winter's end
1. io
2. embrace:betrayal
3. without fear of wind or vertigo
4. wait
5. if i dream i have you
6. fear of wind or vertigo (beneath)
7. winter's end
8. nymph (live)
Lens Records April 2001
Reviews
Encomiast "Winter's End" CD
8/10 - [Lens]
This is some insanely viscous and absolutely bleak dark ambient with a lot of minimal compositions based around smooth, flowing tones and some slightly more musical elements that lend an ethereal feel to certain passages. Most all of the songs clock in at more than six minutes, with "Wait" being the epic of the record (clocking in at just under 18), but I don't find the compositions to be boring at all, despite their seemingly basic nature and minimal structures. "Without Fear of Wind or Vertigo" has some light piano and soaring female vocal tones swirling in and out of the background amidst deep, rumbling bass tones and ominous, overwhelming drones (and later "Fear of Wind or Vertigo (Beneath)" brings back similar textures in a slightly more minimal/vocal driven format). "If I Dream I Have You" again incorporates some beautiful female singing, along with windy background textures and somber stringed instruments. "Nymph (live)" is a definite standout from the other tracks, coming off a bit more biting with its use of sweeping treble tones and some obscured samples hovering above chaotic digital noises and undulating low-end. The recording is very nice. The clarity is exceptional, and even though they give each element a lot of breathing room, the volume levels are always loud and full of warmth. No complaints. Visually the record could be a bit more interesting, or perhaps a better fit for the wondrous music, as basically the entire package consists of similar abstract photographs that I assume are odd shots of water or something. Not bad, but definitely not something that suggests the same emotional direction as the music within. Excellent work overall. It's very rare to come across a release that falls within this type of genre that balances its musical and experimental tendencies flawlessly into such a moving and original style. I would definitely recommend checking this outâ¦
Running time - 65:51, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Embrace:Betrayal, Without Fear of Wind or Vertigo, If I Dream I Have You]
Ortus Obscurum
This project is a brand new one to me despite its background on MP3.com. What strikes me first when listening to "Winter's End" is that it isn't strange at all that this project has got to release a CD. The music is very professional and Encomiast surely have a lot of nice inovative ideas added to their music. It is mainly serene Dark Ambient which is presented here, ranging from warm to cold in atmosphere. It is mainly composed of acoustic drones but at some places, the music suddenly get more melodic as melancholic and gloomy melodies emerge in the music. It is nice to hear how Encomiast have managed to combine melodic music with Dark ambient, the result is that this album hardly ever gets boring or monotonous.The use of female vocals in the music is also a nice element, it doesn't sound like traditional female vocals but they are certainly original in a way I find hard to describe. Some harsher tracks are also confined but it never really gets unsettling, instead the music just flows on like ether, very relaxing and soothing.
While the opening tracks is a quite warm Dark Ambient track, Embrace:Betrayal creates a very cold atmosphere akin to that of the one an only Aghast album. The music is very haunting and eerie and composed of beautiful drones that sends out shivers into the listening environment. It is a really gloomy track and also an excellent example on how to create a very rich Dark Ambient track with a small ensemble of instruments. Apparentely the third track has been a very succesful one for Encomiast. It's good though I personally prefer the more haunting sides of Encomiast; the splendid Embrace:Betrayal mentioned above, the frosty title-track or the melancholic If i dream i have you. The latter mentioned is truly a track to be appreciated in the evening in a dark room, at night before one goes to sleep. Well, what more can I say really? I have nothing really bad to say about this project. It was a positive surprise for me and I look forward to hearing of Encomiast in the future. They certainly have much to offer. Ectonaut
"Winter's end" is the first album of the American duo Encomiast, as well as the first release on Lens Records. Beneath a simple but very esthetic cover art hide eight tracks of calm, melancholia and rest. "Winter's end", as its name could suggest, is a very gentle, cold and bleak album that has its root in ambient as well as in dark industrial, a la Cold Meat Industry. This album contains long and slow tracks, which are entirely made of distant soundscapes, of strange winds and tones, of things that move swiftly and of beautiful and sad melodies, often played at the piano. No vocals are used, except for a very soft, wordless female voice on both versions on "Fear of Wind or Vertigo". Generally speaking, the sound of this disc is soft, relaxating, and very atmospheric, the exception to this being the last track (a live recording), with noisier elements being mixedf with a synthetic key that reminds me a bit of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular bells" (used as a score for the movie "The Exorcist"). "Winter's end" is a sad and emotional moment. It is dark, but not dark in the sense of Lustmord, not a darkness that frighten or impress you, but rather something that reminds of Lycia, for this carries nostalgia and introspection. Musically close to some of the softest neo-classical acts on Cold Meat Industry (think of Ildfrost or of Necrophorus), or of the recent' "The Ominous Silence" by Northaunt, Encomiast is however clearly not playing with drones and frequencies. The texture of the sounds is here not, in my opinion, the focus of these tracks, and comes after the emotion and feelings communicated by this music. Encomiast is a project I didn't know at all before, and I am well surprised by this CD. It is quite unusual for an american band to sound so introspect and nostalgic, andI would recommend "Winter's end" to any fan of calm, sad and bleak industrial. Nicolas, April 10, 2001
Motion (UK)
Firmly anchored alongside mid-nineties soundscapers Lustmord, Robert Rich, and Thomas Köner, the music is imbued with rich textures and the chill indifference of nature itself. The sweet wordless vocals occasionally rising from the mix are a balm to the abandoned soul, but alas, they fade away time and time again and withdraw their promise of salvation. The last two tracks diverge somewhat from this programme and claw a more Industrial-sounding nastiness out of the landscape. Epigones rather than trailblazers, Encomiast have nevertheless created a yeoman effort of dark and dreary isolationism.
