Nogociella. - Satanismo Di Basilica Concattedrale Di San Marino [Voluntary Whores 015 Promo]

It's been a while since the last release of the tape-focused Experimental / Drone / Noize imprint Voluntary Whores has been sitting in our P.O. box but now their cat.no. 0015 popped up a few weeks ago, a quadruple pack of neon orange glow in the dark tapes containing the latest epos of the mysterious - probably Italian - female sound-wrecking experimentalist Nogociella stretched over a total running time of four hours. Starting the journey into "Satanismo Di Basilica Concattedrale Di San Marino" with the first tape of the pack - all of them are numbered in Roman numerals - we'll find ourselves immersed into ritualistic, at the same time angelic and in parts epic and kinda Vangelis-reminiscing Dark Ambient with the first few tracks before things drift into Drone-led spheres and the first ceremonial vocals appear towards the end of the A side of Tape I. Flipping the tape one is greeted by whining animal sounds and vocals in reverse that are accompanied by solemnly floating deep frequency waves and tender string constructions, enters realms of near silence where only static noises and faraway hissing winds provide the soundtrack for further rituals committed whilst the black mass progresses and the tension mounts. With the intense, but still less dark'ish Ambient tune "Salvezza" closing the first chapter of this album we see first signs of relief as this piece seems to announce the advent of holy spirits and unearthly, yet overall peaceful glory. Tape II holds a whole of two tracks only, each of them stretched out over a whole side. Whilst "Chiedo" drifts along calm and cushy Ambient shores, sailing on seas of decent strings and fishing the occasional dreamy piano tones here and there the flipside "Compleanno Di Michelangelo" presents a more intense approach in its very first minutes before the drones fade away for a bit and return in a more athmospheric, still fraught way, electrified like the last hour prior to a summers thunderstorm and yet thundering roars and screeching industrial noises from afar break their way through the viscous layers being a home to some calm piano work, too. But throughout the runtime of "Compleanno Di Michelangelo" we see the thunderous roars taking over, turning the calm into chaos and providing a heavy compendium of grinding Noize like a horde of demons unleashed until - quite suddenly - everything breaks into screaming silence at the very end of the tape. With the start of Tape III Christine Nogociella unveals the calm, laid back and drone-oriented side of satanic rituals with Deep Listening Music and bright, sanguine string layers emulating sunrise romanticism before some slightly rhythmic patterns start building tension again, accompanied by spooky vocal snippets and what seemingly is to be called reverse recording action. Whilst the tape progresses we even see heavy Rhythm Industrial-reminiscing beats appear - the first real percussive structures throughout "Satanismo Di Basilica Concattedrale Di San Marino"- which pay not only homage to the mentioned genre but also  to Aphex Twin's darkest, most destructive and distorted moments whilst sonically depicting evil. Turning the tape calmness and relaxation take over again with classic, ever moving Ambient passages which seem to be referring to the ultra-low-freq Drone works of artists like Francisco Lopez or the extended, minimalistic explorations of acts like Tarkatak - both highly rated and applaused within the experimental music world. But these minimalistic structures are not the only ones to be found on B III here, things tend to get even melodic with suprisingly vernal beauty that'll surely appeal to lovers of the long gone, formerly Berlin-based Interference Records which once was responsible for Ambient and ChillOut transmissions to the population of this planet and beyond, whilst later musical musings lead into more alienated Dark Ambient terrain. Opening the final Tape IV with "Preparazione" we experience heavenly voices and choruses that are unfurling over dense, buzzing Dark Ambient and fever'ish, ritualistic booms whilst more parochial, ecclesiastic Death Ambient explorations and field recorded voices - probably taken from sermons - are emphasizing on the gravely, withdrawn and abstracted feel that's half-hypnotizing and half-puzzling to those who never dealt with outerworldly forces that announce their multi-dimensional presence through various crackles and sizzling noises to be found in the opening work of the IV B side - the final part of this massive extended album pack - that is, although being a kinda exhausting listening experience due to its pure length, recommended to those who've been embracing darkness, the psyched out thrill for unproven parapsychological research, interviews, field recordings and death for a reason.