Dark Ambient Fans’ One-stop News Site

This Is Darkness is a site for dark ambient fans. On This Is Darkness you will find a variety of features which should be of interest to fans of dark ambient music. This includes news, reviews, interviews, and mixes.

Submissions

If you are interested in making a submission to This Is Darkness, please feel free to contact us at the following address: info@ThisIsDarkness.com

The physical shipping address can be found here.

Support Us!

You can find ways to help support This Is Darkness here.

Latest Music Reviews

Find the full list of our reviews here.

Various – Decaying Spheres

New Risen Throne – The Outside

Council of Nine – Davidian

Ruptured World – Archeoplanetary

In Quantum – Memory 417

Old Sorcery – Strange and eternal

Bellkeeper – The First Flame of Lordran

Isegrimm – Ik Gihorta Dat Seggen

KORMORG – Dungeon Myths

Flowers for Bodysnatchers – Alive with Scars

Skeldos – Ilgės – Caretakers of Yearning

øjeRum – Nattesne

Kaya North – That Comes From The Tree And The Mist

ΠANθEON – Discography Overview by Abby Helasdottir (Gydja)

Ugasanie & Dronny Darko – Arctic Gates

Abbildung – At the Gates of Ouln

Aindulmedir – The Lunar Lexicon

VRNA – La Vecchia Madre

Med Gen – Brittleroots

Desiderii Marginis – Vita Arkivet

Otavan Veret – Syvys

Senketsu No Night Club – Shikkoku

VelgeNaturlig – Kundalini कुण्डलिनी

Shinkiro – Archive: Volumes I-III

Manifesto – Hive

Atrium Carceri – Codex

False Mirror – SIGINT

Arktau Eos – Erēmos

Dahlia’s Tear – Through The Nightfall Grandeur

Latest Interviews

Find a list of all our interviews here.



Hiemal

NERATERRÆ

Dark Ambient Journalism: Interview with the Writers

(cross-interviews between Danica Swanson of Endarkenment

and Michael Barnett of This is Darkness)

Trepaneringsritualen

James Quinn, film director of Sodom & Chimera Productions

Arktau Eos

Hector Meinhof, author of best-selling Three Nails, Four Wounds

Ruptured World

Frederic Arbour of Cyclic Law

Mortiis (Era 1 focused Interview)

Teahouse Radio / Hypnagoga Press

Latest Book Reviews

Bladh/Urbaniak – On the New Revelations of Being

David Lynch – Someone Is In My House

Martin Bladh – Marty Page

David Lynch – Nudes

Antonin Artaud – Artaud 1937 Apocalypse

David Lynch – Room to Dream

Mortiis – Secrets of my Kingdom

Terence Hannum – All Internal

Martin Bladh – DARKLEAKS: The Ripper Genome

Latest Mixes

Pandemic Mix – Fall 2020

Guest Sessions: Winter-Light Records Mix

Guest Sessions: Black Mara Records Mix

Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House Mix

Guest Sessions: Pär Boström Legacy Mix

The Recluse of Bayswater Mix

The Willows Mix

Halloween Horror Ambient Mix – 2018

Devil’s Night Mix

Marty Page Mix

Post-Industrial Death Mix

Essential Dark Ambient Mix

Rainy Daze Mix

Latest ‘Frozen in Time’ News Articles

Frozen In Time – September 2020 Playlist

Frozen In Time – March 2020 Playlist

The Inner Sanctum – A Dark Ambient Vlog: Episode 10

Phobos X – Full Sets & Martin’s Thoughts

Mortiis – Era 1 North American Tour – Live Coverage in Baltimore

Frozen In Time – 2018 Year End Edition

Frozen In Time – September 2018

Latest Miscellaneous Articles & Posts

Algernon Blackwood’s

“Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House” Full Text and Mix

“Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House” is another brilliant short story by Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). I enjoyed this story the most of Blackwood’s works because of its overt focus on mysticism and the occult. For those knowledgeable in the realms of magick, you will find a wealth of references in this story. Unlike so many horror writers, Blackwood had a thorough understanding of these elements and dynamics. This is because of is involvement with The Golden Dawn. Blackwood, being a practicing member, was able to portray rituals and mysterious otherworldly encounters in a way that would not only entertain the masses, but would also resonate with his fellow members of The Golden Dawn.

