Synsophony - Rabbit Hole Review

This is going to be a very odd review for what this blog usually handles genre-wise, but don’t let that scare you away from what you’re about to read (and hopefully hear.)  Synsophony was formed back in 2013 by two friends in the U.K.  This is not your typical black metal band, nor is it your typical dark ambient band.  It is so much more than that, and you really have to keep an open mind while going into it to understand that. 

While listening, it was very hard for me to pinpoint a certain genre that I could categorize them in.  Things like dark ambient and doom drone came to mind and I guess that is as close as I am going to get.  There is a very atmospheric feel to the music, but usually not a happy one.  On side A of the tape is the Rabbit Hole EP with a remix that makes up about 23 minutes of the release.  On the other side, their earlier EP entitled Karmic Existence spans the other 23 minutes, making this into a decent length release. 

Now onto the music.  The instrumental sounds are stretched like crazy and make them close to indistinguishable.  I am not saying that is a bad thing at all, though, as it creates a mood that is so bleak and dark, your day is just about torn apart after listening to this.  It sucks all of the happiness out of you and leaves you scared and alone.  Any sort of music that can create that sort of reaction out of people is amazing, just because of the emotions within the music.  Their great use of samples and spoken words sets it apart in some ways from other dark ambient music.  Instead of just having just long, stretched out sounds, there are sounds that break up the noise.  

Now I am going to be honest, on my first listen through of Synsophony’s tape, it scared the hell out of me.  It’s a terrifying listen but can be a very rewarding one if you understand the music and what Synsophony is all about.  Since I use a universal point system for all my other reviews, this one doesn’t really have any criterial that I can use with that point system, so I’ll leave you with this instead of a rating.  Being a listener of dark ambient and drone for a few years, I can tell you that this release is intense, emotional, scary, and uplifting, all in one package.  It is definitely worth picking up and supporting these musicians because what they have created is one of the most horrific emotional roller coasters I have ever ridden through music and for that I commend them.   

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http://synsophony.bandcamp.com/