Erode – Horizon
Released: August 10th, 2011
Label: Tympanik Audio
Erode is the ambient project of Alexander Dietz, who also played a part in the German metal band Heaven Shall Burn. I was really impressed by the wide range of ambient textures on this album. Horizon has a great variety of melodic, relaxing songs and dark, faintly industrial tracks. It’s like an hour long dream that takes you on an emotional adventure.
The first track, “10950“, has a soothing melody to it with great synth work. A little over midway through the song, another layer of synth melody gets added leading up to the powerful climax of the song.
The title track, “Horizon“, has many elements reminiscent of ambient pioneers The Orb. This dreamy, peaceful, song ends with a flawless transition into the more dark, down tempo track “Overcome,” reminding you of the hypnotic journey that you’re on.
Another notable track is “Approach“, which really reminds me of an Aphex Twin masterpiece. To end the album, Erode shows off great remix skills with an awesome version of Deadlock’s “Brutal Romance.”
This album has great beat work, great melodies, seamless transitions, and even a touch of guitar harmonies. An album like this will appeal to a wide audience of electronic and ambient fans. For fans of: Aphex Twin, Gridlock, The Orb, Massive Attack, etc.