Read the full text and listen to the accompanying mix here!

BRUTALISM – Upcoming Album Streaming in Full!



We are very pleased to premiere the debut full length The Charged Voidby BRUTALISM. Terence Hannum, most notably of Locrian and The Holy Circle, released the Symmetry Death limited 7″ lathe on his Anathemata Editions last year. I was immediately entranced by the bleak apocalyptic atmosphere presented on that track. So, it is with great pleasure that This Is Darkness was approached to present an exclusive early stream of their upcoming full length The Charged Void, which is set for release on Annihilvs Power Electronix on 15 March 2019.

Listen to the album here.

This is Darkness Presents Vol.2 Nothingness

This Is Darkness Presents Vol.2 Nothingness is now available!

55 exclusive tracks. 6+ hours of music! “name your price”

Enjoy and spread the word!



Wolves and Horses – “Lascaux” Music Video

We are pleased to share the first music video from our Nothingness compilation!



Suspension in Iceland – A Journey with Gretchen Heinel

For this article I contacted Gretchen Heinel about her interest in hook suspension. I knew about her recent performance work here in The United States, but I was also aware that she had recently taken a “work” trip with her suspension team to Iceland. I didn’t know how she would confront this topic, but I knew it was incredibly interesting to an outsider, and I knew that Gretchen would be the perfect person to convey this lesser known world to our readership. To my utter delight, Gretchen and Joe Carrotta were able to supply me with 80+ images from their 3 days of suspension in Iceland during the summer of 2018, and Gretchen agreed to write her account of the trip and her personal thoughts on hook suspension. I found the combination of these stories and images incredibly moving and inspiring. I hope the same for you all, enjoy! Read the article here.

Dark Ambient 101: Understanding the Technicalities

During my own personal discovery of the genre, I waded through numerous interviews and live performances, trying to discern exactly what the hell is going on, how these musicians were creating such beautifully blackened ambient soundscapes. Years later, I understand a whole lot more than I did in the beginning. But it is still a daunting task, attempting to understand the machinations and sorcery of these musicians.

Dark Ambient 101 was born of this search for understanding. This article can be used as an interesting read for the average follower. It can be a first step towards something bigger and better for the fledgling artist. Finally, it can be a means for dark ambient artists across a spectrum of styles and regions, to find out a bit more about each other, why one artist has this particular sound or another comes up with something totally different.

Read this massive article here!

Lars von Trier – The House That Jack Built – Movie Review



The latest film by controversial film auteur Lars von Trier, The House That Jack Built, takes us into the mind of a serial killer. Find out what I think of the film, its greater context in Trier’s works, and its like reception among the general media.

Read the review here.

Arthur Machen – The Recluse of Bayswater (1895) Full Novella Text

Another full text with an included mix designed to listen and read together. This novella contains the short story “Novel of the White Powder”, which is considered a true classic among horror fiction. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Read the novella and listen to the mix here.

Algernon Blackwood – The Willows (1907) Full Novella Text

Here’s something a bit different. I’ve published the full text of the classic weird fiction novella ‘The Willows’, along with a mix which was inspired by, and meant to be played while reading the novella.

Author: Algernon Blackwood

Title: The Willows (1907)

H.P. Lovecraft said of ‘The Willows’:

“Here art and restraint in narrative reach their very highest development, and an impression of lasting poignancy is produced without a single strained passage or a single false note”. Read the novella and listen to the mix here.

Help Support This Is Darkness!

This Is Darkness started up with the help of a few great friends, but we need to keep things running. This is where you ladies and gentlemen come in! We need every little bit of help we can get to keep this thing moving, keep growing in exposure, size, and breadth of features!

If you would like to help support This Is Darkness, you can do so in two ways:

1. You can provide monthly support through our Patreon page here.

2. A one time donation can be made



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