[reviews] afe032lcd
true colour of blood: the significance of secrecy

Eric Kesner has been playing guitar for over a decade, but debuted with his solo project True Colour of Blood only last year, with this release on Andrea Marutti's (of Amon / Never Known fame) CD-R label Afe, and "Awakened To Never Sleep Again" on Soulworm Editions.

TCOB delivers some excellent ambient music which is generated almost only by guitars and effects. There's only some limited drum programming (on "Forlorn") and tape manipulations, and that's it. But Kesner's sound palette is incredibly rich and sometimes one wonders how these tracks could be played with such (apparently) limited tools.

Some tracks, like the opening "Demergo Abyssus", are dark and obsessive, with menacing drones and suffocating atmospheres, while others (notably "Zophos" and "Twilight State Dream") have a more melancholic cosmic feel - not that far from some of Never Known's works, to stay in the Afe family...

Layout is excellent, with stones and fossils photos printed on high quality cardboard - well done and professional looking. My only quibble is with the mix. While being excellent for a 4-track recording, I think it has too many basses and that some higher frequencies got lost in the way. A clearer mix would have made this perfect, but anyway, this is a very recommended release.

[Eugenio Maggi]