Radium Club & Zine

Hovering somewhere in the flexible boundaries between ambient, drone and experimental music, Sky Burial presents the less aggressive creative side of Fire in the Head's Michael Page. Mr Page has lately proven himself capable of producing outstanding noise, but is he able to create a more subdued release as solid as his harsh works?

This debut cd creates a very positive first impression with its opening track To Mock a Killing Bird, in which restless guitar sounds and echoing drums create a stylish mesh of sound, its layered loops adding up to a soundscape both rich and clear. From this impressive start the cd moves onto a more drone direction, the second composition There Are Dragonflies at Dawn having a certain Maeror Tri-like but heavier vibe to it. The rest of the cd pretty much varies between the styles presented on the first two pieces, their common characteristics being that they are surprisingly loud considering their calmness. Even though the tracks have long playing times, they don't get repetitive or boring at any point, because the constant changes in either the structure of the track or the sounds utilised are sure to uphold the listener's interest.

Sky Burial's music is fascinating in that it is almost too restless to be ambient, but due to its slowness and sound cannot really be anything else either. It is special, that I'm willing to say, and without doubt extremely good as well, both from compositional and technical standpoints. Only the final track Frostfire is a letdown, because this ten-minute piece is effectively ruined by the presence of seemingly random plonking of an instrument that sounds like a cheap electric piano. Apart from this unpleasant surprise, the album is a top notch package.

For friends of all kinds of ambient, checking out Sky Burial's first offer is recommended, because it is one of those rare records where the words "ambient music" and "original" come together without the end result being either over-the-top artistic wankery or simply bad music. A special mention must be made of the stylish cloth bag the album comes in, which just goes to show that Housepig, the label responsible for its release, went out of its way to make it aesthetically as pleasing as it is aurally.