Thirty five minutes is an album to some bands. To Midnight Odyssey I’m kinda surprised they didn’t call this a single but I guess it is four tracks. I’ve been a fan of the project, and Dis Pater’s work in general for many years by now so this did intrigue me.

‘Souls Left Wandering’ begins with the kind of keyboards that Dis Pater is so known for; instant distant ethereal and cosmic atmosphere. But instead of the gentle swell and journey of the recent Biolume volumes this almost immediately brings back the black metal riffs of yore. The vocals are echoing, distinctive and the keyboards still taking the lead and leaving the song drenched in atmosphere. Clean backing vocals and the glorious, yearning and epic drive of keys, riff and drumming together are just like being lifted to a mountaintop where the air is thinner leaving you breathless. Majestic stuff indeed, and emotional. More direct than recent releases maybe but no less immaculate in intent and delivery.

‘Lightning Fall’ has a slow, string sound dominated beginning; calmness, a feeling of light before the deep clouds of the slow, dense darkness seep forward. It unfolds slowly and with a surprising calm to it, a lighter tone taking the lead as little melodic runs thread through the cloud of electronica. ‘Closer To The Sky’ is equally reflective. Clean vocals lead the listener into a place where some of the more reflective and less dance moments of VNV Nation slowly circle around to of the more elegant aspects of 80s electronic pop and goth. It has a strange mood for me; there’s a sense of vision being unfurled before me, rising as I suppose the title suggests, lifting. And to end this EP we have ‘Awakening’. Piano sounds, breathing background keyboards. Clean vocals, a desire to be burned away, cleansed, consumed and reborn.

For Midnight Odyssey this is a short interlude, but still a large concept to get your head around. From the initial cosmic black metal it slides into the ethereal and quiet as the thoughts of surrendering to the vastness, to the primordial flame is one of realisation and contentment. It’s probably a niche release, but also if you have often wondered about the project then it’s also an excellent release to begin with; curiously accessible yet still full of the grandiose, introspective creativity that I have come to expect from Dis Pater.

Well worth a look.

(7/10 Gizmo)

https://www.facebook.com/midnightodyssey

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/closer-to-the-sky