NCC-Records
Building something out of nothing is how this cd starts and the something that it builds up is a spectacular display of textures and variations of sound. This release lets the listener relax to its beautiful, yet dark soundscapes while later seducing its ears with female chanting voices and drones from a place where one day we all wish to be. This cd gives you a blank canvas before bed and the next morning the canvas is complete with a blissful painting your mind has captured through winter's end by encomiast. From start to finish this disc amazed me,especially through the last song called "nymph" because it is a live track encomiast plays that will hypnotize you into a comatose state where the only sense you have left is hearing and what you will be hearing is muttered,smothered voices with layer after layer of noisy soundscapes. I really think this is a great cd from a great record label and I advise anyone who likes sleepy peaceful dark music to check this out.
Incursion
This is the debut full-length from Encomiast, a dark ambient trio comprised of Ross Hagen, Nick Paul and Samantha Balsam. Eight long tracks create a dark, opaque soundworld where the shadows enfold every space. This music reminded me in places of Lightwave's Tycho Brahe and Mindus Subterraneous, two albums which are characterised by a similar dark and dense atmosphere. To this end, Encomiast will surely appeal to fans of dark ambient releases found on Fathom/Hearts of Space and Hypnos. Winter's End is a lot to take in with one sitting; the mood is quite dark and oppressive, so I often found that midway through the disc my impulse was to resurface for some air. Yet Encomiast have created an intriguing work; they exhibit a mastery of their elements and an undeniable sense of atmosphere and ambient sonics. There are many details buried deep in the dense fog of synthetic washes and loops which await the listener's attention, and as such this makes for an intriguing release for its wealth of detail, in spite of its dark and murky spirit. [Richard di Santo]
Reviews
Stormy, brooding full-length ambient electronic CD. Encomiast delight in creating richly textured layers of haunting synth lines whilst painting musical pictures of nightmarish scenarios through their own brand of dark, wintry compositions. 'Wait' is a 17 minute rollercoaster ride of stranded, isolated entrapment, which unravels back and forth, offering little hope. The monastery chant of 'If I Dream I Have You' is a simliarily confusing epic at first, eerily welcoming, although you always get the feeling that a rabbit punch isn't too far away, but on this occasion the gate to heaven is open. It should'nt be underestimated the overwhelming patience and depth of creativity required to produce such an album as this, and Encomiast are maybe only bettered in this field by Raison D'etre at present.
So what is it exactly about Encomiast that has people all in a tizzy? A delirious blend of dark dreamy blackened drones and shimmering cinematic ambience, both deftly woven into long expanses of glacial, oceanic dreaminess. It's a crowded field for sure, anyone with a computer and a cd burner seems to have a label, or at least a drone record our, but there are a select few who are masters at sculpting sound, at creating music with depth and emotion. It's not as simple as notes sustained for the length of a disc. It's all about layer and texture and composition.
Winter's End, more than maybe anything else we've heard from Encomiast, is incredibly evocative and cinematic, in fact listening to this, it's hard not to imagine what images should be accompanying these sounds. From drifting fog banks of bleary fuzz and minimal shimmer, to haunting, string-like smears of minor key melody, rife with ominous longing and sublimated terror, to spacious expanses of murky thrum, hovering around drifting mysterious female vocals. From grinding buzz drenched blurs to abstract modern classical, this is music so visual and visceral, it's hard to just classify as 'drone music'. And it's equally hard not to think in terms of cinematic sound. This is the music of some mysterious journey, a lost kingdom, a tragic loss, impossible loves, restless spirits, an abandoned village, it's pretty remarkable that a single disc can invoke all of these thoughts and images, but Winter's End does. Definitely a new favorite...