HASUFEL 'Exaltation' cassette
Pacific Threnodies – PT-31
The dungeon-industrial masters known as Hasufel return with another bleakly meditative tome of desolate electronic soundscapes, entitled "Exaltation."
To be exalted does not here connote mere worldly glory among men; in the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the holiest and most worthy of humanity are destined to much more than life eternal. They will, with their celestially-married partner, mature into deities of their own worlds. "As man is, God once was... as God is, man may become." As heavenly fathers and mothers, the Exalted may populate an entire planet with their own spirit-children: a loving, ever-growing family to last for time and all eternity.
It is a hard thing when those we love pass on into the unknowable realms. Religious dogmas throughout human history have, with few exceptions, all wrestled to make sense of this inevitable tragedy and offered answers innumerable and of varying adequacy. "Exaltation" seems to obsess over loss, seems to suffocate us in the darkness of dread and death, with a vast, blackened droning ambiance that mirrors that yawning void. With an intensely evocative sound design, the record takes us on a mournful, tortured journey through ephemeral catacombs and astral caskets, a dreamscape of spiritual struggle that vacillates from bleak sparseness to smothering enormity.
... Let no spirit of digression overcome you in the evil hour.
Recommended for listeners of Aghast, Evan Caminiti, Vidna Obmana, Lustmord, Trepaneringsritualen, etc.
Praise for 'Exaltation':
"Hasufel fuses the best of both worlds – speaking specifically of Dungeon Synth and Dark Ambient...The prodigious tracks contained within takes the best of both genres and expands them to a realm of unimaginable terror and viscous imagery." - THE DUNGEON IN DEEP SPACE
"In just under 20 minutes, Hasufel establishes a world of complicated feelings about the nature of transcendence and dogma through the genres of dungeon synth, dark ambient, noise, and drone. It is an immersive yet fleeting release." - NEW NOISE MAGAZINE
"...Calls to mind the ecclesiastical choral music of the early period, in which repeated tropes were recontextualized progressively to build an inner mood of contemplation. This one seems perfect for rainy days and difficult times." - DEATHMETAL.ORG
"The ambient is a tour through long halls full of chains, jinks, and religious worship. The ritual is reinforced by extensive narratives. The ambient evolves and every time Hasufel takes you to a different stage of what seems like a road to the final glorification. It's chaotic, confusing, scary. It is a path through many stages to be overcome, and where the listener comes out purified..." - ZWARE METALEN