It may be surprising that a work such as this Psychostasis-Death Of Khat by Shibalba has been published by a label like Agonia Records which, normally, is dedicated to extreme genres such as black or death, since here we are in the presence instead of a dark trance ambient, meditative and shamanic (quoting literally the presentation card). The apparent disconnect finds its explanation in the fact that two of the three musicians involved in the project are active for years in the field of black metal, being Acherontas V.Priest, leader of the Hellenic Acherontas, and Karl NE/Nachzehrer, who led until last year the now dissolved Swedish Nåstrond; the two are joined by the lesser known Aldra-Al-Melekh. After all, it is not even so uncommon the incursion of musicians from extreme background in experimental territories, as well as quite often the results are more than satisfactory; that of Shibalba is a proposal obviously addressed to an audience different from the one canonically devoted to metal or however, with a great willingness to accept experimental instances. Psychostasis-Death Of Khat is basically a prolonged (perhaps too much) flow of sound in which drone, Tibetan bells and assorted invocations overlap, offering at times remarkable moments (the acoustic Reanimation of Akh that goes to the form of the song and the menacing Opening the Shadow Box) but remaining almost constantly in the bed of an ambient heavily cloaked in a meditative aura, closely related to the worldview typical of Eastern philosophies. The work of Shibalba, therefore, is strictly recommended to those who share with the three musicians the fascination exercised by the mystical aura of these disciplines.
2017 – Agonia Records
Mournful Sounds 
You must be logged in to post a comment.