“The Legacy” original reviews, part #2

Here’s the second batch of reviews of the original edition of Amon’s “The Legacy”.

Manifold, Vince Harrigan, August 2000
It’s hard to get across in words how good this work of Dark Ambient is. Perhaps these guys have few equals for pure, flowing, desolate Dark Ambient… maybe Necrophorous or Chaos As Shelter. But Amon are even more desolate and spacious, leaving out a lot just for the sake of making what’s there fill up more space. And the tones in “The Legacy” have that pregnant power, the exquisitely crafted puzzle-of-sound that is not complex at all, but just extremely meaningful without being distracting. No words. There is absolutely no pulse or percussion here, it’s all sheets of flowing and ebbing and windy tides, many of them, and many different kinds, moving like colours of grey and shades of starlight brown over and around, multiple creatures of tone working together to make the most sonorous, singular and lost feeling for the listener. The same scary power of “Pure 2” by G-Flesh, the same spiritual purity of Thomas Köner’s “Permafrost”. No second is quite the same as the last, but is born from the dying breath of the last into a seamless flow of totally altered consciousness from end to end, like the snake of infinity eating its tail as it grows.

Recycle Your Ears, Nicolas, September 2000
“The Legacy” is the third album of the Italian project Amon. With this record, this famous Dark Industrial project offers us again a mesmerizing recording of drones and tones, bringing us into a state of isolation and introspection. With this CD, Amon has tried to write music with a new process. According to Andrea Marutti, the man behind the project, improvisation has played an important role in the creation of this album, and, as stated on the digipack, “some of the tracks included in this CD contain unidentified sound sources”. The result is a very slowly changing opus that sounds like it had been recorded in space. The sound is clear but very intense, although the same tones may go on for several minutes. A lot of variations happen in the background of the music, and this require active listening to be fully enjoyed. Needless to say, this new Amon CD is something to listen to only when you’re really in the right mood. Very dark and bearing a mystic touch, this is the kind of music you listen to in the dark, without doing anything else than concentrating yourself on these very deep sounds. Moreover, the recording is mastered very low, and you may easily miss something if you’re not careful enough. “The Legacy” is a very good CD from a major name of the slowest and most isolationist side of Industrial. It will fit you very well if you listen to Lustmord or Yen Pox. For those who like this style, this is definitely highly enjoyable.

Inner Space, Vladimir Jovanovic, November 1999
Ever wondered how Dark Ambient should really sound like? Look no further. This is it. At the end of 1999 and after a decade of some thrilling developments in this particular genre of music, Andrea Marutti, a.k.a. Amon, managed to come up with an instant classic. But beware. This isn’t easily accessible music. This isn’t for anybody. This is slow and static ambience, for those who like to sink deep into the depths of the abyss, guided by the rumbling sounds of the speakers and start a long and turbulent journey of introspection. No one can promise it will be easy, travelling through endless deserts, roaming long lost temples and wastelands, but think of the reward that awaits you at the end. It won’t be a feeling of happiness and joy, but a sense of fulfillment with tremendous power and dark beauty. And that’s exactly what “The Legacy” is. Something that defies the test of time. Once you hear it, it will stay in your mind forever.

MBL, Darin M. Sullivan, March 2000
Andrea Marutti, a.k.a. Amon, is back with his latest adventures into the darkened abyss of sound, entitled “The Legacy”. Six tracks (well, it’s actually three tracks; “Sandstones”, “The Legacy” and “Amunhaptra”, but “The Legacy” is broken up into four parts: “Enter Darkness”, “Machinery”, “Domes/Colonies” and “Exit Light”) of deep, droney, Dark Ambient bliss fill out the entire CD and satisfy even the most passive of listeners. This will probably make my Top Five list at the end of the year. Five Stars, an outstanding release from Amon. “The Legacy” comes highly recommended, it’s a must have. For any and every fan of the darker side of Ambient music.

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