The adventure of the angel continues when he approaches a realm where time stands still, yet space shifts endlessly. In the center lies a glass castle, where truth and revelation wander around. It’s there where the seraph’s bride lies in eternal slumber, lifeless yet alive. To get there, Kasriel must face evil beings, vile creatures that cannot enter that heart-of-the fortress themselves, yet that will do anything to stop the protagonist of this story. Disappointment, pain, struggle and anger are on his path; so are hope, alleviation, persuasion. Will he cross the portal within the surrounding walls, will he defeat the enemy, will he forgather with the woman he loves, yet that was abducted during a dire long lost Winter?
The Encompassing Realm Of Space & Time narrates about this new chapter of Kasriel’s quest. After a moment of rest, reflection and introspection (Reverie), it is time to face new defiances. This gets translated through seven new tales, having a total running time of about one hour. Once again, the whole album was written, recorded, produced and mixed by Argentinian musician Leandro Pendino, with mastering done at the Arcaneum Studio. The artwork too follows the very same trend: created once more by Nicolás Insaurralde. It’s a fairylike portrait comparable to Reverie’s; this time shaped in darkened shades of blue, with the angel and the icy fortress behind the damsel.
This chapter starts with the introduction of our hero arising in strength and persuasion. Seraphim Rising (07:36) actually opens quite enlightened, serene, even optimistic. Comfortable synth melodies paint a mystic, secretive landscape, like where Elves might dwell around. After almost two minutes, piano joins, then epic choir chants and limited yet prominent, brave percussions, sort of comparable to the enriched Summoning culture. And so it continues, continuously expanding by adding more elements: martial drums and profuse synths lines. The seraph indeed stands up. The last part of this piece, by the way, explores harsher territories of militant, outspoken vigor, offering the bare essence of Martial Industrial magnitude. Through The Valley Of Times Unknown (04:47), well, at first I must think of Sopor Aeternus (this semi-cheerful harmonies, the potent percussions, the well-thought yet unusual supplements). It’s an energetic, even up-tempo piece with a cinematic character, permanently injected by supplemental elements, going for piano / strings, synths and the extended use of drums and percussions. Next comes Palais De Glace (which means ‘palace of ice’), which clocks 14:12 minutes. This composition is bombastic, like written for a symphonic Opera Orchestra (with a small touch of exaggeration, I admit), abundant in instrumentation, distinct in texture, forceful in prestige. Palais De Glace is divided into individual yet cohesive chapters, with these aforementioned intense parts that smoothly alternate with few integer moments. An example of such rather integer momentum is at about half of the track, which includes Gregorian-like chanting and esoteric, somewhat nostalgic keyboard melodies. There is so much going on throughout this enduring epic, eventually climbing up to a grandiose apotheosis of triumphal authority. Mind these magisterial operatic choruses at the end. Gates To The Enchanted Fortress (07:40) begins, in full contrast with the former song’s finale, enormously aggrieved and dreary. It reflects a passageway towards the unknown, of course, into a hall where both hope of despair might roam. The sad intro transmorfs into a reflective integrity, defined through obscure synths, hauntingly beautiful voices and somehow valiant drum patterns. This piece persistently unfurls, growing in intensity and in immersion, like an aural translation of in-depth reflection and militant condemnation. Following the title, At The Presbytery Of Tragedy And Repentance (08:13) has a very horrific identity. It takes off with an obscure monotone keyboard-wave and haunting soprano vocals, step by step enriched with additional instrumental effects. Things grow more intense towards half of this symphony, with eerie piano tunes, resulting in an opulent piece of forceful yet introspective Contemporary Classical Music. It’s a nice introduction to the somewhat experimental piece Genuflexio, being the shortest composition on this album with its length of 03:15 minutes. Genuflexio is like an invocation with both female and male sermonizing, martial drum patterns and eldritch synths. Despite its short duration, it’s a complex, intensive track, distantly claustrophobic, undeniably ritualistic, convincingly overwhelming. Can I say that I smell a hint of Coph Nia? In Wintertide (14:15), eventually, is another opus magnum, a grand conceptual composition, divided into different coherent passages. After a dreamy start - first based on piano only, then joined by violin (or viola?) - In Wintertide’s tenderness accrues by adding more synth-lines and a diverse scala of drums and percussions (programming?). As from the initial integrity, it expands towards a bombastic orchestration that sort of expresses persuasion, energy, victory - although melancholy and tranquility, grief and torment seem to float along the basic volition. As from half of the track, Kasriel takes influence from Gothic / Post regions; mind the mesmeric lead melody, the progressive drumming, and the soft-spoken narration; the whole evolving into more intensified territories (like Dark Gothic Metal without the ‘Metal’ content, believe me). Striking are the saturated drum patterns and the orchestral keys; an interplay that is both fervent and frigid, both open-minded and restricted, both strenuous and subsided. This opus indeed is a perfected closer to an aural one-hour voyage called The Encompassing Realm Of Space & Time.
I wonder what the next chapter in this story of the seraphic warrior and his damned lover will be. With patience I will await…
https://kasriel.bandcamp.com/album/the-encompassing-realm-of-space-time
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/kasriel-snawfuss
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/kasriel
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/kasriel-0
https://kasriel.bandcamp.com/album/peregrinatio
https://kasriel.bandcamp.com/album/reverie
https://kasriel.bandcamp.com/album/inner-sanctum