Style: Cosmic black metal steeped in ambience
Primary Emotions/Themes: Complete darkness all around, there is nothing tangible within any sense... yet something is lurking in this deep cold dark
Thoughts: Darkspace is a band that wields a unique sound. Many bands have tried the "black metal in space" style, but none of them have created such a complete sound such as Darkspace has.
While the debut album and demo have a bit of hit and miss and lack dynamics, the band figured things out with their second album. The idea that space is dark and lonely is shown so effectively through the sound honed on that album that it's difficult to find a better album in the style. That said, III does it's very best to improve on the foundation laid by II in every way.
The music found on the Darkspace albums can be summed up as thus: deeply atmospheric, keyboard driven, obscure black metal. The "wall of sound" concept is embraced by the band on this release, and pushed to its logical extremes. It's more than just a wall of sound, it's a tidal wave of sound, noise, and chaos all wrapped into seven monolithic tracks.
Unlike the debut album, III has a mastery of dynamics. The band knows when to pull back and let the emptiness of space wash over the listener. They know when to fill every crevice with the violence of a star going super nova. They know when to use their hellish vocals, they know when to pull in samples from astrophysicists speaking. They know when to use typical black metal riffing, they know when to chug. They know when to blast, they know when to slow down. They simply know.
Darkspace III may take some time to get into, I know it took me quite a few listens. While I still prefer II, III may be the best representation of their sound. If there is only one Darkspace album to have in a collection, this is likely it.
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