Modesty seems to be „en mode“, with artists twisting and turning their comments in order to reduce their own work to a mere “contribution” or a trivial affair. Which is a shame really, because there is always a fine line between bragging and being content. For “The Carnival of our Souls”, Dirk Serries of Fear Falls Burning dropped possible inhibitions and declared he was proud of this album. Rightly so.
For what last year started as an exercise in minimalism has now turned into a musical meditation on purity and subdued power. In the course of just three albums, the guitar has turned from a clearly distinguishable instrument into a shamanic tool for trance. Of course, there were already moments of all-encompassing calmness and tranquility on predecessor “He spoke in dead tongues”, thirty-minute long aural fields, made up of loose rags of undulating tonal particles, held together by the tiniest of motives and evolving in minuscule motion. But for this album, Serries has allowed his project to lift off the ground entirely: Two pieces, both just over twenty minutes long, lead into a disquieting yet dreamy zone. On the A-side of this 180g-Vinyl miracle, faintly chafing and rustling noises and a flickering drone form the backdrop to a haunting melody, mirrored at the smoothly turning axis of dusk – while the enlightened mind is lulled to sleep, darkness keeps creeping in. The flipside, meanwhile, is like an echo inside a blackened wood: Again, a microscopic motive opens proceedings, only to slowly wither and allow glowing and dimly pulsating sound waves in. As the theme fades, the steady pulse is lost, slowly bedding the listener in a timeless sea. It has often been said that these tracks are like parts of the same piece, seperated by the need to turn over of the record. More likely, they’re corresponding halves of a ghostly bracelett, still connected but shattered in two parallel worlds.
The first pressing of 100 copies was sold out in no time, the second one is well on its way to do the same. All of this without the slightest hype or media frenzy. It only goes to show that Fear Falls Burning have not only struck a chord with an audience hungry for meaning, but also that this project is capable of changing, without loosing its soul. Again: There’s enough reasons for Dirk Serries to be proud.
By Tobias Fischer
Homepage: Fear Falls Burning
Homepage: Tonefloat Records
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