If you think about Black Metal Archives, you probably expect mostly reviews of Black Metal releases, maybe some Death Metal or other styles in the Metal spectrum. The album reviewed here is something different. In fact, this isn’t even metal!
The Immaculate Sun by composer Mark Healsmith, based in Canberra, Australia, is a modern classical work and features a five part suite for three marimbas, vibraphone and acoustic bass, as well as a piece for string orchestra and two wind ensembles. It was released on November 18th 2024.
The album starts off with the Suite Modes Of Practice, which consists of 5 movements. It’s a very minimalistic work, reminiscent of composers like Philip Glass or Steve Reich and thus features repetition. This isn’t a negative thing, as this is the whole intention behind it. The music is really hypnotising!
Let’s have a closer look at the individual movements: The middle section of the first movement gives me some Mike Oldfield Incantations-era vibes. The second movement reminds me of the background music in Sim City 3000 (really triggered some childhood memories for me), then it changes to something Pierre Moerlen would play on Time Is The Key. Also nice: a 5/4 time signature! The third movement is where the acoustic bass shines through at times when the mallet percussion is quieter, some parts even have a folk-ish feel. The fourth movement is pretty ominous, mysterious sounding, while the fifth movement has an urgent tone and is a bit a bit faster, but brightens up a bit throughout. The note sequence modulates minimally, this is probably the most hypnotic piece on the album.
The Immaculate Sun is different from the rest of the album, as it features different orchestration. There’s still some Philip Glass feeling in there, it even sounds a bit like the quiet sections from Oldfield’s Incantations.To me, this piece sounds like a sunrise!
I really enjoy this album, though I also think this is certainly not sonething for everyone.It’s repetitive nature with minimal modulation throughout is really intriguing. Quite mesmerising, to be exact. If you’d like to check it out, you can find it on Bandcamp!
