Phelios   

Gates Of Atlantis

Malignant Records 2013

Much more mystical sounding than the tidal wave of oppressiveness that has emanated from Malignant Records as of late, Phelios takes a very powerful and ceremonial approach to their songwriting.  The title-track opens the album with beautiful synth and industrial tones.  The track then surges into tribal drum beats that add a dramatic feel to the song.  You get a prehistoric, tribal sense that swells within you as those ambient noises combine with arcane beats.  Temple Of Yith journeys through darker corridors within those ancient ruins as ominous notes resonate throughout the track.  A vast hollowness echoes through the pulsating beats of Spiritual Possession.  It's as if a ritual were occurring within the halls of a giant temple deep in the bowels of the Earth.  The beats create a dance quality to the songwriting while unholy vibrations and industrial noise penetrate the track.  Hibernation manages to summon images of flowing sojourns through darkened shrines and subterranean knowledge.  The music borders on movie soundtrack quality, which is a good thing.  A shimmering stillness adds an astral texture to The Shadow Out Of Time.  The humming noise settles in the background while walls of sound slowly shift and calls to mind the vastness of the outer void.  Finally percussive pounding stalks in like the marching of cyclopean elder gods.  There is something magical occurring throughout the musical fabric of the album.  It's as though a portal has opened and we are able to peer back into the past, to an arcane and majestic civilization filled with magic and mystery.  Phelios has successfully transported us into a realm of otherworldly musical spells.  This is an album of pure esoteric beauty.