Thehappymask

Artist: 
Album Title: 
Ruines
Release Date: 
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Distribution: 
Review Type: 

This mysterious one-man Post-Rock/ Post-Black Metal/ Shoegaze project was founded in 2011, and comes all the way from the Russian town of Kazan (capitol of Tatarstan, inhabiting some 1,1 million souls, and situated 797 km East from Moscow). Mysterious, because the man behind the project hides behind a shroud of anonymity. He can be found on one local social network, but even there covers his identity behind the monicker of “Constantine Horizon”. During 2011, Constantine released two demos (simply entitled Demo I and Demo II), a one-track EP with the title Autumnus, a self-titled compilation of all three aforementioned, and a split with Fall To November Sky... which got the lengthy title 9 Ways To See The Light Behind The Urban Clouds, and was released through Rigorism Productions. Ruines is in fact the first full-length album released as such, and was originally issued through Germany's Talheim Records in late 2012.

With cited influences from the likes of An Autumn For Crippled Children, Cold Body Radiation, Side Of Despondency, Lantlos, Liam, Alcest, Amesoeurs, Dernier Martyr, The Last Days and Heretoir, you can imagine the mostly instrumental music of the artist to go through a variety of Ambient-like music with changing intensities, barely hear-able (a slight exaggeration) on the one end, and brutally atmospheric on the other. But I am definitely under the impression that only guitars were used to create the sounds on the album. According to the info sheet that came along with the download promo copy of the album, there's a small poem in one of the tracks, but I have yet to uncover it on the album.

Even if this very album is instrumental, on previous material Constantine hàs done at least one song with chilling Blackened screams. Find it at (www.) thehappymask.bandcamp.com, where you can listen to all tracks Constantine made so far under this monicker! I lóve this stuff, and cannot wait to get my hands on a new batch!

95/100