Haxan Cloak, The

Not exactly drone, noise, or ambient, but certainly not pop. Thunderous dynamics in this intense instrumental music that calls on lots of acoustic instruments, natural sounds, and even electronics. The sounds is dreary, bleak, haunting. I see images of gruesome roadsides murders, tools like saws, and snapping machinery from run-down factories. Realistic creaking sounds creatively mixed with breaking bones, and warped, picked “nice instruments” like violins and bells. Powerful stuff that strikes a nerve and could serve as a harrowing film score.

*1. Heavy thud meets strings / acoustics. Dark occult feel. (4:15)
2. Sad, dark strings, gets quiet around ~2:30 in, seep back in with sneering guitar. (5:30)
3. Creaks and reversed effects, frightening barrage of eerie sounds. (3:31)
*4. Droning violin layers, urgent guitar-sounding strum / percussive trot devolves into heavy low-end and the intial drone, which could be out of a carnival-esque nightmare. (10:50)
5. Sustained heavy low-end, choral touches slowly fade out. (5:12)
*6. Noise jolt to start, methodical distorted drone loop gives way to a heavy, sequenced, electronic percussion plod. (8:33)
7. Beautifully dark strings / slammed door procession. (2:37)
*8. Harsh thud and vague mechanical backbone, buzzy strings, uneasy swirl. (5:20)