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Sgàile is the artistic endeavour of Scottish multi-instrumentalist Tony Dunn, of which Avantgarde Music released the overlooked, yet greatly crafted debut Ideals & Morality in december 2021. Two years later, the talented Scot is back with his sophomore opus, Traverse The Bealach, which he describes as follows.

“When I started the Sgàile project in 2018, and through the writing and recording of Ideals & Morality, I wasn’t sure that anyone would take to the style, or even care. This time around I knew I had a small audience that enjoyed what I was doing so I felt free to create from pure instinct. 

With that freedom came focus and direction, which led me to create a concept album, a venture that I had never previously attempted. What this did was create a driven narrative that brought a maturity to the Sgàile sound.

Through the recording process, there was a feeling of refinement, taking the lessons I learned from Ideals & Morality and carefully honing them to improve the overall production. Working with Mike Lamb (Sojourner, Remina) for a second time really helped to pin down the sonic quality that I was looking for. 

The story of Traverse The Bealach is that of a nomadic traveller in post-apocalyptic Scotland, trying to figure out his fate and facing the elements while travelling north, battling inner demons along the way. Thematically, the inspiration came from the events of the pandemic, our ongoing battle with climate change, and my fascination with long distance trekking.”

CD  reissue by Icarus Music Productions

Ole Alexander Halstensgård, Kristoffer Rygg, Tore Ylwizaker and Stian Westerhus – went full isolation in their studio below the haunted hill, fantasizing about bygone nights of slasher, exploitation, and giallo. Three or four months went by, the band returned to the living, and sent their radiophonic workshop experiments off to the Dogs of Doom, France, where friend and fellow film freak, Carpenter Brut did a razor-sharp mix before taking it to Thibault Chaumont (Deviant Lab) for the master.

Scary Muzak, on one hand a homage to Carpenter’s themes – five out of twelve tracks are covers whereas the rest comes from the outer realms – and on the other zooming out on the aesthetics of the late ’70s and early ’80s popular culture. It is perhaps the Norwegians’ most hauntological moment, whirling up themes and moods, horrors and mysteries hidden in the foggy back alleys of your youth. Imagine the gloomy siblings of Les Humphries, Gert Wilden, and their respective orchestras, armed to their teeth with synths, pads, FX. Sometimes classy and chilling, other times amusingly smooth and sleazy, and at times outright beautiful in its suspense-filled vigour, Scary Muzak is an inspired, goblinesque addition to the ever-expanding Ulver catalogue. Interior films, remember?

A shapeshifting beast to sacrifice. Conduit of meditations to emanations. Through the vessels ( ) 1853, Ritualmord manifests.

Unbound by genres and style. Firmly rooted in black metal. Not as a mere genre, but lifestyle.

With each release, a pursuit to explore. From neofolk-tinged acoustic rumbles to alternative electronic flirting with industrial. Drones emerging into post-rock. Some may say post-black metal, someday.

It began as a place where songs from Lifelover and Hypothermia would go.
As we grow as artists and individuals, yet remain true to ourselves and ideals.
Which is one of the foundations that made those aforementioned bands stand out from the masses.

To creatively be and remain original. True to ourselves and the art that we live for.
Without boundaries. Ever-evolving.

After three EPs, ahead is the following: The first full-length debut album "This is Not Lifelover"

CD + 24 paged booklet

Dystopia proudly presents their fourth full length album titled: «De Verboden Diepte I: Veldslag op de Rand van de Wereld». An album that takes you on a journey of Black Metal fury mixed with beautiful post-like atmospheric influences and combined with less obvious instruments like the trumpets.

“De Verboden Diepte I” offers a wide variation on sound and goes from fast black metal blasting to mellow atmospheric passages back to devastating headbang moments in an even somewhat pagan style here and there (like Enslaved). The guitars are strong and clear throughout the album giving them moments of beautiful melodies as well as some old school chord riffing. The drums are also a piece of variation from the standard blasting to more extended playful drum parts where the bass is being added like a pounding machine filling up the gaps with some nice bass solos and it gives the drums that extra touch on the low end. The most remarkable instrument on this album must be the trumpet who delivers some very nice background melodies and atmosphere which lifts the album to a whole other level, combined with the wide range of the vocals who variate between different screams and even clean vocals makes the song structures unbelievable majestic!

Dystopia has delivered an album that is simply beautiful, yet aggressive, powerful, yet calming. A masterpiece within its very own genre! A must have to every fan of Old School Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal and even Post or Pagan Black Metal.

Recommended if you like: Darkthrone, Emperor, Enslaved, Fluisteraars, Summoning, Wolves in the Throne Room, Elffor, Obliteration, Grey Aura, Terzij de Horde, Dodecahedron, 
 

CD Jewel Case with 8-page booklet,