Those Who Walk Away — Afterlife Requiem

Afterlife Requiem is the second album from this post-classical dark drone project from Winnipeg, Manitoba.  It’s a nine-track affair, which moves between lush yet mournful drifts. Murky-edged mournful simmers, and gloomily sweeping expanses darted by the odd bleak sample.

The release appears on Constellation Records, as either a 180 gram vinyl release or a CD in a mini card sleeve. I’m reviewing the former of these. For cover artwork, we have a hazed/ blurred painting of a dressed in red angel hovering in front of pray all dressed in black female figure.

Each of the albums track last between four and five minutes- so nothing ever overstays its welcome. We open with “The Beginning And The End” which is all about hovering/ light soaring string and vocal tones, which have been somehow hazed/ lightly smeared to create the sonic equivalent of watching dust motes floating in a slowly fading ray of golden sunlight.

As we move, we come to hovering/ at points, almost shrill, simmering tones meets distant gliding rumble of “Eighth Degraded Hymn”. There’s “Tenth Degraded Hymn” which opens with a rather desperate-sounding number-counting sample- before moving into a blend of brooding hover, gloomy jaunting & bleakly darting string work. With the album playing out with “The End Of Life In Sound”  which moves from gloomy bass sustains and static hiss, onto a rising yet sombre sound glow.

As an album, Afterlife Requiem creates a mellow yet highly mournful chill-out space, with each track nicely gliding into the next. I’m a little uncertain about the sampled dialogue elements on the last two tracks, as they feel somewhat misplaced, but otherwise I enjoyed the sombre yet lush soundscapes created here.