SUI GENERIS UMBRA „“Amok””

Music: Black Ritual Ambient
Website: http://www.suigenerisumbra.com
Country: Poland

The two people forming the band claim, that there is no actual history of it. All we know is that ‘umbra’ means ‘phantom’ in Latin. And that ELL and Maciek (a former ARTROSIS musician) are mere souls who try to render this ‘umbra’ audible. And they have been doing it since 1999 (at the beginning they were known as UMBRA). ‘Amok’ is their third full-length album.

More than six minutes of woman’s scream begins this album, and after that I have had enough of listening. Of course, this track contains every single kind of emotion known to human being: anxiety, stress, fear, pain, wild pleasure, and wraith… and there are presented in the form of screams. So each scream represents one of those, thus sounds completely different. And I can reassure, that ‘Amok’ is not an easy listening. Next tracks serve more sound and less screaming, but still, I was unable to locate any kind of music there. It is like a soundtrack from a science-fiction film from the early seventies, composed on Commodore 64. An extreme dose of electronic sound, very raw and hard, synthetic and massively indigestible. I do not try to hide, that I am not an enthusiast of such play, although I have heard some albums which I really enjoyed. But this sounds as if it was sucked directly from the socket in the wall, together with the electricity. Plus that vulgar, lyrical theme. Very hard piece of ‘music’.

‘Amok’ does not create mixed feelings, actually it does not create any, apart from fear and disgust. Why do people record such things?

note: 2/10

Tracklist

1. Comayhem
2. Virtuoso of Perversity
3. Heta Rae
4. Paraoxysm
5. Ritus Sacer Militaris
6. Stupor
7. Psychomachia
8. Mass Violation

Total playing time 48:59

Line-up

ELL – vocals
Maciej Niedzielski – music