Symbiosis/Ancient Tundra - These Engulfing Winds Never Die CD/DVD
Full-length/split, Hypnotic Dirge Records, March 14th, 2010

Here we have the latest release from both Italian dark ambient artist Symbiosis and Canadian neo-classical ambient artist Ancient Tundra. Few and far between is the split album that actually works throughout its entirety. Split albums usually work best when each artists offering compliments the other while still retaining the ability to stand on its own. Fortunately for this album, its works in the manner in which most split albums fail. This album is also unique in the respect that it is a CD/DVD combination release, so both the audio and visual mediums are explored to their fullest ability. Thus, the album will be reviewed in two phases; audio and visual.

Audio;
The album starts with the offering from the project Symbiosis. This project has been around for quite some time, having numerous releases on various labels. This release finds the project honing some of its most developed and intricate compositions to date. Enveloping, atmospheric and fresh sounding, the sound is best described as neo-classical inspired dark ambient music. Classical styled instruments make up the bulk of the soundscape, drifting between somber, haunting and epic. Symbiosis creates a sound that is much like the soundtrack to an album that does not currently exist. The movements are sweeping and charismatically cinematic. While listening to his half of the album, I continually found myself visualizing an overtly abstract piece of film noir playing out as each track entered and faded back into the abyssic mind of the projects creator. All of this ends on the hauntingly somber finish of his portion of the split; a distant, harrowingly epic musical piece that fades away on an almost hopeful note, thus laying the framework for the second half of the split to enter.

The Ancient Tundra half of the album begins with a cyclical sounding synthesizer that almost gives the illusion of being trapped in a glacier. Everything can be seen, but has a thick sheet of ice obscuring its true identity, freezing you alive while you try to look out and get a last glimpse of life before dying. The overall feeling from the Ancient Tundra half of the record is very mournful and almost like the idea of eternal winter; frost covers the plains, seeds freeze and rot in the ground, all is lost to the great mystery of nature. Ancient Tundra also manages to infuse his works with some haunting vocals and minimalist percussion to add a bit more depth to the melancholy. I must also add that his second track "Land of The Midnight Sun" is one of the most depressing and mournful ambient pieces I have ever listened to. Its very dirge-like and sorrowful, almost like the song to be played at the funeral of the person you most love. His half of the album ends with what almost sounds like the second movement of the first track, ending his portion on the same kind of feeling that it opened with.

Visual;
The DVD portion of the album is split into 3 sections; one for Symbiosis, one for the label (promotional videos) and one for Ancient Tundra.

The Symbiosis section of the DVD is made up of 3 videos, one of a Symbiosis track not featured on the album and two for the artist's solo project. The Symbiosis video is somewhat of a narrative slideshow kind of video. Still images are presented (of people in nature, nature itself, space, etc.) with overlays of text to tell a bit of a story. The bulk of the text is in what appears to be Italian, so I cannot recite what exactly it speaks of, but based on the imagery used, it is some kind of story that involves the tale of a land far away in the throes of the deepest winter. The other two videos are super abstract collages of random imagery allied with dark militant-esque industrial musical pieces. Shapes move to and fro with snippets of people, candles, architectural works, color treatments, etc.

The Ancient Tundra portion of the DVD was a bit more of what I had expected to see; landscapes of winter set to music. Each track from the AT side of the split is given a video treatment, as well as an track not on the album and a montage of the original footage from the first 3 videos. I think the visuals used in the AT portion of the DVD were selected well and fit the sound/theme of the music to a T. Desolate landscapes, barren trees, a single person walking amidst a sea of snow, all compliment the chilling and somber tone of his soundscapes. The color patterns in the AT videos are also very fitting, cold color patterns and tone evoke the feeling of the music. Many of vignettes are slowed down and progressively take form over the span of the track.

Overall;
I enjoyed this release quite a bit. I found the attention to detail was well formed and complimented the release the way it needs to be, in order to be fully realized. The sound production is clear, vast and easy to enjoy. The video production is of medium quality, but fits the music perfectly. I personally enjoyed the Ancient Tundra side of the split more, not to say the Symbiosis half was bad, because it was quite good, but the AT material was a bit more to my liking. Plus I also think the AT portion of the release was a bit more fully realized and cohesive to the concept of the album. But overall I found this album/package to be very enjoyable in all its aspects. I must also say the packaging was nice as well, a super jewel box layout, which contained a booklet with some stunning landscape photography.

I would recommend this album to fans of ambient and/or neo-classical music. Even to those who enjoy soundscape based music, as the album has a very cinematic quality throughout its duration. This is a great slab of dark ambient music, cannot wait to see what both artists have in store for the future.

Reviewed by E. - Symbiosis side = 7/10 - Ancient Tundra side = 8/10