival, dunk! label is showing us a new, pretty impressive work of one of its artists: the Belgians of ROOK. It's the band's second full-length album and most certainly best one yet with its gloomy and heavy atmosphere spreading all around the listener.

The Belgians' music is centred around Billie's spoken word and more traditional vocals with a hint of folk flavour to them; vocals that sound unfazed by the dark madness that goes on around her all the time. The guitar noise the band prefers to put in the backgrounds ranges from dark ambient's pure despair to noise-filled jazzy passages up to the louder, post-rock-like pieces. This one-of-a-kind atmosphere boils throughout the album, reaching the peaks in the post-metal fragments of The Shoulder and surprisingly electronica-heavy, horror disco in Ruis. This track transforms into the most mesmerizing fragments that bring together the psychedelic guitars, tribal tunes and chanting vocals and I'm here for it.

It's no wonder that the musicians aim for the genre-fluidity, as the label locates their music in the place where "genre becomes a nebulous concept, and the uncanny impressions formed by the music demonstrate a powerful synergy between the visceral and the ethereal". I bet this is the kind of music that is particularly impressive live so I'll be happy to see this spectacle on the dunk!festival next week!

Infinite Empty costs 7 EUR.

Check: Ruis

Country: Belgium

Genre: spoken word guitar noise

Label: dunk!records

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Zguba - Znój (2022)

After releasing his second album Potwarz two years ago (and winning my personal title of the best ambient release of the year), the artist known as Zguba ("Loss") comes back with another dark masterpiece. And Znój ("Drudgery") should be praised even more as it is supposed to be the final good bye with the moniker of Zguba.

It should be obvious by now that this project means darkness, depression and utter melancholy - emotions that are only empowered by the extremely gloomy track titles (here we can find "The Abyss", "The Swelling" and "The Ordeal" among others). But Zguba's characteristic trait is that he is able to convey it while creating very airy and ethereal music. Be it the use of backing choir vocals (as in Łaska ("Grace")) or synthesizers, this is fantastic means that adds tons of the sacral vibes and makes the listener relish the gloomy and the dark ambiance. I am very sorry that the project is not going further from here but I'll look out for anything that comes from the artist's side anyway.

Znój costs 6.5 EUR (30 PLN).

Zguba - Potwarz (2019)

Check: Łaska 

Country: Poland

Genre: dark dream ambient

Label: LOŻA Oficyna

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ASHTORETH - Rites III​-​IV (2021)

Peter Verwimp released his Rites I and II in 2019. Since then he was involved in other projects and cooperations but it's finally time for the followup in the form of Rites III-IV, making the Cyclic Law's release one of the highlights of the ambient music at the end of the last year.

As Ashtoreth is "the preeminent goddess in the Bible, and the plural Ashtaroth is a generic term for goddesses", it's no wonder that Verwimp's music is all about the pagan-sounding, sacral and dark ambient. It is a sea of gloomy, minimalist electronica that is filled with horror-like, unnerving whispering vocals and distorted instrument sounds. The soundscapes he produces sound mystical and very mysterious and are supposed to explain people's "interconnectedness with nature as a whole and the necessity to acknowledge and use this connection as an amplifier of thoughts, ideas and emotions". One thing is certain, this is one of the darkest ambient pieces of the year.

Rites III​-​IV costs 8 EUR.

Check: Rite III 

Country: Belgium

Genre: dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

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Hiemis - Zothique (2021)

Juan Carlos Toledo is known as a member of Silent Love of Death and under the moniker of Hiemis. As the latter, the Spaniard releases albums filled with dark and tribal-characterized ambient music, probably best sounding on his newest work called Zothique.

His music makes subtle soundscapes collide with clear folk-like drums and unnerving chanting, a perfect recipe for dark and unsettling ambient music. The gloomy parts generate such a massively spooky atmosphere, but in my opinion, the tribal folk intrusions are what really fuel the darkness here: it certainly has the vibes of folk-inspired horror movies and I'm here for it. The pretty complex album goes on and on without losing anything from this dark grip and this is something that should be appreciated.

Zothique costs 7 USD.

Check: Xylac

Country: Spain

Genre: tribal dark ambient

Label: Noctivagant

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Saáadon - мреть (наутро ночь) (2021)

That's a great story on itself: two music projects Sádon (a Russia-based duo) and Saåad (Romain Barbot from France) came together to make music so they called this collaboration Saáadon, I think it's brilliant. Their album is called мреть (наутро ночь) which translates to "Die (in the morning night" which makes it clear that its content is going to be dark and poignant.

And the opening notes of heavy organ-like keys are certainly an emotional treat. The very slow soundscape the artists create have those heavy qualities, it's clear for the audience that the music i made to overwhelm and make them feel things. It's noisy, it's tear-jerkingly beautiful and, to top that, there are dispersed vocals that are based on Sádon's Donat Mavleev's poetry. They talk about "the end of time, its horizon and beyond" - quite bombastic themes but also, for ambient music, this is the most grandeur-invoking music you can get, especially thanks to the organ-like parts that make me think of Anna von Hausswolff's collab with Godspeed You! Black Emperor - similar dark and sacral vibes here.

мреть (наутро ночь) costs 8 EUR.

Check: Явь

Country: Russia/France

Genre: heavy soundscape

Label: Cyclic Law

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