DE HOMINIS DIGNITATE : A FOREST OF CRIMSON ASHES
Unsigned
This moving, evocative ambient project is the work of Italian artist Inverno, and although it has been in existence for under a year, De Hominis Dignitate has already spawned a handful of demo releases exploring different facets of a frozen, solitary, unsettling and nihilistic vision. “A Forest of Crimson Ashes” is a beautifully ice-encrusted journey through imaginative realms, and although it makes use of many genre staples, it has a distinct personality all of its own, thanks in the main part to Inverno’s ability to spring aural surprises on the listener at the most surprising junctures.
The tone of “A Forest” is very much glacial and windswept. Opening with the shimmering drifts of “Imaging a Frozen Forest”, the high lead of which is like the glare of sun in your eyes, the first hint of danger is not revealed until “Being Forgotten Among Infinite Stumps”, which sounds like the entrance theme for a B-movie vampire, played by the clinically insane. The beginning of “The Snow Which is Not Remained” offers some hope with its more open outlook and choir synths, but with flurries of discordant sound building, it’s not long before the tentative, haunted “Sorrowful Ghosts of the Mind” lets us know there’s still something out there on the tundra to be feared. “Steps Through Speaking Memories” is a very different track, with low, pulsing voice synths that give an underwater feel, whilst the clanking, ominously rumbling “A Lonely Flare in the Night” with its deep sound and dramatic organ synths seems like the apotheosis of the demo’s threat.
“And the Ash Became Cold” is a more melancholy, reflective composition, slow and sparse, with big sweeps according a cool detachment from the drama and allowing the listener space for meditation. The dreamy aura persists into “All the Dreams I Lost”, before a manic switch to a discordant lead synth with a whirlwind of rumbling and choir synth below. After this shock to the system, the more pensive mood returns for the final tracks, with glacial coolness and calm, percussive beats. As you can tell from my walkthrough, the usual description of ambient music evoking a narrative or a landscape is especially pertinent to “A Forest of Crimson Ashes”. It’s a remarkably dynamic and fluid release, and one which I can imagine listeners who would not normally stray into this genre could enjoy greatly.
With this creative and involving demo, Inverno has stuck to the staples of the genre – at times, for example on “Being Forgotten Among Infinite Stumps”, the approach is very minimal – but the result is much greater than the sum of its parts. For those who enjoy exploring frozen soundscapes, this is sure to please; for those who do not normally wander into the ambient territories, this could most certainly tempt you into the tundra’s darkest corners.
74/100
ELLEN SIMPSON
