"Our Spanish friend Salva Moreno is back with his latest New Age ambient ethereal collection of dreamy soundscapes on this latest album focusing on Celtic myth and legend”. Not too long since the release of Fantasynth and it's slightly more upbeat rhythms and fantasy themes, we're now treated with this work which delves into the more mysterious and legends based on celtic mythology, a theme very prevalent in gothic ethereal realms. It seems we're able to pick up where we left off with Mythomusic or The Garden with the dreamy mystical sounds on this album. The delicate layers of ambient music are presented across well over an hour in this fantasy world and eleven tracks for a nice full body of work.
The album starts off with a rich and dreamy mixture of ambient textures in "Forest Heartbeat" and also with the follow-up piece "True Spirit of Nature" for over fourteen minutes of beautiful, lush dreamscapes. At this point we're launched into a little more up-beat chill-out style with "Samhain Ecstasy" and even more of a harsher tone with some grinding guitars (still in a new age style) on "Sancta Inquisitio". This uptempo rhythm carries on somewhat further into "Druids Trance", appropriately named for it's trance-like rhythms and electronic loops. At this point we get to a definite favorite of mine in "My Beloved Loneliness", with a little more of a classical style with more organic sounding instruments taking the forefront over the interwoven tapestries of the melancholy backdrop. "Ritual of Love" follows in similar light with a little bit more of a ritual sound as the name implies with some percussion and various hypnotic rhythms and loops. "Earth Prayer" is another excellent ambient ethereal piece with angelic vocals gliding over the entrancing music as we drift along into the upbeat trance-like piece "Beltane Moon". The soaring synths and moving, but very New Age rhythms and beats move us into another sweet, dreamy track "Bewitched by the Faeries". This eight minute track drifts along slowly and hypnotically, setting the stage for eight-minute finale "Wisdom of Trees". Ambient, whispering tendrils gently carress the listener in this soft, dreamy piece with it's subtle, layered soundscapes providing a backdrop for a siren song, luring the listener in and holding them entranced and trapped for the duration as the album slowly and softly drifts to a close.
Over all the album is firmly rooted in the New Age style, something I've mentioned before we don't normally feature and review here on Gothic Paradise. However, there is just enough of the lush, ethereal and darker, dreamier ambient styles that take the listener into a beautiful dream-like fantasyland that has always caught my attention. As you listen to our ethereal radio show and a Psicodreamics track comes on, it just fits well within the hauntingly beautiful ambient realm, even with the touch of chill-out New Age styles. This album fits right in that mold as we drift from one piece to another, through the ebbing and flowing of the lush layers from smooth ambient synths to a little more pronounced styles and more upbeat rhythms. For fans of the softer ethereal and ambient soundscapes, this album is a great addition to any collection.
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewed by Jacob Bogedahl (Gothic Paradise)
Read the review online here:
