Genre: Dark Ambient / Avant Garde

Stateart records has left their mark on the music world more than once by releasing eclectic and unique music that often defies categorization. Music lovers who crave for strange soundscapes and alien sounds that represent new musical territory have come to rely upon the crew at Stateart to satiate their appetites. Stateart has come to our rescue once again with the second full length release by the enigment band Leak. After their debut release in 2001 on Cold Meat Industries Leak has returned with another album of unconventional ambient music. “Redemption” continues Leaks assault on ambient music with a challenging album of diverse and unusual compositions. Its time to throw out your preconceptions of what ambient music is. Leak has arrived to redeem this faltering genre from the rapacious circles it has become trapped within.

Redemption marks a departure point for dark ambient music. If you are seeking the standard dark rumblings and cryptic explorations that have standardized this genre then you will want to look somewhere else. If you are inclined to abandon your notions of ambient and dark ambient music and open your mind to the explorations of two master sound engineers then Redemption will be your ticket out of the mundane world of dark ambient music. Leak has constructed five delicate and at times vicious compositions that defy everything we have come to expect from ambient music. The five untitled tracks that comprise Redemption weave their way through numerous original soundscapes that are imaginative and captivating. Each composition exudes a sense of deliberate construction and attention to detail that is rarely found within this genre. The fragility and balance of each composition defines the music and marks Redemption as an exceptional album.

Untitled Track I begins the album with a long interlude of silence before a soft electronic wavering sound wave forms far off in the distance. This distant sound takes several minutes to develop as it slowly and deliberately advances from far off in the ether. The tone of the music is gentle and warm as it weaves its hypnotic spell. The mind and the body gently descend into deep relaxation as the song slowly advances developing with sounds of muted percussion and random sine waves. The warmer tones give way to pulsating waves of static and buried choral elements. Each element of the music is held in tight restraints keeping any one element from suffocating the others. The sound moves from deep relaxing waves of sound to a subtle struggle of divisive sounds that grind and churn in a submerged vortex. The music invokes a semiconscious state of mind in which the listener is witness to the sounds of distant and unknown events. Not a participant but just a witness. The narrative remains vague and dreamy never quite congealing into a comprehensive story but rather the music remains foggy and ethereal like a faded memory. After more than fifteen minutes the strange journey comes to a gentle end

Untitled Track III marks a departure from Untitled Tracks I & II. Untitled Track III begins with a waltz playing in the background while the foreground is defined by a turbulent mixture of static, grinding noise and high pitch sound manipulations. Crackling static and digital mayhem compete with the waltz for nearly two minutes until the song descends into an invisible drain like water in a bath tub. After the first two songs on Redemption this third song strikes the listener as alarmingly short.

Untitled track IV begins with sparse sounds of clicking metal objects and what sounds like the manipulated sounds of a Tibetan singing bowl. After 45 seconds of this delicate sound exploration the listener is assaulted with a full on barrage of sonic destruction. A wall of noise descends out of nowhere to obliterate the calm sonic explorations that begin the song. The sonic destruction is relentless and unforgiving as at it cancels out all impressions of tranquility. Leak pulls back the sonic assault long enough to wash the listeners bleeding ears with some ritualistic brass horn sounds that are complimented by mystical atmospherics. The cycle continues with a second aural assault before the music breaks into gentle ritual atmospherics once again. The opposing forces of ritualistic sounds and sonic destruction keep the listener on the edge. Though the softer elements encourage the listener to become absorbed and abandon themselves to the music the threat of the explosive noise elements keeps one from trusting in these softer moments. This creates a true sense of suspense in the listener. Much like watching a good suspense film you never know when your senses are going tis strategy and extends the length of each ambient passage within the song convincing the listener several time throughout the song that the barrage has ended only to unleash the full force of the assault once again.

I found Redemption to be an interesting and engaging listening experience. Redemption is definitely not meant for the timid or for those looking for a standard straight forward dark ambient experience in the vein of Lustmord or other dark ambient cult acts. If you are looking for an album of ambient music infused with a heavy dose of experimentation and intelligence then you may be a candidate for Redemption. I encourage you to step outside the box of dark ambient music and explore the diverse and at times challenging sounds that Leak has mastered.